Well today's class was... how should I say... EXTRAWESOME!!!!
Sensei was on a work trip so he wasn't here today with us, so Tom did both the kobudo class and the karate class. We started our kobudo at a little bit after 8:00, first weapon we worked was the nunchaku. We did Tae Kyo kyu Ichi and Ni... that would be low block embussen drill and the mid block... very different easy enough, then we did the dreaded Kihon Nunchaku, I had blogged the whole thing a while ago, very in depth much manipulation of the nunchaku. We did this 5 times, and then dissected parts that we had questions on, we worked this for about 45 minutes.. then we switched to sai. We did some basic warm ups with it, and then started the first kata... Sensei Charles, you probably know the name of that one, its where you go along the path... smile.. that's what Tom and Sensei say because the same path is taken 5-6 times in it. Then we got to the bo... I must say after manipulating the nunchaku and sai for an hour, my arms were very limber and very loose at this point.
What happened next was something I wasn't expecting. It really does make a difference in which order you practice your weapons because as I picked up my bow to do Tsue Sho, I noticed it was feather light. As I went slowly through Tsue Sho (brown belt requirement in Shuri Ryu karate) I felt like I was possessed or something. The movements were instinctual. My techniques so crisp I felt like jumping for joy, my blocks and strikes just so clean and precise, and my strength and posture, emulating a novice Sensei. Yes, I am boasting because I am extremely proud of this new confidence. I performed this form about 6 times, each time getting a bit better.
I heard people coming into the dojo for the next class at 9:30, the mixed adult and youth class. I worked that bow like it was an extension of me. Executing the crisp, precise, powerful blows to my imaginary opponent. After I whipped the bow around in front of me in closing the kata, giving a very swift bow in respect for the closing. I looked up and saw that Tom, our resident brown belt and Karla were looking at me with wide eyes, Tom broke the silence first, and simply said, "Wow." Then was able to say, "That was great!" I felt a swelling of pride because something happened that I can't describe. I am completely empowered right now and very proud that the ones I try to emulate and look up to, saw a change in me today and it was a good change.
As we walked off the dojo mat, Shawn, a young boy of 11, was hopping in place as I approached, he smiled as I neared, and said, "That was awesome!" I thanked him and continued to the dressing room.
Not sure what happened today, but it felt like the One's Who Come Before (O'Sensei) smiled on my practice session today.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friendships That Will Last A Lifetime.
Tonight was a kyu night for us... Sensei was out on one of his trips so Tom was keeping things going while he's away. These are the nights I look forward to. I love Sensei, he's a wonderful teacher, but sometimes it's good to blow off some steam with your brothers and sisters. It's kind of like when your parents go away for a bit, and it's just you and your siblings... lots of laughter, some goofing off, but we do get some things done. Tonight was a good night, something I really needed. We did do work, but we did a lot of talking as well, all martial arts related of course, but some real life thrown in as well.
We did the warm up that we're all accustomed to, talking as we go, I found that we got so absorbed in catching up that we talked quite a bit just doing hip rotations... all of us, jibber jabbering as we rotated our hips.. it probably looked funny if someone didn't know what we were doing... I found out that Tom was promoted to first level brown belt on Saturday, in 6 months should he be ready, he'll be promoted to Shodan (first degree black belt). Very happy for him, he works hard and is a very good instructor when Sensei has him working with us.
We started review on Anaku, did the form 3 times together, stopped to dissect it and asked questions, and then pretty much worked on self defence techniques. For those who read my blogs, for the most part some are in the arts as well, but for those who are along for my adventurous ride, you will notice that we're a very close lot of people. Working in close proximity doing techniques, putting each other into holds, taking them down to the mat, etc... you develop this immunity to what society would normally consider inappropriate or sexual harrassment... smile. It comes with the terrority. We did self defenses 1-5 with the locks, then Tom and Karla went on to do 6 and 7, I was allowed to do the releases... we laughed, we joked, and just had a fun time. Tom even made me pretty much kiss my own boob... yes, he had me contorted in such a way that I was pretty much squished right into my bust... LOL... and before you knew it, the class was over, much laughter, much critiquing and much comradery... I hated to see it come to an end.
