I had a great time this weekend with karate in between trips to feed Good Friend's cats. We had a black belt promotion at our school Friday night and I went to provide a helping hand.
I provided first aid when a young woman's pinky got smashed during a bo staff demonstration. Nothing like getting hit on the hand by a piece of hardwood while you are holding a piece of hardwood. It wasn't broken but that probably didn't make her feel any better.
I was also a drill sergeant type character when the kids did a kata that had music from Mulan (Make a Man Out of You) as the background. I developed that idea for the demonstration team a while ago and I'm still the de facto guy to do it in a pinch.
Holding boards while someone kicks it in order to break it is a special challenge. They are all scared, without exception, because they don't want to be the one that doesn't break it on their first try. The break is as much what the holder does as what the person kicking does. You have to hold the board very firmly and brace it with your arms and body so that they don't push you when they make contact. It has to be angled properly and held at a height that allows them to generate the most power. I tend to put tension on the board so that if they hit it right I'm basically snapping it in half with them.
After all that I attended a seminar on Sunday morning from 9-11am. We worked on some different katas and their application with a 6th degree black belt. He's my sensei's, sensei's, sensei. She just got her 3rd degree and her instructor is a 4th degree.
Posted by bbarton at June 22, 2003 10:13 PM