The Test, The Warrant…

Last night was a good night. I got off work slightly late, but not late enough to impede my desires to go to Karate. I ended up getting there a little early. Last night, Turner-san was tested for Brown Belt privately by Sensei Brewer and Hartman, after a classic slow-burn workout by Sensei Brewer. He kicked a sufficient amount of butt, because he was successful. God help us all when that guy gets his new set of pipes, he told me that next Christmas could be “a broken Christmas” for me. No biggie, it wouldn’t be the first.

Because of this exam occurring, the class was left to the mercy of Oedewaldt, McCabe, and myself. I had a light bulb idea during the black belt meeting that we should do basics, kata, and sparring in stations. This would not only be a fun change of pace for both instructors and students, but it would also sharpen those poor souls that may be taking tonight’s test in Mapleton. I elected to take the sparring circuit, where I ran them through something similar to our Saturday workout where we would start with 3-4 time attack and then go right into slow sparring. There was only one group with an odd number, so I didn’t get to play too much but it was still great fun to instruct. I gave them all different pointers depending upon their belt ranks, and in the end we all felt that it was a rousing success.

After Karate, we headed out to Steak & Shake where we proceeded to consume mass quantities. During this time my Mom called to tell me that it is also my grandmother’s birthday tomorrow, so we had to make a late night run to Wal-Mart to try to find a present. In the end, we elected on money for both my cousin and my grandma, since they’re both incredibly hard to buy for. Hopefully they’ll enjoy it.

I’m really looking forward to Saturday’s workout… I’ve been in the mood to spar lately. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to scratch that itch.