3rd Kyu Test Prep

Our dojo has class from 7:30 until 8:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our habit is for the "higher" ranks (5th kyu and up) to help the white belts (no rank through 6th kyu) during the first half of class. The upper ranks train together during the second half of class, as do the lower ranks. Sensei will either demonstrate a technique for us to work, or call an attack and have us work as many different techniques as we can with that one attack. Our chief instructor taught on Tuesday, and our "regular" instructor, Thursday. Tuesday we worked on katatetori (gyaku-hanmi). Thursday we worked variations of iriminage, which also happens to be on my March test.

No rank through 4th kyu has the option of staying after class on Tuesdays to work on test techniques; upper ranks work on Thursdays. Since I was (almost) senior student on Thursday, I was able to stay after class on both days to work on my upcoming test techniques. I was especially appreciative to be able to work on my hanmi-handachi kaitenage, both soto and uchi, omote and ura. I have not yet worked on the ai-hanmi versions of the same techniques. I feel I have a lot of work to do between now and March.

I was able to make a "breakthrough" of sorts on my iriminage, though. I've finally figured out that if I really step behind uke, instead of moving to uke's side (duh), that I can get uke moving with incredibly little effort. It feels good to make such a simple change and have it work out so well. I only hope that I can repeat this the next time we work on that technique.

If It's Tuesday. . .

. . . we must be at the dojo. Yeah, well that was yesterday. Class meets from 7:30 to 8:30, so it's way too late for me to write when I get home.

Last night's class was really great. My body seemed to work really well, too. Our chief instructor was there, and I always seem to do well when he is there. I have no idea why.

It was also a very crowded mat. I think we had 13 students plus sensei. At one point I was uke and was thrown into a back fall with shihonage omote. I went down as usual, then hit the back of my head on another student's leg. I wound up biting the sides of my tongue. Ouch.

My toe is still recovering. I saw Mark for the first time since he stepped on me. He was glad to hear that he hadn't broken it.

After we bowed out, I stayed after to work on my test techniques. I worked on ushiro ryokatatori sankyo. I have trouble with the second step back and getting into the "safe place" just before I grab uke's hand for the sankyo. I practiced both omote and ura. I was getting pretty good at it.

I worked on my tsuki kaitennage. I need to increase my initial slide in order to make the technique work. I felt good about this, too

Finally, we worked on hamni handachi katatetori kaitennage. I practiced soto mawari, both omote and ura. I've been back on the mat for about 13 months, and for the life of me I don't remember working on this technique more than one time - and that was a long time ago. I know this is how we play Aikido, but it does not do much for testing confidence. At least I made all three techniques work pretty well for me last night.

Funny, there are so many times I leave the mat feeling frustrated. It happens more often than not. I don't care, though. I know my techniques work some days, and don't work others. It just feels good to have one really good practice day once in a while.

Today is my birthday. I received a special blessing at the Episcopal church we attend. The priest said that I was still young enough not to mind telling everyone how old I was. When I said I was 51, I swear I heard a gasp go up through the congregation. I guess I look pretty okay for my age.

That's Why

Each week I give my students a spelling test. Isadora also gets a weekly spelling test, and she's in the first grade. Yesterday she said that a boy who sits near her is starting to look at her paper when she does her work, including her spelling test. "And that's why he's getting such good grades now," she told Mommy and me.

The toe still hurts. Once I get my shoes on and walk around all day, my toe feels not awful. It's in the morning after I'm in bed all night that it hurts the worst.

Lots of drama in my class. This is nothing new. Every year I deal with "girl drama." Popularity and friendships have become huge by the time the girls get into fourth grade. I have two sets of girls, plus one that is completely on the outs. One set of girls consider themselves the "popular" girls. This group is all smiles to onlookers, but they can be very mean, even - or especially - to each other. There's one or two girls who consider themselves the queen bees, the rest (two others) are just hanging on. It's the queen bee (or bees) who say mean things to each other behind the others' backs. It's terrible.

The other group - another four girls - sometimes includes my daughter. Gabriella, as much as we counsel her otherwise, still sometimes tries to be part of the "popular" group. In part, I think, because two of her regular friends became extremely close because they spend lots of time at each others' houses due to a shared car pool deal. Fortunately, my wife and I talked to the girls' parents, and now the two girls have become more open again, and Gabriella and her other friend are once again close.

This makes me happy, if that is the right word. When Gabriella hangs out with the popular girls, she gets an attitude that Lu and I really don't care for. She is also very mean to her sister. When we get her away from these girls, her attitude improves. Considering that our school has only one class per grade, and it runs Kindergarten through eighth grade, she's going to be with this same group of girls for a long time.

X-Ray Anyone?

I was at the dojo Tuesday. It was a very good class. Our chief instructor was there - a fourth degree black belt from Chicago. I like him. He's a really nice guy. His Aikido is excellent, and he's a pretty good teacher, too.

After class I worked on my upcoming test techniques with a brown belt student. I neglected to work on my test in December, and now I feel as though I've gotten worse rather than better. I've got to get back up to my November form, then improve more if I want to pass. March will be here in a flash, and I've got a lot of work to do to get ready.

He was demonstrating how I could improve when he made a misstep. His back was toward my right side when he took a step back. His right heel landed on the smallest toe of my right food. Then he shifted his weight on to that same foot. We both heard the crack. Maybe it was a pop, but we both heard it. It came from my little toe. At first he thought it was dislocated, then we entertained the idea that perhaps it was broken. He felt bad. I said 'don't worry about it.' I was told that I would know more after I slept on it for a night, but everyone said what I already knew: get a doctor to look at it.

I had my lovely wife call the doctor Wednesday and schedule an appointment for me. My toe was swollen and very black and blue. I stoically went to school, making sure to wear shoes with a lot of toe room. It wasn't too bad, leading me to think it probably wasn't broken. I just had to walk a little slower and take smaller steps.

I went to the doctor after school. After commenting on the color of my toe, he manipulated it to see if he could get a reaction out of me. It only hurt when he pulled it out to the side, away from the rest of my toes. He didn't think it was broken either, but sent me to x-ray anyway. The tech took four x-rays, and we both looked at them on the computer. She zoomed in on each x-ray and we looked together. While neither of us is a radiologist, we both agreed that it didn't look broken - at least not in an obvious way. When I broke my collar bone, I saw the x-ray and it was painfully obvious where the break was. My toe looked fine. The doctor thought it was just a serious deep tissue injury, and after looking at the x-rays, it seems he was right. Could it be a hairline fracture? I suppose.

It's Saturday and it's still black and blue. It's still swollen. It still hurts a little. I should be back on the mat next Tuesday. I'll tape my toes together for a while and hope that no one steps on them. Class was canceled Thursday due to the snowfall.

Conflicted

I hate days like this. There is a weapons class this morning at the dojo. I am choosing not to go, although in my heart I feel I should. On one hand, class is supposed to go from 10:00 until 11:00, but it never fails that it winds up going until noon. If I leave at 9:00 to get to the dojo early to help set up, and if I stay after to work a bit extra, then put the mats away, that means going to class on Saturday is a four hour investment. Ouch. I love Aikido, but I've got other things to do today.

First, I have to pick up "The Thief Lord" from the library. My class is taking a field trip to see the play, and I need to do the book as a read aloud before we see the play. There is also an online resource guide I've got to look at. It's filled with activities the class can do while I read the book aloud. This will prepare the class to see the play.

I also have to finish reading a 139 page teacher's guide for the online health program I'd like to start the class on Monday. There are four or five weeks left of the quarter and I have very few health grades up to this point.

I still have to read 24 persuasive essays and grade them.