31 Days To Go

Blissfully, it appears that we are going to be working on refinement for the rest of the month.  The only problem being that regular class is treated as regular class, so Mark and I don't get time to work on test items then.  To address this Mark and I try to show up as early as we can and get working on the material early. 

In our rush to get going and review material neither of us warmed up at all.  This led to Mark pulling a butt muscle and me twisting my shoulder and neck.  What a couple of idiots.  Although we laughed through it Mark surprised me with the pronouncement that he was probably going to quit after the confirmation test.  Although he said that he was tired of teaching children when he was paying to learn I think the long litany of complaints over the last year have culminated into a feeling that he needs to be a lot more careful with his body.  I'm twelve years younger than he is and I've been thinking the same thing!

That's all in the future, and once we get going on practice all that stuff leaves us behind for the time being.  Reed Sensei has asked us to practice the test each Monday and then work on the bits and pieces that need to be addressed each Wednesday. 

Mark and I howled through the test and needed refinement here and there, but it looks like we'll have enough time to look pretty as we can be for the big show.

We go up on the Friday and test that evening.  We overnight and then we can participate in the Color belt testing the next day, but I imagine Mark and I will head back in the morning.

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The part of the class that tends to disgruntle Mark is that as Black Belts we are expected to teach as much as we learn.  However, I'm about worthless because I know none of the beginner kata.  So Reed will often teach me very quickly and I'll be directed to teach the youngest children.  Last night I got two 6 year old girls.  About half way through class I was starting to thinking my karma was coming back from something I did long ago. 

However, I would probably complain about whatever he passed my way, but if I have to do it every class session I can definitely channel my inner Mark. 

A Visit From Eli

We rarely get visitors to class due to the time.  We start at 4:15 and a majority of folks probably do these classes around 7 pm in the real world.  So we are a combination of after school and pre-dinner.  If we wanted to expand the student body we'd have to have a better time slot at the health club.

So when someone shows up in a gi that we don't know, it's a moment of excitement to be sure.  I'd forgotten that Reed needed to pick up a final kata before May.  He's going for his next rank (fifth?) and wanted to pick an old friend's brain.  Eli Sensei is from a Shotokan school and had the day to work with Reed and the gang on that one Kata.  

Eli no longer has a school to go to, but has been practicing non-stop since he's been 5 years old.  His background is based in the older, more physically demanding schools of the past.  His hands are an uneven testament to breaking; sporting broken knuckles and uneven surfaces.  With that kind of life I assumed he'd be like the hardened, condescending folks I've met off and on, but this guy is the exact opposite.  He has an incredible sense of humor about the art, himself and everything around him.  When he's doing the kata he's very earnest, but that's where it ends.  I don't think I've even met such a silly man.  Every story is filled with matching faces and usually self-effacing references which in something horrible has happened to him.  

I spent a majority of the class working with the three new kids.  We worked on the first elbow technique ad nauseam, but they didn't complain.  The only thing I had to work on was their family dynamics.  The standard, "you're kicking too hard", "no the other way", and so on.  However, I believe they'll have it down pretty good by the next time they have to do it.

After class Mark and I worked on the "test".  Each time we work together it gets better and better. I stumble here and there and so does he, but it's getting smaller and smaller in the overall scheme of the work.  That's a distinct pleasure.

37 Days To Go

Previous to class Reed Sensei will send out a group text to let us know if we are having an after class in Daniel Sensei's garage, but he'll also let us know if something is up.  Yesterday he included the note that we might be having three new students. 

New students are a small reason to celebrate.  If anything the life blood of the school depends on new people coming to force growth and development.  I think I've been the only new student that's been consistent for the last couple of years which is a shame because injection of new folks here and there have been fun and interesting, but the bottom line is that it means that money isn't really coming in.

Reed has pointed out that he's horrible about advertising or growing the business and Daniel has a marketing background, but seems stalled about what the next step is.  In the past the natural feed for new, young students was via home-schooling gym credits.  After there was some shift in that process the school took a massive hit to membership.  I believe all the kids grew up! 

So our three new students were probably 7 through 10 and seemed keen on learning the basics.  I got them for the first half hour to teach them walking through zenkutzudachi and added some punching.  I gather there interested came from watching the Karate Kid movie.  I wonder how old Ralph Machio is now days?

