Times they are a changing,,,,

Missing practice definitely messes up the routine I have developed for myself to cope with the claustrophobic feeling of being cooped up for over three months now..  Work has become much busier though, due to the firm I am contracted to starting to ramp things up for going back to more office based working towards the end of July.  

Dancing in the spotlight 1706 

I've missed the last two Monday Lessons (15th and 29th of June) as a result, but the weekends have been more full, so I suppose that kind of makes up for it.  As well as the additional kobudo lessons we've been having in bo and nunchaku, on Sunday 21st we had our first zoom lesson with the head of our Ryukyukan Shorin-Ryu association, Hanshi Koei Nohara.  On Friday evening of 26th, I got to watch Senei Noah Legel's Naihanchi Seminar (that may have been a bridge too far as it was from 23:00 to 01:00 UK time and had no practice, so actually dozed through a part of it 😞😞😞) and on Sunday 29th my dojo hosted an online seminar about awareness, given by Jamie Clubb.

Kata and pad work 1806

Katate for me has become my touchstone for my mental as with as physical health, as I have documented in earlier blogs.  I feel that is important for both that I am able to train and take all the opportunities I can to do so.  Mentally, it gives me the "space" I need to be able to subconsciously process all the dynamics of home and work, when they both have to be done from the same location.

Bo Practice 2006

There are many issues that I have to prioretise, including some that clamour for immediate attention have had to take a back seat, due to the intensity of work.  This gives me little time to pay the proper attention to these things, but karate for me helps me the clarity of mind that it is best sometimes to delay this things until I have proper time to deal with them.  Sometime it is worse to try to do things in a rush, as the resulting complication could actually make things far worse,

Kata and press ups 2106

I thing tensions in any home would be strained if people who normally spend time apart are all cooped up for three to four months with no mechanisms for release, and where mental health is involved this can be doubly so.  This can be magnified if multiple people with such issues live together.  Here again, the relaxation and realisation of the way things can escalate areof great importance to me.  I am no paragon of virtue, but the lessons learnt through karate again I believe stand me in good stead.

Bo and kata 2306

From a purely dojo based point of view the last few weeks have involved going back to our roots.  Last week, two of the lessons focused on the throwing techniques of Funokoshi Geishin, and the lesson I missed this week featured the kumite techniques of Motobu Choki.  I have been promised the next lesson will follow on with his work, definitely looking forward to it ☺☺☺☺

Smorgasbord 2406

I short Karate is one of the few reliable constants I have at a time when things, and the challenges they bring, are constantly changing.  I really need to continue to train ☺☺☺.  And now I'm doing the 25  press up, 25 day challenge aimed at raising the awareness of mental health issues.

Kata after the lesson 2506

Lessons and Seminars

1806

Kata
Padwork, Fence, palm strike, crash, head control, knee strikes, head up and elbow strike, arm drag, head pull, punch, escape
Naihanchi shadow sparring

2006

Take downs x 6 from Funokoshi

1) To topple a folding screen.

RH fighting stance open handed.  Rising LH block to RH punch then arm grab. RH open palm under chin.  R leg step through behind opponent, push up and through with RH, using trapped arm as  pivot, push over stepped through leg.

2) Spinning top

RH fighting stance open handed. Step outside RH punch, hook over with RH and grasp / pull.  LH push onto back of exposed shoulder, step back with R leg and turn into Shiko dachi. Pulling through with RH, pushing down with left.

3) To encircle the neck

RH fighting stance open handed. Step outside RH punch, hook over with RH.  R leg step through behind opponent, R arm comes ups to encircle neck, rotate upper body to left to pull over stepped through leg.

4) Half wheel throw

RH fighting stance open handed. Step outside RH punch, hook over with RH.  R leg step through in front of opponent.  R arm comes ups to encircle neck, L arm goes down to go grab leg.  Step back with right leg to throw (turn, lift and pull)

5) V turning swallow

RH fighting stance, open handed.  Cross block to rising punch, left hand hooks and controls, R foot step in (in front of opponent) and punch under their chin, then grab under extended (r) arm into the armpit.  Pull wrist to hip, and step back with left leg, rotating counter clockwise and sinking to onto the left knee, using the rotation of the arm to throw the opponent.

