Lady Loud

From left: Shihan Tor Rune (instructor and branch chief Norway), Senpai Terje, Lars, Anders, Tor Egil (instructor), me, Stephen, Sten Kåre and Shihan Liam (instructor from Ireland). We were six people who graded for 1. dan.

Lo and behold, here it is! I got my shodan grad on the 27. of june at summercamp in Evje.

Actually, my real black belt will arrive in 3 to 6 months from now. The belt is handmade in Japan and has my name on it. Cool...

My name in japanese spells E-ri-nu. Remember the Your name in katakana-post..

More pics and a full account on just how effing hard it was will be posted soon:-)

Man, I feel tired! I've been in the Kyokushinkai system since 1992. Now my black belt exam is up (probably in june) and I have nothing to give. I feel tired and frustraded. How do I achieve my next grade?! In my early years things were so easy. Show up to "work", do as your sifu tells you, go home and be happy.

I don't feel happy.
I feel like screaming or throwing stuff around. I don't have a sifu or sempai. I have noone to show me my techniques, my katas, give me hints and tips on building my strenght and speed. The closest black belt is 170 kilometers away. I see him once a year. There is noone in our club who has a black belt degree yet, we have to pull ourselves up by the hair (explains my hair...).

I feel owerworked, yet do nothing. I'll go break some pottery now.

I just love to slouch down on the sofa, turn on the telly and disappear into tv-neverland. I especially love the US drama Grey's anatomy. Where George + Izzie are the most unlikely couple EVER! Of course, I luve resting my veary eyes on eyecandy numero uno - Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Sheperd aka Mc Dreamy. Mmmm...
But enough daydreaming now! (Can't be lovvy-dovvy for more than a few seconds at the time).

If you want someone real to drool over, you should be salivating over this  (I did):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59MyUtwph1k

Did you click on the link? Are you not drooling on to your keyboard yet? That's sevenhundred slabs he's breaking! I have a new Mc Dreamy, Dempsey can take a hike;)

No, this is not a nerdy piece on LOTR and Bilbo and Frodos book:-(

Two weeks ago I went to the annual county martial arts council. This time was even better than last year (see "keep your distance"-post). We closed down!

So if you are a karate-ka or Tae Kwon Do artist who live in Finnmark county and would like an education to become a coach, the solution is simple;
Travel 2900 kilometers to the city of Tromsø!

On friday 16. of november mr. Narve Læret did it again. He set TWO world records in one night! First he broke five slabs with his head (don't try this at home, kids) and then he broke 240, twohundredandfourty, slabs in thirty seconds with his hand. The old record was 70 slabs...

If you want to see it for yourself, then go to the site of norwegian television channel TV2. They have two videos of the event.

Officials from Guinnes book of records were present to monitor the event and make sure it was a legit record. I must admit I got goosebumps all over when I saw it on tv. Not only because Læret has a face for TV, the idea of breaking more than 70 slabs in thirty seconds is chilling. This ol'e housewife was on the edge of her seat!

And when it was all over, the tv presenter ran over to shake his hand. Vigorously. Several times, even. Now, I know you don't want to shake hands with anything stronger than fog or mist after a tameshiwari, but Læret kept smiling. That's kyokushin spirit for you.

Today I drove my car 270 kilometers to get to a meeting. That was one way. Then it was 270 kilometers to get back home. The way to the meeting was mildly annoying owing to the fact that I had to start at 8:30 in the morning and the roads were filled with snow. Turns out the snowplow isn't up that early on saturdays. When I got to the meeting, only two people where there; the chairwoman and me. Grrr... Meeting held, resolutions passed.

The way back was a three hour heart-pounding, knuckle-whitening, dogde-the reindeer-in-the-road, rally-for-the-advanced experience with even more snow + a strong gale. I really fought the elements that day. So why bother?

Because the meeting was for my countys annual martial arts council. And I love martial arts. And because if I don't work hard at it, noone will do it for me. The turnup was at two, remember...? It was a bloody long and hard drive but I still think it was worth it. Culture isn't something that is just happening by itself. Don't keep your distance, even when that distance is really, really distant. Sounds cheezy, but you know what I mean:)

Crazy norwegian Mr Narve Læret (40) has set a new world record in stone breaking! And he is a Kyokushinkai member! Obviously, I had to write about him. This is not his first world record, not even his second. He has made three world records in a year. Osu! to that...

This time, the title was won by breaking 21 slabs of concrete. Thats quite a tall stack, so he had to climb up on a ladder to reach it. Unfortunately, the video of the event is of poor quality, but it is still an amazing achievement so go check it out. 

Have you ever wondered what your name looks like in Japanese writing? Really, you haven't? Maybe this will change your mind.
Write your name and press the button. Your name appears in Japanese writing. Much fun if your name has lots of L's in it.

I am probably the biggest couchpotato in northern Norway, but even so, I love sports. There is nothing like a good sofa, cold beer and a footballmatch on the telly! Oh, you mean participate? Well, a lazy girl like me could only be doing one thing... karate! Makes sense, doesn't it?
Let me explain. I am dead lazy, but I want to keep fit. How to solve this problem? You enter a ballbreaking, rulefollowing, do-as-your trainer-says-or-else-you-get-50-pushups-school of training. Problem solved!
Now, this hard rock school of martial arts has its own website. If you like, please check out
http://www.n3sport.no/Budo/sor-varanger
and tell me what you think of it.