January Covid blues

 

January Covid blues

January 2021, speaking politely was a mixed bag, especially emotionally.  Being really honest, it was pretty awful, with a struggle to find any motivation in the midst of it.  At least I had the luck of having two anchor points, my work, which was very demanding, and karate.

Given the inclement weather for training outside, work rather that karate was my "turn to" at many points, especially that month.  This was probably what resulted in all the neck issues I had around that time.  Karate usually provided a healthy counterpoint to work, but when the  balance switched, I think my body decided to tell me was being neglected. 

By this point I had effectively in lock-down for the best part of 10 months , with minimal physical interaction with anyone outside the immediate family in that time (i.e. the people in the house).   It took a toll on my mental health from the start, and I sought and found some help for that.   One of the big pluses was the advice that I should lock on to karate and keep on going.  That is what I tried to do.  

I think one of the hardest things to admit for many people is the need for a degree of separation.  In pre-Covid times, this was easy to achieve as most people who worked were separated from those at home for the duration of work and travel at least.   Working from home and being at extreme risk denied me and my family that separation.

I was not one of the gainsayers about Covid-19, it was a confirmed super-killer to anyone with my conditions, so there was no choice from my perspective other than to work from home to survive.  Some of my friends who contracted Covid gave me hope if their recoveries, but as the sole earner in my family I couldn't take many risks.  However, January 2021was probably the worst month during Covid, with respect to being able to keep home issues separate from work.

The two started to overlap and that was hard to cope with for me.   The coping mechanisms  for me cope had been a fair bit of kata and a few too many bottles of wine. The former has to be the preferred route, but becoming somewhat stale and so the second had started to come more into play; not good.   Enter PJ Broomy, with a demonstration of one of his dojo's kata.

I have suffered from stress related mental health issues, bordering on depression and have struggled at times with my temper, as well as my heart and lung conditions.  My best answer to all of those has always been to learn something new.  I think I frustrated my Sensei at times in this, as I should really have been drilling my fundamental kata.  I totally agreed with them that as only a blue belt in our discipline, I needed to practice, practice, practice. 

However, the physical needs also needed to be tempered with the mental.  Learning a new kata for me was a mental as well as physical challenge, which while I felt I was under mental siege was an important release.   I was not trying to learn different bunkai, because all I needed to know is in Naihanchi.  It's a codex for many of the brutal strikes you can make, and for a last resort, if all other things have failed, that's perfect.

PJs school of Karate, Bu-Kai is based primarily on the Goju Ryu style.  I had previously gone through the basics of Seisan with him, and this time around he was showing me the basics of Sanseru.  Both are derivative of Sanchin, the base kata of Goju-Ryu.  My interest started in this school when I was shown how to use Tensho as a kata to help with breathing.

 First of all PJ contributed to an online lesson with my own dojo during Covid, and opened the door to more kata from the same school as Tensho.  It was a door which I happily went through and have been learning from PJ ever since.  My own research has shown me that the divides between schools such as Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryo are historically artificial.

The bottom line in my mind was, I had to practice the fundamentals; my core kata and drills, but I also needed mental challenges.   This gave a focus away from home and work and in so doing, helped me create my own mental "separation", in place of the physical one that is impossible to achieve in lock-down.

The material from another school of karate provided me with just the mental stimulus I needed to  keep me challenged.

Hope this all makes sense and thank you for reading.

04-01-2021 (re-written 01/09/2023)

Covid and the Mind

 

A collecting together of all the blogs between January 2021 and March 2022 relating to Covid, mental health and in a small way karate.

January Covid Blues

february-turmoil-something-positive

beware-ides-of-march-and-april-showers

kata-covid-and-mind

suicidal-thoughts

kata-and-cbt

living-with-consequences

the-waiting-game

January Covid blues

January, if I am being polite was a mixed bag, especially emotionally.  If I am being really honest, it was pretty bad, with a struggle to find any motivation in the midst of it.  At the moment my anchors are work, which is demanding to say the least, and karate.

