Wen-Do and ritual
*limps over to computer and sits down carefully*
Ow, my arms. And my legs. And my back! Coffee is on, and as soon as it's done I'll be using it to chase down a couple of extra-strength Aspirin.
The cause of my misery is (a) my poor physical condition, and (b) the Wen-Do class I took yesterday at the University of Manitoba, along with eastpath and cockatiel_art. It consisted of three two-hour segments: an hour of discussion followed by an hour of physical technique and practice. Twelve students learned how to stand in balanced fighting stance, how to yell "NO!" from our belly with every blow, and various "soft" and "hard" techniques of attack. ("Soft" techniques cause injuries that are non-life threatening and will heal completely. "Hard" techniques cause injuries that are potentially life threatening and will not heal completely if the person survives.) We discussed the theory and legality of women's self-defense and found out how to slip free of various types of holds. And we nibbled on cookies brought by the instructor, who is Jewish -- delicious little folded creations filled with dates and raisins and poppyseeds.
(EDITED TO ADD: The cookies are called Hamantaschen. Thanks to nightdog_barks for providing the name and the link.)
When the lunch break came the instructor asked if she could come along with eastpath, cockatiel_art and myself. We had a nice meal and a very interesting conversation at one of the University restaurants. It turns out that the instructor has two cats, as did the rest of us, and that she owns all the Matrix movies and simply loves them. eastpath and I also told her that we might be interested in intermediate and eventually instructor training, which she was pleased to hear, since she's currently the only Wen-Do instructor in the city. (Training takes about two years. Yowza.)
I got home barely in time to greet people arriving for the Full Moon Group outer court ritual. (That's the third ritual in four days for anybody who's keeping count.) Usually I am fully present, aware, and engaged during rituals, but yesterday I was so tired and worn out after Wen-Do that I felt too fuzzy to really concentrate and direct energy properly. (I even placed the God and Goddess candles in reverse orientation while setting up the altar... *sigh*) I hope that others found the ceremony more fulfilling than I did.
After the ceremony, as we ate the post-ritual meal, we ended up watching The Matrix on A&E. We came in right at the beginning of the Neo/Smith fight scene, which led diamond_lies to remark: "Neo and Smith. TOTALLY hot." Heh. I'll have to send her some of my Neo/Smith fanfic.
On a more seriously note, one of the members of the outer court approached me privately in the kitchen and asked me to help her out with her self-dedication ritual into the Wiccan religion. I was pleased, honored, and touched. She and her husband are taking a "ritual hiatus" for the next six months due to baseball season (they both play), and during that time I'll be meeting with her about once a month to discuss her progress to date and suggest reading and resources to help her fill in any gaps in her knowledge. I hope to see her self-dedicate by next Beltane, which is a little bit over thirteen months from now.
So... the aftermath. Last night I was exhausted and vaguely achy. This morning the various aches have sharpened into pain, especially in my back and arms. (We did proper warm-ups and stretches prior to the physical training. I'm just not used to that level of activity.) And I'm very stiff, which I hope will work itself out over the course of the day. But I'm so glad that I signed up for the Wen-Do course and I'm looking forward to next week's session. I really do feel that if someone accosted me on the street, I'd now have a chance at fighting them off and getting away.
(EDITED TO ADD: eastpath suggested doing some soft stretches to loosen my muscles. And lo and behold, it has worked.
Ah, my... I don't know where my brain has been these last two and a half weeks, but I hope that it's coming home soon.)
Ow, my arms. And my legs. And my back! Coffee is on, and as soon as it's done I'll be using it to chase down a couple of extra-strength Aspirin.
The cause of my misery is (a) my poor physical condition, and (b) the Wen-Do class I took yesterday at the University of Manitoba, along with eastpath and cockatiel_art. It consisted of three two-hour segments: an hour of discussion followed by an hour of physical technique and practice. Twelve students learned how to stand in balanced fighting stance, how to yell "NO!" from our belly with every blow, and various "soft" and "hard" techniques of attack. ("Soft" techniques cause injuries that are non-life threatening and will heal completely. "Hard" techniques cause injuries that are potentially life threatening and will not heal completely if the person survives.) We discussed the theory and legality of women's self-defense and found out how to slip free of various types of holds. And we nibbled on cookies brought by the instructor, who is Jewish -- delicious little folded creations filled with dates and raisins and poppyseeds.
(EDITED TO ADD: The cookies are called Hamantaschen. Thanks to nightdog_barks for providing the name and the link.)
When the lunch break came the instructor asked if she could come along with eastpath, cockatiel_art and myself. We had a nice meal and a very interesting conversation at one of the University restaurants. It turns out that the instructor has two cats, as did the rest of us, and that she owns all the Matrix movies and simply loves them. eastpath and I also told her that we might be interested in intermediate and eventually instructor training, which she was pleased to hear, since she's currently the only Wen-Do instructor in the city. (Training takes about two years. Yowza.)
I got home barely in time to greet people arriving for the Full Moon Group outer court ritual. (That's the third ritual in four days for anybody who's keeping count.) Usually I am fully present, aware, and engaged during rituals, but yesterday I was so tired and worn out after Wen-Do that I felt too fuzzy to really concentrate and direct energy properly. (I even placed the God and Goddess candles in reverse orientation while setting up the altar... *sigh*) I hope that others found the ceremony more fulfilling than I did.
After the ceremony, as we ate the post-ritual meal, we ended up watching The Matrix on A&E. We came in right at the beginning of the Neo/Smith fight scene, which led diamond_lies to remark: "Neo and Smith. TOTALLY hot." Heh. I'll have to send her some of my Neo/Smith fanfic.
On a more seriously note, one of the members of the outer court approached me privately in the kitchen and asked me to help her out with her self-dedication ritual into the Wiccan religion. I was pleased, honored, and touched. She and her husband are taking a "ritual hiatus" for the next six months due to baseball season (they both play), and during that time I'll be meeting with her about once a month to discuss her progress to date and suggest reading and resources to help her fill in any gaps in her knowledge. I hope to see her self-dedicate by next Beltane, which is a little bit over thirteen months from now.
So... the aftermath. Last night I was exhausted and vaguely achy. This morning the various aches have sharpened into pain, especially in my back and arms. (We did proper warm-ups and stretches prior to the physical training. I'm just not used to that level of activity.) And I'm very stiff, which I hope will work itself out over the course of the day. But I'm so glad that I signed up for the Wen-Do course and I'm looking forward to next week's session. I really do feel that if someone accosted me on the street, I'd now have a chance at fighting them off and getting away.
(EDITED TO ADD: eastpath suggested doing some soft stretches to loosen my muscles. And lo and behold, it has worked.
Ah, my... I don't know where my brain has been these last two and a half weeks, but I hope that it's coming home soon.)