Mid winter

Must be time for Timaru Beach Training Weekend! Hurrah! Mostly a good weekend. Awkward mix of family doings, relationship issues and lovely, lovely karate time including a shodan and nidan promotion with candidates from our dojo.

I had a good time but will do things differently next year. Much as I adore my in-laws a karate weekend really needs to be a karate weekend and doesn’t mix well with ‘family time’.

The dojo session had its usual unique ‘Timaruvian flavour’, a little bit of this and that kept those from Dunedin smiling. With the gradings taking up a lot of time very little syllabus was done and it became more of a social weekend – a chance to catch up with others of the same grade from other dojo and also friends who now train elsewhere.

The beach session on Sunday morning was at the more respectable hour of 10.00am due to the nidan promotion starting at 7:00am. It was certainly warmer – but I missed seeing the sun rise over Caroline Bay – although I’m sure many of the karateka, who were out late the night before, appreciated the couple of extra hours in bed.

The water was chilly, as usual, and all from Dunedin got their hair wet – not always voluntarily (Sensei!). No photos as I was participating, but here is one of some of our Dunedin black belts the day before.

Poo

It's been a tough couple of weeks. The start of the dreaded winter blues I guess. All I want to do is eat and sleep. Work is full on; sick people, people on leave, maintenance problems, no time to get ahead. Karate is fineoh, small classes as it gets colder, regulars not so regular. Home is a mess, literally, figuratively and all the bits in between. My car had broken down days before I want to sell it...and I have to work at the weekend! So not me!

The only good thing about winter is flannelette sheets. I love that moment when you slide into a hot bed and lie there soaking up the warm. Next best is waking up and realising that you are as snug as a bug and wouldn't wish to be anywhere else but right there. I always have to get up - but for a moment or two it is perfect.

Off to Terminator tonight, brrrr...

Mystery visitors

I don't have a very big readership - possibly because I don't have much to say, and I don't say it very often. It's just a little bit of me (the nice tidy version) on the few occasions I can get close to the computer.

So, when I weed out all the random visitors who stumble on this blog I find that I have two reasonably loyal viewers. One in Christchurch and one in Auckland. A big cheery hello to you both! I'm no technical whiz - so I don't know who you are. I do know one of you uses a Mac :-) and one doesn't :-(

If you're ever feeling chatty feel free to send me a comment one day. Otherwise I'll just continue on with my self indulgent bits and pieces.

Osu (if you're a karate dude)
and

Cheers (if you're not)

Still standing

30 down...


The very end

Grading pix

Awful photos - tiny camera with no flash.

Senpai Zoë, Senpai Diane and Sensei Seán all having a wee go at me. Last few fights. I'm learning quite a bit from looking at the photos - firstly that even though Senpai Zoë is taller then me she is lower in every picture and it's really obvious in the video. I need to lower my stances considerably. It gives her heaps more power and stability. It's quite ghastly watching the videos, makes me feel very inept. My kicks are pitiful. But there we go, I did the grading, I have the tab and I was still standing after thirty one-minute controlled sparring bouts.

Just back to training properly last week. It's great to just do classes. I love my new kata - Saiha. Haven't had a crack at Tensho yet.

1st kyu

Grading is all over. I will probably not have any more gradings in that dojo. I have fair few bruises to show for it, but I was still standing at the end of the sparring.

Fantastic club turnout on a chilly night; Jun Shihan, 2 x Kyoshi, 2 x Sensei, 2 x Sandan Senpai, 2 x Nidan Senpai, 4 x Shodan Senpai and lots of kyu grades. Missed my (now) fellow 1st kyu buddy Karl though :-(

My two girlie Senpai role models gave me a drubbing and my Sensei husband contributed to a bruise or two. Glad it's over.
I think my training was pretty good, but I'll be writing down a few tips for next time. Gotta move more in the sparring and stop just running into kicks and punches. Gotta get a few more moves - use some combinations and try things out.

Senpai daughter gave me her old belt - with the tab already on, so I will train with that around my waist for the next year or so - and hand back my husbands old one that I have been wearing as a 2nd kyu. Senpai Zoë is an inspiration to me - I want to learn her kick, it's so awful to be on the end of it. My hips are the colour of battered red roses. Not a pretty at all.

OSU!

R.I.P ZL4RW 73S

My dad died suddenly on Monday - it's been a long week with the funeral today.

Are you sore yet?

"Do you have any sore muscles?" Asks my 17 yr old daughter casually, as she whisks up a chocolate mousse for dessert.

"Nope" I answer blithely while puttering away on the Internet.

"Well you need to work harder next time then!" She GROWLS at me!!!

We trained together yesterday - bit of bag work, bit of pad work, and a medicine ball applied, from height, frequently to the stomach region.

I love my stairs

I was 'doing' my stairs yesterday and was amazed at the love hate relationship I have manufactured for each repeat of the stairs.

