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Published On: Aug 05, 2007 08:38 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Aug 05, 2007 08:38 AM
Nonstop action
Busy weekend
William had his green belt test yesterday. All
in all, I think he did well.
I brought the HV20 and got some good high definition video. It was also my sole still camera, and the photos below came from it. I think it's an adequate still camera, but it's clearly not as good as a dedicated camera like the A700 or the Digital Rebel. I suppose I need to learn how to do some manual exposures. The autofocus didn't seem as sharp as on my other cameras.
William did generally well on his forms, as usual. In fact, before the forms testing began for everyone else, Master P. had William do Basic Form #1 in front of the entire testing class, to show them how to do forms properly. Master P. often uses William as an example that "age doesn't matter", too. I don't have stills of William doing his forms, but I have video. The photo above is from the one-step sparring part of the test. (Master P. doesn't test on free sparring, because he says it would take all day to get through everyone.)
William also did his breaking techniques okay, but it took him several tries before he broke his board with his flying side kick. The problem, as I've pointed out before, is that he just jumps and sticks his kicking leg out, while he's supposed to "snap" his kicking leg out just before striking the board. Also, the black belt holding the board is newly minted and relatively young, so maybe he wasn't bracing himself enough, but I think the main problem is that William needs more snap in his kicks. He broke his second board with his fist very easily, though. For the second test in a row, he surprised Master P. by breaking sooner than expected: After setting up William near the board, Master P. was trying to signal William's fellow yellow belt to get out of the way (so I could capture the video) when William went ahead and broke the board.
-----
After the test, we went shopping for some new shoes for the boys and for Hsuan. I was tempted to buy a pair of Crocs for myself for an upcoming vacation, but I figured an old pair of flip-flops will be more than enough (not to mention easier to pack). Besides, I'm not sure if I'm not being tempted by a mere fad... though the Crocs material is really soft and comfortable-feeling to the touch.
We also rented a couple of DVDs this weekend (Dreamgirls, Night at the Museum). I made some popcorn for the movies.
-----
This afternoon, we went to a picnic hosted by William's new school, for the new families to get to know one another. We met a bunch of families, about half with older siblings already enrolled and the rest being new families. We were kind of shocked at the number of siblings; we're fortunate that William got in. Overall, though the boys were running on limited rest, it was mostly pleasant, but I always feel awkward at these sorts of social gatherings. As I get older, it's easier to, well, not so much "fake" it as to go through the proper motions -- shake hands, smile, small talk, ease out of conversation by whatever polite means are at hand -- but it doesn't get any more comfortable.
(One parent was a Caltech astronomy professor from whom I took a graduate class long, long ago. I still see him occasionally on campus, though I suspect any recognition on his part is of the "where have I seen that guy before" kind. I didn't bother to say hi, being occupied with other parents.)
I brought the HV20 and got some good high definition video. It was also my sole still camera, and the photos below came from it. I think it's an adequate still camera, but it's clearly not as good as a dedicated camera like the A700 or the Digital Rebel. I suppose I need to learn how to do some manual exposures. The autofocus didn't seem as sharp as on my other cameras.
William did generally well on his forms, as usual. In fact, before the forms testing began for everyone else, Master P. had William do Basic Form #1 in front of the entire testing class, to show them how to do forms properly. Master P. often uses William as an example that "age doesn't matter", too. I don't have stills of William doing his forms, but I have video. The photo above is from the one-step sparring part of the test. (Master P. doesn't test on free sparring, because he says it would take all day to get through everyone.)
William also did his breaking techniques okay, but it took him several tries before he broke his board with his flying side kick. The problem, as I've pointed out before, is that he just jumps and sticks his kicking leg out, while he's supposed to "snap" his kicking leg out just before striking the board. Also, the black belt holding the board is newly minted and relatively young, so maybe he wasn't bracing himself enough, but I think the main problem is that William needs more snap in his kicks. He broke his second board with his fist very easily, though. For the second test in a row, he surprised Master P. by breaking sooner than expected: After setting up William near the board, Master P. was trying to signal William's fellow yellow belt to get out of the way (so I could capture the video) when William went ahead and broke the board.
-----
After the test, we went shopping for some new shoes for the boys and for Hsuan. I was tempted to buy a pair of Crocs for myself for an upcoming vacation, but I figured an old pair of flip-flops will be more than enough (not to mention easier to pack). Besides, I'm not sure if I'm not being tempted by a mere fad... though the Crocs material is really soft and comfortable-feeling to the touch.
We also rented a couple of DVDs this weekend (Dreamgirls, Night at the Museum). I made some popcorn for the movies.
-----
This afternoon, we went to a picnic hosted by William's new school, for the new families to get to know one another. We met a bunch of families, about half with older siblings already enrolled and the rest being new families. We were kind of shocked at the number of siblings; we're fortunate that William got in. Overall, though the boys were running on limited rest, it was mostly pleasant, but I always feel awkward at these sorts of social gatherings. As I get older, it's easier to, well, not so much "fake" it as to go through the proper motions -- shake hands, smile, small talk, ease out of conversation by whatever polite means are at hand -- but it doesn't get any more comfortable.
(One parent was a Caltech astronomy professor from whom I took a graduate class long, long ago. I still see him occasionally on campus, though I suspect any recognition on his part is of the "where have I seen that guy before" kind. I didn't bother to say hi, being occupied with other parents.)
Posted: Sun - May 20, 2007 at 10:14 PM