In the change room, Karla and I talked about my doctor's appointments and my concerns, told her that I've been in karate for 7 months now, and don't see a big difference in my weight, I know that my muscles are toning up and skin is getting looser but just concerned about the weight not coming off.... what Karla said after my little vent made me realize how very lucky I truly am... she said, "does it really matter, you've come so far, who really cares about the weight!" The way she said it, the way she looked at me and the way she made me feel, made me realize that these students that I've felt for a while now and consider them my second family don't see me the way I see myself. They don't see an overweight person struggling and getting discouraged when I don't do a move to my specifications, they don't see me as the unsure person I am, when other people are watching me. They see me as one of them, trying to find their way through this way of life, struggling but always ready to take on a challenge when it's presented to me.
So tonight, I dedicate my blog to them. My fellow classmates, my friends, and most of all, my martial arts brother and sister. Thank you so much for being who you are, thank you for bypassing over my outer appearance and seeing me for who I am, thank you for always encouraging me to be better by being a good role model, and thank you for accepting me as an active member of our dojo. Domo Aregato Sempei Tom and Sempei Karla.
We did the warm up that we're all accustomed to, talking as we go, I found that we got so absorbed in catching up that we talked quite a bit just doing hip rotations... all of us, jibber jabbering as we rotated our hips.. it probably looked funny if someone didn't know what we were doing... I found out that Tom was promoted to first level brown belt on Saturday, in 6 months should he be ready, he'll be promoted to Shodan (first degree black belt). Very happy for him, he works hard and is a very good instructor when Sensei has him working with us.
We started review on Anaku, did the form 3 times together, stopped to dissect it and asked questions, and then pretty much worked on self defence techniques. For those who read my blogs, for the most part some are in the arts as well, but for those who are along for my adventurous ride, you will notice that we're a very close lot of people. Working in close proximity doing techniques, putting each other into holds, taking them down to the mat, etc... you develop this immunity to what society would normally consider inappropriate or sexual harrassment... smile. It comes with the terrority. We did self defenses 1-5 with the locks, then Tom and Karla went on to do 6 and 7, I was allowed to do the releases... we laughed, we joked, and just had a fun time. Tom even made me pretty much kiss my own boob... yes, he had me contorted in such a way that I was pretty much squished right into my bust... LOL... and before you knew it, the class was over, much laughter, much critiquing and much comradery... I hated to see it come to an end.
In the change room, Karla and I talked about my doctor's appointments and my concerns, told her that I've been in karate for 7 months now, and don't see a big difference in my weight, I know that my muscles are toning up and skin is getting looser but just concerned about the weight not coming off.... what Karla said after my little vent made me realize how very lucky I truly am... she said, "does it really matter, you've come so far, who really cares about the weight!" The way she said it, the way she looked at me and the way she made me feel, made me realize that these students that I've felt for a while now and consider them my second family don't see me the way I see myself. They don't see an overweight person struggling and getting discouraged when I don't do a move to my specifications, they don't see me as the unsure person I am, when other people are watching me. They see me as one of them, trying to find their way through this way of life, struggling but always ready to take on a challenge when it's presented to me.
So tonight, I dedicate my blog to them. My fellow classmates, my friends, and most of all, my martial arts brother and sister. Thank you so much for being who you are, thank you for bypassing over my outer appearance and seeing me for who I am, thank you for always encouraging me to be better by being a good role model, and thank you for accepting me as an active member of our dojo. Domo Aregato Sempei Tom and Sempei Karla.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
No EXCUSES!!!
Saturday morning, up and early, 6:30 am, am I frigging nuts?? Those were the first thoughts in my head this morning. Downstairs to the downstairs bathroom to take my shower, trying to be quiet as to not wake up my slumbering family. And off I went, hair still wet, and the garage door sliding shut as I pull out of my driveway. No reflection, no preparedness, just trying to get my bearings because I was still sleepy. By the time I reached my destination, it was 7:45, enough time to go to the bathroom quickly and then dawn my gi for my 2.5 hours of Saturday morning bliss.
