Fight Video - 8th Annual US Kyokushin Karate Open

Patty Pittman vs Amy Kaufman

There are things in this life you just don't want to do, but you have to. I had to watch my fights from May. I had to edit and upload the video from the 8th Annual United States Kyokushin Open, the first 'full contact' fight I had ever done, it was also the second fight I had ever been to.


The reason for the quotes around the full contact, is that we weren't supposed to wear pads. There was a woman who came down to fight semi-contact, but there wasn't anyone to fight her. The powers that be, decided they would lump all us women together. So as we lined up for the march out to the mats, the woman looked at the rest of us and bowed out of fighting. It didn't matter if we fought with those thin hand pads and shin guards, it was fighting 'full contact' fighters that had her worried. They did find her a fight, but it was left on our ticket that we were "semi contact'. Let me tell you, pads or no pads, it was full contact.

The Top 10 Fitness and Health Trends of 2010

Who doesn't love a trend? When it comes to fitness and health, I love to be the first of my friends to try something new. Being a child of the 80's, I wore leg-warmers over my acid-wash jean while getting frustrated with my Rubik cube in between turns on my Atari.  I remember gyms filled with beautiful people wearing full make-up, spandex, leotards, and sweatbands. My mom did chronic cardio in the form of aerobics with Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda. She ate lots of grapefruit, sometimes only cabbage soup, and dealt out ultra low fat Deal-A-Meal cards.

Anatomy of a Black Belt Test

I am still a long way from my black belt.I would be six months closer, but I have been skipping belt tests. I have a lot of anxiety about the black belt test. It is a big deal. So I thought if I watched the test, it would help me be not so nervous about it.

Sparring, It was a "Hit Patty Hard Party"

Is it strange the my worst injuries come from the dojo and not at a fight? Last night was no exception. We had sabaki class. Shihan had us doing 10, 1-minute rounds. The way the class got lined up, I wound up fighting the same people twice. They were the toughest people too.

Jared is our white belt and he wants to be tough so bad. I fought him twice. He comes to every full contact class and trains hard. The problem with fighting him and any white belt is that they are unpredictable. You never know what they are going to do. He is also too hard on me most times.

Sportsmanship or the Lack of

I used to watch football alot. Every Sunday you would find me peeled to the TV witha remote in my hand, switching between games. The rest of the week, ESPN was background noise. After a while I started to lose my interest in the game and moved on to other pursuits.

Today I log on to Yahoo and the front page story is about the Jets coach tripping a player. I could hardly believe it. A grown man, whose team is down by only 4 points, sticks out his knee for a dirty play.

Domawashi Kaiten Geri - Wheel Kick - Observastions

This month in class we are gearing up for a belt test, which is to happen on the 18th. It is going to be a huge test. There are three men going for their black belt and one man going for his second stripe on his black belt (nidan). The first three men are going to have to have a 10 man fight and the soon to be nidan, will have to fight 20.


Wednesday is our only full contact training of the week right now. I really need full contact training. That is where I burn the most calories. Get the cardio up. This week an old buddy came back to the dojo too. Nate has been away working hard and now he is home for a while. Nate and I started around the same time and we both fought for the first time together last year in Connecticut.

Power Circuit Workout ~ Glutes Shoulders Core ~ Jackie Warner

Today I really didn't feel like working out. I am beat. Last night was kickboxing and Sensei Kris taught it. It was a rough workout, but more on that later.

After sitting around trying to find excuses to skip working out, I finally got off my butt and did it. As always, I am glad I did it. After the elliptical interval workout Jackie prescribed on Monday, I got to the power.

Power Circuit Workout ~ Back, Hamstring, Biceps, Core ~ Jackie Warner

Today's workout was another good workout. I can really feel it in a good way. Tomorrow might not be so good, but it is the kind of pain I like. Pain that I earned.

