Oh my gosh.. what a bright moment for me. I started visualizing Heian Yondan in my mind as I laid there at 4 am in the morning attempting to relax and fall back asleep. Sometimes my body does that to me.. it will wake itself up, and decide that it's time to wake up. I'll look at the clock and think "What? NO way! I've got a good 3 more hours due to me." Then my body and I argue about whether or not I'm tired. One of the things that works is if I go through my kata in my head through visualization. By the time I hit Tekki Shodan, I'm out, and in dreamland again. Not this time..
I was doing Heian Yondan in my head, and suddenly, I mentally placed a Bo staff in my hands. The kata FLOWED with the staff.. it felt so right in the visualization. I became all excited at the possibilities contained in that action. I remembered seeing Mat doing kata with his Sai, and then with empty hands.. and I said "Why not?.. Why not follow the movements of the kata, and place the Bo staff in my hands and see what comes out?"
Of course I searched for the hope that perhaps I could do ALL of my empty hand kata with a Bo staff in my hands.. ha ha ha Bassai Dai with a Bo staff????? Sacrilegious!
Guess who didn't go back to sleep... no matter how much she spent energy visualizing.
I gave up, got up, and started my day. One good thing is that I got a headstart on the housework.
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4 comments:
I have the same problem of waking up a bunch of times throughout the night and actually have to fight the urge to think of martial arts because it makes me too excited.
Have you tried the ol' sheep counting trick?
Hi Sensei,
I've been blessed with good night's sleeps for around two years.
My understanding of the bo is limited. But all kata can be interpreted with weapons. Basics applied here or there. Renshi Blanchette showed various applications of swords in kata. Very interesting.
The sai are easier to make with because of the extension to the arm being so small. But if you make your mind work with it, it'll come around.
Working a kata with weapons requires that you think outside of the pre-arranged kata. But it works.
Heian Shodan would work quite easily. With the age uke's being replaced by upwards strikes. There are blocks, strikes, round strikes would have to be used. The shuto's... shutos... double hand blocks? or direct strikes? With a back stance, I guess the block makes more sense.
Bassai? Wait a bit, I'm going to learn this one soon. Sai and Bo are going in there some time soon after. :)
Bassai, the opening stomping could be a direct strike (fully extended bo strike)
I'll stop here for now!
These are riddles waiting to be uncovered. Even if purists will tell you that doing empty-handed weapons with kata is senseless. They are partially right. And partially wrong.
What the hey, it's fun.
Sheep have never had the right effect for me..
I have had success with a "Laying on a sunny beach watching the waves come in and out, and listening to the seagulls" imagery. But that one starts to bore me after awhile, and my brain starts "thinking".
I found that doing kata is calm, predictable, and yet keeps my interest just enough to help me fall asleep. Until I added a Bo staff in there, that is.. ha ha ha
Oooo.. Mat you are NOT helping me with all of these suggestions.. You are fueling the fires, and encouraging me to pursue some rather extreme trails on my karate mountain.
I wonder if I'll have what it takes to survive..
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