Karate helping to deal with a heart condition:
Karate fighting, Cardiovascular workout, confidence, rebuilding stamina, fun, self defence, over 50s but not only, over 50, is it too late, exercise, nerd, okinawa karate, shorin ryu, full contact karate, heart, aging
The joys of being able to work from home are becoming a bit thin now. Being on the "high risk" list, I realise I am much luckier than many in having a job I can do from home and an employer who allows it, but shielding effectively for almost a year is beginning to take it's toll.
Kata Imperfect -0102
Family issues and increasing work demands have made it harder to train during the winter months, with dark nights, cold weather and having neighbours who have scant regard for the Covid rules make me uncomfortable in training outdoors, even when the light is good. My Sensei have been really helpful in offering Zoom lessons all the way through this pandemic.
Monday wasn't a good day 0202
However, the demands of work have made many of the evening lessons unavailable to me. What made it worse was that I could hear my son training downstairs and I honestly wanted to join in 😞😞
Kata after the lesson 0402
The mental tolls of nearly a year continuously at home have also had an effect. The boundaries have become more blurred, with home intruding on work and vice versa. At times, karate has been the only anchor point in a sometimes unstable environment. Lesson this month included variations upon famililar themes, with the quadrant drill featuring again. Shadow sparring, many variations of teisho strikes, some paired work, striking at different heights, lunging stances to disrupt and take the opponents space all featured alongside kata.
Snow kata 0902
There were three notable things from February which will definitely make it hard to forget though, all on the more positive side of things:
In snowed, so I got to do kata in the Snow for the first time
Got my first Covid-19 jab ( 11th Feb) so there is light at the end of the tunnel (and my Sensei allowed me to do Seisan in lesson whilst in self isolation)
There was an interesting session with Andreas Quast, re-affirming the earliest known performed kata were Kusanku and Passai (around 1849) and discussing the undocumented Japanese influence on Okinawan culture ands martial arts.
18 Feb - Rusty run through
When things are a struggle small achievements or good moments take on a bigger significance, and standout moments become milestones. The opportunity to do kata in the snow I would have taken anytime, but that it happened during lockdown made it feel more special.
23 Feb Goju kata
Getting vaccinated is a proper landmark, it is the first small opening onto the light at the end of the tunnel. Training in our bedroom was a challenge (small space), but the opportunity to do a different kata during lesson time made it memorable for a good reason. Finally, the opportunity to participate in a session of any sort with Andreas Quast is always a pleasure as there is always something new to learn about the history of karate.
4th February Lesson Outtakes
I hope for better things in the future. If you have got this far thank you for reading.
REY 24/03/2021
04/02/2021 Shadow sparring, using specific combinations, kata combinations. Moving to the side in sparring. some pairwork on techniques
06/02/2021 Fundamentals, padwork (striking whist circling, jodan, chudan, gidan), kata
11 Feb - An aide memoire
11/02/2021 Teisho drills, straight reverse teisho, upper cut reverse teisho, hooking teisho, using hips to generate power. First is long range to close the distance, next two are close range. Straight reverse teisho, crash, upper cut reverse teisho. Use of lunging stances with front knee strike to disrupt: Zenkutsu dachi, Shiko dachi (possible drag over step behind leg and punch to finish), Nekko achi dachi (followed by front kick to groin)
13 Feb- an unusual kata for a lesson - Seisan
13/02/2021 Addition to first teisho drill, straight reverse teisho, upper cut reverse teisho (broken energy), hooking teisho, reverse elbow strike (continuous energy). Kata (including Seisan for me), Short teisho pinan drill: glanching reverse teisho, front hand grab and step through, rotating forearm strike.
18/02/20201 Fundamentals, padwork, kata
20 Feb- Continuous kata during the lesson
20/02/2021 Quadrant drill, first 6 elements, continuous kata, pad drill from the Pinans
A private talk with Andreas Quast
27th and 28th Feb: Weekend Workouts
27/02/2021
Jamie Clubb lesson - anti abduction, including the bystander effect
Due to work, I haven't been able to train as much as I did earlier in the Covid-19 outbreak, and that compounded by some stressful factors led to a flair up of my chest complaint. My doctor insisted I got a Covid test done, even though I have been working from home and not socialising, waiting for the results only added to the mix.
