Monday Night Fright Night - featuring the Nerd

I promised my son I would do another Monday night training session, as he gets to train with the adults as well if we do that.  As it is half term, seemed like the perfect time to do it.  as there is grading next weekend for at least one of our Dojo, it was always going to be an attention to detail session.

After the warm up and formal opening, including Mokuso (silent thoughts, a technique I find useful in real life), we started with Kata.  We did all the Naihanchis and all the Pinans, and got to watch Passai Sho (black belts only).  Everyone got to do the step by step versions of the Katas, then performance up to what they know.  I felk confident enough to perform up to Naihanchi Nidan this time.  My son absolutely loved it, as he had never gone past Pinan Shodan before😊😊.

After Kata,we went on to fundamentals - punches (jodan, chudan, gedan) , receiving techniques (jodan, chudan gedan) , kicks (mae, yoshiro, yoko, mawaishi geri), followed by tsuki, shuto and uke.  As with the Saturday lesson, I tried to do as much of this  as possible fully, the only element I held back on was the quantity of "tsuki"  in the generic section, so I could complete the "uke" section. Currently the last elements aren't in our grading syllabus, but that might change, so it is important to practice all of them.

After that we went through all of the kihon katas, done both right side and left side, 20 in total done this way.  The grading syllabus only includes the right side, so this is the first time I had performed any of them on the left hand side 😊😊. I am gradually becoming more familiar with them, but get a little muddled on the middle ones.  To help me out, I went over them with my Sensei to document them for an aide memoiure.  Below is the full documentation of our kihon katas for the first time by me:

Kihon Kata

Shodan

2 punch combination, Mae Geri

Nidan

Mae Geri, 2 punch combination

Sandan

2 punch combination, Mawashi Geri off front leg

Yondan

Mawashi Geri off front leg, 2 punch combination

Godan

Right Mawashi Geri (land in front), left Mawashi geri (land in front), reverse punch, jab.

Rokudan

Ashi uke, jab, cross, Mawashi Geri

Nanadan

Mae Geri (land in front) right jab, back kick

Hachidan 

Mae Geri (land in front), back kick, reverse punch

Kyudan

Shuffle, backhand forehand punch, shuffle, backhand forehand punch, right then left mawashi geri, spinning kick

Judan

Shuffle, backhand forehand punch, shuffle, backhand forehand punch, right then left mawashi geri, hisa geri

I definitely favour the left hand side versions, being left handed, but I will get there.

After that, we had a couple of short bouts of light to medium kumite.  The first was punches and kicks, and the seconds was kicks only.   At the end of the first session, I had a bit of a panic as I had taken at least one punch to the ribs, and landed a kick on a block, catching an older bruise. With the pain and ragged breathing, it gave me a fright, but I managed to shake it off and rejoin in the kick bout, taking back over from my Sensei, who had filled in to allow my training partner a full go.

All in all, another enjoyable lesson 😊😊😊😊  Thank you very much to my Sensei, son, patient training partner and other dojo members for putting up with me as I plod along.🙏

Pushing Myself.

Lessons are rarely the same in our Dojo, which is a good way of keeping us on our toes :)

Our warm up was taken initially by our Senpai and included some different exercises, including cycling on our backs, but with shoulders raised, and this was followed by the usual formalities of the dojo.

After this was Kata - focusing on the Naihanchis.  My Sensei says my posture is improving slightly 😊😊.   This was followed by fundamentals, including punches, receiving techniques, and kicks. I - ran out of steam during last technique (Uke) which I had hoped to complete, so I was a little disappointed with myself 😞😞

After that was Pad work on kicks, punches and receiving techniques.  This was followed by Naihanchi drills with different partners; featuring crashes, head pull downs, knee strikes, forearm strikes, drags, punches, take downs and get aways.

Afterwards realised that I hadn't been cutting back on elements of fundamentals, as I used to to do all the techniques, but had done them all fully until the last one, then I was pleased with myself.  I realise my stamina is improving and am pushing myself more 😊😊

Dojo basics

Saturday's Dojo session was back to basics,  The warm up exercises included stretches, cami rolls and break falls.  After that, it was on to Kata.

For Kata, we went through Naihanchi Shodan to Passai Sho.  Each one was done step by step and then performance, with people who don't know the Kata dropping out on the performance part.  I only did Naihanchi Shodan as performance, because although I know the basic flow of Nidan and Sandan, I don;t think it's good enough to do perform in the Dojo as yet.

From there on, it was pad work drills with different partners, following the Naihanchi Shodan Kata 
Naihanchi pad drills following the Kata sequence.  We went through:

Crashes, 
Head control to knee strikes, 
Elbow strikes, 
Re-directions, 
Punch and Stamping kick combinations  (knee, ankle, shin, inside leg)
Arm drag, head control and over-hip take-down with punch, 
Followed by final stamping kick and away

It was any enjoyable lesson, but what was more enjoyable was the realisation that I am noticing the difference in getting through lessons 😊😊😊  The combination of  exercise and a change in medication is definitely working just now for me 😊😊😊.   There were definitely pains the next day though lol, I nice Okinowan tattoo on the inside of my ankle and aches all over, the price for improvement 💖💓😈

Dojo calm in the midst of things

This last week at home and at work has been a little mixed to say the least, some of it through my own shortcomings and some not, so time at the Dojo on Saturday was a welcome break.  The session was varied as always, which is one of the reasons I love training there 😊😊

There were the usual stretches, plus a few newer ones I first tried last Monday, followed by Kata; only Naihanchi Shodan, this time, as our work was going to be based on that.  I got complemented on being able to tense my stomach well to take a punch, which I appreciated.

