Pneumatised!

Saturday, November 26

A former taekwondo instructor of mine started teaching hapkido classes, so Nathan and I went to try a class out. It was interesting. Some different kicks that aren’t taught in taekwondo these days. Of course, we practiced some breakfall rolls. Fun, but very hard work. I was getting a little dizzy. Hehe.

Monday, November 28

A busy day for me.

I went for a run to Park Road and Bloor Street for a warm-up run. My time was 4 minutes 34 seconds. Then I ran home from Yonge and Bloor going north on Yonge to Church, then down church to home. My time was 8 minutes 16 seconds.

Later, I went to the do jang to practice some patterns and some advanced kicking. I went to the gym after I was done at the do jang.

Leg press
Hamstring flexor
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Bicep curl
Tricep extensor
Leg lifts
Back extensor

As my brachiali were still sore, I didn’t do many reps on the bicep curl. I skipped out on pushups and stretching and went home. I was feeling moody, my knee was bothering me probably because of the rain, and the rainy day was dampening my spirits. On top of it all I wanted to get home to finish reading my book.

Wednesday, November 30

I went to the do jang again for taekwondo class. I did manage to take class this time. Then I went to the gym after.

Leg press
Hamstring flexor
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift

I didn’t do all my workout at the gym. I decided to go home and do some more exercises there. Using free weights, I did the bicep curls and some extra shoulder exercises. I worked on the back muscles (lie down on the ground on the stomach and lift the upper body off the ground). I did some pushups since I’ve been taking it too easy on that lately.

Thursday, December 1

I missed class at the do jang. I hadn’t been in the mood for gumdo lately. Too much on my mind. I basically went in to practice for the demo.

Sunday, December 4

I went for a quick run to Church and Bloor then back home. My time for the run was 8 minutes 27 seconds.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

I managed to tear myself away from my book and make myself go to the do jang. I took the gumdo class and taekwondo. I was sooo tired during and after gumdo (I nearly forgot my patterns, kept blanking out!) so I’m surprised I made it through taekwondo. It was funny. I didn’t move unless I had to do some kicking or hold the pads for my partner to kick.

Getting home was a workout too what with the blistering wind and snow. Feels like winter already but the weather is supposed to warm up. Blah… silly weather. Still not digging out my boots yet. Hehe. Because of the snow and how tired I was, I didn’t do any running. Maybe once this snow melts in a few days…

Time to get back to my book.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Okay, I mentioned in another blog that I’ve been reading quite a bit lately.

I finished reading The Silmarillion by Tolkien about two weeks ago. Now, at the recommendation of Nathan, I’m reading Robert Jordan’s serial, The Wheel of Time. Of course, I have to start at book one, The Eye of the World and there is now book eleven released. A long way to go to catch up, but that’s okay. It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed great fantasy reading. I’m almost done the first book and will have to run out and get the second one soon. (Nathan only has the hardcover versions of the later books.)

In addition, I will have to read Nathan’s new novel soon (http://www.natesimpson.com/blog/archives/2005/11/21/novelizing/). It’s in the editing stage now, but meanwhile he’s working on his third novel. A novel about a cat. Hehe… he started that one awhile ago actually, but the kittens and I have convinced him to finish it. 😀 It will be amusing to read when that’s done too.

Lots of reading to do – explains why I haven’t been writing lately. Just one of those phases I guess.

Okay, enough blogging for today. Back to The Wheel of Time.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

This just in the news recently. City of Toronto is thinking of enforcing animal licensing by-laws and this isn’t referring to animals being kept at the zoo – this is about the “Fluffy” we keep as pets (cat or dog, take your pick). Here’s the news story – Pulse24.com – Dogged Pursuit?

