The Drills have it (or is it the Aches?)

 

The weather since I last wrote here has been rather hot, which places a big limitation on what I’m able to do. On particularly warm days, my son and I have shifted our training sessions from Saturday daytime to Monday evenings, to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. This has paid off to some extent — on at least one occasion, I managed to walk home from the Dojo without a break. The first time I tried that, I believe I needed four or five pauses. So getting back into training is definitely proving beneficial there.

I’ve continued making notes on drills — checking them with our Sensei — so I can remember them for practice at home (or in the open space nearby), which we do from time to time. I generally include these in my blogs to help date them for future reference, and this entry is no exception, with three drills listed below from simple to more complex.

This Monday was cooler than most of our previous sessions, and my breathing felt easier, so I decided to push myself a little. The first sparring-type exercise was introduced early in the lesson (following our warm-up, of course): one person attempted to grab the other’s Gi while the other tried to block. If a grip was made, the defender had to break free. My partner was my son, and it began well. The exercise lasted a minute; we each managed a few successful grabs and breakouts (one of mine was an arm bar, which I was quite proud of). However, during the third or fourth attempt, I struggled for breath and dropped to the ground, trying to roll out — but instead just collapsed in a heap.

I’d become so engrossed in the exercise that I ignored the warning signs of overexertion. I was completely out of breath and struggled to recover due to my COPD. It took my inhaler and around 10 to 15 minutes of slow breathing to re-centre myself. From then on, I was ultra-cautious for the rest of the lesson, taking part mainly in Kata. Still, I realised I’d managed 50 seconds in that sparring drill — not far off my pre-COVID level.

In the final third of the lesson, we started full sparring (albeit light contact), and I couldn’t resist having another go. Again, my son was my partner, and again I clocked around 50 seconds, this time pacing myself more effectively and recovering more quickly afterwards. I was then able to take part in the Kobudo segment of the session with much less downtime.

I left feeling pleased with that final sparring round. Although light, we exchanged solid shots, and I didn’t end up on the floor. Just how solid was confirmed the next day when my calf was sore from a well-placed mawashi-geri! But there were absolutely no repercussions for my breathing — so that side of things feels like a definite win 😌.

While the job hunt continues to be much tougher than expected, Karate provides structure to my week — a routine to build around — and a chance to do something positive and creative like writing this blog. If you’ve read this far, thank you for taking the time. I hope you found it of interest.

REY
16-07-2025

Below is a key to the abbreviations and the exercise listings.

a) = attacker d) = defender Rh = right hand Lh = left hand

1) Both in fighting stance. a) Jabs d) Lh counter with outside block, controlling the arm d) Steps past on outside with right leg d) Rh back-fist to face, then pushing a) down over right leg

2)

a) Wrist grab d) Sweep grabbed arm up as in outward block d) Sweep other arm under and outward, as in matching outside block, grabbing attackers raised wrist d) Continue sweeping motion to extend arm and open opponents back d) Hook punch to ear/neck area with free hand d) Added extra drop elbow onto back of attackers extended arm d) Perform arm bar and turn to throw opponent to ground

3) Both in clinch, left arm behind neck, head down to prevent head butt a) Pushes rh up inside clinch for eye gouge (simulate) a) Locks rh behind head, left leg knee strike to abdomen/groin a) Releases grips, sweeps left arm under and round d) right arm a) Grabs left wrist with lh and pulls d) across a) Right arm raises to perform arm bar, right elbow goes on top of left elbow of d) a) Extension of arm continues to complete arm bar and lower head a) Right hammer-fist to l side of d) head under ear, push hand past head and pull up (chin, nose, eyes) a) Right leg back to complete pull up. a) Release both hands and lh punch to exposed throat, chin, etc

Covid Blues and Dancing in the rain

This blog is one of the hardest I've had to write, as I think the best way to describe what I suffered from was a dose of the Covid blues.  It's been over eleven weeks now since I left the house, and the and after the 10th week it was like running into a brick wall.  Being on the at risk register makes you more aware of the risks, and seeing the country gearing up to go back to work, but coupled with the lack of responsibly some people seem to show put extra worries on top an already fraught household. 