The first 1.5 hours went by quickly... we worked the bo, doing our warmups with that, did Tsue Sho kata, bo theory for punches and blocks, and switched to sai. Since the last few classes we didn't do sai, Sensei gave us a quick review on theories for blocks, and punches, pretty straight forward and then he had us do Tae Kyo Kyu Ichi, Ni and San... that would be the low block/low punch, mid block/mid punch and high block/high punch versions. Executing all in the I Embusen formation. Then we switched to nunchaku. Warmed up quickly, executing some figure 8 formations, and catching in the weapon under my arm, executing blocks and some strikes, all set to do the nunchaku portion. We went through Kihon Nunchaku as a group 3 times, then each person had to lead the class, so that would be an additional 5 more times. Repeating the movements and asking any questions as we went along, finding out easier ways manoevering the nunchaku. Tom and Karla worked other intermediate forms while Josh and I worked theories and worked out any kinks we had. That was over pretty quickly. Then the mixed class began at 9:30, adults and youth blended.
We have a few more students that joined recently, Josh (who's in my weapons class ) and his daughter, Abby (who's 6 years old), then there's Shawn, a boy of 11 who joined the kids class as well throughout the week. Sensei had the adults pair off and work on Ippons and some blocking drills. Sensei had a more extensive exercise regimen for the kids, something fun but all martial arts based, every once in a while I'd sneak a glance to see what they were doing. I must say, Sensei is very sneaky in his methods. What appears to be child's play is actually useful exercise that targets specific principles used in the martial arts. The kids were doing leap frog over some training gear, then Sensei would move two and pile on top of the other making the jumping height bigger for them, and then he would add more, by the end, little Abby was pretty much as tall as the piled up equipment that the kids were successfully clearing when jumping over. This teaches jumping and of course, training their bodies to clear the obstacle as well as balancing as they landed on the other side... tricky tricky Sensei. Then another one I noticed him doing was having the kids walk with their hands across the dojo floor, having their legs on the cylinder part of a wavemaster (foamy part of a punching/kicking equipment).. developing muscle strength and endurance. Then of course, after we were done our thing, we were invited to do a training exercise with the entire group, Sensei had tied a skipping rope to the dojo bannister and had us use our timing to run under the rope as it turned, each person did their turn and went around to line up to go again. Then of course, Sensei does things in baby steps, so we all had to run into the rope, jump and run out... pretty much like how we would do it as kids in a play ground. As each person did their round, there were personal hurdles to overcome, mine being a gallery of people watching us, when my turn was to come about, I was very self conscious because of being on the heavy side, but as the class progressed, I ignored them and focused on myself and doing the best I could. Little Abby's hurdle was that she was so new to these experiences and didn't really know how to jump rope yet, so with a bit of coaching, and some encouragement from her dad and I, she was able to make it through, get a few jumps in here and there, and we were rewarded with the cutest smile ever. As I mentioned earlier, Sensei does it in baby steps, and likes to challenge his students, so he had use jump once, touch the floor but always keeping our eyes on the rope so that we dont' get hit... yes I was able to do this... shocking huh??? I sure was, it's amazing what you can do when challenged. Then of course, Sensei cranks it up another notch, jumping, touching the floor, jumping again, touching the floor again... end of our turn... we did this until we jumped three times, and bent down to touch the floor 3 times... all of this with the ultimate purpose in mind, being better athletes regardless of our body shapes, physical conditions or limitations. This exercise worked endurance, timing, focus and of course balance.
I have to say, I am truly blessed to have found this dojo. Seven months ago, if someone were to ask me if I would ever get back into the martial arts again, I would have surely laughed at them, saying something negative about myself... but now if someone were to ask me if I wanted to become a black belt in the martial arts, I'd say, I'm well on my way!!!
Inspirational Note: Never use an excuse for not doing something, always challenge yourself to be greater than what you're capable of, always strive for the stars because when you have great expectations, you get great results and gain enlightenment. There is no such thing as failure if you give it an honest try.
