"And now you'll all levitate six feet in the air, then do a back flip"

[rachelmanija]

I have my ticket to Japan now, and will be there for most of April. We'll see how much I manage to post here while I'm gone. I probably won't be reading other people's journals while I'm there, as the net cafe fees add up, but I will check my email regularly. I'm really, really looking forward to this vacation.

Unfortunately, I will probably have to take my copyedited manuscript with me to work on it there, as it's due back to the publishers about four days before I leave, and then they have to mail it to me.

I have written to the Rolling Stones publicist for permission to quote lyrics. I have a morbid curiousity as to how much they'll charge for five lines. I haven't heard back from Thomas Pynchon's people yet.

My back is better-- either I needed to go easy and give it a chance to heal, or else it slowly, slowly has been improving with time. I've been inching my way back into sparring-type stuff, with the consequence that I have a huge blister on the bottom of one big toe, half the skin ripped off the side of the other, a bruise on my ribcage where someone punched me, and another bruise on the top of my foot where a 275 lb man (I'm guessing) stepped forward when he should have stepped back and stomped on my foot.

On the positive side, I went to a timing seminar, where I got to see the legendary young tournament champ SK side-thrust kick a guy so he was lifted off his feet and hurled halfway across the room, whereupon he landed on his ass and skidded the rest of the way across the room. SK also did his famous thing where he sweeps both your legs out from under you and dumps you straight down on your butt. (I didn't spar with him, I just saw that.) Between that and the dramatic event with Sensei Y, I have seen more astonishing stuff in the past month than I have in years of normal training.

SK is amazing. He's medium size, maybe a bit on the tall side but not a big bruiser by any means, with the huge brown eyes and heavy lashes typically seen on Jewish and Middle-eastern men, although I believe he's actually Swiss. He's in his mid twenties but his black belt is almost white with wear. He led the warm-up, which alone was worth the admission fee:

"Run across the room, and when you hit the center, jump straight up in the air, then land and keep going to the other side!" He demonstrates, almost knocking his head against the ceiling. "GO!"

We all do that.

"Now run back and when you hit the center, jump off of your left foot!" Demo, ditto. "GO!"

"Now off your right foot, GO!"

"Now off either foot, but spin all the way around in mid-air!" Beautiful spin, perfect landing. "GO!"

Now, I do know how to do this, but couldn't manage it at that time. Neither could a lot of other people.

"Same thing again, but remember, if you launch off of your right foot, you'll spin counter-clockwise, and land on the same foot you jumped oof of, but if you jump with your left foot, spin clockwise, GO!"

I'm pretty sure I jumped with my right foot, spun clockwise, and landed on my left. I'm just glad I didn't land on my ass.

"Now do the same thing, but do a side-thrust kick in mid-air!" SK proceeds to leap straight into the air, and in mid-air, does a perfect and incredibly powerful-looking side-thrust kick, then lands like a gymnast. Everyone starts laughing at the idea that they could do that. "Just do your best. GO!"

We all try. I think I got my leg out, sort of, but not in any sort of kick. We all land klutzily, almost colliding with each other, and dash back to the other side. I looked up. SK was laughing.

Comments

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

For some reason I'm picturing Stewart from the Mad TV skit. "Look what I can do!" *flails*

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

My tae kwon do teacher could do things like that, and he was also incredibly cute. He went off to Hollywood a couple of years after I started training, and as far as I can tell, disappeared.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose you still have his phone number? ;)