So, I went to our little club’s first Karate Camp!  It was in Fly Creek, NY and was hosted by one of our members. 

I had expected to tent out over night.. haven’t done that in.. um..  well I don’t remember the last time I slept in a tent.

Evidently, I’m not as good at it as I thought.

I arrived late.  I had to swing by my mom’s house.   She lent me a camp stove and a little coffee pot.  I didn’t really get started until late anyway because Friday night is grocery night which meant I didn’t get to bed until almost 11:30 on Friday.

So Saturday I had to pack the cooler and all my stuff etc etc etc…

Three hours later I arrive..  it’s beautiful!!!!  Great Pond and the dojo was a converted barn.

Set up my tent.  Had a little chat with Sensei and then realized that it was 1/2 hour before the second training of the day. (2:30)

So with no lunch, as much water as I could down in 10 minutes and in 85 degree heat in a sticky humid barn, we got to training. 

An hour and 1/2 later, I was beat!   But training was GREAT!  Sensei from another local club that we are affiliated with gave instruction.  I was hesitant at first because I’d never met him but it was interesting to have someone else give you tips and pointers and to train different combinations. 

He asked me to follow along with my  new Kata.  Heian Neidan.  I’d only done it once but I wanted to make a good showing for my club so I tried.. I tried HARD!

I did pretty good!

So then dinner, but I was too hot to eat… I drank a ton of water and by 8:30 I was ready to eat.   In the meantime I watched the kids in the pond having a great time with the ziplines.. and teasing each other..  tweens are a hoot (when they aren’t yours)

Went and hung out in my tent for a while and ate my dinner cold. I didn’t want to get out the stove.. at this point I needed to eat.

Big bonfire.. lots of chatting with the teenage girls..  they are very interesting.. and I was the only one who brought a flashlight for potty runs.. I was VERY popular…..

went to bed around 11:30.

And tossed…

And turned…

And tossed some more..

In order to light the pond at night, the fountain had to be on…  it’s all on one switch.. and since we were all tenting AROUND the pond, we sort of had to have the light on.

Which meant I couldn’t really hear the bullfrogs (which I did want to hear).. but I could hear the fountain… running.. and splashing..

I got up three times for potty runs…..

which was two buildings and one BIG ass hill away…

Eventually, I just went and slept in the car.. I have a futon mattress in the back for the fur kids.. there were cookie bits and dog hair but I didn’t care. 

I was up again at 4:30… oh my gawd..  we were training at 9AM and all I wanted to do was SLEEP!  I think I got all of 2 hours of sleep.. in bits and pieces..

At first light I hiked back to my tent and grabbed my clothes..  back UP the hill to the bathrooms to wash up sort of and brush my teeth..   as I walking down the hill it starts to rain..

That did it.

Stick a fork in me…  done.

I looked up a the sky and with silent fury whispered “I don’t care how hard you RAIN.. I am GOING HOME to BED!”

The rain stopped… 

I packed up all my stuff as quietly as possible (after flicking the slugs ::shudder:: off my tent) and hopped in the car…

Home, James….  omg..  I had to stop for coffee.. An hour and 1/2 later.. home.. exhausted but glad I went…

Next time…  I’m tenting AWAY from the pond… 

Tags: camp

Omg.. it was so funny!

We were praticing Front Kick to Chest and we were supposed to target the knot of the belt of the person we were practicing with. 

I did ok.. I was so careful to try and extend my foot that I was going too slow and not really snapping my leg out there.

My partner did better, but she didn’t extend her toes out so she kept missing.

Sensei demonstrated on me.  Tap .. tap.. tap.. the ball of his foot tapping my belt.  Fine, no problem..

Then he says “And then if you want to extend”.

BAM!  He kicked me!   Not hard.. but hard enough to knock me back a foot. 

I grunted like a pig and then cracked up.. 

(but I can see where he could really really hurt a person)

I decided that before class yesterday, I would walk the track at the Y first. Not fast and not a lot.. just enough to warm up my major leg muscles. Our warm-ups are often not long enough for me since I’ve been so sedentary.

My mistake was not hydrating myself. I should have brought water, but didn’t.

Halfway through class I had to ask to leave to get a drink. My heart was pounding so hard it was scaring me and I could feel my mouth drying up.

Sensei asked “Do you really need to?”

I was so mortified… I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t think I was going to blow a gasket.. he let me go, but I was very embarassed that I didn’t take care of myself before…

Then I almost kicked the kid next to me doing side snap kicks. And I was so surprised that I started giggling.. my stress response is to giggle or cry. I prefer giggiling.

Sensei reminded me to keep my focus. Then I made another mistake and tried to explain myself.. Doh!

Sensei then told me that it was ok to make mistakes, that’s how we learn. Funny, that’s how I train my dogs too…

It was a hard class for me.. oddly, physically it wasn’t as bad.. mostly it was the mental challenges and I didn’t realize it until it was too late.

I’ll do better on Saturday.

Class was really exciting! There is still a lot I need to learn. Classes are ongoing so I have to catch up. I was supposed to have another private lesson on Monday but the holiday sort of threw the wrench into that.

Tonight, I did push ups for the first time in 20 years.. ow.

The best part, I think was the “target Practice”. We stood opposite each other .. the other beginners were little kids so I got to stand with the 12 year old who just got her brown belt.

So I throw punches at her chin and chest, without hitting her of course… and then we switched…

That sweet little girl turned into a viper. Oh My gawd… I had to close my eyes! She never hit me but I could feel the breeze off her punch and the energy behind it was incredible.

Yup… scared…

When we was done, she smiled at me… I think she got a little kick out of freaking out the “old lady”.

Tonight is my first actual Shotokan Karate Class.  I’m really looking forward to it. 

Sensei gave me a private lesson last week and I really enjoyed it.  I feel I can trust him and that is important to me. 

He demonstrated a few kicks and punches while I stood there.  His hands and feet came within 1/4 inch of my body and I didn’t flinch.  That tells me somthing. 

I expect I’ll be awfully sore.  and I’m concerned about not remembering the rules of the Dojo.. when to bow.. when to meditate…  etc etc.

oh, in case you were wondering “Ichi” means “one”.