2010 Kata as Breathing Exercise
Since I already have my own issues, mentally this set of circumstances didn't help either. Medically I was told to take my crash pack of antibiotics and steroids, and as I had struggled on the previous Saturday lesson, I had to take it easy for a while. I had to find something to compensate and focus on, and as is typical with me it was Karate.
22100 Slow kata gentle breathing
I put my kata to good use, both as a series of breathing exercises and as relaxation. But then came the better news, I was Covid free: Thought it was time to start training again, even if only for a part of the lesson and not full speed: Form, rather than strength and speed. So on Saturday I did train again. some of it I got near to full power, but the best part of it was a penny dropping......
Kihons and knees 2410
This was my post in one of the Facebook forums:
"Muchimi, pad work and kihon: My dojo has concentrated on online training, plus outdoor training where possible, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. I have possibly trained more as a result and attended more seminars, but reached a "lights turned on" moment today. Recently, we have started working on knee adaptations of our kihon gata in place of kicks and today our sensei added pad work.
The kihons are very clean, with punch/ kick combinations, so swapping to knees was a change anyway, more in keeping with Shorin Ryu roots. But the addition of padwork introduces the idea of muchimi, as I realised afterwards. For example, the first kihon in my dojo is "jab, reverse punch, mai geri". the knee interpretation without pad is "jab, reverse punch, back leg knee".
Add in the pad, and this becomes "Jab, reverse punch, knee" but because the jab isn't retracted to keep the pad as a target, and the the reverse punch hand isn't retracted to support the pad for the knee: It becomes "Jab grasp, reverse punch grasp, knee" Maintaining contact with the head. Suddenly practice drills developed real intent for me. Does that make sense?"
My Sensei are always telling us about keeping contact in close quarter situations, but finally the penny dropped with some of our basic drills. One of these is given below as an example:
Kihon gata Shodan - different forms
The following day was "Karate Day" and the 100 kata challenge. I signed up for it ages ago, but given the recent circumstances, I approached it with a certain amount of trepidation. We were mostly going to do Naihanchi, so that wasn't a problem, but how long I would last potentially was. I needn't have worried: The first 20 were a real struggle, but then managed to clear my chest. I managed the full 100, and though the other 80 weren't a walk in the park, they certainly felt more comfortable than the first 20 ☺☺☺
100 kata challenge
Much to my surprise, I even managed to make a midweek lesson on the following Thursday, and there was yet more new material introduced. We worked mainly on kata and an old favourite: The Quadrant drill. However towards the end of the lesson we were also introduced to some new pad drills, Naihanchi drills 4 and 5, so something more to work on ☺☺☺ The Saturday lesson was taken up by a Jamie Clubb webinar, featuring grappling and ant-grappling techniques, but for once I wasn't able to take an active part due to a few technical issues. My son did though and he seemed to enjoy it ☺☺☺
That's it for now, thank you for reading if you got this far ☺☺☺
2410
Kata
Kihon gata to 7, knees and elbows
2510
100 kata challenge 3 Naihanchis (for me)
2910
Kata
Quadrant drill
5 Naihanchi pad drills
The two new ones:
4: push down and uppercut, roll into backfist, clinch and knee into heel stomp, cm neck crank takedown.
5: Percussive clinch, knee, hammerfist into side of head/jaw, forearm strike into base of skull (forgot to do this in tonight's lesson), turn and throw into wall/person/ environment.
It's hard to describe how things are at the moment, I'm on a short break at the moment, as work has been fairly intense lately. Still no news on when I'm expected to start back to work, but my shielding is over. There are some issues in my personal life which are causing a worry and mentally things are a little on the tough side.
0908 - Slow kata
There are a good few things I could have done, or organised better to say the least. However with the massive uncertainty of the times we live in, nothing is certain and I have to try not to beat myself up too much about some of the things. That especially applies to things over I have little or no control, but sometimes that is easier said than done.
