Greetings, world! It’s far past time that I revive this space on the interwebs, but it doesn’t feel quite right to dive back in to sharing thoughts on random topics without somehow first acknowledging my absence.Also, it seems necessary to acknowledge that we are here in the midst of a pandemic. I have more thoughts […]
karate
Karate and the Kingdom Part Five: Take Your Stand
Sometimes, when I stand at the edge of the mat at karate and watch the higher ranks perform a kata, I can’t escape the humor in it all. Here we are, a bunch of people with bare feet, glaring down invisible bad guys as we kick and punch and make weird yells and whistling noises […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part Four: Badge of Honor
Thwack, thwack, thwack. Thwack, thwack, thwack. The dull sound of flesh hitting flesh as forearms collide in waltz time pulses through the karate dojo, accompanied by low conversation. Nearby I hear a faster tempo as two of the guys with muscular arms go at it twice as fast as everyone else. Next we go to […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part 3: Respect Authority
I stood at the edge of the mat at my first karate class, observing the flurry of action before me. There were about twelve people out on the mat, all performing the same movements of a kata (a choreographed series of blocks, strikes, and kicks), all at the same time, yet at different speeds and […]
Karate and the Kingdom Part 1: Girl in Black
My coworker approached me where I sat at one of the computers at work. “Next month, I get to bring a friend to karate for free, and I’m inviting you,” she said. “You can come two times a week for the whole month, or you can come to one class and if you don’t like […]