Big Ol' Martial Arts Bag

We had martial arts training again today, as soon as Daddy got home.  We raced over to the studio, and Madison was off practicing again.  Talking with Christine there, it sounds as if there will be testing in October, so until then Madison will be doing a bit of training to see about getting herself a yellow belt.  So initially, the advancements come a little easier over time.  This makes sense, of course, and yes there is still a good deal of training and learning to do.  Madison was doing a lot today, working on her postures, kicks, and even doing a bit with some nunchucks.  In yet another amusing "how did this happen?" moment, Madison expressed interest in attending this:

It's a Double Nunchuck Seminar!  I mean, this is getting out of hand here!  Seriously, this is a picture of Madison only a few months ago:

We just spotted this on an advertisement for the Gainesville Ballet this week.  Madison looks quite content there, doing her girly thing and the next thing you know, she's practicing with two sets of nunchucks in the dining room!

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with martial arts.  We're exaggerating, of course.  It's just funny as a father of a precious little girl to see her wanting to practice her nunchuck skills.  And while we're on this topic, can I ask a serious question?  When in the history of anything involving fighting has anyone actually used a nunchuck in a fight?  I mean, there's Bruce Lee.  But if you're in the big city and a mugger approaches, is that a real thing?  Do you actually have nunchucks with you, and do you pull them out and swing them around all over the place to intimidate would-be criminals?  How does that exactly work?

Regardless, Madison likes them.  And she likes her other new weapon we got today, a Bahng Mahng Ee (which would be a great name for a rock band).  We also got gloves, foot covering and a big bag.  She had an option to go for the patriotic red, white and blue bag that looked like something from Rex Kwon Do, but she opted for the black ninja bag instead.  

There was studying or tests today, and tacos of course (it's Tuesday).  Madison finished her project on Christiaan Huygens this afternoon, and will be doing her presentation on the famous scientist.  He seemed pretty smart, except for the fact that he believed in space aliens.

And speaking of space aliens, what's up whoever's in charge of the schedule at her middle school?  All the class times change for sixth graders from week to week, and I'm not quite sure I understand this one.  I think this is done to keep all the kids confused, and therefore less likely to rise up and attack!  Actually, I have no idea why they do this.  Every week, her classes are at different times.  I think this is part of Common Core, which of course was created by space aliens.  So perhaps Huygens was right.

So while Madison was at school figuring out what class to go to next, Daddy was working on a few KidPak things, including the new video game themed devotional, which has been fun to write thus far.  I mean, where else can you write a devotional entry about Evil Otto.  And I think that's where we'll close here - a devotional entry all about one of the most evil smiley faces to ever bounce around:

     Back in 1980, an arcade game called “Berzerk” was released, and the concept was simple:  you were this stick figure character, and your goal was escaping room after room, each filled with robots that shot lasers at you and called out, “The humanoid must not escape!”
     Those robots were easy enough to deal with.  The scary part came if you took too long, and heard, “Intruder alert!  Intruder alert!”  When you hear that in the game, you know you’re in serious trouble.  I shudder as I remember it even now:  a bouncing smiley face appears on one side of the room, slowly bouncing towards you at first.  It says nothing, just bouncing and smiling, and always getting closer and closer.  Let’s put it this way:  you’d better run from Evil Otto!
     How ironic that a smiling face, the very symbol of happiness, was chosen in this game as a villain.  Evil Otto is an indestructible smiley face, and he’s after you.  I still shiver when I remember this as a kid.  In fact, recently Evil Otto was ranked within the top 100 video game villains of all time. 
     Keep in mind there’s nothing really creepy about him:  it’s just a bouncing smiley face that doesn’t say anything.  It just keeps popping up in the game, smiling as if there’s nothing to be worried about at all.  But those of us who’ve played “Berzerk" know this is far from the truth!
      But sin is like that, isn’t it?  Temptation pops in your life from time to time, smiling back at you, wanting to get closer and closer.  After all, what’s so harmful about a bouncing smiley face?  And perhaps that’s how we react ourselves to temptation.  Even though there are so many warnings, sometimes we just see something that looks pretty harmless, and think what could it possibly hurt?
     The answer is simple:  it can hurt a lot.  Sin is very harmful to your health.  The Bible tells us to flee from it, and that’s the best advice you can have.  Read the Word of God, pray and keep watch that you won’t fall into temptation.  No matter how fun and happy it looks, the best strategy is to treat sin and temptation like Evil Otto.  Get out of there, and get out of there as fast as you can!