After the 25th May lesson...

It's fair to say that my family has more than it's fair share of issues, some relating to mental health, which sit on top of my own health concerns.  My own mental health hasn't been the best, making more distracted and tetchy than usual.  The worrying prospect of having to go back to work on insanely crowded public transport, without any reasonable treatment having been found was looming on the horizon was and still is a big factor, but the final straw as it felt at the time was the weekend of the 30th of May.

Kata at dusk (27th May)

Watching footage of people piling on to beaches yet again, insane traffic queues following the government's ill advised (in my opinion) opening up of unlimited travel set the alarm bells ringing.  Then we found we had new neighbours...... They announced themselves with a barbecue with guests from outside the household.  There certainly wasn't space in their back garden to socially distance and it sounded like they were having an after barbeque drinks part inside as well.  It didn't feel safe to go out and train that day and honestly felt like Covid city had come home to roost on the doorstep 😔😔😔

Kata after 28th May Lesson

On top of that some cricitcism I got got stuck iny brain, so I didn't venture out for about for about three days.  In the middle of that was Jamie Chubb's seminar and a Nunchacku lesson, all indoors.  It's fair to say I felt nowhere near my normal levels of enthusiasm for doing karate. I had a mental health counselling session booked in for the Tuesday morning though, and these have been another thing that have kept my going.  I felt the need to do something positive prior to the session, so on the Tuesday morning, ventured out to do some kata in the garden.

2nd June, The dawn kata

That and the counselling helped, so I started to feel better about myself, though a lot of the worries still remain.  I ventured out the following morning in the early hours to get myself back in the habit of going outside, this time with a little improvised work and to keep pushing myself.

3rd June, Bo, kicks and kata

The Thursday lesson I did indoors due to a rather wet and inclement evening, bu there was no way I was staying in doors for the Saturday.  There was a bit of drizzle but to be honest it felt good to train outdoors again, both for the regular lesson and the bo lesson that followed.  Afterwards I did a bit of bo kihon and regular kata, still with a little bit of rain coming down, hence the title of that video "dancing in the rain" ☺☺☺☺

6th June, Dancing in the rain

Made sure I got outside again on the Sunday as well to do a bit of practice base on one of the week's lessons, plus a recap on the Nunchaku lesson from the week before.  Just got to keep on going and trying my best to live in the moment, and put to one side for now what the coming weeks might bring.  I will have to face those challenges when I come to them, but since I don't know what they will be, there is no point in worry in what they might be.  I must also try to keep my own reactions to situations on an even keel, and not take too much to heart.  These are my resolutions for the time being, as to how well I do going forward, only time will tell.

7th June, Ukes, nunchaku and kata

Lessons

2505

Jab, cross, step forward, RH jab, step forward LH, knee strike, RH elbow, head control. step forward, pivot of right foot to left takedown, 270 degree rotation, gyaku tsuki, stomp
Cat stance, inside scoop (of kick), step through into Shiko dachi, Right elbow strike takedown, gyaku tsuki, stomp
Outside sweeping block, Step in front leg, jab cross should be in there ( missed out in lesson) take down (hooking neck with forearm over shouider), gyaku tsuki, stomp
Inside sweeping block catstance, side kick, low sweep with left foot, elbow under, take back, stomping pick, gyaku Tsuki, stomp

2805

Fundamentals including tobi mai geri (jumping front kick) and outside block
kata
padwork on hooks, hammerfist and cutting elbow

3005

Guest lesson with Jamie Chubb - soft skills, use of the sprawl, checking for escape routes

Nunchaku lesson

Kihon kata, strike down, forearm touch, transition behind, figure of eight, transition behind, strike down

