Sunday, July 20, 2008

Relaxed training in the backyard

My daughter and I decided to enjoy some time training together in the backyard. My other daughter, the aspiring recording arts person, caught it on video. I edited her footage down to a few minutes for your entertainment.

We are kicking at a pillowcase filled with a heavy woolen crocheted afghan tied onto the kid's swing set with a white belt. Sure.. it's not the most refined equipment, but it was inexpensive, and handy.... and actually fun to kick at.

We were chased out of our dojo by the build up of mosquitoes as the evening descended.

10 comments:

Colin Wee said...

Cool. But I thought you weren't going to stick up a video like this on your blog? Colin

Mir said...

[i]"I thought you weren't going to stick up a video like this on your blog? "[/i]

I can see the similarity, but this video is different from the other one.

In the other ones.. the words were "instructional" while at the same time the videos were for amateur-ish due to the fact that I was purposely exaggerating, and stretching my movements improperly to try to see how my body does the technique. The two didn't fit together. People may not have understood what I was doing, and have thought that it was proper movement.

In this video, there is nothing but my daughter and I enjoying ourselves during an evening of casual training. There is no "instructional" value to it.. just enjoyment, and fun.

Silverstar said...

Great video! I love training outside when its warm. :)

Colin Wee said...

I'm just teasing of course. Great seeing you enjoying yourself - without your karate hat on.

Mir said...

It's strange, Colin, but I tend to take everything in a serious manner. It makes it difficult for people to tease me as I actually do not "catch" jokes well. It's not like I get upset, but more that I become logical, and I try to make the facts fit together.. it usually takes me quite awhile to get the humor of a situation.

Lizzie Woolley said...

How young is your daughter and what kyu is she? When I was watching it, I liked your form when you kicked. It was nice and clean. However, I noticed that both of you didn't keep your hands up when you kicked. You were better when the video started, but they weren't up in the multiple kicks. Your daughter had them down when she kicked. When I watched her kick during the kata, she bobbed up and down and looked very awkward. I know that when we kick, we are not suppose to bob up and down because it wastes energy and gives away our intention when we fight. I'm a really bad kicker though. I have bad balance. So, sometimes I bounce off when I kick things. I liked your form when you were doing your kata.

Lizzie Woolley said...

I just watched the video again. She's not bringing her foot in and snapping. She's just doing leg lifts. I'm assuming that your daughter is a lower belt.

Mir said...

Hi Lizzie, thanks for visiting, and commenting. I've been missing my chances to go see how you are doing? I hope that everything is fine.

My daughter and I were not focusing on proper "technique" when we were hitting the bag. I had already finished my hours of home practice, and she and I were just having fun together, and at the same time enjoying our Martial art.

Yes you are correct, my daughter is a lower kyu in her art. She does Tae Kwon Do. They have a different philosophy, and fighting style, and you may see many of them behaving with a "lighter more upwards" movement than a Shotokan, Goju, or perhaps Kyokushin.

I'm not sure about this, ( Colin can help fill in the details) but a TaeKwonDo roundhouse kick has a different type of entry, and exit than a Karate kick. She was hitting the bag with the same amount of power that I was, and in equal but opposite direction, otherwise the bag would have shifted in an awful direction, and we would have smacked legs.

As for my hands coming down.. yes.. they did.. I was focusing totally on getting my leg up there faster, and faster, and not slowing down despite repetition. I find that when my mind centers totally on one thing, I will allow other aspects to slacken a little because I'm not "working" on that.

Again, we were relaxing, and enjoying our time together. Sometimes I think that we have to allow ourselves the freedom to make mistakes, and just perform, and enjoy what we have at the moment.

Lizzie Woolley said...

Hey Supergroup. I posted how I was doing on my blog because I had lots to tell.

Mir said...

I'll be right over to visit, I have some time this morning.