aurik

Welcome to the forums!

The last few days were pretty good days for training and my karate in general. As I've already posted, last Saturday I passed my test for hachikyu, which meant that last night I got to start on some new material. Last night's adult class consisted of 1 nidan, 2 shodans, 2 shodan-sho's, me, and 2 white belts. So I was paired off with one of our older shodans to do most of my drills (I get to work with him a lot, it's really good practice). The nice thing about working with him is (for a shodan), he isn't all that good with his roundhouse kicks. So when we got to the ashi kitae, my legs have gotten resilient enough that I can ask him to kick me pretty hard (and work on his kicks), and he gets a chance to work on those low round kicks. I've also noticed my shoulders are definitely getting more resilient, because I can make it through all 50 reps on each side for the kote kitae exercises. Next we got to work the throwing aspects of several of our drills. This isn't something that we do very often, but it's a lot of fun. For example, in kanshiwa bunkai, the attacker steps in with an overhead knife attack, and the defense is to step in to a sumo stance, perform a circle block, an elbow strike to the solar plexus, and then a backfist strike to the maxillary bone. The followup throw involves grabbing the opponent's arm, pushing on his opposite shoulder, stepping behind him and sweeping his leg (o soto gari). So I got a chance to work those for awhile, and they felt pretty natural after a few tries. I also found that that position is prime for doing an ippon seionage as well. My partner wasn't familiar with that one, so we practiced that one a bit too. Next I got to work with the two white belts on the kanshiwa bunkai ( ). One of them is a returning student, so he's already familiar with this, but I got to actually (try to) teach it to the other white belt, who was performing it for the first time. I definitely learned a thing or two by trying to teach it to her, and I think she is getting the hang of it. There are a lot of formalities, and I hope I didn't overwhelm her too much.Finally, I got to start working on our next kata (kanshu, previously known as daini seisan). I've seen it done a hundred times, but it's another thing to perform it yourself. After running through it a few times, I've got the major motions down if I think about them. I'm going to have to practice it a few times every day to get it down to the point where I can start getting meaningful corrections though. All in all, it was a great day. I left feeling exhausted, but good. I learned a lot of new stuff, and I started on my next step to shodan.

My sensei once asked my son’s class, “Are your belts for you or for me?” All of the kids thought the belts were for themselves, but what my sensei said was that they were for HIM. They reminded him where in the curriculum each student is, and what he should be focusing his instruction on for them. I don’t think any of the kids really got it, but I thought it was a kinda profound.

As a fairly new practitioner of Uechi-Ryu, I can definitely agree with that. At the start of every single class we run Sanchin 3 times, with our sensei checking our technique. One of the mantras I've heard whenever someone asks a question about a technique is, "go back to Sanchin". Oh, and congrats on the 4th kyu!

So today I had my test (and passed) for hachikyu. It was a very... interesting test. My sensei runs kyu tests every month, and this month we had a total of 25 students testing for ranks from kyukyu all the way up to ikkyu. As to be expected, the vast majority of the students were kids, with 3 adults (including myself). With the way our material breaks down, the students testing for 9th-7th kyu are run in one group (testing for yellow belt ranks), the students testing for 6th-4th kyu are in another group (testing for green belt ranks), and the ones testing for 3rd, 2nd, and 1st kyu were tested separately. I knew it was going to be a very.. interesting test fairly early on. Some of the kids were messing up their drills pretty badly -- and our Sensei wasn't having any of it. If someone made a gross mistake, he'd tell him/her to do it again. Several students had to perform their drills multiple times. One of the students testing for nikyu got LOTS of corrections in his techniques and had to re-do his bunkai several times. I know I made a few mistakes along the way, but they were apparently minor enough to not warrant re-doing any techniques. Afterwards, I got some corrections on my techniques by the black belt in charge of my group. I need to make my circle blocks bigger (I'm apparently not covering my face everytime), and there are a few techniques I made some minor mistakes on. She did compliment me on my speed and power, but she said I should probably dial it back a hair, because I was getting gassed a few times out there. Of course, she also said her father had the same problem until he made black belt (he's now a sandan). My wife and Zach were there for most of the testing, but they had to leave a little early to get Zach to his friend's birthday party. However, when I caught up with them after the party, my wife told me that Zach noticed that of all the students that were getting yelled at or corrected, I was not one of them. And my wife said, "That's because daddy was prepared". More than anything else, that made me feel super proud -- even more proud than passing the test.

