throwing anger

I'm a joiner.

Always in search of the interesting, i take classes, join groups, and try things out. Back in the Vermont days I decided that I wanted to get my ninja on and try out some martial arts.

Oh what a mistake this would turn out to be.

I found an Aikido dojo, bought a karate suit and was in business. To give you a little background on Aikido, it involves a lot of throwing, sort of judo-esque. Classes were held once a week. Then general demographic consisted of me, several 10-12 year old boys, and a gaggle of middle aged man hating women going through their first divorce.

Can you see where this is going?

Unlike jr. high sports when I was always the last picked for the team, when it came time to partner up and practice throws, I was the most popular boy on the block. You see, I became a focal point for the man haters. It seems they took the class to help take out their stress related rage.

With each throw they would put a little somethin' extra into it. Their rage was translated into neanderthal like grunts as they sent me sailing across the room. You see, Aikido is based on Newtonian physics. An object in motion will remain in motion until it encounters and equal and opposite force (the floor). For about 4 months, every Thursday morning, I would limp into work bruised and battered.

"What happened to you?"

"Sheila's ex-husband got the house."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind, its a long story."