0406

Jodan uke in yoi, transition to Shiko dachi, jodan uke again
Chudan uke in yoi, transition to Shiko dachi, chudan uke again.
Shoto uke in yoi, transition to Shiko dachi, shoto uke again
Jodan uke, gedan uke, one side punch other, repeat both sides
Jodan uke, gedan uke, shoto uke one side punch other, repeat both sides
Jodan uke, gedan uke, shoto uke, chudan uke one side punch other, repeat both sides
Short piece of work on other uke combinations
Kata
Pad work on back fist
Kata

0606

Quadrant drill, individual elements, short section drills, through to mawashi geri
Jab, cross, front hand hook.
Hammer fist, looping left, back hand hook.
Front hand slap, cutting elbow, left upper cut, right uppercut
Left hand ridge hand, right hand shuto, gable grip, LH step back and drag, left knee, switch to RH drag and knee
Head butt, hands up, LH shoulder barge.
Right leg mawashi geri, back to stance, switch,left leg mawashi geri, back to stance, switch, hold out right leg mawashi geri, back to stance, spin through mawashi geri, round back to stance

Bo

First six kihon kata

A fistful of lessons

Where would I be without the three lessons a week? Not in a great place, but I'm trying to get my own efforts up as well as the lessons.  I managed three 15 minute sessions this week as well as kata practice so over four hours of training a week, up from maybe two hours a week prior to the lockdown.  

Working from home is a boon in terms of my job security, but it is challenging to say the least to maintain the work / life balance when all four of are home all the time for up to 90 days (as it seems at the moment).  My karate lessons form a framework around which to separate work from life, along with providing both the exercise that I need for my health conditions and a channel for stress relief when tensions start to surface.

Pad work is especially good for stress relief, it's really good to be able to hit something.  We even found a use for my son's shinai today, doing a bit of conditioning work without direct contact.  I think very often people focus on  the physical benefits of karate, but in melting pot times like we face today, I think the mental health benefits of this kind of exercise become abundantly clear too. ☺☺☺

For my own personal workouts, I first of all looked online, but what is immediately apparent is that karate has taken off on the internet in a massive way.  It can be somewhat bewildering if you try to pick the best out of what is there, so I decided that the best way was to base whatever I do around the kata that I practice, and then reprising what we have been shown in the lessons if at all possible. 

I have always tried to jot down what we do after the lessons as a part of my blog, but now it's taken on an importance of it's own.  I make notes shortly after the lessons if possible., and where I can't remember parts, I check with our Sensei.   This hopefully then gives me the meat of my next workout  If not, there are always fallbacks such as the quadrant drill, kihon kata or shadow sparring (which I haven't really incorporated yet).   Gives me plenty to work on ☺☺☺

Below are the dojo diaries, workout videos and sample kata videos to give you an idea of what I mean.

13-04

Warm up
Naihanchi Shodan
Translation of kata into fighting actions
Crash, pull head down, double knee strike,
control head up, forearm ./ elbow strike
Drag across, push down, punch across
Still holding opponents arm, step through to arm bar
Smash down onto opponents grab, same arm uses outside block as strike, switch arms into uppercut then backfist
Inside leg kick, hammer first, inside leg kick, arm bar into takedown using double punch......
Sweep across to take down
Kata based shadow sparring to call
Kata to close.

Revision video and workout baed on Monday's lesson

16-04

Warm up
Mokosu and formal opening
Naihanchi Shodan
Pad work - heel of hand, hammer fist, elbow, knee, r / l then combination
Kihon kata variants
Jab, cross, step up side kick
Jab, cross, spinning back kick
Naihanchi Shodan
Mokosu
Formal ending

Workout based on Thursday's Lesson

18-04

Warm up
Mokosu and formal opening
Kata
Fundamentals
Punches, receiving, kicks, ridge hand, ashe uke, hisa geri
Kata
Shadow sparring to call

Workout based on Saturday's lesson

Kata practice

Three times a week...