Now what is appalling to me isn’t just that they are thinking of enforcing this by-law but that they have this licensing law to begin with. From an animal rights perspective, cats and dogs have every right to live freely in this city, in this country, on this PLANET – as much as humans do! Whatever happened to enlightenment? Still a long way away for this society, I guess. In addition, the fees for pets is cheaper if they are spayed/neutered and have been microchipped. How’s that for enlightened? Little Fluffy has to give up something of himself just to get a discount so he can live here. Imagine if this was forced on humans, how much of an outrage would there be? Imagine if some alien species took over the planet and imposed a fee on every man and woman and gave a discount if he/she had a vasectomy/hysterectomy. Or better yet, imagine an alternate reality where perhaps reptiles overran the population and decided that humans were procreating too fast, so they made us pay fees just for being here and gave us a discount if we… went under the knife? I say treat animals the way we’d like to be treated. Fairly. As equal living, conscious beings. But I guess, sadly, not everyone can see beyond their hand in front of their greedy eyes. Such near-sightedness, so much for being a “superior species”.

The City of Toronto website says that we can “save” money from the animal licensing (Animal Services: Licensing – Toronto Public Health) How much of a fool do they think its citizens are? Pray tell me how me dishing out money EVERY YEAR for an ludicrous fee will save me money? It seems to me I’d save money NOT paying a fee every year. And what about the pet rescue missions? This certainly makes it much harder for them to keep rescuing the cats and dogs off the streets if they have to pay fees on top of normal pet care needs for every animal they rescue.

For those who are interested in the legal aspects of this, see Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 349. Note sections 349-10, 349-18, and 349-25 as well as footnote 13. The City is planning on enforcing the licensing fees as per the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, s. 61. Just great, nearly every citizen in the City of Toronto would then be considered to be “offenders”. Lovely. Thanks for turning us into “Toronto the Bad”, no longer “the good”.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress and pet lover
Brigid’s Flame

Friday, November 11

I went to gumdo class and learned the rest of pattern #4 and learned all of pattern #5. Because of the demo in December I decided I won’t test for gumdo that month. Too much to work on. Besides I figure an extra two months practice before the next belt in swords will be good. It’s good to work on the basic techniques before moving on.

Saturday, November 12

We had a colour belt test for which the black belts have to attend and help grade. The people testing did fairly well – some better than others, but overall good. We had a short black belt meeting after. I was thankful we did not have any training as I was exhausted that day.

Wednesday, November 16

Okay, so I stayed home Sunday to Tuesday. It’s because I started reading some fantasy novels (recommended by Nathan of course!). I knew that once I started reading these books, I’d be absorbed by them. So, now I’m reading The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Book 11 was just released. I have a long way to go… starting at book one, The Eye of the World. And before that, I just finished reading The Silmarillion by Tolkien.

Wednesday I decided I needed to do some running. I ran to Park Road and Bloor Street (approximately a half mile) in 4 minutes 36 seconds. I went to the bank then ran home from Church and Bloor streets in 3 minutes 58 seconds. Pretty good.

I didn’t make it into the do jang. I stayed home and practiced sword patterns, duelling techniques and candle snuffing. I’m working on two candles now (this really works out the biceps and triceps!). I also practiced some taekwondo hand techniques (what a workout!) that we don’t normally practice in the do jang. I switched do jangs and found out that they concentrate mostly on kicking, so I have to make myself practice some hand stuff on my own. I find it peculiar how people just want to focus on kicking and not balance out their martial arts with hand techniques. It’s good to know how to use both your hands and feet (and let’s recall that taekwondo means “the art of the hands and feet”). Keep a balance between the two. There are pros and cons to using both hand and foot techniques. Thus, once in awhile I practice some stuff on my own. I also needed to decide on what techniques to do for the board breaking demo.

I even got Nathan to do some taekwondo stuff… 😀 Our arms were very sore after! But it felt good to get a decent workout.

Thursday, November 17

I went to the do jang to practice some stuff for the demo. I needed to practice the self-defence routine for the demo and some patterns.

