Body movin'!

Boogie woogie! Its Friday, May 27, 2011, I'm feeling well rested and this is The Side. It seems that I've started snoring and really badly too. Its to the point where I've taken to the couch just so the Missus can get some shut eye. Fortunately its a very comfy couch. So I grabbed some of those nose strips yesterday. Not sure how much it effected my snoring, but slept like a stone.

DANCE!!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE has kicked off its eighth season. Still maintaining a really great standard and still looking to keep the bar or barre very high. I know there's a lot of people, including many in my family who prefer DANCING WITH THE STARS, but really there's no comparison. I only caught half of the premier and the performances blew away anything DANCING WITH THE STARS had to offer.

Let's face it. The talent is better. The choreographers are amazing and have won Emmy Awards for their work. The genres of dance represented are broader. Over the seasons of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE the Hip Hop dance genre has been pushed to new heights, and depths with Lyrical Hip Hop emerging as an exciting new sub-genre. This week's auditions introduced us to the "Turfing" sub-genre that it specific to the San Francisco area.

DANCING WITH THE STARS wants you to look at the people they get on the show. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE wants you to look at the people on their show creating magnificent displays of art.

FIGHT!!

When you teach you often don't do as much. You're having to keep an eye on the class and make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing. This is especially important when teaching martial arts because people can get hurt and it can happen pretty quickly. So over the years I haven't put on the gloves nearly as much as I used to. I retired from tournament fighting a while back. Really there wasn't much reason for me to put on the gloves aside from a few students who hadn't fought me that were curious about the experience.

Getting soft can creep up on you. You start to realize you don't have the gas tank that you used to. Firing off kicks at opponents' heads isn't as easy as it used to be. Timing and distancing start to get rusty. Here's a secret for you non-fighters: its all about timing and distancing. You just don't move like you used to. Its one thing if you're having to make adjustments because of Father Time. Its another if you have to make them because you haven't been training like you used to.

No instructor wants to me waddling around the dojo barking orders and hoping he tied his belt evenly because he can't see it to figure it out.

So with the Battle of the 7 Cities tournament looming close I had to put on the gloves to help get some of the guys ready. I'm not as quick as I used to be. I've passed most of my tricks on to them. I was breathing through my mouth. Still, I managed to push them. And that's what's important. You don't let them win (unless its a white belt and they're still learning the ropes), but you don't want to completely overwhelm them either. The guys there last night and very slick fighters. I wasn't holding back much, because if I did, they'd whup me something fierce.

Two good things came out of this week. First, I've got some fighters that are ready for a tournament. Second, I'm feeling a lot better without all the ring rust I was carrying around.

MUSIC!!

This tune kept popping up is commercials for a TV show. Not too shabby for a gal who started out doing hip hop.



That's it for today. Y'all enjoy the holiday weekend. Stay safe. Eat some good food. We'll see ya back here Sunday.