Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
I've been helping out at a Karate instructors dojo every Monday night for about 2 weeks now...
...she's going on a cruise in November and needs someone to instruct her class for 2 nights.
I'm just a second brown belt and have only been training in Karate for 2 and a half years, so I was surprised to be asked to take the class.
Well not really surprised, I live only a few blocks away and her class is mainly made up of white belts and a couple of orange belts.
Instead of being a Sensei I will be a Senpai and as such, it is my duty to teach and assist the students with lower belt rankings.
I train at a different Dojo taught by the head Master, but as a member of the Union, we all help each other out, so that by working together we all grow stronger...
...and besides, there's some pay involved, which never hurts...after all, operating a Dojo after everything is said and done, is a business.
It's really kind of fun and can be hard work too, trying to keep everyone including little kids from getting bored practicing basics.
It's really different learning Karate and then trying to teach it to someone...they're quite separate processes...
...like hockeys Wayne Gretzky once said, he doesn't know how he does what he does, so how could he teach someone else to do it...
In the Karate class, I simply have to teach techniques that have been taught for hundreds of years, there's not much room for improvisation, actually there is none what so ever and I'm finding out that the fine tuning takes place as the Karate-ka progresses towards his/her black belt.
So far there hasn't been anything noteworthy to report from the class yet, all seems to be running smoothly and I've only had a couple of blond moments and memory lapses...
...not bad for a rookie Senpai.
RJF
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
On becoming a senpai...and some Kumite Tips...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8
The instructor training is going well and I am becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of teaching Karate to others in my community...
I've even been asked to help out an instructor who is going on a cruise in November.
She asked if I would come and help her out with the lower rank belts in her class.
It'll be a great way of easing into the role of a "sensei" or rather subbing as a "sensei"...
...and besides that, her dojo is just up the street from my place.
That's the good thing about our union, they operate about 20 dojo's in and around town...
...so there's always opportunity to do some assisting and gaining even more experience.
Anyway, stay tuned for "sensei in training"...
And now for the Kumite training...
Kumite is by far the funnest part of Karate...especially after the long hours of basics and kata I've put into my second brown belt training...
...it's also the most painful...
Where to start...ok..well, I was initially partnered up with an older fellow, older meaning mid fifties, black belt and large in stature....
...probably 6'2 and 220 lbs and of course, I'm always game for sparring with just about anyone, especially someone who is more experienced and is willing to show me some stuff.
You see, I can honestly say, I wouldn't know what to do in a real street fight, (except run away), if I found myself in one...
I mean, I have enough street awareness to stay out of altercations and avoid trouble in the first place...
And I'm also smart enough to turn over my wallet and cash to a mugger if he wants it...
So Kumite, for me is really about having fun and actually exhibiting some Karate techniques...which for some strange reason alludes me completely once I start sparring...
As a safety precaution, there's no punching or kicking to the head, that's off limits...and that's a very good idea, otherwise I might not be here typing away...
Anybody, at anytime, even a lower rank belt can knock someone down with just the right punch...
...so lesson number 1:
Protect yourself at all times, your partner might not realize you've stopped to catch your breath, and wham...you find yourself dusting the floor...
So stay alert...
Now my Kumite partner, along with some others like to what I call "freight train" me...
...that is they just keep coming towards me, punching away and using their weight to keep pushing me back and consequently making me lose my balance.
What I learned in short order, was to quickly take a full step backwards and immediately push off my front leg to get enough space to gain my balance and immediately counter punch or kick to their body as they continued coming in towards me...
...their forward momentum carries them right into your punch or kick and adds weight to your technique...
...and again for safety's sake, make sure you deliver a decisive blow, but arrest it completely just before you make contact with your opponent...
...the target should be a few centimeters away from the opponents body armor.
Now once in awhile your going to take a punch in the eyes or on the jaw, and at other times your going to take a hard body punch...