Sunday, November 20

Okay, just getting into The Wheel of Time. Book is intriguing. Couldn’t tear myself away and go to the do jang on Friday or Saturday. Sunday, I stayed home. I practiced some candle snuffing (two candles). Giving my arms a good workout this week. I think it’s because I hadn’t been in the gym for awhile. Anyway arms are very sore. I don’t think it’s the biceps really anymore, it’s the brachialis (the muscle that initiates the lever movement of the arm). The brachialis is a very hard muscle to build up. If I recall my anatomy reading, the brachialis does more work than the biceps – but it’s the biceps that gets the attention, isn’t that just the way of life? One does all the work while the other gets the credit for it. Sheesh.

Monday, November 21

Yay! I made it to the do jang just to practice for the demo. I needed to practice the self-defence routine with my partner. I had to show him what to do. It’s a women’s self-defense routine – the guy does all the attacking. I also practiced patterns again. I think I got a third person to do the patterns with for the demo.

After the do jang I headed to the gym. My knee is really screaming at me to go work out my quads and hamstrings.

Leg press
Hamstring flexor
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Bicep curl
Tricep extensor
Leg lifts
Back extensor

My brachiali were still sore from candle snuffing so I only did a few reps of the bicep curl. The muscles still haven’t rebuilt I suppose. I guess I really worked them with the candle snuffing. I do at least a hundred cuts when practicing I think. I lose count, but I know it’s more than a hundred. I skimmed on the pushups – just 10 reps of each kind (I do 4 different kinds of pushups) and did 20 on my fingertips while doing the side splits. Didn’t have enough time to do full stretching so did some light stretching and went home. Gym was closing. My tail bone is still sore – no situps still.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

Okay, I know this update is overdue, but just been a bit busy doing other things and I guess I wasn’t in a writing mood. So here goes…

Monday, October 31

I decided to run to the gym then get a good workout and run home. I ran to the gym in 5 minutes 49 seconds (subtracted time at the stoplights) and ran home from the gym in 5 minutes 52 seconds.

While at the gym, I did my standard weight training workout.

Leg press
Hamstring flexor
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Bicep curl
Tricep extensor
Leg lifts
Back extensor

Of course, I did my pushups and stretching. My tailbone is still sensitive, so only can do side situps (good for the obliques). As you might imagine, the run back home was a little harder after this workout, but I still did a decent time.

Thursday, November 3

As I was kind of tired from the Samhain/Halloween weekend, I ended up taking Tuesday and Wednesday off and pretty much did some stuff at home. So Thursday I finally made it into the do jang for gumdo and taekwondo. The cardio was good as always.

Friday, November 4

I had to go the bank so I ran to the bank at Yonge/Bloor and then back home. The run to Yonge/Bloor (short route) took me 4 minutes 46 seconds (not bad, getting better). After going to the bank quickly, I ran home in 4 minutes 47 seconds.

As I was going out this night, I didn’t have lots of time to go the gym or the do jang.

Monday, November 7

Had a good weekend, so I went to the do jang and the gym. We started having a poomse class on Mondays and I finally had a chance to go. It was good. I need to practice my forms too (can’t just teach them all the time).

After class, I decided to go to the gym. My knee was bothering me for some reason, so I decided taking the cardio class wasn’t too good an idea. I didn’t want to do too many roundhouse kicks as they are generally hard on the knees (in the long-run).

Leg press
Hamstring flexor
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Bicep curl
Tricep extensor
Leg lifts
Back extensor

I finally remembered to do the free weights for the shoulder. It works the front and back shoulder muscles. Hadn’t done these in awhile so they were a little sore after. I think sword practice has helped though. Of course, I did my pushups and stretching. Then I headed home sufficiently tired. (Your muscles should always feel fairly tired after a good workout or you aren’t working out at all!)

Tuesday, November 8

I ran to Church and Bloor and back for a mile run. I did this in 7 minutes 45 seconds. I still think this isn’t a full mile. Either that or the run to Yonge/Bloor (long route) is longer than 1 mile.

Then I went to the do jang for gumdo and taekwondo.