Did the elliptical Intervals that I did the other day. I am really not minding doing the same thing for the third day in a row for cardio. I have been making it a game. Trying to go just a bit 'further' than I did yesterday. I think I will start writing it down so I can see my progress. Also mixing up the past paced tunes helps too. Today I listened to pop. Eminem, pink, pussy cat dolls, all kinds of pop that will probably melt my brain, but it kept me moving. I just think to myself that I can do anything for just 20 minutes.

Power Circuit Workout ~ Chest, Quads, Triceps, Core ~ Jackie Warner

I have always been told to do weights first, but that may because I learned fitness from a weightlifting forum on ShaprFit. My name is PandorasVise over there in case you want to visit. After reading Jackie's book "This is Why You're Fat" I decided to try her workout. It is the other way around, cardio first.

It starts out with intervals everyday for 20 minutes. I like interval cardio opposed to the chronic cardio. People who do chronic cardio, you will find visit the magazine rack before getting on a machine for the next hour. They get nowhere fast. I believe that intensity is the key to any work out. If you can read while cycling, then you are not cycling hard enough.

"This is Why You're Fat" ~ Jackie Warner Review

Jackie Warner's This is Why You're Fat (and How You can get Thin Forever)

I got this book while looking for a new healthy cookbook. I got drawn away from the soups and cakes to the fitness shelf, like I always do. I usually flip through the pages of diet and workout books first. I can usually tell if it is a book for me or not, by the equipment that they use and their ingredients. I really don't like to use much equipment or search some specialty store for ingredients I never heard of. Jackie's book only had free weights, so I gave it a chance.

2 Minute Cardio Drill ~ Kick Boxing Class

I taught the cardio kickboxing again last Thursday and thought I would share a cardio drill that I did.

For those who know me, know I don't have much of an attention span. I have to change things up. The last three times I taught class, I had them do Tabata intervals. This time for cardio drill, I had everyone stand in front of a wavemaster standing bag with their bag gloves on and for two rounds I called a number. Something that Sensei Kris did once with us. The participants were to do any kick or punch combo they wanted but it had to be that number of times. For example, if I yelled 2, someone could do a punch and a kick, or two kicks, whatever they wanted. Sometimes I would yell 27, and tell them to be faster when they were about half done.

As soon as the third person was done with their combo, I would shout a number again. The reason for this is because the first person done, is always the first person done. It was the uber athlete that was first and although most are all athletes, we are not all are as hardcore. The other athletes in the room also don't want to get slowed down by civilians. So if you call out the number of the last person to finish, the athletes gets restless and don't get a good workout.

For those not familiar with my cardio kickboxing class, it is a circuit class taught with a round timer. The rounds are 2 minutes long, with a 30 second break. We always do a warm up for three rounds, and stretch for two rounds at some point. We also do a round each of push-ups, abs, and squats of some form or another. The other 14 rounds are of my choice. For break down of a sample kickboxing class, see my post Kickboxing with Tabata

Taking a Leap

I recently started an at home business called PanOptic PC I design web pages, web hosting, fix computers, do tutoring, pretty much everything to do with consumer electronics, I can work with. Problem is that even though I am very good at what I do, the market is flooded with people doing what I do. So my hope was that this would be a small business that would earn me enough for a down payment to own a business that would always put food on the table.

For the last few weeks I have been talking to a friend about starting a business. We bounced ideas around like, sharing a store space where I could work computers and she could sell all natural body products, to opening a sports bar in this small clothing store that just went belly up. We even did a recon mission last week. She picked me up and we went to the nearest big city and checked out sports clubs. We even found one that would go with our vision.

A Visit from Reliv - Fat Analysis

Fat Analysis

Last week, Wednesday. after kata class and during the beginning of full contact, Shihan had some people from the Reliv company come and do body fat measurements. I went first so I could get back to training. I stood on a scale with a metal plate and held these handles that came up from the scale. They input my age and height and the machine spit out a bunch of numbers. 

