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Today was my first kung fu class in over a week. I took last week off because I'd brained myself and was suffering a low-grade migraine. But this week, now that f00's giant appendix emergency is over and my head is feeling much better, I wanted to get back to business.
Remember how I said Pat had punched me really hard in the ribs?
Well, I'm pretty sure he cracked one.
My ribs are still aching, and not in a bruised sort of way. I can handle them and press on them fine, but there's that small, ever-present sharpish/dullish pain just under my tit. It's not so bad that I can't move or anything, but it's definitely there. It's been not-too-bad for the last couple of days, but this morning, the pain had picked up a little. It's especially noticeable if I try to raise my ribs. The way I figure, I cracked one of 'em, but only slightly.
So I showed up to class and told Sifu Danny that I suspected I had a cracked rib, and that I wasn't too keen on taking any hits to the midsection today. I also told him my migraine seems to have finally left after the two head smashings I got last week, and I was ready to rumble.
And then the class started. While I worked with a brown sash (Jim) on body shifts as a block/evasion for a sliding front kick, I overheard Sifu Danny tell Sifu Ricky that I had a cracked rib. I saw Ricky's eyebrow shoot up, and heard him say, "And she's here training! Excellent!"
I guess that means I must be pretty hardcore. Heh. I don't feel hardcore. I had to force myself to go, tonight.
At one point, Jim said to me, "Did you have curry for supper?"
"I sure did! Why? Can you smell it?"
"Yup. As soon as you started sweating."
And did I ever sweat tonight. It was hot in the room, and with every kick, perspiration sprayed off me, like water off a leaping whale. It was pretty gross. I hardly needed to block any kicks. They would have just slid off me, anyhow.
I feel sorry for Jim, actually. I elbow smashed him in the shin twice, and I nicked a wedge of skin out of his fist with my big toe. For once, I didn't get any bruises or gouges, though.
Then, in the last few minutes of class, Sifu Ricky said he was going to take us through the Jane Fonda workout. He said, "We're going to do just twelve minutes of exercises. Going back and forth across the room, we'll do sliding front kicks, round house kicks, inside crescent kicks, side kicks, and outside crescent kicks." I knew we were doomed, even if some of the beginner students didn't realize it.
Twelve minutes is a long time to go full out, if you're not in terrific shape. And I didn't feel like I was in terrific shape, tonight. By the time we got to the side kicks, my poor legs didn't feel like they could lift any higher than knee height. But somehow, I managed to complete each of my kicks. And at the end, my outside crescent kicks were nice and high, even if I thought I'd drop from exhaustion.
And finally, mercifully, it was all over. I stood in ready position, and grabbed my breathing with my lungs, forcing my heart to slow right back down to a relaxed pace. Within a minute or two, I was back to normal, albeit drenched in sweat. As I left the room, Sifu Ricky said, "Excellent work!"
I feel like I just got a gold star....
------------
Oh! I just remembered something horrible I was told today. Last week, there was a death in an aikido class. Apparently, one of the senior students, a 65-year-old man, was working with a young girl. She threw him, and landed on him. He sat up, and then dropped dead, right there in the dojo. How awful! I don't know why he died. Maybe he had a heart attack or something. Crikey! The girl must feel absolutely terrible. Jeez Louise....
Remember how I said Pat had punched me really hard in the ribs?
Well, I'm pretty sure he cracked one.
My ribs are still aching, and not in a bruised sort of way. I can handle them and press on them fine, but there's that small, ever-present sharpish/dullish pain just under my tit. It's not so bad that I can't move or anything, but it's definitely there. It's been not-too-bad for the last couple of days, but this morning, the pain had picked up a little. It's especially noticeable if I try to raise my ribs. The way I figure, I cracked one of 'em, but only slightly.
So I showed up to class and told Sifu Danny that I suspected I had a cracked rib, and that I wasn't too keen on taking any hits to the midsection today. I also told him my migraine seems to have finally left after the two head smashings I got last week, and I was ready to rumble.
And then the class started. While I worked with a brown sash (Jim) on body shifts as a block/evasion for a sliding front kick, I overheard Sifu Danny tell Sifu Ricky that I had a cracked rib. I saw Ricky's eyebrow shoot up, and heard him say, "And she's here training! Excellent!"
I guess that means I must be pretty hardcore. Heh. I don't feel hardcore. I had to force myself to go, tonight.
At one point, Jim said to me, "Did you have curry for supper?"
"I sure did! Why? Can you smell it?"
"Yup. As soon as you started sweating."
And did I ever sweat tonight. It was hot in the room, and with every kick, perspiration sprayed off me, like water off a leaping whale. It was pretty gross. I hardly needed to block any kicks. They would have just slid off me, anyhow.
I feel sorry for Jim, actually. I elbow smashed him in the shin twice, and I nicked a wedge of skin out of his fist with my big toe. For once, I didn't get any bruises or gouges, though.
Then, in the last few minutes of class, Sifu Ricky said he was going to take us through the Jane Fonda workout. He said, "We're going to do just twelve minutes of exercises. Going back and forth across the room, we'll do sliding front kicks, round house kicks, inside crescent kicks, side kicks, and outside crescent kicks." I knew we were doomed, even if some of the beginner students didn't realize it.
Twelve minutes is a long time to go full out, if you're not in terrific shape. And I didn't feel like I was in terrific shape, tonight. By the time we got to the side kicks, my poor legs didn't feel like they could lift any higher than knee height. But somehow, I managed to complete each of my kicks. And at the end, my outside crescent kicks were nice and high, even if I thought I'd drop from exhaustion.
And finally, mercifully, it was all over. I stood in ready position, and grabbed my breathing with my lungs, forcing my heart to slow right back down to a relaxed pace. Within a minute or two, I was back to normal, albeit drenched in sweat. As I left the room, Sifu Ricky said, "Excellent work!"
I feel like I just got a gold star....
------------
Oh! I just remembered something horrible I was told today. Last week, there was a death in an aikido class. Apparently, one of the senior students, a 65-year-old man, was working with a young girl. She threw him, and landed on him. He sat up, and then dropped dead, right there in the dojo. How awful! I don't know why he died. Maybe he had a heart attack or something. Crikey! The girl must feel absolutely terrible. Jeez Louise....
