Bruised, Not Broken

I did something I normally don't do: Went to the dojo on a Saturday. It's not that I don't like the dojo - I love it. I love playing Aikido. It's just that Saturday's are family time. We go grocery shopping and run other errands that can't be done on the weekdays. It is no coincidence that my wife does not drive, so everything has to wait until the weekend. We also go out to breakfast on Saturday morning. There's this little place near our house where they know us and treat us like family. If the credit card machine is down, they say, "Don't worry about it. Pay us when you come next time."

I left home a bit after 9:00 and arrived before 9:15. I saw our regular instructor's car there. Alone. I parked, went in, and saw that he had moved the tables and was just starting to put down the mats. We finished putting down the 21 mats together, then came the task of putting them together using the velcro tabs. The mats are home made, and I guess there was some debate when they were first made, so they don't fit together particularly well.

Our chief instructor drove up from Chicago and taught yesterday's class. I think we had about 10 or so people on the mat. It was a really good class, except when I hurt myself. We were doing a kokyunage that ended with uke doing a forward roll. The white belt I was working with was having trouble getting the move down, but he had no shortage of strength. He is also about 6'4". I am 5'9". At one point he threw me. Just as my left hand touched the mat and I went into my forward roll, he did something to throw me off balance. I ended up being thrown sideways on to my back. I got up and went on with the rest of class. I guess it wasn't until we bowed out that I stopped moving long enough for my back to suddenly tighten up.

I've used both creams and those peel-off hot pads. I've feeling okay now, but I'm trying to move slowly so as not to aggravate anything. I hope I'm good enough to hit the mat on Tuesday. My 3rd kyu test is March 20, and I need all the extra mat time I can get. So far the worst part is that the arthritis in my hips and knees makes suwari-waza really painful, and difficult to get a good long step in to get behind uke like I need for my irimi-nage or (shudder) my kaitenage, uchi and soto styles, omote and ura. Five weeks to go. I am nervous.