Polar Bear Swim

It's about time that a lot of people make New Years Resolutions.

I promise to NOT do any Polar Bear swims. Bet I can keep that one.

Should people start any of the activities that I do? Each has positives and negatives.

Running is a good one. Great exercise and a challenge to one's willpower. Sometimes it is very hard to hit that road and get the miles done. It can also be very hard on joints. It also needs serious footwear that doesn't last very long.

Biking isn't so hard on the joints and is a better method for actually getting places. It does require a bike, which is a major capital investment. Like running it can be hard to get motivated on crummy days.

Karate can be good exercise, but can also be the opposite. Joining a group that pushes too hard is worse than not joining any. I'd advise watching a class before joining. If they won't let you, just thank them and leave. Probably not the right group. Is everybody young? Not a good sign. Do they wear uniforms other than white? Leave.

Jiu-Jitsu can be a good choice. Any of the Brazilian forms are great for the young, but I especially recommend Gracie Jiu-Jitsu for the mature participant. It is non-competitive, which means nobody trying to really dislocate your bones.

If you live on the Sunshine Coast of BC, and are any of the adults who sometimes reads this blog, and if you might want to try Gracie JJ at the Gibsons school please give it a shot. I'll be there and be happy to be your partner. It takes a while to  get limber, and having somebody that really understands this would be nice.

Or maybe a nice PolarBear Swim is more your style.

Fragile

Plans are such fragile things.

This Christmas I'd planned to stay active by going for some lovely runs. It is now six days in and I haven't jogged an inch. A stupid nasty old cold has put an end to that idea.

In Jiu-Jitsu I am planning to complete my level requirements by next December. This means I'll need to complete 16 months of training in under 11 months. Not really hard, but there is little wiggle room. Anything could mess it up.

A bout with a flu, or an injury, or even a vacation with my lovely wife could cause an irreparable complication.

Not that it's really a problem. The goal is totally self- imposed.

So the fragility of the plan is really just an interesting aspect of the whole idea.

Must run

I keep myself centered with my physical outlets. Sure they have physical benefits as well.

With two weeks of Christmas vacation how am I going to keep active enough?

It isn't two weeks away from home non-stop. We will be back and forth to Victoria, and to Vancouver. We have lots of little trips to visit family and friends. We need to pop back once in a while to check on all our house construction. Our team plans on working on all the non-stat days, and who are we to complain?

The bikes aren't going with us anywhere, and both Karate and Jiu-Jitsu are down until the second week of January.

That doesn't leave me a whole lot of choice.

This is dangerous. Due to my usual level of activity I'm programmed to eat a lot. I bet over Christmas consumption will only increase.

Gotta do something.

The only thing left is running.

I'm quite used to this in Victoria, and know some routes in Vancouver, and lots around home. I always wake up long before anybody else. I guess that will be my daily run time. It's easy in summer, but this time of year the sun is still sound asleep. When home I can run later.

When in Van or Vic I can run through well-lit urban areas. I'm not scared of traffic, or night monsters. I just like to be able to clearly see the road ahead.

I've kind of drifted away from running lately. It will be fun to get back into it.

It just might help me stay centered, and to burn those Christmas calories.

　

　

　

Plain white suits

When I pick up a new activity, I usually get kind of obsessed.

The activity becomes a focus. It has been that way with computers, Karate, running, biking, and Jiu-Jitsu. I usually go a bit overboard even with activities that I only pick up in a minor way.

I like photography, and so have a total of 7 devices that can take pictures. This doesn't count Helen's iPhone. Maybe I'm not being fair to myself. Let's remove my iPod, which has a crappy camera that is rarely used, and my phone. OK, I only have 5 cameras. And I'm getting another for Christmas.

I've had a lot of computers over the years, but how many active ones do we currently have. Only 3, unless you include the two iPads.

I think you get the idea.

You'd think martial arts would be a perfect fit for somebody like me. There isn't any "stuff" to buy. Even running needs expensive shoes. Karate doesn't have even have footwear.

So just how have I managed to go overboard in Jiu-Jitsu? I take extra lessons, but what is there other than that?

I started last year wearing one of my Karate uniforms while I was trying the sport out. It worked, but wasn't really suitable once I'd settled in. The uniform wouldn't have survived all the grappling for very long.

