Sunday 8.11.15: 1 Sanchin Monday 9.11.15: 16:30-17:30 - Beginner children class: Sensei came in the middle of the class and took over, I was assisting with correcting the kids. It was about stances and kihon for grading - pretty much what me and friend originally planned to do as well 18:30-20:00 - Beginner adult class: - Footwork - transitions in various ways (sayu, yose ashi, suri ashi and more) - Junbi Undo - Some combinations of tsuki, ushiro geri (back kick), mawashi tsuki (hook), ura tsuki, kagi tsuki (uppercut), sweep, uchi uke (inside forearm block?) etc. alone, then in pairs, I think this took more or less the rest of the lesson. 20:05-21:45 - Self-defence class for women: - warm-up - Junbi Undo - The whole class was about circular training - the first circle was working out, the other two about techniques we learned so far, each round has 2 minutes: - First circle: - sit-ups - I did only the "half" sit-ups with elevated legs, not sure how many - tricep dips or at least keeping the body up in the position, I did 40 dips - skipping rope - we were in pairs, so each was skipping for a minute - 2 minute plank - I thought it would be tougher but I somehow managed and when I thought I will probably need break it was only 15 seconds to the end, so I didn't stop. It was just enough, though. And again, a stone was put on my back, just a small one, though, so it didn't make it much harder... Also sensei announced we should do the 30-day plank challeng ebeginning with today. The first day was supposed to be just 20 seconds, so I suppose i don't need to do any more. I'm afraid of the challenge, though, it advances kind of fast towards the end and the times given seem a bit inhuman... - swinging a heavy bag as a pendulum between the two of us - the bag of about 80 kg, I think - Second circle (there are 3 guys, they assist with the exercises): - Sensei holds small pads, we go two hooks and dodge an arm swing - Big pad - mae geri, then knee strikes - heavy bag - do whatever - a bit over a minute, then my partner. This time, since it's not a karate training we were told to take whichever gloves we want, I don't feel too comfortable with them and the small ones tend to relieve me of the skin on the knuckles, so I still rather chose to be barehanded - practising fast attacks to hanged belts - be fast, be precise - a friend in a vest would attack, we block and attack as we want, go all out - Third circle: - sensei catches us from behind - we defend with several techniques we were practising - big pad: friend would grab our shoulder from behind, we turn, swinging attack to the groin and a knee strike - heavy bag - again, do whatever - another type of striking the hanged belts - spar with a gloved friend with a vest who's mostly defensive - The self-defence today was really good and unusually exhausting, I feel nicely tired... But still need to do my Sanchin (I will!)
Tuesday 10.11.15: Miniclass cancelled today, 2 od the 3 boys are sick... 18:00-20:00 - Advanced class: - All four of our kata - only steps (without using hands), Gekisai dai Ichi and Ni even in the reverse (mirror) side - Junbi Undo - Kihon and kihon ido- this class was about all the more advanced techniques needed for grading for the 5th kyu (that I'll be aiming for) as well as 4th kyu and 3rd kyu - some of that was quite tricky, vast majority of it I did for the first time - as a part of the techniques for the 3rd kyu (brown belt), we learned a new nice looking block - kuri uke - that's part of the seiyunchin kata (or the bunkai at least) and used it in a combination with kansetsu geri, which gave me a bit of coordination trouble - San Dan Gi practise in pairs -3x sequence of San Dan Gi Ichi + Ni + San + Shi + Go. I knew the first three, the "Shi" was different - much more complicated than what we thought (note to self: all in neko ashi dachi: 1st step back: ko uke + mae geri + chudan gyaki tsuki + ko uke; 2nd: hiki uke + mawashi geri + jodan gyaku tsuki + hiki uke; 3rd: kaishu harai uke + kansetsu geri + jodan gyaku tsuki + kaishu harai uke), the fifth was all about neko ashi dachi + tora guchi - Renzoku kumite (kata in line) practise in pairs - 3x semete, 3x ukete; and solo as fast as possible - Kata Gekisai Dai Ni and its bunkai - Stretching - Great training today, I broke a not-too-small amount of sweat - Then me and friend that sort of became assistant instructors brought up this topic to sensei. We agreed we'd talk about it after two months and so we did. No complaints from parents, everything seems fine on both sides - 2nd day of plank challenge: 20 s - 1 Sanchin
