Training

Today I attended my first Karate class since my illness. I found today particularly difficult as I was not able to center myself as easily and my teacher had us do long, complex combinations. We also did self defense techniques, forms, and katas. I know my self defense very well at this point and it was review for me, but the katas, or forms, were very difficult as a I learned a new one today and I need to review my old ones.

On Monday, I started up my training again. My shoulders felt fine then even though they were bothering me before. However, I still need to perfect my punches, as my shoulders pop every now and again. I also need to work on my balance and kick execution.

In Class Assignment

During my WISE class on Monday of last week, my teacher told us to reflect on our projects and what problems that we have encountered. Almost everyone in the class is running into some type of problem and I am no exception. The majority of my problems stem from time management.

I have never been good at managing my time and have always been that kid who pulls an all-nighter the night before a huge project is due. I consistently procrastinate and as a result, I lose a lot of sleep and am constantly trying to catch up on all of my responsibilities. Whether it is schoolwork, chores, or my actual part time job, I am always trying to keep up with my work. 

At the beginning of my project, I started out very strong with intense, consistent workouts. But as it has progressed, I have become increasingly tired which has resulted in my missing several days of school because of illnesses.

In order to continue pursuing my project, I have to do all the work I can on the weekends and go to sleep at responsible times to ensure that I can stay awake enough, and motivated enough to train as intensely as I possibly can. 

Update

It has been a little while since I last posted on my blog and I apologize. It has been a rather rough week for me. I have been ill and as a result I missed several days of school, my mentor meeting, and the majority of the karate classes that happened this week. It has been rather frustrating in this way. I did however get to spar today which was nice and my brother joined my father and I. I felt that this session was a little short though, but I was able to spar both of them and it was a learning experience.

As far as my training goes, I still have a lot to work on, especially on my kicks. My knees popped every now and again when I was transitioning between kicks. I am going to start taking special care on how I execute my kicks, focusing on which part of the body I emphasize which will hopefully solve the problem. Also I will start stretching regularly, regardless of whether or not I train that day. 

Reflections

This post is going to be me reflecting on two things, one a video that my teacher showed me last week, entitled "Barnsong" and the other an article called "Practicing."

Barnsong

This video was about a WISE student who had planned to build a barn. Throughout the course of his project he was working. From the video, it seemed that all he ever made time for was his project because of all the work that he completed. Unfortunately, he did not make enough time for many of the tasks that he had to do and I am running into a similar problem. I am finding it extremely difficult to perfect and polish my techniques. I am seeing improvements in the way I strike, but it is coming along rather slowly.

At the end of the video, the WISE student had not built the barn. He only had built part of it, but he did eventually construct the barn after his senior year was over. I think the fact that he actually completed the construction of the barn was very inspirational. His project involved an extreme amount of time and dedication, something that if applied to my project, I will gain a significant amount of experience in Karate and be a much more driven, and capable karateka.

Practicing

I learned a lot from this article. One of the first sentences I read was that "When it comes to learning, there is no substitute for actual hands-on experience." Learning techniques the proper way is entirely based on experience. Martial arts teachers impart their experience and teachings to their students and the only way they can do that is by making their students practice the techniques.

The article also mentions the fact that repetition is key to practicing. In Karate, karateka are supposed to train to make their techniques become second nature and applicable to almost every situation. I have to work harder and become more dedicated to my project so that I make the time to practice every day.

Two Week Outline #3

I know that this outline is a little on the late side which makes me realize that I have to be more disciplined and set aside more time for my project outside of just my Karate class. I will start using my extra free period in school for my WISE project. 

So here's my plan for the next two weeks:

Training: 

1. Memorize and polish my kata and forms

2. Practice my kicks with particular focus on placement

3. Fix my kicking technique so that my hip does not pop when I perform certain kicks

4. Set aside time every Sunday for meditation and reflection on my project

5. Set aside half an hour outside of Karate class to train for strength, endurance, and balance

Research:

1. Finish my research into the history of Seido Karate and Kyokushin Karate and post my findings

Update/Reflection

So this post is going to be a long one. Today I attended one of the more intense karate classes. It was a regular class that happened to have a lot of intense combinations and challenges which was a good test of my endurance. The first part of class was devoted to making my mind explode. We practiced several hand techniques in one order and then the teacher told us to practice those same techniques again but in a different order. This happened several times. Towards the end of class, we had to repeatedly perform combinations involving kicks and hand techniques. And then we had to do squats as fast as we could.

After that class, I attended a meditation class. It was a fairly relaxing class and helped me to focus and center myself. After the breathing, and walking meditation, my teacher read one of Kaicho Nakamura's meditation lectures. It was very applicable to my project. The lecture spoke about how people often underestimate themselves. Kaicho Nakamura specifically mentioned how people often deprecate themselves and believe that they can't accomplish a task. He also mentions that people often jump between deprecating themselves and having a very large ego.

After my teacher finished the lecture, everyone who attended the class reflected upon and discussed what they had heard. One of the major ideas that was mentioned was that of achieving balance in life. I mentioned how I used to work out and push myself beyond what was safe. I used to have such an ego in the way that I believed that I could push myself beyond my "limits" without putting in the work beforehand and I learned that that was not true because I now carry several injuries in my shoulders and elbows.

