Katy Grantham Fights Fibromyalgia with Karate
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?
karate
Deshimaru Roshi on Shin, Wasa and Tai
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.” […]
Concussion and Fibromyalgia: Seven Months and Counting
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 […]
I love my body!
It’s still fat, definitely. And it’s sore sometimes. But I have visible arm muscles! Visible leg muscles! And I can do amazing things: I can survive a karate class, walk through the grocery store, and I can pick up my beautiful baby. Oh, that is so, so wonderful.
There’s no crying in karate.
Karate was quite hard today. I’d say “the hardest class ever” but I’ve used that too much already!
The warm-up exhausted me, really. Twenty minutes of jogging, pushups, situps, etc., plus drills on kicks from the floor. I had to take a break in the middle, and even after the break, I had to slow down […]
Laziness is another word for Fibromyalgia
So I promised myself I wouldn’t miss any classes because I was “too sore” or “too exhausted” or “dizzy” or any of those other Fibromyalgia things. I decided I did not need to take a “break” sometimes, that I would just do it. And that’s worked pretty well…
…until last week.
The dojo was closed on Monday […]
Now I'm sore.
Today I went to help Sensei remodel one of the dojos. He had put up a sign asking for volunteers. I was surprised at how few had signed up to help.
Our culture says “I’ve hired you as a teacher, so it’s your job to provide me with a facility (dojo), and to provide me with […]
Karate graduation!
Today was the end of my one-month beginners’ class, and now I am ready to join the regular class.
The regular class starts right after the beginners’ class ends, and, after a few minutes’ rest, I decided I wanted to do it, today. What was I thinking?!
Of course it was “too much.” This time I wasn’t […]
The day after
The Tuesday/Thursday class is in the evening, and it’s a good thing. I had plenty of time to decide whether to go to class tonight.
I went, and it wasn’t bad at all. Well, it was hard, but that’s good. I got to find out that I could still get through a hard class.
Have to remember […]
Uh oh.
Last week I did five classes, and all was fine. But today wasn’t so fine.
I want to say it was the hardest class yet, but I’ve said that too many times. It was really scary, though. I kept thinking, “maybe this is where I’m supposed to quit.” I wondered if I’d pass out. I wondered […]