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.

---

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.

Shudokan 15

I'm not sure what happened last night but I got little to no sleep, or at least it feels that way.  I normally associate that with drinking too much on a weekend night.  When the alcohol converts to sugar at 2 am and I thrash around because my heart is pounding like I'm running up hill.  Well, I wasn't drinking and I was in bed at the right time after a very long night at beatings.  I should have passed out and slept like a log.  Instead I kept surfacing every hour.  I was grateful when the alarm went off.

Due to the short nature of class time, the black belts meet after class on Monday and work out for another couple of hours.  I originally thought it was just to get the one Brown Belt, Mark, up to speed for his test, but I see that folks just want to get together and continue working.  There is way too much content to be covered or reexamined for the two hours a week we normally have.

I'm loath to miss any class because I'll be missing new material or assistance on current material that needs refinement.  So the after class, continuation is nice, but I'm suffering for it today.  The final move in the application portion is a shoulder lock on me. And, of course, it's the shoulder that plays up because it's been locked and ground for so many years.  That and the knees and back and everything else.  Maybe that's why I didn't sleep well.  Ibuprofen would have been smart.  I've got X-ray hindsight.

Generally speaking I'm working on three main areas of memorization.  An application of the Kyoku Yondan kata, the application of Kyoku Godan kata, and Wando.  Between all of this I'm retooling a lot of stuff.  How to hold the hand, stances, stances and more stances and the very straightforward approach to sparring.

Last night Reed Sensei took one of the teens and did a sparring sample.  There was much bouncing on toes (what I call body fencing) and then straight rushes.  I'm sure there would be more if there were two qualified folks, but it was explosive and no circling.

Since the school is reduced significantly there is no mass visit to the main school for testing.  I have found that Morris Mack Sensei comes and tests.  Last night I heard a few stories about testing in front of him and stress that created in the students.  Fun stuff filled with foot cramps and pain.  So I blithely wonder when would I be asked.  I realize I do this a lot and realize how important it would be for me get tested in another art.  Confirmation that I know a thing or two from a external source.  How sweet would that be?!

Shudokan 14

Missing class blows.

Due to some unexpected tasks at work I ended up missing Monday's class.  The irony being that I was going skip class anyway because my parents had intended to visit from the East coast, but my Father got bronchitis.  I thought to myself, "well, at least I get to go to class".  Then my wife revealed that she got tickets to a fancy house tour in the city at the same time.  Sigh.   For some reason being at work late seemed even worse.

I got to class early to warm up.  The room is empty the hour before, but we back up to a cardio class so we rarely run long.  If we do, women with bulging biceps and calves start making their way around the outskirts of the room, letting us know to wrap it up.

This is what I imagine is being said in the background

The bummer alert went off when I was talking to Kyle.  He ran through all the parts of the class, but the big part was they ran through a "celebration".  Apparently, this is what they do a few times a year with the whole region (Yakima).  The formal belt testing occurs during this time.  So everyone in class had to run through whatever their belt requirement were.  Since I'm probably going to be in belt purgatory for several years until anyone can figure out what I need to be doing to get some kind of belt.  Post 50 year old belt tests sounds like a nightmare.  

Anyway, the alarming amount of material they need to know to get their belts has me fairly amazed.  I think I have this correct:

• 10 + katas
• 10 elbows techniques (kind of like one-step exercises)
• 5 application kata (two person dance party)
• 5 bunkai of above kata (not sure how this is done)
• possibly self-defense techniques

I'm on month 2 of my first kata (Wando/wanduan) and slowly helping Mark through an application kata (which if I could remember the damn name I'd look up on the interwebs) and now, starting last night I'm helping Mark with another application.  Instead of just throwing a punch I get to do all kinds of twists and turns and fun stuff.  I've got to get a camera in there. 

Shudokan 13

As I've mentioned before, Shudokan has a focus on a couple of areas and apparently one of those is elbow techniques. To assist Mark in his Black belt exam the Teachers have him teaching me the 10 techniques in an effort to cement his knowledge and introduce me to the fun stuff. 

