Growing

The class just keeps growing. I can come up with about 9 people with White Belts. Usually, up to half a dozen Blue Belts attend as well. Room for more? Sure, even if there were already 15 of us.

Since Christmas several new people have come and tried things out. A few have not returned. Not their thing, I guess. Some have come back. Let's add them in to the totals. There have been 4 new folks. Tonight there were 2 more. If they return as well, our class has grown by 6 in under a month.

It was already pretty crowded when all of the Blues and Whites were present. If we all show up now it will no longer be 15 bodies rolling around, it will be over 20.

This is great. It means a more secure club financially. It also means more different people to practise with. All of the new folks have been real adults, which is another plus. Up until now I was by far the largest of the White Belts. Now I'm not.

It will also mean a lot of people reaching Blue Belt rank in the not too distant future.

This is also great. It has taken the most senior of the Blues several years to reach the first of the five levels they must attain before finally earning a Purple Belt. As the newer folks move into Blue they will enter into a functioning program of advanced training. We'll get to the next level much faster, likely in about a single year.

It is a healthy and growing class.

Splint em...

I think it's safe to say that my cold is a dud. There will be no missed workdays (shucks) or training days (hurray).

There is always a chance of losing training due to injury. I've been working to minimize this. My most vulnerable area these days seems to be my toes.

They keep hitting the ground weird when rolling. I swear they've broken a few times, and constantly have blue nails even without my applying polish.

Recently I've been taping my most vulnerable little toes to their bigger next-door neighbours. This has made a huge difference.

They have not taken an injury even once while secured.

The problem has been the tape. I started out with duct tape. To make it fit I cut the tape into strips and layered the pieces around the toes. Time consuming, and left lots of tape residue behind.

I then tried one-inch surgical tape. It applies much more easily and leaves no goop behind. The downside is that it just isn't tough enough to make it through a class without falling apart.

Now it looks as if the perfect product has presented itself. It is a sort of thick, very strong two-sided tape used to secure things to walls and such. I put a little piece between my toes. It seems to hold very well, and comes off only when I want it to.

I wonder if any other master of combatives glues his toes together.

First bout...

I am very excited that I have my first UFC fight in a little over 2 weeks time.

You are likely thinking that I must be insane to do something like that so late in life. Don't worry, I have racked up literally hundreds of mixed martial arts bouts. I've won way more that I've lost.

Of course, I am referring to the upcoming release of the new UFC fighting game, and my prior experience that was all on the game called MMA.

It is much safer than taking part in real events. I have never sustained an injury from my Xbox controller, no matter how violent the action.

My chair is well padded to prevent any bruising on my butt.

Cold?

It is my cunning plan to earn my Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt by the end of June.

When it's not being worn it can hang out with my Karate Black Belt.

An admirable goal, but it's very fragile. In July and August my attendance will get too spotty to test due to travel. If I don't pass the test in June or July or August I won't be able to get it in September either. I will be too rusty and have to brush things up. Let's call it either June or October.

That's quite a difference.

I have two requirements to complete first. I have to have done 12 Saturday Reflex Development classes. Should have this completed by May 12th. Sounds good.

I also have to have completed 69 regular classes. The date for finishing these will be May 17th.

This leaves me about 6 weeks to brush up anything that looks shabby and to do the test itself.

The test consists of 5 parts. Each is recorded. The video is reviewed by our instructor, and if it looks good to him it is sent off to HQ where they do the actual evaluation. It takes several weeks to do all of this.

Here's why I say my plan is fragile. Yesterday Helen sounded all slushy, and announced that she, "had a cold". Today, I have it. Can't tell yet if it's a tiny one, or of a loss-or-workdays type. If it's bad, I could easily miss a week of training.

So what? Test a week later. Won't work. Miss any classes and they don't come around again for 4 months.

I can make up missed classes with private sessions, if I don't miss too many in the next few months.

I might not miss any classes at all. It might be a nothing cold. False alarm?

But a nasty flu, a busted toe, nasty sprain, or any of a number of things and I'm irrevocably behind.

Not an earth-shattering problem.

I'm lucky my concerns are so petty.

JKA day

Today there was a workshop in North Vancouver put on by the Japan Karate Association. Helen and I left home at 5:30am so as to be on the first ferry.

Helen had me drop her off at a mall, and I toddled off to the gym.

It was well attended, but wasn't as crowded as I would have expected. The training ran for two hours.

