Summer training

Usually summer equals more training for me as the good weather allows for access to my backyard as a dojo.

However, I've noticed that my personal training has attracted the local children in my area. They stand nearby, and watch. One of them, a more courageous 8 year old boy, came up beside me for a short while, and imitated my movements telling me that he was practicing his "moves". I didn't mind. My only concern was the sudden turns that I do in my kata. This boy was within striking range. I was extra careful for the few minutes that he spent next to me. He quickly became tired of imitating basics, and went to play again.

Usually, the children will shift over to where my kids are playing, and start asking them.. "Is your Mom a Black Belt? Does she know Martial Arts? How come she is doing that?" It confuses them that I am a Martial artist because I do not wear my Gi, and obi when I train in my yard. I just train dressed "as is" for the moment. Also, I refrain from Kiai-ing when I train in the backyard. I do quiet expulsions of air instead.

I would LOVE to bring out my Bo to train in the open air, but I'm reluctant to encourage the neighborhood to start swinging sticks around more than usual. It's not like I can find a time when the kids aren't awake. It's so strange to me to find that these little kids are still running around the streets past midnight, even playing up until 2 am. Early morning is a possibility for me to train without an audience. It seems that the whole neighbourhood of children sleep in.

One of the "down" (?) sides of training outside is that I'm interrupted by conversational neighbors. Normally, I'm fine with chatting with my neighbor. I'll stop cutting the lawn, or weeding my flowers to spend time with them happily, but it's different when I am training. There is a certain rhythm that I get into, and I dislike breaking it so that I can converse.

Oh.. and the fact that my children are all home from school means that I'll be in the middle of focusing on my training, and I'll have at least a half dozen interruptions of "Mom, can I?..." within a half hour interval.

Lately, I've been doing my Bo practice in the parking lot of the dojo before classes start. It has less interruptions.