The three times a week pattern is starting to fit in now, both with work and home life.  This week to two midweek lessons were quite contrasting, in more ways than one.  The Monday lesson concentrated on the use of a chair to help practice kicking, whilst the Thursday lesson concentrated on being able to put together different sequences of strikes.   Kata is an almost ever present in lessons, but now shadow sparring (or free or solo sparring) is starting to become a regular element too.  
For me though, the importgant thing is being able train three times a week and spend time outdoors.  It gives my weeks a structure to pin things on, along with work, it helps my general fitness levels since I cannot go outside and walk, and helps me cope mentally.  Oh and it also helps by karate (especially kata) to noticably progress.

The 30-03-20 Monday lesson took the form of:

20 minute warm up
Formal opening
Naihanchi Shodan, called then performance, then perform highest kata you bsn
Use of a chair. To support on one side whilst moving between kicks, then swap to other side
Use of a chair, to hold position over and kick over.  For example mawashi geri, lift knee into kicking position of vhair, hold then kick.  Perform Ushiro geri over chair and hold
Lay on floor, jump up on instruction and carry out random combinations of jab, cross, hook, uppercut
Arm conditioning
Shadow sparring
Called kata to end

Kicks were never my strong point, so maybe working with the use of a chair might help ☺

The 02-04-20 Thurday lesson was made up as follows (more or less):

10 minute warm up
Formal opening
Naihanchi Shodan, called then performance
Combinations, intermixed with Shadow sparring
Jab, cross, hook - sparring
Jab, cross, hook, mai geri, hisa geri -sparring etc
Kihon gata 1 to 10
Shadow sparring - burpee to call - continue
Naihanchi Shodan warm down

I videoed my part in the whole lesson other than the warm up to see how it looked, and the results are shown below.  I also took some of the elements to make myself a simple morning exercise routine, as shown in the earlier video.

Karate had already become a fairly large focus in my life before the Covid-19 lockdown, but now with that in place it has become even more so. ☺☺☺

Dojo determination : An old dog trying to learn new tricks

Going into the Dojo on Saturday, I felt better than I have in a while.

Starting with the warm up, I managed the whole of that.  It included doing a backward breakfall and shrimping, followed doing a forward breakfall and cover.  I could never do forward rolls at school, and am not much better now, but this old dog still wants to try to learn new tricks.

To me it looks awful, but judge for yourself: My Sensei says I've made some progress with my forward breakfalls. 

Then came Mokosu and the formal opening.  Next week is grading, so we went into punches, receiving, kicks and other fundamentals.  For the first time in ages I managed to get through almost all of this, though I was struggling for breath a little on the last of the kicks.

Then it was on to Kata; As the next grading is the first at which I will need to perform (Naihanchi Shodan), this was more intensive than usual and included specific group tuition followed by performance.  I was a little disappointed with the performance as it was too rigid, with not enough flow 😐, but I know that is because of nerves and trying too hard.  Hopefully it will be good on the day.

Next came light sparring:  Kicks and punches, kicks, punches, kicks, punches and open hand strikes.  These were all done with different partners, and here I need to make an apology and take stock of my punching. I have instinctively started to hook upwards inside the guard when punching and it resulted in a couple of head shots to my training partner who was shorter than me.  So apologies Shell 😐😐, I need to adjust my techniques accordingly.  On the other hand, I seem to be getting the hang of open hand strikes, so not too bad.

The final part of the lesson Kihon kata on the pads, I need the first four for the next Grading, so I was doing one to five.  My kicks were certainly much better than last week. ☺☺
We also had a quick photo session for the end, for a group photo and kicks.   Plenty of hard work and some fun, a few lessons learnt and for once I felt overall I did myself justice.  Good session, and thank you too to Sensei Graham, as well as our regular Sensei, Ben and Alison 👊👍👍☺☺

Dojo determination - round two..

Things still aren't right, I can walk distances just fine, but explosive exercise is still taking it out of me. Saturday in the dojo was more determination than substance but got to keep going....