It's remarkable how much I don't know yet. I've been in Karate for 30 years

The bad part was how badly my body took things. By the end, my pulled groin muscle was complaining quite loudly. My leg muscles were all quite finished as well, and will likely have rigor mortis tomorrow. Both back and neck are giving out warning moans.

No bashes or crashes. It wasn't that kind of training.

My brain did get overfull, which means most of what I took in got pushed right out again. I am hoping to remember the Kata stuff.

Then it was off to meet Helen at the mall. She's been having back pain lately, so we looked like the thousand-year-old couple shuffling through the mall.

We're home now, and I'm safely installed in my chair.

If I can get motivated, I just might get up to get a bowl of ice cream.

Suits

Everything has fashion. Martial Arts have the gi.

This is a garment, developed a little over a hundred years ago in Japan. It is made of white cotton and consists of pants, a top, and a belt. It often gets called pyjamas by outsiders.

You'd think that would be the end of it. Get one of these gi things and you're ready to train.

Train in what? How seriously?

The Karategi is made in any of three material weights. A lightweight gi would make a fine, comfy set of sleepwear. A heavyweight gi can almost stand up with nobody inside of it. Medium sits between these two. The heavier the suit, the longer it lasts, and the better it looks. Serious participants opt for heavyweight uniforms.

Like the Karategi, the Judogi comes in numerous weights. It is also held together with multiple layers and with double stitching. Even a heavyweight Karategi wouldn't hold up long to the pushing and pulling of Judo play.

I also train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Most of the people there wear Judogi. There is no real reason to do otherwise. There is, however, fashion. The Jiu-Jitsu version of the gi is generally similar to a Judogi, but cut a little closer to the body and a little lighter in weight. They also tend to have either manufacturer or association logos prominently displayed on chests, legs, or on backs.

I currently have two heavyweight Judogis, and one Jiu-Jitsu suit. I also have about half a dozen heavyweight Karategis.

I bet you couldn't tell them apart.

...but I can.

Ringwormie

Two more new guys were at Jiu-Jitsu tonight. The club just keeps growing. It's not unusual for martial arts classes to get new people. It is also common for people to move on to other things and stop attending. So far, the class in question has lost nobody since I started in the fall.

The instructor is talking about moving us to a new location. He wants more space somewhere we wouldn't have to share with other groups. The mats could stay remain in place. This would save a lot of time, and an incredible amount of wear and tear on the mats themselves.

If we do get a permanent spot, I'll start washing the mats. Whenever people do grappling activities, one of the biggest risks is of fungal infection. An example is ringworm. One of the best ways to prevent this is to wash the mats with disinfectant. We haven't had any problems, but it would be nice to lessen the odds.

The plan would also be for a larger location. With our current numbers it can get cramped during practise. Tight conditions are both inconvenient and dangerous. More room would be nice.

I actually hope we get too many people for one class, and that the instructor decides to run a second. Each class requires two nights of training per week. Why do I want this? Simple. I'd pay for and attend both classes' sessions, meaning I could train 4 nights a week.

I'm a bit of a keener.

Must keep busy

Everybody I talk to about retirement wonders how I will keep busy. Please note, these are all people who have not yet retired.

Let's see, I'll still be going to Jiu-Jitsu three times a week, and Karate once. I'll still go to Vancouver for Karate seminars. I'll still ride my bike all the time. I'll run a heck of a lot more.

I would organize some new Karate classes during the daytime. These would be aimed at anybody who doesn't work during the day. Could be retired folks, bartenders, wealthy folks, or vampires. We have a 5th Degree Black Belt who cannot teach in the evenings due to his job, and he loves to teach.

I imagine days that start with a bike ride to town for a cup of coffee. Maybe a run around noon. Everyday would have some kind of martial arts class. I would also read, waste time with the TV and the Xbox. I would do more with my wife. She likes bike riding, too.

All of this assumes I'm close to home.

We both want to travel. We've never been to Hawaii. We've been to Europe once, but spent the entire time visiting Helen's relatives and saw very little beyond that. Japan is also calling. So many places to go.

None of this happens while we're working. Some is just impossible. Can't pop down to Vegas when I have high school kids to teach. Can't have daytime Karate when working. Could run more, in theory, but I'm just too tired after work.

Keep busy? Surely you jest.

Perry

In Karate, there are two people I consider my Senseis.

I met Perry Foster in September of 1982, when he started teaching Karate in Fort Saint John. He was my first Shotokan instructor, and literally went that extra mile. He had another club near his home that was very successful. He only came to teach us when our other instructor skipped town. The round trip drive was over two hours.

I haven't seen Perry in over 20 years.

