Let's Do This!

First, I’m doing this “NaBloPoMo” thing. I’m almost already doing it anyway, so might as well do it “officially”. My only worry is really that the time I had left from not posting I would use to visit other blogs, so “having” to post daily might infringe on my lurking time. I’ll see how that goes.

Second, in order to have subjects to post about, I thought I’d do like a few fellow bloggers and ask you to ask me any question you want, and I’ll try to answer them the best I can.

So, let’s start this month with a question from Monkey: “How did I get involved with martial arts?”

I was never the sport type. I enjoyed playing volleyball, basket, but wasn’t a fan of anything that had to do with running. In my last year of high-school (back in 1983, for those who are curious to know when that was) I used to play basketball almost every lunch period. I had the height and wasn’t that bad. During one of our games I girl tackled me as I was jumping for a loop. I went flying and landed on my ass, with my hands on each side to protect my fall (typical way to land, I’ve noticed that while watching many games). I felt pain, but my coach told me to put some cold water on my wrist and I’d be ok. Later that afternoon, on my way home, I decided to stop by the hospital because the pain was getting worst. Long story short I ended up with not one, but both arms in a cast, from the wrist to the armpit. Those 4-5 weeks were hell! Imagine that, a teen being fed, dressed, washed, etc. by her mom. A real nightmare, for both of us! That happened in September.

I had to apply to some colleges, and decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. At the time, I thought I wanted to be a cop (that changed after my father’s hold-up), so my mother suggested, since I wasn’t the most active one around, to do a self-defence course or some martial arts. There was a dojo a few minutes from where I went to school. She figured it would be good for me physically, and it would prepare me for the “cop training”. One evening, after school, I made a pit stop at the karate school. It was during a kids’ class. The teacher was very patient with the kids and I liked what I saw. I talked with one guy taking care of the office and signed-up right then and there. Since I wasn’t sure I would like it, I only signed up for a month, and asked if I could get my money back if after three classes I didn’t like it. He agreed.

I went back the next day to pick up my dogi (karate suit), and did my first class. I was in the adults’ class. And my partner was a local actor (Serge Dupire) who was really hot at the time. Doing sit-ups with him was motivation enough to sit up and see his pretty face! The following day I was so, but so sore! Every muscles in my body ached. So I went back hoping that doing it again it would get better. And it did. Each class I did I felt better, and actually enjoyed the challenge. I got hooked. I was there every day, but Sunday and only because they didn’t have a class. I liked the energy of it all, and the fact that I didn’t have to run! It felt good to scream, to let it out, and to sweat like a pig… From that moment I never stopped until four years ago…