Tag Archives: fitness

Jul7

The birth of Taekwon-Jitsu!

Posted on by
Standard
The birth of Taekwon-Jitsu!

One of my daughters wanted to continue Taekwondo. Sensei said it would take a lot to pull him back into teaching. I suggested maybe we do a blend of Taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu on a quid pro quo basis. I’ve acquired some grappling mats. Might as well use them. He agreed. And thus, Taekwon-Jitsu was born!

Sensei practiced three forms with us then eagerly pointed at the mats. “Remind me how to do triangle chokes.”

But first I wanted to be sure everyone had break falls and standing up in base down. Youngest Daughter, who was my assistant when I did self defense classes with fellow moms at school, went over trap and rolls and wrist releases with her sisters. (I was so proud.)

Meanwhile, I helped Sensei with triangle chokes. At some point I elbow escaped to get back into guard and so subsequently had to refresh his memory on elbow escaping. (I should mention, he only did Jiu-Jitsu with me for a month.)

Visual reminder: triangle choke

Read the rest of this entry →

Jun16

Big ol’ slippery mat? Of course I’m going to slide on it.

Posted on by
Standard
Big ol’ slippery mat? Of course I’m going to slide on it.

Before I get to the main event, let’s pretend that last post didn’t happen, shall we? For the time being, I’m going to keep on keeping on. But, to be certain about my next plan of attack being legit, I needed to ask Hubby, “Do you think I can pull off this book thing?” He said, “Yeah, of course.”

So that’s that. I already have the title for chapter 1: “It was Covid, and I have a lemon tree.” How did those two facts lead me to martial arts? You’ll just have to wait and see. I’m taking pre-orders now. Kidding. 😉

Now on with the post!

The first time Instructor asked if people could help clean the mats after class, I jumped at it. Why not? The fancy vacuums, however, are not intuitive. Instructor had to say to me, “These are kind of tricky” three times as he repeatedly showed me how to put them together, turn them on, take them back apart, empty them…

When trying to put the “tank” back on the pole part, Surfer Dude said, “You make the labels match up.” He pointed at the labels. I stared at them. “It goes label to label,” he said again. Finally this computed in my brain, and I successfully put the pieces together, both literally and figuratively.

Visual interlude: This pic of SD was posted on Instagram. I commented, “That’s how I like to stand against the wall too. Feet are for chumps.”

Read the rest of this entry →

May2

Surfer Dude has abandoned me

Posted on by
Standard
Surfer Dude has abandoned me

I’ve watched SD reprise his role enough times to *mostly* know how the game is played.

Read the rest of this entry →

I’ve watched SD reprise his role enough times to *mostly* know how the game is played.

Read the rest of this entry →

When Surfer Dude (SD) isn’t present and Instructor needs a demonstration partner, he usually scans the faces along the wall before saying, “So-in-so, can I use you, please?” often with a cupped hand beckoning the person onto the mat.

This time we had barely lined up, Instructor was still walking onto the mat, and didn’t even look when he called me out, as though it was a given.

That’s cool, and it’s still an honor, but when I reached the center of the mat, I saw SD standing on the far end.

Normally, I play the part of dutiful partner, staying on script, making myself as unmemorable as possible, but I couldn’t help but look at SD and throw my arms up in a “What the heck?!” fashion. He just smiled broadly then trained his eyes on Instructor.

I did the same because focusing on Instructor made it easier not to think about SD watching me. While I did his job. And he sized me up for competency.

Apparently he was just waiting to get across the mat without interrupting, because he left shortly after that. I breathed a little easier.

I’ve watched SD reprise his role enough times to *mostly* know how the game is played.

Read the rest of this entry →