Capoeira phweee!!!
Yesterday was brilliant.
First I spent fifteen minutes waiting outside the lecture hall with 90% of the rest of the Romantic students only to learn the lecture was going on, just with four people. So we all go in and sit down, and it was manic. One of the fatest lectures I've ever had. Then we had our seminar outside, which was fun. Bit chilly, but good fun.
After lunch I met up with Toast (it's going to sound horribly sappy and tease-worthy, but we had't seen each other for two days, so it was good) and went shopping. Got lots and lots of more freecomics pressed into my hand at the comicbook store (they recognise me, and it pleases me ^_^) and bought vol2 of Fables, which I've yet to read. And on the way back I found a ten pound note!
Said ten pound note then went towards paying for Capoeira. Think BBC ad with two guys in red cartwheeling on a roof. Alternately, it's sort of Brazilian martial arts crossed with dancing. You don't stop moving. Almost an hour's walk that, chatting with Elliot about Anime and Dougsoc et al (he was under the impression I was on the dougsoc committee... I'm not even a member!), then quick change and of we go. Twenty minutes running around the hall in various ways, which was tiring, then ten minutes killer stretches. The instructers were helping everyone. You know the stretch where you sit on the floor with your legs out and spread as far apart as you can, and then you bend between as far as you can reach, and some smug bugger always managed to put their forehead on the floor? They came over nad pushed on people's backs to make them go lower, which was a little painful but I surprised myself by how far I could actually go. Then the stretch where you sit almost crosslegged, but with the soles of your feet together, and they pressed down on your knees. That one I think I let him press too hard, but oh well. When they helped each other with that one, they took it in terns to stand on each other's legs. So then we got started on the actual capoeira, jinga-ing and so on, and I was pleased to see how much I remembered. Lots of practice, then the hodda, which is where everyone sits in a circle, clapping and singing, and two people 'play' in the centre. The aim is to take advantage of people's innattention and show them where they've slipped up without ever actually hitting them, if possible. Lots and lots of energy comes from the hodda, and it's brilliant watching experienced people do it, though we all got a couple of goes.
So, yes, enjoyed that muchly. Tired and spagetti-limbed afterwards, but I'm definitely going back next week, and possibly on Tuesday for the one hour session as well. Capoeira is the martial art for me ^___^ Also, the fun thing is if you see people in a hodda in the park or something, you can just randomly join in. That's half the fun of it.
Anyway, walked home again, saw people at Patch's as I walked past. Showered quickly (yes this has turned into a very precise account of my day now...), grabbed some cutlery and wandered over. We had DIY pizza, tzatziki (sp?), big salad and homemade lemonade. Was all very very brilliant. Unfortunately the adrenaline I was still otherwise high on wore off halfway through pizza making, so I suspect I wasn't particularly good company. All coherent thought tended towards: This is nice... This is nice... Yes... nice.
So yes, very good day indeed. Absolutely brilliant. And now I shall probably go back to bed, and enjoy all my new comics, because my limbs are all nasty stiff. But in a very good way.
First I spent fifteen minutes waiting outside the lecture hall with 90% of the rest of the Romantic students only to learn the lecture was going on, just with four people. So we all go in and sit down, and it was manic. One of the fatest lectures I've ever had. Then we had our seminar outside, which was fun. Bit chilly, but good fun.
After lunch I met up with Toast (it's going to sound horribly sappy and tease-worthy, but we had't seen each other for two days, so it was good) and went shopping. Got lots and lots of more freecomics pressed into my hand at the comicbook store (they recognise me, and it pleases me ^_^) and bought vol2 of Fables, which I've yet to read. And on the way back I found a ten pound note!
Said ten pound note then went towards paying for Capoeira. Think BBC ad with two guys in red cartwheeling on a roof. Alternately, it's sort of Brazilian martial arts crossed with dancing. You don't stop moving. Almost an hour's walk that, chatting with Elliot about Anime and Dougsoc et al (he was under the impression I was on the dougsoc committee... I'm not even a member!), then quick change and of we go. Twenty minutes running around the hall in various ways, which was tiring, then ten minutes killer stretches. The instructers were helping everyone. You know the stretch where you sit on the floor with your legs out and spread as far apart as you can, and then you bend between as far as you can reach, and some smug bugger always managed to put their forehead on the floor? They came over nad pushed on people's backs to make them go lower, which was a little painful but I surprised myself by how far I could actually go. Then the stretch where you sit almost crosslegged, but with the soles of your feet together, and they pressed down on your knees. That one I think I let him press too hard, but oh well. When they helped each other with that one, they took it in terns to stand on each other's legs. So then we got started on the actual capoeira, jinga-ing and so on, and I was pleased to see how much I remembered. Lots of practice, then the hodda, which is where everyone sits in a circle, clapping and singing, and two people 'play' in the centre. The aim is to take advantage of people's innattention and show them where they've slipped up without ever actually hitting them, if possible. Lots and lots of energy comes from the hodda, and it's brilliant watching experienced people do it, though we all got a couple of goes.
So, yes, enjoyed that muchly. Tired and spagetti-limbed afterwards, but I'm definitely going back next week, and possibly on Tuesday for the one hour session as well. Capoeira is the martial art for me ^___^ Also, the fun thing is if you see people in a hodda in the park or something, you can just randomly join in. That's half the fun of it.
Anyway, walked home again, saw people at Patch's as I walked past. Showered quickly (yes this has turned into a very precise account of my day now...), grabbed some cutlery and wandered over. We had DIY pizza, tzatziki (sp?), big salad and homemade lemonade. Was all very very brilliant. Unfortunately the adrenaline I was still otherwise high on wore off halfway through pizza making, so I suspect I wasn't particularly good company. All coherent thought tended towards: This is nice... This is nice... Yes... nice.
So yes, very good day indeed. Absolutely brilliant. And now I shall probably go back to bed, and enjoy all my new comics, because my limbs are all nasty stiff. But in a very good way.