Unfolding

[greenstorm]

Today was my first day working outdoors this spring. I got to work way late, which meant that by the time I started (alone, I got to figure out what to do and then do it) I could work in a tank top and fleece vest, arms bare from shoulder to work-glove for a couple of hours till the sun began to drop and the cool settled in. It was glorious. The snowdrops are up all over the city, hellebores unfurling up through old oak leaves on A. street where I was working by sixteenth and Granville.

It was mostly clearing up birch drop (those trees are messy critters) and pruning back california lilac today, tomorrow will be raking tidy-up and spirea shearing. I need to buy myself some shears for that. The squirrels had dug up all the bulbs I planted there last fall and presumably eaten them. There were lots of little-paw holes about bulb-deep wherever I'd planted things last year. Ahwell.

Sunset was so beautiful. I wandered down Granville, met up with Mike, and finished off a day that had begun with chatting in bed and maple wine with--- Ethiopian and honey wine. I feel spoiled.

I seem to be back in the kind of relationship that requires work at communication, but also that's worth putting in the effort for.

Still looking at ju jitsu stuff around the city. There's got to be somewhere relatively convenient where I can learn, right?

Next two weeks of retail is gonna be a slog. I wish I were a more patient person, sometimes.

Be well.

Comments

[dw00.livejournal.com]

Jiu Jitsu? cool! Where have you been looking, I've been thinking about training again too. (I never know if I should finish that kind of sentence with a ? or a . but seeing as it's not proper grammar anyway, it'll have to slide.?)

Congrats on being outdoors.

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

There's a club at UBC, a place in Richmond, and a place at Hastings and Boundary. Then there's Brazilian stuff, which is expensive-er but there's a place at kingsway and broadway which is close to where I live, and it has more classes too... Where would you look?

[dw00.livejournal.com]

If I had the money I'd go to petter's Barra/Cocoon studio, they have a great reputation in town. You can find a gi for much cheaper than $100 though - check out Mikado or Golden Arrow, both on E. Hastings. But the best advice anyone gave me was to go have a look and try a free class, because most schools are happy to have you come check things out. Otherwise, UBC's programs are usually high quality and their rates are, even for non-students, the best in the city.

[petter-haggholm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was wrong about the gi thing—you can get a judogi for about $50–$60 at Mikado. It's not quite the same type of gi they use in Brazilian jiu-jutsu—the BJJ gi is a slimmer fit, not as floppy, since judo is much more about grabbing your opponent by his clothes and throwing him; in BJJ there is less fabric to grab. Tim explicitly told me that a judogi would be fine, though, according to my preferences (although I decided to get one from him, anyway).

UBC programs are good, depending on what you want. They offer judo and traditional Japanese jiu-jutsu. BJJ generally has more resistant training than any JJJ program you're likely to find, but compared with judo, it's entirely a taste thing. Judo: More throws, more standup, harder on the knees, more pinning. BJJ: Some, but less, of all the above, lots more ground work, go to joint lock/choke/submission instead of pinning. Judo has the advantage that it tends to be dirt cheap no matter where you practice it, at least compared to BJJ.

[petter-haggholm.livejournal.com]

I practice at Gracie Barra/Cocoon Athletics, on Broadway between Kingsway and main. It's a good place and they have a lot of classes (for beginners, there are fifteen time slots a week), as well as some other stuff (membership includes access to boxing, kickboxing, and crosstraining classes), but it is Brazilian jiu-jutsu, which is never as cheap as traditional Japanese stuff ($139/month—and for BJJ it's not a bad price).

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

I've gone by it, and noticed it's super-close to where I live. I'm very glad to have the recommendation, but man, that is expensive. I should see if they do trial classes.

[petter-haggholm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, first class is always free, and you can borrow a gi for that one. After that, you'll probably want to buy one; they sell their own gi, which is another $100+ (I don't recall exactly). If you want to get a gi elsewhere they don't have a problem with it, but a judo or jiu-jutsu gi tends to be pretty expensive (it has to be very strong and durable, obviously), and unless you go used, I doubt you'll find a place to save much money on that. On the bright side, it'll last you a long time; just make sure you don't wash it in hot water (or run it through a hot dryer) unless you're deliberately shrinking it to fit.

On a side note, if you ever want to really challenge your endurance, the kickboxing classes are The Thing. Even before the winter (been sick on and off, and most recently sprained a toe, so am badly out of shape), I never made it through the warm-up without having to stop for a breather.

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

And wow, so many classes, you're right...