6) To throw off a cliff (hip throw)

RH fighting stance, opponent throws hook punch. Block high left and grasp RH, step in with R leg and punch to gut with R hand.  Grab round back with right hand and pull with LH./Push in with R hip, step back left leg and pull them onto and over R hip to floor, keeping hold of R hand.  Punch and release.

Bo

Shushi no kon

Kata in the rain 2707

2106 (Sensei Nohara)

Fundamentals -ukes and tsukis, mai geri, shuto, hisa geri
Kata Naihanchi, Pinan and Passai (stayed with Naihanchi)

2506

Jamie Clubb's 10 round MMA workout, at over 30 degrees.  My heart rate was over 150 after the first two rounds, and so say I had to miss some bits out was an understatement, but kept trying.  Then kata to finish, including 1 legged Naihanchi

2606

Noah Legel's Naihanchi Seminar

2706

Kata
Funokoshi throws

To circle with the arm
Opponent attacks two handed, step back (L leg) and counter with two handed rising block.  Sink down (sliding R foot forward) and deliver two hammer fists to the sides.  Sink down further and take down by tackling behind the knees then pulling back

To hammer upside down

Opponent attack right handed high punch, step back (L leg) and counter with right hand rising block.  Slide (R leg) forward into Shiko dachi, sliding right shoulder under opponent's arm pit and taking hold of opponent's left thigh.  Lift and overturn, drive head into the ground.

Nunchaku

A run through various techniques and transitioning.

2806

Jamie Clubb's awareness seminar

Dojo kata time - My Kata and why I do them

Today's lesson was mostly about kata. After a 15 minute warm up, Mokosu and the formal opening of the lesson, it was mostly kata. We went through the whole range of our family's repertoire up to Passai Sho. All of the Naihanchi kata were done step by step then performance if you know the kata. The rest were follow the instructor as best you can then perform your highest kata. That led to quite a lot of performances of Naihanchi Nidan.

All in all, an absolutely necessary lesson and what a beautiful day to practice kata, but not much to blog on, so I decided to go through the kata I do and why I do them

Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan are the two I can do a performance of in my style. I know the bones of Sandan but they are pretty bare just now. As well as finding Naihanchi Shodan a most compelling kata, and one which is acknowledged to be one of, if not the, best fighting systems in karate, all the Naihanchis are needed for grading. My Sensei says my Shodan has improved sufficiently to formally start working on Nidan, so these are the two kata I formally practice in the dojo and as a part of our online sessions.

Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan

Tensho is another kata I practice. I have been taught this as a kata for breathing exercise by Noah Legel. The Goju Ryu styles of kata employ controlled rather than natural breathing in their execution, for example breathe in on the draw back, exhale fully on the punch, or on the slower parts of the kata, breathe in slowly on the outward part of the movement and breathe out slowly but fully on the return part of the movement. I like to be able to do it just before and after each session, or whenever I need to take a deep breath, which can be quite a lot at the moment being in a 90 day lockdown. On top of this it has also been a challenge to be able to learn an advanced kata from another style, so for me this one works on two levels.

Tensho

Naihanchi Shodan slow, Naihanchi Shodan hontai and Naihanchi Sandan. Are the other three kata or variations I perform. Naihanchi Shodan slow was the first variation of a kata I learned, working with Robey Jenkins and based on tai chi. This was for gentle cardio exercise, but I also found to be good for relaxation and actually has helped in performing my actual kata.

The hontai version of Naihanchi Shodan isn't at all necessary, but I'm a leftie so I wanted to give it a try, However, since looking into the roots of Naihanchi (See Nerd life: Tne origins of Naihanchi) I think this is actually closer to the original version than the usual version we do, so it's like a living bit of history.☺☺☺

Naihanchi Sandan is there because I have managed to learn the frame of the kata, and I want to keep it in my repetoire until such time as it's needed.

Naihanchi Shodan slow, Naihanchi Shodan hontai, Naihanchi Sandan

Than you to those of you who have taken the time to read ☺