I met my other Sensei late in 1981. Sakurai Sensei was then the Chief Instructor in Montreal, and was about to move to BC. I have trained with him for many years, even after he moved back to Japan.

I reconnected with Sakurai Sensei last summer. He was visiting the area to teach a seminar, and I went to attend and train. It was wonderful talking with him again.

Just yesterday, I stumbled online on Perry Foster. We have been firing emails back and forth, and are already planning to see each other the next time I'm in his area.

How cool is that?

Cramp

Tonight was fun, but kinda hard on the old bod'.

For a change it wasn't cracked toes. All the thrashing around war repeatedly hard on the old neck bone. Not painful, but rather heavy -use wear and tear. Right now I can feel my neck saying, "Hey, old guy, you almost over did it."

Then the hammer fell. In the midst of a high effort event, one of my legs went into a mega cramp. The kind where the entire calf muscle turns into a rock-like spasm. It really, really hurt.

I got the stupid cramp to release quickly, but I can still feel it right now, over an hour later. The muscle is still doing an impersonation of stone. I have a heating pad on it to try and melt the tension away.

Probably everything will be fine by tomorrow, but you never know. Maybe I will have developed a jaunty limp.

I have declared this to be my worst Jiu-Jitsu injury ever.

I've been darn lucky.

Ed

Who is Ed O'Neill? He plays the patriarch of the clan on the hit TV show "Modern Family". His most notable role before that was as Al Bundy on the long-running series "Married With Children".

He and I have several things in common.

We are both old guys. He was born in 1946, and I was born in 1956. We have the 1, the 9, and the 6 in common. The other digit is only separated by one.

He married his wife in 1986, the same year Helen let me marry her.

Before he became an actor, he was a Social Studies teacher. I am a Social Studies teacher INSTEAD of being an actor.

He started training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in 1992. He earned his Gracie Black Belt in 2007 after 15 years of training with the head of the style, 9th Degree Black Belt Rorion Gracie.

I started training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in 2011. I train with a Blue Belt instructor, and have not earned any rank at all. If I manage to earn a Black Belt as quickly as Ed O'Neill did, I'll be a mere 71 years old, exactly one decade older than Ed was when he did it. If I do it, Ed will be exactly one decade older than me when I do.

It's uncanny.

Black Belt in Spreadsheets

My typical week of martial arts includes 4.5 hours of training.

In the first two weeks of January, I was short of that goal, and the third week I was over. This coming week I'll be over again.

Only one week in three has been typical. I do vastly over think and plan things like bike and run mileage, and martial arts training.

It may seem very rigid, but it never is. I figure it all out ahead of time, shoot for goals, and adjust for all the wee alterations.

I've even figured out how long it will take to get a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. If I never miss a class, it should take little over 10 years. If I gave up my life, moved to California and became a full time student, it would take 3 1/2 years.

I love spreadsheets. I used one to figure out the first figure. It then took only seconds to figure out the second.

Let's do it again with training being at home, but with one month off per year to travel and such and to be injured or sick. It's... eleven years even...

With any set of conditions these numbers make it very clear that Gracie Black Belts are hard to get.

I'll soon be a Blue Belt, that's certain. I'll get to Purple in 3 or 4 years if my body holds out. Brown is a possibility in the hazy distance. Black? A long shot very, very far off.

We shall see.

The good part is that I don't need a Jiu-Jitsu grading in order to get a Black Belt. I've already got one.

Reflex

Today was my first Reflex Development class at Jiu-Jitsu. I've had to complete months of "regular" classes in order to qualify.

They are held fairly early on Saturday mornings.

There are about half a dozen Blue Belt students and half that many White Belts permitted to attend. Today that number increased by two.

The other adult male White Belt was attending his first Reflex Development class, too. So who else was there besides us two first-timers?

There were two other students. One Blue and one White. What the heck is with that? That's less than 25% of those qualified to attend, not counting us rookies.

Anyhow, Michael and I were the new guys. It was smart of the instructor to have two of us start at once. We doubled the class's size.

Compared to the evening sessions, the pace is greatly intensified. It is also far less step-by-step. It was fun.

Afterwards, we were invited to stick around to watch some testing.

The exams are videoed and sent away to headquarters. There they are evaluated and graded. Today one of the Blue Belts needed to tape one of the six test parts necessary to earn a mighty stripe on his belt. That was very interesting to watch.

Summer 2012

This coming summer, we're going to be busy. We are planning on a bit over a week in Vernon with friends. There is also a huge choir festival in Powell River. Cruising? We've got a two-week trip booked to Alaska. The rest of the time will be divided between home and with family in Victoria.