The first 1.5 hours went by quickly... we worked the bo, doing our warmups with that, did Tsue Sho kata, bo theory for punches and blocks, and switched to sai. Since the last few classes we didn't do sai, Sensei gave us a quick review on theories for blocks, and punches, pretty straight forward and then he had us do Tae Kyo Kyu Ichi, Ni and San... that would be the low block/low punch, mid block/mid punch and high block/high punch versions. Executing all in the I Embusen formation. Then we switched to nunchaku. Warmed up quickly, executing some figure 8 formations, and catching in the weapon under my arm, executing blocks and some strikes, all set to do the nunchaku portion. We went through Kihon Nunchaku as a group 3 times, then each person had to lead the class, so that would be an additional 5 more times. Repeating the movements and asking any questions as we went along, finding out easier ways manoevering the nunchaku. Tom and Karla worked other intermediate forms while Josh and I worked theories and worked out any kinks we had. That was over pretty quickly. Then the mixed class began at 9:30, adults and youth blended.
We have a few more students that joined recently, Josh (who's in my weapons class ) and his daughter, Abby (who's 6 years old), then there's Shawn, a boy of 11 who joined the kids class as well throughout the week. Sensei had the adults pair off and work on Ippons and some blocking drills. Sensei had a more extensive exercise regimen for the kids, something fun but all martial arts based, every once in a while I'd sneak a glance to see what they were doing. I must say, Sensei is very sneaky in his methods. What appears to be child's play is actually useful exercise that targets specific principles used in the martial arts. The kids were doing leap frog over some training gear, then Sensei would move two and pile on top of the other making the jumping height bigger for them, and then he would add more, by the end, little Abby was pretty much as tall as the piled up equipment that the kids were successfully clearing when jumping over. This teaches jumping and of course, training their bodies to clear the obstacle as well as balancing as they landed on the other side... tricky tricky Sensei. Then another one I noticed him doing was having the kids walk with their hands across the dojo floor, having their legs on the cylinder part of a wavemaster (foamy part of a punching/kicking equipment).. developing muscle strength and endurance. Then of course, after we were done our thing, we were invited to do a training exercise with the entire group, Sensei had tied a skipping rope to the dojo bannister and had us use our timing to run under the rope as it turned, each person did their turn and went around to line up to go again. Then of course, Sensei does things in baby steps, so we all had to run into the rope, jump and run out... pretty much like how we would do it as kids in a play ground. As each person did their round, there were personal hurdles to overcome, mine being a gallery of people watching us, when my turn was to come about, I was very self conscious because of being on the heavy side, but as the class progressed, I ignored them and focused on myself and doing the best I could. Little Abby's hurdle was that she was so new to these experiences and didn't really know how to jump rope yet, so with a bit of coaching, and some encouragement from her dad and I, she was able to make it through, get a few jumps in here and there, and we were rewarded with the cutest smile ever. As I mentioned earlier, Sensei does it in baby steps, and likes to challenge his students, so he had use jump once, touch the floor but always keeping our eyes on the rope so that we dont' get hit... yes I was able to do this... shocking huh??? I sure was, it's amazing what you can do when challenged. Then of course, Sensei cranks it up another notch, jumping, touching the floor, jumping again, touching the floor again... end of our turn... we did this until we jumped three times, and bent down to touch the floor 3 times... all of this with the ultimate purpose in mind, being better athletes regardless of our body shapes, physical conditions or limitations. This exercise worked endurance, timing, focus and of course balance.
I have to say, I am truly blessed to have found this dojo. Seven months ago, if someone were to ask me if I would ever get back into the martial arts again, I would have surely laughed at them, saying something negative about myself... but now if someone were to ask me if I wanted to become a black belt in the martial arts, I'd say, I'm well on my way!!!
Inspirational Note: Never use an excuse for not doing something, always challenge yourself to be greater than what you're capable of, always strive for the stars because when you have great expectations, you get great results and gain enlightenment. There is no such thing as failure if you give it an honest try.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Sensei... my mentor, my teacher, my friend
A week ago I had a bit of time before my class. I was waiting for my class to begin and I was standing by Sensei's office. On his office walls he has many certificates, some japanese calligraphy framed, but what caught my eye was a poem. What it means to be Sensei. I wish I had the actual poem, but unfortunately at this time I do not. Once I do, I can add it to this blog or a later one. The jest of the poem was that when people start out in the arts, there could be 100,000, as the first month goes by, a great many number drop out, by their first anniversary date there's this many and so on and so forth.. and by the end, only this many remain to make it to black belt, but it's 1 in 100,000 that make it to Sensei. Then of course it had other stuff within... stuff about character, what it takes to be a Sensei. Well tonight I dedicate my blog to Sensei.
