Thanks to Lisa’s photography work, I have some cool pictures from yesterday’s Karate Promotional.

Check them out here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/parabuzzle/sets/72157605120323408/

Today was my first Karate test and I passed! Yay! Now I am donning the yellow around my waist and next week I start sparring. I’d love to talk more about it but I am off to a party right now. Pictures coming soon.

So on Sunday, Lisa and I decided to do a little light climbing out at Mt. Diablo. The afternoon started well. We had to run to San Francisco because I had to do a little work at a terminal of a machine that didn’t want to connect to the network before we went, but that only took like 10 minutes. When we got to Diablo, we both realized that we have no idea where in the hell we are going so we decided to roam around the park and mark things in the GPS. We stayed in the Rock City area and there were a ton of people on the main paths. We stumbled upon Sentinel Rock and decided to go off the path and hike to the bottom of it. Once we got to the bottom after quite an adventure we found a quiet spot and put our stuff down. We decided to climb a bit of it and just have some fun on our first outdoor climb together. So I did a hard little problem on the side of the rock face.

As I went to move to the next position my right foot slipped and all my weight was on my right hand and the tiny ledge. I heard a snap in my wrist that seemed to hurt for a second and then went away.  I finished the problem and all was fine. Then Lisa decided to do a taller and easier route on the wall. As lisa was cleaning her start holds, a shower of yellow droplets came down the rock face… What is yellow, and smells like piss? You got it, someone was pissing off of a cliff above! If you know Lisa, you can only imagine how mortified she was. Luckily, the scream caused the shower to stop and the golden river flowed a less resistant path down the rock face about 10 yards away. Lisa climbed the rock anyway (partly because I think she was going to go and kick some ass but they were gone… I have never seen her climb that fast).  Then she came down and I did the route.

By this time we had been in the park a couple of hours and it was time to head home. So we trekked back using the GPS and followed a different trail. It was very pretty. We got back to the car and headed home. When I got home, my wrist started hurting… it just got worse and worse… I don’t know what I did to my wrist but it still hurst really bad today. I had to wrap it up just to make it feel better. I think I am going to see the doctor about it later this week. All in all though, it was a really fun Sunday afternoon and I would say it was worth the hurt wrist.

Smart Water by Glaceau was on sale last week and Lisa decided that she would try it. So we bought the stuff expecting that it would be awesome for our gym time activities.. The “Vapor Distilled” and “Electrolyte Infused” water is usually like $2.50 a bottle. Upon trying it, we both noticed that the water seems to have a funny taste. It is like seltzer water without the fizz. Instead of quenching your thirst, it seems to actually make you more thirsty. The water is the most dissatisfying bottle of water you could ever drink… and at $2.50 a bottle, you better be on crack to buy a second bottle!

Last night I finally found a pair of rock climbing shoes that I like. Over the past month, I have been trying to find a pair of climbing shoes that fit my foot that I liked. I have Morton’s foot (when the second toe is longer than the big toe). It seems that almost all the serious climbing shoes on the market are designed with an asymmetrical toe box causing one of two things to happen… First, my outer toes end up curled up in the toe box… or second, I end up with a shoe that has a lot of air in the heal. Neither is good in my book.

So, last night, I found a shoe that seems to fit my symetrical toe configuration amazingly well! Evolv’s Demorto shoe. The shoe fits my foot well, doesn’t cause the toe curl and is a high performance shoe! What more can I ask for?! So tonight I am putting the shoes to the test at the gym to see just how awesome the Trax rubber is.

Well, now that I have been practicing Wado Ki Kai Karate for the past couple of weeks I must say I was completely wrong about it. This style of Karate is not a mutt! The Wado Ki Kai style of Karate is very traditional and I would recommend it to everyone! Aside from the blister I currently have on my right big toe from practicing kaisu (turn around move), I am loving every minute of it. This is a style that is bursting with tradition. My misunderstanding is based off of the fact that Shotokan is a traditional Japanese art and Wado Ki Kai is based out of Okinawa (an island off the coast of Japan). Most people know that Karate was invented in Okinawa and then brought to Japan later by Master Funakoshi as Shotokan.

