Tekki Shodan

I'm struggling with one of the movements of Tekki Shodan ( Naihanchi). Movement number 9 exactly.

I've watched so many versions of this move that I'm even more confused than when I started. When I was first taught this kata, the movement was described to me as a downward back fist (Oroshi Uraken) to the target of the collarbone. If you look at this video that was made in the 70's by JKA, you can see that the specific movement that I'm talking about is landing just to the side of the chin, where the collarbone is. This is especially apparent in the second time that he does the same movement:


If you watch this world Champion doing the kata, you can see the placement of that move. He is definately doing it to the side of the neck, to the collarbone. ( By the way, I admire the skill of Sensei Luca Valdesi so much! I'm so grateful for his instructional kata videos on the internet. I sure do hope that they remain online for prosperity!)


I have seen the kata performed with that movement becoming an uppercut punch ( shita tsuki) instead of a downwards attack as how Sensei Luca showed.. but I know that this bunkai has not been taught in my dojo.

I have learned that the striking target of that movement is supposed to be the mouth/chin of our opponent. This means that the arm makes a far more pronounced angle when executing that movement. Here is a vintage video of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi ( the founder of Shotokan Karate) performing the Tekki Shodan kata. Notice that he targets the mouth on that move:


So? Where is the target for that move? Is it the mouth, or the collarbone? I know that I'm being pretty nitpicky on this, but I have learned through my brief experiences with Aikido, pressure points, and joint manipulation that a mere 1/4 inch, or centimeter of placement can change the result of a technique drastically. I have felt the painful difference that a few inches can make when striking. I ask myself these questions: Where would I want to train my body to strike when performing this kata? Which target would be most effective?

Sparring my daughter

I don't know if it's because I'm a woman, or because I'm a mom, or because I'm just "me", but I cannot get my heart around to accepting facing my child as an opponent, or seeing her defend herself.

Last night, my daughter was introduced to sparring for her first time. I couldn't believe how I felt inside me. I was proud of her, but it hurt to watch her. I wanted to run out of the room, or run into the fight, or run around in circles.

That's my baby up there dodging the kicks. That's my little girl who is shaking her hand because it landed improperly and she is hurting, but she's still fighting. I was in a nightmare. I thought that it was so difficult to get myself to face the inner turmoil within me and pull out the warrior within, but to have to watch my daughter spar.. oh gosh.. oh my gosh!

I requested that I be excluded from sparring last night, and my request was granted. So thankfully, I didn't have to face my girl personally. OH GOSH!

I can't hit my girl! Not like that! I would give my own life for her. Aargh! I've GOT to talk to Sensei about this! I have so much inner conflict at the thought of facing my daughter in sparring. Heaven help any of my dojo mates that cause my daughter any harm. I swear.. there would be nothing but "protect" conviction flying through my mind, soul, and body. I could feel that spiritual energy surging through me last night. I felt like an 8 foot brick wall wouldn't stop me if I felt that I needed to address an issue.

It never hurts to ask..

One of my younger daughters had been chosen by her school to participate in some free Theatre classes downtown for the next 2 months. All she needed was parental escort to and from the event. Therefore my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons have been reserved for this. I knew that I'd be spending a good 2 hours downtown. I'm not one to enjoy shopping, or sitting in a restaurant eating for 2 hours. What I really wanted to do was take advantage of that suddenly imposed "free" time to practice my karate.

So.. now I had a dilemma. I started phoning around at the various Y.M.C.A. and other athletic places available within walking distance of the theatre school. OUCH! Drop in fees were astronomical! I contacted a couple of Martial arts studios in the area, but they opened only in the evening.

Hmmmmm..... I stood there in the student lounge of the Theatre school with my Backpack in hand contemplating if it was possible to do kata in that enclosed space filled with chairs, tables, and couches. It was possible.. as long as I didn't kiai.

So.. I approached the head office of the school, and asked to speak with the "Principle". He was a kind gentleman who politely listened to my request. He instantly gave me permission to practice karate in the student lounge, and then he smiled, and offered me one of their classrooms.

I was led to one of their "private practice" rooms wherein actors go to work on their skills. It was fantastic! Honestly! It was huge, enough room for 12 karate ka to do kata, and the center space was clear due to the fact that all props were placed neatly along side the walls. The longest wall was mirrored. I was in heaven!! The ladies washroom, and water fountain was within 10 steps of the room.

I worked on 25 of my kata, and on all of my basics from white belt up to my belt testing rank. I was even able to take a 4 minute break sitting comfortably on a leather couch. I felt "pampered".

It never hurts to ask...

My martial arts path has been filled with painful boulders.

My good friend Mat left me with a comment that I feel deserves it's own posting:

Darn, Mireille!

What a list of injuries you just posted. ...

I'm sorry for saying those words I'm about to say and you might not like them.

- how about a pause??
- Shotokan karate is notorious for injuring its practicionners. ask chadie at thedojo.

http://sodergren.com/dojo/?p=33

My old Sensei didn't want to come back teaching (in shotokan) because of back injuries. He'd spend about 20 minutes before each class only streching to be able to stretch with us...
My current Sensei quit shotokan because of back injuries.

- How about a break where you only do forms "a la taichi"? With slow deliberate movements with only muscular contractions?

No matter what Sensei says, or my Sensei's sensei, for that matter, I train at home very slowly at first, no matter what amount of warm-up I do. Slow, slow, slow. When I get around Seisan, I'm ok for 80% speed.

I find that my motivation comes from the fact that my practice has evolved into something that's actually very good for my health. The various injuries I have had in the last year no longer feel stiff or sore and I feel in better shape (read more energy) since I adapted the karate to my body.

