Kata and CBT.

I'm currently undertaking an online course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help me unravel the Gordian knot described in "Suicidal thoughts".  Part of this is to practice three sets of techniques each day to help with mindfulness and relaxation.  Basically you have:

• Awareness, going through each part of your body in turn to explore what you can feel
• Tensioning, tensing and relaxing muscles to help relieve tension
• Breathing, feeling each breath to bring you into the now and focus on the present

This reminds me of a lot of the techniques I have learnt through Karate, such as the relaxation and cardio slow kata learnt with Robey Jenkins, the tensioning in Sanchin from PJ Broomy and the breathing learnt from Noah Legel, in Tensho.

As a result, and due to my need to get back into deliberately practice every day, I decided to see whether I could combine the two.  So I perform Naihanchi Shodan, Sanchin and Tensho in sequence.  Naihanchi, I perform slowly, paying attention to how my body moves and feels.  Sanchin, I am currently experimenting with tensioning on 1 rep in 2 and 1 rep in three for the whole body and relaxing in between.  In Tensho, it is a case of using the breathing much as is done in Mokuso, to empty the mind and come into the present.

The two videos shown are from the last couple of days, one with the 1 in 2 Sanchin, the other with the 1 in 3 Sanchin.  Very much a work in progress, but ironic that I chose without thinking the three kata labelled as fundamental kata to Karate by Miyagi Chojun.  I didn't even think about that until it was pointed out by PJ Broomy.  

Will document how it goes in a later blog.

Suicidal thoughts

 Probably one of the hardest things to talk about, but I have contemplated it a few times over the last three or four months.  Two times I've held a long bladed kitchen knife to my stomach, once I made a hangman's noose and the last time I got it back out and thought about it.  Once with the knife the police were called by my sisters, as they couldn't get hold of me after a comment on Facebook, and the last time my son walked in on me with the noose in front of me.

There are a number of problems in my life, some are financial worries, other are family issues which I have to work on, or other members of my family.  Any one on their own can be worked on, but then came Covid-19 and a whole new host of worries.  Prior to Covid-19, my health was largely under control through the use of medication, but Covid-19 changed that, as it now makes them potentially immediate killer conditions (heart and lung issues + Covid-19 is not a happy combination).

We were recently warned about having to go back to work full time, and told to prepare mentally, and I thought I had,  However, when it came the message hit me with a bigger  effect than I thought. The first bit was in two weeks time, one week in three which allowed a bit of breathing space,  the second actually the official update was that it would be the following week, but the trigger for events was the third update, which was that we would have to be using public transport.

Whilst I have been back to work in the office a couple of times in the last 20 months, it was always using a cab.   The thought of using public transport hit hard.  In my own group at work, social distancing and the use of masks is still in place, but travelling by train is a whole different thing.  No rules, no masks and people around you who have no consideration for others.  I just went numb, but with the feeling of a massive weight on my shoulders.

The common thing that I have noticed in the last two years, is that when a situation has arisen to which I am struggling to respond, all the other issues which I have been trying to deal with one by one rush in as well. giving a feeling of overwhelming helplessness, with no way of unravelling it.  A Gordian knot if you will.   With no obvious way out, that's when the feeling of helplessness followed by the contemplation of suicide kicked in.

My son's intervention got me to speak to the doctor and am now going to undertake a course in CBT accompanied by some counselling to help untangle the knots.  Family, messages from friends and the ability to train online with some of them have also been a great help.  I felt I needed to write this, just in case it might help some others.

REY 13/11/2021

Neko ashi dachi and Kokutsu dachi, compare and contrast.

I am lucky enough to study with two Sensei from contrasting styles, which occasionally allows the comparisons I am making here.  The two kata in question here are Pinan Shodan and Heian Nidan, by root the same kata but by practice somewhat different.   Pinan Shodan is a kata originally created by Itosu Ankoh, for introducing ito the Okinawan school system.  Heian Nidan is the version developed by Funokoshi Gichin, to help introduce Karate in the Japanese mainland.

There are many contrasts between the two, but I wish to concentrate on the transitions, as these seem to me the most fundamental difference,  I have discussed this with both Sensei, and this is what seems to be their consensus.