Just before we were leaving to go to after class I got called out to work.  It was extra frustrating because when I finally got all the information I ended up not being needed.  Thankfully Mark and I both showed up early and practiced before hand and then got to spend the end of the class practicing.  I would like more of course, but we are getting a nice groove going on and I'm feeling a little better each time.  Hopefully Wednesday I can have two hours worth and we can get a lot of practice in then.

I just need my wife to proof my paper and I'll be able to turn that in with the testing fee.  I just don't want to forget that until the last minute.

44 Day To Go

I'm coming off a week of being sick couple with the start of allergy season so my hoped for relief is disappearing before my eyes.  Thankfully, when I'm moving/exercising my runny nose and sneezing dries up.  The only time it became an issue was when Mark held me in an inverted position and my nose would start to run. 

Everyone was in pretty good spirits after a weekend of tournament.  We had relatively good placement for all our players, but most notably was Daniel Sensei picking up first place for weapons.  Reed Sensei might have picked up first place for sparring, but some bureaucratic snafu got him skipped in one of his classes.  However, second place was pretty good I think.

Mark visited a tournament that was fairly local run by the head of Yoshida teriyaki sauce.  I guess it's pretty spectacular.  They fly folks in from Okinawa to run the seminars and the have the top competitors from all over the world come to compete.  There is even money to be won!

I've got 44 days until we go through our confirmation up in Yakima.   Naturally, I want to be the best I can, but I find it very tough to really fine tune a lot of what we are doing.  This is a problem because I don't want to be so burned out on the work that I can't pay attention to detail, but keeping it fresh is tough.

To this end Reed gives us small challenges to keep us in the moment.  Last night it was to count how many times we had a heart guard in one of our katas and then to rate each other on how correctly we are doing it.  I count six, but I'm unsure how well I'm doing it.  Wednesday, Mark will judge me and we'll find out.

Reed said that we were pretty much ready to go, but the month will be all about being as best as we can.  Correcting this and that, but the biggest change is how I do the kata now.  One; one-two, pause.  Giving the kata proper and/or dramatic timing to show control and power.  I so used to just running through it.  This gives it a fresh take. 

---

A week off and post cold I was pretty washed out during the first half hour of class.  After providing critique to others I did kata and was pretty winded.  Hopefully the allergy symptoms will pass in the next month and I'll be well rested. 

Fight Night Review

Pride goes before the fall; or so they say.  I was into my third match and hardly making any points.  Sarah has completely shut me out and Kyle and I had gone to sudden death.  I got one point on Reed because of an error on his side. It was only late into one of the matches that I realized that I wasn't trying anything particularly interesting as a result was paying a price.

As part of the prep for tournament Reed Sensei has been doing a bit more sparring practice.  A big piece of that is strategy.  He said he originally had 57 tricks of the trade, but over the years found that the jab and follow up punch was what got him all of his medals.  So that's what we focus on a lot.

This goes into conflict with so much of what I'd been doing at my old school.  Most often we led with kicks for judging distance, but that doesn't get any points.  So it's that clash of semi reality and sport karate that's so frustrating to me.  However it is fascinating to finally understand what the judges look for and play the old tapes of fights in my head.  I had literally won three of four matches in previous competitions by getting walloped by over enthusiastic competitors, not by any fancy moves on my part. 

I've got a big bruise on one ankle that's going to take a while to heal (a week?), but I didn't break anything so that's good.  Reed caught me on the chin pretty good at one point and I got to see some sparks, but nothing horrible. 

After class was just practicing the application portion over and over again.  This time it was all me as the attacker.  This was my original position and I've become quite rusty so that took a lot of going back over.  We finished up working on the bunkai and cleaning up a lot of stuff. 

I made the decision not to go to the Yakima tournament.  I'm going to be gone the next weekend so I can't give that up and fall behind on work at the house.  Frustrating, but in the end the best choice I could make.

A Tourney

The regional tournament is growing near (March 18th) and Reed and Daniel Sensei are going.  Due to the time and money involved I didn't really think it was a good idea for me, but their enthusiasm is making me question my decision.