1008 - Cool down kata
I am still training, an obvious must given my conditions, but have felt less inclined to make as many videos as I have in the past. From the feedback I've had though, my Sensei think I am making good progress, which is also a positive for me. I still don't feel comfortable with the idea of meeting up in groups to train, so have missed the open air classes that my dojo have started to do one a week.
1508 - Nunchaku practice
However, we (both me and my son) have not had to forgo the lessons, as my Sensei have been kind enough to share them via Zoom. As ever therefore, karate still forms a major focal point of my life, something that is both good for me physically and mentally and gives a framework of something to do in which I can feel I am making progress.
1708 - Quadrant drill and a little kata
I regret having to miss lessons because of my workload, but that is unavoidable. However, it makes me appreciate the lessons that I do make even more. The time I really do appreciate in the lesson in Mokosu or "silent time", as for me it helps to focus on a complete reset. I find it helps me to shut out the outside world for a little while and concentrate on other things. A "haven from the storm" if you like.
From a personal point of view, I have started to work on changing direction with various forms of compass drills, as this is something that doesn't feature heavily in the Naihanchi kata, but something I will need in the future ☺☺
2008 - Nunchaku and elbow compass workout
When there are mental health issues involved, this is even more important, and the lockdown and subsequent period have certainly thrown up a few of those. Karate wise, over the last few weeks, apart from fundamental, kata and padwork, our main focus has been the Quadrant drill. It is best done in it's paired form, but can be done solo almost as a more explicit version of a kata if you like. That is definitely something that I enjoy doing ☺☺☺
2208 - Oops up too early
Today, we had the honour of taking part in a Zoom lesson with the head of our Ryukyukan federation, Sensei Nohara, and there are a few more interesting lessons and webinars to come, so still much to lokk forward to a ficus on, outside of the stream of the humdrum. So time to keep on carrying on, as ever ☺☺☺☺
Lessons 0808 Kata Pad drill. (2 to 3 attackers) step off to side (to see if anyone behind and line them up if so). Teisho x 2, crash. Hammerfist x2 knee ( rugby tackle ) sprawl, hasmmer fist x 2 (neck lock from behind) 2 to 3 hammerfists to back of kneck. open shoulders to break lock and push away 1008
Quadrant drill: jab, cross hook, hammer fist, looping left, hook, back hand slap, elbow, upper cut, uppercut, ridge hand, ridge hand, (gable grip) Swap stance, (dragging head to left) left knee, swap stance (dragging head to right), right knee, head butt, sweep down tto clear arms, shoulder barge.
Right mawashi geri, back to stance, swap stance, left mawashi geri, back to stance, swap stance, right mawashi geri, hold out, right mawashi geri, follow through back to stance, Ashe Uke, Mai geri, ball of foot to stomach, Mai geri, ball of foot to stomach, Mai geri, top of foot to groin, left back fist, cross, jab, cross, jab to head, cross, jab, cross to body (solar plexus, liver spleen), duck left moving legs circle head under punch, step back hands up
1608
Quadrant drill, padwork - Teisho, hammer first, elbow Nunchaku
Figure of 8s both hands, Striking both hands: Crosswise strike towards body, crosswise strike away from body, upward strike over shoulder, downward strike. How ordinary items such as a belt, a hadbag, or a doglead, can be used to carry out similar strikes to nunchaku. Kihon kata: 1) Step back into Shiko dachi, front hand downward strike, emulating bike handle, both sides. 2) Step back into Shiko dachi, ront hand downward strike, emulating bike handle, touch to front wrist, back hand under, front hand up to bring Nunchaku behind front shoulder, both sides. 3) Step back into Shiko dachi, ront hand downward strike, emulating bike handle, touch to front wrist, back hand under, front hand up to bring Nunchaku behind front shoulder, front hand figure of eight five times, catch at waist on back hand, both sides. Free sparring Nunchaku 2008
Fundamentals, kata, pad work, different forms of teisho, straight, upwards, hook then short slap with double hip movement. 2208 Fundamentals and kata (with Sensei Nohara)
This blog is very late due to work and other issues 😟 However, I still want to keep on blogging, so here goes. Week 10 of lockdown was challenging to say the least, there was a big down after the good ending to the previous week, with the Kata with family call that I did.
