Well, I went to the 6:00am class of Aikido yesterday. I wanted to make sure I got that practice session in otherwise I would have to wait three days to get back on the mat, although in retrospect it may not have been so wise to go when I was still so sore from the day before. As I previously mentioned, prior to this most recent practice every part of my body ached. After yesterday morning I was nearly incapacitated.
Every roll I took made my already sore abs feel shredded (it is easy to forget how much you use them in ukemi), and all of my other muscles were severely taxed. I also noticed that for some reason I’m having trouble getting my front rolls correct when I lead with my left, causing me strike the ground with the side of my right ankle, and I have the raw skin to prove it. It could be that I’ve always had this particular problem and that the mat at my old dojo was more forgiving, but I suspect it is a new one due to the gap in my training.
After practice yesterday, I drove home, attempted to stretch out some to keep my muscles from cramping up, and found that all I was capable of doing was laying still and listening to the contractors hammering away on the roof of my apartment complex. It wasn’t until about noon that I was able to move enough to get up and walk again, which was a welcome improvement as I was beginning to worry I had really hurt myself, but I now seem to recall a similar experience from when I first started Aikido. I even managed to make myself mobile enough to go a karaoke event organized by the UW sociology department (even if they can’t use it for research purposes), and had a very good time despite my body’s frayed state.
Luckily, while I still have to stand up and sit down with a little care, my muscles are feeling much better, and I expect I will be rested, well, and ready for more by the Friday evening class.
UPDATE: Except there apparently isn’t a Friday evening class this week. Grr. I am dumb and did not read the bulletin board carefully enough, so I didn’t realize there was a Peter Ralston workshop when I showed up. I am so not ready to play in a workshop yet, I need at least a few more weeks of classes before I’d be comfortable with that. Oh, well, I’ll just have to practice my footwork on my own at home this weekend (work conflicts with weekend classes).