I got to my class and after a VERY awful day fighting with myself and my own mood, I confided in Sensei, I was fortunate to have him all to myself during the warm ups. Letting him into my world as a stay at home mom, a daughter living in a different country and an overstressed wife. He listened as we did our warm up, lending a nod here and there, a look of concern there, and finally all he said was, "I'm glad you realized that you needed to talk to someone about it to get it off your chest before the negativity started to fester." That was all he said, and it made me feel better. He didn't add any advice, just lent me a ear to vent on, and was silent as I figured it all out for myself. I've read somewhere, that wisdom comes from not saying a word, just observation... he didn't have to add any words of advice, he just stood there, listening.
We carried on with going right into Anaku, where we somewhat left off on Tuesday night. We went through the section he had just taught me, then added another section on, we did the bunkai (application and theory part) and discussed any issues I was having. For the most part, there weren't any issues, I thanked Sensei once again for this new learning opportunity because it was surely working in my favour, I was definitely comprehending this new approach, more so than what I was previously to the old way of his teaching. After going through the bunkai with Sensei, I can confidently say that my comfort level with these new sections of Anaku would be like taking all my time practicing Wansu kata and combining it together. I do have some timing issues, but this power learning is definitely speeding up my progress. At this point, Tom appeared out of nowhere, I had heard the door open, but didn't look behind me, I was too busy learning this new piece. Sensei acknowledged he was there, bowed him in quickly and asked him to warm up while he finished up with me. We went through Anaku Bunkai together one more time, and Sensei left me on my own to gain revelation as I practiced.
Being that the class is an hour long, Sensei spent pretty much the remainder of the class with Tom, going through Dannen Sho and the Bunkai. He did ask me if I had any questions, which I did, he answered them and went back to Tom. I had decided to slow down a pace so I went over to the wall, and practiced my front kick alongside the dojo bannister, the railing that runs along one side of the dojo, shifting my weight to my back leg, in a slight bent knee position and executed my front kick so that my head didn't bob upward as I kicked, trying to keep my body parallel to my starting stance, very hard, but doable. Switched to the left side and doing the same for some repetitions, training my body how my body should be aligned for this kick in this form. Sensei looked over and gave me a nod.
Bowing out, Sensei had asked me how I was feeling, I told him a whole lot better than when I first came in, he smiled and said good. As we walked from the dojo mat, he said I did great and he sees much improvement.
Simple gestures, a non-judgmental ear to vent on, encouragement by example, strength of character, integrity, humility and having a positive purpose, these all are evident in Sensei. I had met another man in the last few months with the same qualities and its no surprise that he was my Sensei's Sensei. Hanshi Ridgely Abele.
I have a far way to go to even come close to being Sensei, but that is definitely someone I strive to be. Thank you for being you Sensei, because you truly are 1 in 100,000.
I got to my class and after a VERY awful day fighting with myself and my own mood, I confided in Sensei, I was fortunate to have him all to myself during the warm ups. Letting him into my world as a stay at home mom, a daughter living in a different country and an overstressed wife. He listened as we did our warm up, lending a nod here and there, a look of concern there, and finally all he said was, "I'm glad you realized that you needed to talk to someone about it to get it off your chest before the negativity started to fester." That was all he said, and it made me feel better. He didn't add any advice, just lent me a ear to vent on, and was silent as I figured it all out for myself. I've read somewhere, that wisdom comes from not saying a word, just observation... he didn't have to add any words of advice, he just stood there, listening.
