Since my last post I've had my first belt test in Goju (I was promoted to 8 kyu) and have learned even more kata. I've noticed that I feel a lot more at home in the Goju shapes than before, and the power generation and rooting make more sense. My teacher says that I'm now ready for sai practice and I can feel as though my sanchin has already changed a fair bit from just a few months ago. I considered practicing finger jabs into sand for nukite practice but the senior students warned me against doing so since I'm a programmer and a musician; they say my dexterity and movement would be impaired by doing such practice. That's enough for me to decide against doing it, and that's okay; there's lots of other areas for me to work on for conditioning. The group I'm with is great too; people are easy to talk to and most of them are nerds as well. I still practice my Shotokan kata, though I prioritize the Goju curriculum. I feel as though my karate has improved from practicing here as I develop skills that weren't emphasized in my previous dojo. Every now and then, I think about the choice that I made to leave the last place; leaving was difficult and I wish I didn't have to do it, but every time I reconsider it and go through it all in my head again, I end up supporting the decision that I made and I'm glad to be at my current dojo. Also if anyone knows where or how I can acquire good dit da jow in Canada, please let me know
