Archive for February 9th, 2007

“Exercise produces endorphins…”

Published by
jessi
at February 09, 2007 in Random Reading. 2 Comments

So, after a brief fighting session, neither Clint nor Laura had any particular plans. I invited them both back to the house. Laura had ridden her bike to meet us in Tanimachi, so we decided to walk back to Shoji. It was actually a lot further than I remembered it, but then there was also the fact that we were on foot and I usually take the route by bike.

We were all pretty famished by the time we reached Kita Tatsumi via Katsuyama, so we stopped off at Yoshinoya for some food. It’s been a while since I’d eaten there, and despite the fact that it’s not the healthiest of meals, it hit the spot. Tenken called it a day after that, however, and after he left, Laura and I promptly teased him about being a wuss.

Laura and I both had some interesting bruises, which ironically we had given each other — I to her hand and she to my thumb. I recounted the story of my contusion from my university days and so we got it in our heads that we should find milkshakes. **

**Flashback, wavy screen and everything: Maybe four days before I graduated ISU, I met up with my sparring buddies Jonathan and Mike for one last session. I was cracked soundly on the hand by the new guy and a rather large lump/bruise formed. (Ask Melany or Denise, they both saw it!) We had gone to Steak and Shake afterwards and I got the bright idea to hold my hand against the milkshake glass by way of “icing it”. When I went to Health Services the following day, at the insistence of the band secretary and my director, the doctor-type asked me if I had iced it all. I wasn’t entirely honest with her, but in a way, I did try and keep the swelling down with some type of cold.**

Of course, we realized our folly in that milkshakes aren’t easy to come by in this country. We decided that ice cream would be a decent substitute. Funnily enough, when we got to the 7-11, neither of us were really in the mood anymore, so we opted for Red Bulls and a small thing of ice instead.

I gave Laura a tour of my house, and then we were content to just chill in the living room, icing our bruises and talking about this and that. Eventually, it was decided that Laura wanted to go back to Namba specifically to Dotombori to take picture of all the pretty lights. She invited me along, and seeing as how I had nothing else planned, I agreed.

As I mentioned, she took her bike in, and was unsure of her plans thereafter, so I went ahead and biked in right along with her. It was something against my better judgment and I generally detest the Hill, but on the bright side, it was getting exercise.

The ride wasn’t that bad. Perhaps it was the lack of foot traffic, or maybe it was that neither of us pushed up the Hill like it was a race. It was actually a pleasant ride.

We stopped off at Clint’s place so that Laura could borrow his tripod for the shot. I was amused in that he was playing World of Warcraft (sorry, gang, he’s Alliance, too). Hence, he opted not to join us in our hijinx.

Laura has this thing about taking pictures. She’s kinda like Rob in that. Anyway, after her shots were done, we were once again at a loss at what to do. It turns out she’s as bad of an influence as Matt is because the next thing I know, we’re going to Royal Host to partake in those yummy sundaes we had samples last week. And oh yeah, they were just as satisfying this week as they were last week. Soooo gooood.

I invited Laura back to the house to watch stuff, be it Firefly, a movie, or some other series. By the time we made it back to the house, it was about 11:30PM. It was thus decided that we would watch an episode of Gilmore Girls since that was only forty minutes, giving her plenty of time to ride back to Kiyobashi at a decent hour.

I popped some pop corn while Laura poured us each a glass of Aquarius and we settled under the kotatsu with our various snacks, including a box of Junior Mints, and took a merry trip into Star’s Hollow. (We started at the very beginning.)

One episode led to three and a sleepover. Living alone is certainly a bonus in that I have a whole spare room and spare futons.

So yeah; it was a good day full of lots of activities and endorphins.

The Tenken and the Wildcard

Published by
jessi
at February 09, 2007 in On Fighting. 1 Comment

For about a month now, I’d been saying to Clint that we should spar sometime. Every time we made arrangements to do so, either he or I back out for various reasons.

This was not the case this week.

I met with Clint and Laura at Tanimachi Exit 3 to take them to the park. The weather was supposed to be temperate, which was another reason I suggested meeting.

Clint is a saber fencer; he competed on the national level, studied privately with a maestro and everything. He also taught a little fencing in Ren Faires. Laura’s training is not so explicit, having only sparred and competed with karate but she expressed interest in learning some weapon techniques.

I trusted Clint’s teaching method more than I trusted mine, so I left it to him to teach Laura the basics. There were a few things that I chimed in on, and I helped do footwork drills while Clint played about with the various shinai that I brought with me.

After about an hour or so, it was finally time to spar. Naturally, Clint and I squared off first. There were a few friendly passes, but it was incredibly difficult to gauge him. I sent out my circle, and was surprised at how it merely stopped when it got to Clint. I was further baffled when it allowed Clint to step inside. This is something that rarely happens.

I don’t remember exactly when or where I realized it, but I stopped at one point to explain my reluctance to engage in combat. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something different about you.” I have no doubt that Clint has skill, but there was something decidedly lacking in our passes. I explained to both of them about the circle, and how with most people it either bends upon “contact” with my opponents and yet with Clint, it didn’t find him at all intrusive as it would against say Jacob or Mike.

There were a few more exchanges and after a moment’s breath I found an allusion that seemed to sum it up for me: “Have you ever watched Rurouni Kenshin? It’s like you’re the Tenken.”

Laura agreed and Clint was pretty happy about the reference. Clint is a blank fighter. There is nothing but a smile on his face and his fighter’s ki is playful and docile in some respects.

“I lack aggression and I’m not competitive,” he admitted. He had me on the ground and he didn’t take the kill and I had promptly admonished him for it. “It always got me into a bit of trouble in competitions.”

Thus, he is the Tenken only without the ruthlessness. He is still a competent and comparable opponent.

I sparred with Laura next. It was more drilling than anything else; a few passes and some instruction along the way. There was definitely a difference between her and Clint. Whereas Clint was allowed in my circle, Laura was obstructed. Not surprising considering her own observation in that she is incredibly competitive.

After a brief water break, Clint thought it would be fun to take us both on. We all did reasonably well all things considered. For a man who is not overly aggressive, he was doing pretty well. I watched a bout between Clint and Laura thereafter and the only way I could describe it as was playful. They are too good of friends to truly be looking to hurt each other. Clint managed a typical head shot characteristic of a saber fencer rather soundly on Laura. I was impressed that he was able to pull it off given the off-set balance and weight of the shinai versus a saber. He also managed to coax Laura into a decent attack after some references to a fellow neither one of them are quite fond of. I made the mistake of following this and that’s how I received a sound hit on my thumb. We had been fighting with the shorts and I forgot to put the gauntlets back on. My thumb now sports an interesting bruise covering about 70% under my nail and even through to the other side. I proudly named it “George”.

It was after all this that we decided to call the day. Clint and I dubbed Laura “the Wildcard” as she is the novice of us and there is truly no telling what she will end up doing in a bout.

After sparring with both of them, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jacob would have made of them.