Run + Karate + Run
Run - good, didn't stop, added some determination to make it.
Karate - 5 x Kihon (not enough & didn't put enough spirit into each move); Heian Nidan; Nijushiho.
Run - poor, lots of walking.
On the run back I had mixed feelings. My knee was hurting from a slip in the karate training; I was telling myself I wasn't yet fit enough to get all the way back; I was not as determined to run all the way back as I was to run all the way out; etc... Lots of sabotaging thoughts. So, I set myself mini goals & tried to exceed them. E.g. "Just keep going until the next lamp-post" and when I got to the next lamp-post I asked myself if I could just keep going until the "next lamp-post"?
Using this technique I was able to push myself more and do more running on the way back.
I remember being told at a Karate club I visited in Basel, Switzerland, that the meaning of training is to "do as much as you think you can do - and then do just a little bit more."
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
First club grading
Just before Christmas, December 13th 2009 to be precise, 11 of my students went for their first grading and they all passed. A few days before that grading, I caught myself feeling nervous for them when I was thinking about their grading. You really find yourself getting emotionally attached to the students.
Last night we started back at the Cold Harbour Karate Club after the Christmas break and it was open for 2 hours (before then it was only open for 1 hour). Another milestone in the history of the club reached. I was very pleased that almost all of the students turned up to train for the full 2 hours. That additional time really helps because I feel I have more time to go in to more depth with the students on subjects like "kime".
I have been doing my own training over Christmas. I have got back in to jogging and sit ups/press ups. Also a bit of kihon training. My training has been on and off quite a bit for the past 2 months. Now is the time to focus on a tighter training schedule and get myself fit for the February tournament.
Last night we started back at the Cold Harbour Karate Club after the Christmas break and it was open for 2 hours (before then it was only open for 1 hour). Another milestone in the history of the club reached. I was very pleased that almost all of the students turned up to train for the full 2 hours. That additional time really helps because I feel I have more time to go in to more depth with the students on subjects like "kime".
I have been doing my own training over Christmas. I have got back in to jogging and sit ups/press ups. Also a bit of kihon training. My training has been on and off quite a bit for the past 2 months. Now is the time to focus on a tighter training schedule and get myself fit for the February tournament.
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
New Dojo
On Monday September 21st 2009, I opened my own dojo club at Cold Harbour school. This is an amazing milestone in my karate journey.
To be honest with you, my main motivation for opening the club was to be able to raise enough money to fund my own training. I'm living on a tight budget and I could not justify spending money on my training when there are other priorities to take care of within a family of 6!
However, something unexpected happened. After the first night at my club, I was absolutely buzzing. I never expected to get such a feeling of happiness and excitement. It was totally unexpected - but, a major bonus. I have had this buzz after every single lesson. When I told my own Sensei about it, he smiled and was really happy for me. I could tell he still gets the buzz himself.
I often feel really happy after a good hard training session. I feel better for having gone. Refreshed. But, the feeling of running your own club - well, it's just something else!!!
To be honest with you, my main motivation for opening the club was to be able to raise enough money to fund my own training. I'm living on a tight budget and I could not justify spending money on my training when there are other priorities to take care of within a family of 6!
However, something unexpected happened. After the first night at my club, I was absolutely buzzing. I never expected to get such a feeling of happiness and excitement. It was totally unexpected - but, a major bonus. I have had this buzz after every single lesson. When I told my own Sensei about it, he smiled and was really happy for me. I could tell he still gets the buzz himself.
I often feel really happy after a good hard training session. I feel better for having gone. Refreshed. But, the feeling of running your own club - well, it's just something else!!!
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Improving yoko-geri kekomi kick
Whilst practicing Nijushiho kata, I have been disappointed with my kekomi kicks. The fundamental issue can be traced back to my knee injury 2.5 years ago. However, I'm not going to use this as an excuse. I am determined to overcome this and make my kekomi kicks awesome (again - because they once were)!
I have gone back to the beginning. Practicing from Kiba Dachi moving sideways. I video'd this to try to isolate what was going wrong. By running the video's back on my digital camera in slow motion I realised that the first part of the kick, raising the knee into position, was OK. The problem was in the kick out.
I was not thrusting with the hips.
I was not kicking from the hips.
I was stopping my leg from extending fully.
All of the above 3 points were caused by an internal psychological barrier which didn't want me to thrust and extend my leg. Probably because my knee injury was caused by stamping down into fumikomi (Jion).
As a result of not practicing the kick properly, I have lost quite a bit of flexibility in my legs too.
So, going back to basics, I am training by doing gedan kekomi kicks. But, by doing this, I force myself to thrust the hips in; to kick from the hips; and, make sure my leg is fully extended!
I have also started using my old ankle weights. I put both weights on 1 leg (= ~2.2 kg) and do 3 sets of 20 knee raises. Then switch legs and do the same. I also do 3 sets of 10 leg extensions from a chair (because I can't afford a Gym membership and my wife won't let me put a home multi-gym in the house :-O).
I have been doing this training for 1 week and today I noticed an improvement in my kekomi kick during Nijushiho kata practice. Fantastic!
However, I must maintain the discipline to keep this practice up because it's not perfect. Just because I have seen a slight improvement does not mean I should slacken off this training programme.
Today, I am better than I was yesterday. Tomorrow I will be better than I am today.
I have gone back to the beginning. Practicing from Kiba Dachi moving sideways. I video'd this to try to isolate what was going wrong. By running the video's back on my digital camera in slow motion I realised that the first part of the kick, raising the knee into position, was OK. The problem was in the kick out.