I love the way our Sensei vary the content of the lessons, always keeps you on your toes ☺☺  Was a fairly regular warm up today, but hey we need those one in a while.  After the warm up, most of the lesson was drill and pad work, plus conditioning and what lesson would be complete without kata?:  We had in there (but not necessarily in that order):

Naihanchi drill, - crash and control, knee strikes , elbow to head, plush away
Conditioning. kicks (low, mid and high Mawashi-geri) and blocks forearm, inside and ouside Chudan-uke, Gedan uke.  First time I tried high Mawashi geri (always got to push)
Tegumi drill take punch, trap, slap to ribs, slap to face, hammerfist to arm, hammer fist to face
Pad work, including pad drills and inside leg kicks
Desensitising, slapping around the face
Kata - including be taught by a black belt in training
Naihanchi Nidan drill, bear hug from behind, sink, break by lifting arms, control arm, turn, elbow to ribs, turn again, strike.

I had to miss partway through, due to a chest flair up, but pushed myself as far as I could ☺☺  Plus I got to spend a bit more time than usual doing paired work with my Sensei and actually tried for a high Mawashi geri for the first time ☺☺

As an addendum, had to take today off work with a bad flair up and possibly found out why I am still struggling 🙀🙀🙀  Seems my chest is clear, but the infection just moved house and lodged itself in my upper respiratory system. so now on to round two....

Silent Thought: Uncomfortably Numb

Yesterday's atrocity took my mind back to 1996.  I had been due to go to Harbour Exchange on Friday, 9th February to check on systems I was responsible for in Harbour Exchange on Canary Wharf.  The day before, I finished what I was working on early, so decided to change my plans and go down to Harbour Exchange there and then.   I got off at South Quay station around 5pm and popped into the newsagents adjacent, before going to Harbour Exchange to do what I needed to do.

Little did I know how fortuitous that decision to turn out to be, as the following day, an IRA bomb was detonated in the car park next to South Quay station, at the same time as I had been there the day before.  The two people I saw in the Newsagents the day before were both killed in the blast, and it was a near miracle that only another 100 people were injured.   I was oh so lucky, but what happened next rammed it home.

It was thought to be a long shot, but I was immediately asked to accompany an Engineer to the building I had some responsibility for, to see whether we could get in to do a damage assessment.  As luck would have it, I used to live around the corner from the site, so when the cab we were in was stopped by police, we made our way on foot and I suggested a pedestrian entry point to the Engineer where we might get in.  There was only local Security on duty at that point, and we were let in as I was recognised.

What followed was to haunt me for a long time and left me numb.  We got the building in question, but the area was eerily quiet, and though  shielded from the masin blast, the severe damage that had occurred was readily apparent.  We completed the survey, and then came out and were immediately confronted by the police wanting to know who wanted to know what we were doing and how we got in.  Apparently it was still a live bomb site, as a second device was considered a strong possibility.  At that point, the whole situation hit home hard, both the luck I had and the enormity of the risk I had put myself in.

I felt numb for a long time afterwards, and each terrorist incident brings it back home.  My response to yesterday was to sink myself into Karate, both in practice at home and into today's dojo session.  Today's "Silent thought" was much needed, as was the workout that followed (basics plus Naihanchi Drills).   Please spare a thought for all the innocent victims of Terrorism, and the bravery of those who confront them 🙏🙏🙏

Stuffed up Saturday: Kata, Kumite and Knives

One of the problems with my conditions is that I am prone to getting somewhat wheezy and spluttery in cold, damp conditions and Saturday was a perfect example.  So my time in the Dojo was the perfect way of sweating out a minor chest problem.

We started out with break falls plus warm up for 10 to 15 minutes, which I struggled to get through, but you have to keep on going.  Then we observed the usual formalities of the Dojo and time to clear the mind. Kata came next.  Naihanchi Shodan in single moves, then doing the  Kata with phrasing, to emphasize the combinations inherent within.  This was followed by performance, with the instruction to concentrate of the phrasing over speed.  Kata with intent is also a good way to work up a sweat 😊

The next part of the lesson was Kumite plus pad work.  We started off with two short sessions of sport Kumite (light to medium contact) punches and kicks, then kicks only, with different partners.  This was followed by pad work on punching out of a situation: Standing, kneeling and from the ground.  Finally we went on to structured Naihanchi based Kumite with different partners.  About half way through this, all the sweating paid off and I started to really enjoy the lesson 😊😊