0201 Drills and Kata

Given the inclement weather for training outside, work rather that karate has been my "turn to" at many points, and especially in January.  This is prbably what resulted in all the neck issues I had in that month.  Karate provides a healthy counterpoint to work, but if the balance switches, I think my body likes to tell me it's being neglected.

0401 Kata Slow

I have been effectively in lockdown for the best part of 10 months now, with minimal physical interaction with anyone outside the immediate family in that time (that means the people in the house).   It took a toll on my mental health from the start, and I sought and found some help for that.  

0901 Combinations, drill and kata

One of the big plusses was the advice that I should lock on to karate and keep on going.  That is what I have tried to do.  

1001 Nunchaku and kata

I think one of the hardest things to admit to many people is the need for a degree of separation.  In pre Covid times, this was easy to achieve as anyone who worked was separated from those at home for the duration of work and travel at least.   Working from home and being at extreme risk has denied me and my family that separation.

1301 Tense Stiff and Aching

I am not one of the gainsayers about Covid-19, it is a confirmed super-killer to anyone with my conditions,so there was no choice in that context to survive.  Some of my friends have given me hope if their recovery, but as the sole earner in my family I can't take many risks.  The thing about January is it has been the worst month so far in the ability to keep home issues so separate from work.

1710 bo nunchaku and kata

The two have started to overlap and that is hard to cope with for me.   So the route for me to cope has been a fair bit of kata and a few too many bottles of wine.The former has to be the preferred route, so enter PJ Broomy, with another demonstration of one of his dojo's kata.

1801 Morning kata

For the record, I have suffered from depression and have struggled at times with my temper, as well as my heart and lung conditions, but my best answer to all of those is to learn something new.  I think I frustrate my Sensei at times in this, as I should really be drilling my fundamental kata.  I totally agree with them as only a blue belt in our discipline, I need to practice, practice, practice.

2201 A short routine

However, the physical needs also have to be tempered with the mental.  Learning the form of a new kata is a mental challenge, which, whilst I feel under mental siege is an important release.   I'm not trying to learn different bunkai in general, because all I really need to know is in Naihanchi at my level. 

2301 Lesson

So Sanseru is the new kata I'm trying to learn, I will take Naihanchi over Sanchin any day for a late starter like me.  It's a codex for most of the brutal strikes you can make, and for self defence that's perfect. 

2401 Shadow sparring based on heavy bag routine

However, I go back to my research and it tells me that all divides between schools historically are artificial.  What you learned depended on the teachers you studied under, not the schools you were with.   These are a later development.

2501 Reminder of today's lesson

 I will never train in Sanchin alone, as at my age I don't think I'm likely to get an iron body.   However, I learned a version of Tensho that included the opening of Sanchin, and with PJ I have learnt the framework of Seisan, and now I'm learning the form of Sanseru.

2901 A bit of morning exercise

The bottom line in my mind is, I have to practice the fundamentals; my core kata and drills, but I also need mental challenges>   This gives my a focus away from home and work and in so doing, helps me create my own mental "separation", in place of the physical one that is impossible to achieve in lockdown.

Hope this all makes sense and thank you for reading.

0401

Fundamentals
Kata 

0901

Kata (Naihanchi Shodan)
Fundamentals
Combinations (Jodan uke, punch) (Mai geri, reverse punch)
Naihanch drill #1 padwork

1601

Fundamentals
Kata (missed out the kicks due to the flare up of an old back complaint)

2301

Naihanchi drill #1
Self protection and defence
Kata

2501

Kicks and transitions using Mawaishi geri and Ushiro geri
Transitioning in Zenkutsu dachi
Transitioning using Nekko ashi dachi
Kihon gata (know 1-5, have notes to 10)
Naihanchi drills 1-5

3001

Jamie Clubb - anti-grappling

December Blues and Grading

The month of December was a strange one, work taking up far more time than usual at this time of year.  Something seemed to happen most weekends, and even the time between Christmas and the New Year was busy.  At least I had some days leave left to take, so that broke things up a little.