We carried on with going right into Anaku, where we somewhat left off on Tuesday night. We went through the section he had just taught me, then added another section on, we did the bunkai (application and theory part) and discussed any issues I was having. For the most part, there weren't any issues, I thanked Sensei once again for this new learning opportunity because it was surely working in my favour, I was definitely comprehending this new approach, more so than what I was previously to the old way of his teaching. After going through the bunkai with Sensei, I can confidently say that my comfort level with these new sections of Anaku would be like taking all my time practicing Wansu kata and combining it together. I do have some timing issues, but this power learning is definitely speeding up my progress. At this point, Tom appeared out of nowhere, I had heard the door open, but didn't look behind me, I was too busy learning this new piece. Sensei acknowledged he was there, bowed him in quickly and asked him to warm up while he finished up with me. We went through Anaku Bunkai together one more time, and Sensei left me on my own to gain revelation as I practiced.
Being that the class is an hour long, Sensei spent pretty much the remainder of the class with Tom, going through Dannen Sho and the Bunkai. He did ask me if I had any questions, which I did, he answered them and went back to Tom. I had decided to slow down a pace so I went over to the wall, and practiced my front kick alongside the dojo bannister, the railing that runs along one side of the dojo, shifting my weight to my back leg, in a slight bent knee position and executed my front kick so that my head didn't bob upward as I kicked, trying to keep my body parallel to my starting stance, very hard, but doable. Switched to the left side and doing the same for some repetitions, training my body how my body should be aligned for this kick in this form. Sensei looked over and gave me a nod.
Bowing out, Sensei had asked me how I was feeling, I told him a whole lot better than when I first came in, he smiled and said good. As we walked from the dojo mat, he said I did great and he sees much improvement.
Simple gestures, a non-judgmental ear to vent on, encouragement by example, strength of character, integrity, humility and having a positive purpose, these all are evident in Sensei. I had met another man in the last few months with the same qualities and its no surprise that he was my Sensei's Sensei. Hanshi Ridgely Abele.
I have a far way to go to even come close to being Sensei, but that is definitely someone I strive to be. Thank you for being you Sensei, because you truly are 1 in 100,000.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Karla draws FIRST BLOOD!!!
I wasn't really sure if I was going to go to my class tonight, it was snowing for the majority of the day, not hard, but continuous. After dealing with two demanding toddlers all day I was heading out the door pretty much as soon as Rob came home. I needed my time to destress or I was thinking I was going to snap pretty good, very quickly... so off I went.
Getting to Appleton, I noticed the snow was more heavier, hopefully it wouldn't be too bad by the time I was to leave in an hour or so. Getting into the dojo I realized it was very cold inside. Normally I would stand by the heater and warm up but I needed some destressing time from my drive, so I went into the change room and sat on our couch picking up a karate magazine just to kill some time before class.
Time flies when absorbed in your thoughts. Karla came in as I was getting comfy, she didn't see me come in, so she was kind of surprised when she came into the dressing room and saw me lounging...LOL.
Our class started and Sensei, Karla and I exercised and talked our way through warmups, then Sensei asked us what we would like to do tonight. I wanted to practice Anaku... so of course, we did some review, then went into Anaku, repeated the section I was taught, discussed it, and then applied attacks to it, bunkai. Sensei added another section on and applied bunkai, then he wanted to know my input... was it working or should we go back to the old way of teaching kata. I gave him my insight that it was like, power learning... there's learning a series of movements, but when the application and theory is also introduced, you as the performer of the kata can grasp the why, the how, and the when of using these applications in a real life situation. I call this Power Learning. And I love it!!!! This got me another one of Sensei's approving smiles... and he said, "Good then we will continue doing this form of teaching/learning with you" After that, Karla was paired off with Tom to work on their Ippons, I was left with Sensei to work on my self defense releases and locks. Then we reviewed my Ippons 1-5 with attackers and then I was told to do my Kihons 1-5... Sensei, Karla and Tom worked the bunkai for Emmpi Sho. I have to say, I felt myself turning to watch... it was sooooo beautiful... all their techniques so crisp, all movements precise and with purpose, and they worked so well together. I did tell them all this when Sensei caught me looking at them and not practicing my stuff... I said I was watching them execute their movements and couldn't turn away. Sensei didn't chastise me, just said, you can watch as long as you learn something from it... and of course, he made me tell them what I learned. I love watching them perform, absolutely beautiful and definitely inspires me to be a better martial artist.