...the first thing that pops up into your mind, after getting mad I mean, is to retaliate with some of the same...this is a mistake and as such should be avoided at all costs.
Kumite is partner work, and for the benefit of both Karate-Ka's to develop skill and proficiency.
If someone is hitting too hard or punching you in the head when they are not suppose to, simply tell them that...bow to them and carry on working on your skills.
If they persist in their actions, simply walk away and go stand somewhere away from them...
And don't be fooled by them telling you that it was an accident...it isn't.
The sensei will take notice...and in our particular Dojo, the offender will be warned and told that if he/she continues with their actions, they will not be allowed to participate in Kumite.
If you are in a Dojo that allows this kind of behavior, than you are in the wrong club...take your money and go somewhere else.
...that's all for now..
RJF
The instructor training is going well and I am becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of teaching Karate to others in my community...
I've even been asked to help out an instructor who is going on a cruise in November.
She asked if I would come and help her out with the lower rank belts in her class.
It'll be a great way of easing into the role of a "sensei" or rather subbing as a "sensei"...
...and besides that, her dojo is just up the street from my place.
That's the good thing about our union, they operate about 20 dojo's in and around town...
...so there's always opportunity to do some assisting and gaining even more experience.
Anyway, stay tuned for "sensei in training"...
And now for the Kumite training...
Kumite is by far the funnest part of Karate...especially after the long hours of basics and kata I've put into my second brown belt training...
...it's also the most painful...
Where to start...ok..well, I was initially partnered up with an older fellow, older meaning mid fifties, black belt and large in stature....
...probably 6'2 and 220 lbs and of course, I'm always game for sparring with just about anyone, especially someone who is more experienced and is willing to show me some stuff.
You see, I can honestly say, I wouldn't know what to do in a real street fight, (except run away), if I found myself in one...
I mean, I have enough street awareness to stay out of altercations and avoid trouble in the first place...
And I'm also smart enough to turn over my wallet and cash to a mugger if he wants it...
So Kumite, for me is really about having fun and actually exhibiting some Karate techniques...which for some strange reason alludes me completely once I start sparring...
As a safety precaution, there's no punching or kicking to the head, that's off limits...and that's a very good idea, otherwise I might not be here typing away...
Anybody, at anytime, even a lower rank belt can knock someone down with just the right punch...
...so lesson number 1:
Protect yourself at all times, your partner might not realize you've stopped to catch your breath, and wham...you find yourself dusting the floor...
So stay alert...
Now my Kumite partner, along with some others like to what I call "freight train" me...
...that is they just keep coming towards me, punching away and using their weight to keep pushing me back and consequently making me lose my balance.
What I learned in short order, was to quickly take a full step backwards and immediately push off my front leg to get enough space to gain my balance and immediately counter punch or kick to their body as they continued coming in towards me...
...their forward momentum carries them right into your punch or kick and adds weight to your technique...
...and again for safety's sake, make sure you deliver a decisive blow, but arrest it completely just before you make contact with your opponent...
...the target should be a few centimeters away from the opponents body armor.
Now once in awhile your going to take a punch in the eyes or on the jaw, and at other times your going to take a hard body punch...
...the first thing that pops up into your mind, after getting mad I mean, is to retaliate with some of the same...this is a mistake and as such should be avoided at all costs.
Kumite is partner work, and for the benefit of both Karate-Ka's to develop skill and proficiency.
If someone is hitting too hard or punching you in the head when they are not suppose to, simply tell them that...bow to them and carry on working on your skills.
If they persist in their actions, simply walk away and go stand somewhere away from them...
And don't be fooled by them telling you that it was an accident...it isn't.
The sensei will take notice...and in our particular Dojo, the offender will be warned and told that if he/she continues with their actions, they will not be allowed to participate in Kumite.
If you are in a Dojo that allows this kind of behavior, than you are in the wrong club...take your money and go somewhere else.
...that's all for now..
RJF
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The "do" in martial arts...means practice...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
Here is my Indulgent Samurai routine...
