Sparred again, tonight! HOOAH!!!!

We had a big class, tonight! Thirteen people showed up, and our combined heat managed to raise the temperature of the dojo from 71F to 76F, by the time we were finished with our half hour of calisthenics. We did some medicine ball drills -- A stance drill, and then a speed drill.

After that, we had sparring. I was called out for the first match, and called on to spar against the black belt that beat me so badly, the last time we sparred. I thought, Oh boy... Here we go...

We bowed to Sensei, bowed to each other, touched gloves, and then went for a single round. Just before hajime, I got into a Seiuchin (horse) stance, turned sideways to him. I felt cool, loose, and relaxed. I waited for him to throw the first shot and really focused on my defense. My plan was to stay either all the way out, or get inside and bang to the body, since I'm 5'10" and he's 6'2" or 3" and has greater reach, power, and speed than I do.

My biggest mistakes, the first time we sparred and I got blitzed: I let my hands fall to chest level, I didn't move laterally very much, and I started out in a Seisan stance, more or less squared up to him. Bad mistakes, all of them...

This time, I was sideways to him, tried to circle to my right and away from his power, and I kept my guard up. He threw a lot of techniques to the head, just as in our first match, but because my guard was up, he only got one punch that came through and popped me in the nose. What felt best, was when he tried a spinning back-fist and he hit only my gloves. The only other real shot he managed to get in, was at the very end, where I got my guard too high, and he ripped off a kick to my mid-section that had me briefly feeling a little green around the gills. The match was over, by then.

I was able to time him a couple of times, and I was able to get inside and hit him a few times to the mid-section; not hard enough to hurt him at all, but enough to let him know that I was right there in his wheelhouse and popping him pretty good.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how the match went. Of course, I'm still not at black belt level by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel like I was a lot better, this time out. Next time, I'll be even better.

Things I need to work on: I need to move laterally more, need to be less flat-footed and more mobile so I can pop in, strike, and then get out. Because he's a taller opponent and likes to throw punches and kicks to the head and face, I need to work on getting lower, slipping those punches and kicks, and then banging back before he has time to get set again.

Good stuff... I learn so much, every time we spar, and I wish we'd do more of it. Now that my techniques are improving through working the kata and stances, sparring is a lot more fun!

Okay... Onward and upward!

Killer workout, this morning. Chest, shoulders, and neck. Flat bench press, inclined bench press, overhead shoulder press, and weighted neck-lifts, three sets per exercise, each one taken to muscle failure between 8-12 reps. My shoulders, chest, and lats continue to widen and broaden, and my waist continues to get smaller. My legs are getting a lot stronger and bigger, too. From workout to workout, I'm consistently raising the weights by an average of 5-7 lbs per exercise. The changes are exciting to see, and I feel great!! I'm being very careful to take my time to warm up, stretch out well, and do a light warm-up set before each exercise. In this way, I think I'll be able to keep from injuring myself. At this point, it really feels like the sky is the limit!

I've been working and working on the Naihanchi kata, and I've really got it in good shape. It doesn't feel nearly so awkward, anymore. In fact, I've even come to like it quite a bit. I'm ready to start viewing videos of the Wansu kata now, and if I can divide the kata up into halves, thirds, or quarters, maybe it'll be easier to memorize. I'm excited about it, and feel very encouraged by my rapid success with the Naihanchi. (Of course, I'm constantly working on the Seisan and Seiuchin katas, and I have a lot of refining of the Naihanchi kata, to do.) Anyway... It's getting there! :-)

Naihanchi Kata - FINALLY!

I finally got the Naihanchi kata memorized. Writing it out, step-by-step, was just the thing I needed to do. It seems funny now, that I ever had a problem with it! :-) Now comes the practice, practice, practice, and refining it. I have my freestyle class this afternoon, so I can work on it more, and demonstrate it for my Sensei, so he can make any corrections that need to be made.

I won't be eligible to test for green belt until November, so I have plenty of time to work on both the Chinto and Wansu kata, which are a lot longer and look to be a lot more complex.

It's taken me a couple of weeks to get the Naihanchi kata memorized, and I'm giving myself a month a piece, to memorize the Chinto and Wansu. This will give me a couple months of practice to get them into satisfactory shape for the next belt test.

After learning these next two, there are only three more empty-hand kata left, in the Isshinryu lexicon: The Kusanku, Sunsu, and the Sanchin katas. If I can get the Chinto and the Wansu though, then I am confident that I will be able to learn these last three. Along with those, I think the Bo kata is also a requirement, and possibly the Sai kata. I don't really know, though. No mention has been made of either of those. There may be Tonfa and Kama kata too, but again, no mention has been made of either of those.

I'm taking the day off from working out. I got up and walked a mile at 4 mph, and other than keeping up on my protein intake, I haven't done anything else. Maybe this evening, when I get back from class, I'll put in a workout, or I may leave it until tomorrow evening.

