the weekend

Had a great weekend going to Tuhan's Women Self-Defense Knife Seminar. I'd talk about this in more detail, but the female knife is one of our secrets. You won't see this on YouTube. It is like women, dark and deep. While women almost instantly get the knife, it is something the men must wait at least a couple of years before being introduced to. But I can say that it was such a great success, that Tuhan will be holding another one next month and perhaps on a regular basis.

The interesting part for me during the seminar was that in teaching in the smaller groups I found myself teaching in a very different way from in the past. Instead of barking encouragement or corrections, I spoke softly, at times, almost whispered. Demonstrated the move, but also guided their hands. It was really exhilirating to teach in this way.

Afterwards we drove to Sutro Heights Park to check out a location for Tuhan's double-sword and spear seminar. It was a lovely day and a gorgeous drive through the city and to the park. I had gone to a friend's tai chi class on that bluff and it was the kind of place that I like retreating to: cliffs overlooking the ocean. It's going to be fun doing kali there!

We got back, avoided the police blockade and spent the rest of the afternoon pretending I was in European cafes on Piedmont Ave. Preparation for the real Europe of course.

Sunday was another kali class and then confirmation class for my cousin. We're his sponsors. Good thing they don't ask us if we attend church regularly. The exercise today was to learn about the plight of people throughout the world by pretending to be one of these people and making decisions and travelling around the room reading the consequences then making another choice. For suburbanite teenagers, I thought it was a good exercise in demonstrating what a real life-death choice is and to understand that what they think are life ruining things, really aren't. And while here we string along growing up so you aren't an adult til you're 18 and even then, might not get treated like one or act like one, for much of the world adulthood really starts at 12-14 years old.

The exercise limited the decisions you could make and for the most part didn't allow you to choose converting out of Christianity nor joining a rebel Christian army as in the Sudan scenario, afterall this is catholic confirmation. Oh well.

Overall considering the loss of an hour, a decent weekend.