Kokutsu dachi and Shuto

Heian Nidan is conducted in Kokutsu dachi.  The weight is mostly on the back foot, but the front foot is also firmly planted.    By the interpretation  have, this is where facing an attack, you rock back, but need a solid framework to counter the threat.  Any attacking from this stance is done more naturally from the upper torso, or requires a transition to bring the lower torso into play.

Neko ashi dachi and Shuto

Pinan Shodan is conducted in Nekko ashi dachi.  Although again the weight is on the back foot, the practitioner should be "sitting down" in posture.  The front foot is then free to use in attacks without transitioning, however the framework is less stable until an attack is made.  Nekko ashi dachi lends itself to sweeps, knee strikes, foot traps, throws or sprawls.  If the next movement is forward, after the likes of a knee strike or sweep, the stance leads to the opportunity to press down on the opponent and take them to ground.

Pinan Shodan

All in all, although Itosu Ankoh is said to have taken much of the offensive capability out of Okinawan karate, it seem to me that is was more done by Funokoshi Gichin, in his interpretation of the kata for the Japanese audience of the time.  I have included my work in progress versions of each kata for the sake of completeness.

Heian Nidan

Than you for reading, hope you find it of interest.

May to September Karate Diary

 

May to September was a torrid time, but although I stopped formal lessons for a while, I didn't stop practicing.  For the record, I documented it all, although I didn't do any blogs, so here are all the videos.  The shorts seem to be popular, as well as the video (in training) of my son catching me in the crown jewels lol.

May to September Shorts

May to September Practice

May to June Lessons

July to September Lessons

A little bit of improvising

I haven't done much paired work during covid, due to the space limitation of often working inside.  My son Brendan, agreed to try out a couple of techniques I had solo proacticed with my own Dojo and with PJ Broomy.  On trying them out, we founf that due to body mechanics, a couple of improvisations seemed to work better for us than the original starting points.

I mentioned these to PJ and was asked to demonstrate, so we did the below video in response.

A couple of grappling teqniques

The first is from lock up, the original interpretation was:

Front leg mawashi geri to opponent's front leg, followed by a stomping kick to the back leg.

Ground the front foot, then Naihanchi leg sweep.

This turned into lock up, trap opponent's front foot with back foot, and deliver front leg knee strike to groint or midriff,

The second is from a guillotine head lock, the original interpretation was:

Pull down grabbing arm, deliver downward elbow to knee then upward elbow.

Head grasp then knee strike.

This turned into poll down grabbing arm, upward elbow and rising headbutt, head grasp and knee strike.

It's fair to say the first tecnique when reviewed, was thought to be genuinely effective, the second not so much, maybe a little too slow.   The suggestions I got to inprove the second one included driving forward and using lateral movement.  We haven't tried this out properly yet, but I'm thinking:

Grom guillotene headlock, pull down grabbing arm and drive forward whilst rotating, using a crashing elbow strike.  Hopefully that should take the opponent's space, destablise and perhaps lead to a drag down with the pulling hand..  I'm hoping I might be able to video that in the near future.

It turned out that the second technique should have actually been used from a reverse headlock, which makes more sense for the downward elbow to the knee, but we had fun and probably learned a way of getting out of a guillotine choke anyway, so by no means a waste. 😊😊😊

Kata, Covid and the mind

 

During the long period of training at home due Covid, karate has been one of my few positive outlets, and kata one of my first go-tos in times of stress, for exercise, relaxation and as mental stimulation.  Now things are looking to settle down, I thought it worthwhile to reflect on how far I have come in my use of kata as a part of my life.

Shorin Ryu kata

In March 2020, I knew one kata fully of my Shorin Ryu style, and had started to learn another.  Naihanchi Shodan was the main kata and was allowed to practice Naihanchi Nidan.  As a result of working online with Robey Jenkins, I had learned to use kata for cardio, and as a result of working online with Noah Legel, I had learned to use kata for breathing exercise.  All the Kata shown here are done in the manner associated of my working with these two excelent teachers.

As a result of having the opportunity to work with PJ Broomy online, I was introduced to the Bu Kai style.  After the formal lessons originally arranged for my dojo, I have had the pleasure of working with PJ one to one on many occasions.  He kindly demonstated a number of kata to me, including the opening kata of his style, along with a number of others.

