Karate boot camp, returning to Kendo and more

Morning all,

Well, let me tell you this. Yesterday I started Kendo again after almost 2 months and my oh my, was it wondrous beyond belief. It’s been so long since I’ve held a sword; I really really really REALLY had a blast (even though I was just reviewing the basics).

And in karate, I’m hesitant to admit it to myself…but….methinks it’s all finally coming together, my balance especially. We did drills of front kicks/rechambering/back kicks and on my good balance leg, I actually didn’t fall over. I could balance! It made body sense! I could actually feel my muscles working (gasp!) together!

Now, this is probably rote stuff for most students…but coming to me after surgery and such, it was quite a revelation. I’ve been doing karate now for, what 7 months (minus the 2 months I was out of commission) and until now, it’s been me mentally telling my body, okay, do this move, do that move, etc. I’ve always been waiting for it to come together; a happy camper I am.

Additionally, we did boot camp in advanced class yesterday – 5 stations of jumping jacks, pushups, crunches, front kicks and heavy bag fighting. I was able to do the first session with my 6 year old son, and the second with my 10 year old daughter. Gad, I love that routine – it forces you to breathe calmly (if you’re focusing) and really builds up your endurance. Boot camp has to be one of my favorite activities at the dojo.

And last evening, I figured I’d give myself permission to sleep late (5am!) and do my P90x routine in the afternoon. So of course, I was up at 3am, pressed PLAY at 3:30am, and, well, you know the rest. I’ll blog about that later.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some super karate stuff!