No movies yet

No movies from my digital camera yet. I'm still working on it. Regular description will have to do for now!

Tuesday the class is small, just 8, and my boys are behaving better. Ellen says I should just drop them off so I don't have to watch them in class! Not a bad idea. I've thought of just going W at 6 for all-belts along with Saturday's all-belts, and take the kids on TTh.

Brian is there and he tells me he saw the end of the sparring match Saturday. I had completely lost track of who was there and who was not by that point. "I better be careful sparring with you," he says. Yeah, right.

It's a good workout with Brian there. When we practice combination kicking, I have a partner who will just work out and not chatter to me about various things as the children do. I practice moving fast and watching for openings in Brian's defense. It's a challenge working out with someone so tall.

Brian and I also work on wheel kicks, our orange belt kick. The wheel kick is another turning kick, like the reverse kick. In this one, you strike with a straight leg that wheels out from behind. Getting that leg around--straight and aimed true--is tricky. I feel like a total klutz doing it. Over and over, I say to Mr. Houtz "show me again" as if I'll eventually see the key to doing it right.

Maybe it'll be like the flying side kick: suddenly someone will say the right word and it'll make sense. I hope so.

While we are working and working on our kicks, Amy, Pam and Justin Wasson come in. They talk to Mr. Houtz and begin to work on sparring at the back of the dojang. I gather that Amy is getting up her nerve to enter the sparring events in the tournament. I bet Pam is a good one for her to work with. Pam is aggressive and strong, a fearless sparrer. She has already won a first in sparring at her very first tournament (as a green belt).

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Amy. She was hesitant during our match on Saturday--she later told me that she just does not like the idea of hitting someone. "I'm just not a confrontational person," she explained. I can see that. Though she's bold and intense, she is kind and friendly. Hard to imagine her fighting. Maybe I should tell her my "sparring's not fighting" approach.

But Pam and Amy are really going at it. At one point, I see Amy moving in with bold kicks and punches. I bet she'll find her groove, a way to spar that works with who she is. I think that's what we all need to do in sparring. So far for me, it's light feet and the game--not fight--mentality.

Later, the class works on flying side kicks. I try making a movie, but the part I wanted to record doesn't get recorded. Oh well. Next time. I hope I can post movies just like I do photos! Maybe I'll record some sparring matches, too.