The next time we were in the city I popped over to my favourite martial arts supplier to get a Judo uniform. My Karate instructor's discount made the price so attractive I got two.

By Christmas I'd added one of the official Gracie Jiu-Jitsu uniforms as well. After all, I like wearing a clean gi for each night, and I was training three nights a week.

The club's schedule received an overhaul over the summer, which meant a possible five sessions per week. Three uniforms just wasn't going to cut it. I bought another.

After a while actually going for five consecutive days per week, I found getting the uniforms clean fast enough was very difficult. The washing wasn't an issue, but the jackets need to hang dry.

I bought two more. Now I have a total of six, which works very well.

Sometimes we train without uniforms. When that happens we wear a tight, slippery shirt called a rashguard, and board shorts. Some people like wearing rashguards under their uniforms. It prevents floor burn. I tried it and like it a lot.

I now have six rashguards and five pairs of shorts.

I'm lucky we don't wear hats.

　

Mayan Apocalypse

Martial arts have ended around here until 2013. Year end is traditionally a time for looking back, and also for looking ahead.

Karate classes ended early this week, leaving only Jiu-Jitsu to wrap up.

The Jiu-Jitsu classes on Thursday were cancelled, and there was a big test for the 40 or so kids. I don't know how Shawn does it. They range from early teens down to pre-school age. Afterwards, it was a year-end party for all the students from every group as well as family. The food went fast and the place was packed.

Tonight we had the final two sessions. It was open mat, followed by Hapkido. I was there for the former, even though I've been down sick for the better part of a week. I went over my drills a few times, and helped a couple of the White Belts with their stuff. When the Hapkido class lined up, that was my signal to head home.

That's when I started thinking over the year past, and the year ahead.

A lot has happened in my martial arts world in 2012.

I started that year still attending Cheri's ISKF Karate Class. Last Christmas I was still a baby White Belt having only started at the end of September; not even allowed to attend the weekly Reflex Development class that the more advanced White Belts take. I was about a month into private lessons to increase my progress.

In January I stopped attending Karate altogether. In balance, I qualified for the Jiu-Jitsu Reflex Development class.

By April I was finished with private Jiu-Jitsu lessons, and by the end of the month had completed one fifth of my Blue Belt exam. I also launched a new Karate Club.

Most of my Karate Club were people who had left the ISKF club, or who had been former students of mine. Several were greatly overdue for belt exams. I pushed them, and by July most had completed two levels. Also by Summer, I had earned my Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt.

I stopped both activities for the Summer to be with friends and family. I did, however, realize a life-long dream to train at the Victoria Judo Club. It was very cool.

September had me back at both my regular martial arts. The progress of my Karate students has been steady, as has my own progress as a student of Jiu-Jitsu. I've started a schedule of private lessons again to enhance my progress.

My goals for the coming year are pretty ambitions. At Karate, it is all about the students. I'm trying to get us accepted as part of Karate BC and the Japan Karate Association. This year should see Cody wearing a Brown Belt, with others making similar gains.

In Jiu-Jitsu I plan on getting a stripe added to my Blue Belt, which would be more than 4 months early. I was quick getting through my first level, and would like to keep up this pace.

A Mayan Apocalypse would have ruined everything.

Filter

Technology isn't the problem. The solutions are the problem.

I teach at a high school, and things are very different than they were just a decade ago.

I have always been a big user of technology in the classroom. Back then it was desktop computers and the internet.

Now we have a great many more computers, still on the good, old internet. Most of the computers are now portable, and we also have a myriad of projectors and such.

The kids themselves now haul around their own computers in their back pockets. Of course, I mean Smartphone. Some carry iPads or laptops. Some have no such devices.

So we have access to a lot more devices, but what is the difference?

Way back when, one of the big issues was kids trying to use the school's internet to find pornography. Now they don't. If they want to find such material they can do so with their own or their home's access. I haven't found a kid looking for dirty pictures or video in years.

Sadly, our school is saddled with solutions to a problem that no longer exists. Our internet is filtered through automated censorship.

I wouldn't care if the filter didn't do anything at all, or if it actually worked to keep out the things it is supposed to. In reality the software is the laziest piece of programming I've ever seen.