Kata with family
Work was starting to ramp up up with preparations for offices I cover region wide making preparations for re-opening, and the tensions within a family of 4 being cooped up together for 10 weeks bubbling along, there was not as much quality time for training.
Monday kata after the lesson
That said, formal training is an absolute lifeline. With the extra kobudo lesson my dojo are now doing, plus a free lesson on the Sunday by Brian Bates, that I was invited to by my Sensei, I managed over four hours of training that way, best ever ☺☺☺ Because I have been keeping up my training, my physical health hasn't been too bad despite the lockdown, however it has taken a toll mentally.
Practice 1905
The worry for me about what will happen when the lockdown ends is starting to kick in. I have been lucky enough to get mental health support, unlike some members of my family, and this has been really helpful for me at least. If we don't try facing up to our problems, they become even harder to deal with 😟😟
Two things that have become clear to me with time are that:
1) You can only be responsible for your own feelings and behaviour, not those of other people
2) Whatever the mistakes of the past, you can only deal with what is here and now
Going down the route of what if and if only is the route to complete bitterness and confusion 😟
For me, without family, a job and karate, I would be lost.
1805
Kata - Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan (Sandan)
Kicks
Front leg Mai geri, back leg Mai geri, both sides
Front leg Mawashi geri, back leg Mawashi geri both sides
Front leg Yoku geri, back leg Yoku geri both sides
Spinning back kick, both sides
Balancing, knee up, front leg Mai geri, Mawashi geri, Yoku geri, rotate 45 deg then back kick without kicking leg touching the ground, both sides.
Shadow sparring, first practising jab, cross, upper cut,
and jumping front kick then free form.
Naihanchi Shodan
Naihanchi 2105
2105
Flowing Naihanchi - continuous smooth
Hands only Naihanchmovementsi
Then interpretations of Naihanchi
Pre-emptive strike (2 palm strikes), crash, two knees
Elbow strikes to arm, eyes closed,
Back slap, elbow, pull in, two knees
Front hand hook and forearm strike, back hand hook
Developing into Front hand hook, forearm strike and pull, two back hand hooks
Imagine someone holding clothing. Back hand strike down (onto holding harm), back fist
(Open hand slap to face) Back hand strike down (onto arm), back fist, strike down (onto arm), front hand punch, back fist
As Drill: Back hand - open palm strike, strike down, backfist, Naihanchi double block (front hand up and outside, back hand down, front hand back fist
Then equivalent kata movements in fighting stance as drill, back hand block, double block, front hand back fist
Back fist, front leg stomping heel kick (to knee) forearm strike (to side of neck)
Back foot stomping kick, back hand pulling (arm), front arm chudan uke. (represents pulling opponents arm out straight and rolling over nerve point with other arm then hyper-extending)
Step out with front leg, double arm sweep (represents step behind, back arm clears opponent's arm, front arm pushes opponent over leg)
Last week was week 9 of lockdown for me, and being on the "at risk" list is more worrying than ever, with it seeming like people are being asked to go back to work before there is any proper kind of control on Covid-19. That said, karate training is my rock in uncertain times and never fails to deliver in terms of variety with stability, kata, fundamentals and the quadrant drill always feature somewhere in the mix.
Sunday working (1005)
The variety this week was in the form of one lesson featuring the use of fundamentals in a dynamic rather than static setting, working on various stance transitions away from the kata, and some variations in pad work. My kata work is improving, so I now get to perform our second kata as my highest known in lessons, and we had another lesson in kobudo, this time in Nunchaku fundamentals. ☺☺☺ This is when commitment pays off ☺☺☺.
1105 after the lesson ends, one more kata outside
I especially enjoy being allowed to perform Naihanchi Nidan, but will still keep the emphasis on practising Naihanchi Shodan. There are many common elements I still need to work on, such as transitioning, the double uke and backfists.