Wednesday 11.11.15: 17:30-18:30 - Beginner class at uni: - variations of a game of tag - Junbi Undo - practising techniques - tsuki + turning to all four sides with a bit specific footwork - mae geri (front kick), mae geri + ushiro geri (back kick), mae tobi geri (flying front kick), hiza geri (knee strike) + mae geri + ushiro geri + mae tobi geri - then in pairs avoid attack to the side with a block (yoko uke) and strike - solo and in pairs (ippon kumite); I was paired with the more experienced Shotokan guy, sensei told us to do our own finishing - takedowns/joint locks etc. I tried some things and got some tips from my partner, which was nice 18:30-19:30 - Beginner class at uni: This class used to be full compared to the half empty first class. Students decided they'd go to the first class to stay for both because it seemed fun and they'd have more time to practise. So quite a lot of people came to the first class, however, it was quite exhausting so most of them left. Six people including sensei, only two non-karate girls stayed. Therefore the class wasn't the same, we practised in pairs: - again step to the side, this time with age uke + strike - kizami tsuki and block by the partner - kizami tsuki + gyaku tsuki, partner blocks - kizami tsuki + gyaku tsuki + mae geri (front kick) - kizami tsuki + gyaku tsuki + mawashi geri (roundhouse kick) - kizami tsuki + gyaku tsuki + ura-mawashi geri (hook kick) - kizami tsuki + gyaku tsuki + hiza geri (knee strike) - ushiro geri (back kick) - and probably two other combinations I don't remember anymore - at the end the Shotokan guy was asked to show one of his kata - he showed the one needed for purple belt (not sure about the name), it looked cool, then I showed Saifa... - 3rd day of plank challenge: 30 s - 1 Sanchin
Thursday 12.11.15: 18:30-20:00 - Beginner and intermediate adult class: - Warm-up with a kicking game of tag and some footwork and dynamic stretching in pairs - Stretching - Kihon - basic techniques every person their own techniques needed for the appraching grading. Again did some things for the first time today, had to ask several questions about one particular technique (ura tsuki + jodan hiji uchi with the same arm - apparently power somehow comes from spine, rather than hips, it's a fast "swish" movement) - The kihon for this grading somehow seems much more complicated - it's not single strikes as usual, but all combinations including changing stances. Seeing how exhausting all this is after going for a while, I'm again becoming somewhat scared of the grading, where we'll need to go all out... - Between the exercises some bodyweight work-out - whichever exercises we want - fist 20, then 19, 18 ... all the way down. I started with pushups, but my left shoulder hurt a bit since Monday and during the class it somehow got worse until I couldn't lift myself in a single push-up... I really hope this will dissappear soon - San Dan Gi Ichi - Then everyone performed all the kata for their grading in front of the others - I would very much like for my shoulder to get better till Saturday, so screw the plank challenge.... (the shoulder doesn't hurt in a plank, but I think I'll rest instead anyway...) - 1 Sanchin
National Seminar in Brno Saturday 14.11.15: Gasshuku in Brno Most of the 6 dojo from our association organize a seminar or some event once a year. November is time for a seminar by a small student dojo in Brno. The fourth sensei witht he highest rank come and teach. There was 4 blocks, the seminar laster from 10:00 to 14:00. Not too many people participated, there was only 20 pf us indluding the senseis. The seminar in general wasn't too physically exhausting (like last year), but was more about technique. Each sensei prepared something we don't probably do too often. My shoulder still hurts. Not always, but I can't do push-ups. Not too many were required now, though, so I didn't skip too much - Warm-up + Junbi Undo + basic techniques - blocks & punches 1st block: Kihon - some of the techniques we're going to need for our grading (our group was 6th asd 7th kyus). Then done in pairs and consecutively with them focusing less on perfect form, more on the fighting. The final sequence composed of two wasn't easy at all, I had some trouble coordinating myself 2nd block: Renzoku kumite - kata in line our sensei is fond of. We did probably quite well - alone, in pairs etc., also with closed eyes - I haven't tried that and it would have been nice, if I hadn't crash into a friend and ended up on the floor... Then we did a variation - the same number and order of steps and techniques, however, all the techniques were changed to similar open-handed, front kick and elbow changed into mawashi geri and elbow strike from the side. Not too easy to coordinate, we unfortunately didn't have time to try this in pairs. I'm quite sure we already did this once a year ago, but I definitely didn't remmeber. 