The class got converted to a testing laboratory last night.  Mostly it was talking and discussing the classes and weights for the various competitions.  I found out that I'm in the rarified group (Masters) that doesn't have a lot of membership.  45 and older has no weight class nor weapons which I found interesting.  Just sparring and kata. 

The problem with Blackbelt only sparring is that even though I'm a 1st degree, I might be going up against very high ranking folks.  What a joy.  They are most likely sneaky and thoughtful.  Although I'm not to that point yet, I see that I would probably get suckered easily. 

The other part of competition, since it's an open tourney, is that there is no public demonstration of Kyoku kata.  So I'd have to dust off one of the few I know on the side and present that.  So the rest of the class was spent on practicing the kata even if were weren't going.  I have to admit it was a nice change in pace to practice something different and focus on cleaning it up.  So I was back to Wando with Mark and MaryAnn Sensei.  With the three of us at it at the same time we were able to generate a very clean presentation. 

After class was dedicated to practicing the Kyoku application till we were blue in the face.  Since Mark and I have switched sides we have a stuttering approach to the kata.  So I broke each section down to were he couldn't remember a piece and made him do it over and over again.  I thought we looked pretty good, but we when went back to our original sides (where I was the attacker) we fell apart.  I couldn't remember a lot of transitions.  More practice!  Only two months to go!

---

Good stories from past tourneys.  One part of the process is called "entertainment". 

 - A bunch of folks dress in Star Wars stuff, with light sabers, having a sword fight.  A child dressed as Yoda comes in and beats them all.

- An old guy comes in and does a kata and some guy heckles him from the audience.  He ends up coming down and getting beat by the old man.

- Big choreographed fight scenes.

It might be the head Sensei's last tourney.  He's getting a bit older now and this takes a lot of effort.  The 40th anniversary!   

Test Run Through

I think the count till the test is around sixty days.  With that in mind, Reed used the after class to run Mark and I through the test.   

The test consists of:

1. one run through of Kyoku Roku Dan
2. one run trhough of Nifanshi Sho Dan
3. demonstrate all ten bunkai - two times each
4. two run throughs of the KRD application; once as defender and once as attacker.
5. two run throughs of the NSD oyo; once as defender and once as attacker.

After looking fairly well through most of this well completely fell apart on the NSD oyo.  We'd been doing it wrong for so long that it was messing us up.  So that'll have to be retooled.  Just two moves, but we were crappy with that anyway so a relearn is going to take a bit.  The problem is that if we have an issue we need to go directly to Reed to confirm.  The other folks have long forgotten the moves and tend to cement our bad behaviors.  

Reed gave us a sheet of notes, but thankfully a lot of what we did was good, but the stuff we need to work on doesn't seem insurmountable.  In fact this morning I was able to remember one or two points to work on.  

In addition to this confirmation the review committee with ask if we want to add anything.  Assuming we can learn some more stuff we might be showing European blocking or the advance elbow techniques.  Time will tell.

Regular class was a bit of a blur.  I worked with the kids on a new move so we all stumbled through that a bit and then did my kata a bunch of times.  

The countdown is on!

Shūdokan 120!

After a week and half off I was excited to get back to work.  Of course a week and half off means that I'm going to forget a few things and it was apparent right away.  

Mark was at class super early so we went over a lot of basics as quick as we could.  Of course we forgot two areas which mess things up.  The first was in the Oyo for Nifanshi.  We forgot the second kick and then everything just gets messy.  Later we spent a good ten minutes reconstructed the final moves of the Kyouku application.  Not an auspicious return and with about 60 days to go.  Yikes!

I did find out last night that after the confirmation we are allowed to have 6 months of "fun" before returning to the process of learning the 2nd degree material.  I chatted with Daniel about his favorite weapons kata and thought I would request a Kama kata.  I was hoping for something flashy, but it really depends on what they have available or if I can make my own.  I'm not pro, but I'd like to see a lot of twirling.  This guy has a pretty nice one:

I'm getting ahead of myself, but it's fun to look forward.  

I spent most of the class judging the brown's practice their test materials.  They have a huge amount of kata to remember with 40 bunkai.  Yikes!

