My Life and Karate, Day Six

My dojo, Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense, is running its major yearly fundraiser. We're a nonprofit martial arts studio, which is something of a rare beast, and we raise money every year for our scholarship fund and the free self-defense classes we offer in the community. For my part, every day until the day of the Kickathon, I will write a random amusing anecdote about karate and self-defense - enjoy!

One of the things about studying martial arts at a not-for-profit school is that sometimes it bears more of a resemblance to Mr. Miyagi's backyard than it does a slick strip-mall storefront - even when we're in a strip mall.

I started training last summer at the old dojo on Riverside, where Sun Dragon had been for ages. It was a little tin-walled shack next to the Thundercloud, with extremely sketchy carpeting but a very authentic atmosphere. The less-charming thing about it was that it had no air conditioning, and by late June I was as happy as any of the ten-year vets to hear we were moving to a climate-controlled storefront on Westgate.

The thing was, the new spot needed some work. It needed changing rooms, an office, and a floor suitable to jump around and fall down on. And Sun Dragon is a non-profit - there's not a deep pool of money to pay for that sort of stuff out of. So our head instructor's partner, who's a contractor, agreed for the sake of domestic tranquility to handle the tough parts, and for the day labor - well, we'd all seen the movie. Wax on, wax off, and all that.

I hadn't painted in years, but working a roller isn't that hard. The really fun stuff was all new:

• Ripping a short wall-stub down with a hammer
  
• Spending time with my dojo-mates when none of us were trying to hit anyone else.
  
• Ghetto-texturing the strip where the wall-stub had connected to the main wall (mud and a texture roller woo! I still see that strip every time I'm in the dojo and wonder how I could have done it better.)
  
• Hanging drywall. Lots of drywall. (We built out the office and two changing rooms, which was a lot of drywall.)
  
• Drinking a beer. I hate beer, but after six hours of construction work, nothing else would do. It was perfect.
  
• Laying a tongue-and-groove cork floor. Then ripping it up, putting down plywood because using the old industrial carpet as a subfloor was too squishy, and laying it again.
  
• Painting pine boards with three coats before finally realizing they were going to be completely invisible unless you were on an eight-foot ladder.
  
• Framing a window for the Eye of God (the head instructor's office, so she can keep an eye on us without being deafened by the constant yelling.)
  
• Reveling in the air conditioning, the working plumbing, and the clean walls. And the parking.
  

Overall, it was a great experience, and we have a nice new dojo with a gorgeous, flexible floor and - best of all - air conditioning. And I have a lot of very good friends who only sometimes punch me in the head.

The move was funded in part by Kickathons of years past. In addition to our scholarship fund, this year's fundraiser will help us hang mirrors to aid our training. Help improve our facility and our community by donating $5 to our fundraiser!