It's all pencilled in on the calendar. If the current plan gets followed to the letter I will have a number of martial arts training opportunities.

It should be possible to do about a month's worth of each Karate and Judo classes in Victoria. I'm looking forward to that. Checking the dates I can expect to be home it looks like I might also make a week or two worth of Jiu-Jitsu.

Funny how I might get a month of Karate, a month of Judo, and a couple of weeks of Jiu-Jitsu to fit into two months of vacation.

It's especially remarkable when one considers that I'll be doing no training at all in Vernon, Powell River, or on the Alaska cruise.

The three martial arts I plan on training in are all similar to one and other in some ways, and yet very different. They are especially different for me.

By summertime, I'll be medium status in Jiu-Jitsu, hopefully wearing a freshly earned Blue Belt. When I visit the University of Victoria Karate Club, I am treated with great deference and respect for I am an old dude with a very worn out Black Belt. Attending Judo I'll be a fresh faced beginner. The very high and very low status positions will rotate when I'm in Victoria on alternating nights. White Belt on Mondays and Wednesdays and Black Belt on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A big danger in martial arts is that of getting a fat head, swaggering around and thinking one is somebody. I'm sure I've been guilty of it, but I try not to. By turning into a beginner every so often one is really kept down to earth.

Literally kept down to earth.

Sometimes with a crashing noise.

Whatzitlike

A lot of the stuff in Jiu-Jitsu is just good wrestling. By this I mean wrestling, if wrestling weren't totally concerned with putting the other guy on his back, and staying off of your own.

Some of the easiest stuff is the material that people find hard to do. For example, keeping your weight off of your knees. This automatically puts most of your mass onto your opponent. This limits his movement, keeps him really close, and makes it hard for him to breath. All good in grappling. This is hard and unnatural for people to do while at the same time being very, very simple.

Most of the rest of Jiu-Jitsu is just common sense codified. An example is; when in punching range, keep your hands up guarding your head. Simple and sensible.

The other third of Jiu-Jitsu is pure magic. Somebody is on top of you, crushing you. They also have a good hold of you, perhaps with a head lock. You twist this way, put this foot down, squiggle to the side, scoot scoot...and you are the one on top, or you're choking him, or his arm is about to wander off in an unnatural direction making snapping sounds.

It does all the stuff that Karate does not. Karate does all the stuff that Jiu-Jitsu leaves out. It is a fabulous combination.

Hours

So I've been doing three day of Jiu-Jitsu and one day of Karate per week. I've dropped one Jiu-Jitsu and added another.

So now I'm doing three days of Jiu-Jitsu and one of Karate per week. That's a net change of nuttin'.

In either case, it's 4.5 hours of class time a week.

I also go to a single, two-hour session of higher-level Karate in Vancouver once a month. To do this, I miss one hour of Jiu-Jitsu.

That makes my average about 4.75 hours of martial arts per week.

Does that sound like a lot?

After gaining my Blue Belt, it will increase to 7.5 hours a week.

When I was the local Karate teacher, I used to do 10 hours a week. Granted, the instructor doesn't have to push as hard as the students most of the time.

The point is, martial arts can be a big commitment. They don't have to be.

The other Jiu-Jitsu White Belts do 2 or 3 hours a week. The advanced people do up to 6.

People at the Karate class do 3 hours a week and do not attend monthly seminars in the city.

What number of hours is too much? If I ever get to train at the Gracie main academy I'll have access to 22 classes a week. I think just might be too much.

Rich soon

I have done ten private Jiu-Jitsu lessons. This has cost me $400. What has it gotten me besides a lot of quality, one-on-one instruction?

My goal has been to fill a few holes created when I missed classes due to illness. That, and to do extra lessons to accelerate my progress.

Altogether, my ten private lessons have gotten me to my current spot about 4 months earlier than otherwise. I have just qualified for Saturday classes. That is 16 classes in the 4 months I‘ve gained. Really, paying for 10 private lessons has gained me at total of 26 classes of instruction I would otherwise not receive, not just 10.

They will also get me to my Blue Belt 4 months early. That will gain a further 3 advanced classes per week. A further gain of 48 more classes.

I have paid $400 for ten classes, and gained 10+16+48, which is actually 74 classes. That's a net cost of only $5.41 per class.

That's much less than the $10 per class price for non-private lessons that I've been paying.

I'm making money.

I'll be a millionaire soon.