The Nunchaku lesson consisted of the start of the kata taught in by dojo, the "Hamahiga" kata broken down into simple actions, then put together into a longer sequence practised on both sides.
1405 Kata calling
The final action of the week involved something I had actually planned as a FB live feed between me and my sister, with a few others invited online to attend. I originally had the idea of me doing kata for 30 minutes, whilst my sister did her Tai Chi forms. with maybe her grand childen doing their exercise routines. On the day though. it developed into something else, as my son wanted to join in. So we did a live chat instead, where my son and i took turns to demonstrate kata or kobudo basics, whilst the other chatted with our family in France. They in turn shared videos of what they were up to. All in all, a brilliant end to the day and the week ☺☺☺
1305 Outdoor session including the Quadrant drill
1105 Warm up Mokosu Formal opening Kata Quadrant drill
Lesson reminder from 1405
1405 Warm up Mokosu Formal opening KataShuto Uke Cat Stance steps Yoi, turn right into Cat Stance, RH Shuto Uke, Left foot forward into Zenkutsu dachi, LH Gidan Tsuki. Retutn to yoi, turn left into Cat Stance, LH Shuto Uke, Right foot forward into Zenkutsu dachi, RH Gidan Tsuki. Naihanchi Steps R side then L side fighting stance, Jodan Uke, backhand punch. R side then L side fighting stance, Chudan Uke, backhand punch. R side then L side fighting stance, Gidan Uke, backhand punch. R side then L side fighting stance Jodan Uke, Chudan Uke, Gidan Uke, back hand punch R side then L side fighting stance, front foot sweep kick, kneeling Gidan Tsuki R side then L side fighting stance, jab, cross, front foot sweep kick, kneeling Gidan Tsuki Kata, practice to Naihanchi Sandan, performance to Nidan
Time lapse of Padwork recap of 1605
The final action of the week involved something I had actually planned as a FB live feed between me and my sister, with a few others invited online to attend. I originally had the idea of me doing kata for 30 minutes, whilst my sister did her Tai Chi forms. with maybe her grand childen doing their exercise routines. On the day though. it developed into something else, as my son wanted to join in. So we did a live chat instead, where my son and i took turns to demonstrate kata or kobudo basics, whilst the other chatted with our family in France. They in turn shared videos of what they were up to. All in all, a brilliant end to the day and the week ☺☺☺
1605 Warm up Mokosu Formal opening KataFundamentals (Punches, Receiving techniques kicks) Pad work: Crash, left knee, right knee, RH slap, elbow, pull in to R hip, hook, hammerfirst hook
Kata with family including Nunchaku
Nunchaku Nunchaku by left side Step out into yoi, tension Nunchaku at eye level Step forward RF into Shiko dachi, hammer down RH (LH Nunchaku held horizontal, RH Nunchaku held vertical. Touch both Nunchaku to R forearm, then Front hand and Nunchaku comes through the middle to vertical over the R shoulder. Back hand and Nuchaku go round the outside to vertical behind the R shoulder. Back hand releases and comes back to guard, front hand flips Nunchaku forward, and from the wrist performs several figure of eights. Nunchaku flipped to guarding hand and trapped step out to Yoi. Step forward LF into Shiko dachi, hammer down LH (RH Nunchaku held horizontal, KH Nunchaku held vertical. Touch both Nunchaku to L forearm, then Front hand and Nunchaku comes through the middle to vertical over the L shoulder. Back hand and Nuchaku go round the outside to vertical behind the L shoulder. Back hand releases and comes back to guard, front hand flips Nunchaku forward, and from the wrist performs several figure of eights. Nunchaku flipped to guarding hand and trapped step out to Yoi. kata with family
It's been an interesting week. Workwise challenging, karate wise, a few unexpected variations thrown in. At least one new technique to me (jumping front kick), and an extra lesson (in bo). What was good was that something I had been struggling with in bo clicked into place, always a good feeling ☺☺☺☺
5th and 6th of May
On a personal level, karate is one of the things that keeps me motivated, and definitely the one that most helps me stay calmer in challenging circumstances. There are a good few of those when there are four of you all under the same roof for what is now the eighth week, I would imagine even people without issues would struggle. Deep breathing, being able to let things go for the most part, doing kata and working on the pads ll play their, part. Lessons and practice give something to effectively plan the week on, work allowing, and so we get by.
