Surprise Celebration

I knew something was up when I walked into class last night.  Chairs were set up all around the periphery and mats were on the floor.  Most of the kids were there running around and a few of the adult students were fussing around.  My presumption - we were going to do a dress rehearsal for Celebration (nice way of saying testing), but I was incorrect. 


Sensei Reed hadn't gotten to everyone at the last minute, but we were doing the Celebration last minute for the colored belts and on Friday the black belts and candidate Mark were going to Eugene to test! 


Apparently the head cheese got double booked and it was either that or waiting until May and driving to Yakima (five hour drive?).  So the three black belts and Mark all decided Friday was good.  I'm invited along, but not sure if I want to burn half a day for the experience.  I want to be there for Mark and celebrate if he's successful and be supportive if he's not. 


While the kids tested I was helping Mark through the toughest bit of one of his routines and that took the whole hour.  So I ended up missing how the process was, but it was definitely group oriented.  And I missed helping out Kyle.  He had to the head throw using MaryAnn Sensei who is a foot shorter than him.  I felt bad because I saw that one out of the corner of my eye.  It went poorly for her.  He wasn't advanced enough to know to squat down before she went over the shoulder.  Slow motion train wreck ensued.  He still got his next rank though.  Weeee. 

Meat Collar

I'm too lazy to research if I've used this title in the past, but it's appropriate this morning.  I'm having a hard time looking side to side and it made driving a challenge on the highway.  It feels exactly as if I have a thick collar of gristle wrapped around my neck making move difficult, but painful. 



I'm more used to the lower back spasm that tells me I haven't been careful. I think anyone over 40 knows the neck pain I'm talking about.  Hell, I've done this sleeping poorly and woke with the same neck pain that lasted for a couple of days.




The flip side of this discomfort is that it is a direct result of Kyle getting ready for his test on Friday.  His portion includes two self defense scenarios which include escape from a full nelson and a throw from an attack from the rear.  Unfortunately, I was the punching dummy for him for most of the night.  At the end of class he was telling me that he wanted to ask MaryAnn Sensei if I could be his dummy (Uke) during the Celebration.  I hope it's going to be the case, because Friday is going to be a long affair (5:30 to 8). 


At the very least this means I get to participate a little in the big show instead of sitting to the side in my gi looking like a naughty child.  I'm a bit nervous about how I'm going to be perceived by the head dude.  I assume there is going to be some questions about who I am, or maybe he won't care.  Hard to say. 


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During class last night I was helping a four year old, Neva, with block and punch.  We would freeze at the end of the movement while we waited for the others to finish.  During this time she noticed some of my chest hair, 
"What's that?" she said.
"Chest hair" I responded. 
"Why is white?"  to which I sighed. 

Uke or Ookie?

With only two more classes to go before the celebration testing, I'm probably showing more excitement about the whole thing than anyone in the class.  I just realized that they've done all this before and it's new to me even though I'm not doing anything other than standing in a corner (I think...).


After warm up I got partnered with Mark to practice his 10 elbow techniques.  Now that I've done these a few times,  I'm starting to remember the overall pattern.  We went through them three times which left me a bit bruised since I was the Uke the whole time.  I always thought it was pronounced yookie, but everyone in this class says Oo-kay.  The Uke's job is to give himself to the Shite (it's pronounced sch-tay, not like the Irish saying the poop word).  Ideally, if I present perfectly all ten times then Mark will not have to think; just react.  I am the canvas on which he paints a masterpiece of technical prowess. 


Well, I don't know if we reach the heights that are inferred in my purple prose, but Mark has definitely shown a vast improvement in the flow of his technique.  That or I know when to fall down now and make him look good!  Hah.


The only thing I'm concerned about is that he's supposed to be doing a practical demonstration of one of his Kata's and he still appears to be learning it.  I'm not sure if this going to be on the test or what, but it doesn't look good to me.  I'll find out about it Monday. 

Shūdokan 30!

Thirty Classes!  It's astounding to me that so much time has passed.  At eight classes a month, plus some after hours practice with the black-belts I feel like I've been there for a year.  My original idea to try a different style every month pretty much went out the door after the first couple of classes.  While not super warm to my presence, I have felt welcome enough to be taught at my level of skill.  The folks that have been going there have been doing so for a long time so my guess is that the bonhomie that I normally associate with a class is probably normal for my time here. 