Sheesh, I don't know what to say... You do know that shotokan katas used to be done very slowly and softly, don't you? They were sped up during the last century. Particularily after the 2nd war. Shigeru Egami a student of funakoshi was amongst those who sped it up. Only to go back to softer and slower katas later on when he realized that efficiency didn't necesseraly pass through hard contractions/speed.

Funakoshi's words:
"In my training in the past we never did brutal things like those. In a real training you must be able to put a shoji door (wood frame with an extended paper sheet) on the ground and throw water on it. Train on the paper without ripping it and move without breaking the fine wood unions, train techniques with power. Do you understand why we must search for the technique?"

How many times did you read that in order to give good health, people sent their child to study karate?

I'm concerned about all these injuries. Please put your health forwards.

There are other ways to train.

And I know I'm preaching for my own village here, but how about reiki? It works for me...

Ask Charles E James from the isshindo club here :
http://isshindo.blogspot.com/index.html

Realizing that karate training was too hard for his body, he changed it, adding QiGong exercices (which I did too)

I could go on a very long time.

All I mean to say is :

Take care of yourself. Entering karate should help you get better health (which I know it did) and keep your health up. Not injure you.

I realize you probably know all this. Just take care.

10:00 AM

Here is my response:

Yes... It is true that I have quite a list of injuries as I train:

For those who are not aware:

a) I have a skin condition that flares up once in awhile. While it is inflamed it almost feels like I'm immersed in boiling oil, and every movement hurts. Therefore during karate there have been times when I tended to question whether blocking the oncoming punch will hurt more than just receiving it. There are moments when the skin will break and bleed spots onto my Gi. Therefore I have chosen to wear a T shirt, and white cotton Long Johns under my Gi Jacket and pants to protect my fellow karate students from stains when I train in Shotokan. During Kyokushin I wear my shin pads throughout class. Yes.. it is VERY hot to train with an extra layer of cotton upon me.

b) My heels have started to bother me when I'm jumping rope, or doing many kicks in a row. I believe that it is a form of tendonitis.

c) My shoulders definately have tendonitis as both of them are causing problems making it difficult for me to raise my hands above my shoulder level without sharp pains. I am actively working towards healing this at this moment.. I'll be putting ice on my shoulders after I finish typing everything out on the computer. Push ups are an impossibility for me right now.

d) My right hip had received soft tissue damage about 10 year ago when I had fallen and taken all the impact on my right knee. I was 9 months pregnant at the time, so there was nothing that really could be done to help it when it happened. I have gained in flexibility through training in karate, but it still hurts to do certain side kicks. Also, quick repeditive kicks will make my hips feel "swollen" and painful. It will even lock them so that I cannot raise my leg. However, if I give my legs a few minutes to rest.. ( and drain or something) I can resume kicking without pain.

e) I sprained my right wrist a few years ago. It has not fully recuperated. I find that certain martial arts techniques will send sharp pains up my arm. I have adapted some of my knifehands to be able to continue training.

f) Cramping. I have suffered from cramping of my muscles throughout most of my training. It is mostly my legs such as calves, and thighs that act up. I'll do some quick stretching, and then resume my stance, and continue training.

g) I hurt my back recently. I was suffering from a skin flare up. As I was putting on my shoes I lost my balance, and ended up crashing into a hook into the wall which imbedded itself beside my spine. It's getting better now, but sit ups are quite painful when I lay my torso down on the ground.

h) Breathing. When I stress my lungs too much, I will start to have quite a difficult time breathing. I suffered from bronchitis as a child, and it is/was quite normal for me to taste blood in my mouth after running. I can happilly say that this side effect of physical effort is not presenting itself as frequently. My cardio-vascular abilities have improved 100 fold.

Yes, Mat. I am aware that the Shotokan style has developed a reputation for being difficult on the body. I can see how difficult it is to continue the sharp, strong, outbursts of power that this style needs as a body ages. There have been times when I have felt my joints complain at the power of my the sudden starts, and stops that I needed to do to achieve the exercise that was being asked of us. However, through experience, and study.. I have noticed that one can successfully learn to become fluid, and strong at the same time. I've learned to become water and ice as I did my kata. I've learned that I needed to treat my body as a 42 year old's and not try to force it to act like a 15 year olds.

- how about a pause??

Well Mat.. I really enjoy training in Karate. It has become more than just a hobby. It is a part of me. Even if I were to stay home, I'd still be doing a variety of Karate moves. I LOVE kata.. and it's FUN when it's done at full speed. I can value Tai Chi very much. I can see so much contained within it. There may be a time when I start walking down that path, but right now I enjoy what I have. The majority of my injuries come from a lifetime of bad eating, and inactivity. I didn't start exercising until I was 39 years old. I'm not surprised that my body is reacting by all of these little "issues". The physical problems have not stopped me, or discouraged me. In fact, I'd like to say that I have developed a humble, persistant, and courageous spirit by the limitations that these problems have caused within my training environment. I know that my continuing efforts to improve my eating habits, lower my weight, and enhance my physical stature will bring me better and better results in the future.

Internal conflict

A few years ago, I was having problems during training with how to handle my
sparring demeanor.  I received some extremely wise advice from a fellow forum member that I do not wish to lose, so I will place it here on my
weblog:

"One of the major concerns I have with your situation is in the training of seated
instinct so as not to cause internal conflict.

If you have mixed feelings about any exercise, this internal conflict can
affect the overall commitment and effectiveness of your technique.

When learning something new, such feelings are normal, but when bridging the
gap from well practiced technique to practical application, any internal
conflict can case hesitation, mess up the timing, and lead to detrimental
results.