Some sites are blocked, which makes some kind of sense. However, some of it is just ridiculous.

For example, educational mathematics sites are routinely blocked. The reason given is "gambling". Can't have the kids learning about probability at a math site.

News sites are also usually locked down. The reason for the censorship is "language". Such sites often have user comment areas, and I guess somebody might say something rude.

Saddest of all is how the software handles web searches. This only affects Google, as I suppose the programmers assume that there is no other way to search the internet. If someone tries a Google search that the filter thinks is naughty it will be blocked. Strangely, it always gives either no reason at all, or the reason is "pornography".

Sometimes the Google blocking works fairly harmlessly, but other times it goes insane, often for weeks at a time.

Do a Google search for "cat", and it gets blocked as "pornographic". Search for "school"; "pornography". Our school district's web site; "pornography". The web site we have to log into to do student attendance; "pornography". Any word; "pornography".

For most of our kids, this means that the internet won't work. If they can't Google then they can't use the web.

For my own classes, I teach them to use Bing when the filter on Google goes nuts. The lazy censorship programmers never bothered to set up their magic on non-Google search engines.

Being a schoolteacher I wondered what this all teaches the kids. When I ask them what they think it means, the only answer they have ever given it, "the government hates us."

Quite educational.

Bike no

I like riding my bike to work. It's great on nice days, especially if the sun is up early.

It's even cool when the weather sucks and the winter darkness is complete. Some of those days can surprise you. A break in the clouds, or a flash of scarlet sky can make it magical.

However, even when it really sucks it has a plus side. Doing it makes you feel tough. Look at me! I rode my bike through that crap!

Oh, yeah. It's also good for you, your wallet, and the environment.

Lately, however, I've been failing on all counts.

Our house has workers crawling all over it and I try to zip home whenever I can; as quickly as I can. I do so right after the school day ends, and whenever I have a spare block.

This doesn't work so well on the bike, so for two weeks I've been a car guy.

Don't get me wrong, the break is nice. The weather has been extra ugly lately.

And I'm not really all that tough.

　

Refuge

Something a friend said to me on the mat got me thinking.

Martial arts are potentially very dangerous. Why don’t more people get hurt? The armbars and chokes in Jiu-Jitsu; the kicks and punches of Karate. Why don’t people get hurt? They have to.

It’s really a matter of control.

Half is physical control. It is knowing exactly where each technique would cause damage, and the performing it just short of destruction.

An armbar rapidly applied could snap the limb before the person applying it has even completed the move. It is knowing how to hold the arm so as to not damage one’s partner. It is the punch that could incapacitate, thrown with frightening speed that lands almost exactly on the target’s skin. It is practised enough that it will land with perfect consistency.

The other half of the control is a mix of emotional and mental.

One must keep the dojo as a trusted safe place. Every person there must be confident that they can trust every one else.

But what if somebody hauls some baggage along with them from outside? Marriage issues, work troubles, or any of a myriad of other issues could cause a dangerous problem.

I haven’t seen this ever at Karate.

There are a number of rituals installed to separate the world of Karate from the world outside.

It is stressed that the dojo is a sacred place, even if it’s in a school gym. Karateka bow face into the dojo and bow whenever they enter or leave. Most instructors let beginners know that they are expected to leave the outside world outside, and the Karate world inside.

There is a class line-up, and a short ceremony at both the beginning and end of class. The structure doesn’t really matter all that much. The purpose is to give the students an official time to know when they are in training, and when they are not. It is a time to center oneself.

Sometimes I’ve been aware of Karateka who’ve been going through significant emotional upset in their outside lives. I’ve never seen it reflected on the floor.

I’ve many such friends who say that when they are at Karate, they are able to leave their problems outside. For them it becomes a refuge.

I’ve never needed such a refuge, but I think I know exactly what they mean.

A trusted safe place.

Full of violent technique.

Weekend days

In relating to weekends, I've always been more of a Saturday guy than at Sunday fancier.

Perhaps it's a function of age.

Yesterday was Saturday.