Next Friday is the big test!  It's exciting to see everyone get geared up psychologically.  At the old school testing felt very random and it was targeted at one person at a time.  Here it's based on a three or four month cycle in which all people are tested (not me) for their next rank.  So the little kids will be working on their ranks and the teens will be working towards their regular ranks, etc.  I'm a little bummed that I can't help out Mark for the partner required portions of the test, but I don't know the material well enough.


After missing a week (the entry way plaster and paint is done!) it felt like I'd been gone for a year.  We were a small class and practiced zenkutsu dachi (one leg back, front knee bent) moving and then adding punches while we walked back and forth.  The punch was broken down into seven steps.  Talk about deconstruction.  Thinking about the mechanics at that level is wreaking havoc on normal punching, but I get the sense that I'm rebuilding in many senses of the word. 


Following that, we did some blocks (middle with strike?) which was considered very advanced technique.  Which led me to realize that the advancement connected to belt and test was predicated on doing basic technique very well.  Once a basic kick and punch was done well, the person could learn the next one and then test on that.  Whereas my introduction was learning a lot of techniques and slowly mastering then over the years.  There is a lot to be said for what is being done at this school in terms of teaching technique.  There is no hurry to learn a lot.  But what is being taught is pretty thorough and well-engrained before new technique is introduced.


After class Mark told me how he thought I looked relaxed and good at teaching the kids in the previous week.  I told him thanks, but how I was so stressed out about it.  Apparently, years of beatings made me look relaxed on the outside.  Makes me wonder about other teachers.  Do they hold tension inside while they look confident on the outside?  Probably.

Hiatus Week

I'm out for a week due to house work project backlog.  We bought a 100 year old house when we moved to the Rose City and it needs constant work.  This month we are replastering walls and ceilings.  Brutal dust and physical labor. 


So just practicing my three new Katas in the morning and hoping I'm not missing too much at class. 

Welding With Children

The horrors of the past have come to revisit me.  I have become complacent in my outsider student status, but that was disjointed sharply by MaryAnn Sensei last night. 


In my old school my Black Belt test had a few things predicated before I could take the actual test.  The test not occurring until my teacher was satisfied with my progress in a few areas.  The first I will call "Deal with your fears"  or "For god's sake, they are just kids." 


After years of teaching the adults off and on my teacher noticed that I only took a peripheral interest in working with the kids.  The patience required was well beyond what I could generate even on my best day.  But when he went on vacation I would take up the challenge to provide continuity for the kids.  He didn't usually take kids under six, but there always seemed to be a row of kids around four years of age eating their boogers and generally not knowing their left from their right. 


So when he wanted me to be ready for my belt he would assign me things like teach the kids class for several months and while I was doing it he'd have to leave the room so he wouldn't start laughing out loud at my obvious exasperation.  Over time I learned to appreciate the kids and their obvious growth and personal diligence.  I also recognized that wasn't going to be my forte'. 


So last night after warm up MaryAnn Sensei pulls me over and says, "do you know the Kieso Kata number 1?"  It was my turn to look like a booger-eating moron.  So she had me teach the new kids a basic C step, then downward
blocks.  I was supposed to have them tie that together so they could walk and downward block at the same time.  She swung by after about 15 minutes and taught me and my wards the first part of the kata.  Which we dutifully practiced for another 10 minutes. 


After class I was able to fondly remember a lot of what I mentioned above with some degree of fondness, but I get frustrated because teaching doesn't always feel like a direct route in my martial progress.  Which probably means that it is.  Hah!


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After class I had my first lesson in MIG welding.  Thus the title.

Progress report

Slight change of plan last night after we bowed in.  In fact so much so that I didn't even know what the Sensei said to me. One of the other students told me, "he wants you lead warm up."  Oh right!


I'm usually shifting my brain into neutral during the warm-up, so suddenly being in charge again after years of leading in my old class threw me off somewhat.  I think I did everything we normally do, but some of it was out of order, but no one appeared to mind.  But by leading I ended up missing out on the little run that goes around room five times and then back around the other way.  It's a great way to warm up.  Ah well.  


