Tossing Grandma (alternatively titled My First Aikido Class)

The Saturday before last, I tossed a seventy-something year old woman to the ground - repeatedly - and enjoyed it.  The woman in question had the sing-song voice of a kindergarten teacher and looked, well, like your quintessential pie-baking granny type.  She happens to be a sixth level black belt and the Chief Instructor of Bond Street Dojo.  I think it's fair to say that she only fell to humor me.  Still, it was totally empowering, and a very fun introduction to Aikido.

Aikido is a martial art that teaches self defense techniques that inflict minimal harm on the attacker.  The movements focus on redirecting the attacker's energy to gain control of the situation as opposed to meeting force with opposing force.  I've always wanted to a try a martial art, so when a friend from college told me that she's been studying Aikido and invited me to join her for a free introductory class, I said yes right away.

Bond Street Dojo is located on West 29th on the third floor of an unassuming office building.  Once you're inside, though, it's totally a dojo.  The decor is traditional Japanese and students practice in hakama (pleated trousers) once they achieve a certain level.  There is a lot of bowing and ritual in Aikido.  I spent a few months living in Japan, so that part came pretty naturally. 

Aikido is very pretty to watch, but it's also pretty badass.  My friend showed me the wall of boken (wooden practice swords) and explained how her instructor once chased her around the mat with a boken to teach her to get out of the way.  I imagine that's a fairly effective technique.

Getting out of the way actually ended up being one of the harder lessons during my intro class.  To practice, one of the more advanced students came at me repeatedly with his arms extended forwards.  All I was supposed to do was turn to the side to let him pass.  I was surprised at how many times I instinctively reacted by grabbing his arms instead of using the energy of the contact only to turn myself out of his path.

The class was great, and very easy to follow.  Each move was demonstrated by the instructor and one of the advanced students.  Then everyone broke into pairs to practice.  I always worked with an advanced student so that they could show me what was expected.  We switched off being the attacker and the attackee.  Everyone was very patient and eager to show me the ropes.

Bond Street Dojo offers free intro classes once a month.  If you're curious, I highly recommend checking it out.

-Gym Belle-

Gym Belle Q&A: What's With the Knee Socks?

Upon viewing my pictures from the Hail to the Queen Throwdown, Erica asked: what's with the knee socks?

Knee socks are all the rage among CrossFitting women.  At last weekend's competition, most of us were wearing them.  It's partially a function thing, and partially just a quirky fashion statement.

From a practical standpoint, socks protect your legs from getting scraped up.  My left shin is always bruised from something, usually box jumps.  Deadlifting in bare legs is also particularly risky.  The bar travels right up against you, so it's easy to scrape your shins.  The socks add a layer of protection and mask the ugly.  Plus, if I get hot, I can quickly push them down, which makes them better than long pants.

At the event, I noticed several women wearing compression socks, ostensibly to improve their performance.  I love my compression socks for recovery, but actually find them a little distracting to work out in.

For the competition, I sported my "vintage" Juicy knee socks.  They're nearly a decade old and they were free.  (I never forget a gift with purchase.)  Smells like couture, baby.

-Gym Belle-

Hail To The Queen Throwdown: Part IV

Me making a bad decisionFriends, I didn't go into this competition with high expectations.  I'm small, and while I'm strongish, I'm not really that strong.  I just wanted to finish not last, and I accomplished that goal.  I finished second to last.  I'm ok with that, but my fumble during the last event bugs me because it was a very silly strategy error.

The last event was a 10 minute AMRAP* of two wall climbs, 10 medicine ball cleans/wall balls, and 20 double unders.  Wall climbs are where you lie on the ground facing away from the wall and back yourself up the wall ending in a handstand facing the wall.  Tiring, but no biggie.  Medicine ball cleans aren't bad either, and I'm used to throwing medicine balls up against a wall.  Double unders are a different story.

Double unders are supposed to be easy.  You jump rope and the rope passes under you twice for every one bounce.  They're good for getting/keeping your heart rate up.  Most people pick up double unders quickly.  A year later, I'm still struggling.  If I put two singles between each double, I can usually string together between seven and twelve doubles before I wind up tangled in the rope.

Wall ballsWhen this WOD was announced a week prior to the competition, there was no scaled option for the double unders.  For the wall climbs, I could climb only halfway up.  For the medicine ball cleans/wall balls, I could use a lighter weight ball and aim at an 8' target instead of a 10' target.  The double unders were non-negotiable.

I decided I was going to use the week to practice tons of double unders.  It seemed like a brilliant idea.  One extra-long double under practice session later, my right knee was totally inflamed.  It killed to go down stairs.  Not only was I not going to be able to practice anything for the rest of the week, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to compete.  Over the next few days, I iced like crazy.  I foam rolled.  I rested.  I bought knee bands to help stabilize the joints, and I angsted a lot.  I had knee problems a few years ago and couldn't bear the thought of going through that again.

I lucked out on competition day.  Thanks to the knee bands, my knees gave me no trouble during the first two WODs.  I felt confident about the double unders, at least from that standpoint.  Right before the last WOD began,  they announced that instead of doing 20 double unders each round, we had the option to scale with 80 singles.  We had to decide before we started, though, and we couldn't switch in the middle.

#%^!I chose double unders.  I don't know how to defend my decision except to say that I was exhausted.  Right at that moment, I felt that if I did singles, my injury and anxiety would be for naught.  (I'm fully aware that this actually makes no sense.)

I scurried up the wall.  I did my cleans and wallballs with no problem.  I couldn't establish a rhythm for the double unders, though.  I got tangled in the rope over and over again.  The crowd tried to encourage me, but it just wasn't happening.  Each round, it took ages for me to eek 20 double unders out.  Consequently, my score was lousy for the WOD, and it hurt my overall ranking.

Even though the competition didn't end on the most positive note, the endorphins were flowing and I was just too jazzed to be upset.  One way or another, I made it through the whole competition and I finished every event.  Next time, I'll take it up a notch.

-Gym Belle-

*As many rounds as possible