Doing the Hundred

I'd just like to say that I totally called it last time: Lakers did take it in Game 5. I think it marks the end of an incredible run for them, where Kob really matured as a player and a leader. Its been great following the game this year, though I'm a bit disappointed that KG couldn't make it into the playoffs.. Lakers - Celtics rematch would have been amazing. I'm not sure how much gas the Big Three have left, or how James is going to react next season, but it'll be great to watch I'm sure.

I think what I miss most about Karate is just getting lost in the movements, not thinking but living in the pure physical sensations. Each day was about pushing yourself to the limit, and then a little bit beyond. I'm incredibly inflexible, can't touch my toes, and thus have had major problems with martial arts. However, I've also enjoyed all of them a lot, and perhaps Karate the most so far. Shotokan Karate, from what I've read and certainly experienced, is incredibly tough, and its training exercises are designed to really push you. Most days were a brutal struggle, going through one grueling exercise after another. It never really got easier, since one we reached a certain level of comfort, our sensei would immediately throw a new combination at us, a different way of moving and reacting, which we'd then practice. By the end of the first 20 minutes your body ached, by the end of the next 20 you were struggling for breath, and towards the end you could barely go through the motions. But you did, over and over.

And then once in a while, so rarely that you couldn't remember the last time it happened, everything would just click. You wouldn't have to think about the next movement, it came instinctively. Your kai would be this primeval roar that came from deep, unknown part of your soul, a primitive challenge to your own body to move harder, faster, with more power and force than you believe yourself capable of. Sensei would pickup on your mood, and push you more. The class would pickup on your mood, and move with you, feeding your rush, forcing you to be better. Those classes never seemed to end, and when they did, you stood back, not tired, but amazed at the adrenalin and rush. There was always a price to pay the next day in protesting muscles and sore joints, but for a brief moment, you stepped outside your day-to-day life of thinking, analyzing, and communicating, to just be.


Hundred Count: 6,6,4,4,7