Kyle and I completed the Chatan Yata Bo Kata, but I'll need a lot more assistance on that one.  Actions are good, but transitions from stance to stance are missing in a lot of pieces. 


After class we headed down to my basement dojo to work with the gang on the test prep.  Judging doesn't feel like my forte', but I gave my best shot after the two candidates did their ten kata.  I feel out of place making comments, but I just don't know now harsh it's going to be for them.  And not being one of the fold yet I'm not sure of what value they place on my commentary anyway. 


After that I got placed with MaryAnn Sensei to work on a new Kata!  Gekisai dai-ichi.  It's a Gojo Ryu basic one.  I got the first few steps before we ran out of time.  Still exciting progress since I've only been in for a few months now.

Preppin'

Last night was back to the preparatory grindstone.  As of tomorrow the class has 30 days to get ready for Celebration.  Celebration being the general term for gathering the various schools and doing testing.  In the past all the schools in the Northwest region would get together with their families and it became quite the event.  Due to the cyclical nature of martial arts school membership the event is now a very modest affair. 


Instead of a big road trip to Yakima we have the head guy come here and sign off on tests with a big social/dinner afterwards.  If I understand correctly Shihan Morris is into his 80s at this point and his sons are showing signs of their age which may preclude the celebration from occurring on the selected date.  However Sensei will continue on treating our curriculum as if we are going to have the gathering. 


Mark will be going for his Black Belt and Ivanna will be going for her 2nd degree.  And thankfully I won't have to do anything.  I was a bit concerned that I'd be partnered with Mark just to be his Uke, but I don't know the techniques smoothly enough.  I was even concerned about doing the basics with the children.  It's all very alien to me,  always stopping and thinking of the next move. 


So while Sensei focused on getting the children ready, Kyle and I worked on the Chatan Yata staff kata.  I'm now at 2/3s.  It's coming a little bit more smoothly, but my inability to practice the transitions at home are slowing me up.  My wife and I have been putting a lot of effort into redoing the interior walls so the house now resembles one of Dexter's plastic kill rooms.  Two new ceilings and tons of replastering makes for a constant cloud of dust.  Hopefully next week we'll be back to have some larger space for me to practice.  The basement dojo is just too low to have a staff swinging. 

Chokarama!

Clutched tightly between the thighs of large man, with my own shoulder compressing the veins in my throat, I struggled to understand why I was so jealous of Bob and his judo class.  But that was a very small thought as my desire to breath overruled pretty much everything else.  

Bob has recently started Judo class.  I am jealous of Bob.  The mechanics of Judo make it necessary to practice with other people.  The mechanics require the practitioner to engage physically with another person. My current art is very traditional.  We do not engage physically very often.  I am on my 26th class and we have done groundwork about 3 three times.  I am not complaining, but I miss the chess like struggle of using the body in 3 dimensions and letting kinesiology take over when other senses are not centrally engaged.  

So while we prep for Celebration next month I assumed that we would be working on kata and exercises ad nauseam.   During a self directed warm up Sensei pulled out mats and and prepped an area, which meant ground work!

We were introduced to "shrimping" (forcing your hips to the side and down to create space) in order to learn to put people into a triangle choke with our legs.  

We then learned how to escape by putting the soon to be locked arm into a bent position with the hand up by the face.  This takes the lock out of contention. We were supposed to get the second hand up in between the legs, but it didn't go that way very well for me.  

I got picked as the Uke for Sensei quite a few times and he is a strong man. Even when we was not doing an arm bar I was quickly tapping when he squeezed his thighs.  Three seconds to midnight.  

Mark and I ended up choking and being choked the rest of the hour.  Really fascinating stuff and physically grueling.  I was a bit concerned about my back, but this morning everything was in the right place and I didn't experience contraction.  

Weps 2

I just realized that I had forgotten to post after Wednesday's class, however it wasn't much more than a repeat of Monday's course work.  Kyle got assigned to me to continue my work on the Chatan Yata staff kata.  I'm pretty sure that's not the way the name is pronounced, but until I get an authoritative response from Sensei I'll go with Noah's best guess with spelling/pronunciation.  

