jaypo

8/8/12- Back and Biceps, performed all Heians and Pinans thru Godan, Naihanchi, Sen Sha Do Shodan, Nidan, and Sandan, and Bassai Dai. Stretching routine. Class this evening.

I watched one of my favorite movies of all time last night, Big Trouble in Little China. It had some of the best MA's in the business in it, but none in a lead role. Jeff Imada, James Lew, Sonny Chiba, Simon Rhee. Great fight scenes. But you'll never see these guys in a lead role. They may not be able to act, but they know their MA. I grew up in the 80's and 90's, and I can remember seeing many of those guys on the majority of the MA movies that I loved. The Rhee brothers and James lew in "Best of the Best". Jeff Imada was involved in choreographing fight scenes in a million movies. James Lew as well, and he did a lot of on screen work. That was when I was in my first phase of MA training. I've been back into it since the beginning of this year, and I'm starting to go back thru my movie library. What aggrivates me about MA movies these days are all the fake fight scenes with wires. Jet Li and Jackie Chan are good enough MA's to not have to fly around on wires. I'd prefer a good ole' Bruce Lee or Van Damme fight scene where they used none of that.

8/6/12- Chest and triceps Abs Stretching 4 100 yard sprints 4 50 yard sprints Can't make class tonight due to previous engagement.

8/3-evening class- worked on Geri Nidan kata, then applications. Then, bunkai from the same kata.

5 sets of 8 reps bench press, 10 pullups, 10 dips, 10 back extensions in 20 minutes. Then triceps. Then stretching routine. Shorin Ryu this evening.

Mine was when I was probably a green belt. My old Shotokan instructor drilled perfect tecnhique into us. We rarely sparred, but when we did, I'd usually pair up with a black belt. After a round of uninspiring sparring from everyone, sensei was pretty upset, so he had each student take a turn attacking him with 1 attack. He would block each attack. Nobody could get a point on him. So my turn came. I did a backfist to the face (which he blocked), a reverse punch (which he blocked), and I shot a lead hand punch back to his face. It totally surprised him, it got thru, and the wind from the punch got him in the face! His eyes got as round as saucers, and he screamed "YES!!" I thought he was about to nail me, so I fliched! But he was actually proud of the technique and told everybody that he was looking for that kind of thing. So I was surprised that I could actually land a simple, bread and butter technique against a multiple time nationals champion and world champion.

8/2- AM- 15 minutes, as many sets as possible, 6-8 reps of the following: 115lb clean and press, 115lb sumo deadlift to upright row, hack squats. Then biceps. Then stretching routine. I think my body will be mad at me tomorrow! I've started my own "Crossfit" type of workout to improve my conditioning, power, and endurance while still maintaining my strength. Most crossfit workouts don't hit some of the things that I need to maintain my size and strenght, so I'm going to do my own routine implementing their favorite exercises but to my own cadence and weight. I'll give it 6 weeks and let you know the results. As of today, I'm 6'0 (don't expect that to change!!), 189 lbs, and about 19% body fat.

8/1- AM- Learned Sen Sha Do Sandan, worked on Sen Sha Do Nidan, introduction to Sai. Worked on blocks and striking techniques with Sai, then learned the first Sai kata.

You can also break the finger of the attacker using the trigger guard to trap his trigger finger in that technique, can't you, Darksoul?

Cool. I knew it was something like that. And the guy that beat him was a guy he wound up beating later on (possibly for the title??). I remember when Steven Segal was on Arsenio Hall in the 90's, he asked him about JCVD, and Segal dissed him on live TV. He said he doubts JCVD was ever a champion. The doubts about it were because he competed under his real name. His acting name is JCVD, and he never compted under that name. For fun, youtube the movie "Breakin" and watch the dancing scene at the beach. The guy in the unitard tank top dancing in the crowd is JCVD.

I broke my finger while testing for a belt, and I kept going until I was finished. When the adrenaline wore off, it hurt, but it didn't affect me while I was sparring. So I'd say that a finger break would not be as effective as, say, a well placed side kick to the knee or a strike to the throat. Also, a hit to the solar plexus (sp?) will take the wind out of someone and incapacitate them at least long enough for you to exit the situation.

7/30- evening- worked on Sen Sha Do Nidan, bunkai, Sen Sha Do Sandan, Tai Chi applications.

Van Damme was my hero for years until he became a coke head. (Not the cola!!) He got his butt kicked by Chuck Zito of the Hell's Angels, but I think he has straightened himself out. He was a full contact champion before becoming an actor. I saw one of his fights on video somewhere. I think he was 18-2. The only guy to beat him was a former training partner, and in their last fight, JCVD win by tko stoppage (I think he cut or broke the guy's nose). But he found there was more money to be made fighting in the movies instead of the ring. PS- he's the villain in the upcoming "Expendables 2". He was offered a role in the first one, but turned it down.

7/28- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of 185 lb deadlifts (only did 10-6), bench press with 85lb D/B's, and cleans with 95 (10-5, then up to 115) Then full bicep workout (mixed in Sen Sha Do Sandan practice in between sets) 7/30- AM- Did chest workout. Then, supposed to do 10 rounds, but only completed 8 of 3 weighted pullups (45lb), 5 regular pullups, and 7 kipping pullups. On set 6, had to abandon the weight and do sets of 8 regular pullups. Only got thru 8 sets total. Shorin Ryu training this evening.