You need to be clear in your mind what you are doing. For instance, when
instructed to bounce more on the ball of your foot when kicking... your
anology was like a jumping kick... therefore ask her if she means like
a jumping kick. She may say yes, then it is clear in your mind you and
her are talking about the same thing. On the other hand, she may come back and
say, no, it is to lift your heel more because when you kick with shoes on,
in the streets on the pavement, you have to bounce more because the friction
on the ground with shoes does not allow you to slide like on a dojo floor.

When she asks you to change targets, you can be more clear in your mind
what is the better technique for hitting that target. When going to the
ribs, one might use a 3/4 turned punch instead of a horizontal punch. Adjust your
technique to the target you are intending to hit. Then I ask, which is
more important, the target or that you actually hit the target? In other
words, don't punch to miss her. Whatever target she gives you, strike to hit
it with commitment. If she wants you to punch her shoulder, then hit it!!!
In other words, don't think you are missing the target by aiming somewhere
else... instead, make it clear in your mind of what the new target is
and hit it. Don't train yourself to miss what you are aiming at.

Avoid developing internal conflicts. Make sense? "


I responded with:

[i]"Wado.. I'm trying to understand that whole aspect of Internal conflict that
you have revealed to me.  Although you explained it so clearly, I am having
difficulties capturing the concept.  How do I shift from the natural hesitation that happens when given something new, to a confident "I
know this" commitment when each new partner that I get has different
strength, speed, mannerisms that I have to adjust to?" [/i]


I'd say that's a very complex question you ask.

There are many ways to have and many reasons for inner conflicts. The end
result is that inner conflicts affect your performance and can cause
hesitation and distraction.

When learning something new, one inner conflict is basically training
your body to move differently than what you are used to. That, like many
things, can be overcome with knowledge, experience, and practice (it just takes
time).

A different type of internal conflict, on the other hand, can be caused
when philosophical views clash with what you are told to do. This is the
type of internal conflict I feel you are having and it can affect your
performance. You simply do not feel deep down that what you are doing is of benefit
to you, in fact, it seems you believe that striking off target is wrong
and only do it out of duty.

Such conflicts do not just affect your performance during exercises,
but even can cause questioning and stress afterwards... affecting how well
you sleep, how well you can focus on other things in life, etc.

How does one remove inner conflicts? Sometimes an adjustment of
attitude works, sometimes just knowing more information as to why works,
sometimes seeing the "light at the end of the tunnel" helps, and sometimes
necessity (situation) brings out emotions or something that can be used as a
driving force to do things you normally would not want to do given a choice.

In your case, SG7, as long as you KNOW that the target is not the one
you want to hit, then I suggest you question of what value the whole
exercise of striking to a different target has.

Obviously this is not realistic fighting, it is only a drill. A drill
can have realism but it is primarily for working on a set of skills. As the
attacker your skills are to develop commitment, timing, movement, speed,
power, and accuracy. You can do this striking to ANY target as long as
you strike to it with realism (visualize that it is a real fight, keep your
guard up, move in a realistic manner).


Wado quotes me:

[i]"I really appreciate the " You need to be clear in your mind what you are
doing. advice.  Wow.. I didn't see the value of being on the ball of
your foot, and bouncing until you brought a different view to it for me.  I
gather that the more experience I have in the arts, the more different ways
I will gain in seeing the possibilities, and I will gain also in clarity of
understanding." [/i]


I will tell you a secret, which may not really be a secret, but many if
not all "masters" make things up on the spot. So what you learn is a
combination of the old, the new, and stuff made up on the spot.

When one questions respectfully, it is only to get a better idea of why
something was done the way it was, the principles and reasons behind
something. The actual details of a technique, such as on the ball of
the foot or not, can and will change often, depending on the underlying
reasons. Nothing is really written in stone.

Sensei might tell you one thing one day, and a week later tell you to
do something that seems to contradict what was said before.

I guess what I am saying could be summarized as keep your guard up and
take all training seriously. Try to add realism to what you are doing, even
if it is no-contact or full contact, half-speed, full speed, etc. Apply
realistic intent, commitment, energy, movement, and timing.

In no contact, ACCEPT that you can be hit and knocked out, even though
for safety all strikes are controlled. 

If you are the attacker in a two-person drill, do not always attack
using the same timing, same target, or same way. If you are supposed to
strike the solar plexus and the other is supposed to block, then maybe 75% of the
time aim to hit the mark, but at other times aim for 4 inches lower or
higher. Attack full speed, and at other times start full speed and finish at
75% speed, and other times start 75% speed and then finish full speed. See
if the defender can make the adjustments.

Of course beginners will not usually make the adjustments so attacking
to one target and with one speed might be appropriate, but at higher belt
levels, I say, almost anything goes.

I hope I clarified it some from my humble experience.

- Take care,
REBEL Wado

[i]OH YES!  and I appreciate your words.  I'm going to keep them in my
karate journal to remind me of what I need to focus on as I walk the
path.  Thank you, Wado. [/i]

My promise is now kept, Wado.. Thank you.  I hope that those who read
my weblog get as much out of your words as I did, and still do.

Mireille

No to Gojushiho sho

Don't get me wrong: I love kata. I live for kata. I just do not wish to learn Gojushiho Sho right at this moment.

I'm mentally digging in my heels and saying "Enough!".

I have the movements of close to 20 Shotokan kata in my brain, and I'm only 4 years old in Martial arts. I do not want to learn another one no matter how wonderful it is. I want to understand some of the ones that I have amassed within me. I want to know why I put my hands in this direction, and why my hips turn over there, and what it does to my opponent. I do not want to just dance to the rhythm of another song. Sure.. I can understand that many of us start off mimicing movement, and later on we develop a deeper understanding of what we are doing. I'm not even up to the point of wanting to mimic movement.