Funny thing, when I told the lady my age, Jared says, "you are not 39, Patty. cut it out!" I looked at him and could tell he really thought I was messing around. So I didn't say anything, and neither did anyone else, but I did smile.

Kickboxing Music Mix

Music is very important when it comes to fight training. No one ever really hears it if you are training correctly. It is background. It breaks up the sounds of the grunts and the pounding of the bag work. It also provides a beat to keep the speed up. Makes you want to move, gets you pumped up. Hoppefully this mix does all that for you.


I made this mix for my kickboxing class. I like setting the player on random, so there is no predictability. Hopefully this will keep your motivation going too.


Enjoy!

Its not how hard you hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward ~ Rocky

Ginger Sea Scallops ~ Fighter Fuel

Tis the season for Sea Scallops. Yeah really, there is a season. It runs from October till March, of course you can get them anytime frozen. They are very quick to cook. 2 minutes per side if you are searing them in a fry pan over high heat.

Scallops are a great food for fighters. Why? To build muscles, Scallops have a whopping 19 grams of protein in every 4 ounce serving. To help the cardio, they contain 33.3% of the daily value for vitamin B12 as well as being a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and potassium. To improve your mood, scallops have 81% of your daily tryptophan levels. You get all this good stuff while only consuming 100 calories.

World Champs - After Fight thoughts

I had a wonderful New England afternoon to walk in the woods with my blaze orange (hunting season) and just be alone with my thoughts. The dog was running all around and would only occasionally bring me back to the moment, so it was perfect.

I thought of the first fight I had. I did well, not the winning part, but the being in control part. Even if I had lost, being able to formulate a plan in my head and execute it was an achievement. I had technique. Usually I go out there and can hear nothing and I have fists flying. This time, I heard everything that my coaches said and tried my best to follow through. I heard chest, I hit chest. I heard switch and I tried to throw a knee. I went for the back leg just like I was told to prefight. Still could use more help in the technical part of fighting.

Dagéki World Karate Championship 2010

Leading up to the fight

We got to Montreal around 4 in the afternoon. After we settled into our rooms, we went to weigh in. I was up to 178, which is 5 pounds heavier than at the dojo. That made me disappointed. I haven't been overeating. But then I thought that maybe all the coffee and sitting around for 4 hours might have added some water weight. 

We waited to eat until after weigh-in because kenny had to be sure to be in light weight and it was awful close. Dinner was a very nice Indian Buffett. I never had indian food before and I have to say that even though the flavors were foreign to me, I really liked about half of the things they offered. I didn't over eat, which is usually hard for me at a buffett. I guess it is hard for everyone because as I sat, my tummy warm and full, everyone kept getting more food. I started to get picked on (freindly) that I could eat something, until Sensei K told them to leave me be. I think it is hard for people who don't struggle with weight to understand.

Nerves, Nerves, and more Nerves

 Tonight we had our last full contact training before the World's on Saturday. It was supposed to be an easy night. We did some sparring. It started light. Sensei Kris and I were sparring, probably 30% power. Then Kenny and I sparred and it started at 30%. Kenny is so hyped up. Slowly the power got turned up to about 80%, by him. I was still trying to keep the power down but defending myself, I turned it up too. The last 30 seconds hurt. When Kenny and Sensei sparred it was almost a fight.

Kenny is all about a certain technique. I can't say what it is because I don't want to give away any inside info right yet. But I have to say it is a very nice technique, but a fighter has to use a technique when it is an open option rather then trying it until you succeed. It was his downfall at his last fight. He was just looking for the opportunity to show his awesome skill, that he got beat with basics.

Speeding to the World Championship

Time is VERY short. I only made the final decision last week that I was going to fight at the upcoming world championship.

How could I not fight? Many people train for years for this opportunity. In my dojo, most people have a couple of years of semi-contact fighting before going to full contact. I am lucky enough, at my advanced age, to find a talent that I never even dreamed that I would have. I still have tons of talent polishing to do.

