Role Reversal

Tomorrow is test day at the dojo. I am not up for testing as I don't have nearly enough time in to even think about my next rank. I will, however, be participating in the test. This will be my very first time serving as uke for another student. I must admit, I was both flattered and slightly anxious when C asked me to be her partner for her 5th kyu test. I figured, 'Why not?' There's always a first time. It might as well be now.

I'm also bringing the gigantic bottle of hand sanitizer I got at Walgreens last weekend. Another form of self defense. Ethyl alcohol-style.

Self-Defense

Today, Doran Sensei taught an all-kotegaeshi class. From all kinds of different attacks - same side wrist grab, opposite side wrist grab, double arm grab, punch and side strike.

What stuck with me though is what he said right at the end of class when we had bowed out and were gathered in a circle. Self-defense is not just defending against a strike. It's also about defending against sickness. So, bring some hand sanitizer into the dojo and wash your hands and wrists before stepping on the mat. Sneeze into your sleeve, if you have to sneeze. Don't touch your eyes, nose or throat with your hands.

Don't get sick. Don't make others sick.

That's also self-defense.

Wise words.

Three Flats and A Snake

It was too good not to blog about this. My friend Debbie and I went for a bike ride on Sunday. First, she was about a half hour late because when she walked out to her bike to load it into her car to drive over here, her rear tire was flat. With no spare inner tube, she took it to the bike shop down the street and had them change it for her. I had to pump up my tires which were very low due to disuse.

We hit the trail. About 1.5 miles in, I spot something small, black and wriggly in front of me. As I tried not to swerve and just keep riding, I realized, "IT'S A SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" OK, it's a snake the diameter of a Twizzler, but "A SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" Thirty seconds after I recover my breath, Debbie slows down saying, 'I feel paranoid but I think I hear my tire.'

Oh, her tire was just fine. Mine, on the other hand, had two big punctures in it. Flat number two. Part of me was expecting to see a snake fang buried in the rubber but, fortunately, that was not the case.

We started to walk back somewhat dejectedly when I realized that I had all the necessary bits for a tire change. Why do I lug these things around if I'm not going to use them?

So...

We are women, hear us ROAR! We changed the tire! On a road bike! With a little bitty hand pump to pump up the new inner tube. Considering I hadn't changed a tire on my bike in two years, I was pretty darned proud of the two of us.

In celebration, we turned our bikes around and rode.

When we got back home, we had a nice glass of water and then it was time to say goodbye. As Debbie wheeled her bike out to her truck, I looked down at her front tire.

It was flat.

Summer is Here!

Yup, today it finally hit the 90s at lunchtime. Time to start running earlier in the day. I can't believe there was a time that I'd go our running in the full sun at noon when it was 95 degrees outside. It's a miracle I didn't collapse of heat stroke along the way.

Summer camp time is here, no more homework, no more school books! Hurrah! Sometimes I don't know who dreads homework more, the kids or the parents. It's certainly nice to have a break for the next 10 weeks. Part of me wants to give D a break from all things school related and part of me wants him not to lose what he learned in third grade. His teachers told me at the end of the school year, "Expectations in fourth grade are very high." Good grief! How could they get higher than in third grade? What are they going to be doing, calculus?

We have grand notions of a daily journal and a half hour of math here and a half hour of reading there but I don't think I'm going to push it any time soon.

Sometimes, summer vacation is meant to be just that: V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Outdoor Art

Here are a couple of pictures I couldn't resist taking or sharing. With a few hours to wander around Berlin during the conference, we zipped by the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Unter Den Linden and Checkpoint Charlie. There are lots of pictures all over the 'net of these sights. Then we turned a corner and came upon this:







It was like something out of a fairy tale. like someone had rolled up a house and everything in it and tied it up with twine. If you can see the umbrella on one side, you can guess at the size of this ball.

Pretty cool. Kind of hidden. Not your typical sight.

A Sunday Flower

Just recently, I was in Berlin for a conference. Aside from attending the meeting sessions, there was a little time to sightsee. The Botanical Garden was my favorite spot and this little flower in the huge greenhouse is my favorite picture out of all those I took at the garden.

Enjoy!

My Test on Tape

I came back from a week away at a conference to find a CD with my 3rd kyu test in my mailbox at work. I eyed it with a hint of apprehension. Later that night, I popped it into my disc drive and had a look.

Impressions:

1. "Man, this was longer than I remember it!" The footage lasts about 20 minutes. No wonder I was pretty winded by the jiyuwaza at the end. In my mind, there was no time. There was just the test.

2. I skipped through most of the jo techniques because I still can't face looking at them. I did see the last couple of techniques and they don't look as bad as I feared.

3. I do kind of look like I know what I'm doing. Kind of.

4. More practice.

5. I look like I'm having fun.

Thanks to one of my friends who always brings her camcorder for tests, I now have copies of my 5th, 4th and 3rd kyu tests. Something to look back on in the future. Something to learn from.