Business and Kata

I am in my office. I love saying my office by the way. I even say it with bold emphasis.

Anyway, I am, as I type, sitting in my office. Things aren't quite like I expected though. I was supposed to have a big piece of wood from my landlord so I can make a sign. Well when it snowed, he plowed it under. What I have for signs right now are just black poster board colored in with chalk pastels in the lobby. Shihan is going to drop off some wood he has in the dojo, but that will do indoors. Not for the big sign I need. I will make do. I am thinking of getting some canvas and painting on it with ink, then making a wood frame from 1X2's so it will be light enough for me to hang. Just a thought, still stewing on it.

No one wants a website or to actually pay for computer repairs. I did however get a couple clients for ebay consignments though. I am selling someones inventory of Mary Kay and someone would like me to sell their hand-crafted coffee tables. Tuesday I am going to his house for some pictures. While I am there I am going to do the "American Picker" thing.

Have you seen that show, American Picker? It is on discovery channel. These two guys drive around the country knocking on doors of junked out houses and climb ion and over the years of hording trying to find a pearl. They sometimes do.

Tomorrow I am headed to in auction. I am headed there with Shihan. He wants to see how it all works. Should be fun. BTW I am selling as PanOpticPC on Ebay

KATA
This week was very slow when it comes to karate. Sunday I went to the Bethel dojo for Sensei Kris's class. It was mostly kata. I was the lowest belt. As a matter of fact I was the only one without a black belt so because of that, she asked me which kata I wanted to work on. I picked Pinan San.

It is above my belt. It is generally frowned upon to practice katas above your belt, but I have been doing it for months now. The only full contact class we have right now is right after advanced kata class, so I go through all the katas until we hit black belt before I am told to sit out. I don't get corrected when doing things above my belt. Only those who need those katas for their next belt get corrected.

Sensei went over each pinan with me and their applications so I learned a whole lot. I really like her classes.

Dojo Kun
I have been practicing the dojo kun all week. Whenever I have a minute, I read it to myself out load. My kids can probably recite it by now. Sunday, we ran late so we didn't have a chance to say it. The snow all week has left me house bound so I haven't been asked to say it. It is all good. I need more time.

Weakness of Spirit, Mine

We will train our hearts and bodies for a firm unshaken spirit. 

That is the beginning of the dojo kun. The dojo kun, traditionally in Japan, is recited at the beginning and end of every class. In America, even in my home dojo, we only say it at the end of class, if time allows. One person will recite the dojo kun in parts and the rest of the class will mimic it. I have been listening to it for over a year and a half.

Last Sunday, I went to Sensei Kris's dojo. At the end of a very good class, she said that I was to say the dojo kun. 

Huh? Me, really?

New Dojo in Town

This week, Sensei Kris has opened her own dojo. She will be having classes in Bethel Maine twice a week, two hour classes. Tuesday was the first night and I couldn't wait to be her student. Well, okay, I already am her student. She was my teacher in beginner lessons and almost everything else.

Shihan was in a really bad car accident about 5 months before I joined karate. So for the first six months, I only saw him occasionally and didn't really know him except for the occasional full contact class. Sensei taught just about every class I went to.

A shout out to Modern Paleo

A big thanks to Modern Paleo for featuring this blog in their roundup!

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.