First time up is pretty much always my least favourite. The ipod isn't always on the right tune. It's harder that it should be and there are a whole heap still to do. 2 and 3 are much the same. I start to wonder how I ever make 10, my quads ache.

By number 4 I'm realise that my breathing is actually OK and that was almost fun.

Five and I'm cruising - Piece of cake, halfway already - ah hah! It is working...

6 - yeah another one down.

7 - Not a good one. 3 more to do, breathing a little more heavily at the top.

Maybe that will do - I know I can do ten - do I need to ten again? Maybe 7 is a good number today?

At the bottom, look up the stairs - find a better song - My sharona - the perfect beat (I never said I was fast!) and I make number 8 without too much bother - keeping in pace with the beat.

9 - replay that song - Phew, a bit harder to get all the way to the top on beat - but do-able.

10 and it's over again for the week. Feeling GOOD.

But should I do another? - Just because I can? Nah. Head home on wobbly legs and think about how bad I'd look doing any syllabus right this minute.

Tip of the day - kata

Tsuki no kata:

Keep all stances tight and low. Look in direction of first two punches - 45 degrees... Rotate hips for gedan, then gedan/chudan punch. Keep sanchin stance tight on turn...explode into two jodan punches. Keep fist chambered for mae geri. Keep in same 'plane' for junzuki punches/nukite strikes. Kiai on first junzuki. Swing around hard for first nukite. Swivel into next nukite - but set stance first and then strike hard. etc, etc.

Great to have an hour kata classe now, and to just concentrate on one kata for the whole class. I'm getting the feel or this kata finally - so tricky with all the stance changes at first.

More classes please!

Loving my karate at the moment. I feel like I done the right training at the right pace this time around. I may never be a fabulous brown belt, but I am being the best brown belt I can be. I'm really looking forward to this grading being over though so that I can concentrate on refining my techniques. I don't want to change too much at the moment, just do the stuff I need to do as I know how now. But, I can't wait to then spend the next year (or so) polishing, polishing, polishing. Relaxing into the moves and really making them work, rather than just remembering what the moves are.

I seem to be sweating heaps more this time. Poor Senpai Zoë was apparently sprayed with sweat each time I kicked her tonight. I had put my shin guards on for the whole class (have a few bruises from yokusoku) and they are coated in a shiny vinyl stuff. Obviously the sweat was pooling and then swishing out each time I contacted her. Yuck! That is so disgusting...It's usually the guys dripping on us girlies. Maybe 'more fit - more sweat'?

It's just so much fun!

6 weeks

Phew! Six weeks. Panicking a wee bit. Time to choose between fitness and technique...ahhh no, no, no.

"Technique before Strength, Spirit before Technique" This will be my mantra for the next 6 weeks.

I should be good with the spirit, I'm doing my best with technique. Strength? - yeah, well going hard there too, but will always be pushed to the limit I guess and then technique gets sloppy and then there's only spirt left (that and a good jab - punch, keep the hands up!).

These beauties are not designed as landing gear, when swept. I went down like a tonne of bricks - still don't know where the foot came from.


Meanwhile Senpai Zoe is not back training after gaining a mild concussion (foot applied briskly to the forehead). Three weeks and still experiencing; headaches, nausea, noise intolerance and difficulty concentrating at school. It's a laugh a minute in our house.

I'm still dreaming kata and kihon, etc...Sad as the dreaming is not helping the reality. Just need time in the dojo now. Scared I'm not doing enough. Scared to do more in case I get too tired or injured. Tricky, tricky, tricky...

Light week

9 weeks out and this is my 'light' week. Not sure how I will cope with that? Probably feel like I'm slacking off.

Today I arrive a work with great plans for the day, but having 'forgotten' to plan my food. Someone calls in sick and I end up out on the buses morning and evening and working the afternoon as well. I finally get home at 9.30 pm after doing the grocery shopping and picking up boy from his bass lesson...so how did the food go on a 'relaxed' day?

Carb, carbs, bloody carbs. Breakfast was fine same same old...eggs soft boiled, yum. Then darling husband turns up at my first bus port of call with a date scone and a mocha! He thought he was doing me a favour - chilly day and he knew I was under-prepared both in clothing and food for the day. Lovely, lovely, lovely thought. But a bad start - and he didn't know I had already grabbed a bag of pineapple lumps from one of those damn boxes in the staff room, double bad.

Lunch fine-e-oh. Grabbed some sushi - just the cost ($7.50) was irritating as I usually bring my own - not sure where my head was this morning...Oh yeah I do! I didn't hit the gym at 6 am as usual - I 'rested' until 7.15, so out of routine already.

