I told you last week that I was starting karate. Well, that first day went well, and we would normally go twice a week, but then we had to miss a couple of classes while we were passing around the stomach bug. Consequently, tonight was my second class.

Would you believe that we were SPARRING on my second day??

Sparring is basically structured fighting. I told my lil’ blue belt that I was nervous, and he said, “Don’t be! We’ll go easy on you.” LOL – Gee, thanks! Actually, it went fine. We rotated partners, and I was paired with two black belts, a green belt, an orange belt, and I was even matched with my lil’ blue and purple belts, in turn. Sparring against my own kids was a little awkward at first, until I remembered that they are several levels ahead of me, so the odds of actually hurting my child during the exercise were slim. Even if I goofed on a technique and threw a wild punch, they are trained to block it reflexively. The advanced belts also know to adjust their practice based on the belt level and size of their sparring partner, so it was all good.

I was still nervous about actually swinging a punch or kicking someone (and vice-versa), but the advanced belts encouraged me to actually follow through on the strikes and kicks … ie, really try to hit them. (I should mention that we were all in pads & other protective gear!!)

All things considered, one of the black belts told me after class that I did really well for a white belt. Talk about boosting my ego!

Speaking of my ego –  along with every other muscle, joint and cell in my body – it’s exhausted. G’night!