3rd block: Footwork, stances + moving in stances and kihon ido. Usually basic techniques made difficult by putting them in unusual of unfamiliar combinations. I struggled with mae geri + mawashi geri + yokogeri, while not getting up from zenkutsu dachi. I think I did quite alright on some things, but had some trouble with others. 4th block: Kakie (push hands), redirecting force and joint manipulation. I was in pair with a friend from our dojo who used to do Aikido, who was nice to practise with. We didn't have time to do too much, but it went well. Sensei explained and shown if we had trouble (usually on me), which was nice to see the difference that can be made just by stepping into a bit different direction. This sensei also likes to use the pressure points. Again, I was proved they don't hurt that much, but sensei explained that some people aren't that sensitive and asked if I felt something, since I didn't look like that while he was pressing one sensitive spot above the elbow all the time. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but... When he tried on friend, though, she would jump up a bit. I was still unable to find the pressure point on her arm then. I'd really like to learn, but it's not my top priority and seeing how it won't be too easy and I don't have the opportunities to learn, I'm going to postpone this Kata demonstration - all the students and senseis shown the kata of their choice. I did Saifa as I'm practising it for the upcoming grading and I enoy it a bit more than the Gekisai kata. Then all the people went to have lunch, after that, the students from Brno made a nice program for us (us 5 from Prague), asking in advance what we'd like to do. We did pretty much the same as last year - went to a pool, then for a bowling and spent the night in a nice new dojo of sensei's friend. It was a pretty long and pretty nice day, but I'm very very tired even today (the dojo mats aren't exactly the most comfortable thing ever). No Sanchin on Saturday...
No, unfortunately it's not. To be honest I usually do it just before going to sleep and as I only do one, I'm not going "full power" or all out or whatever to call the effort in Sanchin I'm trying, though. I discovered or was told about a couple of mistakes so I'm trying to synchronize everything, get the stance right, etc. The "power" isn't too great, though.
Sunday 15.11.15: 1 Sanchin Monday 16.11.15: Sensei was free today, so I skipped the childred training. 18:40-20:10 - Beginner adult class: - as a warm-up in pairs - one person does a technique, the other repeats right away. I was left alone and paired with sensei, which was really fun I need to be more spotaneous with all this thinking of techniques, though - 24 (because of age) push-ups (managed now), sit-ups and squats - stretching - several combinations of mostly tsuki + some footwork (kihon ido) checking ourselves in the mirror - then half of the people get the body protectors and the others practise all these techniques on them, then we exchanged. Sensei encouraged us to go full power, however it still hurts, so I tried to be reasonable. I also got several punches to the solar and that wasn't too nice even with the protector. 20:10-21:50 - Self-defence for women: - The class was about using elbows, how to act when taken down - turning feet to attacker, kicks, protecting head, then some other kicks and repeating techniques - Sensei also wanted the girls to try to learn how it feels to be hit, so we did a bit of iron body conditioning - legs, belly, shoulders (I skipped that one, shoulder hurts), hands, forearms. The ones I was paired with usually tried, but asked me to stop after a while, but weren't dispirited, since they usually asked to try again - In pairs we always think of an exercise we do 10x, then something 9x, 8x, ...1x, my shoulder hurts more after the training, with my partner we agreed not to do push-ups, she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about them, either; so we did mostly squats, V-ups, crunches and similar stuff. I wanter to try push-ups when at number 3, but really couldn't, but since it was only 3, I thought it was about time to practise one-arm push-ups; for 1 we did 1 minute plank. - After the lesson, sensei proposed if they want to stay for a chat with a tea and most or perhaps all of them stayed for a while. And one brought a delitious cake It was nice and I got to know some of them better - no Sanchin
