One Stripe

I got a stripe on my belt yesterday. I asked after class what it was for, because I didn't know. It basically just means that I've been there a month (not quite accurate, but who am I to complain). It's a visual indicator to instructors how long a student has had a certain belt. That way if someone has three stripes on a white belt, they have a good idea of '(s)he's been here three months, (s)he should know x, y, & z by now.'

Class went well. It was a forms and self defense day. I think I'm making good progress on my first form, but Mr Saxton gave me some crucial corrections that I need to work on. The positive side of this is that at least I now know the series of steps and movements well enough that I actually CAN now focus more intently on mastering the individual techniques within. And I got some clarification on the differences between Basic Form 1 and Basic Form 2, so I actually know 2 forms now! Still foggy on BF3... I know it involves some blocks, but I'm not certain which type and where they occur in the sequence. One thing at a time.

Self defense actually went well. Mr Saxton gave me kudos on a handful of my sequences, which made me feel really good. There are five white belt self defenses that I have to learn for testing, and they haven't seemed to really stick in my head very well. So the fact that I got complimented on some of them really meant a lot to me.

It would be nice to have someone I could practice with outside of class, but I'll make it work. I also feel like I might be ready to start going to the sparring session on Friday evenings. I'll be completely lost, but what else is new? ;-)