OUT & ABOUT

I'm teaching an object-oriented analysis & design course to a government department this week. Always fun. We've just been discussing interfaces, design patterns, and other concepts designed to make heads explode.

I'm away from home, and I need to keep fit, but I don't need a gym: that's one of the advantages of Combat Conditioning, Matt Furey style. There ya go -- I just turned into an advert. (You might not agree with his political views -- I don't -- but go to www.mattfurey.com and take a look anyway.)

Anyway, last Sunday I taught part of a karate class for the first time in 15 years. When I trained in the Marshall Street, London, dojo of the late great Enoeda Sensei, I was there as a student, nothing more. No low grades, no kids. Suddenly, I have to remember that you can't manhandle kids these days, and stuff like that... So, I don't know if you're interested in this discussion, but I worry about kids in martial arts. In Context, there's a little story about a young carl called Haresh who gets damaged while sparring with one of the bigger, adult warriors. Did you think I was making that up? I knew a fourteen year old black belt who sparred with the adult dan grades because their belts were the same colour as his. The back-fist (uraken) which dropped him during sparring appeared to cause minimal damage at the time. Later that evening, the subdural haematoma caused him to collapse, and his heart stopped (several times) in the ambulance en route to the hospital...

On the other hand, if the little tykes do train in the arts, they turn out as better people. Otherwise, why do this stuff at any age?

Take care, Pilots. Be careful, be tough, be wise. There's always room in the Labyrinth.