Cheradenine

Chidokan of course It's the only martial art I have ever tried, and I can see myself devoting alot of years to this organization.

There are 4 Chidokan Dojos in Auckland, my regular dojo is a tennis club community hall, another is an indoor basketbll court, and then there is the main Dojo.. the fourth of which I have never been to. Then there is the dojo hall at camp, and of course the beach becomes a dojo for our Misogi. During the holiday period our Sensei also organises classes at a park .. its nice in the summer sun training on a large feild.. people tend to stare but I guess they're just jelous!

Our classes are an hour and a half long, but I usually turn up about half an hour early to warm up with some kata or blocking exercises, then stick around for an hour afterwards for kata practice, tournament sparring or Bo/Combat Staff training.

About 6 months ago I had my thumb sprained when I went to attack someone while sparring... it hurt like hell, went all stiff for about a month,and even now its still a little tight around the base. Just as I thought I was over it.. guess what? It happened to the other thumb last night!!!!!!!! Is this common in martial arts? The valuable lesson I learned from the first time it happened was that maybe my thumb wasn't tucked in enough when attacking... but either way I cringe at th thought of having to go through all this pain again... can anyone recommend ointments or steches or anything? Cheers..

...? No I think you're really confused now! The camp is open for everyone, its just that the first one I went to had alot of juniors so they didn't push us too hard. There were all ages there, like I say I'm 24.

They're pretty much for anyone.. I'm 24 myself. The great thing about it was having teachers from other dojos come and take lessons, maybe self defence, kata or sparring advice... it's always good to get someone elses take on things.

So next month will be the second camp I will have gone to since practicing a martial art and I'm looking foward to it (and kinda dreading it at the same time!) I just thought it'd be cool to hear of other camps from around the world and what you've all been through... The last camp was not quite as hardcore as I had expected as nearly half of the attendants were juniors - which suited me fine as my fitness was pretty poor! Basically there is a lesson on Friday night, then Saturday was wall to wall training, followed by a 5:30am wake up call for 1 and a half hours of line kata in the freezing cold feilds with prickles. But I think the worst part of the whole camp was having to keep putting the wet stinking Gi back on before another session - I dreaded it more than the class itself!!

Other than my 3 classes a week, I do alot of pressups and situps during the day at work, and I've just discovered I can do chinups again so when noone is looking I do 3 sets of just 3 or 4 off a door frame... other than that I have started walking to work which is a good half hour each way, with 2.5kg sandbag ankle weights on each ankle - very good workout! Feels awesome taking them off, you feel so much lighter and kicks are alot easier.

At my dojo my Sensei, a Dan grade and I have run through it defending against a Bo, and at one point the Bo is actually taken and used as part of the kata.

<- There it is.. courtesy of Travis Cottreau (as I see the above symbols are from as well) Cheers!

Hold the phone! Just got an email from someone saying Zanchin and Sanchin are different.. If someone could tell me how to attatch the image I'll show you.. but thanks for your help anyways!

Sanchin translates as "3 Battles" or "3 Conflicts". This has many meanings. First it refers to the struggle to control the body under physical fatigue. With fatigue the mind begins to lose focus and thus the spirit begins to diminsh as well. Therefore Sanchin develops discipline, determination, focus, perserverance and other mental attributes. Sanchin (or alternatly spelt Zanchin) as I have been taught is the spirit in which a karateka carries him or herself - almost like a state of readiness. I have come across the above symbols on the internet, but have found it to mean as you say 3 battles, however the last sentence of that paragraph seems to be on the right track. The Japanese language is indeed complicated, but I'm determined to find a translation for what I am after.

Sanchin (remaining spirit)? I can't seem to be able to find it on the net so far.. any suggestions?

I've been doing pressups on concrete for a while now, and although my right primary 2 knuckles are callised and rock hard, the left middle knuckle is quite senitive under the skin, like some sort of infection. Dunno if anyone can suggest anything other than lay off the left knuckle for a while, but has anyone else had anything like this?

Personally I keep a my combat staff by the bed... its small enough to weild inside, and I'm confident in using it.

Bo, Jo and Combat Staff

Does anyone know of any downloadable Bo Kata videos from anywhere?

In Chidokan we push.. the lower your stance the more friction you have to the floor, and especially during basic exercises when trying to build a little muscle on the leg. However, I have never really thought of pulling from the front leg as an option.. just something to be careful not to do.. I may experiment with it...