04 12 Kata Tai Chi style

Karate had to take a back seat in repect of being able to make formal lessons, but still formed a part of unwinding.  Usually in the form of Kata or fundamentals practice, as at the start of the month we were told that we would be grading.  Since at the stt of the Covid-19 outbreak, both my and my son missed out due to him having a cold, and us not being able to attend, this seemed like a really good end to the year 

09 12 Naihanchis

However, my workload lead to me missing a good few lessons, and I began to think that maybe I wouldn't be allowed to grade.  Our Sensei had arranged a session of just me and my son outdoors with themselves, but before we even discussed dates, of course Covid-19 struck again and the infection rates around our area rapidly started to grow, so no grading any way.  😞😞 

12 !2 Short Training

Most of the lessons in December had been geared towards grading, and in my own time that is what I had been practicing, so it felt like a real downer to lose out a second time.   However, a little while later, I got a pleasant surprise.   Over the last two weekends before Christmas, my Sensei told us that they would be holding gradings over Zoom for those that were ready to grade at the beginner and intermediate grades.   Both me and my son were told that we would be grading in the second session, on the Sunday before Christmas 😀😀

19 12 Practice

More practice was in order, and I went through what I knew to be in the grading a good few                    times before the day itself.   It was a good distraction from both home and work (though all have been in the same place for several months now), and there were a few early morning butterflys.  I know my kicks are the weakest part of my repetoire, and tried to work on my Ushiro and Yoku geri kicks.

20 12 Cant sleep

I chatted with my Sensei before the grading and worked on a way to try to improve it, but it still has a long way to go.  The work on the Yoku geri appears to have paid off.  On the day before the grading we had a lesson with Jamie Clubb, about anti grappling techniques; its not often my son likes to work with me in these situations, as there isn't much room for two people to work together inside, but we gave it a go on this occasion.  A few bits and pieces nearly took a hit, but it was fun 😀😀

20 12 Grading - kata

On the 20th.- the day of the grading, as I said, I had a few early morning nerves so I practiced some more.  I needed have worried, I passed with a B grade.  It could have been better, as my Ushiro and Mawashi geri kicks were picked out as needing more work and the kata could definitely have been a bit sharper.  But it wasn't too shabby and now I'm a blue belt. 😁😁

27 12 Time to work off the excess

The was just one more lesson before Christmas, was was in the form of a knowledge test and pad work, then no more lessons until the New Year.  I used a little bit of karate practice to burn off some of the Christmas excesses, and which overall passed quite peacefully for our household.

So hears to wishing all of you who take the time to read a Happy New Year, and hope it's much better than the last.  Thank you for sticking with me 😀😀🙏

0512

Naihanchi
Naihanchi drill 3, solo and on pads with pre empt on start and flank, vital points and incidental strikes eg forearm into brainstem before the neck crank

1012

Grading routine Fundamentals, Kihon, Kata

1712
Grading routine
Fundamentals, Kihon, Kata

1912
Jamie Clubb lesson
Anti grappling techniques, recovery from the floor

2012
Grading, fundamentals, kihon, kata

2112
Last lesson, attended in part
Spotlight on individuals - explaining fundamentals, padwork, teiso, hammer fist, elbow

Never give up, never give in

The month of November, going into December you could say has been a testing one.   Work has been manic, having had to work the last two weekends and again this weekend, I have managed to train at least once a week, but sometimes that has been it in some weeks, apart from short snatches of kata or drills here or there.

Naihanchi Drills 0511

It has been somewhat challenging at home too, with the ups and down of mood and tension that goes with four people being at home all the time.  The separation needed doesn't always materialise and things can be magnified many times over as a result, but we have to keep on going.

Naihanchi after the lesson 0711

That said, I did manage to fit in a lesson with PJ Broomy at the start of November, and led to something a little different later on.  From my own dojo's perspective, we have been concentrating mainly on kata, the Naihanchi pad drills and fundamentals, mostly online due to the lockdown (all online for me of course).