I drove to the neighbouring town, trained in Jiu-Jitsu, helped with Ryan's test, drove back and met Helen at our bank for a meeting, and then drove to three places to look at faucets and bathroom fans. After that, we dropped off stuff at the Salvation Army and perused their store, and then visited the used bookstore. Next was a quick stop at the bead store, and I dashed off to teach the Karate class.

I was finished there by 2:30 pm.

Oh, yeah; we went out for dinner later.

Today is Sunday, and I’m doing nothing. No stores, nor banks, nor teaching, and not training. Just nothing. Of course, something might pop up. Something could just as easily not pop up.

Right now on the big TV, some people in China are unravelling silkworm cocoons; in realtime.

It’s Sunday.

　

Boxing Gloves

At Jiu-Jitsu we sometimes put on big boxing gloves and test each other's technique.

One person is gloveless, and uses their best technique. The other plays a punching opponent.

It starts slow, and over time we ramp it up.

Everybody started having trouble covering the ground and clinching against punching opponents.

The instructor was unhappy, and made us work on it a lot more. He had trouble, too.

I had trouble at first, in spite of my Karate training. Now I'm more relaxed, and it's pretty easy. I get hit sometimes, but usually not. Somehow I am blending the two arts.

I can easily manage distance so that the punches miss, but not by all that much. I then zip in. Karate people are known for fast footwork and against these Jiu-Jitsu and Hapkido folks it seems true. They are mostly moving with a shuffle step similar to boxers.

When I'm the puncher, I find the others can all handle looping, hooking punches. However, straight punches cause them all sorts of difficulty.

The Jiu-Jitsu solution to the problem is limited. It doesn't seem to work well for the others, and I've pretty much abandoned it. Not totally, of course. That would be silly, but have blended it onto what I already do.

Nothing wrong with a subtle mix.

Too Polite

Those guys are crazy.

Last night attendance at the Blue Belt class was really good. There were five students present, all technically of the same level.

But none really were.

One has already tested for the next level up, and is waiting for the results. I'm at the opposite end, having only completed a small portion of the curriculum.

In between are the other three. Two fairly close to the top, and one a little ahead of me.

How do you teach to that?

The instructor is attempting to teach the appropriate lower level material with everybody doing it, and then switching to the higher stuff for the top guy and any of the others that had already done the lower techniques. He's trying to squeeze in two nights of instruction into one class and isn't happy with the result.

He also is trying to not bore those that have already learned the lower material by having them just repeat it too much.

Of the four low Blues I'm in the best situation. The rotation is always exactly the class I need in the correct order. One of the other guys expressed his desire to stick to the lower material to help him prepare for his eventual exam, even if he's done some of it before.

The other two are teenagers and either have no opinions, or are unwilling to state them out loud. Maybe they are happy to stick to the low stuff, too. They just won't say. Too polite, I guess.

It isn't always good to be polite.

　

Modern PE

Once a year at my school, for a month, the PE department runs a dance unit. All the classes do it. No basketball, no volleyball; all dance.

It is hugely popular with the kids.

I like to dance.

Helen and I took lessons for years. It all took a long time to sink in, but it did. After a while, we were taking the classes just to have an opportunity to dance.

We go to community dances fairly often, and boogie our shoes off when we go cruising.

It's funny how none of my current hobbies were part of my own student experience of PE.

Not exactly accurate.

One time, for a couple of weeks they made us square dance. Out of all the types of dancing in the world, they chose square dance. I know many people like it, but we didn't. It was poison for teenagers in the early 1970s.

How about martial arts? I've been doing them since 1981. That was 7 years after I graduated from High School. Why didn't I find them earlier? A couple of years before that single square dance unit in PE, they did a week or so of wrestling. That was it. Over a decade of doing PE, and only a few hours of wrestling.

You'd think if I were suited for martial arts that this would have acted as a catalyst. Why didn't it? They only showed us Greco-Roman Wrestling. Greco-Roman is the square dance of the combatives universe. You try and make the other guy fall down using mostly strength. There is skill involved, but to untrained kids it is just strength. The weaker half of the class hated it, and the stronger half liked it. I was weak. We didn't even get to try Freestyle, which is much more speed and brains based.

I also bike a lot now. Biking got even less attention than wrestling or square dance. We never, ever did anything in any subject area relating to bicycles in any way whatsoever.

