Writing a blog about what we did at the dojo last night is about as exciting as an overcooked bowl of ramen, mushy, boring, and all wrapped up on itself.

So now I’ll tell you what happened at the dojo last night, but it isn’t boring.

Every month we have a special night, a guest instructor, a new experience, an exposure to another art. Last night was one of those nights and we set about to blow candles out with our punches. I am sure that if you have not done it yourself you have seen it done. The principal is simple, use the air form your punch to extinguish the candle flame.

Melissa, one of the brown belts, was showing a real skill and putting out candles. Melissa was putting candles out like Manny Pacquiao turning off the lights on a junior sparing partner. Pow, pow, easy and fast.

So in a few minutes she has three candles lined up and as she is readies her punch one of the black belts yells out a challenge, “Just put out the third one!”

She fires off a punch and, proof! One punch and the third candles is out.

“Ohhhh!” the dojo explodes in unison, “Ok, ok, now just the first one!” comes the charge. Poof, out goes the first candle with one of her punches. “Ohhhh” again comes the cry and then two punches later the middle candle is out.

Three candles, in line, extinguished with four punches. That is pretty darn good, but she did them in the order of 3, 1, and 2. And did it spontaneously as called out by the other members of the dojo.

Nobody was able to do what she did. Not one person.

The only woman in the dojo that night she smiled and said, on her way out the door, “I like beatin’ the boys.”

She sure did beat the boys, and I say Kudos to Melissa for an impressive display.

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