Home town Thursday

I had been working around the clock to get stuff done at work and my energy was wearing thin, but the thought of getting thrown around and beaten up by the Senseis at my Dojo seemed to revitalise my sole and it spilled over into my physical body, or was it the fear of a killer ninja creditor whom I owed my class fees... Anyway I was amped for class and ready to learn some more Bo techniques.

I picked up my friend and together we drove to the Dojo. The Sensei seemed almost overjoyed to have all his students back as Valentine’s day clearly had an adverse effect on the attendance earlier in the week. I quietly struck down multiple opponent s and almost struck the Sensei twice as he snuck up behind me. I smiled and stuffed the Bo into his hands and he happily obliged and showed me something new.

We hit the deck for some core exercises and stretches. The Sempai had some interesting ideas on additional abdominal exercises with the bag being thrown between two partners facing each other while their feet remained raised off the ground. We did body conditioning, but my friend’s elbow got hurt the previous night so I was paired up with the one Sensei you don’t want to have to do body conditioning with. I eyed him earlier in the evening as he got his mind in the right place for his second Dan grading in June. He knew all the pressure points and used them well as he chuckled at my suffering. I repaid the compliment, but he didn’t even flinch as I struck his mid section.

We picked up the bags again and soon the hall filled with the thunderous thuds of ninja hands and feet. We did a number of combinations focused on speed and efficiency and soon I was dripping with sweat. The water break came just in time as some of the students bowed out from exhaustion. I hoisted my feet up on a char and did push-ups. My arms weakened fast and I could manage only half of what I normally do thanks to the relentless pace we maintained for the first half of the evening.

We broke up for Syllabus work and I grabbed the Senseis new book and approached him to ask if I may use it. I glowered at me and I could feel the verbal knives hit the back of my head as I returned the tomb to its former location, but he was just kidding and soon I had his undivided attention as he asked me to perform this and that technique, My training so far seemed to pay off and I managed to impress him with my basics and only got stuck a bit when it came to the more complex figure four and hammer locks. I know what I need to practice at home and it felt good to verify what I have learned up until now with the Bo.

We lined up and greeted, everyone was tired and the band of Ninjas from Honeydew dispersed like shadows in the night. It was a good class and it felt good to be back with the clan once again.

Embrace the Shadows.