I am a runner these days. Fairly often they used to make us run. I liked those PE classes, but they were not common. Usually we were grouped into teams to propel some form of ball or puck towards some sort of goal or hoop. Definitely the emphasis was on team/ball sports.

On exactly one occasion we were allowed to pick from a variety of PE activities. One of these was to go for a run. The run they designated was the least-popular of the routes. It went for about a mile, then straight up Mount Tolmie, and then back. It was a gut buster. It was as if they wanted to punish anybody who didn't select a team event. I chose it gladly; one of only a handful of kids. When we got to the mountain, I was the only one to actually run it.

Things are so much better now.

There is the wonderful dance unit. Sometimes the bikes come to PE. There is a weight room. There is a small climbing wall. There are whole courses dedicated to outdoor activities, like camping, skiing, and caving. They often have wrestling units that cover the several variations of the sport.

This year they've added archery.

　

　

　

　

　

No Roof

We don't have a roof.

Actually, that's inaccurate. We have a lovely, brand-new, red metal roof. It's just all piled up in the yard. Our old roof is in a big garbage bin beside the carport.

We do have great, huge tarps pulled over the house in case of rain.

It's all going very well.

But that's not all.

Our big deck had stupid railings that merged with the roof in a big way. To do the roof we had to do the deck. It also had a surface that pulled water into the house sometimes, and was ugly besides.

Therefore, we had some other guys ripping off the old railing, and leaky surface. A new surface is going on soon, and we will be getting aesthetically pleasing railings.

The upstairs bathroom was showing some evidence of mold, so are having that gutted. No point in just removing and replacing drywall in a 25 year old bathroom. There will also be new paint, and tile, lighting, fan and floor.

Helen wanted to do the minimum in the bathroom. I brought home some interesting flooring samples, and now she’s hooked. We went back to the tile place, and she found a floor she loves, and killer shower tile.

She also wants to do the floor in the kitchen, which is more than fine with me.

She also asked if I wanted to do anything to the other bathroom. Strangely, I had to be the one to put on the brakes. I really don’t want to be without a complete, functioning bathroom while work is being done. We can do that one some other time.

We don’t change a thing for 22 years. Not even a kitchen floor that we both hate.

One must-fix roof, and suddenly everything is on the table.

Funny how that works.

One-on-One

Karate doesn't work for me on Saturdays, but Jiu-Jitsu is starting to.

At Karate, there were only two people present. One was a White Belt, and the other was me. He ended up getting a private lesson. I wouldn't mind at all, but that's how Saturdays usually run lately. This is not efficient.

At Jiu-Jitsu, it was my first private lesson in almost a year. It was the start of my accelerated training plan.

The lesson went really well. I feel confident I can now work on the material by myself and properly learn it.

The instructor had to leave right after my lesson, and the guy that was supposed to be there for the open mat time didn't show up. I agreed to lock up at the end so the instructor wouldn't have to come back later.

Saturday open mat time is usually pretty dead. There were three of us there. One was a Hapkido Orange Belt, working on his stuff off to one side.

I offered to do whatever the Jiu-Jitsu White Belt wanted. I was somewhat surprised that what he wanted was to free role. I agreed, as long as he would agree to take it easy. I know I wouldn't hurt him, but I don't need any of my old bones cracked.

Off we went. Like most people inexperienced in rolling, he was far too tense and hyper. In no time he noticed he was risking exhaustion, and geared down a bit. To keep it light, I'd stop the action every so often and show him something. Then back at it. We kept going for the better part of the hour. It was nice and playful, which is part of the Gracie philosophy.

I like seeing patterns in things.

Today I was a one-on-one teacher, and a student, and a training partner. It was three hours of training, with one other person at a time.

　

　

Finish Line

There were only 3 people at open mat time today. Only the instructor, me, and Amelia. The test process for Amelia began.

Amelia and I started off reviewing all of the mount test section. It was a just little last minute brushing up, and sequence familiarization. Then it was "go" time.

The instructor acted as her partner during the taping. We had a stationary camera all set up, and I called out the technique order.

She finished in under the 5 minute maximum, and it looked good to me. The video will all be reviewed, and if good enough then that section is complete. It was the first try, and it probably is a keeper.