1. Step to the right while blocking left.  Right snap kick to gut groin, close in with right elbow and cross left and back to the right.
2. Step to the right while blocking left. Right knee to gut, double hand grab to head, right knee to face, twist head to side, elbow straight down to head.
3. Step to the right while blocking left, upward elbow strike to jaw, spin with elbow to stomach.
4. Step to the left, block right, left elbow jab to ribs, right hand grabs their left wrist and with left hand at shoulder stand roll other over at waist, elbow in back.
5. Step to the left, block right, right hand grabs their left wrist and with left hand at shoulder stand roll other over at waist, immediately bring them back up for leg sweep, holding hand up then knee to ribs and finally elbow to head.
6. Step to the left, block right, left elbow jab to ribs, left knee to back, while grabbing hair and pulling back (eye sockets for short hair people), then elbow/fist to throat.
7. Allow punch to pass right side of head with left block, forward with elbow spike, turn with arm capture and elbow to back.
8. Step to the left, block right, zenkutsu with twisting left elbow, twisting right elbow in wide stance, and close foot with left elbow to head.

This has taken me all day to remember this much.  Just sad.  Until next week.  

Shudokan 12

This is the beginning of my second month at class and I hadn't really considered trying another martial art; unlike the thirty day trial I had planned.  I'd forgotten until one of the kids mentioned it.  I guess that means it's a good fit after all.  The only complaint being the length of instruction is fairly short.  Two hours a week doesn't allow for a lot of personal interaction with a teacher.  

To remedy this I've made myself available to the others as much as possible.  The oldest student, Mark, is working towards his Blackbelt exam and requires extra time to get a lot squared away.  To make that happen I've offered my basement as a secondary training environment.  It's got a cold floor and a low ceiling, but it doesn't cost anything.  Sensei has offered to bring over some sport floor tiles to reduce the impact for falls and allow us to take off our footwear.  Last night we were able to meet and hour and half afterwords.  

During class MaryAnn Sensei was able to give some really excellent pointers on the Wando Kata (also known as Wanduan if you search on the interwebs).  We finally finished the whole thing and now it's on to the details and smoothing it out.  That ought to take years.  MaryAnn definitely has the skill to help me out.  Just picking a few things a time to work on and is generally very complimentary.  My favorite head-sweller is, "you sure are picking this up quickly".  I have no idea how long it should take, but that makes me feel all sorts of awesome.   

Shudokan 11

Class was small as expected and we got right to it.  A majority of the class was dedicated to movement.  I'm used to having both feet flat on the ground unless I'm in cat stance.  Shudokan on the other hand apparently doesn't get wrapped up in that kind of thing, so I feel like I'm unlearning all the time.  The name of the foot position escapes me, but the front foot is flat and forward and the rear foot is on the ball with the heel in the air.  The movement is called the yori-yosh.  The feet are never to cross. We did this for a substantial amount of time in all kinds of directions.  I found that we could move pretty well and fairly quickly.  Not crossing feet prevented tangles at high speed, but I couldn't stop giggling the whole time imaging the group of us  essentially skipping in perfect harmony.

The remaining time was spent continuing on with Wando kata.  I was up to 29 moves (or thereabouts) and just added 12 more.  I'm just few moves away from finishing, but refining what I've learned is taking a long time and I'm not in a hurry.  

Shudokan 10

With visitors in town I was unable to get to class on time due to traffic from the airport, but I was able to get into class for the last 10 minutes.  I was somewhat disappointed to miss so much of the instruction, but I was in for a hard treat.  

As I learn the small differences between my old style and Shudokan I've come to the realization that my old teacher would really have preferred a much more informal environment.  The class had started out as a club so the formality was inconsistent.  The members of the class enforced their own rules depending on background.  For instance a gal from a hard school would do push ups if she showed up late and another would cup his elbow when he bowed to shake hands.  I brought in the "everybody shake hands after instruction" after class after experiencing at an Aikido school.