More Naihanchi, drills and kata 1411

One of the signs that I, and fellow students of a similar grade, are making progress is that we have now started to be shown Naihanchi Sandan and perform it in lessons.  At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, my only kata to perform was Naihanchi Shodan, but zoom lessons have by their solo nature for practice have included kata as a strong element of our lessons.

Kata and Naihanch drills 1911

Our Sensei also keep asking us to provide performance videos of our kata, so that they can check on progress individually.  This has resulted in a good amount of feedback, which I like to think has gone a long way towards the progress.  Along with lots of practice of course.

2111 Lesson Part 1

One of the lessons we did, I videoed my part for the whole session, as a sample record of what we are doing and guess what, it was fundamentals plus the Naihanchi drills. The good thing about this is that it allows me compare what I do now against what I was doing when I started ☺☺☺

2111 Lesson Part 2

The good thing about that, is I got to realise the improvements I have made over time.  They are only small ones on a day to day basis, but over two or more years they mount up to quite a lot of progress.  As always though, there is still room for improvement.  That's an attitude I always want to keep, as nothing I do will ever be perfect.

2211 Lesson Part 3

Sometimes, when work is demanding and home life is problematic, an escape is needed.  Karate easily provided that during the summer months, with space in the garden to train and get away from all the other issues for a while, but then comes autumn and winter.  The weather isn't so clement and night draws in.

2111 Part 4

The first victim was kobudo, as space indoors even during the daytime, doesn't allow for the use of bo and nunchaku, the weapons taught primarily in our dojo.  Them the number of lessons I could attend dropped off, due to me having to work my full and sometimes extended hours, to meet project requirements and catch up on basics.  Due to family needs, the space available later in the day is far less than the earlier hours.

2111 Part 5

I found myself drifting back towards online life and gaming, which before karate had always been my release.  But it is nowhere near as mentally challenging or gives the self discipline and physical outlet I need to cope physically with my medical needs or mentally, to combat the current circumstances.  Fortunately a friend had inadvertently offered a lifeline.

2111 Kata after the lesson

When the "Karate Nerd in China" came out in December / January, I was an avid viewer, and the series piqued my interest in the "oldest kata" in karate, Seisan.  My lesson with PJ Broomy at the start of the month had me frustrated, because I couldn't join in directly with the kata part.  They do Tekki Shodan, but not as a part of their core, but they do Seisan.

Seisan, first part

PJ kindly shared a video of him doing the kata, with detail, so I set myself a challenge: To learn it.  I did this with a twofold purpose, it could be used as a breathing kata to add on to Tensho, that I already practice, and to know I kata I could do if I do another online lesson with PJ's dojo.  The history also fascinates me, so I think it will be the source of two further blogs: Nerd meets Practice and then a pure Nerd blog, in truth the first one is part way there.  That's another challenge, the mental stimulus.

2811 Kata cool down

So now I'm back to training more and today is the last weekend scheduled I have to do project work, so there is light at the end of at least two tunnels (the other is more personal, so not for here).  I have even gone back to the tai cho kata form of Naihanchi Shodan, inspired by Robey Jenkins, and added Noah Legel's Tensho to the mix for cardio and relaxation.

2911 kata - Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan, Tensho

So my motto has to be "Never give up, never give in" and I want to say thank you to my son Brendan, and my Sensei Ben and Alison for the source of determination and perseverance, and my online mentors, Robey Jenkins, Noah Legel and PJ Broomy, for the direction in how to adapt what I do ☺☺☺☺  Also, a big thank you to all of my extended dojo family (Hanshi Nohara, Senseis Craig, Darren and Graham, Elsha, Jack, Sam and all) for giving me the reason to continue 🙏🙏🙏.

