Cool stuff I learned this week

[aurik]

I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I posted here. Classes at the dojo have been running pretty well -- I've been managing to get to at least 2, and usually 3 classes every week. My lower back and knees have been holding up pretty well, and after a few very enlightening discussions with my CI and his father, I'm gaining a much better understanding of Seisan kata and its bunkai.

For one thing, for someone of my size with my knee issues, trying to do the jump at the end isn't nearly as important as getting out of the way quickly, and then getting back in quickly. For me, I've found that with my fairly long legs, I can slide my foot just above the floor almost as quickly, and I don't have the shock of the landing. It lets me get into the positions much better and reliably. It may not look as flashy as the big jump that others do, but for me it works.

I've also been working on my sparring more - especially since it's a significant requirement for both ikkyu and dan-level promotions. Now that we're sparring more often, I'm starting to learn better what works for me, and what doesn't. I'm learning that for someone like me that is usually much slower than my opponent, I get better results when I give my opponent an opening and then counter -- they can almost always evade before I can close the distance any other way. Also, since we're doing more sparring I have been training with different partners, which is always fun. It's fun to spar with someone who doesn't already have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do already . And as my CI goes, "When you spar with your Sensei, he'll teach you what you already know". Or something like that.

The good news is, I'm scheduled to test for ikkyu later this month. I was a little surprised by this, since it's only been 5 months since I tested for nikyu, but this way if I fail this test for whatever reason, I can re-test next month, and still test for shodan next May. Dan-grade tests only happen twice a year, so getting an extra month to test for ikkyu definitely is appreciated.

Also last Thursday I tweaked my lower back again. Fortunately it wasn't nearly as bad as it was back in June, but it's been a little tight. It slowed me down a bit on the night it happened and it's been stiffening up more than usual. However, it's definitely a much more manageable injury than previous.

I'll try not to be such a stranger here. And i'll keep you guys up to speed on how things are gong. Thanks!

[sensei8]

Fantastic update, aurik!! Ikkyu Testing Cycle....has it been that long already?! Sooner than later, you'll be on the threshold of Shodan.

Train hard and train well!!

[bushido_man96]

It sounds like your learning how to adapt things to your body, which is a big step in advancing. Kudos to you! Keep up the good work!

[aurik]

I'm starting to REALLY appreciate the Tuesday night "Advanced Adult" class, and this past Tuesday is no exception. This class gives me a chance to focus on the new material for ikkyu and shodan. Also, since most of the other instructors (who teach at the satellite schools) are encouraged to attend this class, I get to see material presented differently.

In this week's class, we started out with our usual junbi undo / hojo undo / sanchin series. We then broke into groups for kote kitae while pairs of students went to work on kote kitae / ashi kitae -- I am starting to feel that I'm back to where I was on my conditioning pre-pandemic, so that's pretty good. I was working with one of our youngest (full) shodans, and (for most students), I get to encourage them to hit my arms/legs full-power. And after that, I usually work with them on how to generate more power -- usually in the form of dropping their weight when doing a downwards shuto, or converting that shuto into a tettsui-uchi. In this case he laughed and said, "I don't want to hurt my hand on you!". Which was all good.

We then did individual Sanchin with our CI's father (kyoshi hachidan), and he would test our focus by trying to break our balance with pulling/pushing striking. I'm starting to get used to this -- which is good, since it will be on my upcoming tests.

Next was the eye-opening thing. Our CI did some 1:1 work with me on our dan kumite drills. He mentioned that at where I am, he wants to see me commit to each strike, and wait until I sense my opponent counter before I shift backwards for my block. He also said that this is one of the reasons that once you engage you want to maintain contact with your opponent so you can *feel* them move. This is going to take a lot of mental adjustment to get used to -- in some ways it completely changes your mindset in two-person drills.

After working dan kumite with that mindset, he then had me work our other two-person drills using that mindset as well. I think that once I start using that mindset without thinking, my karate will take a big step forward, but getting that point is going to take a lot of focus and practice.

[aurik]

Okay, it's been a REALLY long time since I've posted in here. Life has gotten busy in more ways than one. Last November I tested for (and passed) my test for ikkyu. It was a pretty fun test. Our CI usually runs one test a month, but that month he broke it up into two, one for adults (typically 13+) and one for youths. Since I was the only adult brown belt candidate, I of course got to demonstrate with him for my two-person drills and (gasp) sparring. He has reintroduced sparring as one of the requirements, since we've been able to touch each other for 6+ months now.

The ikkyu test consists of elements: hojo undo (accessory exercises) randomly in Japanese, kote kitae (arm rubbing/pounding), Sanchin kata with kime testing, dan kumite (two-person prearranged sparring), Seichin kata (generally required for 3rd-1st kyu), Seisan kata (generally required for shodan), and free sparring.

The hojo undo, kote kitae, and Sanchin have been part of every test I've done since I started in Uechi-Ryu, so I wasn't seriously worried, but the shime testing is fairly new to me. In Sanchin your evaluator will pull, push, and strike you in various places to ensure you're protecting yourself and you're able to resist being pulled off balance. I felt that I did much better in this round than for nikyu, but there are areas I still feel I need to work on.

I did pretty well on Seichin kata, and I felt that the Seisan kata was the best I've done so far. I still need to work on the final sequence, but I have another 6 months to work on that until my next testing. The sparring is what had me the most worried -- it seems the only person I end up sparring with his my CI, and by now he pretty much knows everything I'm going to try to throw at him. Right before that part of the test he told me "It's not MY test. It's YOUR test. I'm here to see what you can do." I felt I did well enough on the sparring to pass, but I still feel that is the weakest part of my karate. Being a larger guy, I'm pretty slow so most of my partners end up jumping in, tagging me, and jumping back out. Granted I know and they know that in a real fight that wouldn't really hurt me much. However it's pretty frustrating.

