Tenshi Mama

I want to be this lady when I grow up. She is 60, and she has fibromyalgia and a blue belt in Karate. Is that cool or what?

Taisen Deshimaru Roshi has said that in the martial arts these three things are needed: shin (mind-spirit), wasa (technique), and tai (body-strength), and that they must be in perfect balance. But he has also said that “in a young person the body is the fundamental element, whereas in an older man technique and spirit predominate.” […]

I think I already wrote a somewhat unfocused post on Zaadz about this, but it just won’t go away. Again I’m reminded how, when I’m really impressed with my growth, I realize that it doesn’t look much like growth from the outside. Here’s an example, probably way more confessional that I should post online. (Famous […]

I still can’t get it through my head that this is not going to go away. I still think after a few good days that I’m all better, and I still blame myself when I have bad days. Actually, I don’t even realize that they’re bad days. It’s a strange mental process that lets me […]

Well, healing happens, yes, but maybe even slower than I realized. I only made it through a few Karate classes back in February, and haven’t been back since. I have had more slumps since then, including one, fairly recently.
The good news is that I’m learning things. I think it’s taken me this long to […]

Well, just to follow up a bit, I have to say it was an understatement that concussion mimics fibromyalgia. It brought on a full-blown flare, including reduced immune function indicated by a three-month bout with cold/flu/bronchitis/etc.
Unbelievable. Yet it is passing. I’m able to get through class again. And I’m back writing again, much to the […]

A few weeks ago, I got a concussion by cleverly slamming my forehead against the edge of a shelf. It hit at an angle, across my left eye, the bridge of my nose and my right eyebrow. I think it happened because I was already a bit dizzy and uncoordinated due to a minor fibromyalgia […]

I am far behind in my blogging; I have several notes in my journal that I’d intended (still intend) to put up here. But I didn’t want to put this off:
Yesterday, I biked 5 miles to the bike repair store. After some loitering and a mile walk, I arrived at the dojo for my class […]

Today was fun again. I’m back!
I think not exhausting myself yesterday helped make today’s class go well. Maybe I have a new way of understanding “don’t overexert yourself.”

I’ve been noticing lately that training has been losing it’s spark for me. I haven’t been happy at the end of class. Instead, I’ve been relieved it’s over.
But today, I was fifteen minutes late, and that meant I missed most of the warm-up calisthenics. I hadn’t known it would make such a difference, but I […]