Last May at the US Open, I 'knew' I was getting a butt whopping before I got on the mat. I 'knew' I was going to lose and just prayed that I wouldn't embarrass the dojo and my teachers. I was so scared. I was determined that, even though I would probably lose, that the women were going to have to work for their victory. I wound up winning first place and my first trophy ever.

Seminar with Shihan Fugiwara

The Japanese term "Kiai"
means shout of spirit

On Saturday we were lucky enough to have Shiahn Fugiwara came to our dojo for a training seminar. He is truely a great man. When he is around, everyone's Kiai is louder, punches have more snap, and kick are higher. He has an air of importance about him and you want to have his approval and praise.

While Shihan F got ready for class, Sensei K warmed up the class with various dynamic stretches. Then Shihan came out and we started Kihon. When we got to kicks, he had us hold on to our belts. This is one drill I hate. It is not so much that it is hard to do. I don't like to stand out in class and my balance on one side, is not so good.

Flipping the Coin

Monday was fight class. I got there a little early and was sitting behind the desk reading a magazine when Shihan came in. He told me that I needed to make a decision by Wednesday on fighting at the Kanreikai World Tournament. That set my happy mood into a different place.

Sensei Kris came out and told me she had something for me in her car. We went out to get it and she kept asking me what was wrong. I really didn't realize that I was being broody so I just said that I was tired.

After kihon and fitness, Shihan had us do walk on our hands around the dojo, if we never had done that before, we were to do handstands against the wall.

Agility Ladder D.I.Y. Under $10 Under 1 Hour

Agility Ladder D.I.Y.
While coming up with a new exercise to introduce to the kickboxing class I was going to teach, I found some agility drills that used a flat ladder. So I went looking for a ladder at my nearest mall and found two at Dick's Sporting Goods. GoFit was $49.99 and the Champion, $64.99.  I was applaulled at the price. Some canvas straps and flat plastic for $65?! Crazy.

So I headed to the nearest craft store and picked up a large piece of plastic canvas (7 Count 13-5/8"X21-5/8" - Clear) for $1.19 and 10 yards of 1 inch webbing for $8.30 ($.83/yard). All you need for equipment is a regular pair of siccors and a small pair of siccors (I used manicure siccors)

Sabaki (Fight) Class

On Monday in class we trained our front snap kick. I know, basic, right? I needed to work on it. All the fancy kicks in the world won't win a fight like a well placed front snap kick to the face.

We paired up and our 'opponent' was to come at us with a punch or a kick and our job was to shuffle step back to get out of the way. Then we were to shuffle forward again and deliver a front snap kick to the belly. I worked with Ryan P.

Ryan was the guy who gave me my first bruise, way back when. When I first started karate, I didn't know my own strength, so I would fight hard. I have since learned that all white belts are scary. You don't know what they can and will do. They will either fly off the handle trying to take your head off or be so timid you have to remind them to fight. I was the first one.

Teaching Kickboxing Class w/ Tabata

Last night I got the chance to teach the cardio kickboxing class at the dojo. It was my first time teaching, and I think i did well. I had been asked the night before if I would do it, and I jumped at the chance. Sensei Kris is the usual teacher and she was there, in case I needed help.

I had some ideas and wanted to make it my own class, so I changed up the format a bit. In Sempai Scott's kickboxing, the warm up is shadow boxing, Sensei Kris has us do relays with a partner. I decided that we would warm up with three rounds, 2 minutes each, of cardio.I was hoping it would be okay, and it was. I made then sweat. More than one time I was asked if I were trying to kill them. That was the best compliment.

Cardio Kickboxing Class

The End Of Overeating by Dr Kessler

The End of Overeating by Dr David Kessler

I thought that today I would write about a book that changed my eating habits. It is one of my  favorite books when it comes to nutrition. I picked it up at the library. I opened it thinking it was a diet book. I was very wrong.


