Bruises

I was glad to see June at the belt ceremony. She and her son Raidon been gone for a while.

"Did you and Raidon test early?" I asked her.

"No. We tested on Monday," she told me. The Monday after tests is make-up day. "And look what happened." She pushed up her right sleeve. Her forearm was black and blue and swollen.

"June! What happened?" I asked.

"I broke with an elbow break." June showed me the elbow break--you bend your arm in front of you and break by slamming into the board with your bent arm. The muscle that runs along the bone hits the board.

"Yikes," I said. "I am not looking forward to hand and arm breaks. Maybe I'll quit before I have to do them. My hands and arms are too small and skinny."

Actually, I began to wonder if June was also a victim of not-quite-seasoned boards.

I was sensing a pattern. Brian had told me that the day after the test, his foot had swollen up. I'd thought he hadn't had any trouble at all--he broke on his first try with the jump front snap kick. But after the test he had told me that he'd really felt it when he broke. That's probably why he had trouble.

Later, after the ceremony, I greeted Justin.

"How's your hand?" I asked. "Do I dare shake it?"

He showed me his right hand; the knuckles were still black and blue from breaking at the tournament. "Still a bit swollen," he said.

"I think maybe breaking boards with your hand is a pretty dumb idea," I kidded. "Did you see my foot?" I showed him my injury.

"That's a pretty dumb idea, breaking boards with your foot," he kidded back.

My resolution: I resolve to protect my limbs by breaking only wood that I KNOW is seasoned. I'll bring my own boards if I have to. I have some one-by-twelve pine in the basement, sitting right by the dehumidifier. That's what I'm using from now on! Now I just need a saw . . .