Bottom line… Wado Ki Kai is awesome!

Technorati Tags: Wado Ki Kai, Martial Arts

So I have made my decision about what gym I am going to join. The Bladium outweighs the YMCA almost two to one. My final deciding factors boiled down to two things.

First, I spoke to a few friends that are black belts in multiple martial arts styles. They all told me that going from one style of karate to another is easier than going from one art to the other. I assumed it would be harder because of being “set in your ways” so to speak.

Second, and more importantly, pay attention business owners… Customer service and staff attitude! The staff at the Downtown Berkeley YMCA were all generally unhelpful. I called there and spoke to three different people through the coarse of a week and they all didn’t care about keeping me or losing me. I would say that the staff at the YMCA had the same attitude as the staff at the Local Wal-Mart - Hate their jobs, hate their customers, and hate their managers. So Screw you YMCA! I don’t need you!

On the other hand, The Bladium’s staff were all more than helpful. Dave Gonzalez is an awesome guy. He helped me get setup as a guest member to try the place out and hooked me up with my membership. By far, the best guy there so far, is Charles. Charles works at the rock wall. He teaches and certifies belaying and he stayed late TWICE for Lisa and me! He was there a half an hour after he was supposed to get out of there to certify us. I would like to see anyone at the YMCA have that kind of dedication to their members. Hell, I wasn’t even a paying member yet! Plus, he is genuinely nice and happy. So, I say it again, SCREW YOU YMCA!

To some people Shotokan and Wado Ki Kai are recognizable but to most it just looks like random letters that are possibly asian and possibly just made up. To the majority of you that don’t know, here is an explanation..

They are both Karate styles, so yes they are Japanese words.

Shotokan is the ancient original karate style that has been around since the 1600’s and is what you see in Karate Kid and other karate movies.

Wado Ki Kai is a form of karate that was brought here in the 1970’s and translates to “To learn from all things”. This karate style utilizes the punches and power of Shotokan style with the more powerful kicking of Tae Kwon Doe. There are also elements of Jujitsu mixed in. This style is a mutt but more complete and rounded (in my humble opinion).

The Dilemma:
I want to take karate training, that part is for sure, but I have a problem of choice. I really would like to take the Shotokan karate but there are some serious factors to consider.

Wado Ki Kai is hosted very near to where I live in the Bladium sports complex. My membership would cost $90 a month for full access to the complex, this includes a rock wall and full gym. It is a short drive.

Shotokan is hosted at the Berkeley YMCA. It takes 45 minutes, in traffic, to get there and the membership dues are $112 a month. There is a pool but no rock wall and I probably wouldn’t use the gym as much because parking is a pain as well.

I would much rather study the traditional style of Shotokan than the mutt Wado Ki Kai but I am kind of leaning towards the Bladium because of the ease and rock gym. AH! I can’t decide!

Links:
http://www.wadokikai.com/ - Wado Ki Kai website
http://berkeleyska.org/ - Berkeley Shotokan website
http://www.ska.org/ - Shotokan of America website
www.bladium.com/ - Bladium website
www.baymca.com - YMCA website

Today was “Body Combat” and I am soooooo feeling it! Body Combat is like Tae Bo on Steroids! A cardio workout that works your whole body too….uhg…If my muscles weren’t hurting enough already… Seriously, does ANYONE HAVE WALKER FOR ME?!

Yesterday was “BodyPump” at the gym and I can’t even begin to explain how sore I am today.

Last night I tried the hour-long class and died about 45 minutes in to it. This class is freaking intense! To make matters even worse, the class was on the second floor of the gym and after 20 minutes of squats and lunges with 15 pounds of weight on my back I thought that I would be stuck on the second floor for a few days because my legs where having trouble just holding my body up. I had to walk down the stairs with a death grip on the hand rail to keep from falling down the stairs. This morning though…oh my, my legs are screaming! I can’t begin to explain the amount of soreness that is present on the second day.. My walk to work was agonizing and I feel like my thighs are going to burst in to flames at any second! Does anyone have a walker I can borrow for a few days?