Switchin'

We picked up our new car on Saturday. Three workdays have come and gone since then.

Snow has hit, so I have not ridden my bike even once. I wonder, is it the snow or is it that my lazy butt prefers sitting in my lovely car? The car has a heater. My bike doesn't.

I have to resolve the car/bike balance. It is a week of changes. This is a week of changes.

It was my last private Jiu-Jitsu lesson this evening. It is also the first week where the techniques have started being easy. Tuesday I helped several other White Belts as if I were the old hand.

Saturday I am going to my first advanced Jiu-Jitsu class. That will clearly make me vastly awesome. It might be fun, too.

The new me after this week of changes sounds a lot like the old me from last week.

Smart me?

I'm officially nuts.

There is a half-marathon here early in April called the April Fools Run. I did it in 2010 just to see if I could do it. Ran it again in 2011, and it didn't almost kill me like my first one did. Fine.

I'm considering doing it a third time. Why? I have no reason to do it, and plenty not to.

If it beats me up too badly, I might miss a martial arts class or two. If you've been following this blog you'll know that I do NOT want to do that.

I should just choose to not run. Why do I feel drawn to running again?

A smart me wouldn't run.

There is also a chance that the run will fall on the weekend when Sakurai Sensei next visits Canada. If that happens, I would blow off the run and go to the Karate seminar.

A smart me wouldn't sign up to do the run.

Pity I'm not always smart.

I just hope I will be.

Milestone

On Tuesday I hit another Jiu-Jitsu landmark. I'll pass halfway on the road through my White Belt; halfway to Blue.

The next night it will by the end of my weekly private lessons.

Saturday will be my first reflex development class, which I've just become qualified to attend.

That's three little milestones in a week.

The next won't be until I've completed every one of the lessons twice. That will happen about the end of February.

After that, the next milestone is completion of the third time through, and reaching qualification to grade early in May.

The test itself will be the last.

I like there little events to mark progress in a greater goal. It's all very artificial, as are the belts themselves. Gimmicks. Motivational gimmicks.

They work. They are fun. They impose structure.

Slippery slope

I'm going to hell in a hand basket.

There have been four weekend days so far in January. I was supposed to run on all of them, but only have done half.

There have been two Friday Karate classes. I have only attended one.

Jiu-Jitsu? I've had 7 training opportunities, and have only attended 6.

It can only get worse. Today we were in the city and picked up a shiny, brand-new car. I don't plan on it supplanting my ride-to-work bike, but it is now possible. Up until now I couldn't wimp out, but now I can.

...and I've just polished off a big bowl of chocolate bon-bons...

Former Student

On Tuesday there were two brand-new students at Jiu-Jitsu. Tonight during line up one of them was standing next to me. He asked if I'd ever taught Karate. I confessed that I had.

Turns out he attended my children's class many years ago. We chatted for a few moments until things started.

This kind of thing is always a kick. Many hundreds of youngsters passed through those classes over the years, and I didn't remember him. He said he hadn't stayed with it very long.

Later I overheard him telling someone else that, "that guy used to be my Karate instructor."

Typically, martial arts people do not pry. When I joined, I told the instructor that I am a long time Karate guy. This was in response to his question about any prior experience. He asked for no details. A couple of people have asked polite questions.

"Did I still train?" "Is there a currently a Karate club?" "What kind of Karate?"

Nothing really beyond that. I guess about half of the people know I'm a Karate guy.

Although I have never mentioned my Karate rank, and nobody has asked some now realize I must be a Black Belt. I hope this helps them to understand just how good their Jiu-Jitsu class is, and how special their instructor is.

If an ancient Karate Black Belt wants to attend the class and learn, and is willing to wear a White Belt there really must be something there to learn.

It really is a wonderful class.

EveryDay

The last couple of times I've attended the local Karate class, the only students have been Wade, Justin, and Michael. It was starting to seem that besides myself and the instructor, this was the entire club.

What with holidays and such, I haven't been there in over a month. Turns out that the Sensei can't be there this Friday so she messaged me could I please be there to teach. No sweat, I agreed.

I put a note up on the club's Facebook page saying what was happening. Already, enough people have responded that I am expecting at least six to attend the Friday class. Some I haven't seen in months.

I like everybody who has been in the club. As we've gotten thin on the ground, I've been missing them.

If my schedule changes such as I'm expecting I won't be able to attend at all. This will be unfortunate, but such is life. Moving on, and leaving people behind.

If I want to keep doing Karate in an organized way I'll have to set up some totally new classes. In a way this will be being a traitor to the old club. Even if I set up miles away, it will likely cause some competition for membership.

