Lisa Clark's Journal – January 2011 Archive (4)

At the self defense class last Saturday, Mr. Oliver described the states of awareness. He also challenged us to play a game. When you are in public, look at the people are you. Are there any oblivious white? Any cause for an orange alert? Hopefully no red!



This morning I played the observation game at McKinley Park. Here are several observations...



An older lady was walking her older dog. She was steady in pace, alert with eyes up and a grouchy suspicious face. It was as… Continue

There is so much to reflect on in the last two weeks. The tournament was quite an experience. So was the class at the Joslin dojo. There was also my green belt project at Ride To Walk. All this seems hazy though. In the UBBT spirit is perseverance, here is the last two weeks assembled from loosely written reflections after the events and foggy memory.

 

The tournament was my second ever attended. The first was seven years ago in the bay area. Both felt overwhelming. Where do I…

Continue

Our first class together as UBBT Team 8 was something unique. It's satisfying to know I personally could complete the class... the sheer numbers! In the first half: 240 pushups, 240 situps, 480 wall kicks. The second half felt more like playtime: bear crawl, lunge kicks, flutter kicks, and more. I wondered at points if the exercise was beyond my hard limits, and pushed on to find myself at the very brink. We all survived the intensive workout in good health.



The intensity was a large… Continue

Life has blessed me with the same doctor most of life. She knows me from when my four front teeth fell out in two days, when I played sports year round, when growth spurts started, and ended, when I entered high school, when I graduated high school and went to college. So the first visit back after the college hiatus was more like a chat with an old friend.



It was still a check up though. Blood pressure. Good.Pulse. Normal. Allergies? Same. Then the moment came when she stuck the… Continue