Tears Of Innocence

My wife and I don't have any children.  It was a combination of choice and circumstance and we're pretty okay with it.  She was a teacher for twenty plus years and acts as a Doula on occasion so she has enjoyed young people around her over the years.  As I've mentioned in past posts, I'm not much of a child person.  As such, my old teacher made sure that I had to teach kids classes for a stretch.  I'm not sure if that was a practical joke on his part or just helping with the whole teaching process.  Maybe both.

In my current school the classes can be incredibly small, so Reed Sensei can cycle through each student and give them individual attention.  However, the class can get just big enough that we should either all be doing the same thing to make it manageable or break into groups with separate teachers.  In the second scenario, available black belts will act as the extra teachers.  

We have a new young fellow (maybe six) named Everett.  He is enthusiastic, but not saddled with hyperactivity like so many others that have passed through.  Reed had me work with him on C-steps, downward blocks and punches.  He did pretty well with that so Reed had him work on the very first kata, which is just downward block and punch.  I was excused to work on my kata, but kept a vague eye on his interaction with Reed.  

Reed exudes some kind of vibe that makes people pay attention and it works with all ages.  It's like earnestness combined with a laser focus,  but it doesn't feel so intense that it's weird, but it helps you/me pay attention.  Anyway, he was working with Everett and then moved on.  The instruction was just to do the beginning of the first kata and repeat that over and over.  

After I got through most of my long kata I noticed that Everett was pretty much in the same place, but I heard some tears gearing up.  The two girls we have in class looked a little disoriented; unsure of what to do.  I finally went over and had a bit a chat.  

The weird part of this interchange was that I would normally hate this kind of thing, but I was drawn to figure out what was causing the problem.  After a few minutes I found out that he was upset because he forgot what he was supposed to do.  After I got him somewhat calm I pointed out that we all forgot, but that's why we practice.  So I worked with him until he relaxed.  

At the end of his class his Dad says, "well, I was going to buy a gi, but I guess we'll see if he wants to come back next time."  Well said Dad.  

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After class was short for me.  I had a dinner with the neighbors so I could only get in about 30  minutes.  I worked mostly with Daniel Sensei and things went fairly well.  I got to work with Reed for about five minutes; specifically on removing what he calls "quarter movements".  These are the pieces where hands or hips move not in relation to what's going on.  I've had a problem with this in the kata, but hadn't put that in context with the application.  More to focus on!

Mano A Mano

In keeping with my Spanish theme from my last post I thought I'd try start with a bang.  A literal bang.  

Regular class was taken up with Celebration, the seasonal testing for under black belt grading.  For once I was able to concentrate on what was going on because I knew the kata and techniques well enough.  I just had to judge two people in the middle of their brown belts and there were doing all the same techniques, so I was able to compare and contrast.

Just as we were leaving to go to afterclass Reed Sensei said that Daniel wanted to practice sparring because he was leaving to a tournament soon.  The normal spike of adrenaline I normally experience wasn't really happening.  I guess I was tired.  

When I got to the garage, where after class takes place, I was the only person there for about ten minutes.  I stretched out and tried to go over some common attacks and counters that I thought might help me out with Reed.  I've never sparred with Daniel so he was an unknown.  Reed likes to blast in super fast when you show an opening so dealing with that is miserable.  I'm just not anywhere near his speed.

Once I got a little practice out of the way (on my application) we went to sparring. Daniel is a big thinker and not overly aggressive, preferring to be a responsive player.  So I often felt like I was pushing him into a corner, but as I got close he'd strike.  Before we worked out that dynamic we both exploded at the start with right punches and, bang!, both our fists contacted.  I actually had to stop for a minute from the pain - fearing that he broke one or more of my knuckles.  My hand functioned fine, but by the end of the night I had already developed a bruise.  My concern was a boxer's fracture; where the two knuckles over the ring and pinkie fingers are crushed.  Lucky me, this morning doesn't appear to be damaged.  

However, through the course of the evening, I had all kinds of impacts, but didn't really notice them due to sweet, sweet adrenaline.  When I got out of the shower last night I noticed my middle toe was black and bleeding out of the nail.  So I'm not sure it it's broken or just smashed to pieces.  I'm walking very slowly and taking ibuprofen. Definitely not optimal.  Doing kata this morning was terrible and that was only made worst by a terrible night sleep.  Hopefully, this will be good by Monday and I can go about my business in class with minimal degradation.

