aurik

I'm going to echo a lot of Bob's (sensei8) suggestions here. I have been studying Uechi-Ryu (another Okinawan style) for a little over 7 years now. Here is why Uechi Ryu works for me (and could possibly work for you): - We don't require a lot of flexibility in our techniques. Most of our techniques are done in a neutral, upright stance (Sanchin-dachi). We don't do a lot of kicks, and our preferred targets are at or below the waist: the bladder or front of the thigh for a front kick, the floating ribs or knees for a side kick, and the floating ribs, calf, or outer thigh for a roundhouse kick. We do occasionally use a "shiko dachi", or low stance, but it is always done for practical reasons; generally to do an elbow strike to the floating ribs or solar plexus, and to get underneath the center of gravity of your opponent for takedowns/throws. - Our techniques are intended to be practical. We practice our techniques through kata, hojo undo (supplementary techniques), yakusoku kumite (prearranged 2 person drills), and free sparring. When performing the techniques, we generally have 2 different ways of doing things, the "textbook" version, and the "practical version", which takes your strengths and limitations into account. This is most applicable to our two-person drills; we have specific adaptions for certain body types and combinations. For example, if you have a short defender against a tall attacker, there are specific changes to some of our drills we expect you to do. - Our 2-person drills encourage you to control and/or disrupt your opponent. Some styles expect your 2-person drill techniques to look pretty with perfect form without touching your opponent. We expect the defender to manipulate the attacker and keep him off-balance. You did mention that you are not fond of the idea of kata, but also keep in mind that kata is a great way of training without a partner. When we were under COVID restrictions, we were unable to actually touch our partners. I ended up learning the black belt level two-person drills by shadow boxing, and once the restrictions lifted, I pretty much had to re-learn the drill. With kata, I was able to train and build the muscle memory for the techniques without needing to rely on a partner. Once I've trained those patterns, applying them to a 2-person drill or self-defense situation involves adapting a sequence of moves I already know. What I would most recommend is that you find an instructor near you that you can train with at least occasionally in person. Training with a partner and a good instructor will increase your learning speed by leaps and bounds. Good luck in your journey!

I've been an assistant instructor at my school for about 2 and a half years now, but yesterday was my first opportunity to sit on a dan grading. Our dojo only holds them twice per year (generally May and November), and in order to sit on a black belt board, you have to be at least a (full) nidan. For one thing I was by far the most junior member of the testing board. The board consisted of one kudan, two nanadans (including my CI, who just tested for his 7th degree the previous day), two godans, a yondan, and me. We had a total of 11 candidates - one for sandan, one for sandan-sho, one for nidan, four for shodan, and three for shodan-sho. Normally, our CI would run 2 tests, but with him returning that morning from our hombu dojo, multiple tests weren't really an option. Our organization has a scorecard for dan exams, where each performance category is worth X points, where 80% of that is required to pass. In theory, you could fail one category and still pass the exam. In practice, most students will get "minimal passing" scores for most categories. I looked at my neighbor's scorecard, and for most categories, he had every candidate earning minimal score, with a few exceptions. Keep in mind that with 7 evaluators, one evaluator isn't going to make or break a candidate's score, so it all evened out in the end. I found that evaluating candidates for Sanchin and their rank kata was pretty easy -- we only had a single candidate demonstrating at a time. Things got more complicated when we we started having two pairs of candidates at a time, performing bunkai, yakusoku kumite, and kote kitae. Then things got really hairy when they performed their hojo undo and free sparring (when we had every candidate on the floor at the same time). Once the candidates were done, the scoring was pretty quick -- (we had 2 scorekeepers helping out with the test). Everyone passed, which wasn't really a surprise. We require everyone who tests for a dan rank to perform a 3 month prep cycle, where they attend an additional class every week that focuses on the content of the test. Before the results were officially announced, each of the instructors was expected to provide feedback to the candidates, either as individuals or as a group. Some of the feedback given was: - My feedback #1 - In a performance test, the judges will most remember the beginning and end of your performance. So start strong, and end strong. There were a number of candidates that had a fairly weak opening. Likewise, quite a few candidates executed their finishing sequence (jump forward to a shiko dachi, circle block, elbow strike, one-knuckle punch). They do that sequence quickly and then immediately stand up and bow out. My recommendation was that they hit that sequence hard, leave the final one-knuckle punch out there for a few seconds (in a good low stance), and give the judges a good final impression. - My feedback #2 - enunciate all of your techniques. There were a number of students that were a bit sloppy here. In their rank kata, I'd see them basically "flick out" their nukite strikes. My recommendation was strike, leave it there for a moment, and then recover. This is like the difference between a flicking type strike versus a penetrating strike. The other place I really saw this come into play was in their kata bunkai in two specific sequences. In one sequence, the attacker comes in with an overhand grab. The defender is supposed to do a hand-over-hand nukite strike to the throat (to stop the opponent), then grab the attacker by the shoulders. They then pull the attacker down while simultaneously driving their knee up into the attacker's middle. The other sequence involves a lapel grab. The defense is to perform a double nukite strike to the lower oblique muscles. The defender then grabs the opponent, lifts them, pivots them to the right, and then pushes them into (nominally) another attacker. In each of these sequences, many of the defenders skipped the nukite strikes and went straight into either pulling the opponent down into the knee strike, or grabbing the opponent and lifting/pivoting/pushing. The thing is those nukite strikes are what stop the opponent's attack. Feedback from other instructors included: watch your distancing. When doing two-person drills and/or bunkai, you should be at a distance such that if you choose to complete and/or follow through with your technique, it should connect with your opponent. Likewise, make sure the attacks you're providing give your opponent a realistic opportunity to practice your defenses. One nitpick I picked up on (which I didn't really notice, but was aware of): when doing the sword attacks (technically we use shinai), always lead with the right foot. There are no left-handed samurai. One instructor asked the students to up their intensity, both in their technique and their bearing, and in the same comment she told the students to pick a spot and look at it. Don't let your gaze wander. If an instructor is standing in front of you, evaluating you, focus on a spot on their uniform. All in all, it was a great test - I learned a lot watching the candidates and hearing the other instructors' feedback. PS: One of the (adult) candidates, Tabata, had her entire family there. Right before the candidates started sparring, her family all busted out "Team Tabata" T-shirts. She had no idea they had them...

