It's just been one of those winters. I've felt uninspired and unmotivated. Something tells me that failing to get a bit of recognition from what I thought was a very important individual made me realize that I have some issues with ego. Just one of those learning things that I have to deal with.
I've been diligently attending my karate classes 3 times a week. I'm up for belt testing and promotion this week. I've got to perform 15 upper-body basics (punches and block-punch combinations), 9 kicks, 5 pre-arranged fighting sequences called kata, and proper falling/rolling technique. Each of the basics require 3 repetitions on each side, so while 15 basics might not sound like much, doing 6 of each one tends to be a little tiring. Each of the kicks will be done the same way, so instead of just 9 kicks, I'll be doing 54. After all of the basic stuff and kata, there will be 10-15 minutes of kumite, or sparring.
Kumite is one of those things that you just don't realize is difficult until you've been at it for about 2 or 3 minutes. I would put the kumite experience on par with running on the treadmill at 7.5 with a 8 degree incline for about 10-15 minutes. It's OK at first, but after a little while just breathing becomes an issue. Worse yet is putting all of that fighting after 20 minutes of basics and kicks.
My time is currently spent practicing kata or helping others learn the same. I'm at the dojo (training school) 3 nights a week for 2-4 hours and volunteering to help on occasion.
Not that I'm trying to neglect wo40.com. I'm making a conscious effort to write blogs more often and pull together some additional articles for the site. I'm still trying to figure out how to get video on the site and a few other things - podcasts, speaking engagements and the like.
Thanks to THB for recently reminding me that I've been remiss in my attention to wo40.com. I appreciate everyone who stops by to read. Be well!