Pity about that.

Probably wouldn't be resented if I kept a new club within the existing club's association, the ISKF. The problem is, I wouldn't.

I would want to do whatever necessary to get Ogawa Sensei to be part of the club. If he agreed, he'd be the club Sensei. He can only attend on weekends so one session would be timed that way. He might not agree but I really want him in. He is a great teacher.

He has no interest in being part of the ISKF. If he were the chief instructor, I'd let him pick how he wanted to handle association relations. I'd suggest he consider the JKA through JKA-BC.

If we go that route, my old association connections would get us perks. We would be authorized to do exams up to Brown Belt locally. But as I said it would be up to him.

I'd be willing to teach on the one or two other weekly classes that Ogawa Sensei could not attend. I'd make these be on non-Jiu-Jitsu evenings.

Let's say it all works as I am fantasizing. Karate on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Jiu-Jitsu on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

If weeks were 8 days long, I could even have an evening off.

Lightning progress

If you have read this blog much, you must have noticed that I can go math geek about things. That's how I know I can be able to test for Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt by Summer.

Today I did the same kind of thing for my JJ future beyond Blue Belt.

There are stripe tests for Blue Belt. To be allowed to do any of the four stripe tests, one must have completed 100 advanced classes.

At 3 classes per week, I might be able to go for the first stripe in about April of next year.

Trouble is, stripes don't seem to motivate me much. Entire belts? A much more interesting goal.

There are 4 stripes before each next belt colour switch.

Purple Belt? Should take about 3-4 years, assuming successful exams.

Brown Belt looks about 7 years off?

Black Belt? As I'll be 61 years old by the time I get Brown it might not be possible to get as high as Black Belt. We'll see.

My cunning calculations assumed 13 classes a month, with December counting as half a month (off to visit family). It also assumes no training this Summer or next. After that I'll be retired and Summer is just like the rest of the year.

I also threw in a single, private lesson each month. I like the odd private session, and this seems reasonable.

What I didn't take into account is just as significant. I assumed no illnesses and no injuries. There is no time put aside for cruises, visiting Europe, or Japan, and no time for Vegas, baby. This is most unrealistic, but the amount of time it too hard to predict.

Put aside 5 lost classes a year to injury or sickness, and 10 to vacations? What if we visit Los Angeles sometime, and I train 11 times a week? To simplify, I just left all that stuff out.

I hope I enjoy my Blue Belt, as I'll be wearing it a very long while.

Countdown

Coming to a bit of a milestone. Next week I'll pass the halfway mark in the 69 class requirement prior to testing.

I feel like I've been grinding away at it for a long time, but it's only been a few months. The math says I will get it finished on May 8th.

It is also required that a student attend 12 reflex development classes before testing. I will have completed 14 by then.

This is good. It might sound as if I intend starting my test as soon as possible after all the requirements are met. Not true.

I want to test before the end of the school year. The exams are all videoed and sent to headquarters, and it takes a few weeks to complete. Let's say I get at it in the middle of June.

This gives me over a month of training to firm up what I do and what I know.

I'll need that much at least. In the required 69 and 12 sessions, I'll be at about 80 and 19. More than enough.

This all doesn't mean I'll actually be ready to test, or that I'll pass if I go for it. Testing is like that.

I think there are currently three White Belts who will qualify to test before me. They have the most belt stripes. I've just hit my second. One girl has four, and her testing is already underway.

Stripes just mean a White Belt has attended a lot of classes. Missing classes can create holes that can cause an entire extra rotation through the lessons. A single missed class can cause an extra 11.5 weeks of training. I've missed two classes, and used private sessions to prevent those 11.5 week repeats.

I don't know if either of the two other White Belts ahead of me have holes to make up in their record.

Anyhow, let's assume they don't. The girl passes her current test, and so do the two guys. I pass, too. By Summer the club could have four new Blue Belts.

After me, there will be a big cloud of young guys testing. There is an age requirement, too. This will seriously delay some of them. You have to be 16 to test for Blue.

I'm certainly qualified that way already.

Slow

My start in Karate was slow.

My wife and I joined in the Fall, and by Christmas it was testing time. I was worried, but we both passed to our spiffy Yellow Belts. By the time training started again in January, the instructor was gone and the club had folded.

Tried a club in another town, and then a Shotokan class started near our home. Exactly one year after our start, we started again.

Again, Christmas was testing time and we got our second Yellow Belts.

My wife left Karate about then, and I continued on.