...done "hopefully" daily, except on nights when I am at the Dojo, currently Wednesdays and Fridays...
First off Karate-do, means exactly that...the do part I mean.
An Indulgent Samurai has to "do", or rather practice...there is no other way to become proficient at Karate, or the other martial arts without at least, even short practice sessions on a daily basis...
Every morning, due to the fact I have a bad back, I do my warm up exercises, which include stretching, sit ups, and push-ups...
...those are followed by 10 reps each of all the Karate blocks and one punching technique...
...after those I do one sequence out of the twelve black belt grading sequences...
In the evenings, I spend about an hour going through the grading movements for my next belt level, third brown, followed by all the Kata's I have learned up to this point. Of course I will do my grading Kata about 3 times in a row.
I tried to do my Jo staff training, but had to stop because I wrecked a bunch of ceiling tiles in the basement...
Anyway, that's my routine...and I faithfully try to stick to it.
Of course, I am an Indulgent Samurai and at times I get caught up with other things in life and miss a routine...but that's ok...like in zazen, as long as I keep returning to my breath in meditation and my karate practice, I will be walking my path, my karate-do way of life.
RJF
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
Here is my Indulgent Samurai routine...
...done "hopefully" daily, except on nights when I am at the Dojo, currently Wednesdays and Fridays...
First off Karate-do, means exactly that...the do part I mean.
An Indulgent Samurai has to "do", or rather practice...there is no other way to become proficient at Karate, or the other martial arts without at least, even short practice sessions on a daily basis...
Every morning, due to the fact I have a bad back, I do my warm up exercises, which include stretching, sit ups, and push-ups...
...those are followed by 10 reps each of all the Karate blocks and one punching technique...
...after those I do one sequence out of the twelve black belt grading sequences...
In the evenings, I spend about an hour going through the grading movements for my next belt level, third brown, followed by all the Kata's I have learned up to this point. Of course I will do my grading Kata about 3 times in a row.
I tried to do my Jo staff training, but had to stop because I wrecked a bunch of ceiling tiles in the basement...
Anyway, that's my routine...and I faithfully try to stick to it.
Of course, I am an Indulgent Samurai and at times I get caught up with other things in life and miss a routine...but that's ok...like in zazen, as long as I keep returning to my breath in meditation and my karate practice, I will be walking my path, my karate-do way of life.
RJF
Saturday, September 10, 2005
The Jo staff...a great training tool...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
The long journey for the Reluctant Samurai on becoming a Karate instructor and running my own Dojo has begun.
Last night, I took my first instructors class run by our Karate Union. It has a very comprehensive training and certification program for a member who wants to start their own Dojo.
Any member in the Union with a green belt or higher, may attend the instructors program.
Right now, I hold a second brown belt and plan to work towards my black belt, while achieving at least a first level certification in Karate instruction.
Hopefully, after a year and a half, I will be able to start my own affiliate Dojo under the banner of our Union.
I also started Jo staff training, as it has now become part of the first level instructors program.
This particular Jo is the solid hardwood straight Jo, approximately 4 feet long and 1 to 1 and a half inches in diameter.
Using the Jo is very good for building upper body strength; I could feel the burn in my forearms as well as my shoulders and chest.
When training with the Jo, your movements in the beginning have to be very slow, especially with your partner because you can injure them with even a slight rap from this weapon.
Here’s some history on the Jo: Jo: The Combat Weapon of Japan and Okinawa
And if your looking to purchase a Jo check out my Martial Arts Supply blog. Martial Arts Personal Shopper & Martial Arts Supply Reviewer: Martial Arts Weapons...The Jo Staff...best supply on the net...
RJF
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
The long journey for the Reluctant Samurai on becoming a Karate instructor and running my own Dojo has begun.
Last night, I took my first instructors class run by our Karate Union. It has a very comprehensive training and certification program for a member who wants to start their own Dojo.
