Action Pants

The list is fluid. The list is ever changing. Especially since I change my mind and reprioritize things constantly. About 4 months ago I started taking karate classes. I know! Right? Pretty crazy huh? Not on the list, but I have been devoting a significant amount of time and energy to it. Karate is something I have always wanted to learn, but just never have gotten around to it. Also, I didn't want to take classes alone, and the class I am in now was totally my friend Erin's idea. I take the class with her, my friend Tabby, Tabby's husband Kevin, and some other random people.

I love karate. I seriously love it. Also, it's seriously hard. Which is one of the reasons I love it. I am only a yellow belt, which takes about 4 months to achieve. Within each level, or belt you receive 3 stripes. You test for each stripe about every three weeks. There is a lot of memorization in karate, not only punches, kicks, and blocks but various fighting techniques which are combinations of punches kicks and blocks that you use to fight opponents based on how they attack you. You learn 12 techniques for each belt, and each time you move up you are tested on the new techniques as well as the old. When I test for my orange belt - I will have to perform all 24 techniques as well as demonstrating the aforementioned kicks, punches, and blocks, and also these things called forms. Forms are combinations of blocks combined together in a long sequence. Long story long, by the time someone gets to black belt level, they have put in years of training, and hundreds if not thousands of hours of practicing and memorization.

That's a pretty technical way of explaining karate. Truth be told, we also do a lot of beating the shit out of things. We beat the shit out of these standing up punching bag things, and we beat the shit out of each other while wearing blockers. I have come home from many classes with bloody knuckles from the punching bag. Gross? No way. So fun. This class is also making me super strong. When I first started I could barely do 10 lady-style push ups. Now I can do 6 "man style" - don't laugh pushups are fracking hard. Go try it right now. See? Hard. Ok so 6 man pushups and 44 lady push ups. Take that. I can also do a bunch of other rad things that I couldn't do before but mostly I'm proud of the pushups.

Why else do I love it? Because I want to feel safe. I want to be able to know that if someone messes with me, ever, I will always have the upper hand. Guess who else will be taking karate soon? Maggie. I think that all girls should have to take mandatory karate from age 8 until they are black belts. How many assaults on women would occur they were all trained in karate from the 4th grade? I bet significantly fewer than there are now.

Karate - not on the 30 list, but definitely one of the things on my life list. It rocks. Oh also, because I'm taking karate doesn't mean you should come up to me and punch me on the arm. Seriously, why do people do that? Oh you're taking karate? Punch. That's just stupid. Knock it off.

I'm out.