... of course the workaround would just be to create an image link with the full text of your post and then insert that into your posting

I really enjoyed the first seaon, and in one of the clips for Season 2, I really enjoyed how Johnny is now telling the Cobras how they were going to start fighting fair and square. I'm wondering what transpires with Johnny for him to make this change. I also am very curious to see how Kreese showing back up in the show is going to play out. I really like how Johnny has become a much more complex character than he was in the movie without having to retcon anything from the movie. The whole Johnny before the movie backstory gives his character a lot of depth I thought. Only 3 more weeks for Season 2. Of course, I'm also binging GoT right now in order to get ready for THAT!

One could (very effectively) argue that no inherently hand-to-hand or weapon of limited range, such as martial arts weapons, can be considered more dangerous or deadly than a handgun. If you look at any statistic, vastly more people are injured or killed by handguns than by every single hand-to-hand weapon put together. YET the Supreme Court ruled in DC vs Heller that the second amendment to the constitution gives an individual a right to bear arms, and requires that states and municipalities provide law-abiding citizens with means to lawfully own handguns. How, then can a federal judge rule that any hand-to-hand weapon should be outright banned when there must be a legal means for a citizen to own a handgun?

My son is currently 6 years old, and our sensei does things a fair bit differently for his 4-6 year old students. For one thing, the requirements for the "junior" belts (denoted by a -sho suffix, and a white stripe on the belt) are very different than those for the normal belts, and he doesn't have formal testing days for the junior classes -- when a kiddo is ready to test, he'll get him/her to demonstrate their material, and if he feels they've performed well enough, at the end of the class he will award them their next rank. He and I had been discussing when Zach would be ready for his next rank, and he had given me some things to work on with him at home. I figured he was a week or two away from testing, but yesterday he proved me wrong. On Monday he had watched Zach as he performed Kanshiwa, and he also watched him do a few of the requirements from his previous tests. Yesterday he started out the class by asking Zach to help with the warmups, and then he started having individual students work with him on their rank-specific techniques while the other students watched. My son was the last to go (since he's the highest-ranked student in the class), and he did great! Sensei asked him to perform his techniques twice -- he made one mistake on the first go-round. However, at the end of class, he announced several promotions, and Zach was one of them. So a big congratulations to the newest Yonkyu-sho in my house We're planning on having him work towards earning his junior brown belt before he ages out of the program (in July). Also, if he does earn the junior brown belt, that waives his time in rank requirement before he can test for his full yellow belt (kukyu). I'm so proud of him. https://i.imgur.com/C0yTkEV.jpg

So things have been going pretty well for the most part for me. I'm finding my speed, power, and technique are improving very quickly, but my endurance still pretty much sucks. For example, Monday night my Sensei was working with me on Kanshiwa Bunkai as a pre-test, and I was giving it my all. I did a great job, but I was sucking wind for a full minute or two afterwards. The good news is that after that, he asked me if I had any questions, and my main question was, "Is there anything I should be doing differently when I test for this [this coming Saturday]". His response was, "No, don't change anything right now." Meaning of course: Yes, I see places you can improve, but I don't want you over-thinking things on your upcoming test. I'm also getting the hang of our kicking drill. On the surface, it's not horribly practical, but I'm finding it's a great tool for working my flexibility, judging distance, and flow/transitions. You can see my sensei and one of our junior black belts perform it here: It's also one of those drills where it's actually easier to do with a partner, because the blocks for several of the kicks help the attacker "wind up" for the next kick. This is especially true for the side kick->spinning hook kick sequence.One thing I like about our instructor is that he will teach you things when he thinks you're ready to absorb them. This may be long before you need to know them for your rank. For example, I'm currently working hojo undo, kote kitae, Sanchin, Kanshiwa (+bunkai), the Yakosoku Kumite drills, the Kyu Kumite drills, and the kicking drill. However, the Kyu Kumite and Kicking drills I won't need to know until I test for Rokkyu/Green Belt (6 months+ out). This gives me plenty of time to instill these drils in my brain and build the muscle memory before I need to test for them. I'd say "wish me luck" on Saturday, but I'm feeling pretty confident about my abilities today.