I was not thrusting with the hips.
I was not kicking from the hips.
I was stopping my leg from extending fully.
All of the above 3 points were caused by an internal psychological barrier which didn't want me to thrust and extend my leg. Probably because my knee injury was caused by stamping down into fumikomi (Jion).
As a result of not practicing the kick properly, I have lost quite a bit of flexibility in my legs too.
So, going back to basics, I am training by doing gedan kekomi kicks. But, by doing this, I force myself to thrust the hips in; to kick from the hips; and, make sure my leg is fully extended!
I have also started using my old ankle weights. I put both weights on 1 leg (= ~2.2 kg) and do 3 sets of 20 knee raises. Then switch legs and do the same. I also do 3 sets of 10 leg extensions from a chair (because I can't afford a Gym membership and my wife won't let me put a home multi-gym in the house :-O).
I have been doing this training for 1 week and today I noticed an improvement in my kekomi kick during Nijushiho kata practice. Fantastic!
However, I must maintain the discipline to keep this practice up because it's not perfect. Just because I have seen a slight improvement does not mean I should slacken off this training programme.
Today, I am better than I was yesterday. Tomorrow I will be better than I am today.
Determination Matters
During my 2 weeks break I kept up my running.
But, towards the end of the 2 weeks I had a really bad run. I started walking much earlier than usual. And from that first walk, it was stop/start all the way home. This poor run made me feel a bit despondent.
So, the next day I set my mind to do the run again but, do it better. I also had karate training for 2 hours beforehand. However, by setting my determination, I was able to go for a good run. It wasn't 100% all the way home but, it was much better than the previous day! The determination in my mind made all the difference.
Today, I went for my run-karate-run routine and was able to complete both run sections without walking! Yes! Interesting, the feeling of determination was still there today. The determination to try a bit harder.
Mantra: Today I will be better than yesterday. Spoken with determination.
But, towards the end of the 2 weeks I had a really bad run. I started walking much earlier than usual. And from that first walk, it was stop/start all the way home. This poor run made me feel a bit despondent.
So, the next day I set my mind to do the run again but, do it better. I also had karate training for 2 hours beforehand. However, by setting my determination, I was able to go for a good run. It wasn't 100% all the way home but, it was much better than the previous day! The determination in my mind made all the difference.
Today, I went for my run-karate-run routine and was able to complete both run sections without walking! Yes! Interesting, the feeling of determination was still there today. The determination to try a bit harder.
Mantra: Today I will be better than yesterday. Spoken with determination.
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Run Martin, Run
Did 2 hours karate training at the dojo today. Then went for a 2.5 mile run - which I completed without walking any of it. Even the evil school hill towards the end. Good progress - twice this week despite a crap diet.
I watched my son going through some katas during the training today. I thought, "Hmmm, he needs a few pointers.". Then, towards the end of the lesson, he did Heian Sandan in his own time & speed - and it was very good.
The other night I worked on some of the problems I noticed with Nijushiho on the video. I wish I could fit more sessions in - but it's a bit of a domestic rollercoaster at the moment.
I watched my son going through some katas during the training today. I thought, "Hmmm, he needs a few pointers.". Then, towards the end of the lesson, he did Heian Sandan in his own time & speed - and it was very good.
The other night I worked on some of the problems I noticed with Nijushiho on the video. I wish I could fit more sessions in - but it's a bit of a domestic rollercoaster at the moment.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Frustrating progress
I'm one third of my way through my vacation time. It's a bit up and down.
My work on Nijushiho is coming along quite well. I got my son to video me doing Nijushiho on Saturday at the Loughton dojo. I then analysed the video to see where I needed to improve. Boy, oh boy, do I need to improve!!! The kata was slow and dull. It needs to be faster and sharper. Faster transition between the moves. More kime to create the sharpness. The kicks are awful so I've set up a routine using ankle weights to increase my leg strength and get those kekomi kicks looking much more stable (idea put both ankle weights on one ankle to increase the resistance!). There's a number of other things too.
But, this is the name of the game - self improvement. Today I will aim to be better than I was yesterday. I am a bit hard on myself in terms of slow progress, I really should make an allowance for being ill (multiple bilatateral PE). It frustrates me that I am further away from the standard I was at 6 months after becoming shodan.
However, things are moving forward. I ran 2.5 miles the other day - that's a good break through. I have also got my micro improvements for Nijushiho that I am working on. So, don't be too hard on myself!
My work on Nijushiho is coming along quite well. I got my son to video me doing Nijushiho on Saturday at the Loughton dojo. I then analysed the video to see where I needed to improve. Boy, oh boy, do I need to improve!!! The kata was slow and dull. It needs to be faster and sharper. Faster transition between the moves. More kime to create the sharpness. The kicks are awful so I've set up a routine using ankle weights to increase my leg strength and get those kekomi kicks looking much more stable (idea put both ankle weights on one ankle to increase the resistance!). There's a number of other things too.
But, this is the name of the game - self improvement. Today I will aim to be better than I was yesterday. I am a bit hard on myself in terms of slow progress, I really should make an allowance for being ill (multiple bilatateral PE). It frustrates me that I am further away from the standard I was at 6 months after becoming shodan.
However, things are moving forward. I ran 2.5 miles the other day - that's a good break through. I have also got my micro improvements for Nijushiho that I am working on. So, don't be too hard on myself!
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