I took a break from exercising on Wednesday and Thursday. I was starting to feel like I exercise all the time. (Gee… wonder why that is…?) So, I rested for a two days listening to some music and finally finished reading a book and started a new one. So that brings us to today. Darn… no time to run really as I have to leave in about 30 minutes for gumdo. I’m still eating so no time to digest. Tomorrow is a black belt training again. We have training and a meeting once a month on Saturdays. Tomorrow is also a colour belt testing, so I’m going in to help with the test. I always like to see how well the colour belts are doing. So maybe I’ll do some running later or on the weekend.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

Never think you are better than you are, but think you CAN be better.

The above is a thought that came to me when I was thinking of how to achieve humility. My thinking process is this. IF you think you are better than you are, you step out of your proper place and appear to others as being arrogant. You end up needing to be put in your place, so to speak. IF, however, you think you CAN be better, you KNOW your proper place, but only seek to change it by trying to be better. You never step out of your proper place and never appear arrogant to others as you are as good as you think you are and always know you can be better (if you choose to try).

The first state of mind (thinking you are better than you are) has much to do with low self-esteem. You don’t want to see yourself as you are for whatever reason (maybe you fear you don’t like yourself?) The second state of mind (thinking you can be better) reflects a healthy attitude towards yourself. You can see yourself as you are and if there’s something you’re not happy with, you work to better it. That is part of being humble. Knowing yourself and accepting yourself and honestly working to be better (if you choose). You’ll never have to be put in your place.

Never think you are better than you are, but think you CAN be better.

If everyone worked on being humble, it might do this world some good.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

Okay, it has been awhile since I updated on my training. So here it is:

Sunday

I did manage to make myself run. I ran to Yonge and Bloor using the same route as before. This time the total time was 9 minutes 28 seconds for the one mile. Not my best time, but still good. Some days are easy; some days are hard.

Tuesday

I went to gumdo. I got to learn the next duelling technique (#4). We learn two new ones each belt level and two new patterns as well. I decided to take taekwondo after as well. I noticed my endurance for sparring has improved since I started running.

Wednesday

I went running again. I ran to Yonge and Bloor again for the one mile. I took a short break walking through the concourse (had to buy some hair elastics), then I ran home from Park Road. My time for the one mile was 8 minutes 16 seconds. The run home from Park Road is just over half a mile. My time for that was 4 minutes 58 seconds.

After my run, I went to the do jang again. I took the patterns class and helped teach again. It’s always a pleasure, especially when you get really good students to teach. Then, I decided to take the next taekwondo class. We did lots of non-contact sparring (very hard to do as you have to have good control to not hit each other!). I took a surprising fall (OUCH!) doing a back kick. I think the floor was little slippery and I tried to move forward too much during the kick. I landed pretty much flat on my front and my face. 🙁 I’m fine though. Just more embarassing than anything.

After the do jang, I went to the gym to get some weight training in. Here’s the list of exercises. It is pretty much the full circuit, except for some free weights that I do for the shoulders (keep forgetting about those recently – don’t know why).

Leg press
Hamstring flexor
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Bicep curl
Tricep extensor
Leg lifts
Back extensor

Afterwards I did my push-ups and some stretching. Then I headed home happily worked out and totally tired.

Thursday

I missed gumdo class, but took taekwondo. It was a good class, we are getting to practice other kicks more often. After class, I practiced my new sword duelling technique and the taekwondo palgwes. I haven’t decided what forms to do yet for the demo. Still trying to decide. I need to practice the palgwes more.

Friday

I went to gumdo class. It was good. We get to do more stuff because there’s no taekwondo classes on Fridays. We had a normal class, then got to work on patterns. I learned about half of the next pattern (#4) and the next duelling technique (#5). We then got to practice candle snuffing and some one-on-one sword sparring drills. Then we did some free sparring with the foam swords.

What a busy week! I’m beginning to think I exercise all the time. Hehehe. Now it’s time to get some rest as I couldn’t sleep for some reason.

Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Okay, this has been on my mind so I thought I’d do a little research.