3011 Rotating the strike

0211

Early morning lesson with PJ Broomy
Following along with a regular dojo class

0511

Kata,
Kihon Gata
Naihainchi pad drills #1-3

0212 Early Morning kata

0711

Kata
Kihon Gata
Naihanchi pad drills #1-2

1211

Fundamentals

Punches, receiving techniques, kicks, shuto, hisa-geri, uke
Kihon gata, combinations
Kata and performance

1411

Kick, punch called combinations, turns and combinations
Naihanchi drills 1 and 2 padwork
Kata

2111

Fundamentals, punches, receiving techniques. kicks, etc.
Naihanchi drill #1, elements and drill
Kata

0312 Kata Tai Chi Style

2811

Jamie Clubb lesson, sprawls, spear take downs, going to ground, knee control, breaking grasps, going to the back, etc.

3011

Kata
Rotation and elbow strikes, round the clock moving the nearest foot and round the clock with back foot as the pivot
Naihanchi drills

0312

Kata
The four basic kicks, turning ushiro geri on an uke, mai gei and mawashi geri in self defence
Naihanchi drill one with variations, including turning to get sight of a second attacker and being taken to ground on the knee strike and recovery.

Tandoku and Naihanchi on the pads and the Chicken Dance

This last month definitely felt stranger than many of it's predecessors:  Motivation has been much harder than previously due to all sorts of factors, including pressures of work, periods of feeling down, worry about facing up to some difficult challenges and trying to work out some things at home.

Tandoku #1 1409

The continued worries about Covid-19 often plays on my mind, being on the high risk register, but no longer having the protection of government advice, and very often this colours my judgement on other issues.  But no matter what, I have still tried to train, even if not as much as I would or should like.  

Tandoku #2 1709

The onset of darker nights and worsening weather have also played their part.  The ability to practice outside during the summer was a great help.  Also, kobudo inside isn't too practical with bo and nunchaku.  The one time I tried it, one vivarium and a light fitting nearly took the brunt, and a fly catcher was cleanly dispatched.

Naihanchi Pad drills #1-3 1909

From a karate standpoint, pad work has become a staple of our lessons over my period of isolation.  This kind of makes my dojo's first offering on the month even more appropriate.  We started working on an Iain Abernethy solo pad kata called Tandoku which translates as "isolation".

Compass points 2009

This was followed by the introduction of pad drills based on Nainhanchi which will be used in future gradings.  Might be just me, but elements of these bore a strong resemblance to the moves in Tandoku.  This probably bears out the the idea that there are only certain basic moves that the body can make, and they can be found in virtually all kata, if you look hard enough.

Homework 2409

When the weather was better I did some work on turns, aided by a video from my Sensei, based on moving the foot nearest the direction I wanted to face, whilst pivoting on the ball of the other foot.  I worked on that a few times with both nunchaku and elbow strikes (thank you Brian Bates for that idea).

After the Jamie Clubb lesson 2609

Whilst work needs made it difficult to train, I have still been practicing my Naihanchi (Shodan and Nidan).  I like to do them in three different ways, slow, deliberate (slow movement but sharper strikes) and normal (with full intent).  Seems to be paying off, as my Sensei seem to think it's now much improved.  

Kata 0310

I now have to work on the speed of my wave kicks (more snap), lower hand position (sometimes my wrist droops), front block (hand occasionally wanders off to the side) and leaning into elbow strikes (leaning is giving bad posture).  I think my movement and general posture has been one one the biggest improvements.

Naihanchi Technical 0810

One of the basic tenets it to maintain a stable base, and I seem to be getting there slowly.    In amongst it all were a couple of different points.  We had Jamie Clubb giving the fifth session of his seminars based on child confidence and self defence, plus on the 18th I attended an online seminar given by Hanchi Nakasone.

Naihanchi Pad Drills #1 and 3 followed by kata 1010

There was also a kobudo lesson based on the legal use of improvised weapons for self defence.  The core of this are the nunchaku kihon gata we do, applied to things such as belts, dog leads, hand bags and socks containing something like a battery, mobile phone, or padlock (remenber to carry a key or the latter is an offensive weapon)

Pad Work and a bit of Nunchaku

A note on Hanshi Nakasone's seminar on Pinan Sandan and Yondan, the former referred to by a member of my family as the "Chicken dance (I will leave you to work out why ☺☺☺).  A lot of it was very advanced, as you would expect, but it should have been no surprise that he uses a style similar to Goju, applied to Shorin Ryu kata and the end result looks very similar ro Tuiti (similar to Motobu Udundi).  The seminar covered from the mid section of Pinan Sandan through Pinan Yondan.  Including shoulder rolling uke followed by back hand strikes, how to harden your stance, soft techniques but hard bones, muchimi and feeling your opponent's moves, taking your oppenent's space etc.

