First fight

 I might have mentioned around this place that I learn Karate. In Karate I am more keen on the poses and techniques which are called kata. I never participate in any fighting since, well I am not a fighter. I am an escapist. I will avoid an uncomfortable situation instead of facing it. I  will play it safe instead of landing in a situation where I might need to fight. But the fighting and self defense aspect is the major reason why I have my kids and myself enrolled for Karate in the first place. I always encourage the girls to opt for fighting when the teacher asks - the Kumite aspect of Karate. 

Since we had social distancing removed on the 19th of July, we could practice fights. The teacher is very democratic and asks in class what we might want to do. Last Friday during training, she gave the option "Adults who want to practice ground fighting come onto this side." I was standing smug on the other side. When one of the teachers cheered me "come on pick ground fighting" I thought, well, how bad it could be? They are all civilised people. :D 

The teachers showed us some technique of ground fighting. The main aim of the game was to pin your opponent for 10 seconds or make them feel pain that they ask to stop the fight. There was just one other lady, so I had no other option but to fight her. She was a black belt- sensei. She knew way more techniques and grips and arm locks and even nerve chokes than me. I am still a "low belt" who knows basics. I shot a prayer to Gannu Bhaiya with a simple request " Dont humiliate me. Be with me". 

We sat back to back, ready for our fight. As soon as the "fight" command came, we turned to face each other. I had it in my head, that I wouldn't be pinned down. Cos during the demonstrations, I realised, coming out of a pin was not going to be easy. I made the first move and pinned her. But of course my opponent put up a fight. She tried to press some nerves on my neck and shoulder. I was not going to let my 70 kg weight go for waste (she was smaller than me) At that time, I heard the other adults cheering her (They were all higher belts, and of course cheered for their peer who was being pinned by a junior) That made me even more determined to just not give up. I pinned her shoulders even more. She was quite good at wriggling (which did not make me the winner) But I kept at it. 

At that moment, the main teacher came to our area and she shouted "Amrita use whatever you can to choke her" I was like yeah! Why was I thinking I cant just plain choke her just because I havent been taught? I have seen enough movies! I tried, but by that time we were nearing the end of the session. 

I fought her again, and it was more or less an action replay. Papa who played sports back in the day and quite a sports enthusiast used to say "Attack is the best form of defense" And his words just rung in my ears. 

The main teacher did praise my attack. She said, I started quite docile, but fought well :) That was high praise indeed. The next morning I woke to a mild shoulder pain and lots of scratches on my neck. I will not say I enjoyed it. I dont like confrontation. I am not competitive. It was quite a primal and raw feeling. But maybe I will try it again :)

My most favourite person

 Who's that? Meri Maa. Who else would get the coveted title? My mom is not just the super supportive, super clever and super chilled mom. She asks us for our opinion on things, regarding our thoughts as important as hers and Papa's. But the awesomely best thing about her is her constant encouragement to keep my sister and me striving for more and better. She always asks us to take that certification, do that course, go for the workout, do that meditation routine. Not just the professional side, she even encourages us to be better home bodies. Lately I have mastered the art of baking (I know I have bragged about it a few times in this space ;) ) . Mummy one day mentioned "You can bake now, try to make yoghurt too". Since UK has a colder climate, we tend to buy yoghurt since our numerous attempts at making it at home have failed. But there are things that can help, like a yoghurt maker etc. So she asked to find out and get it done. Since Mummy threw the gauntlet, I had to accept it. I got right on with the task of Googling. I found a few positive links and my first start was a "starter-kit" for making yoghurt. I have tried it around 5-6 times and its been working! I can thank the warmer weather at the moment for it too. But it is really amazing to have home made yoghurt. As long as the weather Gods are with me, its success! Once the dreaded darker months come looming, I will get on with further Googling and get some more science to my side. Till then, thank you again Mummy for pushing me! You are the best!

 

Dress Rehersal

 The summer holidays are 2 weeks away. As I have adequately portrayed in my posts, they are  a bittersweet experience for me. More sweet than bitter to be honest. I relish reliving my childhood through the summer hols of the kids. There is a lack of routine which is so relaxing. The bitter part, is the juggle of work. Any day I would love to tear myself away from work and just play play play with the kids. But there are office tasks and with kids being at home, there are a bit more chores at home.

Last week, we had the kids isolating at home. There were positive Covid cases in both Chiyaa and Pumpki's classes. (The schools work on a bubble system. Each year group is a bubble. If there in a positive case in a year group which includes students and teachers, that year group has to self  isolate for 10 days) So they had to self isolate at home for a week. It was a coincidence that there were positive cases in both classes, else one of them would have had to go to school - which would have been hard to manage! It was back to the norm of home learning, which is skill we wont forget in a rush I think :) It was also back to the norm of lot of playing for the sisters. It was back to the norm of stretching the bed times since there was no rush to getting up early and dressed for school. It was back to no more school pickups and drops. It felt like a dry run, a little pre-cursor to the lovely summer vacations that are round the corner.

The kids go back to school today and I cant wait for the 2 weeks to pass soon enough!