The End of Overeating has more to do with how our food is processed and how the processing effects our bodies. Knowing how certain food can effect your desire to eat too much is very powerful to learn how to stop overeating.


Dr Davis Kessler is Harvard-trained doctor, lawyer, medical school dean and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. That is a lot of credentials. Even armed with all that knowledge, he was overweight man and a yo-yo dieter since college.

Full Week of Training, Finally

 Monday

This past week was a good one, training wise. Well it was better at the start than at the finish. Monday I went to the YMCA and did the weight program I got set up with the personal trainer. Later I was off to my son's soccer game, which made me late for class, but I told Sensei K that I would be late.

I missed the lesson for the day which was to pivot out of the way of your attacker. They were learning to read opponents by noticing the pressure differences in punches, just before a kick or knee is thrown. I watched the class practice their movements while I stretched. When they were done they got their gear on for sparring.

Sensei K asked if I were warmed up enough for sparring, and of course I said yes. Michelle said 'Patty is always ready for sparring!" and of course I was. I think I wake up ready for sparring.

Settling In

Life
So the Husband was deployed last week. It is taking a lot to get used to. His job, when working for the guard required that he work on weekends, helping the soon to be deploying soldiers make arrangements for when they were to leave. So two weekends a month he was gone. Other than that, he was home everyday for the last six months.

It is so strange not to have him here. I am trying to get used to it, but things seem so empty. It is hard to get into the routine that I had, before my injuries. I used to wake up and do an exercise routine. weights, running, videos, I would do something. Very much struggling to get out of the rut. Al least I have been eating right.

Indian Leg Wrestling

Kata Class

Wednesday was kata class. I usually like kata class, especially just after belt tests. After belt tests we do not do the physical fitness. I don't mind working out. Heck I am always doing something, but I like doing the other stuff so much more.

My youngest daughter is now a cheerleader. She cheered her first game on Wednesday. So cute. She is in 8th grade and this is her first time in school for 4 years. She is doing great with it too. Already she is making tons of friends. Boys are chasing her, and the best part, she is telling them NO! Big W00T! for that.

Belt Test - Felling a Little Yellow

It has been a rough few days here in the Northeast. The temperature has been soaring in the upper 90's Schools in Maine have cancelled their after school sports and some have even closed all together.

Wednesday's kata class was surprisingly full. Usually when it is hot like that, people will stay home. I think some wanted to make sure that they got their hours in before the belt test. We did the usual kihon, then fitness. We lined up for kata, and went through just a few of them when Shihan stopped us. Some of us didn't look healthy, me included, I am sure. So we stopped and just worked on self defense.

Kata ~ Little achievements mean the most

Got a text message the other day. Shihan reminding me what time kata class was. I wasn't planning on going. As a matter of fact I was just going to start dinner. Aww the heck with it. It is just kata, I can handle it, so long as I am not kicking anything. I can turn on my heel rather than the ball of my foot. I can handle it. Yeah, I know I have at LEAST two weeks before I should put weight on the broken bone, but I have to do something.

I was missed. Feels nice to be missed. We started with Kihon (basic drills). When it came to kicking, it bothers my foot at the end of the snap, but not the pivot. So I adjusted and didn't put the snap at the end of my kicks like I normally would have.

Jackie Chan ~ The Myth

My kids love Jackie Chan movies and usually so do I. Sitting around the living room, munching on popcorn, watching "Drunken Master" for the third time...nothing beats it. Of course we are all armchair fighters too. Yelling at the hero to duck, or explaining how we would have hit the bad guy. Too funny.

I came across this movie a while ago on Hulu and thought I would share it. It is free and enjoyable for the whole family. Put it on fullscreen and grab your popcorn!

