Competition Time

So for the first time since I joined there is a competition locally I might be able to attend.  My son wants to do kata, I don't know whether  should go in for it or not.

Definitely not the full contact competition, no way am I ready for that, but the points competition is tempting.  If just to see whether I can score a point or two, at least.  I'm under no illusions that I could win a bout at this stage, but taking part would be a big plus for me, I think.

I suppose I'm trying to talk myself into it, as I haven't taken part in anything competetive in years.  I find the challenge of real life is often enough, and karate certainly helps with coping with the major challenges there.

The way I see it, it's a bit like the practice videos, doing the competition would set a target of something to improve on.  True there is very much an element of luck in who I might draw, but to me the very fact that I think it might be fun to try is in iteself a victory.

If I don't make this competition, I absolutely would want to do something the next time it comes around 😊😊

Stretches and Steps

Streching is not only an important part of warming up for Karate, for me it's imporant generally.  On at least two occasions in the last 20 years I've been to the doctors and hospital with a bad back.  Once I was off for two weeks, as a slipped disc was suspected.  Fortunately it was just a severe muscle spasm caused by bad posture, but even so it was painful.

Here are some of the stetches I've learned, both from Karate and physio, that help me:

1. Zenkutsu Dachi, the rear ball of foot stretch down, followed by straighten front leg, stretch down (Karate)

2. Alternate leg stretches up behind back (physio)

3. Alternate finger touches or hand clasps behind back (Karate)

4.  Camel stretch (copied from Yoga, probably badly)

Then I always like to follow the stretching with some form of karate practice, tonight it was the step sequences from the Naihanchi katas 😊😊😊

#karate #health #fitness #exercise #50 and over

The Kihon Katas (A Nerd in me post)

This was to be a practice video post of the first four Kihon Katas we use, and contribute towards grading, but then I looked for videos for comparison..... 

Surprise, there aren't any readily available.  As I was to find, the formal Kihon Kata is a cornerstone of the Shotokan branch of Karate, and something very different to what we are learning.   There are many videos out there, but here is a link to one which is fairly typical:

Shotokan Kihon Kata

It also appears in Shito-Ryu under a different name:

Shito-ryu: Kihon Kata Ichi

Outside of this, other branches also use "Kihon" katas, but each refers to the "basics" or "fundamentals" as viewed by that particular branch.  This was confirmed by, my Sensei: Ours are not traditional katas, they are more for full-contact karate.  

Nerd time over, practice videos for the first four Kihon katas as I am trying to learn them:

Kihon Kata Shodan

Kihon Kata Nidan

Kihon Kata Sandan

Kihon Kata Yondan

Definitely work in progress 😊😊

Back In the Dojo

After missing last week , this week was a struggle, but had to be done.  I knew I would ache afterwards and boy did I!!

Was a back to basics this week, punches, blocks, kicks, kata, padwork and a little "bunkai", or put simply, applied kata.

All the material I had done in my practice videos came up, and a fair bit of work was put into kicks, which was good for me. 😊😊  Since I am still hoping to grade, the work on basics was much appreciated.

I managed about 50 minutes without having to take an extended break, which was better than expected.  Especially given the miss, so was pleased with that.

Was the back and kneck muscles that ached most today, so some stretching needed and some more practice later.😊😊

Pacing yourself

The biggest single thing I found that helped me to start lasting longer in the dojo without a break, and starting to hit the distances I used to walk, was pacing myself.  That, along with better breathing technique when I was starting to get out of breath, helped me improve.

In the dojo, it was a case of instead to trying to do every technique, kata or drill fully then miss a few to regain breath, do 3 repetitions instead of 5 then take  slow deep breaths in recovery periods.  That way, I lasted through more of the lessons without taking a full break.  It also meant I started to practice far more of the techniques, katas and drills rather than missing out.

With walking, instead of stopping when my breathing was ragged and trying to gulp in air, the trick was to slow down when my breathing started to get ragged.  Then carry on walking at a slower pace for a while, whilst taking more controlled, deeper breaths.

