My Story

      My story is a fairly typical one, it's nothing grand or overly exciting but it has certainly been an adventure so far. Lets start with high school. Back in the day I had the self esteem of an Oprah special guest, which is another way of saying it was non-existent. My biggest concern was my weight. Having never been much into sports (they were icky and competitive which I certainly was not) I wasn't in very good shape. That is to say I wasn't over weight but I was not rail thin like most 15 year old girls, plus I had developed early which did not help. So imagine my parents surprise when their non-competitve soft daughter told them she would like to take Kickboxing with my friends! This was my way of trying to become a rail thin 15 year old, how stupid.

     Now, I was picturing something posh and fun where I got to do a little glistening and giggle... What I got was an hour long sweat and puke fest in a dingy martial arts club, told to do 50 push ups my first class and overall a completely rocked world. It was the hardest thing I had ever done and I think, looking back, that I stayed because I did it. Because the instructor wouldn't let me half-ass anything, it was complete the task or there's the door! As a matter of fact he asked me my first class if I hated him yet, being young and brave I of course said "yes" (and then married him 6 years later to prove it!).

     Pretty soon Kickboxing was not enough, I wanted to accomplish something (that was something new to me, I had never been very ambitious) so I signed up for Karate as well. Another world shaking event. Gone was the fun but hard "workout" of kickboxing, here to stay was a giant bamboo stick called a shinai used to whack the crap out of your legs if you weren't constantly busting your butt. Also new were codes of being, some written and some implied. Those who could master it could master anything. Those who couldn't never lasted long. Much to MY surprise, I thrived on it. I loved it. It became an obsession. With these new rules of life I could conquer anything, I found myself completely unstoppable and in better control of my fear (something I believe comes hand in hand).

      Soon came moving out, and marriage and all of that wonderful grown up stuff. But buried deep in the recess of my mind was that horrible little gremlin called "body issues". Something you must understand about (real) martial arts practice, it tends to make you thick. Not thick with fat, but thick with muscle to absorb impact and the muscle is VERY dense. It's not uncommon for a martial artist to weigh a good 10 pounds more than someone of similar measurements. And I was training a lot, upwards of 20 hours a week and sometimes even more, and training HARD. This made me (if I do say so myself) a formidable martial artist, and also a husky girl whose scale was sending mixed messages. I didn't want to be husky I just wanted to be hot!

     So, true to my world conquering nature rather than hire a personal trainer why not just become one? And so I did. Which brings me to my present day. My husband and I own one of the biggest martial arts schools in our region and I have opened a small private gym. Just in case that wasn't life changing enough we decided to add a baby to the mix. Having "Chickadee" has been completely life altering, and while I think I am more confident than most first time moms I have been confronted with a strange new body and new demands on my time. This blog is to help me chronicle my trip out of "Wonderland" and back to reality (and hopefully back to killer abs, I miss those a lot). I hope you take something from this, even if it's just a good giggle at my expense.

Cheers to You,

Michelle