Cool stuff I learned this week

[aurik]

Quick update:

At last night's class our sensei and I got to introduce Aaron to the joy that is Master Ken. We were fine-tuning our dan kumite drills, and at the end I said something along the lines of "and re-stomp that groin". (Seriously, the finishing move for the dan kumite drill is pulling up on the opponent's leg while doing a stomping kick to the groin.) Aaron had *no* idea what we're talking about, so we had to educate him a bit.

Now I'm feeling the need to watch a few episodes of "Enter the Dojo Show"!

Edited November 10, 2023 by aurik

[sensei8]

Educational training at its very best...especially whenever Master Ken's involved.

[bushido_man96]

That's what it's all about, right there!

[aurik]

So the testing has come and gone, and.... (drum roll please)... everyone passed! We had two testing sessions; the morning session had 7 candidates testing for adult dan grades, and the afternoon session had 5 candidates testing for junior first degree. I was personally a little nervous going in -- it's a test so the nerves were there. However, I knew that I was as prepared as I was going to be, and I was confident that I was going to do well. In my test we had Aaron and me testing for nidan, Eli was testing for shodan and nidan-sho (junior second degree), and the remaining four candidates were testing for shodan.

My test started with Sanchin. In Uechi-Ryu, we have a saying "All is in Sanchin". And as such, it's the beginning of our test, and it's also the section of the test with the highest percentage. (25% of the test). Our tests run lowest ranked to highest ranked, and since I was the oldest nidan candidate in the test, I was the last to go. Usually Richard (our CI) does all of the Sanchin testing for male candidates, but this time he had David (who recently tested for Godan/Shihan) do some of our testing. So I was a little surprised when he was asked to do my testing. I noticed that he doesn't hit nearly as hard as our CI does, but he does all of the checks we're used to. However, towards the end of the test he did give me a surprise I wasn't expecting. Normally as we are doing the 3 final wa-uke strikes, we will get kciked/struck in the abdominals. However, unfortunately David kicked me... a fair bit lower. Not QUITE in the groin, but just a hair above there. At least he didn't kick me really HARD there either. But it was enough to break my concentration for the remaining of the test, so when he did the final tests of my hand strength, I messed up a bit -- but I didn't let either of those oopses show on my face.

That's actually something I that I've been telling the other candidates on the test -- whatever happens, keep going. If you make what you think is a mistake - keep going, don't let ti show on your face. If a member of the test board thinks you've made a mistake, they will ask you to show that technique again. However, don't make it easy on them to see your mistakes. Neither Aaron nor I were asked to repeat any techniques, and most of the candidates were only asked to repeat things a couple of times. That right there is a pretty good sign that everyone passed.

As we went through the remaining segments - rank kata, seisan bunkai, kotekitae, hojo undo, I felt really good about things. THere were times where I ended a session a bit winded, but not nearly as bad as I was on my shodan test. When we got to the oral exam, I was able to answer all of my examiner's questions in as much (or possibly more) detail than he expected, so I think I got 5/5 on that (technically that's the only part of the test you can be expected to get full marks on). And as I'm over 50, I elected not to spar this time around.

When the results were announced, they announced that all of us had passed, and they handed out belts (to the shodan candidates). We all then got some "okay, you're a black belt, but here's some things to work on" feedback, Iwhich I *really* appreciate. In every test I've taken, I've always received "here's how to get better" after I passed. Two of the key pieces of feedback were "make sure you're hitting the right target", and "Manage your distance."

Zach's test went much the same way -- he was asked to repeat one segment in his bunkai, but only the one. I was very impressed with his Sanchin and his rank kata -- there were a couple segments in Seisan that he really wowed me at. Also, my wife overheard some of the instructors commenting about how Zach did really well on his oral segment, so that made me a proud dad.

