27 May 2005

Meerkat spent the day badly driving his white van, as all good white van drivers should, honking horns at arrogant BMW drivers, swerving into the next lane before indicating etc. All in aid of fetching 36 nearly-new dayglo yellow sports mats from their factory in Leighton Buzzard (home of the martial arts mats) down to our dojo. Muchos thanks to our Fire Officer who secured free parking on campus.
So anyway, we laid them out and I had the bright idea of making a two-tone pattern, two rows yellow, one row black. The purpose was to divide the dojo into ‘zones’. The result though made our training room resemble a giant flattened wasp. Worse yet, some of the mats clearly had not stretched due to their newness and awkwardly started to rise upwards so as to look like a speed hump.
Still, these are minor complaints. It is just such a luxury to train on fully fitting training mats that are pleasant to breakfall on, that do not slip under your feet, and do not have holes missing. Oh, and the weird smell from the old mats is gone. They are however, exceedingly bright and after three hours of being in the room, my retina seemed to be permanently cast with a blue haze (the ‘negative’ of course of yellow).Other news: Meerkat gets his third stripe in BJJ class and immediately gets spanked by clubmates. Yep, the age old tradition of a rank promotion is coupled with a serious attempt by fellow club mates to pour cold water on any thoughts of thinking you are any good. I survived the onslaught and even managed to accidentally foot slap the big Ukranian’s face. Luckily he found it amusing cos I was fearful he would crush the Meerkat whilst laughing manically – he is that scary.

In the zone

Meerkat spent the day badly driving his white van, as all good white van drivers should, honking horns at arrogant BMW drivers, swerving int...

22 May 2005

Meerkat attending the debut session at Pete's new dojo on Saturday. All one can say is WOW! Situated in the main exercise studio of LA Fitness, it has all the modcons you expect from a first class fitness gym.
Mirrors all around meant that the Meerkat was too transfixed with the novelty of viewing himself in 360 degree glory, than actually doing any useful ju-jitsu. If that was not enough, through the sliver of glass next to the door one could see all the fancy hardbodies pounding away on the running machines and other contraptions - many of the svelte looking females were very, ahem, distracting to the eye...anyway back to the main point of this blog, suffice to say, the gym is a draw-droppingly fantastic place to host a dojo. They even offer complimentary balls of fluffy cotton wool in the five star changing rooms, what more could you ask for?
My only gripe, well, the new mats are too hard for me, but then I am a wimp when it comes to nice soft landings, so it's a much needed 'slap' of reality to hit the floor with that little give.
Looks like Pete has started off his new venture in a good place and with any luck, the punters will come flocking.

Cotton wool balls

Meerkat attending the debut session at Pete's new dojo on Saturday. All one can say is WOW! Situated in the main exercise studio of LA F...

18 May 2005

The Meerkat had to attend a days coaching seminar to earn his next level of coaching badges. But what I thought was a necessary chore ended up being a delightfully entertaining audience with none other than the man who founded our style of JJ. With over 50 years practising and teaching jujitsu, this man has definitely seen it all – and more.

The seminar was aimed at instructors and those thinking of instructing. The content was a list of do’s and don’ts approved by the BJJA-GB (governing body). What it turned out to be, was a series of personal anecdotes and memoirs by the great man himself. A lot of it funny, some of it poignant – for example, he went through two divorces and lost touch (or fell out with) with his kids and grandchildren – all because of JJ. There was a lot of content about the correct way to deal with vulnerable people – and the not correct way to deal with them. Whatever mistakes have been made in the past, they were usually done by him in the first place and he was there to offer us his advise and wisdom.

It is clear, when you hear from someone who has dedicated his life entirely to one activity, how much personal sacrifice has been involved. But he was happy to point out that JJ offers so much too, such as meeting new friends and partners, progression and personal development, and, maybe, a little extra income if you are lucky too.
The seminar was a humbling and honest account of a life in JJ. It gives people like me, a useful guide for the future. JJ means so much to so many people. I am happy to be a part of the family.

Life, the Universe, and almost everything jujitsu

The Meerkat had to attend a days coaching seminar to earn his next level of coaching badges. But what I thought was a necessary chore ended ...

13 May 2005

An exciting time in Meerkat world at the moment. Obviously the prospect of being a dad tops the cool list. I’m also quite excited about decking out the dojo with brand new mats soon. I could have any colour I want, as long as it is yellow. So yellow it is. Black is SO last year.
Another exciting development is the opening of two new clubs. Pete’s one in Kentish town and Marie-Paule’s women only club in Stoke Newington. Meerkat wishes both ventures the best of luck.
Meerkat has been asked to host a martial arts seminar for gifted children. Every year, the university invites hundreds of children down to a ‘summer camp’. These are only the brightest kids in the country and during the day they will take part in science projects and lectures. They also need social activities during the evening so the organiser thought of our club. I have never taught kids before, but it will be an interesting challenge to come up with a schedule that can capture their attention. I was warned that some of these kids may never have done any real sports or martial arts, preferring instead to stick to the books and computers. But who knows, being gifted children, they’ll probably excel at ju-jitsu too. Though I will probably have to omit the eye-gouging and groin stamps that we so love.

Yellow

An exciting time in Meerkat world at the moment. Obviously the prospect of being a dad tops the cool list. I’m also quite excited about deck...

4 May 2005

The Meerkat is happy to announce that, all paws crossed, a baby meerkat will be on it's way in 6 months time.
Right now, the mini meerkat is cocooned inside a comfy waterworld, as seen here:
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
An ultrasound scan only shows one frame. When you see the scan live, you see that the foetus, at 12 weeks, sure does move around a lot! I swear it was already actively practising side and roundhouse kicks aplenty.
A full set of pint sized kobudo weapons and sparring gear awaits the new member of the family, and maybe my vision of building a dojo creche will have to be realised.
I am over the moon about the news and so is Mrs Meerkat but her main concern is trying hard to deal with the debilitating effects of morning sickness. I am assured that no amount of martial arts training can compete with the sheer slog of surviving morning sickness.
More updates soon

Mini meerkat

The Meerkat is happy to announce that, all paws crossed, a baby meerkat will be on it's way in 6 months time. Right now, the mini meerka...

 

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