Exhausted

You know I tend to be a glutton for punishment. I'm fortunate that I have an instructor that will run you hard, very hard, but will never run you so ragged that you totally break down. And thank goodness for that, because in taking three classes (or most of three classes), I could barely stand up and had to be careful driving home I was so tired!

At first, I took class with Drew. He's doing better, and I found that when I take class, generally he behaves better. So I asked him if he wanted me in class, and he said yes, so I asked SW if I could take class with him, and she said sure. There was one other black belt kid in the class (he was at the same level as me, but now he's one cycle ahead of me) and otherwise, all color belts. Well, the first drills were all about running drills, and SW told me I didn't have to run. She knows it's hard for me, with the weight and asthma, as well as just returning and being out of shape. But, at least for the first few rounds, I did run, and could keep up with the kids for the most part. But then there was a point where I was really getting winded, and she said I could take a break or step out, and it was good timing. She doesn't expect me to keep up with kids who are anywhere between ages 6 and 10 in energy level, thankfully! But for the most post, the rest of it I pretty much did the same as the kids. I didn't do sparring because a) I was tired and still needed to take two more classes, and b) it was taking too much time to get Drew ready let alone get myself ready, and to spar kids, so it was just as well. I didn't break any boards either, and I think I really need to get into board breaking class if I am going to prepare for my midterm in a month. Seriously! Anyway, during the sparring, I was watching Drew during the first round, and he was up against the black belt kid, who's about the same height as he is. (I think the other kid is a few years older as well, by maybe 2 or 3 years.) The other kid popped Drew with at least two kicks in the head, which fortunately Drew just shook off. SW advised him to better protect his face, and he did, but it was a delayed reaction. I yelled, "Kick HIM in the head, Drew!" and sure enough, he got his own kick in the head to the black belt. Boy, did he feel proud! In the last round, he got a hard kick just shy of his groin (thank goodness for "fighting underwear", as we call it), and he started to cry, because it hurt understandably. But I was able to distract him in reminding him that he kicked a black belt in the head successfully, and that worked well. He was proud of himself.

The second class was really big. The big joke of the night was that a) if you owned a Y chromosome, you generally were going to be a troublemaker for the night, and b) if you had said Y chromosome and were either a 2nd or 3rd degree black belt, it was a guarantee you were going to be a troublemaker. SW often says that her worst behaved children are the high ranked adults in the school-- and she's right! (I'm one of them these days, but not as bad as some others for sure.) We did more of the same drills that were done in the Master's (Drew's) class, but also had some time to work on our own stuff. I got some good sparring in, but I didn't go into it as fully as I could since I was starting to wear out. But it was still a fun class.

Leadership was good too. She talked about the drills that we were doing, and also did some more self-defense sparring techniques, and that was interesting. You can imagine that by the end of the night, I was spent.

It's a good tired, don't get me wrong. And I'm sure that there are a few body parts that will be feeling it more tomorrow. I know my knees are feeling it tonight, but I think the new inhalent prescription I'm trying has been helping, as my wheezing wasn't as bad as usual. I know I have to work out more, and at least, I'm getting started back into that direction. I think I need to get to more classes, but I think I'll have to start that after the next graduation when our schedule changes with the end of the school year. I gotta get back on track.