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As the title says, tonight I can officially say I have my Dragon Tail and cup grip handspring deadlift down pat. I didn't even notice I had the deadlift until my instructor mentioned it (I was actually pulling myself too far and tipping into the pole), and the Dragon Tail came at the end of the night when people were asking what it was and Tiff showed up the video of her falling. I got it on the first try and it was actually really secure. I was also able to move my torso a bit so it wasn't so off-center. Yay!

Quick win post: I went to UC today for the first time in 3 months since my second round of shoulder injuries, and during a knife defense activity, I accidentally weaved/ducked under the swipe instead of jumping back. I couldn't believe it: even after 3+ months off of boxing and everything combat related, my first instinct was to duck! Holy crap! It's not what we were working on, but it was just as effective. I was thrilled to know that if someone were to stab at me like that in real life, my instinct is to weave under it like in boxing. Yay, me!

Yesterday, Emily and I went to Kyoto after our walk and coffee in Tosa, since she was hungry. We were initially trying to find a new place, but there really wasn't anything; and in the process of photo-swiping on Yelp I saw a picture of agedashi tofu. I've been wanting to try agedashi tofu for such a long time now, figuring I would probably really like it but scared that it might be disgusting. But there was something about this photo that just made me craaaaaave it, so I gave it a try. It was even better than I was expecting! Even Emily liked it. I didn't realize it comes in basically a somen broth, which brought back all kinds of memories from when I was in Japan. It was surprisingly chewy, too, almost like cheese. I loved it, although I did feel sick afterward from all the oil and salt. Will definitely be getting it again.

I don't really have the time or energy to do a proper 2018 recap or 2019 goals post right now, but I can do a pole-related one. To recap, 2018 was my year to shine in regard to health and fitness. I'm in the best shape of my life so far, and a lot of that is due to pole. I went back to pole in mid-December 2017 and by March had already lost 3 inches and was better than I ever was. It was around this time that I also took up combat sports and starting attempting to run, but that is a topic for the full 2018 recap post.  When 2018 started I couldn't shoulder mount, aerial invert properly, do a layback, or Ayesha. I also couldn't touch my toes or straddle more than 90 degrees. I focused heavily on increasing my strength in the first half of the year and by summer had added more cardio and flexibility training. Yoga helped a bit, but it was really the strength and stretch classes at Miss Pole that pushed me to new limits.  By September I had already reached the h