I've got the rest of my life to learn the movements of the last 6 kata left in Shotokan. Why rush it? I can understand having pressure if I wanted to represent my dojo at a competition, or if I was aspiring to open a dojo of my own.. but I'm just a little old Mom who likes to do karate when I'm not washing dishes, doing laundry, or making meals.

There was a time when I hungered for the ability to do a higher kata.. but now, I feel overfilled. I have that "after a turkey feast" distended, bloated feeling within me as I face learning another kata. I can feel my spirit saying "No.. NO.. No to Gojushiho Sho." Let me work on the 15 mandatory kata for my rank of Shodan.. let me focus on the various things that I can learn from there...let me build up my basics so that I can grasp what the higher kata are saying.

But what do I do? When I show up in class.. there is this expectation that I'm supposed to want to learn more kata. How do I tell my Sensei that I'm not interested in learning this new kata? "Gee.. thanks for the opportunity to learn more, Sensei, but I just want to sit here in the lower levels a little longer?" That just doesn't sound right.

Another great KIAI moment!

This morning.. early in the morning.. my oldest daughter had made her lunch for work, and then proceeded to leave the house without it. I had said my goodbyes, and had turned to go do something in the kitchen when I noticed the lunch sitting there on the table. Scooping it up I ran outside into the snow in my pajamas to see that my daughter was not to be seen. So? I KIAI'd her name into the air around me. Out in the distance I hear my daughter mutely respond with a quiet confused "Mom?" I kiai'd the words "Your LUNCH!" almost as if I was attacking the dampening effect of the snow around me. Within minutes I saw my daughter running back and gratefully retreiving her food for the day.

I walked back into my home to find one of my other daughters standing in the Dining room.. wide-eyed, and awake.. her hair disheveled.. and her face filled with confusion.

"Mom? It's early in the morning.. why did you call me? I don't need a lunch for school today?" she asked.

I chuckled and explained it all to her with a big hug.

Not too much later, my youngest son, almost drooping with sleepiness said:

"Mom.. your yell had me awake right away.. and my knees were shaking... I thought that we were all in trouble or something. Then my sister came back to tell me that you just wanted to hug her."

WAH ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Talk about an effective Kiai! 3 kids responded for the price of one yell.

Ha ha ha ha ha

I'm having some "issues" with my computer

Talk about getting on my nerves.. My usual computer isn't working well with this Blog anymore. I've tried more than one browser on it, struggling through all the annoyances of tweaking this, and fixing that until finally I gave up and decided to blog on the family computer. Sure.. this is even more of a hassle - family wize. The family computer has a host of teenagers that have to share it, so I have limited chances of using it. However, I can blog more easilly on it as it talks well with the google server. Ah well.. one day "we'll be eating off of the fat of the land.." as my husband fondly likes to say quite often when faced with difficulties.

Mommy with a mummy toe

Well.. my healing toe must be ahead of schedule. The whole nail has dropped off today. What a new start to a New Year! So.. I'm walking around with bandages on my left big toe.. therefore the title of this posting "Mommy with a mummy toe."

Hopefully the toe will be in full recovery ahead of schedule. Just goes to show that you can't believe everything that you read on the internet. I was informed that this kind of damage done to a toe nail would take up to 18 months to heal. I'm only on my second month now.. and things are healing quickly.

I've decided to heal another aspect of my life. Since I grew up in an alcoholic home, New Year's Eve has always been an awful day for me. Negative memories from my childhood creep out of the darkness of my subconscious and haunt me with awful depression. Up until now I have coped by hiding myself away in my bedroom and running away from any "festivities" claiming that I was sleepy or such. BUT this year, I claim my own right to enjoy myself. The past is just that.. it's past. I cannot change what my parents chose to do when I was a child, but I can darn well choose how I want THIS New Year to be, and I'm chosing to enjoy myself.

I'm claiming this holiday to be a time of renewal: a time of love, and support: and a time of hope, and joy.

My kids nearly fainted when they heard that I was going to "party" with them and stay up until midnight this year. They have never had that happen before in their lives. So this is a first for my family.

Ah... onwards and upwards. Only good things can come from this kind of thing.

Karate night before Christmas

My husband Arnie, and I wrote this little Karate parody of the classic
poem "Twas the night before Christmas".

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the dojo
Not a student was training, they were holding their hands low
Their shoes were all lined up by the wall with care
Knowing that soon Sensei would be there.
With their Gi (s) on sharp, and their obi (s) on tight,
They had just settled their minds for an oncoming fight.
When from the changeroom there arose such a clatter,
I sprang up from seiza to see what was the matter.
Over the mats I ran like a flash,
ran past the kicking bags, knocking over the stacks.
The sound of the intake of breath, and the row
of the students rushing past each other to know.
When what my astonished eyes did see
but the bare-footed feet of our Sensei indeed.
Such a stong presence, so fierce and so quick
I knew in a moment that Sensei was “ticked”.
More rapid than shurikens his commands they came.
He Kiai’d, and pointed, and called out by name,
“Now, Green belts, Now Blue belts, Now Yellow, and stripes
On Blacks, On Browns, On Purples and whites!
One hundred Manmakers from wall to wall
Now Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
Huffing and puffing like little freight trains
Sweat pouring off them like Hurricane rain
Back and forth the students went running
Sensei said “We’re not here for the sunning!”
Then in a twinkling I heard Sensei say
“Quit the prancing, and pawing. That’s it.... Yame!”
As I drew in deep breaths, the room spinning ‘round
With an “Osu” of response, Sensei said “To the ground!”
He was dressed all in white with black belt on his waist
He said “Let’s do push ups! Let’s pick up the pace!!!”
His eyes- how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
But our cheeks were like roses, flushed red like cherries.
His face showed no visible sign of fatigue
While the students knew that they were way out of their league
Each push up he did with much grace and power
While his students looked more like fallen down towers.
He turned over and started to do Fifty crunches,
the students were moaning and groaning in bunches.
He was lean, and mean, a fighting machine,
and I knew in a twist he could tear out a spleen.
A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head,
soon gave me to know I had more training to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
with his shinai, he helped students not shirk,
and laying a finger under their nose
he said “This is the technique, here’s how it goes..”
He called for line up, and gave the commands
and we bowed, and “Osu’d”, and then we shook hands.
I heard him exclaim ere he walked out of sight.
“Make sure you train hard each and every night.”