This ties in with becoming more self disciplined and using better breathing techniques, all facets of learing karate ( and in truth any other true martial art). 😊😊😊 

Basic Kicks

As with Punches and Blocks, here are some practice videos I've done for my own reference.  At some some time in the future, they will enable me to check what progress I've made.

They also serve the purpose of an aide-memoire for some of the key elements that will go into my first grading.

What I will say is that from these again, I can see points my senseis' have made reference posture, the need to lift my knee and use it's position to aim the kicks, etc.  I need a lot of work to attain good form, be consistent and accurate. 

To be polite there is plenty of room for improvement 😊😊

Mae Geri

Yoko Geri

Ushiro Geri

Mawashi Geri

On a Positive Note

A year ago my son got his first grading to yellow belt:

A few months ago it was his blue belt:

This time round it will hopefully be both of us, blue/black belt for him, yellow belt for me 😊😊

Aftermath

I should have been in the dojo today, was looking forward to a good workout after a fairly stressful week, but some things are not meant to be.

At 5am today my daughter's head wound opened up again, possibly some hair caught in the scabbing pulled away, and it was fairly serious.  An Ambulance trip to hospital ensued and it was 10:30am before we got home.  Good thing is no sign of infection and no signs of delayed concussion this week.  Now the wound is glued as well as stitched.😌

At least my son made it to the dojo with his mum.  He helped with the youngsters, now he's hoping to get the opportunity to grade at the end of March.  Will be his blue/black belt 😊

With luck, I'm still hoping to make my first belt too, but I need to get some more work in.  Time up up the practice at home I guess 😊😊

Other good news is that the police got in touch and confirmed what my daughter and college had said,  basically that it was an accident pure and simple.  No specific fault attached, that was good to hear 😊😊

Stand by your family

Yesterday I spoke to the person who had hit my daughter in a Road Traffic Accident (RTA); that person had contacted the college where she studies and said they wanted to talk to me.

I had thought that what had happened was a 50-50 incident and had wanted to sympathise with them and check that they were ok.  It turned out that what the person was after was not that, but for me to contribute to the repair of the car for the damage that had happened.

It came across as "sorry I hurt your daughter, please pay me".  Not cool.  One thing I will say is that I have learned to stay calm intially as a result of what I have learned in studying Karate.  My response was that at this moment the conversation is at an end.

The version I was given by the driver actually led me to think that the driver was more to blame than my daughter.   My response was to tell my daughter that I love her and more than ever I believe her.

On the advice of a friend, I have contacted the police to tell them what was said in case it differs from hat they have.  Staying calm definitely has benefits.

Punches and Blocks

These are some practice videos I've done for my own reference, so that some time in the future, I can check what progress I've made.

They also serve the purpose of an aide-memoire for some of the key elements that will go into my first grading, hopefully in March this year 😊

Jodan -Tsuki

Chudan-Tsuki

Gedan-Tsuki

Jodan-Uke

Chudan-Uke

Gedan-Uke

In the Dojo (Finding Focus)

Sometimes things happen in life which knock a person back.  Sometimes things happen that knock a whole family back and today was the culmination of one of those weeks.

Many things happened to my family this week including to cap it all, my daughter being injured in an RTA.  In the end there were no broken bones, but the worry even without that is still enough.

The dojo was as much a place to re-charge and refocus as well as practice and exercise.  Being able to have something to focus on, a place to work out frustration and a place to be surrounded by people who care is imporatant.

It gives structure and stability when things around are somewhat chaotic. Whilst I started out in Karate to help my physical health, I have found it just as good for my mental health as well. in time of stress.

A big thank you to Alison, Ben, et al😊 

My Dojo

The Matsuri Dojo -Ryukyukan - Shorin Ryu

Senseis Ben and Alison

With our President, Sensei Nohara, 9th Dan

Sushi no Kon Kata with Sensei Alison 

Drills as a part of Sensai Nohara's visit

Classes in the Dojo 1

 Classes in the Dojo 2

 Classes in the Dojo 3

WWE the over 50s club

I count myself lucky to have got the warning signs to my problems early enough to have stopped the rot with my health. But as I said before, my road to a way back to doing something positive started with a shared liking with my son for WWE.

