Ramblings of a Wayward Goddess

I tested last night for my red/brown belt. YAY! I passed. I need work on my one step sparring, I know this. Everything else I nailed. With a bum knee even.  I was walking my dog on Thursday and as I stepped down, something in my knee went “pop’. That’s never good. I braced it up and went for it. I let Sensei know that it was hurty, but that I planned on pushing myself to my limit and not to worry about me. There was only one technique I didn’t do and that was the drop back kick. I just couldn’t put that mych weight directly on my knee. Every other kick, jumping, spinning, jumping and spinning, I did.

We have an official belt ceromony for family and friends next Friday. I get to put together a little demonstration. I’m thinking of reworking Kusanku with a bo staff. For right now I’m just excited and happy. I’m half a belt, or about 4-6 mths away from being a brown belt.

I have a belt test on Friday. I’m going for the “high red” otherwise known as half red, half brown, or a half belt away from brown belt. The last time I tested was Oct 2005. Between various kids sports activities and my rides I missed a bit of class so it’s just been THAT LONG since I tested last. Add to that my little fall last week and misses yet another week of class due to my knee and I’m nervous. I feel like I did the first time I tested. I’m afraid that I will mess up something. I’m afraid I’ll cry during 3 on 1 sparring (it’s happen before, I was able to hold back and compose myself, but it was a very mentally challenging day). I know my stances (14), my blocks (8), my kicks (26), my strikes (24), and I just need to run through my katas (7). What I’m worried about is the 14 effective one step sparring techniques and 14 effective self defense techniques…..I’m also VERY rusty on my sparring and have to go (as I said before) 3 on 1.

Urgh…..

But not broken.

So, I’ve been really trying to find a good way to excersise my dog. I am just not a runner, so running with her wont work. We can walk all day long, but after a while…it just gets boring. So, I thought….I’m a cyclist. I bet the dog would love to run alongside the bike. Two or three trips around the block would wear her out pretty good (since she’d have to run the whole time.) So, because I’m not ready to be clipped into teh pedals, I pulled out my old bike (with the flat pedals), pumped up the tires and hopped on. Things were going great. I had the leashed looped around my wrost so I could still operate teh brakes, etc. We got 3/4 of the way around when,….she saw a bird. That quick, she lunged. Pulled me off the bike. It was ok though…..my knees and chin caught my fall. So, my right knee is busted up, my left knee hurts, and my chin is nicely scrapped (and my ego took a beating too).

A good friend of mine (and fellow cyclist) pointed me in the direction of a neat contraption called The Spinger. It’s garanteed to allow you to ride with your dog and prevent the kind of accident I had. 30 day garantee sounded good, so I ordered it.

And because I’ve lost my mind completely. I’m doing The Frostbite Tour bike ride for esophageal cancer in 3 weeks.

On the 16th, I have a belt test. It’s been way too long since I’ve tested, and…I’m majorly freaked out about it. I’m going for my hig red, which is have red half brown and a half belt away from brown (then high brown, then black…EEEK!). I’ve got myself in such a tizzy that I’m considering paying extra for a private test. That way if I fall on my face, no one sees it but the Sensei.