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
"Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself."
Rabbi Abraham Heschel
Saying no to oneself... isn't that just the real problem with mankind in general?
How could George W. say "no" to invading Iraq...?
I mean, personally, how can I say no to french fries and yes to a side salad instead...?
How can I refuse myself the pleasure of an extra beer or glass of wine after a hard days work...?
Must my karate always be the main focus in life right now, or can I day dream about lazing about on a beach somewhere?
I think the Rabbi has it right though...
...there is something empowering about saying no to yourself, even after your ego has made its very logical argument, for making a particular kind of indulgence...whatever it may be.
You see, we're all dealing with the shrewdest of used car salesman, especially when "it" wants something or "thinks" it deserves something.
Getting back to discipline, I rather enjoy this quote by Brian Adams...
..."Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success."
Now that's the kind of motivation I like to hear...the kind of stuff that keeps me on track, and on the right path...
...the path that will lead me to a black belt, which in reality, is just another stop on my journey...
...a journey we call life...
Discipline...it's one of those vital "life" ingredients.
RJF
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
The Journey for a Black Belt begins...
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
I got my Red Belt on Friday and my certificate today...
...and so begins my chronicles on becoming a Black Belt in Karate.
Over the next year and a half, I've got to watch what I eat, make more healthy food choices, reduce my alcohol consumption and somehow get into the best shape of my life...
...quite the task for someone who's nearly 49 years old and somewhat indulgent.
It's going to be tough, but hey, that's what makes any journey real...
...the struggle, the ups, the downs and the obstacles along the way.
Tonight there were just 3 of us in the Dojo. It was a cold evening and the new schedule for training hasn't drawn that many students to Monday nights yet.
What I like most about small classes is that you get more personal attention and instruction from the head master, like having your own personal trainer...
Anyway, we spent 45 minutes straight doing Kata's Heian Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, Yondan, Godan, Tekki-Shodan, Tekki-Nidan, and Tekki-Sandan.
I was nearly exhausted afterwards, as we had to put a lot of Kime into each Kata, over and over again...
...I think I'll sleep well tonight.
Next week Kumite starts again, so I'll have some more tips on how to improve your sparring...even against the women.
RJF
I got my Red Belt on Friday and my certificate today...
...and so begins my chronicles on becoming a Black Belt in Karate.
Over the next year and a half, I've got to watch what I eat, make more healthy food choices, reduce my alcohol consumption and somehow get into the best shape of my life...
...quite the task for someone who's nearly 49 years old and somewhat indulgent.
It's going to be tough, but hey, that's what makes any journey real...
...the struggle, the ups, the downs and the obstacles along the way.
Tonight there were just 3 of us in the Dojo. It was a cold evening and the new schedule for training hasn't drawn that many students to Monday nights yet.
What I like most about small classes is that you get more personal attention and instruction from the head master, like having your own personal trainer...
Anyway, we spent 45 minutes straight doing Kata's Heian Shodan, Nidan, Sandan, Yondan, Godan, Tekki-Shodan, Tekki-Nidan, and Tekki-Sandan.
I was nearly exhausted afterwards, as we had to put a lot of Kime into each Kata, over and over again...
...I think I'll sleep well tonight.
Next week Kumite starts again, so I'll have some more tips on how to improve your sparring...even against the women.
RJF
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Passed another sign-post on Friday...
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
After an hour of hard fought Kumite with various participants, ranging from kids to the ladies and finally the tough guys...I performed my Kata for the Red Belt.
The Kata was Bassai Dai...and even though I was totally exhausted and quite nervous, I managed to perform it adequately enough with only a few mistakes.
It's only been about 3 years since I began my Karate training with Erica, who unfortunately had to drop out due to school, part-time work and a boy friend.
So, in 3 years I have a yellow, orange, green, 2 purple, 3 brown and now a red belt.
That belt progression by today's standards is quite normal and in some cases it might seem a bit accelerated...
...Especially since my Sensei, spent 8 hard years punching and kicking as a brown belt, in an era when Karate in Canada and in particular Alberta, was in it's infancy.
It was a time when the only Black Belts around, had all come from or had been trained in Japan.
And from some of the stories my Sensei has told me, the Black Belt instructors had no qualms about getting physical with their students...which is of course a no no today.
I have in front of me now, the real test for a martial artist, that being climbing the last stretch up the mountain to the summit, to receive a Black Belt...
...I will have to dedicate my total being for the next year and a half to the principles and forms of Karate.
On my final ascent I will need a strong yet flexible body, a focused but not fixated mind, and a dedication and determination to surmount physical and mental obstacles.
