This just in...

I'm not a teenager anymore. Ever hear that joke, "I just flew in from Chicago, and boy are my arms tired"? Well, I just got back from karate, and boy are my hips sore! Tonight, after working on some weapons stuff, we worked on some sparring moves. The combination we drilled was backfist, *thrusting* sidekick. Now, there's two kinds of sidekicks in Isshinryu Karate. The first is a snapping sidekick, which starts by lifting the knee straight up in front of you, and almost placing your heel of your left foot on the inside knee of the right leg, ala Jethro Tull:

And then snapping the foot out to the side, striking with the heel and edge of the foot, finishing in the same chambered position (ala Jethro Tull). This kind of a sidekick is quick and it stings. The other kind of a sidekick is a thrusting side kick. This starts by chambering the leg out to the side, pointing the knee opposite of the target, ala a dog peeing on a fire hydrant:

This really opens up the hips, man! Yikes! Then the hips turn into the kick as the leg thrusts straight out into the target, and pulls out back into the chamber. We did it over and over and over, slowly, then fast, then kind of freestyle while the opponent is moving around. I'm aching, and I pay money for this? :P

Let me tell you something else. I sweat like there's no tomorrow. I never get two workouts out of my karate gi (that's what the uniform is called) before having to wash it, because I soak it, I mean absolutely drench it, like I can wring it out, with sweat. I'm not one to sweat much anywhere else. I mean, it's not like I sit on the couch sweating or anything. But when I'm at karate class, NO ONE sweats like me. My boy Cole says that I sweat the most because I'm working the hardest. Oh, I've thought about that possibility. I am giving it all I got. But, there's always the possibility that I'm sweating more than anyone else because I am the most out of shape lard out there!