Raaaawr.

[kurukami]

Between re-starting P90x, getting back to biking to work (finally!), and my new pastime of rock-climbing, not to mention getting up every weekday at 5:45 am or so, I would've expected to be fatigued. Instead, I find myself almost boiling over with energy, and I like it quite a bit. Maybe it's the lower-carbs/lower-fat diet, or maybe it's just

Comments

[sienamystic]

My sister loved taking krav, and is still grumpy that some sad politics that occurred at the only trainer near her forced her to stop. She burbled so happily about it that I was briefly tempted, but I don't think it's for me!

I studied aikido for a very short time in high school, and it made a huge impression on me. I've been kicking around the idea of starting again, and have been trying to find my way around the money issue. But wow, I loved studying it so much, and enjoyed the weapons component of it as well.

[wesleysgirl]

I think you should do the dancing. Purely anecdotal, but in my experience women find men who are willing to do stuff they're not great at appealing, because it's a sign that the men have a sense of humor about themselves.

[kurukami]

*rubs chin thoughtfully* Well, it's definitely worth considering. I have to admit that runs counter to my instincts, though. I'll think on it. : )

[starcat_jewel]

Okay, time for Contradance Encouragement Talk #2. :-)

Despite it being called dancing, there isn't that much about contradance that's like what most people think of as "dancing". If you can count from 1 to 8 and walk from Point A to Point B while doing so, you can do 90% of what contradance requires. The dance consists of the patterns made by the individual dancers in relation with each other, not footwork or arm positions.* Furthermore, a lot of groups (especially in the really active contradance areas, of which the East Coast is one) have beginner orientation before the main dance, during which you will be taught what the most common calls involve.

There are more-traditional types of dancing which are frequently included in contradance sessions (for example, the traditional Last Waltz), but you're free to sit those out.

* Arm positions are what get me with international dance. I can't think about my arms and my feet at the same time.

[kurukami]

*grin* OK, you've convinced me to see what's out there. I did do a search for "contra dancing" (and "contradancing") on Meetup.com and Google Maps and didn't turn up much. Any suggestions for where I might find some contact information?

[starcat_jewel]

http://www.cdss.org/cdss-group-affiliates/orderby/activity_state/sort/asc.html

That should get you to the CDSS Affiliate Groups list, sorted by state. From there, you can find groups near you. If you have questions about terminology and such, feel free to ask me.

I'm not surprised you didn't find anything on Meetup or Google; these are established groups (hence not Meetup fodder) that tend to meet in community centers or church fellowship halls (hence no fixed Google address).

I did a HUGE contradance data-dump for another friend last year, with lots of links including a set of beginner-instruction videos. Would you like for me to dig that out and forward it to you?

[kurukami]

Sure, sounds good. Thanks!

[dylanesque29]

Krav Maga and Aikido are both pretty effective martial arts.....but you'll still be able to practice Aikido and be effective at it as a senior citizen.

[kurukami]

This is true. Particularly with venerable old age tottering ever closer to me in my senile, rapidly-aging state... ; )

Aikido actually is more tempting to me, too. And there's a very well-reviewed dojo (if that's the word?) down in Somerville, near where exit 26 leaves I-93.

[dylanesque29]

Not that you're ANYWHERE NEAR old age, but it is good to plan long term....

Yes, it is dojo, since it's a Japanese art.

[kurukami]

I'm 35, dude. 36 in September, and I don't have AV's metabolism. I can feel entropy breathing on the back of my neck. ; )

[sunnyd_lite]

I did Aikido for serveral years (until moving away from my dojo). I really enjoyed tossing around guys twice my size -- excellent stress buster!

[kurukami]

*looks thoughtful* So in addition to learning an intriguing martial art, I can stand in as a tossing dummy? Bonus! ; )

Seriously, though, I'm leaning more and more towards checking out this one aikido dojo I found via Yelp.