Dream

I dreamed last night that the large library in downtown Minneapolis had been turned into a zoo. It was all glassed-in and filled with elephants and tigers and monkeys and tropical jungle so dense that you couldn't always see what you were looking for and the animals actually had room to move and hide and play. It was The Best Zoo Ever. The library/zoo people said that they were looking for ways to get rid of the glass enclosures but hadn't found them yet.

Free Martial Arts Classes

I've blathered on a fair amount about how much I love Tae Soo Do, the Korean martial art that I study. Admittedly, I've blathered less lately, but that's because I've pretty much said it all before and, well, jump spin kicks are a pain in the ass (sometimes literally). However, it's a good, comprehensive martial art with hard (kicks, punches) and soft (joint manipulation, throws) techniques, and weapons-training (numchucks, long staff, and sword for Tae Soo Do). There are also once-a-week classes open to regular students or people who only want to take that one class; they include acrobatics, kendo (the Korean version thereof), and a kickboxing/full-contact fighting training class (actual fighting optional). The website is at http://www.hwarangdominneapolis.com.

The dojang is running a promotional drive right now (yes, just like public television, but with less special guests and no free mug), so now's the time to look into it if you've ever been interested. Give me your contact info and they'll give you a certificate for a week's free training and a free t-shirt. Aside from this, there is and always has been the option to walk into the dojang and say, "Hey, I'm interested in this. Can I watch a couple of classes and then join in on one?"

If you are interested in starting martial arts training, here or elsewhere, you should always have the option to watch classes and participate in one or two.