By March, the students were all expecting our next test but it didn't happen. Not in April or May either. June was the last month before a Summer shutdown, but still there were no tests. The instructor just never got around to it, and one doesn't pressure a Sensei.

Getting an Orange Belt should take about 6 months. I'd been in Karate for a year and a half, and was still a Yellow Belt.

During the Summer shutdown, I drove the 150km round trip to Dawson Creek to train on Sundays. At the end of August, I repectfully and politely asked Sensei if I could test. He said, "sure", and I passed.

After that, I was off. Did 3 belts a year until all the levels were done.

Orange Car

So we ordered our new car just before New Years Day. If they had to get us one from Japan, the wait would have been two months. The sales guy assured us there was one in the pipeline somewhere that he could get for us, "by the end of January."

Not a problem. To get the model/colour we wanted, we would have been happy to invest in a two-month delay, so anything shorter would be a bonus.

Suddenly, the right car popped up at another dealership, and they wanted us to buy it there. I contacted our sales guy, and he went after it. After a bit of dealer infighting, the second dealership is swapping it with a car at the first dealership. It's nice to be wanted.

I figured that would mean we could go get it next Saturday, but Helen asked in a text about tomorrow. The sales guy said if they can get it from the other place in time we could. Sweet.

Our two month car, which was going to be a one-month car, is going to be ours either tomorrow or next weekend, making it a half-month car.

And it even comes with a full tank of gas...

Lights again

My bike's handlebars have 5 lights on them, and a bottle holder, and a GPS mount, in addition to the 2 brake controls and the right-hand gear shift.

I have to do something about that, as I'm soon going to add even more stuff. Certainly need a mount for my phone and/or ipod.

I've just ordered a couple of wee bar things that attach to the handlebar, stick up from it, and add about 4 inches of straight bar. The cost in handlebar real estate is about an inch. Net gain is significant.

If I remove all my crap, except for the immobile brakes, bottle holder and gear control, two extenders will easily fit. That will give me about 8 inches of rail to put stuff on. I bet all my lights and mounts will fit on that, with room to spare.

Just in case, I've also ordered a similar item that attaches to the frame of the bike next to the handlebars. It adds 4.5 inches of straight rail.

That's a total between the 3 extenders of over a foot of rail.

Maybe I can fit on a big screen TV.....

Lights and such

I ride my bike to work about half an hour before sunrise. To make the trip possible I have a lovely selection of lights.

I've got six of them. All are LEDs, and are a variety of battery powered, and rechargeable.

I can see the pre-dawn road really well, and there's no way a car could fail to notice me.

All except the red rear light are clustered on or about my handle bars.

It wasn't easy to make them fit, alongside a bottle mount, and a spot for my GPS.

I plan on getting a sort of rack thing that goes in front of the handle bar and ads about 5 inches of mounting space. I can sure use that. Two of those could fit, giving me plenty of real estate for all my stuff.

What good is a hobby without stuff?

Tired

Things are smoother at the private Jiu-Jitsu lessons I go to on Wednesdays.

Even with one-on-one instruction, it has been taking most of the time for the instructor to teach me what the heck we are doing. It has all been new.

This has changed. I've done every lesson at least once. Now, although I need reminders of what is going on, it takes very little time to stimulate the old brain cells and be doing the lesson's techniques correctly.

We do more repetitions that I used to get when I was learning stuff from scratch. There is even time to go over extra material that either the instructor or I come up with.

Tonight, we also did a few minutes of semi-free sparring. White Belts just don't get to do that in the non-private lessons. It's the very fun. It reminds me of the wrestling I used to do.

The private lessons are also much more tiring than the regular ones. In the regular classes, about 1/3 of the time is spent watching demos. In the private lessons, the student is working all the time.

It's a good tired.

Fate

I was way too smart.

I was supposed to miss two Jiu-Jitsu classes over the holidays. That's how it looked on the training calendar. At my last private lesson before vacation time we did one of the ones I was going to miss. Sort of made it up ahead of time. The one we did was class number 20.

Well, it turns out that they didn't do numbered cycle classes on the days I was away, so I wouldn't have missed out anyhow.

Tonight was the first class of the New Year, and we started the cycle count again, with class number 20.

As a result, I currently have 18 classes I've done once, and 4 classes I've done twice. Lesson 20 I've done three times already. Foiled. As we roll along and turn all those ones into twos, that single three will stand out like a sore thumb. It looks like it will be a four before all the rest turn into threes.