At my current class the "tradition" for late comers is to sit in Seiza (on your knees with feet crossed).  This isn't a big deal if there is some padding, but this class is on hardwood.  Talk about trying to make yourself light!  The Teacher finally gave me the, "please join the class" after a couple of minutes.  

We were reviewing the "escape from bear hug" we touched on the other week.  Ten minutes of escape, elbow to head, standing guillotine, to fall into full guard until tap.  Then the reverse and fight into side mount.  

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The brown belt in class is working toward his Black belt exam and this includes 10 katas, 10 elbow strike patterns, 5 assisted bunkai and 5 European blocks.  This appears to be a phenomenal amount of memorization and I'm not sure when the testing is supposed to occur.  I'm very foggy on what European blocking means as well.  No free-sparring though.  Weird.  However, since that's been removed my overall health has been great.

After class we went to one of the black belt's homes to work on the assisted bunkai.  Bunkai being the practical application of kata.  It should be noted that it's in the 50's and we were on a concrete floor.  I thought the hardwood floor was tough for a couple of minutes of seiza, but in the assisted routine I have to take a side fall.  The concrete doesn't love me.  I actually had a tough timing sleeping because of the aches and pains.  So much for the lack of sparring and the pains it causes.  

Shudokan 9

Random Notes From Class (RNFC)

Since I've got a bunch of random thoughts running around my head without a cogent thread I'll just jot down some of the things that have come across the board.  

In TSD (Tang Soo Do) our upward block with fist cocked at angle designed,  and I'm guessing here, to act as a capture.  The hand is located about one fist's depth away from the forehead.  Sensei had asked me to perform some of my katas and supplied critique afterwords.  So now my upward block covers one eye, it's more up and down and the fist/wrist is straight.  He demonstrated the strength in this position compared to my old one.  Sold.

More like I was used to...

The new angle.

I'm not super keen on covering one eye, but the up and down of the block is very strong with it's angle.  

Sensei is very informative and in one instance pointed out a little bit of history I thought was pertinent to the issue of how blocks are done.  In a nutshell, he said that the Okinawan style of Karate was based on effectiveness.  When it gained foothold in Japan it's focus was on precision.  I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it certainly speaks to the block on level.  The basic arm up and forearm over your head, parallel to the ground is effective to a degree, but with a little refinement it is way more effective without the muscle work needed to sustain a direct blow.

Last night I got introduced to something that I haven't touched on since I was a child.  I was fortunate to be taken to Karate class when I was in Elementary school.  Although I didn't go for long it left a few memories about basic dojo behavior, but it also helped dredge up a memory.  That was a double bunkai.  I'm not sure what the Japanese term is, but one person performs a kata and the other person acts as the attacker.  It's very organized and puts a very practical face on the kata.  I wish I could recall the terms, but they didn't even sink in.

The stances have changed on me and there is a lot more attention to detail.  If you stand with your feet together, pointing forward, that has a name.  Then point your feet out at a 45 degree angle, with the heels still touching - that has a name.  You keep going out until your in a low stance and each iteration has a name.  Dang!  Lots of terms to keep up with.   

Shudokan 8

Let's go with the assumption that every martial art has a curriculum or has a syllabus.  It's rare that a teacher would give you a manual because the teaching process is fairly custom even if it's rigid looking at it from the outside.  Although I'm only saying that from my experience.

At two hours a week of direct contact how much content would have to be presented to start seeing repetition?  I'm at roughly a month of classes and haven't seen much in the way of repeating information.  Not to say that we haven't touched on things repetitively, but even the warm-ups seem like a never ending array of different things.  Last night we touched on five different warm-ups with explanations including sunrise and sunset motifs.  Nice, but I was worried about my back.  