Then there were a good few drills, some of which I certainly hadn't done before.  We started off with the Quadrant drill, with different partners,  but then did two drills new to me:

Forearm strike drills, with alternate strike, block, move arm combinations. We did right side then left side practice .with different partners.

Hook drills, alternate punch, block (Neko Ashi Dachi Shuto u
Uke), move combinations, firstly with ducking to change sides, then with take down after third repetition, with different partners.   

After that we went on to Kobudo, with both Bo and Nunchaku.  With Bo we did Kihon Katas Shodan and Nidan, with Nunchaku we did the first part of the Hamahiga Kata;  featuring direction changes and figure 8s. We also did some pad work with Nunchaku, on figure 8 strikes.

A really enjoyable lesson, and I now seem to be struggling less with staying the distance 😊😊😊😊.  I should put this properly to the test in April next, as I just booked mine and my son's places on an Iain Abernathy seminar in April.  4 hours should be a good work out 😊😊😊.

Competition, good news and Dojo day after.

This is by way of a multiple blog because so much happened in two days:

Competition 06/10/19:

I had triple nerves, both as a competitor and a father, as both me and my son were competing.  But I didn't need to worry.  It was at Inter-Club level, so not as intense,  Results were:

Son - NSa 2nd out or 6
Me - NSh  3rd out of 4
Kumite Son - 1 - 1 points, lost on extra minute 1st point

My son thought he had done better in the Kumite, but accepted the result, proud of him,  it was a wonderful day 😁😁.  Our Dojo won 13 medals in total, but more importantly was fun competing with friends.  Than you to my Sensei and all from the Matsuri Dojos.  A special thank you to Sensei Darren Hollis of the Stevenage Dojo for his encouraging words 😊😊.

Good News

First test results had been inconclusive, but lung age suggested 30 years older
Nurse appointment - new breath test, but said my description of what I did (karate, walking etc) and effects of steroid inhaler said differently
Doctor appointment - results from new breath test not fully uploaded, but showed oxygen levels improved to 97% and continued use of steroid inhaler may give some more improvement

Dojo day after

Lots of aches from the last two days.  We did Some different stretches and core exercises in warm up, then on to Kata: Naihanchi Shodan, followed by Kata and other drills with different partners:

Naihanchi crash - plus add ons
Pinan Crash, punch, arm control - plus add ons
Tegumi style, arm block, finger strike, hammer fist to arm, arm control - plus add ons

Then on to Kobudo, where we did Bo Kihon Katas.  What made it more fun was that my son, who was watching, was invited to take part by Sensei Alison.  He's been wanting to do Kobudo for ages, so all in all a really good few days 😁😁😁

Competition Time dojo

Today's session was dedicated to the inter club competition we have tomorrow, between our own association's dojos.  I'm doing Kata and my son is doing Kata and Jissen Kumite (full contact).  That's triple nerves, two as a dad and one as a competitor.....

So after warm up, it was straight into Kata, and I was first up.  Apparently my intent is now very good, I look like I'm trying to do serious damage 😊😊😊  However, there are still a good few points to work on.  After that, we did round about 45 minutes of drills based on punch / kick combinations to help those going in for Kumite.  Have to say I ran out of steam at that point.

Finally was reminder time, doing pad work based on dirty Naihanchi, to remind us of the self defence basics that get pulled from competition.  Was a really hot and sweaty session in the dojo, but tomorrow is the key.

Looks like I will need to learn point style fighting though if I want to fight, and I do want to try at least once.  My style doesn't allow full contact competition if you are over 35, so looks like I need to practice touchy feely Karate to get a go,  but I am stubborn..... 

Good luck to everyone tomorrow 😊😊😊

Roots and branches

I think for the issues in life that I face, I honestly believe any form of karate would have sufficed to help me.   From what I have read, many clubs of all styles from Sports through to Traditional, would have accommodated me, and for that I have to offer a massive vote of respect to the whole Karate family, and to the many other forms of MA that would also have welcomed me 😊😊😊   

  That said, I have to say that as a Nerd at heart, and only realistically ever going to use Karate as self defence, not in competetive fighting, I was lucky to end up first time in a Traditional dojo.  The Shorin Ryu style suits me just fine and also indulges the historical Nerd in me.

A practitioner of Wado Ryu asked in one forum recently why the basic Kata of many styles were similar and history Nerd went Shorin Ryu to Shotokan to Wado Ryu.  I think a few Karateka today are blissfully unaware of the tradition on which their enjoyment or competition is based,  no problems but that's not my style 😊😊😊 

  There are lots of detailed material available nowadays, with the likes of Patrick McCarthy and Andreas Quast delving into the history of Karate. Having bring lucky enough to have read some of their articles, it persuaded me to get hold of the book written by Sensei Koei Nohara, about the history to Tiy.  Haven't finished it yet, but have got to the point where it's compelling reading.

The direct relationship he suggests between Tiy and Kobudo Kata is especially interesting 😊😊😊  Then I lost my book on a train, so have to buy another copy, never mind, it is worthwhile.  Then along comes another of those I respect, Jesse Enkamp, saying he is going to go to China to look into the roots of Karate, just can't wait  😊😊😊