Ironically, Kyle showed up early to work on the kata anyway so we worked on it until MaryAnn Sensei showed up to start the class.  My new word is Say-deit-say.   Again I have no idea as to the spelling or pronunciation, but it's said at the beginning of class to call the students into formation.  Blackbelts not instructing stand on the right of the Sensei perpendicularly.  Instructing ones face us and the students are in a line facing the Sensei.  

After bow in (Go-zi-mash-e-tah) Kyle spent the rest of the class helping me get through the first third of the routine.  In addition to the chatan yata move (the figure eight set) I learned a second routine that requires me to switch hand grips while the staff is over my head.  I saw myself in the mirror and realized it looks like a parody of a martial artist.  I definitely need to be practicing this a thousand more times.  Even 45 minutes of practice sets my shoulder on fire.  I guess I'll be stretching that out over the next month or so.

I told Kyle that I had always wanted to do the Kamas (little sickles) and wanted to know how staff had come up.  He said that it wasn't brought into the syllabus until Brown belt, but he asked politely and Sensei started him out (Kyle is a Orange Belt, but dedicated and earnest).  He figures after awhile he might bring up a second request.  

This got me to thinking when I might make a request for some knowledge, but I'm so new that I think I'm just going to wait off to about a year.  The upcoming celebration (testing) should be neat, assuming I'm even allowed to watch.  I don't even feel comfortable talking about how to address the concept of testing for me.  I'm not sure how I would run a transplant Black belt.  In my own school our teacher would just test them after a few months, but it was for each belt level.  He just didn't want to award a high belt unless the new guy would stay around for a bit.  We never had an hour sheet for tracking like Aikido schools.  It was all done via subjective measure.  I can see where that could be bit insulting; in not respecting previous work even if it is in a similar style, but the new guys never seemed to mind.  They just appeared to be there to practice.  I'm trying to keep the same mindset and let it flow.  Objectively, I only know one kata all the way through.  Less than most of the white belts.  As they say in Mexico, "tranquillo".  Relax.

Weps!

Midway through class I could see my right hand swelling up, which was weird because I haven't seen any injury based on class since I left my old school.  The base of my thumb was literally twice the size of the left and both hand were bright red. 

I didn't care though.  I had a huge smile on my face and a partially functioning hand was not going to remove that. The reason is because Chiten Yata, my first staff (bo) kata.  I have no idea if I'm spelling that correctly, but after a decade or more I'm finally doing a weapons kata.  Sensei has asked me a few times if I knew anything or had any experience.  I can literally count the times I touched a staff on one hand and I'm not using all the fingers.  In my last school our syllabus sacrificed weapons for more and more complex technique.  I'm sure if we could have worked in one more day of instruction we could have had that.  

Last night the class consisted of me and Kyle and bunch of kids.  I've come to enjoy these because of the focused nature.  I wouldn't want it all the time, but it's great now and then.  Kyle knows the whole staff kata which is supposedly for a more advanced level, but he was able to run me through the initial sequence for which the kata is named.  I've search on line, but because I don't know how to spell it I can't post an example.  Sufficed to say, it's the figure eight move that I have seen in the fancy katas.  In time I can record my progress for the laughs.

I practiced the initial sequence 50 time with Kyle.  Unfortunately, this is where I started noticing my hand getting more and more swollen.  Thankfully, it never got to the point where it didn't function optimally.  After a night sleep it's back to normal but it feels well worked.  

The kata has three thirds and I was able to get to the end of the first third, but even with running home and practicing immediately after class I was unable to complete that third.  The chiten yata, I think I have that.
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Celebration is scheduled for March 20th!  Although I'm not testing, I'll be excited to see how it's run and how our folks do.  Crap, now I'm not sure if I'll be required to do the basics!  That would be embarrassing for the school.

Dojo

Just a quick note to the fans that I've made a lot of progress on my basement dojo.  When my Sensei was moving he had to clean out his storage and had a huge pile of the those 3 x 3 interlocking sport mats.  For helping him move I have a semi permanent borrow of a huge stack.  So I've been cleaning them and installing them downstairs for the last several weeks.

I've done a couple of rolls and the mats are very compressed.  Of course they are on concrete, but whatever foamy goodness they had 10 years ago seems to have left the building.  Still, it creates a nice insulating layer against the cold floor.