TSD (Tang Soo Do) Has three main blocks; upper, mid and lower and I'm glad to report that Shudokan is pretty much the same with their Jo, Chu, and Gai Dans.  However, Shudokan has a different presentation.  I think it's based on teaching someone brand new, but this is how the two blocks are learning are presented:

- Downward - ball your left fist (meat down) and place it on your right shoulder.  Right arm straight out.  Then do the block.
- Mid - ball your fist and place it in your arm pit.  Right arm out.  Then do the block.

So they seem exaggerated, but we still perform the block pretty much as usual.  The only addition being way more twist in the torso than I'm used to and my punching partner not really putting force into the punch. 

Notes for the evening.  Punching makes the muscles in my forearms very sore and I'm very thankful that this style doesn't seem to make a big deal on constant low horse stance.  My knees are very happy.  

RCD Shudokan 7

I just got home and I'm desperately trying to remember the techniques we worked on and I sad to report that I can only recall a three of the five.  This school teaches 10 elbow techniques so I was glad for the jump into the deep end with Marcus, but I realized I can perform technique and understand it, but to remember it is tough.  The fifth one we did included a leg sweep with knee to the ribs. Fun, but how did I get there?

The notes below will hopefully help me remember the next time they come up. 

Elbow Techniques

1. block (stop!), grab, kick to groin, elbow to right jaw, left jaw, eye stare
2. block (stop!), grab, kick to groin, left knee to face, head grab to twist elbow to ear
3. block from outside, grab, elbow to ribs in low stance, waiter's hand to push shoulder over, elbow strike to back 

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Found out that Sensei taught exclusively for 10 years until the school membership got too small.  I wondered why his teaching was so smooth.  

RCD Shudokan 6

It's never a good sign to be out of breath during the warm up and even less when we only started and there's still a considerable amount to go.  Last night's warm up was to run around the room five times.  I thought to myself, "that seems nice."  Strangely out of breath near the forth rotation and grateful that we started walking after the fifth, I had to suppress my shock when we switched direction and had to knock another five laps.  

I'm going to attribute my weakness to my latest effort to return to a healthier me.  I recently had my lipid panel done now that I've moved South and was unfortunately given the honest truth - my enjoyment of food and irregular exercise has paid off with high levels of bad blood.  

I knew I needed to get on the stick and needed a big prompt.  I had started using beatings to get the ball rolling and the blood test was more or less the final nail to get myself together.  As part of "new me" campaign I'm eating a lot less, eating healthy, cutting out drinking and getting back to running.  

The problem with this is that my system is trying to learn to work with less.  My carb load is fairly low so by the evening time I'm feeling a bit "light".  Thus the problem with the running.  I'm going to have to figure out how to have just enough to make class go well without overdoing it.

---

Due to the modest amount of time for class we immediately broke out the mats (I didn't even know they had them) and went into ground work.  Marcus had mentioned this might happen, but they hadn't dedicated much time in exploring it lately.

So I learned Open and Closed Guard, Full Mount and how to escape using a variety of techniques.  My partner, Kyle, apparently has pointier elbows than I do.  I know this because if I have him in closed guard (my back on the floor and I have my legs locked around his waist) he assumes a praying hands position with his elbows out.  He then drives those pointy elbows into my inner thighs.  Wow, I couldn't get my legs away from him fast enough which gave him space to wriggle free and "pass my guard".  

I feel like such a MMA fighter except my partner was 14 and pretty much made an ass out of my piddling skills.  

Still fun as hell.

RCD Shudokan 5

It appears that I was being a bit harsh in my last post, but a frustrating class is frustrating.  I was still excited to go last night, but I was trying to keep it in perspective; that I'm not always going to get what I want (queue the Stones).

To my pleasant surprise, the planets aligned and the class took on all the things I needed and didn't realize I wanted.  For instance.  I need a bit longer to warm up and Sensei took some extra effort to put in a lot of exercise.  So I was nice and sweaty before instruction actually took place.  Everything they do here is based on the count of 50.  Wow, I'm not used to that.  50 squats, 50 crunches, etc.

My desire in this case was to feel exercised at the end of class.  Accomplished.  

