Looking forward to 2005

It’s nearly the end of another year and what an action packed 2004 it’s been in Meerkat world. As it’s my last day in the office and I have nothing to do, I totted up all the hours I spent doing some form of MA this year. It adds up to a staggering 378 hours. That's more than one hour every day! And it doesn't include time spent travelling, work-outs at home or in the gym.
It doesn't quite compare to legendary masters who live in mountains and meditating for years on end, but not bad considering I have day-work and home chores too.
I had several highlights for 2004, including; finding a great new place to train BJJ, competing at the Jikishin Nationals, discovering systema, passing my second dan and enjoying the parties afterwards. But the bits I cherish most are the people I meet along the way. Watching Wayne battle his way to a second round win at groundfighting was inspiring. Eddie coaching me at the same event was tremendous. Having the camaraderie of my training pals during the Nidan examination day was a real support. Basically ending the year on a very big high and looking forward to more Meerkat adventures for 2005.
Cheers everyone!

byMeerkatsu

in

December 17, 2004

Looking forward to 2005

It’s nearly the end of another year and what an action packed 2004 it’s been in Meerkat world. As it’s my last day in the office and I have ...

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Roll on for the third!

Whoa! What a weekend it’s been. First off, our little gang all successfully passed their second dan gradings. Two years of training was finally over and you could see the relief on everyone’s faces. We all now get to add a second stripe to our belts and walk a little taller today. For some reason I had it in my mind that second dan would be less tough than the first dan. Don’t be fooled. It was tough. By the second mat my gi was soaked in sweat and I was starting to hit the wall – the place where strange anarchic thoughts take over your head and threaten to jeopardise your carefully laid plans. I certainly was not going to give up then so I resolved to hit harder, throw faster and kick stronger – the horrendous bruises on my poor uke are testament to that! She clearly also thought the same and my wreck of a body is barely functioning enough to type this blog.
Lock after throw after choke after kick, the grading wore on and I was hardly able to catch my breathe when it was time for my favourite bit – modules – the bit where I get to show off the Meerkat skills like no other. After a shaky start, I soon got everyone’s attention with my jumping flying (yes Meerkats can fly) knee stamp – a real crowd pleaser and one that got many positive comments later in the day.
Then, it was all over, not with a bang, more with a whimper as my shattered body was then ordered to help clear away the mats. A nice certificate, some photos and lots of beaming faces, we all trundled off home to prepare for the gala dinner and dance in the evening.
It’s nice to know that we all did well. I got a real sense of camaraderie this time because a lot of my fellow training pals were grading at the same time. Quite a few seriously senior senseis complimented me on my techniques and mentioned how close I was to receiving a credited honour in my marks. I’m not fussed, just passing is good enough. At this level, you are not competing with anyone, you do these advanced grades more as a challenge to yourself, rather than any other reason.
There’s more happening this week with the club party and works party and loads more, but right now, my crippled fingers need a rest.

byMeerkatsu

in

December 13, 2004

Roll on for the third!

Whoa! What a weekend it’s been. First off, our little gang all successfully passed their second dan gradings. Two years of training was fina...

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Empty Bottles

It’s really nice every now and again when our club can do something for it’s members other than just teach martial arts. Last night was excellent as we began the session by congratulating David on his purple belt grading and presented to Wayne the 2004 club merit award. With the forthcoming joint clubs Xmas party and the return of a few old faces, it was an excellent evening.
It wasn’t all plain sailing however as one new person confessed to me that she was only here to accompany her mate and didn’t really want to come. In fact she explained in no uncertain terms that she had certain ‘issues’ with ju-jitsu as a martial art. Well, all I can say is I tried my best, but we can’t please all of the people all of the time. I’m reminded of an old Chinese proverb that my dad used to say (really!): the half empty bottle makes more noise when shaken than the full bottle. Using that criteria, I would say I am a shamelessly three quarter empty bottle. But hopefully after this Sunday’s Nidan grading, the bottle will be slightly less empty.

byMeerkatsu

in

December 08, 2004

Empty Bottles

It’s really nice every now and again when our club can do something for it’s members other than just teach martial arts. Last night was exce...

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Double Trouble

The Meerkat's day-world of office humdrum rarely crosses over into the more exciting nocturnal world of martial arts madness, but the other day I had the rare pleasure of being asked to assist in a photo shoot involving 6 year old twins partaking in a mock karate class. I bought uniforms and belts, worked out poses and sketched ideas. The day of the shoot came and while the professionals were busy sorting out the equipment, I also turned into kiddies entertainer and motivator as they were looking a bit bored and probably would have got up to all sorts of mischief. Anyhow, we got them into their little Ninja poses and there was me running on and off set making sure they kept their places, while the stylists was making sure the pins and clips didn't show and the hair&beauty person brushed makeup on everyone. Am happy to report that the shoot went very well and my ideas were transcribed fairly faithfully by the photographer. The only annoying thing was that my final idea - the one where the twins would muck around and fight with each other - didn't really happen on cue, but once everyone's attentions were turned, they would do precisely that! Anyhow, a fun day and of course, the Meerkat is now available for hire for photoshoots and martial arts lessons to juniors.

byMeerkatsu

in

December 02, 2004

Double Trouble

The Meerkat's day-world of office humdrum rarely crosses over into the more exciting nocturnal world of martial arts madness, but the ot...

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