7/25- evening class, applications from 2 katas of self defense against weapons attacks. 7/26- AM class- pinan godan applications, bag work, sword work

7/25/12- 70 burpees, 60 sit ups, 50 kettlebell swings, 40 pullups, 30 handstand pushups, biceps, stretching routine. Class this evening.

That's something that drew me to my sensei. He doesn't have a "school". He has "students". I met him after he taught a "self defense" class at my gym. We talked, and he informed me that as long as I was a member of the gym, the training was free. I was skeptical, but after taking a few classes, it was obvious that he is doing it for the love of teaching. He seems to love when his students get better, which is how I think it should be. I pay the gym $21.00 per month because I elected to take "extra classes". But I can literally train 7 days a week for as long as I want with him. Or I could choose to do it for free. Most of the other instructors around here charge over $90.00 per month for a set class schedule of 45 minutes. I can train unlimited for $21.00. I can purchase my own equipment (not required to get it from him). He gave me a training sword as a gift. With Gret, it's not about the money. It's about sharing his knowledge with his students.

Where I train, my sensei explained that he will test and/or promote someone based on their knowledge and skill. He will not let someone linger as a yellow belt if they are passing up the Green belts just because of time spent in class. But he is very demanding on what we need to know. And he always sets the bar higher than he wants us to reach. For example, he drilled us on techniques and katas above what we were testing for, but he did so with little time for us to master them. When it came time for our test, he made us do the techniques that we had already mastered and promoted us accordingly. But he had us training more advanced tecnhniques, so when it comes time for us to test for brown, we'll have already been working on the techniques required. With that being said, he has 2 black belts that train with us. One is in his 30's and one is in his 40's. He has a lot of children that he trains in the lower classes, but none are above orange belt. Based on the training and knowledge I've been around, he seems to be doing it the right way.

7/21- drills, bunkai 7/22- 400 meter runs, 90 second rest period times 6 7/23- Morining- chest and triceps, abs, stretching, and worked on all katas slowly. Evening- Sen Sha Do Sandan and applications from it. Also touched on Sen Sha Do Yondan.

Sen Sha Do Karate Do. (Sensei Shands Karate Do). Shorin Ryu/Shotokan.

7/20/2012- Crossfit "Fran". 21-15-9 reps of 95lb thrusters and pullups, then heavy biceps, abs, and stretching.

I've never thought of it in those exact terms, but looking at it, I really do. I try to do each technique a little better each time, and when we spar, I add 1 little "twist" each time. Thanks!

Thank you kindly, DoctorQui! I still get frustrated when I can't do a technique perfectly because of physical limitations because I expect to be better than most others! But I'm learning to sacrifice speed for proper tecnhique at this point. I'm focusing more on perfecting the art rather than learning how to be a fighting machine! My mindset has always been that I love the discipline, history, and spiritual side of martial arts moreso than learining how to "whoop butt". The side effect was that I actually got good at whooping butt (although, thankfully, I never had to use it). Now, I'm spending more time training my body to do the techniques perfectly, and when my muscle memory adjusts, I can focus on adding speed back into the equation!

7/18/2012- trained katas thru Pinan Yondan. Learned basic bo staff techniques and sequences. Worked on sword sequences. Learned Tai Chi Sho and applications from it against weapons (sword)

I was in this situation. I studied Shotokan and got to purple (5th kyu over 20 years ago, and recently found a local shorin ryu/shotokan instructor that had classes that my schedule could work with. I asked to start at white belt because his system heavily favors Shorin Ryu although it does incorporate Shotokan (her prefers the Pinans to the Heians, etc). As I started taking classes, the ranked students would say "you're not really a white belt!" which made me feel kinda good! So when it came time for my 1st test, he challenged me with the katas that I've known for years thru Shotokan but also "showed" me a few advanced ones hoping I'd take them on as a challenge. Well, at my test, I performed them all, and instead of awarding me with green (6th kyu) which is what he wanted me to test for, I was awarded blue (4th kyu). For the next test, I was awarded red (3rd kyu) because in his system, 4th kyu was required to have the skills that I already had from my previous Shotokan training. So he gave me the curriculum for his brown belt students and had me working on that for a month before the test. I didn't want to rank at brown yet because I don't feel that I've gained all of the knowledge and technique that a 2nd and 1st kyu should have, but I did enough to earn red. The problem I'm having is that I'm almost 38, and injuries and surgeries have severely limited what I can and can't do. My mind knows what it should do, but my knees and hips limit me! If I had the mobility that I had when I was in my 20's, it would be a whole lot easier! However, for my red test, I had to spar with the senior black belt to 2 points. I dispatched him extremely quickly (my sensei actually commented on the quickness!). That prompted him to inform the black belts that with the "new crop of advanced belts improving like they have, you guys need to step it up!". I'm finding that the students that have been in this system longer than me have all started in that system from the ground up. I had a 7th dan wonderful instructor in Shotokan that I trained under for 2 years that provided me with wonderful basics. And I have always been very athletic. So I find that my techniques and knowledge is sometimes above those ahead of me in ranking. But I'm in it for the knowledge and self improvement. If I were to stay at 3rd kyu "officially" but progress mentally, physically, and spiritually to my standards, then I would consider my training a success. So far, I have!