Me- Blonde- 2010ish Mid Flying Roundhouse

Going up, up, up...shame it wasn't a  split second later...

(and yes if you blow it up, the cutting out left something to be desired)

Had the chop

Yep- I got totally naffed off with fiddling about with long hair- AGAIN. it won't last- it never does.

Today's Shenanigans

Glutton for punishment after this morning's evil legs hydro hour with a  different instructor/physio who was obsessed with us swimming on our backs and made us tread water for 10 minutes solid with hands in the air after other horrendous muscle building exercises- just got back from 2 hours kickboxing with the lads at the club, got my head kicked in twice  (by  3rd Dan Karate Nigel and 2nd Dan Kickboxer Chris) (and i deserved it for not having trained properly for weeks, thus losing my vaguely lightening pizazz) but thoroughly enjoyed myself. Tomorrow will be another story.

Busy Busy

Ooof! I have left this too long. Apologies for that. If anyone reads this who was familiar with VQS New Music, you 'll know that although I'm usually fairly prompt with blogs, I do drift  every now and again- and so now I will drift back, stop waffling and tell you what's what.

Following the camping trip things have got hectic again. One day off, out of the ordinary and everything goes haywire.
In the middle of last Tuesday's morning work I had a sudden moment of panic that promoting the new album would be  a  tactical nightmare with Eyes/Lips as our band name.
There were lots of problems that I knew existed right from the outset, but they didn't quite hit until I got this far.

A new name jumped into my head (not usual- and not usual for my head to be straight enough to function before lunchtime)- but after a  little convincing of the band members, that was that. ...It needed a  poll on facebook to confirm that largely speaking, Tokyo Witch Hunt was a far hotter potato and so that is where we are now- with Izzie having given herself ridiculous amounts of additional work to do.

So in less than a  week we have a  new Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/tokowitchhunt , a  new Twitter thingy at www.twitter.com/tokyowitchhunt  and a  new domain name waiting for a  new website which I'm 2/3 of the way through at www.tokyowitchhunt.com . I am on the case.

In other news, hydrotherapy was a  blast last week with a  slightly rough game of water polo. Amazing how such a seemingly timid set of people with dodgey knees and ankles can suddenly become vicious animals in 2 sets when they are told to get a  ball in a  goal. Anyway, no-one drowned.
I wonder what this week will bring?

The Weekend 'Off' in the High Peaks

Well, I say 'off'- but it turned into a  reasonably 'fit' weekend as it goes.

Friday (once we'd put the tent up and negotiated the horrendous traffic jam that kept appearing outside the entrance to Laneside park due to so called roadworks on the way out of Hope) we took a  drive out to Ladybower.
 Ladybower, to those that don't know it is actually one of connected reservoirs in the area, known for the fact that in areas, parts of the villages of Derwent and Ashopton were flooded to create them (Derwent & Ladybower), leaving the Derwent church spire spookily poking above the water, until it was destroyed to stop people swimming out to it. http://www.peaklandheritage.org.uk/index.asp?peakkey=40301621 .

If you're there when there's been little rain during the summer, as we were last year, you can walk around the foundations of various buildings including the stately home of Derwent Hall.
The old road which led into the village is still there all the time and disappears right down into the water giving you a  nice healthy chill.
Of course the other thing Derwent Dam is known for is the testing of the Bouncing Bomb in the second World War-and was shown throughout Dambusters film.
Anyway, I digress- we took a couple of hours walk there on friday afternoon.

Friday night was gorgeously warm in the tent.

Saturday we shuffled off to Edale with a  plan to follow a 10k walk but didn't for various reasons and ended up scrambling up waterfalls and shallow rivers- which was just about the most fun I've had in a  long time. Hard work, but real good fun.
By Staurday night (in the pub) we were totally shot- and probably seemed like half baked company to the people we made friends with, from another local Barnsley band.
Saturday night was unbearably cold under canvas, leaving everything inside and out drenched!

Sunday (yesterday) was Mam Tor day- so it was some kind of hill climbing. I was impressed with the way the knee had held up during the scramble- and Mam Tor was the way to go....finished off with Fish and chips in Castleton and a very tired and very reluctant drive home in the remains of the weekend's superb, sunny September weather.

First Hydrotherapy Class Went Swimmingly :)

OK so it was an early start, and I got my coin stuck in the locker so I had to paddle sopping wet afterwards into reception to fetch someone to retrieve my belongings, but it was good.

I was warned to only do class 1 in a  half-hearted manner (bearing in mind this is the Advanced Legs class, if indeed there are such things as 'advanced legs'), otherwise I'd not be able to move tomorrow- but I'm not exactly sure i obeyed that rule very well.

My Physio did say that you kind of get caught up in what you're doing and the slightly silly appropriate music that accompanies it- and I did. It was fun. It was basically mostly all the warm up exercises and some of the games that I teach in my kickboxing classes, but in water, and then a chance to do a  couple of lengths before home- but I have a  feeling tomorrow may not be a  bed of roses, and plans to get walking around Ladybower will be postponed til Saturday.

Apparently there are on average 6 classes, so by then I'll be back into swimming, and will probably haul myself over there once a  week again to start length counting. All good.

Running On...

This week I've been exhausted...but I'm determined to push on and do stuff. Sort of. If you are female, you'll get my drift. If you're not, you'll probably have a vague idea what I'm rattling on about.
Yesterday I trained for an hour and skived the last 15 minutes while I refereed fights between the others in the class.
Today I ran 5k on the treadmill at lunch. To be honest, time was more the issue really but I think anything longer might have been cut short- and it does my head in if I don't run an even number :/ - so 5 it was- and I'll do some kind of exercise in class tonight.

The knee held up which is good. What puzzles me is that I get pain when I walk, but I run it off in 5 minutes and never feel it throughout- but at least we seem to be in agreement that it's medial collateral ligament damage- and I have to see the Physio on Thursday for hydrotherapy. I don't think I'm good at 8am vigorous exercise, so I might drown.

Post Monday class thoughts (the young and the young at heart).

 I have more new little dragons in my Monday class. It's amazing how quickly a  four year old understands what you mean when you take time to show them stuff. They don't always get it right, but the idea is there...and some of them just KNOW a  move. I think it's watching kung fu panda or something.

I had a 9 year old who showed me a  lot of really good flying moves the day he first came . He'd never done any martial arts but played games and watched movies. REAL natural potential- but his parents weren't interested in paying for the one thing he wanted more than anything- a belt...and just learning stuff wasn't enough. He wanted to get to black belt. So he left.
That kind of thing really annoys me.

 I'm thinking we need more adults quite quickly though, the balance is wrong. Mixed classes are ok if there are enough adults to spar together. Sparring with dragons is great fun but kind of not challenging!
Recruitment drive time again.

I had to edit this because I forgot to mention Sid. Sid is 73...he does gym work and running- and he turns up occasionally to join in Mark's class after mine. Sid is an inspiration. I partnered him tonight when we stretched. I stood up  almost completely with his ankle on my shoulder. Now there is a  man who wants to never give up. I have had parents of students say to me ..'but i can't join in and do that, I'm nearly 35'.  Go figure.