Las Rodillas Dolor

I'm not sure what I did last night, but half way through the class my knees started sending out alerts related to their dissatisfaction. I presume that I hit a stance incorrectly or got my knee too far forward at some point which filled the rest of the class with punctuated yelps of pain.  

We had a new student in our regular class who was about 6 or 7 and we had Reed Sensei's daughter come back after a month off so the dynamics of the class shifted quite a bit.  I ended up going over Nifanshi Shodan with Charlotte and Neva for quite some time.  After that I worked on Kyoku Roku Dan three or four times with Daniel Sensei correcting different pieces and parts.  

After class I got to practice my weak side of the application about three or four times with a lot of focus on weak spots.  Since Mark was out sick I worked solely with Daniel which meant I was able to really move fairly quickly.  Thankfully he's incredibly patient with me and was totally tolerant about going over my week sections repetitively. 

My knees are better this morning, but still feel a bit janky.  I'm studying Spanish on the side and thought the direct translation of sore knees was hilarious.  The knees sick or sad (that would have been triste, which is funnier).  

Getting Up Is Hard To Do

And in the title I'm not referring to getting out of bed, but that comes with it's own challenges after 40.  I'm referring to getting off the floor after a foot sweep ends up putting you down.  

Before 40 and possibly a few years after I don't recall ever thinking about the process of getting up, but as time trundled on I became aware of the fact that doing a sit up was getting harder and harder.  I've completed several rounds of physical therapy for back problems and have always come out pain free, but as a result of the evaluation I had to give up certain exercises and learn new ones.  I honestly thought I was doing great, but the back thing has a certain way of compensating incorrectly and very subtly.  

My L5 has some issues that have been corrected by exercise and stretching.  Before I addressed it I would get the most exquisitely painful back seizures.  I haven't had one of those in over three or four years.  However, the damage has crept up the spine and now an area higher appears immobilized.  I don't experience pain like with the L5, but I occasionally get a twinge that feels like someone put my finger in an electrical socket.  

Ironically, the subtle nature of the infirmity was helped along by my old school.  We were big on seiza (being seated on your knees with feet crossed in the back).  And to stand from seiza you don't use your hands to stand up.  So over the course of several years anytime I was on the ground (working in the yard or what have you) I'd stand from a seiza like position. 

Fast forward to the last couple of years.  Now that I'm in a school that puts me on my back more and more frequently and the getting up position is never from seiza.  I'm literally flat on my back and I'm not supposed to be rolling on my side and pushing myself up.  I have now been taught now to rock myself up, tuck my leg underneath me, go to a one knee kneeling position, and then up into a zenkutsu-dachi.  I can do this but it doesn't look very smooth.  Kind of like a turtle getting back up, but less elegantly.

So I went to my PT and he gave me some very basic exercises to regain flexibility in my lower back.  I can see the progress when I try to bring my leg up to put on socks and things like that, but to do a sit up remains an activity fraught with pain. I should mention that I do everything I can do keep a healthy gut.  I do daily ab work containing crunches, climbers and hanging knee ups.  So I know my stomach is strong but if I can't get past a certain point, like 1/4 of the way up all the muscles in the world can't move me beyond that point.

----

This griping came as a result of class last night.  Mark and I are learning each other's side now and it got a bit smoother after we did it about 10 times.  I'm hellaciously sore from the activity, including my right knee whiched is bruised enough to be sensitive this morning just doing some exercises.  Weeee. 

Smallest Measure

I suppose it was only a matter of time where I'd get a bit frustrated with Mark.  We are always working together and pretty much always on the same stuff.  We both show up early to class and work on our stuff so we can squeeze in as much practice as we can.  

About half way through class he started forgetting what the next move is.  Finally, I asked if he was having low blood sugar; the change was that rapid.  My guess is that he must have the same problems with me.  I can remember what's next, but attention to detail fails me as time goes on.  I notice that I can't remember my foot placement, but it gets better each week.  Mark can remember all that, but forgets the next move.  I guess we are perfect for each other.  

Progress is being measured by increments.  Reed Sensei went over our Kata and chiseled away at small issues.  I think I had more than six things to work on.  This mornings practice found me me going over piece after piece.  

