Karate4Life

Saturday, August 9th, 2014 7 km run with my boy Jassim. Son, you ran like the wind, I’m really proud of you, and here’s a big OSU for you! Sunday, August 10th, 2014 Evening weights with S. Cycle 5, week 4 – Deload week Bench: 60.0kg: 5x10. Dead Lifts: 100.0kg: 5x5. BW Pull-Ups: 5x5. BW Dips: 5x5. Deep Push-Ups on push-up stands: 3x10. Overhead press in zenkutsu dachi: 30.0kg: 3x5. Lesson of the day: Sometimes it’s good to pull back a little and go easy. Monday, August 11th, 2014 Lunchtime session today: Junbi Undo. Kata, 5 times each: - Shisochin - Seisan - Gekisai Dai Ichi - Saifa - First half of Suparinpei (still getting it together) Stretching. Nice one! Lesson of the day: None. It was just a good session... Tuesday, August 12th, 2014 I know I did something on that day, but I forgot to write it down and cannot for the life of mine remember what it was. Probably a lunchtime session with kata and stretching. Ah well, whatever… EDIT: Yes, come to think of it, it was indeed a kata session! Wednesday, August 13th, 2014 Lunchtime session: Kata review, 3-5 times each: GoJu Ryu: - Gekisai Dai Ni - Saifa - Seienchin - Shisochin - Bits and pieces of Suparinpei Kyokushin: - Pinan Sono Ichi - Pinan Sono San - Pinan Sono Yon Concrete wall, 5 minutes: Seiken, Uraken, Shuto, Shotei Lesson of the day: Quality over quantity, yes, but it sure is fun to do as many different kata as time permits! Thursday, August 14th, 2014 Lunchtime session with my co-worker O. 45 minutes of rather intense partner work on kumite combinations. Well done, buddy!! In the evening weights: Cycle 5, week 4 – deload week. Bench: 70.0kg: 10x5. Dead Lifts: Several sets with 2-3 reps. Max. today: 170.0kg x 1. Pull-Ups: 5x5. Push-Ups on Push-Up stands: 3x10. Overhead Press: 32.5kg: 5x5. Friday, August 15th, 2014 Rest day. Too many personal matters that needed settling. Saturday, August 16th, 2014 Cycle 5, week 4 – deload week, sort of Bench: 70.0kg: 5x5 Additional Bench: - 80.0kg: 3 - 85.0kg: 1 - 90.0kg: 1 - 80.0kg: 3 Pull-Ups: 5x6. Overhead Press: 32.5kg: 5x5. Dead Lifts: Several sets with 3 reps. Max. today: 160.0kg x 1. That’s enough for today. Push-Ups on Push-Up Stands: 3x10. Good one! Lesson of the day: It’s good to walk this road with good companions! OSU!

Monday, August 4th, 2013 Lunchtime session. Kata, 3 times each: - Seisan - Shisochin - Gekisai Dai Ichi - Gekisai Dai Ni - Saifa - Sanseru - Tensho 3 x 2 minutes shadow sparring Hitting the concrete wall, 30 times each side: - Seiken - Shuto - Shotei - Chusoku Lesson of the day: Just let it flow and everything falls into place. Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 Lunchtime session. Kata review, 5 times each: - Seisan - Shisochin - Seienchin 6-7 minutes stretching 10 minutes kumite combinations from kamae. Techniques against concrete wall: - Chusoku mae geri chudan, 10 times each side - Chusoku mawashi geri jodan, 10 times each side - Shita tsuki, 35 times each side Lesson of the day: Transferring one's kata from one style (GoJu Kai) to another (IOGKF) and thus trying to change years of muscle memory is one hell of a task. Late night session: - 30 minutes relaxed bag work. - Pull-Ups: 1/2/3/4/5/4/3/2/1. - Bent-Over Rowing: 50.0kg: 5 x 10. Another lesson for today: Easy is the ticket. Tensing up gets you nowhere. Wednesday, August 6th, 2014 Lunchtime session. Kata: - Seisan, 10x - Gekisai Dai Ichi, 10x 15 minutes stretching Strikes at concrete wall, 40 times each side: seiken, shuto, shotei Evening weights with S. Cycle 5, week 3 reloaded Bench: 70.0kg/80.0kg/90.0kg: (5/3/1): 5/3/1 Additional bench: - 80.0kg: 4/3/3 - 60.0kg: 10 Dead Lifts: 125.0kg/140.0kg/160.0kg: (5/3/1): 5/3/1 Additional Dead Lifts: 170.0kg: 1 BW Dips: 5x5 Deep Push-Ups on PU stands: 2x10 Plank: 2 x 1 minute Bicycle crunches: 2 x 100 Next week is deload week – looking forward to that. Lesson of the day: Back to basics, and THINK about what you’re doing Christian. Thursday, August 7th, 2014 Lunchtime session with C and O: - Stretching - Sparring - Pad Work Well done, m’lady and gentleman! Friday, August 8th, 2014 Lunchtime session: - Junbi Undo - 600 kicks from kamae: Mae, Mawashi, Soto Mawashi, Yoko - Stretching Not too good today- This.Goddamn.Hip.Flexibility! Lesson of the day: Stretch more!

