healthy competition

Annabel and Shawn participated in a Taekwondo tournament.  Boards were broken, battles were fought, and metals and trophies were won.  Sportsmanship continues to develop, because not everyone can come in first. 

Skylar watched, became inspired, and decided to return to the DoJang, so now I have three active martial artists under one roof.  No one will mess with us.

tournament

A day of accomplishments for Annabel and Shawn.  Board breaking, remembering complex forms, sparring (Annabel beat a boy), learning sportsmanship, dealing with nerves, and bringing home some medals!

balance

Family life.  Three kids.  Husband recording this week.  Next week too.  Dinners to make and dishes to wash and laundry to hang and floor to sweep.  Bugs to pick off some of my plants and neem oil to spray on them.  A spread sheet for 2009 to finish asap.  Carpooling to Taekwondo.  Sprinkler pipe broken underground.  A garden to water by hand all week til the gardener returns to fix it.  And this past week there were two extra days off of Shawn's school for teacher work day and government furlough.  

Calgon, take me away. 

I tweaked my back a couple of weeks ago and unlike my typical rehab (stretching, taking it easy for a day, good diet and rest) it wasn't getting better.  I went to a physical therapist this week who works holistically, incorporating pilates and "energy work" into her practice.  She was very good.  She said, "you need to strengthen your abdominals.  Me who had washboard abs in high school.  Me who did press handstands in college.  "Do some yoga lunges," she said, and she showed me an isometric stomach exercise to do as well.

Ten years ago I learned yoga in a class with ten other people and a sweet, smiling forty-something red headed teacher.   Most people in the class were regulars.  Irma was the oldest student.  She was 85, really skinny, and always frowning.  She was stiff and grumpy.  But she came to class, every time. 

"How are you Irma?" Lahar would ask. 

"I'm here," she would always answer. 

I remember thinking back then, "This is a great sport.  I can do this for the rest of my life."  (I thought of yoga as a sport).

Then we moved and I found another yoga teacher, a man about my age who was fit, gentle spirited, and funny.  I went three times a week for three years, often my husband would join me.  The class was hard work and we did the handstands differently than in gymnastics, but there I learned the principles of alignment and although I never saw myself in this light, it was there that I began to become a yogi.   Eventually the class was twice a week, then once, then the teacher moved away.  I tried to find a teacher I liked as much as him to no avail.  So I joined a gym, to make sure my heart rate was up to speed.  I still did yoga stretches there, but it wasn't the same.  I always ended up on the treadmill, watching television.  I walked and ran hard for an hour but it wasn't yoga.  I did this type of exercise for a couple of years. 

I found out a month ago that my first yoga teacher just died.  She was only 50.  She ate organic food, was a vegetarian, practiced yoga her entire adult life, and was a very giving soul.  She died of a brain aneurism.  I hadn't been in touch with her and didn't get a change to say goodbye.  

We never know what our destiny really is and when our time will be up.

Two days ago I got out my yoga mat and put it on our back porch while Gary and the kids were at Taekwondo.  It was five o'clock, and cloudy.  The neighborhood was quiet, just a gentle breeze of palm trees and a few birds to keep me company.  I gently practiced yoga for 1/2 hour, my back going into spasms if I pushed too hard.  It felt great.  Everything came back to me and I found I could "teach" myself.  Today Gary took the kids out and I got two hours alone in the house.  I practiced yoga for an hour, tuning in to whatever area of my body wanted attention, and remembering a pose to suit that need.  I remembered a pose that I did with Lahar, and held that for awhile.  I looked out at the orange cloudy sky and thought of her, getting a strong sense that wherever she was now, she was at peace.   

Today my back has stopped the spasms.  I feel stronger.  I have been doing the stomach exercises.   I see the PT this week again.  I wonder if she'll notice the change I feel.

When I was young I was a jock and I had so much time to practice all sorts of athletics.  Now I have to create time for exercise, when I need it most.  But I am determined to continue with my yoga practice.

 

Rest in peace, Lahar.  I'm glad you were in my life. 

