New Sword Bag!

After a cup of Komodo Dragon coffee and about 10 more caramels than the recommended serving size, I decided I needed a bokken bag. Amazon didn't have anything I liked so pulled out my sewing machine Kimmy and whipped one up. Remember the coffee? I tend to sew "things" when I have too much caffeine. 

I reached for the black and red cloth and then.... my hand touched the baby blue and it just spiraled out of control. The plus side is that A) I don't need to write my name on it B) It doesn't really look threatening as a weapons bag C) I still have room to had more sparkly stuff to it!

I am really glad that I have an instructor that is okay with my … self-expression.

Construction notes: The bottom is reinforced with a foam drink cozy, a plastic bracelet is sewed between the layers of the top to give it form, some of the patches are coin purses (this gives the bag some pockets for the tsuba, keys, mouth gaurd, etc.), holds two bokken.

Leader of the Pack

I was sitting there watching a dog training show and thought "Hey, that looks so easy, I should do that to show that I am the leader of the pack and it will make everything so much better!"

                            
Then I remembered that Kepi is a cat and will never regard me as a leader of anything. I subsequently admitted to myself that I was too lazy to own something that required training.

Cat Life Forever! Do Whatever You Want Kepi!

Old Belts

I have a few of old Karate belts and am considering whimsical ways to re-use them. I've always felt weird about the thought of putting them in a display because they are made to be worn, touched and used.

1) Use them to train my cat to be the best ninja she can be

2) A yoga strap that also announces that I am a badass

3) Cut it down, add a buckle and have a colorful new way to hold my pants up

Pain Pics: Welcome to Steel, Honey

Pain is suppose to teach us something. Bruises, sprains, cuts and scrapes have been my most effective teachers in the martial arts. When I get a bruise that gives me an insight into life, I take a picture of it to remember and honor the lesson it has taught me. 

I got tapped in the arm multiple times during fencing and, of course, I got this beauty.

I learned that my left elbow automatically sticks out when I go into any of the high guards from the left (like posta di donna sinestra). I need to fix that, ASAP.

Pain Pics: Punched in the Face

Pain is suppose to teach us something. Bruises, sprains, cuts and scrapes have been my most effective teachers in the martial arts. When I get a bruise that gives me an insight into life, I take a picture of it to remember and honor the lesson it has taught me. 

I got punched in the face during Karate sparring, I iced the heck out of it and, even though my cheek bone is still sore, the bruise didn't get much bigger.

What I learned: I need to get better/more automatic about blocking stuff coming at my face, a real fight would have ended really badly for me because the force of the punch knocked my contact lens out - I would have been half blind, disoriented and have lost a real fight after that. I should also consider some sort of face guard for sparring.

A New Chapter

I decided to quit my Karate dojo today. I feel a lot of frustration over small things that add up to not really fitting in with the ideology of the school. While being lectured on the importance of the uniform I realized that I will never care about the color of my hair tie, the stitching on my uniform, or any detail that small and that I needed to find a place where I fit in before I burnt any bridges.

When I look for advice on how to quit a dojo on the internet I see a lot of "but I'm only X number of months from my black belt! should I stick with it???!!!" And I realize that I am excited to give up my brown belt for a white one again. The higher the rank, the more important it is to fit in and be an "example" which I will never be while at this school.

I wish the internet had better advice on how to do this "right." Ah well, wish me all the luck.

Pointy Stick Fight!

"Let's spar with spears!"

"But we don't know enough spear technique to actually *spar*"

"...….."

"Pointy Stick Fight!!!!"

It's a Trap!!!

You Know You Have Been Doing Too Much BJJ When...

… you wake up shrimping because you thought your cat was trying to put you in side control.

Random Thoughts