As most of you all know, I have been practicing karate several times a week now for the last 4 months. It has been quite an experience having never done anything like this before... except for dressing up like a ninja for Halloween and once making numb chucks in my basement that I used on my little brother. I hope you enjoy the following pics.
We always open each class with a series of warm up moves and stretches. As you can see the splits always seems to give me some trouble. I am officially the oldest, least flexible student in the class.
This is my good friend Andris that comes to practice sometimes, I made him pay the price for forgetting to wear his uniform.
All ninjas have to start with the basics.
Here is the whole class.
This is me looking on with fear and trembling as two weeks ago my skills were tested at this city wide examination to get a yellow belt. Fortunately, the group I am watching went before me so I could watch and try to memorize what I would have to do.
So far, so good.
This is when I really started to get nervous as I was paired up against this 14 year old girl. I got her with a left hook in this picture... just kidding, we weren't actually fighting.
At one point I was tested on a series of punches and kicks that I had worked on during the previous three months of practice. Midway through this portion of the test I blew it as I went blank and forgot what I was supposed to do. At that point I tried to just make something up and hope that I wouldn't be seen. The next thing I know I hear hystaric laughter coming from these little kids that were really enjoying my failure. (Thanks to Jordan for capturing every detail of my performance!)
Eventhough I choked on part of my exam, I still passed. Though the kids above are really enjoying themsleves, I got the last laugh. I also waited for them in the parking lot before I went home after the exam!This karate class has been one of the highlights of my time in Indonesia. In addition to developing some sweet fighting skills, I was able to make some great friendships that I'll never forget. I find great joy in knowing that I have been able to give a positive influence in such a context like this!