Then, she was encouraged and gently bullied into attempting another section. As she just couldn't pick, the instructor selected the standing section. She asked to review a few of the techniques, and then it was time to record again.

After a momentary flub with the camera, it went quite smooth. Most likely it is another successfully completed section.

She has been on her road to Blue Belt for 15 months, and is nearing the finish line.

Finish lines are an illusion.

I have been on my road to Blue Belt Stripe 1 for six months. Tomorrow I pick up the pace.

I have a private lesson booked. I will be attempting to complete an extra technique every few weeks for the next year, largely on my own. I will take what I learn at the private class and then drill for several weeks. I want to do this for most of 2013.

I am trying to shave four months of the time it will take me to reach Blue Belt Stripe 1. This would put my promotion one year away.

When Amelia passes, she will start attending the Blue Belt classes. There she will experience much more sophisticated technique, as well as several types of sparring. It really changes everything in a very positive way.

When I pass, a year or more from now, the change will be much less dramatic. I will merely start work on the next level of Blue Belt material.

Again, it is more of a mirage than an actual finish line.

Pass where the finish line was, and you see that it's actually still far in the distance.

I can see it there, shimmering.

　

New Test

Two of my White Belt Jiu-Jitsu buddies are supposed to start testing tonight; Ryan and Amelia.

It can be a very long process. For me it took almost two months. Back then we did a maximum of one segment per week, and not every week. This time the instructor says he wants to just power through. It will still take a week or two.

It may seem weird, but I'm more nervous about their testing than I was about my own.

When a White Belt tests, they go through all the techniques in 5 five minute segments. They need a partner for all of it. The partner can be anybody, but the better they are the better it all goes. Another White Belt wouldn't be a good choice.

We pair them with a Blue Belt. The more experienced the partner is, the better. For my test I had our Instructor for half, and the number two guy for the other half.

I'm nervous because the way Blue Belt attendance has been lately, the partner might just be me.

When I screwed something up during my own test, we did it over. It was my fault. No big deal. My partners didn't make a single error.

If I blow something during Ryan or Amelia's test I'll feel horrible. I'm sure they won't think twice about it, but I will.

It isn't likely. Probably more experienced Blues will be there. Even if not, we'll practice a few times before the test, and it will all be fine. Even if I do make a mistake, we'll just laugh and start the taping over again.

　


　

Blood and Toes

So here I am, a very old man in martial arts terms. 56 years of age, and new to Jiu-Jitsu. I have trained for decades in Karate, but it's not very similar.

Relating to age and health, are there any issues?

There are a few.

They aren't the ones I was expecting. With all the rolling around and grappling, I thought back strain would be the problem. No back injuries at all, of any kind. In fact, I've had less back trouble in the last year than I've had in a very long time. I'd say grappling is actually good for backs.

My first weird problem happened early on in my training. I started injuring my toes, and re-injuring, and re-injuring again. I assume some of them were breaks, but didn't bother getting it checked. Taping injured toes to healthy ones helped a lot, and prevented injury. After a few months this passed.

Nobody else experienced it, or had ever heard of it. I assume it was caused by all the interesting twisting we do that my old feet were not used to. They got used to it and the toe broken toes stopped happening.

I can't move as fast as the young people, but can move fast enough. It isn't a problem.

My scrapes and bruises seem to last longer than other people. This is a classic characteristic of aging.

More annoyingly, the skin on my face and head seems to injure more easily than younger people. This is also a classic aging phenomenon. There is a lot of abrasion during free rolling. Sometimes other people get a little discolouring or bruising. My skin starts to bleed. It then is unable to heal completely by the next session, and so bleeds with even greater ease.

I've started trying a layer of liquid bandage over my facial weak spots as a preventative; with a bandade over top of that.

That seems to be all the issues so far. I can do everything, and don't end up all hobbled.

I've taken no injury since I started that prevented me from training. No impact damage, nor sore backs, nor joint issues.

There was the short-lived period of recurring toe injuries that were handled by taping them up and continuing. I'm a bit of a bleeder, but a few bandades and liquid bandage helps there.

So far that's it.

Grappling is fine for old folks.

Pace

September of 2014 is when I would have been earning my first Blue Belt stripe.