Any hoo, saved the date scone until 3.30 and afternoon tea. Then ducked out at 5.30 for a quick mocha and a toasted sandwich (bread,bread bread!) then arrive back for the evening shift to find Mr Man (why is he so nice?) has left a wee helping of nuts, a plum and a chocolate bar for my supper! Fortunately I had presence of mind enough to get out on the bus and save them for tomorrow.

Home late and a plate of casserole from the slow cooker and a slice of brownie that Jack made after school.

Not so bad in quantity, but choices not great. Carb city - no fruit or vegies to speak of...and NO EXERCISE AT ALL.

Tomorrow calls - back to gym for light work out then plan breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks. Drop first karate class and just go to brown belt class. That is the plan :-)

Tuesday tuesday

Tuesday brown belt classes ROCK! Great syllabus, great teacher, great fun and you get sweaty too! Excellent way to finish a long day on the buses. I LOVE being a brown belt!

Twelve weeks

All is going well. Date for grading has changed to a Wednesday night - very strange after years of Saturday morning gradings. Should be OK as night is when we normally train. The going to work the morning after could be a little tiring - no nice lazy weekend to relax over.

Training and eating are going to plan. Worry not enough of one and too much of the other - but that's par for the course.

It really is twelve weeks this time.

I'm going to invite all my 'lady' friends and workmates etc to this one. Not sure if they will be impressed - probably just see me cry. But it will be a long wait (2 years?) until the next (Shodan) grading.

I saw a 6 on the scales for a day last week! First time for a while, it's gone again just now. But obviously hovering around the corner.

Babble babble, been a hot day.

The crossing

Tongariro and Ngauruhoe
Emerald lakes
Red crater on Tongariro
Jo, Jack and Sean with Ngauruhoe behind


All went really well. Took about seven hours, with an early start of 6 am. Jack walked well.

The craters looked amazing the lakes and ground steamed around our feet. The army was apparently practicing off in a far valley, but at the time we were convinced the craters were booming! Very scary.

The weather was perfect, still and mild for the ascent, bright sun with a breeze on the tops and then overcast for the trek down and out through the forest.

All over and back to our car by 2.30pm and zoomed off to Taupo for a lovely relaxing spa or two.

Fondue do

Had a fondue do last night to celebrate Ben turning 21. His dad provided the beef, venison, rabbit, blue cod and paua ( all culled with his own fair hands) for the main, while I did the dessert fondue; chocolate, fruit and marshmellows. Veges were optional. Tequila seemed to be the drink of the evening. Fun times.

Today I was in at the dojo, I have a good routine that gets me through all my syllabus and keeps the heart rate up for 45 minutes, ends with a circuit - ugh, burpies are hard on my back. But loving getting back into it all. Stairs tomorrow then away for the week to the North Island and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The long range forecast is improving for our time up there, however there are swarms of jellyfish at Mt Manganui -double ugh!

Ben 21

1 week

2 years

7 years

14 years

18 years

Just a day

Today turned into a rest day. Listen to the body! I was just was a little sore in too many places to head in to the gym for another cardio session, this is the joy of being in what I'm calling week -1. Next week is week 0, more holiday, with no programed training apart from a seven hour wander amongst some volcanoes (although I'm dithering about taking my gi to Auckland, there is a class on Monday night I could attend...might do that yet). So this week was a ease in after Christmas and I feel as though I've done OK. Weights again in the morning.

Tomorrow night we are having a do for Ben who turns 21 on Monday (When I'll be away). Phew 21! I was married, owned a house , and had been working for 4 years by the time I was 21. Ben is at varsity completing a psychology degree, and has just moved away from home into a flat last week.

It won't be a big party, just a few family and friends. He wants to fire up some fondues, so his dad will come up with a variety of meat; venison, rabbit, paua, etc. While I get to do the chocolate and fruit for dessert. Half the family is still away on holiday, so we will do a big family lunch later in the month. I've spent the evening baking kiwi biscuits (Chocolate chip cookies) and sausage rolls - some of Ben's favs.

I've also put together a photo album and Cd of Ben from 0 - 21 years old. It was a very nostalgic trip thru my life, his smile seems to falter at about 7 when my first marriage broke up. And the photo of my mum with all the children, 5 days before she died, made me cry. It's been 9 years, but I've been missing here more and more lately - very odd

Slow start

Lazy days at home and work. I love this time of the year, even at work it feels like a holiday and is so relaxed. Great being there on my own, getting thru heaps of backlogged work.

The gym is all good too. Going at odd times as they are still on their Christmas hours, good to have a steady programme again and I can feel a little burn here and there. Not looking forward to the early morning starts that will take over in a week or so.

Been to the dojo a couple of times, amazing what you(I) forget in three weeks. I guess my new stuff just hasn't bedded into my brain yet. The floor isn't any softer either.

Went to Twilight tonight - wasn't looking forward to it as I loved the books, but once I got over the shock of the faces not being the faces I had in my head it was pretty good, mindless entertainment anyway.