We can now tear through the bunkai.  Although I find my technique is still in question we don't have to think about what we are doing next.  We are also about to get through our original side of the application without too much hesitation.  When we switch sides we run into a lot of difficulty just getting through the first five steps.  So much more to work on before we even look smooth.

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I found out that the confirmation is a very private closed event.  I thought my wife would be coming along to take video, but no one but the practitioners are allowed in and video is absolutely forbidden.  Wow!

Minor Milestone

I wasn't able to make it to Monday's class since I had to pick up my wife.  She was returning from a trip up North and it fell dead center in the middle of the classes.  As a good husband I swallow my tongue about my desire to get to class, but honestly I'm always a little glad to miss a class here and there due to wear and tear on the knees.  I just hate missing practice.

This was made painfully clear since it'd been a week since I got to work with Mark and we struggled warming up.  I really hope this was just due to focusing really hard on details, but it felt like Mark was really disoriented.

He said that he had to take multiple falls on the hardwood during Monday's class.  He was so sore that he got yelled at by his wife and doctor (who is a friend).  To get ahead of that we set up pads in case we were going to practice that stuff last night.  Although we didn't I felt better about being proactive.  I have no desire to get dropped over and over again. Reed Sensei is awesome, but he's only forty.  I think he might forget how fragile his two old snowflakes are.  

We did a test celebration last night for the lower belts.  To this end Black belt folks don't participate, but he wanted us to join in to a degree so he had us use components of our kata to emulate portions of the work they were doing.  

We finished up by practicing our katas a few times before time ran out.  After class we worked on application and fine tuning foot work.  Then we switched out so Mark and I could start getting a little farther.  We were able to get to the end, but it wasn't smooth. However it's a bit of a milestone in that we now both know both sides of everything.  The next four months are going to be making it as smooth as possible.  

An example of how rough I am is I get thrown down and need to get back up to stop a punch, but somehow while I was doing that I ended up cutting my achilles meat with my own toenail while getting tangled up.  Ow.

A Moment Of Respite

Sensei Reed has the blackbelts in class on a text group so he can let us know if we are going to have afterclass .  99% of the time we have the class.  It's held at Daniel Sensei's parents garage.  As I've mentioned in the past, due to it's lack of insulation it can either be incredibly cold or equally hot during the summer.  

Due to the brutal cold snap we've been having going to afterclass is daunting.  I don't think I have circulation problems, but after an hour my hands and feet hurt.  And then it feels like it takes a day and half to get my body temperature up to normal. However, the second hour of instruction is fantastic because we have a narrow focus on the moves and get a lot accomplished.  

So it was equal parts sadness and glee when afterclass got canceled last night.  To compensate I went to class early.  This means that Mark and I can work out for a good half hour before class starts.  Unfortunately, for both of us our combined memory isn't always helpful trying to remember some things.  

Last night we ran into the same old block with our Oyo.  Unable to sort out a transition from one set to another we looked like to guys acting our age, Hah!  

Class consisted of:
- 3 x Kyoku Roku Dan kata
- 3 x Nifanshi ShoDan Kata
- 3 x 10 bunkai for Kyoku

We didn't quite make it all the way, but had a lot of refinements from Reed Sensei.  The class was far to quick.  Even though I wanted that respite from the conditions of the garage I feel like the clock is ticking constantly.  May is right around the corner.

Snowpocolypse Now

The Rose City is not known for snow at all.  The location secured from the ocean by a mountain range should ensure a moderated temperature all year around, but as each year passes the winter gets more wintery and the summer gets more summery.   This year the snow has come down and remains due to sub-zero temperatures. 

This means that business throughout the city is having a problem staying open because employees can't get to work.  In the case of class the place we go closed last week because they couldn't get anyone there to open up.  To add salt to the virtual wound our after class is held in Daniel Sensei's uninsulated garage.  It was in the 20's(F) last night and the garage was probably only around 60 at best.  Blue and white feet were definitely the word of the day. 

This is the third week in a row in which we might only have a single class during the week.  The new environmental problem is slightly warmer weather combined with freezing rain. 