Christmas wrecks chaos on my training

I love the holidays. I really do not have a grinchy attitude towards them, but I have to admit that they do cause alot of troubles when it comes to keeping up my training.

I have so many school concerts to attend, why this week alone my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night is dedicated towards my children's year end Holiday performances. So no training on those days, I'll be sitting in a crowd of parents and watching my little ones sing their hearts out. When you add in the fact that the dojo will be closed on Christmas day, and New Years day, plus all of the parties that I need to attend in the coming weeks.. There goes most of my training time. I'll only have 1 class this week, and hopefully 3 next week. For someone who is used to training almost every day.. this is quite a big withdrawal. Yes.. I could try to train at home.. but the seven foot Christmas tree in the center of my living room takes up even more of my limited space.

Now.. Some people may say "What? What's wrong with that? You should take a break from your karate. You are obsessing too much about training." They don't understand. My body doesn't understand about holidays. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments get stiff and sore when I do not train them at least once every second day. I just can't explain to them about school concerts, and such. I did meet a ballerina that understood what I meant by this.. she nodded her head wisely and agreed that it is difficult to meet the physical requirements of your body during the holidays.

Also, the feasting during the holidays is detrimental to my personal conviction to live by controlled food consumption. When you go to a party the host usually offers you more than what you can eat, and they encourage you to go for seconds. There is always an excuse for over-eating: Easter "Go ahead.. Easter only comes once a year." Summer holidays "Let loose, you'll burn it off anyway.. you're on vacation. Relax." Thanksgiving "It's Thanksgiving.. you are supposed to overeat." Christmas "Oh.. cookies have no calories on Christmas, come on.. just one more." New Year's " Start the year right... you can start your diet tomorrow."
Birthdays "Aw... it's your birthday.. that only happens once a year.. live it up!"

So... combine the fact that there are less opportunities to train, and more opportunities to eat.. and pressure to eat alot.. Oh boy.. not a good thing for someone like me that is working towards keeping her conditioning.

Am I alone in feeling this frustration during the holidays?

Fighting without fighting

I've read that the ultimate karate is to be able to vanquish your enemy without fighting. I would like to share with you a true story of how my children achieved this phenomenal achievement just a few days ago.

My three youngest children were walking home from school. My 9, and 10 year old daughters were walking ahead of my son who dawdled by looking at the snow on the bushes, and skipping around happilly in the snow. My little 7 year old son bent over to pick up a snow block that was laying on the ground of the sidewalk. He didn't realize that he had done this directly in front of a sporadic school bully who happened to be non-chalantly swinging a stick at the time. The bully decided to strike my son on the small of the back.

My son stood up in shock and pain calling out "Hey! That hurts!" My 9 year old daughter, and 10 year old daughter stopped walking when they heard this, and turned around to see the bully say "Yah? that hurts? What about this?" as the bully swung the stick over and over striking my son over a dozen times.

At first, all 3 of my children froze at their first experience of such violence and brutality, but then my 10 year old daughter unfroze.. she rushed in yelling "Stop this! It's wrong!" and had the bully disarmed within seconds. She tossed the stick far away, and started pulling my son into a safer distance. The bully started striking at my 10 year old attempting to get to my son. My 9 year old daughter ( who trains more frequently in karate) came in between the bully and her siblings. She put on her fiercest face, and commanded the bully to "stop, and go away" in a very loud kiai voice. Now.. this bully was a good head and a half taller than my girl, but that made no difference to my daughter. The bully decided that my 9 year old would make as good a target as the others, and proceeded to try to strike her. My daughter went into defensive stance, and managed to block and thwart all of the bullies attempts to harm her. Quickly the bully became frustrated that the 10 year old was getting my son to safety, and that the 9 year old was successfully avoiding her strikes. The bully spit out swear words, and made a strong attempt to push my 9 year old daughter down onto the ground. My daughter set her stance even more strongly to absorb the shove.. and felt... nothing. The bully had put all of her strength into this attack, and my daughter was taken by surprise that there was no strength in it. Looking back in retrospect, my daughter admits that her next reaction was not the most appropriate, but she just couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing at how patheticly weak this bully's attack was for all the scary noise the bully was making. At this moment, my daughter realized that it would have been easy for her to hurt the bully quite badly if she wanted to... but then she remembered her Sensei teaching her that karate is to be respected for the damage that it can do, and that you should focus on getting away from a fight as soon as you can, if you can.

The bully stopped in shock at my daughter's laughter. She pulled away, retrieved her stick, and walked away sending some swear words into the air in futility.

The whole scene took less than a minute to happen. My daughters supported their younger brother with their arms around his shoulders as they walked him home. The winter parka, and ski pants had protected him from any bruises or injury.

I had taught my children that silence is the bully's helper, and if something bad happens to my children that they have to sound an alarm by telling an adult. When my children arrived home, they instantly told me all the details of what happened, and the names of some other children that witnessed the event. We contacted the school, and each one of my children went into the principal's office to give their account of the event. The school pulled in the bully, and handled the discipline quickly and efficiently.

I'm very proud of how my children had handled the whole situation.