As we were waiting for the results, our CI was talking to us a bit, and he did mention that he had not (yet) failed any students who had passed the prep cycle. However, there were students that washed out DURING the prep cycle. And he has attended other tests in which students have failed.

In the end, Zach passed as well, and they got much of the same feedback that we got after our tests.

And now on to the required pictures:

[sensei8]

Congrats to you and Zach; well deserved. Thank you for the photos as well. Very proud of you both as well as the others who passed their Testing Cycle.

[bushido_man96]

Congratulations to both of you!

[aurik]

It's been a few weeks since I posted in here, and it's been a very eventful couple of weeks.

The week of November 13th, I went to Dallas for a work trip. It was very productive in terms of we got to see people face to face who I normally only talk to through Zoom (or similar tools). We also were able to discuss a lot of what we want to accomplish as a team with our manager and second level manager providing a lot of good input and direct feedback. Also, while I was in Dallas, I was able to visit a local Uechi-Ryu dojo to train for an evening. It was a very different experience from my home dojo. The dojo is part of a different organization (Kenyukai), and they do things a little bit differently. For example, in Sanchin, they perform the strike and step on different counts. Also, they will perform the last 3 wa-uke sequences broken down into 8 small steps, instead of a fluid motion that we are used to doing. However, in spite of these differences I did get a few nuggets of information that I definitely want to incorporate into my karate: first, in my Sanchin, I need to lower my left shoulder a touch, to lock things into place. He showed me how much stronger things are with the shoulder lowered (just an inch or so). He also drilled into me the "eyes, feet, hands" sequence -- he had me do one of my kata with the sequence "look", then counted the number. "look", then count the number, etc. It felt a bit more crisp that way, and he explained the reasoning behind it. We then discussed kotekitae together and he showed me some little different things I can do to strenghten/condition myself better.

We also discussed my sensei and his family (above a certain level in our style, everyone knows everyone, it seems). He gave my CI a few compliments, since he has had the opportunity to train with him a few times at various seminars. He also gave me a few compliments on my kata as well, and told me that I was welcome to come train with them anytime I was in town.

Once I got back from Dallas, we were again packing to go on a vacation. We did a Disney cruise out of San Diego, where we visited Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Each location was very different and had a different flavor, and we picked a different shore excursion to do at each port. At one port, we did a cruise on a pirate-themed ship (which was a replica of Christopher Columbus' ships), which involved a pirate show and a few hours snorkeling and hanging out at a really nice private little beach. At Mazatlan, we did a bus tour where we visited a brick factory and a few small tradidional "mom and pop" businesses, and also a "ghost town" -- which wasn't completely uninhabited, but was down to ~300 residents. Finally, we did a cruise on a catamaran around the harbor of Cabo San Lucas, visited a glass factory, and stopped at a restaurant with an awesome view of the harbor.

However, the entire trip did not go well. On the final night of the cruise, while I was in a whiskey tasting seminar, I got a text from my sister to call her immediately. My dad had been visiting with my sister and her family in Phoenix for Thanksgiving, and he was on a flight back to Jacksonville (FL), when at the end of the flight they found him unresponsive. They made an emergency medical landing and determined he had a heart attack on the plane. He was pronounced later that morning at the local hospital.

So... the next few weeks are going to be a really rough time for me. I'll be spending the next week working to set up my dad's funeral, and then there will be all the other things that have to happen after that. I'll be sure to train as much as I can through this, since I find the exhaustion after a workout definitely helps. But focus is going to be really hard.

[DarthPenguin]

Hi Aurik, sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you and the family are doing ok

[sensei8]

So sorry to hear about the passing of your dad, Ken. My prayers and condolences for you, your family, and friends. I understand what you're going through because my dad passed away 2 years this coming March 2024.

Anything MA related will still be there when the times right, and family comes first. The floor will still be there for you to return to but for now, grief and your dad's affairs are to be attended to.

[bushido_man96]

Sorry for your loss, aurik. Thoughts and prayers to you and your family.