Ninja Warrior = Inspiration

Jennie and I stayed up till 3:30 in the morning watching "Ninja Warrior" and then watched 2 more episodes while eating brunch. If you have never seen Ninja Warrior (which is likely if you don't have cable and the G4 channel), you should watch it. These guys (and sometimes gals) perform the most AMAZING feats of strength, endurance, balance and agility. I'm not kidding. This stuff is near impossible. Our favorite is Makoto Nagano, a fisherman who is one of only 3 men who have ever completed the course.

For more information (and a good laugh) please read this: http://www.badassoftheweek.com/nagano.html


Now, let's be realistic... I will never be able to do the stuff these guys do. You won't see me surfing on a metal board down a slope, jumping off, hanging onto a metal chain with my bare hands, jumping onto a trampoline to propel myself onto a rope ladder and crossing a curtain using nothing but grip and arm strength only to reach an inclined monkey bar hanging over a freezing lake. But. If a 37 year old japanese fisherman can do all that without slipping or falling, I can certainly get in better shape than I am now and learn to do a decent back kick / front kick / side kick combination without losing my balance.

So after we got done with our Ninja Warrior mini-marathon, we got out the target mitt and our kenpo student workbooks and went out barefoot in the grass to practice. Very productive! Jennie got a good practice session of what she needs to know for her next test (which also helps me hone my basics), we worked on our balance, did some kicking drills, I worked on my blocking and Kata 4, and then we did a little light bare-hand sparring. After that we hit the gym and I got in a little weight lifting, some stretching and a mile on the exercise bike.

I won't be flying to Japan to try and become the next Ninja Warrior champion, but I did take another step forward towards getting my black belt, and that feels good. :)