stevenpiziks | Karate Equipment

Today I cornered the instructor after class (which was, no surprise, more forms). I told her I needed to know what was up with equipment, since I'd been put off so many times, and the tournament is Saturday and what do I do now?

She got an "oh crap" look on her face and apologized. The dojang can order equipment for someone, but it wouldn't arrive in time. She said maybe I could borrow some from a fellow student at the tournament. Someone would be sure to loan me some. She also gave me a list of what I would need.

I wasn't wild about the idea of paying an entry fee and showing up on the off chance someone would be able to loan me what I needed. I also knew that I'd need a mouth guard, and I doubted anyone would be up to loaning me one of those. I left class, went home, and got on the computer.

The advantages of having a black belt in Google-Fu.

I found a site that sold what I needed, measured my hands, head, feet, and chest to make sure the sizes would be accurate, and ordered it by second-day delivery. Everything should arrive by Thursday or Friday. There.

See, this is one of the many reasons I wouldn't at all mind living in the middle of nowhere. As long as I had a cell modem or cable modem or satellite modem, who needs a city?

I thought about not ordering it at all and skipping the tournament, but then went ahead anyway. I'll need the equipment eventually, and the next LAMP tournament will likely be out of state. This one's less than an hour's drive away, so I don't want to miss the chance.