Any member in the Union with a green belt or higher, may attend the instructors program.
Right now, I hold a second brown belt and plan to work towards my black belt, while achieving at least a first level certification in Karate instruction.
Hopefully, after a year and a half, I will be able to start my own affiliate Dojo under the banner of our Union.
I also started Jo staff training, as it has now become part of the first level instructors program.
This particular Jo is the solid hardwood straight Jo, approximately 4 feet long and 1 to 1 and a half inches in diameter.
Using the Jo is very good for building upper body strength; I could feel the burn in my forearms as well as my shoulders and chest.
When training with the Jo, your movements in the beginning have to be very slow, especially with your partner because you can injure them with even a slight rap from this weapon.
Here’s some history on the Jo: Jo: The Combat Weapon of Japan and Okinawa
And if your looking to purchase a Jo check out my Martial Arts Supply blog. Martial Arts Personal Shopper & Martial Arts Supply Reviewer: Martial Arts Weapons...The Jo Staff...best supply on the net...
RJF
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Samurai's should start early in life...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
The best thing we as adults can possibly do for our children, is to teach them the ways of zen and the martial arts...
...it's a path with heart that develops skills that are invaluable for a young persons developing consciousness...
...and it builds skills that help the young samurai to cope and actually excell in today's high paced competitive society...
...besides, they will just plain enjoy it...
Martial arts gives students sense of achievement and accomplishment
RJF
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
The best thing we as adults can possibly do for our children, is to teach them the ways of zen and the martial arts...
...it's a path with heart that develops skills that are invaluable for a young persons developing consciousness...
...and it builds skills that help the young samurai to cope and actually excell in today's high paced competitive society...
...besides, they will just plain enjoy it...
Martial arts gives students sense of achievement and accomplishment
RJF
Sunday, September 04, 2005
The Indulgent Samurai...the training begins again...
Kumite Tips #1/Kumite Tips #2/Kumite Tips #3/Kumite Tips #4/Kumite Tips #5/Kumite Tips #6/Kumite Tips #7/Kumite Tips #8/Kumite Tips #9
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
Samurai Karate immersion 101
Starting next week I'll be multitasking at a different dojo, rather than my usual dojo, run by our union.
I'll be taking the instructor class, taught by our chief instructor and founder for about an hour class, followed by either an hour of the Jo staff training or the Kumite training.
I think I'll be physically exhausted and beat up after those Friday night classes, but for some reason I can'’t wait.
It will be a great opportunity for me, to really get into the Zen of martial arts, especially the sparring (Kumite).
I'll be doing my regular class sometime during the week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday at another dojo and the really cool stuff on Fridays.
I won'’t get into it now, but Kumite is nothing like formal training, in fact, it seems like every thing I learned in class I forget to use in sparring and end up resorting to some cross between boxing and street fighting.
Anyway, stay tuned for the injury reports, I'll be doing a piece on how to recover and take care of your injuries, I'm an expert at that.
RJF
Use the blogger search this blog feature, at the top of the page if you don't see the article you were looking for...thanks RJF
Samurai Karate immersion 101
Starting next week I'll be multitasking at a different dojo, rather than my usual dojo, run by our union.
I'll be taking the instructor class, taught by our chief instructor and founder for about an hour class, followed by either an hour of the Jo staff training or the Kumite training.
I think I'll be physically exhausted and beat up after those Friday night classes, but for some reason I can'’t wait.
It will be a great opportunity for me, to really get into the Zen of martial arts, especially the sparring (Kumite).
I'll be doing my regular class sometime during the week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday at another dojo and the really cool stuff on Fridays.
I won'’t get into it now, but Kumite is nothing like formal training, in fact, it seems like every thing I learned in class I forget to use in sparring and end up resorting to some cross between boxing and street fighting.
Anyway, stay tuned for the injury reports, I'll be doing a piece on how to recover and take care of your injuries, I'm an expert at that.
RJF
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