Allow me to take you back in time several weeks. Hop aboard.
Sep28
Category Archives: Jiu Jitsu
Aug11
Teaching girls to kick butt and take names
This was my third year teaching a girls’ self defense summer camp. I wore a boot for my not-quite-healed broken foot, but I made it work.
The last day was a flurry of fast-paced review, interrupted briefly by what the girls called “story time” for which they gathered around me in a semi-circle.
I’d already given a speech about situational awareness and how their level of alertness should go up as the comfort of their surroundings goes down. (And for goodness sake, don’t be looking at your phone.) This time I gave them real talk about danger from non-strangers and what to do if a relative, family friend, or future coworker makes them uncomfortable.
At the end, one of them said, “That wasn’t a very fun story.” So I added, “Then you grab their head and smash your knee in their face!”
They all shouted, “Yay!”
Not even kidding. It always amuses me how stiff and quiet they are the first few days. By the end,
Jul19
Yes, I am alive. And, well…
Actually, I am well. I just wanted to use that title.
What’s most occupying me these days is a two-week girls’ self defense camp I’m teaching at my kids’ school. I’m halfway through and loving it. The girls are so attentive and into it. One girl showed up on day one looking the picture of, “I don’t want to be here, but my mom is making me do this.” However, she perked up quickly and was smiling throughout class. Win!
One of my daughters is helping me and is a dynamo. “I really like martial arts,” she said, and it shows.
One day we did Taekwondo kicks. Not in a position to be doing those myself, I spoke, Daughter demonstrated. Then, feeling nostalgic, she stood on one leg and threw kicks of different sorts in all directions. One student said, “Go, Elise!” And we clapped. Whichever girl she partners with I can ignore because I know Elise will help her with the moves as needed, leaving me to watch over the others.
She’s also multi-talented. For July 4th, she made mini cupcakes. Starting with white cake batter, she divided it into three bowls and put red and blue food coloring into each of the two other bowls. So, not only were the cupcakes striped red, white, and blue (and delicious), she used tweezers (washed first!) to painstakingly embellish the frosting with tiny sprinkles.
Jul6
Writing and Martial Arts
The Writing Part
Anyway, here’s something funny and ironic. How many of you caught the typo in my last post?
“Despite all the work, I know stuff it still going to get missed.”
Wow.
Jun3
I guess it’s time I blogged something.
May7
Things that make me happy
It takes so little sometimes. Stuff that I’ve only seen on TV or in movies but then see in real life generally fits the bill.
For instance, chatting with friends at a restaurant while we waited for our table, I happened to look outside and see two guys greet each other with a multi-part handshake.
Who has seen this in real life???
Seriously, if you have, tell me. I’m not sure I knew fancy handshakes actually happened other than on a screen. It was not super complicated. Maybe five steps. Still. It counts. It was amazing.
Secondly, I sold books at a conference in a Marriott hotel. This dude rolled my boxes in for me. To my knowledge, thanks to TV, those carts are used for the rich and famous. I saw one–in action–for me.
Was I supposed to tip that guy? Shoot. Literally only thinking of this now. I don’t know how to behave like the rich and famous. Pretty sure none of them would snag a pic of this, for starters.
May2
My last Jiu-Jitsu class
… before my old schedule was up.
Did I freak any of you out? Talk about click bait.
But it WAS the last class for Blue Belt before he left for four years of optometry school out of state. There were lots of hugs, group or otherwise. Instructor, trying not to get teary-eyed, reminisced about Blue Belt’s first day, showing up in pajamas saying, “You teach Jiu-Jitsu?! Cool. I want to try it!”
Instructor said, “I knew he’d become a stud.”
Pirate bought him a farewell gift of one of the new green Jiu-Jitsu shirts, specific to our gym, so he won’t forget where he came from, I suppose.
It was sad losing a “family” member who was one of the earliest students since the gym’s founding in 2020. Surfer Dude, then Balloon Man, then Blue Belt have been there the longest.
But back to ME. I was sad too, okay?! It was my last class with the old 3-per-week schedule.
It was also a great class.
Apr24
I had a decision to make
Should I cut back on Jiu-Jitsu or not?
The biggest stressor in my life right now is an impossible deadline to finish book two of my YA trilogy. The editor said I should submit the sequel when book one is in presale. That’s possibly in September. Zero chance I’ll be done by then–with draft 1 and 2, maaayyybe, but the final, at least 20th, draft? Not a chance.
I need more time. There’s the job, the kids, the house, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, checking 2nd grade math homework, etc. Something has to give. You may have already noticed blogging has mostly “given,” as in, I’ve not been around much.
There’s also the book reading. I have three for which I need to write reviews. And my boss wants me to clean up transcripts of interviews she’s done and compile them into a book.
She and I were at a conference recently where, at the “VIP poolside dinner,” I met a woman with the most intriguing story that includes seven years of homelessness before a radical transformation. When dinner was over and everyone stood, I ran to her side of the table and said, “You are so amazing. Will you please be my friend?”
Apr12
Getting razzed in class
My Jiu-Jitsu instructor came over to help when I was attempting to do a move with Hip Rad Heroine (Mark’s HRH guess). Instructor said something then, “Did you just roll your eyes at me?”
“What? No!” I said, horrified. “I just looked at her and then back at you.”
“Sheesh. The attitude on this one,” he said with an expression of wild disbelief.
At first I was mortified. Then I realized he was messing with me.
Another time, Instructor was heel hooking my good ankle–the one not wearing a protective sleeve.
Mar27
And so I begin again.
Twice, my Jiu-Jitsu instructor has said to my partner, “She’s a blue belt now, so don’t take it easy on her.” I feel like that’s an indication that he’s proud of me. And that means a lot.
The first time was to Thoughtful One, who said to me, “I saw the video of you getting the belt. I’m sorry I missed it.”
“That’s okay. You were there for the important one. Well, the other important one.”
The second time Instructor said that was to Balloon Man. I spotted Balloon Man looking at me, then quickly up and side to side as though attempting to avoid eye contact.
Writing and Martial Arts 