Behind The Scenes

Since I have been writing this blog I have struggled with the direction of the writing.  I would like to be entertaining, but I really started it with the idea that I would have a location in which to store my notes from class and have people reflect on those if they felt they could add something.  

Since I have started Shūdokan I figured I would just stick with the notes and not worry about the personalities in the class.  The class is small enough and folks are nice enough that I don't feel the need to write about them much.  

My last school had such a cast of characters and in regular rotation that I could have really spent most of my blog writing about them.  This was most likely because I lived in a small town and everyone knew everyone and their business. For instance my good friend ended up divorcing his wife and soon she was dating another one of my good friends from class.  It would put us into a weird situation in which we couldn't talk comfortably.  

A compounding feature to this small town dynamic was that I became friends with my last Teacher.  We socialized frequently and I saw him go through two marriages and other big changes in his life.  However, the man who teaches is not always the guy you drink beer with.  I will say this in his case, he was consistent as person could be, but it always troubled me to see him going through trials and tribulations.  I obviously wanted my teacher to be a superhuman untroubled by the slings and arrows of the world.  

Which brings me to Reed.  He has the outward appearance of the serene Buddha. He is a storehouse of knowledge due to teaching exclusively for almost 20 years.  Everything has a reason and everything has been thoughtfully considered.  His personality is relaxed and consistent and he has the ability to share a small joke now and then.  

Last week he mentioned that he was unable to go to the extended Monday night work because he was moving.  When I asked he said that he was moving back in with his wife.  This confused me because they always together at the class; dropping off and picking up kids.  Apparently, they were separated for several years!  

I wanted to be supportive and offered my truck for moving.  This lead to an evening of moving a lot of martial arts stuff.  As I have mentioned before, Reed ran a successful school for many years and as a consequence has accumulated a lot of stuff. I think we moved forty or fifty staffs, swords and assorted ephemera. On top of that four wavemaster dummies, and 50 3x3 sport mat squares.  This doesn't even include 100's of gi's, signs, tournament equipment, and paperwork.  Probably the neatest thing was the posters from the past where we got to see the students over the years.  That connection with lineage is important to me even though the school is a shadow of itself.  Reed's instructor told him that he could make a go with 100 students.  Reed had 60 as his highest number.  

Last night I was Uke for Mark's practice.  He practiced 40 techniques on me and then did 10 kata.  I was impressed in spite of myself.  Of course I felt like a walking bruise in the evening.  Taking repetitive falls on hardwood is okay for one or two times, but 10 or more was having an accumulative effect.  

He is showing rapid improvement.  Anything we mentioned last week has been taken care of.  Better kicks and relaxed shoulders for sure.

Roll!

As a fan of UFC fighting and its progression over the years, I have always been intrigued by the notion that a fully rounded fighter needed to know ground skills as well as stand-up striking.  I just assumed that ground work was just something I was not ever going to get to do.  Just learning the catalog of skills related to TSD (Tang Soo Do) took me 7 to 8 years.  

In TSD a big principle is "never go to ground".  So I spent my whole martial arts life pretty much learning never go there or fighting my way out if I took a throw.  I was fairly jealous of the guys in our previous small town that got to do Judo and later the military combatives.  Those classes were pretty much the same time as ours or in conflict with something else.    

Let me make it clear, I am never going to compete in UFC or whatever local version they might have for old men, but I have always been struck by the idea of a well-rounded fighter.  So that is why I get excited when we stop testing preparation and do something which feels like it's off the syllabus.  

Last night was dedicated to escaping front chokes.  It was mostly make sense kind of things; pushing toward to break the thumb grasp, ducking between the arms, then we added in breaking the balance of the choker and using that to pull them off balance.  Finally, pulling the choker off balance and then doing an arm bar or standing submission.  

This was all fine and good and I am pretty comfortable with all this.  At my TSD school we were busy choking the crap out of ourselves most of the time, but it nice to get "handsy" once again.  And then Reed Sensei has us pull out the mats!  

The rest of the class was focused on how to exit a choke while you are on your back.  Which finally lead up to a reversal and arm bar.  It was so much fun!  I am saying that because I got it instantaneously.  For the first time all the stuff I have learned in the past came together so that I inherently knew exactly what I was supposed to do.  It was joyful moment in which I had to be shown a relatively complicated move only once and I knew how to do it kinesthetically and, more to the point, I understood the dynamics applied throughout the whole sequence.  Fantastic!

