Lucky 13

Summer in my household is martial arts shutdown time.

Helen and I do lots of both short and long trips in July and August on short notice. This makes sustained training difficult, so I don't try.

I stop. With any club that I run, everybody stops. With clubs I'm just a member of, they keep going and I might do the odd drop-in.

Two months without training? Don't I turn into a lump?

Maybe, but it's also an opportunity. I direct part of that spare energy into running and such.

It is also an opportunity to do things outside of the usual. We spent a month in Victoria a couple of years ago, so I joined an Iado class. That is Japanese sword. Of course, in a month I really got nowhere useful, but it was very interesting. I'd love to do it again, and am glad I got to do it once.

Last summer I joined the University of Victoria Karate Club. As we were only in Victoria now and then, I didn't get there all that much. I'd say I made it to about a third of their classes in the warm months. It's a first-class club and they do excellent training.

So this year, my Karate club is down until September. I'll get to Jiu-Jitsu here only a few times.

We'll be in Vernon visiting friends. Wine, good food, and lots of laughs. There are also tons of martial arts options but I won't avail myself of any. Can't squeeze it in without missing out friend time. There is a big-deal Shotokan seminar in a town near Vernon that I will attend. Too much quality training squeezed into concentrated time to miss.

Again, we'll be back and forth many times to Victoria. I won't be signing up for the University club this year. I'm going to try something a little different that I've wanted to do for a long time. I'll be a student at the Victoria Judo Club. I'll be a bad student, as when we're there I won't miss a session, but we won't be there for many days in a row. Tons of gaps. I've counted, and it looks like I can make about seven classes in July and August. Anything I pick up, I'll cherish.

Add all of those together and it is about a month worth of stuff, spread over two months. Not bad, but very uneven.

September feels clogged in comparison.

I'll be teaching both kids and adult Karate classes. I'll also be a dojo-rat again at Jiu-Jitsu. They will have five days a week with at least something happening. I bet most weeks I'll be there every time.

It is my last year as a school teacher. In the old days teachers only retired at the end of June. These days we can go anytime of year. If it's a crappy year, and those do happen, I might bail early.

As soon as I'm out of the classroom I want to start a daytime class for older Karate students. That would make it... let's see.... 5+8... carry the one... 13 martial arts classes a week.

Is it any wonder that sometimes I take breaks in the summer?