From Twitter 06-01-2010
Jun. 2nd, 2010 03:04 amTweets copied by twittinesis.com
Jun. 2nd, 2010
Last night, I went to the dreaded Tuesday night black stripe class, the one where they whip you into shape in preparation for the black belt test. As I've mentioned, this is the first mixed-age class. Fiona and I have agreed that really, the adults are much more focused than the kids.
As we lined up for the start of class I looked around and had my usual grimace. Every other student in this class is at least thirty-five years younger than me. I was the only single black stripe student, too. Everyone else was double black stripe.
We spent the majority of the class working on the side kick. We paired up with a partner, and our instructor went over proper kick alignment. The knee should follow the foot in a straight line, rather than in an S-curve. As one person performed the kick slowly, the other held up a bo (the straight stick used in stick fighting) along the length of the leg, to check that the kick was tracking correctly. After we had done that ten times on each side, we lined up at the bar and did pyramid down: kick out ten times. Then nine times. Then eight...get down to the bottom and then start one kick out. Two kicks. Three kicks...by the time we'd worked our way back up to ten kicks, our hips and gluts were screaming.
Then we switched and did them on the other side.
Finally, we came out to the middle of the floor and went down the line, one by one. Each of us was to perform three perfect side kicks, will full pivot and lockout, and then switch sides and perform them on the other side.
I waited my turn, going over the kick in my mind. When my turn came, the sixth student in the row, I picked my focus point, executed my pivot, and kicked out. Hard. One. Two. Three. Switch. One. Two. Three. My hips were so tired, but my concentration felt spot on and my hands were perfectly controlled. The kicks felt just right. I went back to chumbi and glanced up at the instructor.
His eyebrows went up and a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. He looked over at the first student in the row. "How old are you?" The student looked a little startled, and then responded: "13." He looked over at the next. "And you?" "11, sir." "And you?" "15."
I was smirking a little by the time he got down the line to me. "I'm fifty," I said loudly.
He just let that hang out there for a moment. And then he said, "She's the oldest person in the room. She's even the lowest belt in the room. But she's had by far the cleanest kicks." He went on with critiques for the rest of the people in the room: some had failed to pivot, some had floppy feet, some were failing to lock out. I tried to keep my face serious as, after all, he was lecturing all of us. But the smirk kept fighting its way through. I don't often feel like I shine in class. But on the days that I do...wow, it feels good.
We lined up and bowed out at the end of class. "It doesn't always work like that for me," I told him quietly as the next class made their way to the front of the room. "But it's sure nice when it does."
Maybe I can do this black belt thing after all.
As we lined up for the start of class I looked around and had my usual grimace. Every other student in this class is at least thirty-five years younger than me. I was the only single black stripe student, too. Everyone else was double black stripe.
We spent the majority of the class working on the side kick. We paired up with a partner, and our instructor went over proper kick alignment. The knee should follow the foot in a straight line, rather than in an S-curve. As one person performed the kick slowly, the other held up a bo (the straight stick used in stick fighting) along the length of the leg, to check that the kick was tracking correctly. After we had done that ten times on each side, we lined up at the bar and did pyramid down: kick out ten times. Then nine times. Then eight...get down to the bottom and then start one kick out. Two kicks. Three kicks...by the time we'd worked our way back up to ten kicks, our hips and gluts were screaming.
Then we switched and did them on the other side.
Finally, we came out to the middle of the floor and went down the line, one by one. Each of us was to perform three perfect side kicks, will full pivot and lockout, and then switch sides and perform them on the other side.
I waited my turn, going over the kick in my mind. When my turn came, the sixth student in the row, I picked my focus point, executed my pivot, and kicked out. Hard. One. Two. Three. Switch. One. Two. Three. My hips were so tired, but my concentration felt spot on and my hands were perfectly controlled. The kicks felt just right. I went back to chumbi and glanced up at the instructor.
His eyebrows went up and a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. He looked over at the first student in the row. "How old are you?" The student looked a little startled, and then responded: "13." He looked over at the next. "And you?" "11, sir." "And you?" "15."
I was smirking a little by the time he got down the line to me. "I'm fifty," I said loudly.
He just let that hang out there for a moment. And then he said, "She's the oldest person in the room. She's even the lowest belt in the room. But she's had by far the cleanest kicks." He went on with critiques for the rest of the people in the room: some had failed to pivot, some had floppy feet, some were failing to lock out. I tried to keep my face serious as, after all, he was lecturing all of us. But the smirk kept fighting its way through. I don't often feel like I shine in class. But on the days that I do...wow, it feels good.
We lined up and bowed out at the end of class. "It doesn't always work like that for me," I told him quietly as the next class made their way to the front of the room. "But it's sure nice when it does."
Maybe I can do this black belt thing after all.
This is the test she took last weekend.
Form (there's a bit of a pause at the beginning):
Self Defense:
And a few pictures. She's looking fierce:
Her first of two screenings for black belt second degree was tonight. Unfortunately, she doesn't think she did very well at all and is extremely doubtful that she even passed. It could be they will give her notes from tonight and expect her to clear all the problems up before the next screening, which takes place a month from now. Or she might be told she'll have to start all over again next quarter. We'll know in a week.
Form (there's a bit of a pause at the beginning):
Self Defense:
And a few pictures. She's looking fierce:
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Her first of two screenings for black belt second degree was tonight. Unfortunately, she doesn't think she did very well at all and is extremely doubtful that she even passed. It could be they will give her notes from tonight and expect her to clear all the problems up before the next screening, which takes place a month from now. Or she might be told she'll have to start all over again next quarter. We'll know in a week.
Big week in Alternity
Jun. 2nd, 2010 10:49 pmIt's been a big week in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
alternity, what with the culmination of the Chamber of Secrets plot....but is anyone still even reading?! We haven't got a single comment over at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
alt_fen at all.
Are you still reading? Were you surprised with who ended up down in the Chamber? What else have you been enjoying about the game lately?
C'mon...we're having fun, but the players could use some love to keep us going, too...
Edited to add: The best place to read Alternity is at the![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
alt_player "Read" page (the equivalent of the LJ "Friends" page), which is here. That link is better, because you can read all the comments there, unlike at Livejournal. However, the fan community for Alternity is still over on LJ, at alt_fen.
alternity, what with the culmination of the Chamber of Secrets plot....but is anyone still even reading?! We haven't got a single comment over at alt_fen at all.Are you still reading? Were you surprised with who ended up down in the Chamber? What else have you been enjoying about the game lately?
C'mon...we're having fun, but the players could use some love to keep us going, too...
Edited to add: The best place to read Alternity is at the
alt_player "Read" page (the equivalent of the LJ "Friends" page), which is here. That link is better, because you can read all the comments there, unlike at Livejournal. However, the fan community for Alternity is still over on LJ, at alt_fen.