Yeah, the events in episode 10 were way over the top, and now I'm trying to figure out how they address the fallout after the last few minutes of episode 10. It wasn't one of the core characters, but it definitely will have serious repercussions to all of the storylines.

I'm on episode 9 now. Quite a few twists and turns.. good stuff!

We actually have one student who will be testing for her sandan-sho (she is an adult nidan) this Testing Cycle, because she is too young to test for full sandan. However, she has been training and teaching for years (she runs several classes at one of our rec centers). She has enough TIG as a nidan-sho to test for a sandan-sho, and as a sandan-sho, she can apply for a Shidoin's license, which would allow her to open her own school if she wanted to.

Have you considered swapping out the lat pull downs for barbell rows? If you do 160x5 on the bench press, turn around and do 160x5 on the barbell row. Keeps your front and back balanced.

Reposting this from the "Equipment and Gear" section from one of the replies, but it very much pertains here as well. So I had an atrial flutter ablation procedure yesterday. The absolute worst part of it was the prep -- they had to shave almost my entire chest and back (to apply the various cardiac leads and parts of my groin area (for access to the femoral artery). And then they had to insert two IV's. My skin is pretty thick and tough (it's always been, and I'm sure the years of kotekitae haven't helped). The left arm was an easy stick in the crook of the elbow. On the right arm I have this really nice vein on the back of my hand that is usually really easy to draw blood from, but yesterday it wasn't having it. The nurse tried it and by the time the needle punctured the skin, the vein just... moved. Then they pulled out the ultrasound machine to try two different veins in the forearm - no joy. Then the anaesthesiologist steps in and finds what looks like a beautiful vein in the crook of the elbow, he brags, "If I can't get that vein..." and then it takes 4 different sticks to get a vein in my forearm. By that time, I felt like a danged pincushion. The procedure itself went by pretty quick. I think it was about 1 hr 45 minutes. They went in through the femoral artery with a camera and a few other tools. The doctor was able to trigger the atrial flutter, then he did the ablation, and was unable to trigger it afterwards. He then checked for other abnormal rythms, and was unable to trigger any of those. So nothing unexpected. For recovery, I had to lay flat on my back for an hour afterwards and was able to have some water, then another hour at 30 degrees, and after 2 hours I was able to sit up fully and have something to eat (By this time it was about 4pm, and I hadn't had anything to eat since 9pm the night before. I was able to go home at about 6:30pm, with instructions to apply pressure to the wound site anytime I change positions (sitting->standing), etc. Take it very slowly up and down stairs for 48 hours afterwards, no showering for 48 hours, and no driving for 5 days. That's primarily to let the incision site heal -- they told me if things start bleeding, I need to apply hard direct pressure, and if it doesn't stop in 10 minutes to call 911, no exceptions. So I'm taking that pretty seriously. Other than that, no showering for 48 hours, no driving for 5 days. I have a postop appointment to check the wound site, and assuming that looks good I can resume physical activities afterwards (but I'll probably wait until after Thanksgiving to be on the safe side). I no longer have to take the Diltiazem (for the atrial flutter), and I can stop the Eliquis after 30 days. So after 30 days, I hope to put this difficult chapter behind me and move forward. I'll probably be seeing a cardiologist for the rest of my life, but it's just one of those things about getting older, I assume.