Because of this lecture, I have begun to rethink my project, or at least my goals and how I approach them. I feel that I need to do a lot more work in order to meet all of my goals. My training is still lacking and I am currently falling behind with my research. I will have a post about my research by the end of the week. Also I have done the math, and realized that my last two week outline post was later than I thought and will have another two week outline by the end of the day tomorrow.

Sparring Session #1

I know that this post is a day late, but I still would like to comment on my sparring experience with my father. As I have previously mentioned, he is a very experienced karate practitioner (karateka) and has taught me before, when I was very young. We sparred many times several years ago and it was not pretty because I was not that competent of a fighter. This session went a little bit differently.

We first warmed up before we sparred, which meant that we practiced kicks and he spoke to me about strategy in a fight and what to do in certain scenarios. He also specifically mentioned that I need to work on how and where I place my kicks. For example, he said that I need to come up and under my opponent's guard when I do my front snap kick, or make my roundhouse kicks come from the outside more and make them more "round." Another thing that he said was that I need to focus on my kick placement during Karate class so that I can learn to control my kicks and have more balance.

The actual sparring went pretty well. I took quite a few hits, but I am a lot better at blocking strikes than I was several years ago. Grant it, I still can't really block strikes that are extremely fast and come over the top of my head. My father is extremely fast and those types of strikes are difficult to anticipate. Something to note however, is that this sparring is only really boxing-based, meaning that my father and I aren't using kicks. We still need to find foot gear so that it'll be a lot safer.

Progress Thus Far

So today I attended two consecutive classes. The first, was primarily for teaching the basics, and these classes are the classes that I usually attend. The second, however, was specialized for kumite, or sparring. In this class I was taught how to block several kicks correctly and how to maneuver my body with footwork. Even though I know my basic stances very well, I am still not all that accustomed to moving around to block and counter. This is something that I will memorize and internalize as soon as I can.

This weekend is very exciting for me. Tomorrow I am setting the mouthpieces and preparing the fighting gear so that my dad and I can spar on Saturday morning. I have sparred with him before unsuccessfully (as in I lost repeatedly and was unable to block a significant number of his strikes) but nevertheless, I always learned something from each sparring session.

Here's another motivational video:

Something I noticed however, is how effortless and controlled their techniques are, specifically their kicks. I will start practicing my basic kicks and work on my new ones as part of my morning workout routines.

Two Week Outline # 2

I know that this updated outline is several days late, but here's what I plan to do:

Training:

1. Practice all katas, forms, and techniques that I am supposed to know and memorize them.

2. Polish my basic punching and kicking techniques, specifically working on actually striking an object (a.k.a. heavy bag).

3. Practice the more difficult kicks and maintaining my balance.

Research:

1. Catch up on my research that I neglected for the last two weeks.

2. Start researching Japan's history



In order to actually keep to my outline and plan I will keep a running checklist of what I have done. I will also need to find a time slot that I can set aside each day for this project. During the week I will set aside at least an hour and a half, which does include attending Karate class and training at home.

I also finally got the mouth guards so my father (a very experienced karateka), brother, and I can start sparring together.

This may be a rather long motivational video, but here's a Fight Quest video of Kyokushin Karate that I found on youtube. I watched it a little while ago but it's still really intense.

Blog Response #2

This response is to Edan Bar, one of my friends and a magic aficionado. 

Blog: Bar's Cards

Blogger: Edan Bar

I have read through Edan's blog and I found the material very interesting. The art of deception is key to many things like magic tricks but is also key to martial arts. Many people use deception and illusion in fighting to create openings to strike or to get away. When I practice fighting in my Karate class, we are taught to stay on the balls of our feet and kind of bounce. This sort of extraneous movement makes it more difficult to read your opponent, which in turn hampers your ability to anticipate what they are going to do. 

Another practical example of deception in fighting is watching your opponents eyes. Many beginners lead with their eyes, meaning that they look where they want to strike which makes them extremely easy to read. Experienced practitioners watch their opponent's eyes and failing that, watch their shoulders because all strikes are telegraphed from the shoulders, whether it be a shift in balance for a kick, or a pivoting or twisting of the upper body which are common indicators of punches or hand techniques. 

Blog Response #1

As part of my project, I am occasionally required to respond to other blogs from my classmates who also are in the WISE program.

Blog: Musical Creativity
Blogger: Joon Park

I read through Joon's blog and I find his project very admirable. He is working on his musical composition skills which is something I can relate to since I compose and improvise music when I play the piano. His blog was very organized and his plans very thorough which makes me feel like I should work harder at making my blog more comprehensive. Being a composer, I can relate to some of the stuff that Joon is doing and I may ask him more about it to expand my abilities as well.

Joon mentioned contemporary composition several times throughout his blog. Many people find this style of music very unappealing because it does not sound like what they are used to hearing. I personally find contemporary music a little difficult to listen to and prefer to listen to instrumentals or video game soundtracks.