Where did the karate go?

I've been asking myself that question over the past two weeks, which have been completely lacking in karate. My last class was given the week before Christmas (happy holidays, everyone! Hope it was fantastic) and it was a good one. Now I'm sitting here wondering where it goes from here.

There was this fleeting image of me going to another dojo to train, but since money has been very tight for us I quickly put it out of my mind. The next image was of me asking some of the people I work out with to be my guinea pigs. After all, I really just need some bodies to bend around a bit. Saying that, however, makes me think that's not such a good idea unless they've had some MA training first. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone. The good thing about that is the unpredictability of someone with no MA training.

I've been itching to do more self-defense, and not so much kata. Did actually just write that? I know, I'm such a proponent of kata, but I've just been needing to push my boundaries a bit lately. There has not been enough practical, hands-on training in the last few months, and that has been bothering me a lot. One of my weakest areas is working off of a grab, any grab. I hesitate! It's awful.

The two women I train with present two very different aspects: one is about 6'2" and has had four years of training and the other is a beginner and more my height (which is just shy of 5' for me). The taller woman also has neck issues, so I have to be ever vigilant of how I take her down. It's time to recruit a guy to throw around! We also do not have padding, so the throws are very slo-mo. This presents a problem. Since we have to be extra careful there is more hesitancy in how we perform our moves. This does not help our reaction time.

I can say that I've been having a great time at the gym. Even though my karate training is on hold I'm still staying strong and loving every minute of it. I've spent some time over at RossTraining.com and have used a few of his training techniques in the weight room. I never thought I'd stick to a weight training regimen, but it's actually a lot of fun when you incorporate it with body weight training. I've also discovered the joys of abdominal exercises done on an incline. They are so much better than regular sit-ups, even if they leave you a bit sore the next day. Okay, a lot sore the next day.

Unfortunately I've also had to put Muay Thai on the back burner. My massage business is seriously lacking in clients, so no MT for a while. Not until I can get something off the ground and start bringing in some money. It's been hard, but it also takes a while to set up a successful practice, especially in an area that's saturated with massage therapists. It will happen and I will keep my thoughts positive.

Karate training will resume again once my students get back from break (they're both grad students at UVM). The challenge is where I put MY training into that mix.