Bu Kai kata

I've always had an enquiring mind, so I think it was natural for me to look at other kata to learn as a form of mental stimulation during these Covid-ridden times.  A documentary of Jesse Enkamp's, the "Karate Nerd in China" inspired me to want to learn the form of Seisan, which PJ kindly showed me, plus another Sanchin based kata, Sanseru.

Goju Kai/Ryu kata

Few of the kata here will ever be perfected for fighting purposes, but for the purposes I am using them for as denonstrated, they work perfectly well.  They are:

Naihanchi Shodan (core Shorin Ryu, graded since Covid)*
Naihanchi Nidan (core Shorin Ryu, formally learning)*
Naihanchi Sandan (core Shorin Ryu, allowed to practice)
Pinan Shodan (allowed to follow in lessons)

Taigyoku Shodan (Goju Ryu/Shotokan opening Bu-kai kata/PJ Broomy) Heian Nidan (Shotokan, second Bu-kai kata/PJ Broomy) Seisan (Goju ryu, 7th Bu-kai kata/PJ Broomy) Sanseru (Goju ryu, 8th Bu-kai kata/PJ Broomy) Tensho (Goju ryu and Breathing kata/Noah Legel)*

*These are the kata practiced pre-Covid.

Thank you to Alison and Ben Slack, Robey Jenkins, Noah Legel and Paul Broomhall for all their help and inspiration, also Les Bubka who showed me how to use slow kata for relaxaion. Plus any of you who are kind enough to read.

March and April Karate Diary

 

Weekend Workouts

0403

Kicks (repeat mawashi geri from front leg, back kick, floor based back kick practice, spinning back kick)
Kata
Padwork, turning into a situation: Flank, two groin strikes, pivot to hit with elbow (opposite arm) to base of skull, step through knee

0603

Punches, repeated jabs sparring, one and two punches. Snap punches, heavy punches, shielding and jab, working both sides.  Punching at different heights (sinking into Shiko dachi).
Padwork, turning into a situation: Flank, two groin strikes, pivot to hit with elbow (opposite arm) to base of skull, step through knee.

Kobudo: jo staff work. 

Slow Naihanchi 0403

0803

Quadrant drill, kata

Quadrant Drill Reminder 0803

Friday Kata 1203

13/03/2021

Lesson - finished during shadow sparring session, breathing difficulties

Christian Wedewardt and Les Bubka zoom session , pad work, drills and relaxation kata.

With Christian and Les 1303

15/03/2021

Kata, three Naihanchis, single moves and performance.  Need to work on basics on Naihanchi Nidan.
Pad work based on Pinans. (imagine pulling away from wrist grab). Turn over pad hand rotating from the elbow, stepping to side. Step forward knee strike with back leg, punch though with glancing blow on Pad. Percussive forearm strike before grasping back of pad (head). Step back with stepped through leg, whist turning into Zenkutsu dachi and pulling through with hand to front knee (drag down to ground).
Pad work: Rising strike as a block, wrap round to trap arm (under armpit), step in (knee), jodan uke as rising forearm, elbow strike (to side of neck), then gedan uke as throw to ground.

Working with my son as a coach 1703

20/03/2021

Kata, Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan
Sequences, slightly bladed. Chudan uke, gedan uke, hammer fist front hand, step through back hand punch. Both sides.
Slightly bladed, crossed wrists guard, back hand (wrist trap and) pull back, front hand hammer first (to side of neck), front hand (wrist trap and) pull back with step through back hand punch, incidental strike to back of neck as both hands clasp behind neck. Step back with front leg and turn into Zenkutsu dachi and perform gidan uke throw down.

Lesson reminder 2003

Sanchin based kata

A different Naihanchi

Two Naihanchis 2103

27/03/21

Private lesson, Naihanchi Shonan and Nidan
Jamie Clubb lesson, including practical use of an item to preform cross blocks (basically an X, going from top to bottom on alternate diagonals

A short lesson with my Sensei 2703

29/03/2021
Stepping forward and backward in Zenkutsu dachi, doing uke combinations, called out shadow sparring using various techniques and combinations, reacting to strikes, kata.