The final part of the lesson was the really fun part.  Our Sensei had got hold of training knives which flash and sound when sufficient contact is made to indicate a serous wound.  We went through a series of exercises with these:

Short range push off and run,
Medium range push off and run
Elbow trap head strike, run (these three with the attacker drawing the knife)
Escape from knife to throat (Deflect, trap, forearm strike, knee, forearm and push away)
We also practiced the last as a drill in pairs.
As well as being serious, these drills are fun 😊😊😊

The end of the lesson was warm down Kata and the full formal ending.  For me, an excellent  and much needed workout and great fun.  Thank you all 😊😊😊😊

Aching All Over 😊

After today's session, I'm aching in places I haven't ached for ages.  From my shoulders down to my elbows, and my upper thighs, I ache most of all.  I warmed up outside the Dojo, during the Cadet class, with Kata.

Once in the Dojo, was running, rolls, jumps, squatageri's and stretches.  I can't forward roll well and landed on my shoulder in one attempt,so that's a part of the aches.

It's grading next week, so it was fundamentals day, going through the grading syllabus.  First up tsukis and ukes.  This is probably the source of the upper leg aches.  We do these in Shiko Dachi stance, and Sensei Ben got me to go a lot deeper than I have been (photo above shows lack of stretch).   We were doing these for about 20 minutes, so my muscles got some stretching.

Then it was kicks, followed by Kilhon Kata, I need the first two for grading, but did the first four.  Then it was Kata, and I need Naihanchi Shodan for the grading after next.  I lost count of the repetitions there, but it was over 10.  

This was followed by hardening exercises and then a pad circuit of punch combinations, kicks and knee strikes.  All in all, I seemed to need a few less breaks than I would have expected and the aches are good ones, so I'm happy 😊😊😊 Plus, I've been told I'm ready to grade, along with my son 😊😊😊 Happy days 😊😊😊

Monday Night dojo life

On a few days leave at the moment, so went to the Dojo for the Monday night session.  Quite a varied lesson, which I find a good thing 😊.  We started off with core drills, including sprints, crawling, forward rolls, and the shrimp followed by some stretches.

This was followed by transition practise, step through in Zenkutzu Dachi and various uke / tsuki combinations with proper mawatte techniques.  This was followed by Kata practice: For me Naihanchi Shodan with a run through of Nidan and Sandan.

After Kata, we went to try Tai Sabaki (body management) - with our Sensei trying to hit with a padded kendo style stick.   The trick was to evade, first of all to a lunge by stepping away, followed by a head swipe followed by ducking.  After that, we had to evade a leg swipe by jumping, followed by a head / leg swipe combination by ducking then jumping.  Finally, we had to evade a lunge by swaying, followed by evading a lunge, head swipe, leg swipe, lunge combination by stepping, ducking, jumping and swaying.

We then worked in pairs to evade forehand and backhand punches by parrying and stepping away to the outside, followed by delivering a return punch from the side.  We followed this by trying to evade random forehand or backhand punches.   The last part of the lesson was padwork for mawashi geris / punches / 4 punches, followed by front foot mai geri and a spinning kick / uke to random head and leg strikes.


Finally, we did Naihanchi Shodan cool down to end the lesson; plenty of variety and new things to remember.  Awesome 😊🙏

Keeping calm in times of stress

I am not the brightest of people, or blessed with great common sense, but some lessons learnt in Karate have definitely come in handy in the last week or so.  Due to multiple factors, I got one thing in place recently, and all the other things I needed to do came crashing in on me.

Previously, I would have tried to muddle through.  This time, I took a deep breath and listened to my wife and my family.  There was a lot going on that had caused stress, so I took a time out.  During the time out (backed up by my Doctor), I spent more time in the Dojo, and the change of tack allowed me time to put things into perspective.

