Saturday April 18th, 2020

Current Log

Last night I was late for karate class, but managed to enter the Zoom class while kihon was still running. Sensei asked me to lead and call blocks as soon as I was in the class. Both kids were feeling tired and didn’t join, so it was just me, in our bedroom, and this laptop.

Sensei rotated between students to call the kihon exercises, so luckily I did not need to call kicks. He had us do an increasing number of push-ups, sit-ups and squats between blocks of exercises, too. “Go as fast as you can! Thirteen push-ups, sit-ups and squats, now!” he instructed. The number he called increased by one or two each time. We ended with a set of twenty.

I managed to stay on my toes for these and usually did “tricep-style” push-ups, in which you focus on bending your elbows under your body to work your triceps, rather than “out,” as in a traditional push-up, which works more your chest. I did switch to chest for one or two sets. If we made it to seventy total, I don’t know, but we did more than sixty. So I was in the neighborhood of the requirement for my Friday evening set. I was out of breath by the end of the workout.

I’m writing outside and I keep hearing this low hum, like a giant bee or a weed-wacker that is more quiet than usual. I’m pretty sure it’s a humming bird. They like our lemon tree.

Well, back to karate. I got up the ichi-kyu-diary website homepage, introduction and privacy policy. WordPress has you do some kind of “what-we-do-with-your-info” pages and they provide you with a canned version that you can customize, so I kept theirs with some modifications. I have two versions of my partner’s mural up, and the header image display for this website is supposed to randomly change between the two. However, I think it does the switch for the entire site and not on a per-page basis, as I’d prefer. One day I need to delve into the design side of blogging and add flexibility to the site. They do have a calendar widget, which could be pretty useful as a way to link daily blogs.

My daughter, F, read what I had posted yesterday evening. She was my editor. I also found a fabulous work of art that she’d made, and I want to put that up, but I should ask her. I’d like to one day have a little art gallery attached to the site.

AP, a good friend, co-worker and amazing artist, who creates sculpture, paintings and photography, in addition to working in visual effects, has put a lot of work into her site and it’s really cool.

So today, here are my goals: jog on the treadmill for twenty minutes, put this entry up on the website as the first actual log, and drop off a cake to C with F. Because it’s Saturday, I have off from doing the exercises (push-ups, sit-ups and squats) but not cardio. Running this past week has helped. The scale says 107 and last week I was 109 in the morning. I’m trying to check at the same time once a week. Also, I’m not indulging in quite as many sweets.

And F also has a goal: it’s C’s birthday. She made her a cake. We plan to drop it off at her house. Maybe I should text her parents and find out if they want us to leave it some place in particular. C is one of F’s closest friends, and her family usually throws the best parties. C is also a great kid.

Author: an Ichi Kyu

I study Kyokushin karate at a dojo in Burbank. I don't yet have permission to say more than this about my dojo. I am also a mother of two, both of whom have studied Kyokushin karate a year longer than I. They are instructors! My husband created the art posted on this site. I have his permission to use it, but he expressly asked me not to credit him as the artist. He's moved on to other styles, and doesn't particularly want a public association with this piece. I love this artwork, personally. And me? I work full time as a cloth and hair simulation artist, as well as a python coder, in the visual effects industry. I have roughly sixteen years experience in film and about four in television. I am 50; I suppose my decision to attempt the black belt test, along with creating this blog, represents my mid-life crisis. Wish me luck!