Karate College recovery mode

Right, so I’m back from Karate College 2006 … catching up on sleep, sorting through photos and amazed at how well I survived the weekend.

Master Sams, my instructor, has been teaching at Karate College as long as the camp’s been operating. A group from the school goes up every year to learn, help teach & hang out with old friends.

Long story short … we had fun, and worked out with great instructors. The camp draws top talent, and I’m fortunate to work a lot of great instructors due to my school’s good reputation.

By “work with”, I mean get used as a demonstration partner.

Last year it was Michael DePasquale, Jr. (Jujitsu) who bounced me off the mat. This year it was Scott Yates (Hapkido). Master Yates isn’t as well known as DePasquale, which he compensated for by using me for a longer period of time (several hours instead of one class).

There is something in a person’s brain that says “you want to do what?” when volunteering to be a demonstration partner at a seminar. This little voice of survival is balanced by several factors:

1. These instructors are respected and are trained to return that respect
2. These instructors have a measure of control that keeps students from suffering permanent injuries (the ones that willingly hurt their students get a reputation and are rarely welcomed at such a camp)
3. There is no better way to learn than to jump in and do it (nobody’s born with a black belt)

I have tons of pics from the camp, and I hope my friend Stan will send video of me being thrown around in the Hapkido classes (or more accurately, my friends hope they get that video). I need to edit the Sajido seminars Master Sams taught … I have five years of footage now, perhaps it’s time for another Sajido DVD).

My “normal” life of goats, computers & DCTV will resume after my sleep schedule readjusts.