Early Morning 01 04 2021

3rd April
Kihon 
Kihon gata
Kata

Tensho 03 04 2021

Broken Down Kata

10th April
Kata
Kihon gata with Knees and spinning elbows

10 04 2021 

Sanseru with Sai

15th April
Shadow sparring, elbow strikes
Kata (part lesson)

Its a Wind Up

17th April
Noah Legel - Naihanchi Nidan and Sandan bunkai

18 04 Kata

20 04 Kihon

23 04 Early morning forms and kata

24th April
Jamie Clubb, Muay Thai clinch techniques

Kata at Speed

Beware the Ides of March and April Showers

Beware the Ides of March and April Showers

February for me I thought was a new dawn.  Being doubly at risk to Covid-19, the rapid development of vaccinations and being able to get my first jab was like opening a window to the light at the end of the tunnel.  

Mental health issues were also a concern.  Four people living in the same house 24x7 for 11 months had also taken it's toll: Two had confirmed mental health issues going into the first lockdown, whilst I was starting to have some issues, which only got worse for a while.  The other member of our household also started to suffer, so there was offer of respite there too.

Then there were financial issues that were immediately pressing when the first lock down occurred.  These had got worse and worse during the 11 months, as it turned out through no fault of my own.  I thought I had managed to these resolved too by February.

I was wrong on both  counts 😕  The "so near yet so far syndrome" kicked in, with the frustration of having to wait another 12 weeks before thinking of actually being able to comfortably go out again,  I am not the only member of my family to need a second jab, and in some ways things became even more of a frustration.  Tempers started to get more ragged, and mine was included in that, plus mood swings.

Then there were the finances, what I had thought was resolved turned out not to be.  Lets say it involves pensions, a mistake on behalf of the pension company, and then the tax man losing most of my repayments plus another complication.  I thought I had solved all that, but no I hadn't  and the complication reared it's head again with a bite back.  With the other issues, I was struggling to face that too.

Now comes the hardest part, I have to admit I have a liking for alcohol.  Most of the time it isn't a problem, but at times during the 14 month Covid lockdown (for me) it has been an issue, and these last months it has probably been at it's worst.  All in all you could say that it was a volatile cocktail and I wasn't making things anything easier for myself.

Looking back thing really started to deteriorate just before my 60th birthday.   Things seemed to going reasonably well between most of us, then one what I thought was a small reaction to a situation started to make things unravel.  I will spare you the details, but basically we all limped through a couple of days to mine then my sons birthdays, but then after that things really unravelled.

I just about held myself together when working and tried to stick at karate, but the close proximity of all concerned made that difficult too. Home issues intermingled with the training and as things worsened between me and the rest of the family, obviously my training was affected as well, so I lost for me what was a certain anchor point for a while.

Basically, whatever other peoples actions were, my own responses and mood swings were definitely making thing worse.  For the last part of March and most of April it is fair to say that no-one in the house wanted to talk to me.  In part this was down to the fact that they all have their own issues to deal with, but a a bigger part was my difficulties in dealing with issues I had thought already resolved and mood swings caused my own mental state, fuelled with an increased reliance on alcohol as an escape mechanism.

Most of April was more of the same, with me withdrawing into myself, trying to avoid conflict and family contact time (including training) and resorting to alcohol as one of the escape mechanisms.  Also trying to bury my head in the sand about external issues and ignoring correspondence I knew was related to it "putting it off until tomorrow", but knowing it would come home to roost.  Something had to give and eventually it did.

For a few weeks things limped along as they were, but on 24th April, things came to head. It was a combination of everything that got to me, The feeling of isolation, coupled with the other worries and fuelled by drink led to me holding a knife to myself, contemplating ending it all.  My partner took one knife from me, but I found another. At that point, the lack of response to my sister's calls resulted in the police being called.

The police took the second knife, and long talks with me and my family ensued.  Due to my co-morbidities and the fact I hadn't had the second Covid jab, the first option of being taken to A&E really didn't appeal.  The second option was to try to work it out within the family, and that's the way I've gone.  It certainly hasn't been plain sailing, but we started talking again at that point.