Since I started taking gumdo classes, I pretty much assumed that if a sword generated enough wind, it would snuff out a lit candle. This assumption was based on the fact that a person can blow out a candle if they exhaled enough air at a lit candle. Going further with my assumption, I assumed that a bigger candle flame or more lit candles would need more wind than a small flame or just one candle. Therefore, in trying to snuff out a lit candle with a sword, a significant amount of speed in the sword cut (force) is needed to generate enough wind for the task of snuffing a candle (or two or three or more). Of course, an equivalent amount of control is required to stop the sword from hitting the candle. Now, for some reason, no one seems to believe that a certain amount of force is needed to put out a candle flame with a sword. (Some people may think that since even kids can snuff a candle, it doesn’t require force. Well, I really don’t think people are giving some of these kids enough credit, they may look small but they could actually be generating more force than what is observed – and trust me on this since I know lots of little tykes in martial arts.) Below is a little explanation on blowing out a candle (from Principles of Alchemy).

Well then, how come I can blow out a candle?
Because the candle flame is small and you can blow a lot of air!
The three methods we discussed for extinguishing a flame (Water, Earth and “bad” Air) all smother the fuel, and thus keep the oxygen out. But blowing out a flame doesn’t smother it. Instead you are stripping the fire away from its fuel.
What?! What are you talking about?
Fire makes more fire by continuing to the burn the fuel. Fire needs fire to continue burning.
Nope, I still don’t get it.
OK. As a fire burns in a particular spot, it runs out of fuel. But the heat it gives off is enough to cause the fuel nearby to ignite.
When you say “ignite”, you mean to start burning. Right?
Right. So a fire must constantly search out more fuel to burn if it is to be kept alive.
Yeah. So?
So, when you blow hard on a candle flame you are using your breath to push the hot flame away from the fuel. Remove the heat from the fuel and you’ve stopped the reaction.
Oh, I see. So when I try to blow out a small candle I’m trying to push the flame away from new fuel.
That’s right. A bigger flame requires a bigger push of air from you to push it away from the fuel.
But at some point the fire is too big to blow out. Right?
Right! The bigger the flame the more air you need to push quickly at it in order to push the fire away from the fuel. In the 20th century they have some fire accidents involving very good fuels that produce very big fires. To put out these “super-fires”, they must use explosives to blow the flame away from the fuel.
Wow. Sounds exciting.
But I’ve noticed that I can make a flame grow brighter if I blow it just a little. Gently.
Yes. When you blow gently on a small flame you push a fresh supply of oxygen to it. And you might even help the flame reach new fuel that would normally be out of reach.
So, you can make a fire better or worse by blowing on it!
Yes. It depends on the size of the fire and how hard you blow. I’ve seen people try to swat down a fire with a coat or apron. If the fire is small enough and they swat it correctly, they put out the fire. But sometimes they make it worse! They fan the flames, adding more oxygen and making the fire grow.

Now, let’s extrapolate this to blowing out a candle with a sword. Here’s what happens when a sword is swung down on a candle flame. First, the sword cut generates a certain amount of wind (air). This wind pushes the hot flame away from the wick (the fuel). If there is enough wind to completely push the flame away from the wick, it doesn’t ignite and keep burning. The candle flame will then be snuffed out. The passage above also explains why a candle flame may almost go out but seemingly comes back to life again. If not enough wind is used to push the flame away, the flame just gathers the oxygen and keeps burning the wick. The candle stays lit. It also explains why with more than one candle, one candle may be snuffed out with the sword but then be re-lit by the other candle. The wind can just push the hot flame onto the unlit wick (the fuel) and it will burn again.

Now, I’m not sure about anyone else, but if I swing my sword faster, more wind is generated. Therefore, if I swing my sword at the necessary speed towards the candle flame without hitting it (that is, abruptly stopping the strike thereby exhibiting good control and technique), the candle should snuff out. Yes, candle snuffing with a sword is done with good technique, but with a little help from alchemy.

MM,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress and swordsperson
Brigid’s Flame