blacknebula

Well I just finished my exam. I have a bad case of grading amnesia but a couple of sempais from my club watched and said I did well so I'll believe them. Should have results by Monday. It was an honour to train with someone who was a direct student of Funakoshi. There was definitely a bit of a langauge barrier as Master Yaguchi's English is very accented and he tends to skip a lot of connecting words, but I was lucky enough to be in the front middle so I could watch him and that helped a lot.

That's awesome!

Update #1: Hubby and daughter both passed, although she got a 'B'. Which is a pass, but means a bit more preparation was recommended. I sort of exptected that as I watched the exam and she made several mistakes. Which I think was mostly nerves because it was stuff she could do in the dojo just fine. But oh well she is happy to have her green belt and stay one level ahead of dad.

True of so many things! But yeah, the mental aspect of it is the most difficult. You look at a jump and say "that's too far" and the first few times you chicken out but eventually you work up the courage to do it and lo and behold - it works! I finally made it over the 6 foot wall last class! I'd been failing at it repeatedly but getting closer and it finally came together and everyone applauded for me - awesome feeling! Unfortunately I also did something to my ankle, and I have my belt grading this Saturday, but hopefully it will be better by then (I iced and am taking it easy today).

I went to the dentist today and had an impression done to make a custom mouth guard. That goo they use is REALLY nasty! The bottom one wasn't too bad, but the top one made me gag. I managed to hold it together but it was not at all pleasant. Thankfully I only ever need to do it once as they give me mould afterwards so I can just produce it if I ever need another one made.

We did mock exams at training last night, and I got the go ahead to test for 4th kyu on the 24th. My husband will also be testing for 7th kyu, and my daughter for 6th kyu, this Saturday (17th). Pretty cool! I'm feeling pretty good about my test. I was actually eligible to grade back in July but didn't feel quite ready so I declined. This time around I definitely have the confidence in the technical skills but am apprehensive because it is the first time I am at a high enough level to grade with Sensei Yaguchi. Logically I know it shouldn't matter who is doing the grading - I just show up and do what I'm told to the best of my ability - but I can't help being a wee bit intimidated that I am going to be judged by a 9th dan who is the second highest ranking member of my association in the world! Any positive vibes sent in our direction would be appreciated.

Cool!

I can't believe some parents don't watch their kids! Of the nine kids that competed from our dojo, six of them have one (or both) parents who train too so we were all there offering more advice than they probably wanted to hear.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I do indeed hope it will continue to get easier with time and experience!

My daughter competed in her first tournament today. She did very well, winning first place in kata and third in kumite for 8-9 year old orange belts. However, I was completely taken aback by how stressful I found the experience! I think in some ways it would be easier to watch if I didn't know anything about karate.

I've posted before that I have huge issues with free sparring. Well, last night at training, for the first time ever, I actually felt somewhat hopeful that I might eventually get semi-competent at it. I still suck, but I wasn't terrified, didn't freeze up, and even remembered to counter most of the time. Huge step forward for me!

Found a copy of 'The Textbook of Moderm Karate' by Teruyuki Okazaki and Milorad Stricevic on ebay a few weeks ago and it arrived this morning. Can't wait to start reading it!

I agree that it would be lovely to have a control group and turn it into a true experiment.... if I had the time and resources to do that, which I totally don't! Descriptive research is sufficient for a 3 credit hour undergrad project.

Longitudinal study is way beyond the scope of an undergrad project, unfortunately! I'm still really in the very initial stages of even thinking about this, but probably more along the line of a survey questionnaire combined with a literature review of research on MBTI and sports pyschology in general (as I'm not finding much at all regarding martial arts). So if (purely hypothetical example here) I find that 70% of the people who have trained for more than 10 years are Ns, then I can conclude that there is a correlation (but obviuosly can't prove causation).

I might be interested in something like this. Not that I have a whole lot to contribute, but I would love any direction in terms of finding resources. I am currrently doing a psychology degree and want to do my 4th year research project on the interaction of martial arts success (defined more as who sticks with it as opposed to who wins tournaments) vs. Myer-Briggs personality type.

It is certainly a great workout - the last two weeks my legs have been sore for 3 days afterwards, in a way that I haven't been since the early days of karate training. And of course, the day after my Sensei decides to work on kicks the whole freaking class!

The only time I listen to music is when I'm doing bag work. Then I just blast my usual upbeat workout playlist, which is an eclectic mix of pop/rock/country/alternative/classical/celtic. And yes, Eye of the Tiger is in there. LOL

I was 37 when I began my journey. While in some ways I wish I had started when I was younger and more flexible I also acknowledge that I didn't have the mental fortitude to suceed at it back then.

I found it a month or so ago. It is hilarious! I forwarded the link to my Sensei and he said he laughed so hard his stomach hurt. The new season will start in a few weeks I think.

Question - is the person above you the one that you train with regularly, or the one that gives does the examination and officially promotes you?

I signed up for a set of 8 parkour classes - just came back from the first one and I am totally pumped! I'd never heard of parkour until a few months ago, so if you are as clueless as I was here is a definition from the website of the place I am taking the classes at (nolimitsafc.com): "So What is Parkour? Originally developed as a French military training program Parkour embodies the idea of tracing a path through your environment. It utilizes movements such as rolls, vaults and climbing in combination with running and navigating any environment you find yourself in. It is about moving efficiently and effectively and minimizing the energy you use. By the end of our programs you will be able to scale walls, jump gaps, move on all fours, balance on rails, climb poles and more! Parkour re-acquaints us with the playfulness that inspires us as children and conditions us to see all obstacles as opportunities." We started off working on some forward rolls, then tried some jumps on the floor, aiming for distance and proper landing posture. We then progressed to jumping from one pylo box to another, with varying heights and distances between them. Then we worked on running up the wall and trying to get as high as possible (apparently twice your height is the goal), and tacking off the wall on to larger box that was about 3 feet tall. And a bunch of cardio and conditioning thrown in there. Edited to add that I see there are a few posts about parkour already on the forum, guess I should've done the search BEFORE I posted. LOL

I guess it depends on what your definition of winter/cold is. Where I live it often gets to -40C in January, which is well into the "exposed skin will freeze in less than one minute" warning category. These days you would be opening yourself up to serious liability issues if you asked people to train outside barefoot in that, so our kangeiko takes the form of training at 6AM for 6 days in a row - inside!

congrats!

I know women who do the exact opposite - they are self-conscious and hunch all the time to draw as little attention to the area as possible. Of course, this isn't good for posture either, whether it be in martial arts or general life. Regardless of the cause, a good sports bra is important and can help a ton. I recently paid $60 for a Nike one; I was a little dubious but the first time I wore it to training I swore it was worth every penny!

My Sensei will not let someone (either kid or adult) grade if they aren't capable of demonstrating the required skills and focus. There is one boy in my dojo - he was orange belt I was yellow, he was orange I was orange, he was orange I was green, he was orange I was purple. They finally let him grade in July and he got his green. I think for that kid to stick it out in the face of so many people getting promoted around him says a lot about his character!!