Last night I went to class very early to warm up and thankfully Mark was there.  We worked on the Nifanshi Oyo and could barely remember how to put it together.  We hadn't practiced it for three weeks and it showed.  It's incredibly simple, but we couldn't remember the next move from the very start.

After class started MaryAnn and Reed both helped us remember the moves and then had us fix a few bits and pieces.  One of those was the shin kick.  Neither of us was putting any effort into timing or intensity. After that we both put a LOT of effort into it and this morning I noticed a considerable amount of bruises up and down my leg.  Ouch. 

I should mention that Mark was doing all this with his finger in a splint.  He had his finger slammed in a car door by a 7 year old.  It basically popped open like a grape.  I couldn't believe he hadn't gone to a doctor.  So we were really paying attention not to touch the finger! 

I led some warm ups and then Mark and I traded sides (attacker vs defender) several times until we felt comfortable.  I'm not saying we were great, but it was quite nice to remember the moves in their proper order.  MaryAnn was already to go traditional; which means one side does their side for months.  We had to tell her we both knew each other's side and just forgotten. 

I got to after class first (which is normal, but I don't understand because I usually leave last?) and got to grab Daniel Sensei for a run through of the ten bunkai.  For the first time I was able to go through them with a fair degree of recollection.  I sure wish I could practice those everyday.  I have no idea how to trick my wife into this, but if I could do that I'd be way smoother than I am now.

We finished up by working in the Kyoku application.  We worked out a few rough bits and then switched sides till I ran out of time. 

The only note from last night was that Reed said that he'd love to work more on the Elbow techniques, but since those aren't a requirement we need to focus on the application.  I got a laugh, thinking to myself that it seemed obvious that we need to focus on what we need to know. 

Knee Cah Joe

It sounds like my Indian name doesn't it?  However in this case it means wrist locks.  Or maybe joint locks, but last night it was all about wrist locks.  Thankfully Noah was able to tell me it was Nikajo or Nikkyo. 

I'm very proud of my locks.  My old school took great lengths to train us to be able to apply them in a variety of forms and angles and yet I find myself being educated in news ways with Reed Sensei.  Usually a lock is applied by capturing your opponents hands against something.  In this case they have grabbed you by the wrist.  We use our other hand to hold it in place and then angle the wrist so the pressure goes against the joint in some horrific way.  

One thing I don't recall working on was escapes and counters.  We worked so hard on setting up and getting into position that I don't think it ever came up. The two big ones are getting super close to the other guy and getting so far out that the leverage is ruined.  I could feel that rush of understanding and being surprised that I could still be surprised.

The big treat last night was that Mark and I switched places in the application series and got about halfway through the routine.  That was a kick in the pants because it went so fast.  I'm still worried about my attention to detail.  So many little things to worry about.

----

My Indian name
a short story by the Tater

I used to work with Troy.  He's a Cowlitz Indian.  I was fascinated by his stories of dysfunctional tribal politics combined with a traditional thread tying his life together while frustrating him at the same time.  

I told him that I had been frustrated by my inability to track down my Lene-Lenape ancestry (this was before cheap DNA tests).  As a consequence I was robbed of ever getting an Indian name.  

He approached his grandfather one weekend to see if they could help me out. As as result I got the name Piah Kiah Ootlach.  It means Burns In The Sun.  

Shūdokan 110!

I'm always looking for something special on a milestone class, but as usual, I don't know the count of the class I'm in at the moment.

Reed Sensei said that the confirmation test would take place in April.  To me that feels like next week and we aren't exactly there yet.  There is a lot of content to go through and refine, but Reed says that we are going to be learning the other side of the long application series next week!  

I don't feel particularly smooth with my side yet and we are just starting to learn the advanced elbow techniques.  Although they aren't massively complicated they still need to be learned and become an addition to the already big catalog of material.  

Last night in afterclass we went through the application about three and half times.  I'm having some problems with foot work so we went through and made sure every stance was correct and that took some time.  After that we went over three of the advanced elbow techniques.  We have to learn 5 through 10 and I was able to make it up to 7 last night before time ran out.

Mark definitely has the advantage here.  He'd learned the ten basic elbow techniques as part of his blackbelt training in the last couple of years.  So the advanced stuff is just icing on the cake.  I'm coming in relatively fresh since I've only seen this stuff practicing with Mark in the last couple of years.  Wow, I can't believe I'm saying that!  

