Karate

Tuesday, October 20 – Today in Karate class we started doing our stretches a little bit differently. Instead of doing them alone we broke up into partners and did partner stretches where we had to work together to stretch each other out. This included exercises such as putting your feet together and locking arms to stretch out your back and legs. These stretches require that each person put a particular amount of force on the other to do the stretch right and therefore it requires the full participation of each person and team work. After we finished these stretches we stayed with our partners and got some pads to work on different blocks. We did high and low blocks for punches and kicks and then we tried blocking other varieties of more complicated attacks such as jumping kicks and spinning attacks. By doing this we learned that there is a variety of ways a person can attack you and it is important that you are prepared and ready for any of those situations by knowing how to block each attack. We were told that this was one of the most important lessons to learn when it comes to fighting.

Saturday, October 24 – I could not make it to Karate today because I at an interview at Smith College.

Tuesday, October 27 – Today in class we did our stretches wit partners again and worked together to prepare for class. Then we worked on timing by lining up in multiple rows and doing a series of kicks and punches with some blocks thrown in as instructed by the teacher and we all tried to do them simultaneously. At first it was very difficult for us to stay together as one group but the more we practiced at it the better we became at synchronizing our attacks and retreats. By the end of the exercise we were able to move as one unit and we found that this improved us as individuals in our focus and precision in all of our movements. After this we broke off into partners and worked on our one steps and our wrist grabs which I felt I was becoming increasingly good at. Then we ended the class with stretches as a sort of warming down to relax us after the work we had done.

Saturday, October 30 – Today is Halloween so in Karate class we celebrated with some candy before we began stretching. Then we stretched and broke off into partners to work on wrist grabs as a warm up. After we finished we were told that in the next Karate class we would be examined by the instructor and other black belts to see if we were ready to take a belt test and move up to the next level above our current rank. I had not taken a test since before the summer and I was eager to do this next one and move up to the next belt color because I felt I was more than ready. To prepare for this examination, we individually worked on our forms so that we would have them down perfectly for the testing. We were encouraged to ask for assistance on any of the moves we were having trouble with. I tried my best to take full advantage of this opportunity so I could improve my form enough to be considered for the next belt test.

Greek Club

Thursday, October 22 – Today in Greek I received a request from one of my Greek students for me to teach them some vocabulary. I decided that because I had been unable to attend the club last week this would be a good day to start on vocabulary because I would like to be able to teach my students the things they want to learn. I decided I would give them a list of words to write down with their definitions but only from the first declension for now and only nouns. I will give them other lists in the future including other declensions and verbs. I wrote the words on the board and had my students copy them. Then I asked the students to pronounce the word and I asked them to guess what the meaning of the word might be. If they could not guess it I would tell them and then I would do my best to make a connection between the word and an English or Latin word. We added 20 words in all to the list.

Thursday, October 29 – I was unable to attend the Greek Club today because I needed the time to work on my Extended Essay.

Creative Writting

Thursday, October 22 – Today in Creative Writing we read another students work. It was a short story this student had written with a friend a few years ago and before they began editing it they wanted our group to criticize it so that they would know what to look for. We each read through the story silently and made some notes about what we though could be improved. Then we went around and shared our thoughts with the rest of the group. I said that I really enjoyed the story itself and that I thought it was a unique and interesting idea but that I felt some of the grammar the student ad used in the story needed some serious revision and that it really takes away from a story when you cannot get past bad grammar, and it interrupts the flow of the piece. Giving advice about this other student’s grammar caused me to realize a few ways in which I could improve my own grammar in my own writing and I was eager to look at my different works and apply this advice.

Thursday, October 29 – I was unable to attend Creative Writing today because I needed the time to work on my Extended Essay.