I also found that yellow belts have to execute an escape from the floor choke to move up in rank.  Fascinating.

Also, stopped coughing on Sunday.  Boom just like that.  But I still feel pretty out of shape. 

Infection And Review

I haven't posted in the last week due to a lingering illness.  As the cold/flu season rolls across the US I thought I had escaped the clutches of fever, chills and snots as my friends and co-workers were laid low all around me.  Alas, not even my robust immune system could fight off all of it.  Instead of snot I ended up with lung problems.

It's been two weeks since the beginning of the symptoms and there hasn't been much change.  Any movement induces coughing jags that last up to five minutes.  I found some old bottles of codeine cough syrup and I'm disappointed in the lack of progress.  I apparently developed a tolerance in one day.

Anyway, I decided just go to class and cough my way through.  I mean I'm going to work so I figured I might as well go and cough on my fellow students.

When I got to class Kyle let me know that the last three sessions were dedicated to preparation for Celebration. Celebration being the name for the testing gathering.  I have been told that in years past that the whole region collected for these quarterly events.  This would include 50 blackbelts and everyone's family, making a fairly massive event.  Obviously  this has scaled down.  Only the grandmaster (10th Degree Morris Mack) and another instructor come and visit the class to review the testing.  I keep wondering if this is a trend.  The TKD schools just seem to have the business model ironed out.

I think as a nod to my general hacking Reed Sensei had me act as a judge to our brown belt.  Mark did ten kata and I was supposed to be keeping notes on his acumen.  I had absolutely no idea how these katas were supposed to be performed so I would bother Reed with observations while he watched another student preparing for her 2nd Dan.

In my old class we were constantly nagged about head turns.  "You should always be looking where you're going!" they would tell me ad nauseam.  My guy didn't really make any particular effort in that area because his kata were complex enough that he was really concentrating on the next move.  Reed Sensei pointed out that as a rule there should be, per kata, two fast head turns for 90 degree and less turns and two slow head turns for 180 degree moves.  Neat rule.  My guy wasn't quite there, but Reed didn't appear to think that was a quick fix.  More of a long term correction.

I was bothered about my guys kicks.  He was just flinging the leg out.  Granted he's 62 going for a black belt so I don't think I can judge too harshly, but when I mentioned to Reed he was nice enough to bring it up in the review.  He actually had me stand up and perform a front kick so Mark could see how it was done.  I did one of my best.

Reed gave me some interesting information about the Kata section of the test.  Apparently, some of the kata performed are Shūdokan only and considered secret!  The doors and windows are actually covered so no one can see!  However, Reed did point out how funny that was because anyone walking by can see us practice them.  Still I liked the nod to traditionalism.  I find comfort that there is a connection to the past.  

Class finished up with jump rope.  Two instructors tied some belts together and we were to run through the rope.  They started with it not moving and we jumped.  They went one way and were to time our run to get through.  They went the other way and we had to jump to clear the rope,  and finally there were two counter-rotating belts (ala double dutch).  Kyle told me to focus on the front belt and I cleared without any problem, but after than I fell apart in the timing.  I would forget to pick my feet up after clearing the first rope.  Durrrr.  However a nice light way to end the class.

Shūdokan 20 - Fight Night 2

Based on the fact that I completed my 20th class, I'm going to leave off the Shūdokan in the title in the future. I think I can safely say that I enjoy the class enough that I'm going to stick around for as long as I'm engaged.  So much for my martial artists tour of various styles.  I simply can't beat the cost, location and teacher.

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It a burst of ingenuity the Teacher decided to go fast and hard into movement.  Last night he took out flat rubber disks and placed them into patterns on the floor.  We would do follow the leader with various foot work.  Essentially enforcing the fact that movement translates into better distance control and trying to stop crossing feet if possible.  With all kinds of variations we worked our way up to cartwheels.  Which, being 48, set my confidence level to low, but it turned out that I could do them fine on one side, but the other turned into a round off.  Either way it was great exercise, but I'm guessing little practical martial art value.

