Pictures from my test, and New Years goals

Well.. I want to show you some pictures from my belt test. This time I have a few, however, I also want to respect a promise that I made myself to keep dojo happenings in the dojo. So.. Here is how I have balanced the two desires:


I decided to crop the pictures so that only I am in the scene. These pictures revealed alot of different things to me. Since I wasn't "posing" for a picture, and I was just training, I now can see what good habits, and bad habits I have acquired through these candid shots. Here is a picture of me in fighting stance during a sparring match. I'm happy to see that my knees are bent, feet pointing in the direction that I want them, and my body is angled to my opponent. ( That was one of my 2007 goals! It looks like I achieved it.) My right guard hand is a little lower than I'd like it. So I've decided to make improving how I hold my guard hands as one of my 2008 karate goals. I love how my weight is on the balls of my feet in a natural way. NICE! NICE! I've tended to fight flat-footed almost seeking for security from the floor. It looks like I'm a little more relaxed now.



This is a picture of me doing my 50 push ups. From the condition of my body, I believe that it was taken near the last 10 push ups of that set. I am so glad for this picture because it reveals how bowed down, and curved my body is. This is so wrong for good dynamics. There is nothing supporting my shoulders here, not my neck, back, or stomach muscles. NO wonder those last dozen push ups felt like only my arms were working, and were the most difficult ones to achieve. I'm far more aware of what was happening. During the test, I could feel that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out why things were not working as well as usual. This picture told me in just one glance. Here is another 2008 karate goal: Improve my body posture during push ups to continually keep a straight strong body line.




Here is a picture of me performing moving basics. I get a great view of how I'm forming my fist. Not bad, but it could be improved. It seems that I'm putting more pressure on the thumb, and pinkie finger, but ignoring the three mid fingers of the right hand. Hmmmm... That would explain why I've been having troubles when I strike with my right on the punching bag. I've always wondered why my right fist seemed weaker than my left when I punched. I thought that it was from a previous injury that I received on my largest right knuckle, but now that I look at how I form my fist, I can see that I must be "favoring" that hand still. It's time that I can command that fist to get stronger, since that knuckle has healed ages ago. AHA! Another karate goal for 2008!!




















Kicking.. not bad.. not bad. I'm keeping my hands up! YES! I used to throw my hands down with almost each kick. My hips are doing better, also. OH! and to my joy.. I'm keeping my supporting leg's knee bent on my roundhouse kicks. YES!!! I am pretty happy with the progress of my kicks.

Now.. my goals for 2007 were:

Kihon: I want to be more alert to hear the various messages that my
body is telling me of "yes.. I can do more.." or "Hold on.. any more of this,
and I'm going to break down on you, " or "the technique would flow more
naturally THIS way."

Kata: Turning.. I want to focus on understanding the turns within the
kata,to understand my balance, placement of feet, turning of my head, and
such.

Kumite: Ah... back to basics here as I struggle to keep my belt knot
pointing the right way, my feet pointing the right way, and my hands
pointing the right way.

I feel that I have met quite a few of my goals. I have become far more secure on my turns, and I have become more comfortable with my sparring stance. As to listening to my body, I listened, but then I ordered it to do more than it thought it could.. um.. well.. that really wasn't my goal, but it's what worked.

This year, 2008, my goals have become:

Kihon: To work on my right fist so that it is more solid, and constant. To unite my body's effort when doing push ups so that I do not stress my shoulders.

Kata: To compete at a Tournament in Montreal this spring as a Kyokushin Adult in Kata competition.

Kumite: To work on keeping my guard hands up at in a better level when sparring so that they can be useful.