Old men and brown belts

Wednesday night was the year end judo function. It was a little strange to see our large group of Judokas gathered together in civilian clothes. More strange were all of the parents of the children who join the handful of oldies for our twice weekly sweat sessions.


Not long ago, I had been stressing about my grading. We had found out on a Wednesday night that we would be graded on the Friday night. A Provincial representative would also be present to adjudicate the grading, and we would have to complete a special kata, which we were yet to learn! The four of us, who were grading for brown belt, arrived two hours before the grading to try and figure it all out. By grading time, I was dazed and confused, after being slammed into the floor on countless occasions. But we were as ready as we could be. The grading was tough, but we knew our throws, although our execution left much to be desired!

It was rather a relief to see my children receive their new belts; Luke an orange, and Matt a blue stripe. And their dad got his brown!

In order for me to achieve my black belt goal, it will take another two years of Judo. Then I will get to stress all over again as I face a panel grading.

The upside is that I get to do Judo with my children for at least another two years! And it often surprises me how valuable this shared time is to all of us!

and time goes on...

Luke and I took the Beast down to the sea for a surf. The Beast decided to stay at the beach and watch the two of us frolic in the water. A good call! The waves were small but it was hard work to tow Luke out to backline after every wave that he caught. He still has not mastered the art of duck diving and hence the need for my muscle power. Unfortunately, my muscles were feeling somewhat depleted after a mere two and a half hours at the Judoka practising all of the throws required for my Brown belt grading in two weeks time.


Just last week, Matthew asked if he could go to surf lessons, and so we spent Thursday evening in sea together. It was a very short session, but then again the weather was abysmal. Perhaps one day, I will get to spend some really valuable time surfing with my two boys...

It was wonderful to be in the water again. To feel these tiny waves sliding under my feet. To watch Luke’s joy as he experienced the same sensations! Somewhere in all of the salt water, sea spray, and beautiful blue sky I finally made the decision to declutter my life. I have thought about it, blogged about, and talked about it, but now it is time to do something about it.

Just about every evening in my week is taken up by some or other activity. I hardly see my wife in the evenings anymore. That must change! I want to spend more time with my wife doing stuff, instead of us doing our own stuff at the same time. For that reason, Action Cricket, Action Soccer, and Forum are all activities that must cease immediately. Other activities like some of my charity and church stuff will need to be phased out. Especially the stuff that I attend but make no meaningful contribution. That is just a waste.

Hopefully I will just be left with the crèche as a charity project, judo and surfing as my sporting pursuits, and time for my wife and children.

And then perhaps I can try again to be the father and husband I really yearn to be!