The Clemson Judo Club

Judo is a Japanese martial art that is known as the "gentle way." At Judo class we are taught to fall a special way so that we do not get hurt. We are also taught to use our opponents strength against them. In Judo, the instructor is called "Sensei." Our Sensei in Clemson is named Art Gorka. He is from Poland. His fiancee is part of our class too. Her name is Yim, and she is from Thailand.

Anthony and I have recently begun participating in the Judo Club at Clemson University where one of Anthony's Clemson mechanical engineering friends Ivan Mata is pretty advanced. He lives in our neighborhood in Clemson, and is originally from El Salvador. Not only did Ivan invite us to join the class, he also kindly gave us his former Judo Gi (uniform). Qing, one of Ivan's mechanical engineering office mates recently started doing Judo as well. Ivan's fiancee Andrea also does Judo at Clemson when she is in town. Towards the end of our last class I was given a white belt. Shastya was given a brown belt!

Library Fun Time!

The kids are being taught the classics incuding the Hokey Pokey, Rub a Dub Dub, and If You're Happy and You Know It. I'm not sure who has more fun the kids or the parents! I think we all enjoy the social interaction, music, and reading aloud! 

One week I couldn't remember what time Central/Clemson's "Wiggles and Giggles" library fun time started so Shastya and I showed up at 9:30 a.m. instead of 10:30 a.m. It was nice to be there early. We got to check out the rest of the library, and we got to spend a little extra time with some of the other families that had also gotten there early.

  

Licklog, Pigpen & King Creek Falls, Oconee County, SC

This beautiful summer Saturday we again went hiking in Oconee County, SC. This time we hit three waterfalls: Licklog, Pigpen and King Creek with a bunch of Anthony's friends from CEDAR (Clemson Engineering Design Applications Research). We all had a lot of fun enjoying each others company, the fresh air, and the clear water. We did have some trouble locating the start of the trail to the third waterfall, but what is an adventure without a challenge? It started raining just a little at one point but the trees provided a pretty nice canopy from the rain.