I faced up to the root cause of the financial worries, though there is still a lot of work to do.  The family have helped me get my drinking under control and the sense of isolation has to a large extent faded. However, we are all aware how fragile things are and at times have to strive to keep feelings under control.  Very much work in progress but hopefully at least some things are now going in the right direction.   I am enjoying my karate again too, so little steps.

REY 31/05/2021

February Turmoil, something positive and light at the end of the Tunnel

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: 

1. In snowed, so I got to do kata in the Snow for the first time
2. 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)
3. 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

A different Naihanchi

My Sensei tell me that it's good to practice Naihanchi in different ways, slow, fast, arms only, footwork only, open handed,etc.  Also that the elements remain the same, but in a real world situation can be applied as different techniques and will rarely be used in the order in which we train them.

With that in mind, I decided to take a look at a different version of Naihanchi from my own, Tachimura no Naihanchi, which looks substantially different to my own.  A version is shown in the link below, by Noah Legel.

Tachimura no Naihanchi (Noah Legel)

I decided the easiest way to do this was first of all to try to break it down by studying the video several times and this is what I came up with (please excuse the fact that I don't know all the technical terms):

Formal opening,
Look to left
right foot (rf) step over, left foot (lf) to Naihanchi dachi
Left hand (lh) open gidan uke, right hand (rh) hikate
Rh punch across, lh hikate
Look to right
Rh open gidan uke
Lh punch across, rh hikate
Lf step over, rf to Naihanchi dachi
Look forward
Lh chudan-tsuki, mark out, rh back fist, left arm comes up to support
(substitute with lh chudan-tsuki, double block, rh back fist)
Look to right, rf wave kick, rh chudan-tsuki to the side
Look to left, lf wave kick, lh pull in to hip, coupled to rh
Look to right, double punch, rh under left, rh shuto uke, lh hikate, lh elbow strike to rh clasp
Look to left, lh open gidan uke, rh hikate
Rh punch across, lh hikate
Rf step across, lf to Naihanchi dachi
Rh chudan-tsuki, mark out, lh back fist, rh comes up to support
(substitute with rh chudan-tsuki, double block, lh back fist)
Look to left, lf wave kick, lh chudan-tsuki to the side
Look to right, rh wave kick, rh pull in to hip, coupled to lh
Look to the left, double punch, lh under right, ln shuto uke, rh elbow strike to lh clasp
Look to right
Rh open gidan uke
Lh punch across, rh hikate
Lf step over, rf to Naihanchi dachi
Look forward
Lh chudan-tsuki, mark out, rh back fist, left arm comes up to support
(substitute with lh chudan-tsuki, double block, rh back fist)
Look to right, rf wave kick, rh chudan-tsuki to the side
Look to left, lf wave kick, lh pull in to hip, coupled to rh
Look to right, double punch
Formal close

I then decided to try to put it back together with the individual elements picked out from the version of the kata I know. There are a couple of substitutions indicated as above, where I wasn't too confident of, and in no way was I going to try to emulate the different stepping of Tachimura no Naihanchi.

This is what I came up with:

Elements of Tachimura no Naihanchi

Which I then compared ro what I do in the version of Naihanchi Shodan that I practice:

Naihanchi Shodan (Shorin Ryu)

In essence the core sequences frim Gedan uke to double punch are much the same, but the variations which make them look so different are the start sequence, direction of travel and number of repetitions of the core sequence.  The Shorin Ryu version goes:

Start to the right, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the left, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the right

The Tachimura no Naihanchi version goes:

Start to the left, gedan uke (open hand), punch across

Core sequence to the right, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the left, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the right

Compared to the different versions of some kata, such as Seisan, although they might look different in appearance, there is actually very little difference in content. Appearances can be deceptive, for in fact when the Shorin Ryu kata and Tachimura kata are broken down like this, it can be seen that the Shorin Ryu version element wise is exactly the same from the shuto uke going to the right.

Start to the left, gedan uke (open hand), punch across

Core sequence to the right, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the left, shuto uke, elbow strike

Core sequence to the right  

Tachimura no Naihanchi only
Shorin Ryu and Tachimura Naihanchis

I wonder why I didn't see that in the first place, but probably because it is partly masked by the visible differences in the stepping, the dropping stances in the gedan strikes and the variation in the arm techniques.

So just to conclude, thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this, and hope it might have been of some small interest.