A strong body and character will not in themselves guarantee that I will make it to the top of the summit...
...because patiently waiting for me there, will be my master and if I'm not ready he will know and will surely send me back down the mountain.
You see, a Black Belt cannot be bought, it has to be earned...
To be failed on ones first attempt will humble some and discourage others...
...but the ones that have the fortitude to start the climb again, and possibly again, will one day wear the Black Belt.
In the end, one see's that it is not the Black Belt that is important, but what the being that it wraps around has become...
RJF
After an hour of hard fought Kumite with various participants, ranging from kids to the ladies and finally the tough guys...I performed my Kata for the Red Belt.
The Kata was Bassai Dai...and even though I was totally exhausted and quite nervous, I managed to perform it adequately enough with only a few mistakes.
It's only been about 3 years since I began my Karate training with Erica, who unfortunately had to drop out due to school, part-time work and a boy friend.
So, in 3 years I have a yellow, orange, green, 2 purple, 3 brown and now a red belt.
That belt progression by today's standards is quite normal and in some cases it might seem a bit accelerated...
...Especially since my Sensei, spent 8 hard years punching and kicking as a brown belt, in an era when Karate in Canada and in particular Alberta, was in it's infancy.
It was a time when the only Black Belts around, had all come from or had been trained in Japan.
And from some of the stories my Sensei has told me, the Black Belt instructors had no qualms about getting physical with their students...which is of course a no no today.
I have in front of me now, the real test for a martial artist, that being climbing the last stretch up the mountain to the summit, to receive a Black Belt...
...I will have to dedicate my total being for the next year and a half to the principles and forms of Karate.
On my final ascent I will need a strong yet flexible body, a focused but not fixated mind, and a dedication and determination to surmount physical and mental obstacles.
A strong body and character will not in themselves guarantee that I will make it to the top of the summit...
...because patiently waiting for me there, will be my master and if I'm not ready he will know and will surely send me back down the mountain.
You see, a Black Belt cannot be bought, it has to be earned...
To be failed on ones first attempt will humble some and discourage others...
...but the ones that have the fortitude to start the climb again, and possibly again, will one day wear the Black Belt.
In the end, one see's that it is not the Black Belt that is important, but what the being that it wraps around has become...
RJF
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Kumite Tips #9... Develop one or two trademark techniques...
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
Tylenol... isn't it a wonderful drug, especially after you've been sparring non-stop for an hour?...
...trading punches, kicks, throws and sweeps, tends to involve every muscle imaginable.
Anyway, last night at Kumite I managed to avoid breaking all my toes from a front kick to my partners very hard knee which he threw up for protection.
It's a natural reflex action when someone is kicking at you to protect yourself...
...Fortunately for me, I actually kicked the way I've been trained to kick, that being with the ball of the foot and to keep the toes up and back.
So, its important in Kumite to spar the way you train and the way your Sensei tells you to punch and kick...
...even when kicking your bag at home, try using the ball of the foot on your roundhouse kick and not the top of the foot.
I got to spar with my Sensei, which is a scary proposition as he doesn't hold back just because I'm a brown belt...he doesn't follow through with his punches to the head and pulls his punches when I expose my vital organs to him...which is why I am still able to write this blog...
He mentioned that my Kumite experience is at a place, head wise, where I am taking punishment but not dishing it out...
...and I have to get into a head space where I can make the transition from defense and retaliation to offence and the instigator.
So, here's the tip that really isn't a tip at all...
...become very, very good at one or two punching and kicking techniques.
Spend more hours training in those couple of techniques than others...
...make them your most devasting attack or counter-attacks.
Everybody is built differently, so find the technique that suits your style and perfect it.
Once your able to deliver your favorite perfected techniques when given an opportunity, you will garner a lot of respect from your Kumite partner.
If its a perfected technique that doesn't get overused during Kumite, it will be literally unstoppable, even if your partner knows your going to use it a some point.
My Sensei has mastered his back kick, amongst other techniques...
...by the time I realize that it's coming it's too late and usually end up on the floor or falling backwards at warp speed.
Bruce Lee, would say that, "...your opponent should feel your technique before he see's it"...
...and that only comes from spending hours perfecting one or two solid techniques.
Happy sparring...
RJF
Tylenol... isn't it a wonderful drug, especially after you've been sparring non-stop for an hour?...
...trading punches, kicks, throws and sweeps, tends to involve every muscle imaginable.
Anyway, last night at Kumite I managed to avoid breaking all my toes from a front kick to my partners very hard knee which he threw up for protection.
It's a natural reflex action when someone is kicking at you to protect yourself...