Warning: this next posting has a gross factor

Ah.. the experiences of training in martial arts:

Throughout class, my young partner looked down at my left foot with compassion in his eyes and asked me if my dark toe was hurting me. I had to explain to him that I had injured the toe a few weeks ago during seminar, and although it looked pretty hurt, it didn't hurt me at all. I assured him that it just felt strange, like I had a second toe over the first one.. and that I would just need to be gentle with that foot.

Everything went normal during class, until it was time for kata. I surged into my cross-footed stance ( x stance/ Kosa dachi) at the kiai point, and I felt a pop down there on my big toe. I'm guessing that the force of the stance, and the position of the toes was too much for my injured big toenail, and it just burst like a blister. Instantly I looked down to see that there was blood, and water streaming out of my toe onto the floor leaving a fair sized puddle around my foot with my toenail standing straight up in the air. I collapsed into a seated position, and applied pressure onto the toenail to lower the amount of liquid seeping out, and I huddled around the mess so that no one would accidently move into it as they continued their kata. I did this silently... The black belts near me kept on doing their kata, but adjusted their position so that they gave me room. I could see them casting quick concerned glances in my direction to see if I was o.k.

The kata ended quickly. I unfolded to reveal the mess on the floor. I'm telling you.. the warp speed response that I had from the other people. Within seconds I had 6 people offer me bandages, antiseptic cleanser, paper towels (wet and dry) I had made sure that I had wiped up the blood colored water off of the ground before I took care of my foot. One person brought me a full out first aid kit. My little compassionate young partner was at my side with deep concern in his eyes asking me if it hurt yet. Well.. of course that brought a smile to my lips, and I said "Oh no.. it isn't hurting, it just released some extra stuff so now it's clean, and even better.." O.K... so I stretched the truth a little. My toe was sharply stinging like it had been stung by a scorpion but my little friend didn't need to know that. The whole dojo surrounded me with caring concern. Although it was a nice feeling, I really needed the space to just take care of my foot. You know what? It's like they all felt that need, and now that they could see that I was o.k., they backed away, and went on with finishing class.

Within a few minutes I was sporting a nice white bandage on my toe, and I was lightly limping my way out of the dojo to go and get changed.

I'm going to lose the whole nail on that toe.. Will it stay gone? Am I going to have a "bald" big toe on my left foot?

Seminar, and Resting

Alright.. I listened to my body. I cut out all home training except a few minutes of Bo staff here and there. I even stopped volunteering at the outreach center for a good 2 weeks. I brought all of my training down to just the karate classes. I started seeing progress on my upper body. Instead of weakness, and shaking, my arms were stronger, and sharper in their techniques. I decided to "smooth" out my home practice so that it supports the progress. It will be a day to day thing depending on how difficult the karate classes were the previous night. IF my muscles need to rest, and stretch, then I will do so. If class was calm, and easy the night before, then I will put some extra demand on my body the next day at home.

So guess what happens at Seminar? I was doing some one step kumite ( sparring) with one of the brown belts testing for Shodan. I had just finished my head punch, and he was countering. He made a mistake, and stepped forwards improperly surging onto my back foot with his full weight onto my toes. It is a good thing that I have been trained to grasp the floor with my toes. I could feel the force of his momentum threatening to pull my toes back, and break them, but my toes fought that, and stayed on the ground. My left big toe took all of the damage. Instead of a toenail I had a huge black/blue/purple spot, and a constant sharp knifelike pain which made each time I put my body into any stance a new experience of how much torment one can feel from their feet. It HURT! From that moment on I limped through each day... It's been 4 days now, and I'm still wincing when I see something heading towards my feet. I was told that it will be weeks before I can use that toe normally again. It's really wierd to have 9 normal colored toes, and one black toe.

This incident brings me to a question: When you are doing one step, you are not supposed to move after your initial attack. You are expected to stand still and allow your partner to counter, trusting that they will not damage you. Now, when I stood there waiting for my partner's counter, and I saw the direction he was heading and the momentum he was surging with, I had this deep inner gut feeling that I should shift my foot out of the path of his energy. I quelched that inner desire, and forced myself to stay still. The result? 2 weeks of limping on my left foot. At this moment in time, I'm thinking that it would have been better for me if I had listened to my inner voice, and had moved that foot out of the way. Which is the better path? Being able to control your body, and not "jump at every inner reaction", or to listen to your gut feeling and err on the path of safety?

You know the student that I was helping prepare for their Shodan test? She passed. I was so proud of her performance. She put forth so much focus, and energy. To tell the truth, ALL of my dojo mates put forth so much good spirit during the Seminar. I just wanted to stand up and cheer for how much I saw them putting forth their best. Congratulations to every one of the students, and especially those who tested for Shodan. You can be truly proud of yourself for doing your best.

Oh.. I have a nice picture to offer you from this seminar of my husband, and I "posing" as if I am giving him corrections on his kata. Notice the smiles? ha ha ha... I don't think that we were very convincing in our pose.

GRRRrrrowl.....

My body is teaching me that I can not force it to do more than it allows. My left arm, my hips, and my knees have been giving out on me this week. I'll be doing my push ups, or whatever, and suddenly that limb, or joint will lock, or give up totally letting gravity take my body to the ground.

To be honest, classes have been extra hard this past month.. In Shotokan we are preparing for the visit of our Master. Also, there has been demands on conditioning in Kyokushin.. things like 500 strikes, 500 blocks, and 500 kicks in a row interspersed with various exercises like push ups, sit ups, squats, etc. etc, and that is just the warm up.