Yet to learn:
- Defenders side of the Kyoku Roku Dan application
- Elbow techniques 8 -10.

What I know reasonably well:
- Nifanshi Sho Dan Kata
- Kyoku Roku Dan Kata
- Nifanshi Sho Dan Oyo
- Kyoku Roku Dan Bunkai attacker/defender
- Kyoku Roku Dan application attacker
- Advanced Elbow techniques 5-7

All that being said I need to review the Oyo and Bunkai since I haven't been able to practice any of it for over a month.  Yikes!  It's already slipping away.

Bent Wrists Are My Specialty

I'm finally starting to get my sleep schedule corrected, but it's slow going.  Most of the last few evenings I find myself on the sofa being roughly awakened by my head hitting my chest.  This is around 6 to 7 pm.  Tuesday night I was fairly good because I made it 8 pm.  So I was reasonable awake for class last night.  

Reed Sensei must have been feeling some burnout on all the test prep stuff so he launched into a series of techniques that lead up to wrist locks and traps. This is always a welcome relief to me because it was such a large part of my old school's curriculum.  

I was partnered with MaryAnn Sensei, but she was clearly unused to being on the receiving end of techniques and I ended up spending a lot of time massaging her forearms after dropping her to her knees.  That didn't make me feel too good.  I wasn't sure if I was out of practice or she was just extremely sensitive.  Either way we didn't get far, but I got to introduce a whole bunch of stuff no one had seen before.  Yeah for cross pollination.  

After class was all about catching up for me.  Mark and me went through the ten bunkai, two run-throughs of the application and then three of the advance elbow techniques.  

When I got home, showered, and had a little food I ended up nodding off on the sofa again, but I made it 9 pm before I went to bed.  I later woke up refreshed and toddled off to the bathroom only to find that it was 11 pm.  Sigh.  I was able to get back to sleep and woke up at 4 am as usual.  Jeeze.

Sneeze 2

In a continuing celebration of my 50th year my wife and I traveled in Southeast Asia for a couple of weeks.  Thankfully the pace and location allowed me to practice my kata every other day or so.  I was very nervous that I'd forget something, but I was supposed to be focused on addressing some small details with my big kata. 

The folks we traveled with are dedicated practitioners of yoga and meditation so our mornings would be fairly quiet.  During their meditative practice I'd go into whatever space I could fine to work on my stuff.  This was met with some humor because I have a tendency to be embarrassed about my dedication.  For them meditation is something of a regular topic.  My focus on the karate is something fairly private to me, so I'm never really sure how to address it.  If I'm lucky my wife brings it up so I don't sound like a humble bragger.  It goes a long way if I need to go and practice without looking like a hermit.

The problem with this level of travel is the jetlag on the return.  I've know that return to the West is tough, but this appears to be next level stuff in my case.  I got back on Saturday afternoon and probably hadn't slept for 40 hours at that point.  The normal course of order is to stay up as long as you can to correct your sleep pattern, but I gave up at 6pm and had the worst sleep ever as a result.  Exhaustion and jet lag made for the sweats, tossing and turning and finally a wake up at 4am to which there was no return to sleep. 

I rationalized this by telling myself that it would get back to my Monday schedule faster.  Of course I ended up going to bed way too early and repeated the cycle.

Fast forward to last night and my return to class.  I was swaying a bit but got there on time and ended up leading the warmup!  Reed grabbed Mark right away to work on something so I was the lead.  This was kind of nice because I needed a bit of time to get things moving. 

After warmup Reed had me work on Pachu for the almost the entirety of the class. 

Sakumoto doing Pachu

Surprisingly I was able to get through the whole kata in my shaky state, but this morning I couldn't remember the last couple of moves.  At least it's a bit more knowledge in the brain.  This is the first of the katas from the Ryuei-ryu school of karate.  I'm not sure I'm going to be doing much with this one, but it's nice to have the occasional change in pace during the confirmation prep.

Mark and finished up the class with the first of our new elbow techniques.  We are going to be performing five through ten of the advanced.  Five is interesting and action packed.  It starts with a standard technique and ends with a trip and arm bar. 

I can't wait to be awake on Wednesday!