In the past (by that I mean at my old school) Fight night wasn't regular unless I lead the class.  In retrospect I can see that I should have more rigid rules in place, but the way it was presented to me was to be close to realism versus point fighting.  It kind of blended for us over the years.  This version of Karate I'm in now stresses no fighting (or lack of conflict?) at all, minimal contact and point sparring.  I haven't seen much in the way of advanced technique either, but the work on basics is intense and multi-faceted.

In this school there are clear rules in karate point-sparring, but probably the only one last night that had a good working knowledge was the Teacher.  The line judges were struggling a bit with out of bounds and areas of contact that would give a point.  After a couple of false starts we got down to good business and had a fine time.

I have lots of experience from my other class, but this rigid environment is a bit tough for me.  I want to do take downs, which are fine, but have to be carefully managed so you don't bust joints. Definitely no throws.  Sigh.  So it was block, punch, kick and I was blocking too early.  So I had a majority of punches landing on my lead arm.  My hand feels like a complete bruise but with no visible signs.

So pretty sore and stiff today.  In the best way possible.

Shūdokan 19 - Happy Feet!

Did you ever have one of those classes where everything the teacher says appears directed at you?  I had that last night.  By the third time he stopped the class to make a point I was starting to blush. Although he didn't look at me directly, but I'm pretty sure that my issues were stimulating ideas to point out to the class.  Dang!

I can't say what makes the teacher chose the nightly curriculum but last night we fell back on 10 kata. Since this is major component for testing he hits this pretty hard.  Each person has to perform 10 katas.  The students perform one and wait for everyone to finish.  Then we are critiqued.  This eats up class time so much so that I worry that we won't get to the tenth one.

After the first Kata, the teacher brought up the overhand block.  I'm not saying that I a super student and that I've got the concept after the first time I'm told, but I was getting a red face because he'd told me already the rationale for how he does the block like he does.  I love it and I'm trying to do it, but trying to remember old kata didn't allow for the space to recall to do the overhead blocks in the "new" fashion.  About the sixth block and I remembered to start doing it.  And then he grinds it in during the explanation.  Ugh.

The next component to draw his attention was Happy Feet.  My second kata was much like the first, but my "C" step forces me to move my feet around while I seek balance.  Boom he saw that and was like, "yeessssss".  Probably the worst part of this was that he pointed out something that I never knew I did or even thought about.  Moving from one stance to another necessitates a shift in balance and he wants to see no movement in the foot.  To him (and I agree as much as it chagrins me) a constantly shifting foot indicates that the balance is not set before movement.  A solid and still foot indicates a strong base and good balance.

Finally, when we got to move advanced and explosive katas he stopped us and pointed out how important breathing is.  I couldn't stop from inwardly groaning.  Breathing is one of my worst problems.  I often hold my breath to point of exhaustion, hardly aware I'm even doing it until I'm completed doing whatever I'm in the middle of.  His story instruction was basically that.  Verbal exhalations remind the person that they are breathing.  Keeping it quiet doesn't do anything for you.  So when we went back to the next Kata I tried hard to breath loud, but I was so wrapped up around the feet issue, totally forgot about half way.  Arrgghh.

I should mention that I'm so self-absorbed that I never noticed if the other advanced students had an issue with this things or not.  I was just so wigged out that they were plainly issues for me.  MaryAnn did give me compliments about the power I bring to the katas.  However, this is only in contrast to the others around me.  They don't appear to give anything gusto in my eyes, but what do I know?  I can barely walk and breath at the same time!

Shūdokan 18 - Judgement

We're between two holidays and class membership is minimal.  Two kids, a teen, Marcus and me.  Sensei is still focused on prepping for "celebration" which is the nickname for testing.  In this vein the class was structured around one portion of the testing called "bunkai".  I always took that word to mean practical application of the moves from kata.  However, this appears to be components that everyone acts out at the same time at various levels depending on skills.  So the white belts would do a side kick whereas brown and black has to a spin, downward block, side kick and into fudo dachi (low stance) followed by a schto (I have no idea how to spell this word, but it's a strike with the bottom ridge of the hand straight from the chest).  We were only able to get through a few of these before we got bogged down in technique correction.  Even with the five of us organizing the different levels was technically challenging for Sensei.