This sudden total weakness of my body parts really bothers me. I've been able to push past the burning pain of my skin condition as I train, the sharp pain of the constant muscle cramping as I train, the dizziness, nauseau, and fainting spells through my determination, and will power, but I can't push past total "giving out" of the muscles. They won't go, and thinking strong thoughts won't MAKE them go. Suddenly there is no output in that arm/leg, and I collapse.

I tear up at the thought that I cannot work past this weakness. My body says "thus far, and no further.." and I cannot fight through that with will power. I have to adapt, slow down, even force myself to not train to allow those muscles, and joints to come back to what they were. And that drives me crazy.. because I had been gaining a little, and now I have to baby myself again.

I have stopped all extra home training ( except for Bo staff) for a whole week.. and I can't explain how much that bothers me. I'm not depressed, it is more of an anger, and frustration that boils within me. I spent most of my whole childhood laying in a bed coughing with bronchitis (an effect of my father's chain smoking) wishing that I could go out and play.

Now that I'm an adult, and I have the capacity to train, I'll be darned if I'll allow my body to dictate to me what it won't do.

I'm not stupid, though, I will not damage myself trying to force the joints to perform when obviously they are not doing well.. but I'm not going to throw in the towel and accept the limitations that is happening. I'll find a way to strengthen the muscles, and joints, whether by diet, exercise, or stretching. Sure.. sometimes when you are climbing a mountain, you might find yourself at a position where you cannot continue going upwards, and you have to backtrack a little to gain a better vantage point, and better handholds.

Kata Query

I was performing the Bassai Dai kata, and suddenly it hit me that I need an answer to a certain movement.

This movement occurs in many kata: It is when you bring both feet together, stand up straight, and usually block WAY up high.. like two rising blocks in Bassai Dai, the augmented side head block in Jion, or when you place your fists on your hips in Heian Sandan.

As I was performing this move, I realized how all of my central vital points became open for attack. I also realized how vulnerable my feet were so close together. There is no stability to the Heisoku stance at all. I asked myself "Where in any self defense moment would I WANT to put my feet together, stand up, and lift my arms above my head exposing all of my vital points?"

And yet, you can see this type of position happen very often in Bassai Dai (Penetrating the fortress). at least 5 times. Why? Bassai Dai is a very strong kata that uses the hips.. why would we put our feet together, and stand up? That actually locks the feet, and hips in place.... sure.. we lift up our knee and continue into another movement.. but why stand up out of our lower stable stance, to get into a very 'tippy" high stance.

A few guesses that I had was that

a) we were trying to use the pull of gravity on our body to our advantage as we struck in the next movement.
b) we are trying to sucker in our opponent with the appearance of vulnerability.
c) we are looking for the right downward angle to achieve a vital attack.

However, all of the above guesses could be met by standing in Heiko Dachi ( Parallel stance), or from Shizentai ( Natural stance) where the feet are more stable, than in Heisoku Dachi ( closed together stance). At least in these stances, your hips are more free to do other movements if you need to.

Where in heaven's name is there any advantage to pulling your feet together, and standing straight up?

*Shakes head*

Well, just because I don't understand it yet, doesn't mean that I should throw it away. There's got to be a good reason since it is included in so many kata.

Hey, my dear Bo manipulating friends, Do you do a similar stance with your weapons? and does it help defend you or strenghten your attacks in some way?

In honor of Remembrance Day... Thank you Sifu

If you like my poem pass it on.
 
 
In the distance one can see the glimpse of freedom slipping away
Through terror, killing and fear everyday.

But in the hearts of those that scale freedom's wall,
they will never let those evils overtake us all.

They stand on posts, they guard the night,
and yes some give the ultimate sacrifice.

Their nights are short, their days are long
and they long to hear a child's song.

They long to touch their loved ones far away, but they know in their hearts, it's duty that day.

So, as you pass one of these guardians of peace of mind, remember their duty was and still is to protect those rights you have at this time.

As it has been stated before and by so many, Freedom isn't Free, and those that serve preserve it do it with Honor and Dignity.


Tim White
USA Ret
First Sergeant IGR

What can I say? I've been busy

When you add the fact that I've had visitors from out of town to the usual high demands of family, and karate, my life has been extra busy. Computer leisure time goes to the bottom of the "to do" list. Therefore, I've neglected so many internet things.. and I'm behind on my emails, forums.. you name it. Including my little blog.

So.. let me tell you what I'm working on in my karate:

It seems that my efforts to relax, and spar with less rigidity has teeter tootered into TOO much relaxation, and I've lost alot of technique. It is quite a tight line to walk when you need to be relaxed, and yet have just enough tension, and technique to make things work correctly.

I think that my kiai has become the key to how to clue my body into that necessary sudden tenseness that you need to strike, or defend, but to stay loose inbetween the action. Expansion, and contraction is such an important part of sparring.. but it is the inbetween moments of calmness that are the hardest to achieve for me. I found that the calmness is so important to being able to sustain an equilibrium to the effort. Too much tension all the time just burns me out.

I've been working on my kiai, and experimenting. I've been kiai-ing at different parts of my strike; at the end, during the middle, even before I send it. Just to see the effect on my body.. and you know what? It DOES make a huge difference as to when you kiai. The body moves differently.. it's like there is a different focus, or philosophy behind the movement. If I wait until Kime is happening to kiai there is a sense of solidity, and finality.. similar to "THERE! Now that's done.. let's go do something else.." If I Kiai as soon as my fist leaves it's chambered position.. there is an excitement in the movement like "Yes! Send it NOW!". Then my breath breaths out with the strike and there is a feeling of continuation...... of flowing into the next moment.