What I Feared; Stress and Weight

I had been doing very well with maintaining weight during my recovery, until last week. As tons of weight loss pill ads will tell you, stress will make you keep fat. Chronic stress can elevate cortisol. Cortisol can slow your metabolism, alter your blood sugar levels, causing mood swings, fatigue,and cause our bodies to want to conserve fat.

Stress was once great for the flight or fight response humans needed to survive in the world. Now the stress is a constant in a lot of people lives, as it is in mine.

Meeting with the Personal Trainer

How can 120lb, 5'2" woman kick my ***? She gives me a strength program from hell, and I like it.

Auburn YMCA Looks the same now as it did then

I headed over to Auburn Maine to the YMCA to meet up with Rachel Doane a few days ago. I had thought she said to wear my workout gear, that we would be working out, but I must have miss heard her. It was an interview. Lots of questions on what I was looking for, lots of questions about my health problems. We set up and appointment for earlier today to go over the workout.

Q&A Rock Bottom

I belong to many 'groups', and most I have left behind. This particular group, wannabeabigloser I joined as it started and then I faded away. Recently I found it again in my quest to help people that used to try to help me.

Q:     Well, I have finally reached a weight that I have been dreading for a long time. Ugh. I am so sick of my bad eating habits. But every time that I try to change them, I eventually go back to the the old ways again. And every time I go back to the old ways, I end up heavier than I have ever been before.

How do I break the cycle?

- S

Controversial Print Ads

Karate ads for the RDCA Academy of Martial Arts. The first ad features a little boy drawing lipstick on himself with his mothers mirror and makeup. The second add sees him wearing his mothers shoes.

Comments range from people being amused to them being outraged. One man jokingly said, 'If you son is wearing makeup, he may need to learn self defense'. Other people are showing their own ignorance by saying that the ads are anti-gay. Since when does being gay mean wearing make-up and mom's shoes?

Dojo Olympics

Last evening the annual MKK dojo Olympics were held. I had forgot about it but Shihan had called me up, he was bringing my kids there. His wife had taken my kids hiking for the day for her son's 14th birthday. I got him this pretty cool backpack that has a water bladder in it. (Now I have to get my kids the same bag.)

Around 5pm, I headed to the local football field and track and met up with everyone. Last year there were more adults than children. This year it was opposite. Sensei Kris and I were both injured, so we helped out with the officiating.

You know you are doing too much karate if....

 I love reading jokes in the morning. It sets me up for a good mood. If you have a joke to share, please add it in a comment.


You know you are doing too much karate if....

• You find yourself casually standing in a half cat stance.
• You trip, go into a roll and come up in a fighting stance. In church.
• You answer Ussss. To your boss or the cop that pulled you over
• You are introduced to someone and you bow to greet them.
• You tie your bathrobe belt in a perfect knot; then check to make sure the ends are exactly even.
• You accept change from the cashier using a knife hand with the thumb carefully tucked in.
• When you're outside doing gardening you practice with all the neat 'weapons'.
• You look for new accommodation based on the amount of practice space it provides (who needs a bedroom?).
• You find yourself practicing bo techniques in miniature with your pencil during dull meetings.
• You notice you never stand with your arms crossed or your hands in your pockets.
• You find yourself practicing stances while standing in lines. Strangely, most people are standing cautiously far, far away from you.
• You don't use any tools while splitting firewood.

How my husband feels too!

Annual Beach Training

A lot of my 'internet karate' friends from around the world have been displaying their beach training photos on Facebook. They look amazing and fun. Last Saturday was my chance to try at Range Pond in Poland ME. I couldn't have asked for better weather, low 80's(F) with a light refreshing breeze.

We lined up in our typical fashion, upper belts along the edge of the water, and the rest of us, in belt order, behind them. My daughter Justice, who decided that karate was not for her some months ago, jumped right into training, right next to me. The four black belts took turns counting out kihon (basics). Kicking was done idogeiko (moving), so we went in then out of the water. The goal was to try to kick sand (or water) at the person in front of you. Some people were covered in sand, with it even sticking to their cheeks. I skipped out on the run along the length of the beach and back, because my calf is still healing,  Knuckle push-ups were done in sets of five, with five sit ups in-between.