My next was to have some specific direction from the Teacher.  I was struggling with the Kata that I've been assigned.  Wando is a rare form and around 26 moves I start losing the details.  After a lot more practice it'll come to me, but in the mean time I feel like I'm flailing horribly.  The main Teacher will actually use Bunkai (practical application of what we are doing) to reinforce what we are learning.  Fantastic as it appears all practical.  I can see why he chose this one. 

My desire was to have target instruction.  Accomplished.  

Although it wasn't a specific desire for that class, when I originally started to shop around I wanted a class/school that had a good number of people.  This came from my old frustration of being paired with the same two guys for years. I'll mostly likely be paired with a small number, but the class expanded by a significant number last night.  Unfortunately, mostly kids from 6 to 10.  Lots of activity and energy and Sensei spent a lot of time channeling that into something productive.

Here's Wando:

Starring: Not me

RCD (Rose City Digest) Shudokan 4

I really need someone who can explain a lot of what I'm experiencing.  It's like Jody Foster in "Contact",  "They should have sent a poet."  I'm not doing a good job in articulating so much of what goes through my head.  

Here's a bunch of jangled, unrelated thoughts:

• Black belts that stay around and become sewanim (sp?) become lost boys for a reason.  Listening to the stuff you heard a million times becomes a challenge to absorb or filter out.
• I just want to get to the "meat".  I'm just impatient with excitement.
• Since we all learn at different rates and different ways, being patient with other folks can be a challenge.  I want them to focus on one aspect and then they focus on something else.  Learn to breath Tater...
• The continuum of skill - when you have 6 six year old next to you getting explanations of basic punching that takes 10 minutes; my teeth grinding becomes audible.
• Wasn't the old class model in Japan to never ask questions?  No one asks questions, but explanations can go on past a point.  You can't say, "got it" in fear of being a rude a-hole. 

So I would say that I'm in an adjustment phase.  Still excited to go to class, but gritting my teeth about different factors.  

I found out that we do testing 3 times a year.  I wonder what I'd be up for or if I'd qualify for anything.

I will practice breathing and letting it go (sing a Frozen song here).

Rose City Digest - Shudokan 3

With an audible grunt I hit the hardwood poorly and rolled to my side and back, looking up sheepishly at the two Senseis.  As part of the class we were reviewing Bunkai (practical applications coming from kata) from Wando.  This particular component was how to get out a double lapel grasp.  The breaker (Uke) drops into a low stance and the grabber (Shite) gets drug off balance and setup for a knee in the face.  My partner is a foot shorter than I am so ended up going way off balance and then to the floor.   

For my second class I already feel part of group.  It's like I never left the environment, which is what I really love, but my flexibility and cardio are pretty modest and acts as a reminder that I have been away for a fairly long time. 

MaryAnn Sensei paid me a nice compliment when I was demonstrating the Wando kata, "Oh my" she said.  I wasn't sure what that meant and assumed I was doing something that didn't jive with Shudokan. "No", she said.  "I think we'll to talk to Sensei about trying something different."  I realized she meant that I probably wouldn't be challenged by the complexity.  I assured her that we might as well complete the kata since I was rusty and this was a good start.  I would have preferred the first, but there you have it when you wear the black belt to class.

I was pleased to see Reed Sensei come into class because it might mean that the warm up period might be abbreviated.  I'm so sore that I'm popping Ibuprofen regularly just to keep ahead of the pain that seems omnipresent.  Apparently at 48 the ability to repair physically is going to take a bit.  Thankfully it was short and the bulk of the class was instruction.  Great pacing.

You might notice that I use that frequently.  When I taught it was the thing that bothered me the most.  Teacher (back up North) would talk at length at times breaking up the flow.  When I taught I tried to fight at by keeping the pace going constantly, but it exhausted me.  It dawned on me later that was what he was probably doing - grabbing a breather.  Anyway, Reed Sensei has a practiced, measured, calm approach.  Very nice.