I looked ahead to the next class I know I'm going to miss. This will be during Spring Break in March. One of the two classes I will miss will be....wait for it...lesson 20.

Thank you, universe.

Crowded

Jiu-Jitsu is filling up my week.

As a beginner, I have access to two classes a week. I've augmented this by having a private lesson weekly as well.

Soon, I'll be qualified to attend a third, slightly-more-advanced class. When this happens, I'll cut back a bit on the private lessons.

When I reach Blue Belt, I'll gain access to three more classes. At that point I'll drop the private lessons altogether.

Also, the instructor wants to get a free-training session going, which is another added class.

Soon I'll be going 4 times a week, and after testing will be going 7 times.

It isn't as much as it seems. All the classes are only one hour long. The extra 3 Blue Belt classes fall immediately after the White Belt sessions. It isn't really adding 3 classes, but rather turning three 3 one-hour sessions into two-hour ones.

It does absorb my Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will soon include Saturday mornings. The new free-training session will land on Fridays.

I have already given up one Karate class a week in order to attend the Tuesday class. Stupid conflict. The new free-training will knock out my remaining weekly Karate class on Friday.

This isn't as damaging as it might seem. The local Karate class is pretty low-level. I only attend to get a workout, and to maintain contact. Perhaps I should get a weekend Karate training hour going somehow, or maybe on Monday or Wednesday evening.

I'm enjoying being a true student again. I get that at seminars in Karate, or ordinary classes in Jiu-Jitsu.

It is important to keep learning. It seems to keep a mind fresh and strong as it ages. I am planning my Summer with learning in mind.

Any time we spend at home, and I can go to my 7 Jiu-Jitsu classes each week.

Probably we'll spend a fair chunk of time in Victoria, where I can attend two Karate and two Judo classes a week.

I also toy with the idea of a trip to Los Angeles, where I can train at the main Gracie Academy up to 22 sessions a week.

That's probably too much even for me.

Less miles

It's January 1st, and I didn't do the Polar Bear Swim. I ran instead. First day of the year and first run of the year. I went 10.58km, give or take a meter.

I like to keep an ongoing total of my distance each calendar year for both running and biking. It helps to motivate me. In 2011 the total was big enough to take me to Las Vegas....and back.

I doubt my total in 2012 will be as high. The bike miles should be similar, but the running ones less. I don't run as much when my martial arts training is in operation. There are plenty of small bumps and strains that can use the time to heal. Running is not conducive to this.

Soon I'll be doing 3 to 4 Jiu-Jitsu classes a week, and one night at Karate. The club is trying to find a better locale, and if they do they instructor wants to introduce a once-per-week randori class. That could make it 5 per week. Rasslin' every day from Tuesday to Saturday. That leaves only two rest-up days a week. Due to conflict, the weekly Karate class will have to go.

I expect to get my Blue Belt sometime in the first half of the year. That will add 3 more classes, but still leave Sunday and Mondays off. I'll be dropping my once-per-week private lessons permanently at that time. That leaves ONLY 7 classes a week.

But this entry is about running. What that all means is that I won't be running much while at home in Sechelt. I'll still run a little, but short distances and more rarely.

During Summer in Victoria, I'll probably run more. I want to train in Judo and Karate while there, so the running will be not be anything like it was this last summer.

Guess I won't run/bike to Vegas again soon.

Options

I am about to start another year of biking to work, but there is a small problem.

My dandy, electric bike will need a general servicing pretty soon. A couple of the gears aren't there, and there is a sticky sound in the rear hub. Nothing unusual, but soon it must spend a few days in the shop.

When this happens, I have to alter my method of transport. I can get a ride from Helen in our car. This works but lacks flexibility, and it lacks exercise.

Method two is to walk, which is much too slow.

Method three is to use Helen's dandy electric bike. The problem here is that it is sized to fit her. Riding any kind of hilly distance on an uncomfortably small bike is not very pleasant and can lead to scrunched hips or backs.

Method four is to use Helen's new, non-electric folding bike. For some reason known only to the bicycle gods, this bike fits Helen and yet doesn't scrunch me. However, the hill at my school is a killer, and I don't honestly know if I can ride a normal bike up its slope.

Method five is to get the folding bike I was planning on purchasing. Sadly, it has all the drawbacks of borrowing Helen's folder back in method four.

Method six is to ride my good, old electric until we pick up our new car. The new, baby-sized auto is supposed to arrive in about a month. The only drawback here is that it means I have to make my bike go a month before I get it serviced. She will probably make it just fine, and if she doesn't I can go back to any of the other options.

It's good to have options.