I did it! Thanks to all my supporters I achieved all of my 2015 Spirit Challenge Goals! I accomplished all of the physical challenges and raised over $3,000.00 for my fundraising challenge! :)
This past weekend was TOUGH! I started out on Saturday morning running the Proud to Run 10K race with Sam. She totally rocked it - coming in 1st in our age group (I was 4th).
Then we grabbed a bagel on the run and I went to the dojo for Karate Boot Camp!From 12:30-1:30PM we punched, kicked, blocked and did various fitness intervals! I was dripping sweat by the end!
Then we had a 15 min. break before the real breaking began! I assisted the beginner/intermediate breakers by coaching them, helping them practice and holding boards for them (which is tough, by the way). Then I also helped hold the boards for the Advance Breaking Challenge. The order of breaking was in the traditional martial way with the most experienced (i.e. higher ranked) karateka going first.
My turn was near the end of the session which meant that I did a lot of holding! We were not just breaking though. Most people gave moving dedications before their breaks: some in remembrance of those we lost too soon be it from violence like the kind that occurred recently in Charleston, from illness or from mental illness-suicide. Others dedicated their breaks to other people or causes. I dedicated my boards to YOU - my supporters, my family, my friends, my students, my colleagues, and to victims of violence and to people who suffer from mental health issues. Here are the boards that I broke. I broke 5 out of 6. The 6th board just did not break on Sat. I plan on breaking it soon. Maybe tomorrow!
2015 Advanced Board Breaking Videos
As you can tell, my Spirit Challenge Saturday was pretty jam-packed with challenging events!
On Sunday, my friend Senpai Pat Broughton picked me up and we went to park near Thousand Waves. We dropped off some food for the pot luck party that was to happen later that day. Then we each carried 4 5-foot staffs (a martial weapon, called "bo" in Japanese) on the Red Line train north to Wilson. We got off and mingled with the large rainbow colored crowd as we worked our way to the designated meeting place. We found the TW contingent and rehearsed our karate demo. We had to wait a long time, but eventually we marched in the Chicago Pride Parade, practicing our karate, doing pushups, breaking boards and showing our Seido Karate stuff! The crowd loved us! We spent 5 hours on our feet and many of us had had a full day of karate the day before, but we did it! It was a lot of fun.
Finally we walked from the end of the parade route back to Thousand Waves where lovely TW Board members had prepared a BBQ potluck feast! It was good to finally be able to sit down!
All-in-all, this was one of the most physically difficult Spirit Challenges for me. I wasn't quite as fit this year. But YOU all helped me soar to achieve my fundraising Spirit Challenge. I am so lucky to have all of you in my life! A deep gassho (appreciation) to you all!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Osu!
P.S. We are getting closer to achieving our overall Spirit Challenge Fundraising goal--we are at 88%! Thanks to YOU, I’ve made my personal goal. Click below to help one of these great volunteers make her goal!
Teen camp counselor and super volunteer: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/account/232468/
Staff and super volunteer: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/account/229444/
ASK teacher and super volunteer: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/account/241665/
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