Dojo, finally

First things first. Happy Birthday Mas Oyama! He is the founder of kyokushin and would have been 87 today.

I have been terrible worried about my weight these last few weeks. I have had no access to a scale and I haven't been eating right and no exercise to speak of. I actually looked into the mirror this morning and thought that I looked fatter. 

I think that being laid up has effected my moods. I have been feeling lots of blues lately. I just don't want to do things, even things I like to do and usually look forward to. Of course the blues in my case can be attributed to lots of reasons. The dojo is the place where I can leave all the worries at the door, and when I pick them up at the end of class, they don't seem to be as heavy. I have missed that.

So, tonight I went to the dojo for the first time in weeks. It was kata class, which is generally an easier class, physically. I showed up a bit late, hearing Michelle doing kihon. At first I wasn't sure if it was Michelle, but then I heard her signature giggle. It is infectious. Whenever she gets nervous or she messes up something, she starts to giggle. Make me smile to hear it. I had missed the strikes, blocks and half of the kicks. I jumped in during yoko geri (side kicks). 

Those Nasty "W"'s Retro Post: May 29 2009

I started this blog in January of 2010. I have a lot of journals that I have been keeping about my weight loss and karate. I thought I would share a happy moment that happened May 29, 2009

For those of you do not know ladies clothing sizes, let me tell you there are different categories not just size numbers. Where men's clothes, as is my understanding, go by the number, waist by length, or chest size with a long, short or regular, or even as simple as small, medium, large ect.

Woman's clothing has complexities. We have small, medium, large, and extra large, 2X large and so on, but it depends on the manufacturer. One can wear a size medium in Walmart, and a size x-large in Aeropostle. Then, in the same store, we have, misses, junior, and women's. Now all these sizes pretty much goes by two's and the sizes overlap. Misses, is the regular clothing size, usually you can find sizes like 8-10, 10-12, 12-14, 16-18. Juniors, caters to the teens, goes my 2's like 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19. Womens, signified by a large 'W' at he end of the size number is for fat chicks. We sometimes start at 14W, but usually 16W and goes up by 2's for infinity. Strange thing, junior size 17 is bigger than a woman's 18W. I think closer to fitting like a 20w. A person in a woman's 14w can't necessarily fit into a 16 misses. Hips and proportions are too different so a 14W is still too big.

Fat Story

Recap of this karate girl's weight issues: I have been a big girl all my life. I was born over 10 pounds. Always wore 'husky' as a child. Besides spring baseball, I didn't do much of anything but watch TV growing up. I thinned out some when I was a teen, by thinning out, I mean size 14, which really isn't thin, just smaller than I was.

After my first child, I ballooned up to real fatness. After I left my husband, i lost some weight and went back to size 14. Never did know how much I weighed at my biggest at the time.

New husband, more kids, up to 200. Quickly, i would lose a few pounds with a new diet, slowly I would gain more. New husband goes on deployment to Iraq in 2004, when he comes home, I am over 240.

This Weeks Lesson: Crutches Stink

Last week I had to go help out at vacation bible school. I was in charge of doing the slide shows at the end of the day. I did them last year, and it was fun and easy. This year, was a little bit of neither.  Well not with the crutches. It was very frustrating to bob and weave through dozens of children with them. The worst part, was that I couldn't carry coffee to the office to work on the slide show. By Thursday night, i was walking (hobbling was more like it) without the dreaded crutches. Everything was feeling better and looking good.

I wound up doing more stuff  than i should have. Because I am moving into a new place, i have all kinds of packing and sorting to do. I was doing my best to not do too much. Sensei said I should try and not 'look' hurt. So I worked really hard to lose the limp and was doing well at that. Maybe too well.