Last year I chose to accelerate my progress through White Belt. I moved my Blue Belt promotion up by about 5 months. It wasn't hard, or terribly expensive. In fact, it was fun.

April of 2014 is when I will actually be able to earn my first stripe.

I have decided to accelerate my training again. By coincidence, it looks like it will be realistic to shave 5 months off the training time again.

December of 2013 is my new target testing month.

I'll then be 10 months ahead of where I should be.

I wonder if I'll then continue to try and shave 5 months off all my levels.

It seems to be silly to push towards distant goals, but why not? Rushing through White Belt was more fun and challenging than not doing so.

Accelerating at my current level is much more challenging. If it also turns out to be fun, why wouldn't I do it?

The danger in martial arts isn't burnout. The danger is stagnation. Some people call it reaching a plateau. The danger is those times when progress just isn't obvious. The result can be frustration or boredom. It is hard to keep doing an activity that is both boring and frustrating. We often lose people when plateaus occur.

I haven't been at Jiu-Jitsu all that long; just 15 months. No sign of stagnation. There would have been if I hadn't pushed ahead at White Belt.

I've allowed no chance for stagnation to worm its way in, or for frustration.

Of course, if my plan turns out to be too ambitious I might prove unable to pull it off. If that case I guess I'll bail, and carry on as before.

There is certainly nothing wrong with a steady pace.

The only facet that intimidates me is financial cost. The odd private lesson isn't expensive, but I'm about to move into retirement. That means a much reduced level of income. I'll have to play that by ear.

Anyhow, I'm excited to be doing this now. The instructor has OKed my idea, and I'm hoping to get started this week. That would mean one down before Xmas, after a private lesson and three weeks of self-drill.

Time to pick up the pace.

Black Christmas

I'm pretty lucky with my holiday shopping list. I have very few people to shop for.

This is good because I'm not a particularly gifted shopper. If I had to get a gift for somebody named Sally, and there was a store called, "Things Sally Wants," I would pick out the one item there that Sally doesn't want.

This year I thought I had a good idea, and I went after it. The order arrived today, and they let me know on my cell. We arranged the delivery time for when I would be home a couple of hours later. It all seemed perfect.

It arrived before I was there, and it all turned into a huge problem. Lovely.

Now the gift is tainted, and the recipient is angry with me. I understand as it was my responsibility.

A lovely backfire.

Usually I stick to buying exactly what I'm told, at exactly the correct store, in exactly the right colour. I guess this is wise.

　

Warm it Up

I've never been a cold weather person. I don't mind summer rain, but the cold, dark month stuff kills me.

I like warm, and I like hot even better.

At the start of the cold months my back muscles sort of tighten up, and they don't really relax again until it's warm. I can induce short bursts of relaxation in between, but it's always short lived.

Some of my activities suffer. I run just about daily in the spring, summer, and early fall, but only rarely beyond that. I continue my bike rides to work regardless of the weather, but my recreational riding is on a schedule similar to my running.

Karate and Jiu-Jitsu are both indoor activities and continue unaffected.

Next year, for the first time ever this pattern will be broken. We will be spending one of the dark months in Los Angeles.

The main reason is for me to train in Jiu-Jitsu, but it means so much more.

Right now it's a rainy 7 degrees here, and will reach a lousy high of 8. In LA it will reach 17 and it's not raining. Tuesday it's going to hit 21. To me it will feel like summer.

A month of summer in the middle of winter. That will be sweet.

It will also be great spending that much time in a place I really like. Over the years we have seen many great sights in Los Angeles, and done wonderful things. The place is just so big and fascinating. Being there for an extended time will allow us to revisit our favourites, and to discover new ones. Never seen the La Brea Tar Pits. I've wanted to for years. Haven't been to Hollywood in decades and really should.

Don't even get me started on Disneyland. Many people poo poo it altogether, or dismiss it as kid stuff. They are wrong. Every inch of the place is a miracle of design. It is a massive work of art. If I were not allowed to go on any of the rides, I'd still love being there; just being there. Fortunately, I am allowed to go on the rides.

A month of Hollywood, Disneyland, Jiu-Jitsu, and warm weather, and Helen.

I just hope it's a month plus travel time, rather than a month including travel time.

Every day will be precious.