Tuesday 17.11.15: 1 Sanchin, trainings cancelled due to national holiday Wednesday 18.11.15: 17:30-18:30 and 18:30-19:30 - two uni trainings, basically the same: - A bit of footwork - Stretching in pairs - again, I got a bit further when stretching sitting, spread legs, body down to the middle. I usually manage to put nose to the floor, this time, I touched the floor even with chest. Not such a big advancement, but it made me happy nonetheless. - A little bit of work-out in pairs (again, skipped push-ups) - Most of the training was again spent hitting people in the body protectors. In the two lessons put together, there were 3 rounds with the vest receiving strikes and 3 without, striking. Three rounds of: block+tsuki; block+tsuki+tsuki; mae geri; mawashi geri; + one bonus round do a few strikes of your own. - Not saying I was perfect, but I got almost always hit to the triangle.... The strikes weren't usually too fierce, but still. Friend thaiboxer then kicked me to the chest (he wasn't the only one, but his kick was by far the strongest). I had to take a super short pause to get myself together. Sometimes it sucks to be a girl. In the next round, the karateka from another style kicked me straight to the groin and I had to take a very short pause again. Well, I guess it's not too bad to be a girl after all... - 1 Sanchin
Thursday 19.11.15: This week is a bit strange. I didn't have a single children training (which hasn't happened since the start of the semester) and I didn't feel too well and energetic at the end of today's training. Shoulder still hurts mostly only when doing push-ups and it's the kind of pain I'm starting to feel won't go away too quickly by itself... It doesn't hurt too bad, but I'm still rather not pushing it.... If the grading wasn't approaching, I probably wouldn't stress over it this much, but as it is I'm thinking of visiting our dojo's physiotherapist if it goes on... 18:30-20:00 - Adult class: - warm-up - stretching - work-out: choose 3 exercises and combine them to a total of 100 (I avoided push-ups, did 35 crunches, 45 shiko-dachi squats and 20 V-ups) - Renzoku kumite (kata in line) - practise with a friend, trying also for the highest possible speed, then I was paired with another friend, beginner, so I tried to teach her. - for the last 30 or so minutes everyone practises the highest kata for their grading (Saifa for me), then demonstrates in front of everyone 1 Sanchin
Friday 20. - Sunday 22.11.15: 1x Sanchin each day. I also did a bit of tanden breathing while working at the table and I think I only now may have found the right spot to concentrate on. I was aiming my breathing too high and this felt much better actually. It's still not easy to transfer this to Sanchin kata, though.... Monday 23.11.15: 16:30-17:30 - Beginner children class: Different sensei teaching today so I though I won't be needed, but turned our this sensei couldn't make it this early either, so me and a friedn taught. Some game, a bit of pads, practising kihon ido - forst with only mae geri, then adding techniques from a combnation of the first kata - up to mae-geri and two strikes. Some work-out mixed in (10,9,8... exercises), 1 minute plank (but none of the youngsters managed...), 50 calf-raises at the end. There's a brother duo coming to these trainings. The older boy seems quite nice and looks like he wants to learn and does well. The younger one (still probably I don't know 11-13 years old), however, comes to class with a sour face as he doesn't want to exercise. When I told him, when he laid down instead of trying easier version of push-ups, to try, look, even the 6 years old tried and could do it. He said it was different, the younger one didn't spent his whole life sitting at the computer... He looked a bit depressed, but tried and did ok, so I praised him, happy he did try. However, I find this kind of sad. I also thought he would be therefore happy he had something else to do, but I misunderstood, he wanted to go home and play games again... I tried to friendly talk to him about what games he likes and what sports he did and then kind of persuaded him to try to do stuff. When he did try a bit, he could do it! Somehow at least. I think I need to still push him a little.... 