Post-wedding

Well, that's the last of my parent's generation to settle down... Nicky, my mum's half-sister got married in a barn with nice catering, complete with frocks, very few hats, and someone's mobile playing Tarzan mid-ceremony. This year's fashion is sandals and a preponderance of flip-flops. Oh, and pink. Much nibbles, Pimms, and several small children underfoot. And comments towards me, Matt and Tabs about 'you lot next', and we all go '...errr.... we don't even have significant others. Everyone's single at the mo.' Also, a roast pig that roaste on a spit all day and was consumed by the ravenous hordes in sandwiches at the the evening buffet. Many small children fascinated by the pig. Mind you, Nicki and her bloke, Martin, had hit upon the perfect was to keep people entertained at the tables - lots of sweets, bubbles, a one-use camera and a sketchpad with loads of crayons at each one. Summary : bubbles and sweets are equal opportunity, the kids play with the cameras, and the adults play with the crayons. Then the Hansons (my side) steal as many art pads as possible. Nicky and Martin get to kee the sketchpads and cameras at the end, while we get everything else, including the flower arrangements.

Fighting technique

I was throwing punches at the mirror today.

I stopped thai boxing (muay thai) during year three of my degree, about three years back, due to tearing a tendon in my foot, and as any boxer will tell you, if you can't use your feet, you're useless. Boxing in any shape or form is one of the most all-round physical fitness sports there is, and considering your feet spend the whole time jogging... Well, you do the maths.

So. I still like to throw the shapes and form, to keep me in practice, because the explosion of force is immensely enjoyable. I need to re-start it, really. So occasionally I do spin kicks and round houses, and throw punches at the mirror, combinations of uppercuts and elbows. And something you notice, when you're looking in the mirror with a photographer's eye is exactly what the body *does* and looks like in those moves. As a boxer, you throw a punch, your other hand automatically comes up to defend your face. You don't think about it, your body is trained to do it. Same if you use an elbow. It's never, ever going to look as graceful as other martial arts, as it's not about gracefully extended limbs. The whole sport of boxing is endurance, fitness, method and sweaty bursts of violence. My photography tutors disliked this when I documented the fighters at my boxing club, since I wasn't doing portraits in the conventional way, I was documenting them training and sparring. They complained that you couldn't see their faces. I pointed out that if there wasn't a hand in front of their faces, they were doing something wrong and they were going to get hit. See the picture taken of me for the prospectus for the college as 'person with exciting hobbies, you too can do these exciting hobbies' where I'm in the middle of doing an over-the-shoulder elbow and you can just about see an eye.

After this comes the oint that Catwoman - Selina Kyle - was taught to fight by Ted Grant, Wildcat, a boxer. So by rights, whenever Cats fights, she should be primarily fighting in a street fighting/boxing style. With added gymnastics and a few oriental martial arts moves, but primarily nasty and thuggish, with really impressive stamina. One day there should be art in a catwoman comic where she's covering her face as she fights, elbows close-in to the body.