In any case, I did pass my ikkyu test. Our CI's father did all of our feedback and didn't have anything specific except he said we need to work on pacing ourselves in sparring (me in particular), and the sparring part of the test is as much about CV fitness as anything else. So I passed my ikkyu test -- next step is "advanced brown belt" and shodan.

[aurik]

I'm now a couple weeks into the Shodan prep cycle. This consists of two "normal" classes per week along with one test-specific class. In the test-specific class, he'll focus on everything that is on the shodan (or advanced dan) test and nothing else. The first week he basically ran us through a mock test minus the sparring, so he could look at everyone and get an idea for what each of us needs to focus on in order to pass. Since there are no other adult male candidates this time around, I'll be parterning up with my CI for the test. Again, this is a good thing and a bad thing. Good: he makes you look really good. Bad: He definitely makes you work for it.

At the outset of the class, he told us that the next 3 months will basically be a test. He'll evaluate whether we can make the corrections he wants us to make before we get to the test. If he doesn't think we're going to pass, he won't let us test -- there will be a panel of instructors on the test board, and he is only one vote. He gave us some written homework to prep for the oral section of the exam, and then we got to work.

There are a few new things he's asking us (and me) to work on in these classes. First, he wants to see our dan kumite flow more. The drill can be broken up into twelve steps. 5 attack, 5 defense, Receiving a takedown, and delivering a takedown. One thing he mentioned is that when we started learning the drill, we were expected to do one step, stop and reset. Next step, stop and reset, etc. He said that at the dan level, he wants to see one sequence flow into the next which flows into the next. It took a few attempts to get the hang of it, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get the hang of it in fairly short order.

The second thing I really need to work on is the seisan bunkai. Most of the bunkai is pretty straightforward and not far off from what we have done previously. However, there are two sequences where you are defending against a sword attack (it could be any two-handed weapon, stick, baseball bat, etc). In the first sequence, when the attacker brings the sword up, you preemptively close the distance, block the elbow and upper arm off to the side, and strike with a front elbow strike to the ribs, followed by a hiraken strike to the face. The second one is the hardest of all -- you start in a low stance (shiko-dachi), and the attacker steps in with a downward angled strike to your front thigh. The defender jumps back out of the way, landing on the right foot, with the left hand and leg protecting the groin and side. As the opponent brings the sword up for a second attack, the defender jumps back to his original position, jamming/blocking attacker's front elbow and deflecting the strike to the side (again, by forcing the attackers arms to the side, not the sword!), then finishing the attacker with an elbow to the floating ribs, an uraken to the upper jaw, and a shoken (one-knuckle) strike to either the armpit or the heart (whichever is available). Both of these defenses are HIGHLY timing-dependent and require anticipation and speed. Fortunately I'm starting to feel pretty good about the first one, and the second one I'm getting there.

Lastly, sparring. We've been sparring at each of the prep classes, and my CI has been giving me lots of good feedback. He likes that I'm now able to chain 2-3 attacks together, but he tells me "Yeah, after that third strike I'm about done with defending, if you can follow up one more time, you'll probably get me". The thing is, at that point, I've extended myself about as far as I can. Something to work on.

We've also had a nikyu start coming back to train with us. He hasn't been doing much in the way of training for the past year or two, and I recall he was testing for nikyu at the same time I tested for gokyu. So our CI has been asking me to work with him on a number of the two-person drills and our bunkai. Since he is so rusty, I tend to work with him at a much slower pace, but it also lets me work on my teaching skills. I may decide to go the instructor route after I get my 1st degree, but I'll also need to see how much extra time that entails.

[bushido_man96]

It sounds like you're doing great! Congrats on passing your ikkyu testing, and good luck moving forward to your shodan testing! Stay focused and keep working hard, and it'll come to you in no time!

[sensei8]

It sounds like you're doing great! Congrats on passing your ikkyu testing, and good luck moving forward to your shodan testing! Stay focused and keep working hard, and it'll come to you in no time!

I wholeheartedly agree with Brian!! So proud of your MA ethics!! Thank you for your updates!!

[aurik]

... And now for something completely different.

Zach and I have had a blast learning blacksmithing and bladesmithing. My wife tolerates this and appreciates that we have a new shared interest. (She tolerates it but will not allow a propane powered forge in or near the house!). So for Valentine's day this year, she purchased me a "Forged in Fire Round 1 and 2 Challenge" at Kilroy's Workshop in Colorado Springs. This gives you a taste of what it's like to be on the "Forged in Fire" TV show, where you get 3 hours to complete a challenge that involves making some kind of blade using a set of parameters -- it doesn't have to be finished, but it has to be properly hardened before the 3 hours is up. Then for the second round, you get 2 hours to finish the piece.

So last Wednesday, I did the challenge -- I made my first-ever kukri (and biggest completed blade yet), and Ron (the shop owner) made a Bowie in the same amount of time. My piece is the best blade I've made yet, but it is no match to what Ron created. The cool thing is -- I get to keep both blades! Here are the finished pieces:

http://i.imgur.com/3bx4ui2.jpg

I'm signed up to do a quillon dagger class with an ABS master smith this coming summer, and I've currently both got a wakizashi and dagger in-flight. It's a new addiction

[bushido_man96]

Those are really cool!