18:30-20:00 - Beginner class: - warm-up with some sparring games - stretching - 3x10 push-ups (I was allowed to do crunches instead). My shoulder feels better afte the weekend rest, but not really ok and I didn't want to aggravate it again - 2,5 minute plank (ok, perhaps around 10 s less for me, because I realised too late sensei had started already...) - only a little bit of Kote Kitae (or whatever it's called - I heard kote kitae as well as ude tanren, but what's meant is iron body conditioning) - Gekisai Dai Ichi and Ni kata 2x - Bunkai for Gekisai Dai Ichi practised in pairs, except for the second one and one made up by sensei instead - Trying the bunkai under pressure with random attackers going all out. This sort of thing is difficult for me and in the end, I only used 2 of the bunkai based on to which side I managed to dodge, and some random defence against completely random attacks (friend would try a head kick on me when we were supposed to attack with punches - but why not, he was testing me after all) - Work-out in a cirle holding each other's shoulders: - 130 calf raises - I was happy it only came to this, I was afraid of squats, but then still came: - 120 squats MIne and the others' legs felt as soft as tofu after that... 20:00-21:30 - Self-defence for women: - warm-up with a game with a bit of battling and reflexes, avoiding each other etc. (I stubbed (?) or simply hurt my thumb when sensei blocked my attempt to grab his belt (purpose of the game)) - 5 crunches, push-ups and squats - I avoided the push-ups and instead, to persuade myself I'm not slacking, I did additional 5 squats -at least there were only this few... - stretching - some push-ups, but with knees on the ground and hands put close together, on top of one another, further apart, etc. Shoulder hurts, but with knees on the ground I could do these at least with one arm - learning how to fall without hurting oneself (I totally can't do the thing when you fall back and must stop the fall in a way your butt doesn't even touch the ground. No idea how that is possible ) - Joint locks and manipulations when comeone grabs your wrist or collar or you block a punch or some kind of strike. For one technique that was meant to free your wrist held by partner, you twist his arm and if they still hold, you push them away by hitting just above the elbow - the very pressure point, to be precise, that a different sensei was showing on me last weekend at the seminar. It didn't hurt much just like that so he was testing what I can take, until he left a small bruise mark at that place. Which probably helped me see where exactly that damn pressure point was Anyway, today, when I twisted friend's arm, I somehow knew where to hit and I could be happy I obviously hit the pressure point perfectly. However, even without too much force behind the strike, my friend had to take a break, it obviously hurt. Then I found out she actually had some trouble with the elbow before so it's more sensitive. Therefore instead of being happy I found the pressure point, I felt like a total idiot - Then trying today's and even some previous techniques when sensei switched the lights off and we randomly attacked one another - 1 minute plank - 125 (I think) half sit-ups - One of the students said she's doing a course learning how to give a massage. Last week I hastily offered to volunteer if she needed someone to practise on before her exams She came prepared today, but sensei pretty much destroyed my plans by offering: "Lets all go for a beer!" Next week, though! 1 Sanchin
Tuesday 24.11.15: After yesterday's training I feel completely spent today. I slept quite long but felt more like I didn't sleep at all... I have some muscles sore, but above all legs are weak. Really weak. I even skipped my usual run to catch the tram, because as usual I don't seem to be able to get out of home on time 16:00-17:00 - Mini class: Again, two of the boys didn't come and it was looking like a private lesson. But then a friend brought her daughter, who's six and fits the criteria for this class, although she'd never come before because they couldn't make it this early. And since she came, her big brother, who's already a yellow belt, participated, too. Compared to working with the really small kids, this lesson was really enjoyable, I adjusted the program. We played a game they enjoyed, practised footwork - sliding to sides, back and forth, made it into