Cadaver hands.
2002-09-27 4:23 p.m.

I did something really bad to my right hand in kung fu last night. I was doing bag work with another student. We'd each hold the hanging heavy bag for each other and do 10 punches on each side working on increasing our power. I admit it, I hit like a girl, I'm getting the techniques down but my punches are weak and wouldn't stop, say, a large cocaine enraged street person (i.e. the people that ride my bus). So we were glibly punching away and after a nice vertical punch I notice the first two knuckles on my right hand have suddenly swollen up like a goose egg. Only smaller, like a robin egg. I continued to work through the pain but brought down the power a bit and save that for my left hand. After I got home my hand was getting worse. The swelling was huge and my hand was starting to turn black and purple. I put ice on both my hands while I watched TV for an hour (Father Ted and Buffy the Vampire Slayer). This morning the blackness had creeped down my fingers and into the middle of my hand. My other hand is just bruised around the knuckles, like normal. The good news is the damage is in the correct area of my hands. At least I'm punching with the correct knuckles. Sheesh. I've heard of iron hand training. I guess I need to start out with aluminum foil hand training.

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Kung fu links.
2002-09-26 11:01 a.m.

At the request of my friend Tracy I have added some kung fu links on my page. They're on the right side below the favorite reads. Here's an explanation of what they are and why you should click on them. Oops, I actually typed "lick" on them. I suppose you could do that too, it is your computer screen after all.

The most important link is Mo Duk Pai Kung Fu.This is the style of kung fu I study. I've even contributed to this website with pictures. I'm also currently working on an article on Modern Arnis (stick fighting). Click often as the site changes and grows every week.

Martial Arts Mart a great online shop for all your kung fu paraphernalia. I've ordered from them many times and never had a problem. They also great prices on uniforms. Want to dress up like a shaolin monk for Halloween? They've got you covered.

Kung Fu Magazine I love to read the articles in this online magazine. Great writing and they explore many different styles of fu.

Full Contact Fighting The local Full Contact Fighting Federation. Amateurs locked in a cage beat each other senseless. I've been to two of their events and it's really exciting. I personally don't want to take my training that far but I admire those that want to test themselves.

The Kwoon Their motto is "bad acting good kung fu" they make short kung fu movies and post them on the web. Hysterical!

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Show off.
2002-09-25 12:35 p.m.

Man oh man, my upper back is killing me, especially around the scapula area. Monday night we drilled an elbow smash for half the class. My muscles are forming a rebellion. No amount of ibuprofen or arnica will pacify them. It's days like then when I feel really old.

I did get an "oh wow" from my yoga instructor yesterday. We were doing a leg apart hanging hamstring stretch with our hands clasped behind our backs. I nearly got my head to the ground and hands on the carpet. She even ran over and made some minor adjustments on me to get me deeper into the stretch. It felt really good and it was fun to show off. I don't get to show off too much in kung fu class, if I do it's usually a complete fluke. That's not quite true, being hyperflexible does help in wrestling as people have a hard time getting certain joint locks to work on me.

Hey, my pictures from Saturday's sash test are on the Mo Duk Pai website.

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I like my bad boys bad and my vampires bloody.
2002-09-24 3:58 p.m.

Tonight is the season premiere of Buffy and Smallville! Wheee!

I'm interested to see how they are going to handle the character of Spike, also known as William the Bloody, in Buffy. Now that Spike has gotten his soul back I hope he won't turn into Angel junior or Spike-Lite. I like my bad boys bad and my vampires bloody.

Speaking of bloody. I've gotten hooked on a series of books called the Anita Blake vampire hunter novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. Sort of like Stephanie Plum meets Anne Rice meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They're gory, bloody, scary, romantic and smutty. Let's face it, they're trash but I'm hooked. I'm currently reading The Laughing Corpse.

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Grappling seminar and mismatched eyes
2002-09-23 2:43 p.m.

I just signed up for a grappling seminar. For some reason I really like wrestling. I just hope more women sign up for the seminar. I don't really mind wrestling with the boys but it's nice to learn on someone who is closer to my own size. But from a reality standpoint, if I'm ever going to have to use grappling skills to defend myself, it's going to be against someone who is much bigger and heavier than myself.

On a side note, I'm wearing one blue contact lens and one violet contact lens. I managed to somehow rip up my right contact on Sunday night. I had an old pair in the bottom my drawer, so after some serious washing and disinfecting I now have mismatched eyes. I hope these last until my new contacts arrive in the mail. I like my glasses frames (cat eyed tortoise shell pattern) but they're hard to work out in and bug my ears. They're strictly for evenings and lazy weekends. I'm so nearsighted that functioning without them is not an option. I'm also too chicken to get my eyes lazered. Even thinking about it makes me do an icky dance.

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