Still managed to mess up though 😞 My wife suggested a common goal of sharing a Bearded Dragon (that's our Falkor in the pic), and she found a possible one on pets4sale.  I wanted to get it as soon as possible, so instead of listening to her suggestion of visiting first, I arranged for the then owners to deliver.  Bad mistake, poor Falkor and the Viv he came in were riddled with mites.

However, since I had paid cash and we hadn't noticed when he arrived, it was time to fight for him.  Deep breaths and stay calm time, we are doing everything we can, but I'm a plodder not a steam train.  But I can now stay calm and focus, and so far, we and he are still in there fighting.

Then today I had my phone stolen.  Through circumstances I wouldn't normally have, I ended up losing my phone in the back of the cab.  It only took me 15 minutes to notice, and again deep breaths I managed to do the right things, phoning the company to cancel the Sim, phoning the police and using Google to lock the phone. The frightening thing is that Google can even give you "potentially" the address of the thief.

She took the phone out of the cab when she found it, rather then giving it to the cab driver.  I phoned the phone, and she asked for a reward.  When I didn't offer what she wanted she turned it off.  But for me, I manged to stay calm where previously I probably wouldn't have.  

Can't prove this is down to Karate, but I think so.

Family and the art of keeping calm

These last few weeks have been a test in many ways, but apart from my time in the dojo, none of them physical.  With a death in the family and complex emotions involved, plus other issues that seem to occur at just the wrong moment, often through one person's lack of consideration for others:  There has been a lot to digest.

It is my honest belief, that without the self discipline and emphasis placed on self control by my studying Karate, I would have found things very difficult to cope with.  The stress levels at times have been very high, but the ability to detatch and take deep breaths has helped to combat this.

There have been a number of complicating issues  involved in all that is going on, and without a doubt if these were taken as a whole, I would have found these insurmountable.  My own education helps me to separate things out, but the techniques learned from karate have helped by focus each time on the highest priority task and see it through to completion.

I haven't practiced my kata as much as I should either, but each time I do, I try to make it count.  I now feel quite compfortable running through the first two Naihanchis combined as a slow exercise kata, so hopefully this will feed back into the dojo.  The funeral in question is in the next few days, and after that hopefully, we can start to focus on some of the other pressing issues.

Facebook Mentoring

Mentoring - I recently took part in a mentoring scheme in a Facebook group to work on Cardio Vascular exercise for my heart condition, In addition to adding to the stretches and exercises I use, also the developed the use of slow kata as CV exercise. A big thank you to Robey Jenkins, who acted as my mentor 🙏. This is the article on which the kata work is based:

Karate Katas Yoga

The idea of doing tai chi style Kata was supported by my sister, who did Judo when younger and does Tai Chi now when she can; she is 11 years older than me, but still active 😊.  In addition to the kata, we also worked on adding to my stretches, plus punches to try and help me improve on my chicken winged style (emphasising practicing tsuke punches by rotating the hips and sliding my arm by my side when delivering a punch).

My initial tai chi style kata was based on Naihanchi Shodan, but now I try to follow it with Nidan as well. My Sensei says my posture has improved greatly and so have some of the other elements, so not only has this provided a good source of Cardio Vascular exercise it has also actually (in my mind) helped me improve this aspect of my Karate as well 😊

This is the latest video of my exercise kata:

There are times....

When there are other things going on, you need to something to make you need to focus.  I was home early today, but not for any reason I would want to be, and not a reason to share here.

Needed something to concentrate on, and although the Dojo was open today, that wasn't a practical option, so spent an hour or so on something at home.  Have found previously that doing Kata is not only good as a Cardio work out, but can be a focus to help clear your mind.  

Am sure there are some times this won't work, but where there is something that I can't do anything about it certainly seems to help for a little while.  I did three or four runs through of Naihanchi Shodan, then watched the hontai videos I have been allowed to use for practise for Nidan and did a couple of run throughs of that.

Found an unused Gi I purchased a year ago, before I formally signed up with th dojo and decided to give it an airing and at the same time start adding to the Kata I do for Cardio.   I could have gone for two times Shodan, but if I want to use it to help me learn as well, thought it better to add Nidan.

This was the second run through: