With karate I'll kick your ass

You may not know this, but I used to do Karate (Wado Ryu). I did it at school while I was in 6th form. The problem was that all the other kids doing it were years and wears below me. By now I've gotten used to being the oldest person in a room (okay, so that's a lie), but this was ridiculous. I should have been embarrassed that they were so much younger, yet so much better than me, but they'd been doing it for longer. Still, it's no great boost to the self esteem.

I'm trying to remember why I did it, but all I've got is a guess. I think I felt that I needed more exercise, and it didn't hurt that I'd be able to defend myself at the same time. Learning with younger kids didn't help this either. Maybe if they'd been a bunch of pricks then I'd happily put my all into sparring with them. Unfotunately, they were too nice. It didn't help that there were way more girls either. In your mind you're thinking "Okay, so I've got a fair portion of the torso I just can't hit 'cos that would be socially awkward", and it was.

All that aside I managed to get my yellow and red belts before I left. Not too bad. Atleast I can punch properly now. I keep thinking about taking it up again, but with working shifts it's really not that practical. I'm sure I'll find something else.