1409 and 1709

Kata and Tandoku

Fighting stance right

Going forward, teisho, teisho, hammer fist

(go back to starting point)

Lh block, clasp head, bump into chest, head butt, two close in hammerfists (inside clasp)

Step to side (back leg moves round 90 deg) and open up, Lh slapping to neck, rh pulling hand to hip)

Teisho, elbow, teisho, knee (clasping head)

Bring right leg up behind left leg, crossing with right foot at 90 degrees to left

Pivot on right leg (twist providing torque) through 180 degrees whilst grasping head, head throw

(Opponent gets up - still controlling with clasp) - head butt knee, short upper cut x2, right cross 

Repeat from fighting stance left (right foot forward) on other side

Upper cuts and right cross were the additions from 1709 lesson

1909

Kata

3 x Naihanchi pad drills

2409

Kicks

Tandoku

2609

Jamie Clubb lesson

0210

Kata

Cat stance and shuto practice

Padwork - teisho, hammerfist, knee, drag on back of head take down, step back into Naihanchi dachi, or shiko dachi, dropping weight to assist take down

1010

Fundamentals

Kata

Pad work

Naihanchi pad drills 1 and 3

#1Teisho, hammer fist, elbow, knee, step back drag down

 #3 Step back foot across to side, low block, hook, back knee, front knee, head grasp, rotating drag down.

<#2 Teisho, head clasp to shoulder, shoulder bump, head butt, back knee, front knee, head clasp, turning drag down> 

17/10/2020

Fundamentals

Kata

Pad work - elbow, shuto, head bump (3 in one), back leg knee step through, back leg knee step through, elbow, step back drag down (Shiko dachi)

Kubudo - sock with weight as weapon

Nunchaku drills applied to a home made "weapon" legal to use in self defence

18/10/2020

Nakasone Koichi; Pinan Sandan/Yondan/Godan kata bunkai seminar

From mid section of Pinan Sandan through Pinan Yondan.  Including shoulder rolling uke followed by back hand strikes, how to harden your stance, soft techniques but hard bones, muchimi and feeling your opponent's moves, taking your oppentent's space etc.
 

Troubling times - time to keep on carrying on

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)

Been a long time..... or Ring Rust

Its been a while now since my last blog and so much has been going on, it's been kind of hard to keep track.  I've kept my usual notes on the lessons, done a few videos but that was about it, not been writing anything else down as too much else is going on.

0907 Slow kata and press ups after lesson

In the end I suppose all I can do is try to summarise.  Working from home can be both a blessing and a curse. early in the lockdown it was a blessing, as it allowed me the flexibility to train three times a week for the first time ever.  Later in the lockdown it has become a bit of a millstone, as there has been so much work going on to get ready for offices re-opening that it has overflowed at times into home life and time.  On balance though, I still believe it to have been good for me, as it allowed me to keep working full time even though I have had to shield.  Now comes the uncertainty of when I will be asked to go back to the office, and how that will be done when travelling on public transport will become a major issue for me.

1107 Tensho to go

On the family level, the lockdown has put a strain on all concerned.  I think even the best of families would have been pushed to all stay in the same house 24x7 for four months. I had some mental health issues going into the lockdown and I think it is fair to say that all of us have suffered with various issues over this period.  My biggest mistake I think was trying to deal with my issues in isolation from other things that have been going on, and that added somewhat to the tensions we have all geen suffering from.  In recent weeks, though things have eased somewhat as we are all talking to one another and are trying to work things through.