In uechi-ryu, we definitely take advantage of that. In fact, one of our hojo undo techniques (shomen hajiki) involves snapping the fingertips at the opponent's eyes.

I resumed training in the martial arts last fall after a many year hiatus at the ripe (and inflexible) young age of 46. I can speak from experience that you CAN improve your flexibility. In fact just the other day I was able to do a mawashi geri to my partner's shoulder level while doing a set of kicking drills. (It surprised the heck out of me). Whether you can get to where you want to (kicking to head height or above, and full box splits), I cannot say, but if you keep practicing and taking the next step forward, you'll definitely get better than you were.

I've always done mawashi geri with either the shin or instep. Of course, I would never try to kick to the head in a self-defense situation -- it's too slow and you run the risk of losing your balance if the ground isn't flat and level. Frankly, I think there are far too many good targets much lower, such as the outer thigh and the floating ribs/kidneys.

It's been a little while since I've posted in here. I've had a couple of minor setbacks in my journey, but nothing too major. A few weeks ago I threw out my back while moving stuff around my office. I pretty much couldn't get out of bed for the first 2 days, and I gave it an extra week just in case. Unfortunately those 2 weeks off plus the time off around christmas really hurt the stamina I'd built up. While I do try to work out at home, I definitely do not hit the same intensity or duration as I get in a formal workout. In the meantime we've had a few new students join the adult class, so I'm not the youngest student there (yay!). Also, our sensei has started getting picky in his feedback on my forms; for example, in Kanshiwa in the initial 3 pivot/block/strike sequences, he wants my block to finish at the same time my rear foot hits the ground, and in the block/elbow/backfist sequence, he wants me to focus on chambering the backfist so it strikes upwards instead of going straight overhand from the elbow strike. Also, anytime I (or any other student) asks "why", he has an answer that makes sense. Sometimes it's "because our lineage does it this way, but so-and-so's school may do it this other way".

For the longest time, I had performance anxiety with regard to public speaking. The way I got over it was practice, practice and lots of practice. I joined the Toastmasters organization, which has definitely helped me deal with my anxieties. I am still nervous to speak in front of large audiences, but I can usually mask my anxiety. I'd recommend two things. First of all, keep in mind that winning or losing a karate tournament will not change your life in any significant way -- as what the others have said. So just relax, go out there and have fun, do your best, and let the chips fall where they may. The other thing you can do relates to your preparation. If you're really stoked to do well at this tournament, then practice as close to the same conditions as you'll expect at the tournament. If you can, get your spouse and/or son to sit as judges for your performance. Visualize the other competitors and judges watching you. Introduce yourself to the judges and perform your kata exactly as you would do it for the tournament. After you bow off, visualize the spectators applauding you and the judges giving you a high score. Good luck in your next tournament!

Welcome to the forum!

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I posted in here (so much for the "cool stuff I learned this week" topic ). Anyhow, I've had a few revelations over the past few weeks. At our school we do a sparring class each Saturday. Most of the ones who attend are kids, but a few adults also attend, so we get to spar against each other. Anyhow, I was sparring against one of the better adults there (non-black belt), and he had come in for a kick. I blocked it with a crane block, and I accidentally stepped on his foot on the way down. At that point I realized that I had him at a severe disadvantage and could have wailed on him pretty much all I wanted. Being the nice guy I am (and not wanting to injure my partner), I let him go pretty quick. Later on in the day, I was sparring our CI and tried that on him a few times. It didn't work, but I'll definitely be trying it a few more times. I'm also getting to the point where I'm starting to feel BETTER after a workout (as opposed to beat up). I'm not as young or spry as I once was -- I've got some arthritis/bursitis going on in my knee, and I've got bulging discs in my lower back. However, after a class I may feel exhausted, but my knee and back tend to feel a LOT better. Finally, I tested for (and passed) for kukyu today. I liked the way the CI runs his tests -- he has a panel of yudansha that form the testing board, and each black belt is responsible for a handful of students. The board members each take notes on the student's performance, and after the test (we all passed), the supervising black belt gives each individual student feedback on where they erred (I didn't make any egregious mistakes), and also areas they need to focus on for their next belt. I found it to be a very refreshing approach to testing.