Just as the Sun goes down
This week the lessons concentrated on fundamentals, kata, a different interpretation of some of Naihanchi, kicks, the quadrant drill and pad work. The different interpretation of Naihanchi involves a pull back into Shiko dachi, coupled with a palm strike, covering pulling hand, step back into Zenkutsu dachi to extend arm then arm bar. We also did a few less often practised kicks in the jumping front kick (I actually got off the ground! ☺☺☺), spinning back and hook kicks. The spinning back kick I can just about do now, but the spinning hook kick is a little ways off. Then there was an unexpected extra, a bo lesson, before my tablet ovrheated (hot day on Saturday!!). It was just going through the kihon kata (outlined below). I finally worked out what I was doing wrong on the up strikes of the first four (sometimes drawing back to the wrong side), so now I can practice them correctly ☺☺☺☺ Another good week in the virtual dojo! ☺☺☺☺
Bo kihon and improv.
Contents of the lessons 0405 Warm up Mokosu Formal opening Receiving techniques - slow and fast both sides Punches - slow and fast both sides Kicks - slow and fast both sides Other techniques, hisa geri, ashai uke, shuto, Kata 0705 Warm up Mokosu Formal opening Kata Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan Fighting stance, Step back into Shiko dachi Rh pull back, Lh pslm strike Lh cover on Rh L leg step back into Zenkutsu dachi Lh, Rh drag back to left hip R leg step through into arm bar Quadrant drill, through to Ashai uke
Sunday working
0905 Warm up Mokosu Formal opening Working on kicks - with and without chair Yoko geri, Ushiro geri. Mawashi geri, Mai geii Then Jumping front kick. Fighting stance, swap guard, raise leg as if going to do Mai geri, hop and do front leg Mai geri. Spinning back kick. Fighting stance, front leg across then continue rotation 270 degrees until side on. Deliver back kick, rotate same direction back to fighting stance. Spinning hookkick. Fighting stance, front leg across then continue rotation ??? degrees until ??????. Extend back leg out straight and continue spin with leg out back to fighting stance Pad work, hook RH, LH, hammer fist RH, LH, palm strike RH, LH,cutting elbow, RH, LH, Combinations, RH LH, hook, hammer fist, palm strike, elbow. RH LH, 4 each hook, hammerfist, palm strike, elbow. Naihanchi Shodan Bo
Lost video for warm up
Kihon kata
Shodan - Fighting stance - Cat stance strike up, step forward into Shiko dachi, strike down, back into Cat stance, strike up. Nidan- Step out into left fighting stance, transfer bo - Cat stance strike up, step forward into Shiko dachi, strike down, back into Cat stance, strike up. Sandan - Fighting stance - Cat stance strike up, step back into Shiko dachi, strike down, forward into Cat stance, strike up. Yondan - Step out into left fighting stance, transfer bo - Cat stance strike up, step back into Shiko dachi, strike down, back into Cat stance, strike up. Godan - bo in front horizontally hands at 1/3 point either side,.Put bo out from body and look at left tip, rotate to right swapping over hands, eyes track tip, pull bo into body look to centre. Put bo out from body and look at right tip, rotate to left swapping over hands, eyes track tip, pull bo into body look to centre. Rokudan- bo in front horizontally hands at 1/3 point either side,.Put bo out from body and look at left tip, rotate to right swapping over hands, eyes track tip. Step out right into Shiko dachi, leaving bo in postion, strike out at rotate bo, right arm full length with bo under left armpit. Pull back from Shik dachi and bring bo back to centre, pull bo into body look to centre. Put bo out from body and look at right tip, rotate to left swapping over hands, eyes track tip. Step out left into Shiko dachi, leaving bo in postion, strike out at rotate bo, left arm full length with bo under right armpit. Pull back from Shiko dachi and bring bo back to centre, pull bo into body look to centre.
Then my tablet overheated, bringing the lesson for me to an end.