At the end of class Sensei likes to talk about something briefly.  He told a story about the founder and his pupil (in the US, not Japan).  It seems that one loved kata and other loved fighting.  The one who loved the fighting (main student) was eventually passed over for promotion because other folks were simply better and this was because he originally eschewed kata.  Once he realized this he got better, etc.

In my mind I said, "cool story bro.  We get it. Be well rounded, etc."  But there was the cool bit that never dawned upon me.  Sensei said that someone might be a natural fighter or just be plan speedy, but no one is a natural at Kata.  That's why the weight in belt testing falls on kata.  The judges can tell maturity and base level skills by how well the kata is performed.

I always like kata, but I was depressed when I didn't do well in kumite (fighting/sparring).  So there might be a bright future for me in kata; as long as they don't keep deconstructing my work.  It's like learning all over again.

Shūdokan 17 - Pre Holiday Rush

Class was down to it's bare minimum which I would assume would be standard for the week of Christmas.  Traffic is building and people seem to be in a hurry, so it's pleasant to go to class and just focus on one thing for a while.  Kind of like a Zen retreat with punching.

Class was spent on a longer warm up, which I find that I need to get my legs completely ready to go. This included kicking drills for the most part and then we broke up into skill groups and it was back to working on Wando kata.  Not that I don't mind working on this frequently, but I do like variety and it can be a bit much to work on in such long repetition.  My regular joke is, "only 47 more times to go".  Thankfully, that's well received.

One portion of the kata (which is very definitely Goju Ryu based), requires a small sequence of Sanchin footwork combined with a typical Goju block.  To me it's like being asked to rub my belly and tap my head with the addition of pretending someone is trying to hit me.

I went over that in nauseating detail and I'm still not sure I'm doing it completely correct.  The teacher focuses on a lot of different things and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing with one hand.  I guess that's the problem with coming in with a black belt from another art.  They are going to figure you know something or assign a knowledge level to you;  even with obvious deficits here and there.  

We finished the evening in my basement and worked for several hours on stances and transitions.  Something I thought I did well, but found that I need constant refinement.  During that time they introduced me to "European Blocking".  Another preset attack and defend demo with two people.  It's a set pattern of just a couple of moves.  So it can be executed fast and it's designed to be a show off thing in competition, but since the head guy liked it so much, it's become part of testing.  

The upside to all that work (3 hours) is that I slept like a rock.  

Shudokan 16 - Fight Night!

Despite any small misgivings I might have had with the Shūdokan style or how Reed teaches them, there were safely put away last night when we got to spar.

I think I've mentioned that the style that Reed presents is fairly straightforward.  By this I mean simple punch and kick combos and actual forward and backward movement.  Granted I haven't seen him spar against anyone at his skill level so I'm basing a lot on just what I've seen in class as part of lesson.

Class started as a "10 Kata" night.  Which is actually like what it sounds like.  We are to perform ten unique kata (if you know that many) or repeat the ones you know until you hit ten.  We stop at the end of each kata and the Senseis walk around and provide a critique.  They start by telling you what you do well and what to work on.  A nice formula.

Much to my chagrin, remembering my basic forms from Tang Soo Do became a painful process in stopping and restarting. There was much squinting and thinking as I rolled back the years to remember my first four or five forms.  I also had to announce which one I was doing.  I remembered about six names.  Very embarrassing.  I usually practice the last 5 black belt forms and my new one from Shūdokan.  So to dredge up stuff that I haven't practiced in over a year was a fairly horrible experience.  At one point Reed came over and did his version of Bassei Dai with me, but of course our versions were different, making our attempt look a Dick Van Dyke-esque off set dance competition.

We still had time left in the class after all that and thus the sparring.  A square was laid out with a judge on each corner and the match would go to 3 points.  Reed asked me if I'd like to go first and had me hold up my hand. He punched it very lightly.  He must have seen the blank look on my face then and when asked me to do the same to his hand.  He was telling me that's the impact level. Ahhhh.

The match went very quickly.  My one to his three.  I was a bit embarrassed because it was really run in and out type competition, not advanced technique practice.  I'm just not used to it.  Back in the old school we went until we hit three minutes or someone was sitting down.  This is all high speed and getting the right setup for a response.