I've noticed that sharp short breaths will change how you move compared to a long constant puffing of air ( like if you were swimming underwater)

I found this awesome article on breathing, and sparring on a Tae Kwon Do website:

http://tkdtutor.com/06Concepts/Breathing/BreathControlI.htm

I'm amazed at how many different ways we can breathe improperly, and actually inhibit our efforts to perform. I LOVE the description of "stillness" that is provided in this article:

"For martial artists, one of the most important principles of Yin and Yang is the relationship between stillness and motion. Stillness is the natural state before movement begins, and yet it is also the basis of all movement. A technique that begins from perfect stillness enables you to execute the movement in a coordinated and efficient manner that allows your body and mind to unite in a balanced harmony and helps you to release unnecessary tension and to relax more completely. From a  state of stillness, any movement is done with complete awareness and true intent. Your actions become the embodiment of quality and perfection. Once you have a feeling for perfect stillness you will be able to call on it whenever needed. In a pattern training,  you may only be still for a split second between moves, but if it is perfect stillness, then the transition between the moves becomes flawless.  "

Yes.. that is what I desire in my sparring, and my kata. I want to find that calmness or "stillness" inbetween the active phases of movement. Another ideal for me to shoot for... :-)

Not a good idea at all

Scheduling my upper body weight training the day before my biggest Kyokushin class was not a good idea at all!

When it came time to do my usual push ups.. my arms were noodles. No ability to lift anything! I laid there like a wet blanket.... well .. more like a struggling wet blanket. I had no energy in my arm muscles at all. In fact, at one point I attempted to do a head block to a quite strong opponent. No way.. I had no power in my arms, and I had to dodge my head to the side. It's Sunday already, and I'm supposed to be doing more weight lifting. No way.. my arms are still recuperating from Friday. I've got to revise my schedule.. oh yes!

I also have to reposition my Bo staff training. Right now I have it scheduled at moments when all the kids are home.. not good. My kids sit there staring at me as I work through my routine. I'm having issues with the tight quarters of training indoors ( due to the cold weather), and once in awhile my staff will thunk against a wall or door frame, and the group of children will erupt in giggles of delight. They are just waiting for that to happen. It really makes it difficult to focus on your technique. Training on Bo Staff while the kids are in bed isn't a good idea either. I could still hear them giggling at the "thunk" sounds when my staff would slightly tap a chair, or the floor. It keeps them awake. I tried switching to a shorter Jo staff for practice work, and that seems to make it a little easier to move around the room, but it doesn't spin the same way.. nor does it have the same weight. I tried training outside in my jacket... but the Bo staff work doesn't mix well with a thick winter coat.

Saturday my body was sore "all-where": feet, heels, legs, hips, stomach, arms.. you name it, I could barely move. Yet, I still had to go buy groceries, and carry the bags into the house with my husband. That doesn't sound like much exercise, but when you have to supply food for close to 10 people.. that is alot of weight to carry into the house. We spend close to $200 on groceries per week. That amounts to 10 pounds of apples, 5 pounds of oranges, 5 pounds of bananas, 15 pounds of ground beef, 8 quarts of milk.. etc. etc.

Oh.. and I forgot to add the Vital points hand strikes sequence that I need to practice into my list. I've got to add the Kihon Geiko technique practice more than once a week. Aargh. I need to practice my Bo staff twice a week, not once. How do I remedy this????

Hmm.. I've revised my schedule.. but I'm still not satisfied...

Mon
-2 hrs folding clothes
-2 hrs karate instruction
-50 + push ups
- Kihon geiko practice half hour ( basic techniques)

Tues
-3 hrs karate instruction
-Inversions/ Break fall practice
- *Focus on the legs here*

Wed
-2 hrs folding clothes
-3 hrs karate instruction
-Inversions/ break fall practice

Thurs
-Vital point hand strikes sequences
-Kihon geiko practice half hour ( basic techniques)

Fri
-2 hrs folding clothes
-4 hrs karate instruction
- *Focus on the legs here*

Sat
-2 hrs karate instruction
-50 push ups extra

Sun
-Bo staff practice half hour
-Upper body weight training

Maybe this will work out better for me.. fingers crossed.

Balancing the demand on my arms.

Mr. X. gave me this comment on my last addition to my blog.

"You should at least a day of break in between each push-up sessions. At the rate you are going, you're not giving your muscles enough time to repair themselves. "

I've been thinking about that:

Each day I have been doing 50 push ups ( interspaced in time) I've also done a half hour of upper body weight training with 3 lb weights. In addition to this I've been doing Bo staff practice 3 times a week for a good half hour with a 6 foot hardwood Bo staff. Oh.. then there are the inversions that I have been doing.. that takes alot of shoulder, and tricep effort. AND then... 3 times a week I do about 2 hours of consequetive folding, and placing clothes on a shelf as a volunteer at the nearby family center. My arms get exhausted from that too.

Add the fact that I train for an average of 11 hours of instruction in karate during the week at the dojo.

Yes, Mr. X., I can see how my muscles do not get time to repair themselves.

So... I've decided to try to schedule the demand on my arms out more evenly. I won't add all of the leg work stuff, kata stuff, conditioning exercises, self defense stuff yet. I'll keep this list focused mostly on the needs of my arms.:

Mon
-2 hrs folding clothes
-2 hrs karate instruction
-50 + push ups
- Kihon geiko practice half hour ( basic techniques)

Tues
-3 hrs karate instruction
-Inversions/ Break fall practice
- *Focus on the legs here*

Wed
-2 hrs folding clothes
-3 hrs karate instruction
-Inversions/ break fall practice

Thurs
-Bo staff practice half hour
-Upper body weight training

Fri
-2 hrs folding clothes
-4 hrs karate instruction
- *Focus on the legs here*

Sat
-2 hrs karate instruction
-50 push ups extra

Sun
-Bo staff practice half hour
-Upper body weight training

I'll see how this works for me.