Have you considered Cocobolo Hardwood?? It can withstand quite a lot, and it's wood color, orange or red tones, are attractive to the eye. I've had all of my wood weapons made with Cocobolo Hardwood a very long time ago, and I still use them. I have a set of bagpipes made out of cocobolo and love them, but the hardwood dealers I talked to had only had 4/4 cocobolo, which would make a very narrow bo (too small for my ham-fists at least).

When I was at my local hardwood dealer, I found a really nice piece of 6.5'x8" 2" thick purpleheart. Should be enough to make about 5 bo staves out of and (possibly) some other weapons too. I haven't made anything yet, but I did find a couple of decent YouTube videos and it doesn't look too hard if you've got the right tools. I'll probably practice on a piece of red oak first though.

When I practiced Shuri-Ryu, we would do something similar, Koshiki Kumite. You had a hard chest protector and the face shield, but no gloves. Points were scored either ippon or waza-ari. An ippon is either: A perfectly executed technique with proper power, form, and stance that strikes your opponent in the chest protector or face guard without being touched OR a sequence of 3 techniques that hit your opponent which your opponent does not counter in some way. Scoring an ippon immediately wins the match. You score one waza-ari with hand strikes to the chest protector or face guard, and two waza-aris with foot (or knee) techniques. In the absence of an ippon, the contender with the most waza-ari scores would win. It was a lot of fun, but you had to be careful punching to the face. Those face protectors could be cheese graters on your knuckles. Generally after the first time, you learned to stick with hammer-fist strikes to the face...

There's a chance we've met. Central Illinois was my stomping ground 20 years ago. Was the USBBA crowed training with the Juko-kai guys then? I'm thinking it was earlier but that overlap was evident for a long time. PM me if you get the chance. I'd love to send you a PM, but I don't have enough posts yet However, my Juko-Kai days were in Southern Illinois (near St Louis), so we may not have had any overlap, and actually those were in the early 1990's. Now I'm starting to really feel old...

Interesting article. Its no secret that I'm a parent with kids in various sports. I'm very supportive of my kids, and I expect them to practice hard in order to perform to the best of their abilities. I also try to be supportive of coaches, and let them do their jobs. If I have questions, I ask them. Now, in my experience, I haven't seen the extreme of a parent going onto a field and attacking a ref, and for the most part, the parents are pretty laid back in the crowds. I see some parents get aggravated over a ref's call at times, but I've never seen it get too out of hand. I have been guilty of calling out an opinion on what I thought was an obviously missed call, and have since done my best to temper myself from doing that. By and large, in my neck of the woods, parents tend to keep themselves under control. The last sentence of the article bothered me somewhat, though... As a parent, I want to be involved in what my kids are doing. I want to watch their progress and make sure they pay attention to the coaches, work hard, etc. I don't like it when I have to drop my kid off and not watch their practices. My 6 year old son also plays flag football. Last week at one of his games, there was this one dad who was yelling at the referee about some perceived call he didn't make. Granted, the refs in this league are generally high school kids who are trying their best. My son's coaches caught the ref in a couple of mistakes, but they quietly pointed out his mistake instead of yelling from the sideline. However, yelling at the ref is not the type of behaviour I want MY son to see from me, and frankly, I think that it's far more important for the kids to learn how to play by the rules, play as a team, and learn to do their best. Whether they win or lose a game will make no difference to them in a week or a month. The only words that came out of my mouth throughout any of his games were encouragement and cheers for him and his teammates, and the occasional quiet question of clarification from his coaches.