...Fortunately for me, I actually kicked the way I've been trained to kick, that being with the ball of the foot and to keep the toes up and back.
So, its important in Kumite to spar the way you train and the way your Sensei tells you to punch and kick...
...even when kicking your bag at home, try using the ball of the foot on your roundhouse kick and not the top of the foot.
I got to spar with my Sensei, which is a scary proposition as he doesn't hold back just because I'm a brown belt...he doesn't follow through with his punches to the head and pulls his punches when I expose my vital organs to him...which is why I am still able to write this blog...
He mentioned that my Kumite experience is at a place, head wise, where I am taking punishment but not dishing it out...
...and I have to get into a head space where I can make the transition from defense and retaliation to offence and the instigator.
So, here's the tip that really isn't a tip at all...
...become very, very good at one or two punching and kicking techniques.
Spend more hours training in those couple of techniques than others...
...make them your most devasting attack or counter-attacks.
Everybody is built differently, so find the technique that suits your style and perfect it.
Once your able to deliver your favorite perfected techniques when given an opportunity, you will garner a lot of respect from your Kumite partner.
If its a perfected technique that doesn't get overused during Kumite, it will be literally unstoppable, even if your partner knows your going to use it a some point.
My Sensei has mastered his back kick, amongst other techniques...
...by the time I realize that it's coming it's too late and usually end up on the floor or falling backwards at warp speed.
Bruce Lee, would say that, "...your opponent should feel your technique before he see's it"...
...and that only comes from spending hours perfecting one or two solid techniques.
Happy sparring...
RJF
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The Martial Arts are not a form of violence....
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
You see, people who say that the Martial Arts are violent and are avenues for the socio-path, don't understand (A) real violence and (B) it's opposite, that being hard work, focus, dedication and the development of strong and good hearted people.
They are totally unaware of the steps and intent needed to create violence by individuals who's ultimate goal is to perpetrate harmful acts on other human beings.
It is much easier and less work for someone who simply wants to beat people up, to simply cruise the night clubs looking for trouble, than to spend countless hours doing Kata, or Kumite, working on a bag or makiwara board and endless years of basics ...
...or if they're really into violence, they can join the army, where they learn to kill people with guns and use they're army boots to kick an enemies head like a football once they're on the ground.
It is true the Karate-Ka learns techniques that can ultimately kill another human being...
...but there is no intent to ever harm another person and every attempt is made to avoid the use of violence...
...exactly the opposite to the person who intentionally seeks violence.
There is kind of a personal power, developed over many years by the Martial Artist.
That being the knowledge that if a fight ensues, death will be the ultimate outcome...
...who's death it will be, no one knows.
...and that is not a risk a violent individual is willing to accept.
You see, violent people are really cowards and they prey on and seek out the weak and innocent. They take very calculated steps to maneuver their victims into disadvantages positions...
...and if a person can make themselves into a hard target tha'ts not going to go down easily, the perpetrator will move on to easier hunting grounds.
There's the difference, one person seeks health, vitality and a strong calm nature while the other person seeks destruction, weekness and chaos...
RJF
You see, people who say that the Martial Arts are violent and are avenues for the socio-path, don't understand (A) real violence and (B) it's opposite, that being hard work, focus, dedication and the development of strong and good hearted people.
They are totally unaware of the steps and intent needed to create violence by individuals who's ultimate goal is to perpetrate harmful acts on other human beings.
It is much easier and less work for someone who simply wants to beat people up, to simply cruise the night clubs looking for trouble, than to spend countless hours doing Kata, or Kumite, working on a bag or makiwara board and endless years of basics ...
...or if they're really into violence, they can join the army, where they learn to kill people with guns and use they're army boots to kick an enemies head like a football once they're on the ground.
It is true the Karate-Ka learns techniques that can ultimately kill another human being...
...but there is no intent to ever harm another person and every attempt is made to avoid the use of violence...
...exactly the opposite to the person who intentionally seeks violence.
There is kind of a personal power, developed over many years by the Martial Artist.
That being the knowledge that if a fight ensues, death will be the ultimate outcome...
...who's death it will be, no one knows.
...and that is not a risk a violent individual is willing to accept.
You see, violent people are really cowards and they prey on and seek out the weak and innocent. They take very calculated steps to maneuver their victims into disadvantages positions...
...and if a person can make themselves into a hard target tha'ts not going to go down easily, the perpetrator will move on to easier hunting grounds.
There's the difference, one person seeks health, vitality and a strong calm nature while the other person seeks destruction, weekness and chaos...
RJF
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)