Body Check!!! (*)

*Or "how I quit worrying and learned to love the pain"

Doesn't the thread title remind you of day camp/scout camp? 'Member? Whenever you went swimming you had to have a buddy and during random intervals the lifeguard (who looked NOTHING like they did on "Baywatch" would yell "BUDDY CHECK"!!! And you and yer buddy would hold your hands up before they blew the whistle and you could get back to your lake-frass...

No one? What?

Well the show is up and runnin'. Yee Haw. The house have been small, but enthusiastic. And I felt that we finally started to hit our stride on Saturday night in spite of my various attempts at killing my cast. (Chowie walked in to the bad end of the Monk's Spade as I carried it off stage...nearly disemboweling him. Newly gradgitated B-boy Robby took the walking staff to the knuckles like he was in Catholic School during the "Oedipus" sketch. I whacked Shinobi-wan a little too vigorously with a spinning backfist. And lastly I nearly took out the Kat during "Streetfighter" with a well-placed jump spin wheel to the elbow. By the end of the show I was checking to see if there was anyone else who wanted some. And for real, I didn't even have a beer!)

No critics, but some dear folks showed up starting with Joshie on Friday ("I knew you did that stuff...but I didn't know you could DO that stuff!" Warmed my heart) Dorajar and 'Nai on Saturday, and a surprise visit by Ry-Gonn on Sunday. (Please send warmest regards to he and his family. He's going through some ill-gramma frass right now)

So I wanted to post a quick inventory of ailments that comes from a 3 show kung-fu weekend. I'll avoid pics as uploading them would take too much time, and my feet aren't in the best shape. From top to bottom:

Head/neck/shoulders- Oddly enough, cool. After the last run of "KFH" and the fundraiser, I remember distinctly that I could barely move my head to look over my shoulder for almost a month. Now (knock on wood) it feels copacetic.

Arms- Triceps are muy achey from falling a lot and catching my body. The abrasion on my right elbow from the first helicopter attempt is almost healed up (Thanks, neoprene elbow guard!) My wrists (Thanks wrist wraps) have held up from the falls. My elbows, on the other hand have cuts and bruises from an unnamed source. (Falling? Kicking my own ass? I can has cheezburger?) They hurt to rest on my chair.

Chest/Ribs/Tummy- Cool. Tums a little sore from sucking in my gut during my topless scenes and flexing my tummy for support doing my normal Fonkey stuff. Other than that, copacetic.

Legs- The weird thing is my hamstring and groin-y feel fine. Great, in fact. It's a little frassy stretching out after all that high-falutin' kicking etc. But the next day I'm mobile. I've got the makings of a pulled calf on my right leg. I'm actually favoring my right leg due to cracking my knee during the "Streetfighter" dance off with Robbie. Go figure. I have these knee pads which have been a GODsend during the scene where I beat myself up. I normally take them off during my first costume change, although Sunday of all days I left'emon during the course of the show. Except before "Streetfighter"...where I take'em off thinking I wouldn't need'em any more. BEEEEEEP! Wrong answer. First spin on the floor CRACK the knee hits. I get up and Kiseung is there to drag me off but I couldn't put weight on it. Shit. Take off my gi bottoms and whoops. There it is. Big bloody red circle. I skun my knee. I haven't done that since, oh, high school? Rounding out the lot is a bruise on both of my hips into my glutes, exacerbated by a fall on my ass this Sunday. (I go to do a thrust kick to get the Sphinx offstage and due to the dust on the floor my other leg went up too. Ry-gonn thought it was an intentional Suicide drop. Hopefully the 18 other people did too)

Feet/Kankles- Saving the best for last, my dogs look like some one tried shining my shoes with a cheese grater then forgot I wasn't wearing any to begin with. Ugh. My top left has got an owie I think (think?) I eff up everytime I beat myself up. It may come from another part of the show, as Shinobi-wan and Robbie both have similar maladies. Basically I've been hacking up my foot. (And I have one of those annoying cuts in between my little and 2nd toe. If I spread my toes it fricking kills) I've got bruises on both little toe knucks, a bruise on the ball of my right foot, a bruise on my right kankle (Which happens after Jocasta tosses me. Saturday and Sunday both I remind myself to fall correctly. Both times I biff. Durp durp durp)

I felt kinda bad about being the grandpa of the cast until some of the others showed signs of battle fatigue as well. The lesson is, I'm a hazard to myself and I'll probably need a wheel chair by the end of the run.