Poster Help!

The folks at the YMCA want me to make a quick poster and description for the Aikido class and I'm shamelessly enlisting anyone reading for help. I have a couple of ideas for a brief description. As for images I was thinking of something like these...

Classes Begin Soon!

Status Update: I'm in the final stages of getting my class ready at the YMCA. As soon as my Shodan certificate gets here and I can show it to the activities director, I can begin on the 6th. It looks like I'll be teaching each Tuesday and maybe on weekends. My class is only going to be 45 minutes long (which I was hoping for an entire hour), but I'll take what I can get :)

Christmas Gifts

Warning: Explicit Content!

So my roommate is married and his wife has a kid from her previous marriage. They were talking about what to get her son for Christmas and my roommate Rigney suggested getting him a BB gun and his wife freaked out and talked about how unsafe they were. This sparked a conversation about all the dangerous toys we grew up with that would never fly by today's standards. It reminded me of this....

After the demo class...

Well the director at the YMCA here wants to schedule a time for me to teach regular classes. There's only one catch though. The director at the YMCA is insisting on seeing a certificate showing that I am eligible to teach Aikido. The reason this is a problem, is because in our organization everyone upon reaching Shodan is expected to start shifting focus on teaching as part of your on-going training. Now granted, most people don't start teaching at Shodan. Nevertheless, I want to so I can have a good amount of practice partners and to ensure that I train regularly. I've told the activities coordinator on at least 4 occasions that there is no certificate but I can provide references from at least two highly ranked instructors, both with many years of experience under their belts. Today, I received an e-mail asking me when I can come by with a teaching certificate. The kung fu instructor there has explained that he had one and as far as the YMCA is concerned one martial art is the same as another. It's more than a little frustrating.

Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling

It's snowing here! I heard it snowed in Mississippi too, but not like this. It's been forever since I've seen nice thick snow that sticks and holds its for. I love the Christmas season! Pictures to follow.

First class

After initially getting to the YMCA I ran into the Kung Fu instructor and a few other people waiting outside the main office for the activities coordinator. I was told there would be 6 people in my evaluation class but after the coordinator came out, and actually getting to the room, I had two students (including the coordinator) plus the Kung Fu instructor who decided to observe. Things could've gone better as I had a lesson plan that went out the window after we got stuck on the first wrist release. It was difficult getting the idea of not resisting across. If someone pushes you, don't push back, just walk back a step. The reason it was difficult was due to Janice (the activities coordinator) being hyper and stiff due to working out a lot. She had a hard time relaxing and moving slowly. The other person, Rhonda picked up things relatively quickly. Class was only half an hour since Rhonda had to leave. Afterwards the Kung Fu instructor said he had no questions, except where my certificate showing I'm qualified to be an instructor was. I called Pat to make sure, but we don't have teaching certificates. Black belts are expected to teach as part of their training according to Karl's website. I told them I had a couple of people who could vouch for me, but they seemed to want a piece of paper as proof. I'm supposed to chat Monday to work out a schedule as to when I can start.

Class on Friday

Friday is my mock class at the YMCA, I'll post afterwards