| Iain's profileIain's SpacePhotosBlog |  Tools  Help |
|
7/15/2005 Bali HolidayBelinda and I went to Bali for a holiday. We were told lots of things about the place before we went, "The market place sellers are a real pain, they wont leave you alone", "Be careful of the drug sellers, they'll give you drugs without you knowing then call the police so you have to bribe your way out of the situation" etc etc.
I can honestly say that Bali for both Belinda and I was a real joy to visit, wether things have changed since the Bali bombings or wether we were just very lucky I don't know but we never were approached by any of the Balinese in a way that made us feel uneasy. In fact we found that the Balinese were a lovely people who were very friendly and easy to talk to.
In our time in Bali we visited some beautiful temples and saw a little of the countryside that was fantastic and far removed from the tourist side of the island. We shopped quite a lot and after a couple of bad prices we were able to 'haggle' a lot better and in the end made a few good purchases.
We found a great shop that you didn't need to barter prices down and we found that the best place to shop. The shop was owned by a lovely Balinese lady named Hanny that we got to know very well as well as her offsider Kitut. We also made friends with one of the hotel drivers called Narko, this man was great as he not only drove us to out of the way places but he also acted as a guide and explained many Balinese customs and traditions to us.
We were told before we went that you either love or hate Bali, well we love it and we are already planning a trip back next year.
 5/3/2005 Black Belt GradingOn the 9th July I successfully graded for my Shodan (1st Dan black belt). Feeling pretty pleased with myself as I wasn't as hurt as I anticipated. The grading includes a lot of basics followed by kata and bunkai (kata moves applied to real fighting moves) and then ten, two minutes fights with mainly fresh black belts. I was knocked around a fair bit but held it together to at least control the fights on a few occasions. By far the most enjoyable part of the grading for me was the part that I was initially most scared of. The breaking of six standard roof tiles in one punch. I managed to break four of the six with no damage to my hand and left the stage with a real sense of achievement. I now know that I could, if called upon, break all six roof tiles just by using my body weight more effectively. So I'm a happy chappy for now and will take a few weeks off from Kofukan Karate but when I get back to it I'll be heading towards my 2nd Dan which will be graded by my Shihan when he arrives from England next May/June.
|
|
||||
|
|