Then we moved into Kata Kumite... this was where Karla drew first blood... not on me, on our resident Brown Belt. Kata Kumite is basically controlled sparring, we don't wear any head gear, gloves or shoes, just empty hand... we execute blocks and strikes to our opponent, working slowly and then gaining speed... we're timed by a stop watch and once the timer goes off we move to the next person and continue our drill... very fun, gets the heart pumping, and we're learning the timing and distancing of our multiple attackers... Karla was working with Tom, not sure how it happened but we all ended up with blood on our gis.. Sensei noticed first. Karla had some on her gi, Sensei had a bit on his, and I was about to get some on mine, but Sensei noticed the blood. We all checked ourselves and it was Tom who had a long scratch down his arm. Doing Kata Kumite, you're doing alot of blocking and there is some body contact, not sure what happened, but that's why it's very important that everyone in a dojo respectfully keeps their nails trimmed and jewelry off, to ensure no one gets hurt by these things. We bandaged our fallen comrade and continued with our exercise. I must say, I love this new found part of my life. Absolutely takes the stress away from a day at home with my girls and lets me focus on what I love most in my life, being a part of something greater than myself.
Getting to Appleton, I noticed the snow was more heavier, hopefully it wouldn't be too bad by the time I was to leave in an hour or so. Getting into the dojo I realized it was very cold inside. Normally I would stand by the heater and warm up but I needed some destressing time from my drive, so I went into the change room and sat on our couch picking up a karate magazine just to kill some time before class.
Time flies when absorbed in your thoughts. Karla came in as I was getting comfy, she didn't see me come in, so she was kind of surprised when she came into the dressing room and saw me lounging...LOL.
Our class started and Sensei, Karla and I exercised and talked our way through warmups, then Sensei asked us what we would like to do tonight. I wanted to practice Anaku... so of course, we did some review, then went into Anaku, repeated the section I was taught, discussed it, and then applied attacks to it, bunkai. Sensei added another section on and applied bunkai, then he wanted to know my input... was it working or should we go back to the old way of teaching kata. I gave him my insight that it was like, power learning... there's learning a series of movements, but when the application and theory is also introduced, you as the performer of the kata can grasp the why, the how, and the when of using these applications in a real life situation. I call this Power Learning. And I love it!!!! This got me another one of Sensei's approving smiles... and he said, "Good then we will continue doing this form of teaching/learning with you" After that, Karla was paired off with Tom to work on their Ippons, I was left with Sensei to work on my self defense releases and locks. Then we reviewed my Ippons 1-5 with attackers and then I was told to do my Kihons 1-5... Sensei, Karla and Tom worked the bunkai for Emmpi Sho. I have to say, I felt myself turning to watch... it was sooooo beautiful... all their techniques so crisp, all movements precise and with purpose, and they worked so well together. I did tell them all this when Sensei caught me looking at them and not practicing my stuff... I said I was watching them execute their movements and couldn't turn away. Sensei didn't chastise me, just said, you can watch as long as you learn something from it... and of course, he made me tell them what I learned. I love watching them perform, absolutely beautiful and definitely inspires me to be a better martial artist.
Then we moved into Kata Kumite... this was where Karla drew first blood... not on me, on our resident Brown Belt. Kata Kumite is basically controlled sparring, we don't wear any head gear, gloves or shoes, just empty hand... we execute blocks and strikes to our opponent, working slowly and then gaining speed... we're timed by a stop watch and once the timer goes off we move to the next person and continue our drill... very fun, gets the heart pumping, and we're learning the timing and distancing of our multiple attackers... Karla was working with Tom, not sure how it happened but we all ended up with blood on our gis.. Sensei noticed first. Karla had some on her gi, Sensei had a bit on his, and I was about to get some on mine, but Sensei noticed the blood. We all checked ourselves and it was Tom who had a long scratch down his arm. Doing Kata Kumite, you're doing alot of blocking and there is some body contact, not sure what happened, but that's why it's very important that everyone in a dojo respectfully keeps their nails trimmed and jewelry off, to ensure no one gets hurt by these things. We bandaged our fallen comrade and continued with our exercise. I must say, I love this new found part of my life. Absolutely takes the stress away from a day at home with my girls and lets me focus on what I love most in my life, being a part of something greater than myself.
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