So I actually had the procedure yesterday. The absolute worst part of it was the prep -- they had to shave almost my entire chest and back (to apply the various cardiac leads and parts of my groin area (for access to the femoral artery). And then they had to insert two IV's. My skin is pretty thick and tough (it's always been, and I'm sure the years of kotekitae haven't helped). The left arm was an easy stick in the crook of the elbow. On the right arm I have this really nice vein on the back of my hand that is usually really easy to draw blood from, but yesterday it wasn't having it. The nurse tried it and by the time the needle punctured the skin, the vein just... moved. Then they pulled out the ultrasound machine to try two different veins in the forearm - no joy. Then the anaesthesiologist steps in and finds what looks like a beautiful vein in the crook of the elbow, he brags, "If I can't get that vein..." and then it takes 4 different sticks to get a vein in my forearm. By that time, I felt like a danged pincushion. The procedure itself went by pretty quick. I think it was about 1 hr 45 minutes. They went in through the femoral artery with a camera and a few other tools. The doctor was able to trigger the atrial flutter, then he did the ablation, and was unable to trigger it afterwards. He then checked for other abnormal rythms, and was unable to trigger any of those. So nothing unexpected. For recovery, I had to lay flat on my back for an hour afterwards and was able to have some water, then another hour at 30 degrees, and after 2 hours I was able to sit up fully and have something to eat (By this time it was about 4pm, and I hadn't had anything to eat since 9pm the night before. I was able to go home at about 6:30pm, with instructions to apply pressure to the wound site anytime I change positions (sitting->standing), etc. Take it very slowly up and down stairs for 48 hours afterwards, no showering for 48 hours, and no driving for 5 days. That's primarily to let the incision site heal -- they told me if things start bleeding, I need to apply hard direct pressure, and if it doesn't stop in 10 minutes to call 911, no exceptions. So I'm taking that pretty seriously. Other than that, no showering for 48 hours, no driving for 5 days. I have a postop appointment to check the wound site, and assuming that looks good I can resume physical activities afterwards (but I'll probably wait until after Thanksgiving to be on the safe side). I no longer have to take the Diltiazem (for the atrial flutter), and I can stop the Eliquis after 30 days. So after 30 days, I hope to put this difficult chapter behind me and move forward. I'll probably be seeing a cardiologist for the rest of my life, but it's just one of those things about getting older, I assume.

Can I join in? I've not done Naihanchi in a really long time, and would love to learn something new. I'd be happy to teach a Uechi-Ryu kata or two -- maybe our versions of Sanchin and Seisan?

Congratulations!

There are days where training is easy. There are days where training is hard. There are also days when training just plain sucks. Throughout your training you'll have ups and downs. You'll have days that things just "click", and your understanding of your art jumps to an entirely new level. The thing is, they rarely happen if you don't train through the suck.

Even after you're gone, whether that be in 5, 10, 20, or even 30 more years, you will continue to have an impact on this world in everyone you've touched. Whether that is your family, friends, students, associates, or those who you influenced on here.

When we spar, adults are only required to wear hand pads. We are encouraged to wear mouthguards, and shinpads + footgear are optional. Students under 16 are also required to wear headgear and footgear. I'm with you, sparring is about learning to get around/past your opponents defenses with light contact. Generally adults should be able to control their techniques so as to not injure their partner. However, in sparring the unexpected often happens (someone steps INTO your attack instead of away from it), so some padding definitely helps avoid injuries.

I love sparring someone that doesn't believe in the quick "out-and back", because I'll happily eat that kick, trap it, and then step in and pummel the snot out of them

Congratulations again