I quit...and I'm feeling lucky!

I quit karate today. I knew it was coming; you did too, right? I just wasn't feeling it. The Japanese style of teaching conflicts with my desire to process and practice, over and over.

I knew I was going to quit today when I started thinking about having to, yet again, rush home, stuff something in my face, or not and be starving at 7:15, paying $85 for the next month in addition to another class I'm going to take (more on that in a minute), and the feeling of dread if I just skipped this class. Oh, the kata moves I'd miss!

As I went along my afternoon, it occurred to me that I didn't have to continue karate. I am a grownup, and grownups can pretty much do whatever they want to. Karate isn't in my bones, and swimming wasn't either. You wanna know what's in my bones? Dancing. Not partner dancing, but get out there on the dance floor and "shake what your mama gave ya" dancing. That's why I'm going to take...

Music Video Dance--dance like they do in the music videos! The class description read something like this: "Do you want to move like Britney Spears and J.Lo? Learn the steps and routines of dances shown in music videos..."yada yada yada, that's all I needed to read, check is in the mail! An hour once a week for eight weeks, starts at the end of March. I'm psyzziched!!

I went over to the karate studio to tell Sensei I wouldn't be continuing. I felt guilty; he's such a nice man. I went in and whispered (because there was a class going on) that I wouldn't be continuing. He asked why, and I told him I didn't think it was the right thing for me. Then I said something about schedules and how I couldn't train three times a week...and he told me I could do it two times a week. And I floundered, just like I do with my arms in karate class, and I told him that I knew he was there and if I wanted to continue I would come back. He said that he hoped to see me again. Oh god, I wanted to cry, this sweet man with so much patience for me!

Thing is, what I really want to do is have green tea with this man, not ward off some invisible attacker and hear Sensei Bob teach the little kids how to punch and kick someone instead of talking to them. Don't get me wrong, I have respect for martial arts, it's just that it's not my thing.

I left feeling sad and guilty, and that lasted about five minutes. 'Cause then my iPod kicked into high gear with Beyonce's "Naughty Girl" and Earth Wind & Fire's, "You're the One For Me." I can see myself in a glittery outfit strutting my stuff on a cruiseline stage, not standing stock still while I try to kick an opponent the size of a Chihuahua, because that's as high as I can kick.

It felt so good to have the weight lifted off my shoulders from the burden of karate class that I bought some kind of lottery ticket on the way home. I picked some numbers and got instructions to watch the news at 11:00 to see if I'd won. I felt lucky. And free.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go plug in my iPod battery charger.