Andy's Blog

Sepai, or any kata for that matter, should always be done fully enveloped in a gi or at least with some form of top to go with the leg wear.  That rule, at least, should always apply to myself any-ways.

I’ve been lying back on my backside for way too long getting fatter and, somewhat alarmingly, hairier and it was time to get some practise in – especially after my recent revelation… and I’ve been thinking of timings, etc, to get my Sepai stronger and faster.

Find a room with some space in it and step back into sumo stance and bring the hands round in a nice strong arc, step forward and bring your hands together whilst drawing them in.  Step through and strike with your elbow whilst in sumo stance.  Step through again into an almost backwards long forward stance whilst striking a powerful pose…

…the powerful imagery of that pose, that is in your head at least, is finally broken when you notice the mirror to one side.  The pulling of the arms back is not making your pectoral muscles ripple, as you imagine it should be, but pulling up your flabby stomach and finally letting the belted area of your leg wear see the light of  day.

Worse still, when you bring your arms back and execute the outside shuto you notice that your flabby belly area is still wobbling from a move you completed two steps back in the kata.

I half heartedly did the mae-geri kick which only succeeded in making the devil’s own scrotum that is my footwear (flip-flops) sail out through the open door like an exocet missile.  I think the cat screeching in fright and sounds of a car crash was more my overactive imagination and a product of watching far too many cartoons than anything that actually happened.

Next time I do that kata I must remember; no flip-flops and definitely wear a gi…. oh, and no mirrors!

Well 2011 has kicked off and as usual a bunch of vague promises have been made to myself as to how I will better myself.  These boil down to pretty much the same resolutions I had last year, the year before, and I’m fairly sure a few more years before that.

These being;

• Get better at Karate
• Get Fit/Slim

Very possibly one year I will acheive either, or being the eternal optimist that I am, both of them!

The ‘Get better at Karate” started off this Tuesday just gone with me huffing-and-puffing around at Senior Class and desperately trying to remember my chudan tsuki from my mawashi geri, after an extended Christmas break, so we are off to a flying start there!

I of course, for the second of those resolutions, am joining millionsof others in the thoroughly unenviable and unenjoyable diet phase of the year, full of all sorts of good intentions;  I shall not yield to chocolate treats, biccies or any food based produce not on the “You can eat that” list.  …and it’s an eye watering short list!

However, and it’s a HUGE “however” of biblical proportions, with a nice dusting of hundred-and-thousands of “however” on top and a rather fetching “however” themed double-whipped cream in the middle… does there really need to be that many McDonalds drive-thru’s between home and Birmingham?!?

I mean, really, I can’t remember “resisting temptation” being on my list of Resolutions listed above?!

“Most people would like to be delivered from temptation, but would also like it to keep in touch”
–Robert Orben

As is usual for this time of year I have drunk and eaten far too much.  Obviously it’s everybody else’s fault though, I mean if they feel the need to provide me with a quarter ton of confectionery delights then it’s only polite to consume them.

Of course the descent into consumption hell means a heck of a climb back out.. and this year, if all goes well, is an important one and one I need to be at my top form for.

That's me that is

So the coming New Years bash will be something of a blow-out as I plan to drop a fair number of kilos and hit the weights in an aggressive manner come 2011, or at least that’s the plan.

So until then, I bid you a very Happy New Year / Blianadh Bha Ur.

I am in a fairly chipper mood today, the weekend was a good one for more reasons than can be written here, and I was called the ‘poodles undercarriage’ at work this morning – which I am taking as a good thing! Please don’t pop my self delusional bubble if this is not entirely correct :-/

I also have the nicest of quandries to deal with at the moment too. It certainly came right out of the blue and has boosted my… confidence? ego? mojo? To be honest I am not sure what it has boosted, but it *has* boosted whatever it is and given me a certain spring to the step.

…and the quandry? Well it does mean that I have to take a very definitive step over a line that I have resisted stepping over before, and is something not done lightly or without proper consideration.

In other news: The weight is now done to 82kg, or 12stone 9lbs for the more empirical amongst you, and I am now looking like a “long streak of piss” according to a friend (again, the optimist in me is taking the self delusional route and seeing that as a good thing).

Karate is also going particularly well, although the last lesson I went to made more muscles than I knew I had scream in collective pain, at least I didn’t make the usual fool of myself whilst sparring!

Consequently, the current mood music is “Same Direction” by Hoobastank which needs to be played VERY loudly and preferably whilst driving/riding at speed to get its full effect… my taste in music is definitely on the heavier side of the tracks at the moment

I feel I should be writing some update on my blog, the unfortunate thing being; I am not sure what I want to type, what subject I should be typing on or even what title I should be giving this post! 

I have an uncomfortable feeling that my last few posts were somewhat touchy-feely in their subject matter (or ‘airy-fairy’ as a friend put it… yes YOU mate!), so feel the need to ground it in on the hum-drum of life-in-the-shoes-of-Andy’dom…. Or at least I would if I could (a) get motivated and (b) think of what to write!

One of the causes, I think, of this general malaise is that the ribs are STILL causing me grief!  It has already meant a lost weekend of being out in the sun on the bike going around our local Country Park – which really put me in a funk.  Also, the lack of sleep doth bother me somewhat – I ain’t the most pleasant buggar to look at, so need ALL the beauty sleep I can get!

However, on the plus side, my youngest son is now definitely most mobile!  He has finally mastered the joys of two wheeled freedom, which is another one of those ‘defining’ moments in a boys (and father’s) life.  Still a wee bit wobbly, and definitely a menace in the presence of pedestrians and parked cars alike, but I am looking forward to more bonding time as me and the boys all wobble around the Reservoir; collectively menacing the afore-mentioned pedestrians and adding wild fowl to the mix!

Any other interesting news?  Weight seems to have settled around the 88kg, which is a wee bit above the 13 stone mark, and is not shifting from there.. buggar!  Looks like I am either going to have to find some other form of exercise or eat even less (Soooo hungry!!).  I have thought about re-taking up canoeing at our local Reservoir to help make me somewhat more svelt in appearance, but need to find the time and more importantly the energy.

…and that’s it!  So in the end something was typed up, not earth shattering or even particularly interesting; but it is life at the moment.  I feel another post is bubbling up at the moment as the subject of ‘life’ is a recurrent theme with a couple of friends, so be warned; another ‘airy-fairy’ bit of navel gazing may be on the horizon.

I am wondering if opening up my blog to allow some friends to post their own thoughts may make the whole subject more relative, as well as some cross-linking to the blogs of friends that are also discussing the same sort of issues; Mark Fitchett’s Slices of a digital life, Damian’s Life, laughs and loves of the Clayton-Bull clan and Casper’s musings (if you ever update it mate ) to name but a few.

Collective, multi-site, navel gazing… What a thought!