 

new belts again

For my two little ones, who in fact are not so little anymore.  Shawn (6) is now a purple belt, Annabel (almost 11) is now a green belt.  Every time they test for a new belt there is this leap in maturity, confidence, discipline, and dedication.  They all want to get their black belts and are training toward this. 

perfect timing

The girls have each advanced another belt in Taekwondo.  They are working hard, and getting strong.  Poor little brother has been a little discouraged.  He is naturally quite competitive, so imagine the challenge and some of the dinner conversations in our household.  But yesterday he came home from class all excited because he was chosen by his instructors for "Junior Student of the Month."  Listed on the official certificate were the qualities "honesty, patience, perseverance, loyalty, respect, indomitable spirit."  What a great sport for them all.

new belts

Our kids are getting mentally tougher, physically stronger, more coordinated, more respectful, and more self confident with each passing week spent in Taekwondo training.  They all tested for the next level belts last weekend.  Annabel and Shawn are now high orange belts and Sky is now a high purple belt.  Every time they test they have to memorize forms (series of movements), kicks, punches, blocks, break aways and facts about Taekwondo.  And the most fun is breaking boards.  It's amazing when they do this, all the kids cheer each other on, and each time it's more challenging -- the kicks get tougher, or the boards get thicker.  Look at the face on our fierce Annabel.

    

we have an orange belt in the house

The relationship between the instructor and the child is very important in Taekwondo, particularly for this child, who is very relational. Her goal is to get her black belt. She is very focused, and a great inspiration for the other two, who are right behind her.

I love seeing our children grow and reach accomplishments, and how it helps them blossom. I remember that feeling well. My sport was gymnastics. For me the highlight was when I finally learned how to do a back handspring by myself.

yellow belts

Hard work. Lots of practice. Memorizing multi step forms. Focus. Courage. Good attitudes. Character growth. Big sisters helping little brother. Memorizing facts about Korea. Counting in Korean. Breaking boards with kicks! 50 push ups! Such pride and joy...

ten things i'm loving right now

1. Anticipation. We leave for our summer trip in 13 days.

2. Kid cuteness. Lovin' my kid's art, especially our youngest. Also his attempt at writing and spelling, he keeps little journals and sketchbooks and writes things like "I LUV EVREWUN IN YR FEMIEY KAY AND WISLR." Kay is the neighbor and Whistler is her dog. Or "I RILE LUV U IM JUST MAD I LOVE U 1000 GALINS."

3. Homeschooling lifestyle. Even this mess isn't bothering me. This is unusual for this particularly tidy child. However there were multiple projects happening that day. School French poster, blogging, photography, science homework, counting money for the charity boxes, making the charity boxes, and playing dolls.

4. Feeling really peaceful. I can't explain why but it is very obvious lately. Even with the above mess.

5. Packing, organizing, going through our clothes, deciding what to take to Italy and France, and California and New York.

6. Doing Sky's CD cover with Isa, a sweet young designer. You will have to wait and see this.

7. The kids. Here they are preparing for yellow belt Taekwondo testing this week.

8. My garden. Watering weeding, harvesting. Also I have successfully saved our lawn and filled in the dead areas with seed. It looks great now.

9. Being busy. And productive. I like having a long to do list and am surprised at how much I have done, and how relaxing this month is in preparation for a 3 month trip.

10. The constant music, all of our offspring and my husband make around here, of course. Gary is doing a house concert this weekend too. We haven't done that since 2003, it will be fun.

taekwondo tournament

Shawn getting his gold medal scores.

Sky's silver medal scores.

Shawn gearing up for sparring

Don't mess with Shawn

Annabel prepares to spar. She went 3 rounds, and took home a bronze medal!

Below, Sky sparred a girl way bigger than her. She was very brave.

Sky gets advice from her teacher.

What an experience this was for our entire family! The kids competed in their first real tournament.  Our kids were some of the few white belts (beginning belt color) there. They all did great. They all competed in "forms" and "sparring." There was nervousness about just showing up and doing their forms, in addition there was the stress over the very monitored and padded fights. They were thrilled to receive medals in both divisions. We came away seeing that the biggest growth often happens when we face our fears.