I am of the opinion that she is here to learn (among other things) how to defend herself. If you as her partner are unwilling to hit her, then you do her a disservice. Of course, I'm not advocating all out wailing on your partner, but I treat all of my sparring/practice partners the same. It doesn't matter if they're old/young/male/female, (or here near Boulder, CO, have a non-binary gender). Strike at a level that challenges your partner (or for me, just flat out try to hit them), and let the partner practice defending herself.

So last week was... interesting, to say the least. Last Saturday, our Sensei was hosting Master James Thompson (head of Uechi-Ryu Karate Do Kokusai Kyokai) at our dojo in order to do black belt testing (including several advanced black belts). During the course of the weekend, Master Thompson was also teaching several seminars, including a youth-oriented seminar (which my son attended), and a adult seminar for all ranks (which I attended). I was hesitant at first, since I am still very new to Uechi-Ryu, but my sensei assured me I'd do fine. I understand enough of Sanchin and Kanshiwa to be able to perform them and not look dazed and confused. During the course of the seminar, we did a lot of Sanchin and Kanshiwa, and I learned the first parts of Kanshu (well, I ran through it 3 times, but I was mainly following those around me, so it didn't sink in). Master Thompson also showed us some new variants on kote kitae. I was paired with my sensei's brother (who I later found out was testing for Godan the next day). For the first exercise it was mainly blocks and punches. My wrists and forearms are STARTING to get used to this. Okay... The second variant added in a front kick to be blocked by... how do I put this, basically just dropping your forearm horizontal and then dropping your entire body weight a bit. On my first or second attempt, I kicked my partner's forearm.... and it felt liked I'd kicked a baseball bat. Needless to say, my shins are definitely NOT used to that! Some of the other drills he taught were much more fun. He taught some joint locks and good vital points to strike when in close, and showed us some of the subtleties in all of the blocks and strikes we do. Such as turning a double-hand block into a block/punch on the wrist, followed by pulling hikite and striking the opponent's floating ribs on the way, followed by a sieken tsuki to the bladder. On one hand, this was a refinement to things I'd already seen (both as a white belt in uechi-ryu, and in previous incarnations). On another hand, you see what he's about to do and your eyes go wide open in "A-HA". So I left the seminar feeling really good about what I had learned, but also pretty drained from the 3 hour workout. The 3 of us (wife, mini-me,and myself) had tickets to an AHL hockey game immediately afterwards,so that's where we went (changing in the car). Unfortunately, I ended up paying the price midway through the 3rd period as my quads and adductors started cramping up. Oh, well. Something else to add up in the "lessons learned" category.

As I've mentioned in my introductory thread, I studied martial arts for awhile when I was much younger (20-odd years ago). In high school, I attended a Juko-Kai school, where I learned Aiki-jujutsu (black sash) and shorinji kempo (gokyu). After I graduated high school, I studied for a year in central Illinois where I learned shuri-ryu (gokyu), kodokan judo (yonkyu), and some okinawan kobudo (primarily bo and sai). I loved the school and instructor, but had to leave after a year due to work considerations. Two years ago, my son started at an ATA school, and I figured it would be something I can do with him. However, the school was hit or miss. They had one really good assistant instructor there, but after awhile I became disillusioned with the school. For example, he has a number of 7 year old black belts, and as long as you have time in grade and pay the testing fee, he'll promote you. Heck, my son once couldn't perform the required forms in a testing session. What did he do? He took our money, got one of the higher rank students to work with him for a bit on the techniques, and promoted him anyways. Well, last year I finished my degree (PhD in Computer Science), and we moved to the Denver area. My son started immediately asking about doing karate again. We eventually found an instructor who would come to his after-school care and taught him. We eventually moved his lessons to the instructor's dojo (which, fortunately for us, is right across the street from his school). Well, after watching his lessons for the entire summer, I decided I'd take the plunge. A little over a month ago, I decided to try things out. The good news is that a lot of my muscle memory is still there. The bad news is some of it's "wrong." But I'm having lots of fun while I'm at it, and I can already feel the differences in my everyday life. So as I continue with my journey, I'd figure I'd share what I'm learning here.