Weaving Wisdom

So I tried the weaving thing, and it looks kind of interesting:


This is my prior 8 belts woven together, and the total weight is probably around 5 pounds.

It actually came out looking pretty cool, and is symbolic of how knowledge and ability gained at each belt level is woven into the next.

I don't know if I'll keep adding to it in the same fashion, but for now it's a respectful reminder of the road I've traveled so far.

A memorial

6 days until my final (I pray!) visit with Dr. K, where I should be officially released from restrictions on activity.

One of my goals this Memorial Day Weekend is to clean house. Time to finally get the summer/winter clothes turned over, toss or donate items, and especially important--organize my office.

In one corner behind the door is a small plastic wash tub. When I did Triathlons, it was useful in competition for quickly washing sand stuck to my feet from running up a beach before putting on socks and biking shoes. Most recently it's been put to service holding G-Shaft and my old belts until Mrs. Shaft needed something to soak her feet in.

And so the various colored belts from white through red came tumbling down and are currently lying in a sad heap on the floor behind me.

You know, they really deserve better retirement than that, but there are so many of them I'm not sure what to do!!! Our advancement system has half-belts, referred to as stripes, between each solid color belt. So the order is:

• White
• Gold
• Gold - Green Stripe
• Green
• Green - Purple Stripe
• Purple
• Purple - Blue Stripe
• Blue (My current rank)
• Blue - Red Stripe
• Red
• Red - Brown Stripe (G-Shaft's current rank)
  
• Brown
• Brown - Black Stripe
• Brown - Double Black Stripe
• Black

So there are 17 of these dear, old friends, just waiting for a creative display.

I thought I might honor them with a vertical rack, and each belt would be hanging properly knotted in a nice array, kind of like a gun rack or sword display one might find in a hunting lodge. If I find a nice design, maybe I'll partner with one of the other parents I train with to sell a few to other students wanting to honor their history.

However, that's a lot of belts--so now I'm thinking of some kind of weaving. While a vertical rack shows progression, I think weaving them together shows the relevance of each belt's lessons to the next.

We'll try it this weekend and see how it looks.

What do you do with your old belts when you've been advanced?

Rituals, and saying goodbye

Tonight I stopped by my Karate school before the usual Monday Night Fights (sparring class).

I wanted to honor my sense of ritual and say goodbye to the sparring instructor, since he only teaches Monday evenings. Taking my daughter to her classes wouldn't normally have me crossing paths with him, and it'll likely be late summertime or early autumn before I see him again.

The neat thing is he took some tickets to come see my band play next Monday, conveniently late enough not to conflict with sparring class! There should be quite a crowd from the karate school showing up. That is the coolest.

I decided to adjust my walking stick one more notch taller, and that has helped the stitch I've been feeling in my left hip. I was probably leaning too far over using the stick, and I'll confirm things with my PT on Wednesday. Oh, the interesting coincidence is my PT saw the same Orthopaedic Doc for a shoulder problem that I'm seeing for my ACL!

Final thought for the night: I'm giving in to gluttony this week. I'm indulging in a little bit of self-pity. I'm gonna enjoy a bit of excess eating M&M cookies with peanut butter chips, if only for a little while.

Just for a little while.

That's OK, right?

The Woodwork

It's always interesting to see who comes out of the woodwork when you experience some life-changing event. This morning at church I spoke with a few long-time friends and was related their personal ACL tear stories!

Judy, recently on the losing side of the equation between scooter and automobile, currently suffers from a torn ACL among other ailments as a result of her accident. Kerry tore her ACL 16 years ago skiing. Anne's son tore his playing soccer within the past few years, and I'm promised an introduction at Christmastime to talk with him about his experience.

This past week I've felt out of place in my own house, especially this weekend as the Wife and Mother-In-Law paint up the entryway and stairs.

I came to the realization that I'm sitting around doing nothing, because that's the time I'd usually spend at Karate class! DUH! I've been so entrenched in the daily and weekly rhythm of classes 4 to 5 times a week that it's really disruptive putting it on hold.

A man of ritual, I plan to give my fairly new sparring equipment (only twice used) a good cleaning and, along with my uniform and belt, pack it carefully away. Then I'll wrap it as a present to myself, to open on that special day when I get a green light from my PT and doc to return to Karate!