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.