1107 No Lesson so Fundamentals

On the karate front, I still use my karate to help both my phyiscal and metnal health.  Even my wife gave it a go for a few lessons, before deciding it wasn't quite for her just now.   I think the different ways me and our son approach karate and try to show things didn't help, at times that can get confusing for a complete beginner, I'm still a novice myself of course.   There is still a lot of variety in the lessons, but it's obvious that many are chomping at the bit to get back in the dojo.  That cxan't happen for me anytime soon, so the online lessons will still continue for some time to come, even when the dojo does re-open.

1407 Compass elbow drill practice and Naihanchi

Work and family issues have limited training over the last month or so down to one or two times a week on average, but during this time have at least had the opportunity to train with PJ Broomy again.  This time both me and my son took part, and managed to get some partnered drill work in,  another great lesson, thank you PJ.  

1507 Kicks, take downs and kata

For my own part, when I have had no lessons, I've been trying mostly to do forms for exercise and practice fundamentals and kata as a more formal kind of practice, rather than working on aide memoires from lessons.  Usually we would have gone over the material over the course of a couple of lessons and some of the ideas would have stuck, but the sporadic nature of my attendance has mean this hasn't always happened, so made the aide memoire style of working much more difficult to do.

1507 Open handed Naihanchi and Tensho

Until I have to go back to the office full time, I am aiming to train at least two times a week if at all possible, so as not to have to knock off the ring rust again. Will have to see how things go.

Lessons

0907
Fundamentals
Kata - Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan, technical performances

1607
Kata, single move and performance, Naihanchi Shodan
Speed combinations
Jab, reverse punch, hook, upper cut, knee, then three variations to follow:
Drag down, stamp
Encircle waist with arm, turn away, hip throw.
Step through after knee, leg sweep and reverse punch to ground
Last 5 kihon gata -

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

An Australian lesson

1907 - lesson with PJ

Advanced stuff comes from understanding the basics correctly. We did 3 levels of tzuki. Looked at wrist alignment. The importance of breathing. Considered the workings of the modern and primitive brain under stress. We did a combo Gedan barai (arm clear), yoko uraken (which includes the empi uchi) and a gyaku tzuki to change the relationship and facilitate a rudimentary nage waza. Followed this up kote waza (kansetsu waza) to stop conflict immediately.

2007 Kihon and kata

2307 Forms and kata

2307
Kata then Naihanchi Sandan drills

• Double grab, trap and forearm smash into neck while turning body away and to the side (zenkutsu)Step in front of attacker  into zenkutsu for taiotoshi (body drop throw)

• trap grabbing hands, forearm strike into neck while turning body away and to side (zenkutsu), elbow, backfist, knee
• block / trap hook with one hand, taisho, push past head, circle under arm to lock elbow with other, secure second arm and free up original blocking hand to strike.

2307 Kata peformance

Warm down form and kata 2507

2507
Summary of today's lesson: Kata, escaping from headlock (elbow, slap, hammerfist, followed by knee then escape). Stepping to one side to evade, then attacking. Emphasis on moving back foot across the using an appropriate technique) Bo was first 4 kihons plus walk through of Shushi no kon.

2707

2707
Fundamentals, kihon gata, padwork

Tensho after the lesson3007

30/07/20
Kata
Quadrant drill
Jab, cross, hook
(FH parry & BH punch: BH parry, FH punch : high receive & Mawashi empi Uchi (elbow strike to sternum))
Hammer fist, looping left, roundhouse right
(FH Jodan uke, twist, BH uppercut : BH jodan uke,  twist, FH groin slap : FH Jodan uke, BH Shuto Uchi (knife hand strike))
Backslap, elbow

Ring Rust 0408

0608
Kata practice and questions.  I got the one about the opening of Naihanchi Nidan and answered with it being a counter to a bear hug, sink and open up the shoulders and arms to break the hug.  Worked on a short drill from one of the Pinans, as pad work.  Intercept punch (symbolised by pad hand), ear slap then head control, front leg knee strike, then front hand goes under the arm, back hand controls the head.  Pivot on front black, back leg moving away to effect a throw.

Reminder after the lesson