Tuesday, July 29th, 2014 Today's lunchtime session: Kata review, each 3 times: - Seisan - Shisochin - Seienchin - Gekisai Dai Ichi - Gekisai Dai Ni Stretching 10 minutes Shadow Sparring: 4 x 2 minutes Today it was unbelievably hot and humid here in Hamburg, I must have lost 3 liters of water. Thank god for the showers in our offices! Wednesday, July 30th, 2014 Weights with S. Bench: 70.0kg/80.0kg/90.0kg: (5/3/1): 5/3/1. Additional Bench: - 90.0kg: 1 - 80.0kg: 2/2 Dips-and-Pull-Ups-Pyramid: Do 1 dip. Do 1 pull-up. Then do 2 dips, and then do 2 pull-ups. Up to 5 reps, and then down to 1 rep again. Squats: 60.0kg: 5x5. All good here. Thursday, July 31st, 2014 Today's lunchtime session, sweet 40 sweaty minutes: Kata, 3 times each: - Seisan - Shisochin - Sanseru - Seienchin - Tensho 4 x 2 minutes shadow sparring Strikes against concrete wall, 20 times each: - Seiken - Shuto - Shotei It's shocking to see how much my Sanseru kata sucks. For the neutral observer it would probably look OK, but it feels just wrong. Friday, August 1st, 2014 Today's lunchtime session, another sweet 45 minutes: Kata review, each 3 times: GoJu Ryu: - Seisan - Shisochin - Gekisai Dai Ichi - Gekisai Dai Ni Kyokushin: - Pinan Sono Ichi - Pinan Sono Yon 10 minutes stretching 10 minutes shadow sparring Lesson of the day: Breathing makes things easier, and tensing up doesn't. Saturday, August 2nd, 2014 - Cycling 15 km with my wife and my kids. My youngest (5 years old) did the whole distance with us and thoroughly enjoyed herself. I think that this is a remarkable effort for someone so young with such short legs. Well done, my daughter (and my son and wife as well)! - Running 15 km in the evening. Lesson learned: Sometimes it's good to take the time for things that you enjoy. Sunday, August 3rd, 2014 Weights. Cycle 5, week 3 Bench: 70/80/90: 5/3/1. I hate the bench press. I hate it. Additional Bench: 80: 3x3. Dead Lifts: 125/140/160/170: 5/3/1/1. I love the dead lift. I love it. BW Dips: 5x5. Deep Push-Ups on PU stands: 3x10. Ab-Wheel Rollout: 3x10. An awesome session. Lesson of the day: Life is good!

OSU! I'm starting this training log in order to keep track of what I'm doing, and I'm looking forward to reading your feedback. Any comment is welcome. Beside Karate I lift weights. Note: This is pure strength training, it's got nothing to do with body building. The aim is to improve my Karate. I'm using the 5x5 and the 5/3/1, respectively. I'll make a start with what happened during the last few weeks. Thursday, July 17th, 2014 Cycle 5, week 1 Bench: 60.0kg/70.0kg/80.0kg: (5/5/5): 5/5/5. Additional Bench: 70.0kg: 3x5. Pull-Ups: 5x5. Dead Lifts: 105.0kg/120.0kg/135.0kg: (5/5/5): 5/5/5. Squats: 50.0kg: 5x5. All fine. Need to work up again. Background: I had a knee inhury, and I'm recovering from it. Friday, July 18th, 2014 Squats: 50.0kg: 5x5. 5x3 minutes shadow sparring and bag work. Saturday, July 19th, 2014 Midnight run, 7km. Great! Sunday, July 20th, 2014 Cycle 5, week 1 Bench: 60.0kg/70.0kg/80.0kg: (5/5/5): 5/5/5. Additional Bench: - 70.0kg: 4x5. Dead Lifts: 105.0kg/120.0kg/135.0kg: (5/5/5): 5/5/5. Pull-Ups: 5x6. Monday, July 21st, 2014 1h Pad-work and sparring with my buddy S. Squats: 60.0kg: 5x5. ATG. Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014 Out all day with the kids - cycling 20km. Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 Out all day with the kids - cycling 20km. Thursday, July 24th, 2014 Cycle 5, week 2 Bench Press: 65.0kg/75.0kg/85.0kg: (3/3/3): 3/3/3 Additional Bench: - 80.0kg: 3. - 70.0kg: 3x5. Dead Lifts: 115.0kg/130.0kg/145.0kg: (3/3/3): 3/3/3 Pull-Ups: 5x6. Friday, July 25th, 2014 and Saturday, July 26th, 2014 I’m sure I did something, but for the life of mine I cannot reconstruct what that was. Whatever… Sunday, July 27th, 2014 Cycling with the Kids, Tennis with with my son Jassim Kata in the evening: - Gekisai Dai Ichi - Gekisai Dai Ni - Saifa - Seienchin - Sanseru - Shisochin Monday, July 28th, 2014 Lunchtime session with my student S - Calisthenics - Lots of pull-up variations - Some push-up variations - Squats and Planks Some jodan kicks in between sets 10 minutes stretching

OSU! I'm in the lucky situation to own a house that has a big garage. It easily fits 2 cars, and then there's still some space left. We don't use it for parking cars anymore, but rather I was able to convince my wife that I need it as training space. It's large enough to do kata, and I have my heavy bag there as well as all my weights equipment. When I work out during my lunchtime breaks, I usually go to the parking garage across the street and practice my stuff on the basement floor which is half below ground. Otherwise, the world is my playground and my dojo. When not at home, at work or in the dojo and I still want to practice something, I can do it pretty much anywhere. I have practiced on the beach, in the forest, at a bus stop late at night while waiting for the bus, pretty much anywhere. The only thing that I find important is that not too many people watch me - I have found that this can be quite annoying. OSU!