I spent the morning working on my motorcycle. I pulled off the windshield, saddlebags, saddlebag mounts, passenger foot-pegs, passenger backrest, and luggage rack. The bike's profile looks really low, sleek, and mean, now... I took my windshield bag and mounted it to the front of the handlebars over the headlight. The bike really looks great... Without the saddlebags in the way, the pipes really stand out, and without the windshield, saddlebags, luggage rack, and passenger backrest, it doesn't look like a grandpa bike, anymore. Hahahaha...

Learning and Remembering Kata

Good grief... I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person, but nothing makes me feel dumber than trying to learn a new kata! The Naihanchi kata is the one I'm working on, at the moment. For whatever reason, it's just not going into my thick skull. I'm also going to be learning the Chinto kata, and the Wansu kata, and both the Chinto and Wansu are lengthy and complex. By comparison, the Naihanchi kata is very short and simple, but it's giving me fits.

If anyone has any tips on learning and remembering kata, I'm all ears...

Browsing around, I found this article. It's pretty good.


This is another good link!


Update: I actually took out a legal pad and wrote out, step by step, every movement of the first half of the kata. The second half, is exactly the same as the first half, just done on the opposite side. Finally! I think I'll be able to get it, now. From here, practice, practice, practice.

Waiting for FedEx to arrive... I ordered a Shureido gi, and I'm looking forward to receiving it. :-)

Continuing to work

Phew! Just finished a killer workout!

Three sets of each, each set taken to muscle failure:
Flat bench press
Inclined bench press
Overhead Shoulder press
Neck lifts (with a head harness and chain that I can thread through weights)
Flies

I am SMOKED!!

Yesterday was:
Squats
Hamstring curl
Calf raises (weighted)
Preacher curls
Forearm curls

Tomorrow is:
Lat pulldowns
Seated row
Shrugs
Dead-lifts
Triceps pushdowns

By cycling these three workouts, I'm working my whole body in five days, and then taking weekends off to rest and recuperate. Of course, I have karate on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and on Mondays and Thursdays, we do a TON of core training, which is why it's pretty much absent from my workouts. I'm also constantly working on kata, kicks, punches, balance, and I'm looking into making a homemade makiwara.

Every morning, while it's still so freakin' hot, I've been walking a mile on the treadmill. When it cools down a little, I'll be taking The Bear with me, and walking a mile every morning and evening, with him. :-)

It's ironic that at the late age of 41, I've got the best body I've ever had, and I'm in nearly as good of shape as I was when I was in the Army, from the ages of 17-23.

No Easy Way Out

(Song by Survivor) The intro is powerful stuff. Great song, and great scenes from the movies. Train hard! Train to WIN! Never cheat yourself. Give it everything you've got, all the time! Bring your focus, discipline, intensity, and passion!

Attitudes Redoux

Last night, I went through the Seisan kata with our brown belt, and we went over and over and over it, before class started. He's coming along, and I am glad to help him. He had his belt tied correctly, too. :-)

I overheard the white belt asking questions of Sensei, when we were doing drills. I think his interest is finally beginning to pique, and that's a good thing. Between a couple of drills, I caught his eye, grabbed my belt, and motioned to his, raising an eyebrow and grinning. This time, he let me help him. I tried to show him by untying my belt and having him follow me, but he still wasn't getting it, so I had him untie his belt, and I tied it for him. I'll probably have to show him a few more times, but he thanked me.

The last third of class, we were working on kicks. Front snap kicks, crescent kicks, heel strike/thrust kicks, etc. I was next to the white belt, and his kicks weren't really coming together, so I explained to him that kicks don't start with the foot; they start with the hip, go to the chambered knee, and the lower leg and foot comes out like a whip, and that the hip is like the handle of the whip. He and I went through a few kicks, and I saw the little light-bulb come on. Very gratifying for us both, I think. :-)

I'm pretty sure his mother has forced him to take karate, for whatever reason, so I'm sure that accounts for part of his attitude, in the beginning. Also, as I reflect on his attitude last week, I'm thinking that he was probably embarrassed, so he tried to cover his lack of knowledge, but heck, we don't know what we don't know, so I was glad to help him out.

I always try to see the best in people, and inwardly, I'm cheering for this kid. He only shows up on Mondays and Thursdays, so I don't get much time to work with him on stuff. I wish he would show up on Saturdays, to the freestyle classes, when there's a lot more time... Ah well... I'm glad he's coming along. I hope his interest continues to grow, and correspondingly, his level of effort.

Last night, I had my belt ceremony and was given my orange belt and kyu certificate. Very gratifying, but the sheer amount of work ahead of me, between orange and green belt, is a little daunting.

For whatever reason, the Naihanchin kata is just not sinking in... It's a short kata, but lord... I feel stooooopid!! Hahaha! I'll get it, though. It's like learning a new piece on the piano: At first, it's stilted, jerky, and very halting, and it stays that way for a long time. It's discouraging.... Then, one day, for whatever reason, I sit down at the keys and the song takes a huge leap and it's smoother and more cohesive.

I think that learning a new kata is a lot like that...