I think the seeds were set for what I do now with watching Kane (then 50) vs Braun Strowman in November 2017.  It put in my head that 50 year olds can still be active.  At that stage I had no idea of the age of Karate and other Martial Arts elders.

In recent years the following have performed in ring in WWE, with varying degrees of success.  It may be entertainment, but still requires a degree of physical fitness and dedication: 

Jerry Lawler                  69

The Undertaker             53

Shawn Michaels            53

Kane                              51

Jeff Jarrett                     51


Vickie Guerrero            50

Kurt Angle                    50

And an honourable mention has to go to Triple H, at 49 not quite making the club, but still capable of in ring performances that would put some youngsters to shame.  Yes we saw him that night too as part of the Shield.

My son tried to scream the house down 😁😁😁😁😁

Apologies to any WWE over 50s Superstars I have left out..... not that they will notice lol.

The Nerd in Me (Naihanchi Shodan)

So I finally got a friend to help me video myself doing the Naihanchi Shodan kata, the results are below.

As you might expect for a white belt, its much in need of improvement, with all the points picked out by my Senseis plain to see. Still its better than where I was and gives myself something to compare my progress against in later months 😊😊
The friend who videoed it for me used to practice the Shotokan form of Karate (I am learning the Shorin-Ryu form) and said it was familiar to him, but not by the name of Naihanchi Shodan, so this set the Nerd in me to thinking.  

I decided to have a look on the Internet to see what I could find for the Kata relating both to Shorin-Ryu and other forms, and this is what I came up with in a short period of time:

Naihanchi Shodan Shorin-Ryu 1

Naihanchi Shodan Shorin-Ryu 2

Naihanchi Shodan Shorin-Ryu 3


Isshin-Ryu - Naihanchi

Shito-Ryu - Naifanchin Shodan

Shotokan - Tekki Shodan

Shuri-Ryu - Nai Han Chi Sho

Wado-Ryu - Naihanchi

There are obviously big similarities, but also lots of differences, but what did surprise me was the degree of variation I found within the Shorin-Ryu form itself 😊  This is a clear indication, to me at least, of how the Katas are not set in stone, but evolve as time goes by 😊😊
A big thanks to:

https://blackbeltwiki.com

From where a lot of this information was obtained. And thank you to Jerome Chee-A-Tow for the video 😊

Practicing at home

Any Sensei will tell you practicing at home is important, and I do try.  Today I tried videoing myself doing the Naihanchi Shodan Kata, it taught me two things:

1) Houses aren't made for doing Karate Kata videos (there may be enough room to do it, but you need a heck of a lot of space to make a video head to foot) 😊
2) Ouch I now see more clearly what my Senseis are talking about when they point out the various things that need improving.

The basic bits are there but need refining, lol.  But I am a good few belts away from needing it off to a tee, so there is still time. 😊

My son helps me through many of the drills I need to do, and a big thank you to him.  Both for encouragement and advice. 😊  The punches and blocks I'm not too far off, apart from the Gedan-Uke, I struggle with that one.

The kicks are variable, but I struggle most with the Roundhouse kick (Mawashi Geri) and back kick (Ushiro Geri).  Oh well now I know what I need to improve on 😊. 

But however well I do, I need to try to keep improving.  If I keep trying to get better at the basics, the rest will hopefully follow 😊😊

In the Dojo

Today in the Dojo was probably the hardest workout I have done.  I managed over an hour without a break, which is the longest I have lasted so far 😊

Hopefully, I will be doing my first grading later this month, and later there is a competition in March for Kata, points and full contact.  My son would like to do a Kata, but wants me to try full contact, no so sure about that one, lol 😃

Today, was warm up, stretching, Kata, drills and some extended pad work.  I managed a full 30 seconds session of "anything you can think of" on the pads, quite aggressive for me, and that was where I had to take a break.

Then more Kata, stretching and the final formal ending.  I enjoyed pushing myself, and hopefully it showed 😊

Not Everything about Karate is serious

Here are a few fun images I found related to Karate of Martial Arts in general:

A Karate Wedding 😊

DIY Karate 😊

Practice your throws 😊

Does Size matter? 😊