OSU! Thank you all for the warm welcome. I've already found some very interesting threads here, and I like the way the interaction goes. BTW, is there a section to start a workout log? I haven't found anything in that direction so far, but maybe I'm missing something? OSU!

OSU! The above answers contain excellent advice. After reading your initial question, bitestones, I was wondering the following: What do you get out of Karate? Does it give you something that helps you through the day? If it does, and I'm sure that it does, then by all means stick to it. The only person you have to compare yourself to today is your yesterday's self. And don't you worry about being a disgrace - Karate is your individual journey. I know people who suffer from severe depression and also really bad social phobia, and all these people have told me that Karate makes their lives better. Me personally I cannot think of anything better than my Karate to get me through a hard day. You know, and when it comes to low self esteem, I believe that every Karateka can relate to this. Me personally, whenever I record some of my practice in order to see how I was doing, I'm always like "Geeh! That's me? Man! I'm a black belt, I SHOULD DO BETTER THAN THIS!!". So, you're not alone with this, I can assure you. All the best, OSU!

OSU! Seisan kata across the styles: - IOGKF: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJeOCRV0oF0 - GoJu Kai: - Yoshukai: - Isshinryu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS6IB_0Dx2k - Uechi Ryu: - Shito Ryu: - Seibukan: Interesting to see that so many styles have it but that it can also be vastly different. OSU!

OSU! The only way I see is practice. But watch out: Practice does not make you perfect, but PERFECT practice does. Stances, speed, strength, flexibility, technique all come into play here. This takes years, a lot of sweat and tears, and the occasional vomit and depression. Here's a half-serious question: Why would anyone want a kata to be good-looking? Isn't that a misconception of the purpose of kata? OSU!

OSU! Partner work and sparring also serve the purpose to show your partners (emphasis is on the word "partner", they're not opponents) their weaknesses so that they can progress. This means that if you're able to hit and go through their defence, then by all means do so. If you don't, then you take away their chance to improve. I only ask you to adjust to their levels of physical and technical ability. Smashing a beginner to pieces or anyone else who may be weaker than you is never OK. Further, the level of contact is something that needs to be mutually agreed on. If in doubt talk about it and ask if what you're doing is OK for them. OSU!

OSU! For me when I work on my own it's: 1) The first few reps slowly and as technical as possible. 2) Some reps with good power and speed. 3) The last 2 reps in an aggressive way, i.e. with max speed and power, not caring if it looks good or not. 4) Take the kata to the heavy bag. This can be a real eye opener. When working with a partner: 1) Bunkai with a veeery complaint partner. Figure out the mechanics. 2) Bunkai with a less compliant partner. Figure out where his/her resistance comes into play. 3) Bunkai with a totally uncompliant and aggressive partner. This can also be THE eye-opener. 4) Take the kata to the pads. Kata is more than a sequence of moves. Kata work without bunkai and partner work is useless. I do enjoy it, but I believe we have to dig deep to understand what kata can give us. OSU!

OSU! I am currently on a 3 year kata quest. This means that I have chosen 2 kata, Shisochin and Seisan from GoJu Ryu, that I practice in depth and explore the bunkai behind them. I do them almost every day several times, and I have started this experiment about 1.5 years ago. The more I do Shisochin and Seisan, the more they become "mine". I made this choice since these two kata "speak" to me - they suit my body type, they have the best flow for me, and their bunkai convinces me. All other kata that I know I also do on a regular basis, but my emphasis is on the mentioned two. I begin to understand why it is said that one can master 2, maybe 3 kata over time, and not more. Sure, I know many more, but "knowing" does not equal "mastering". OSU!

OSU! Hello all, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Christian, I'm 42 years old and hold a shodan in GoJu Kai Karate, and I have been training Karate since 30 years with the occasional off-year in between (family, university, work, father, you name it). I've had a brief but sweet encounter with Kyokushin Karate which has influenced my in a very significant way and which has altered my views on kumite drastically, and my current Karate family is GoJu Ryu IOGKF. I usually train every day, be it Karate or weights. Due to time shortage I make it to the dojo only once per week, but luckily enough I have some co-workers who are into martial arts as well, so 2-3 times per week we spend our lunchtime break working out together. If not in the dojo or at work, I practice my stuff in my home dojo. I am looking forward to the interaction here, and I hope to learn something new from all of you. With my best regards, OSU! Christian