a competition. Then I took th bamboo stick and swung it usually very fast at them at unexpected moments (I did a bit of a show from it )and tried to make them dodge with sliding to the sides. Or I stopped close to their head. Especially the girl did really well and it was fun, they laughed all the time. Then we tried jumping over the stick when swung at their feet, squat down when swung at head, then avoid accordingly to how I swing it, until it turned wild, but they seemed to have a lot of fun as did I The girl was really cool, when she was supposed to step to the side, but instead swuatted down and my stick was still going down at her fast, she realised super quickly and from the squat she was able to immediately go sideways, looking a hero of an action movie. She didn't roll, but that was the only step from perfection I really had to praise her And a run with obstacles towards the end, with other kids coming for their class joining us. I hope the next classes would go at least half as well 18:00-20:00 - Advanced adults and children: - Warm-up with stomping feet and a game of tag in pairs (or threes in our case) etc. - Junbi Undo - Some work out (oh my leeegs ) - Bunkai for Gekisai Dai Ichi in the air (slowly, then fast, legs suffer, I can't move them that fast!), then against each other - Bunkai for Gekisai Dai Ni in the air, then against each other - All those bunkai quickly without thinking, full power, under pressure - Work out (belly), 30 second plank and 30 secs side plank for each side - Practising Saifa kata for the last 30 minutes 1 Sanchin
Wednesday 25.11.15: 17:30-18:30 and 18:30-19:30 - two more or less identical classes at uni: - Warm-up and stretching: - Hojo Undo: - for the first class when there were a lot of people I was just going around helping explain, not participating in the exercise. For the second class, there was one student who came, the rest stayed from the first class. There were less people and already had an idea what to do so sensei assigned me to one of the groups. - 3 kg kettlebells - for each leg 10x knee up to the front side, 10x sideways, 10x knee up to the front + extend leg; then some throwing it from one hand to the other + moving up and down to shiko-dachi - stones - fall in shiko dachi + extend arms up; the same but arms with stone in front of the body; then turning the stone with kime in shiko dachi again - 3-people makiwara: for each hand: 10 tsuki, 10 palm strikes, 10 knife hand(?) strikes from above and from above 10x palm strike + strike with the dorsal side of hand - I did the last one for the first time I think, when sensei noticed the sounds from hitting the makiwara were suddenly quieter, he came over to find out why I was taking it easy... - kongoken: well, girls were more or less meant to do the easier exercise, but I wanted to work out since it's a while since I last did hojo undo, so I kind of made my group do my usual exercises. For me: - 15x kongoken up + fall into shiko dachi - again, I'm out of practise, I struggled more than usual - 16x steering wheel + fall into shiko dachi - 15 push-ups - I thought I'd skipped them because of my shoulder, but couldn't bear the feeling of not doing my usual exercise, so I tried, and surprisingly, although normal push-ups hurt, the ones with the kongoken's weight were perfectly fine! - Nigiri game - vases (empty) - 2x kata - Chi-ishi - sensei brought 3, we were a group of 3, but one chi-ishi was the bigger one and significantly heavier - sensei usually works with this one, I think. So of course, I took it rather then leaving it to the girls who saw chi-ishi for the first time. There was not much time left, but I did my usual first exercise several times, two rounds for each arm and had just about enough when it was time to finish. I tried to hold the stick at the end, or very close to it, at least (forced myself, because of ego, because I don't like to feel like I'm slacking and because of challenge ), but had to use the second hand around three times to stabilize the granite "head" when I almost knocked my teeth out with it... - 1 Sanchin
Thursday 26.11.15: Before training a few of us went to buy a mouth guard because there's going to be a bigger sparring session and sensei would like us to have one. We bought quite a cheap one, that completely doesn't fit in my mouth, is too small, but hopefully the boiling and fitting will help... I also saw a chest protector, that's not the cheapest thing ever and thought about buying it. Decided not to, only to hear in the dojo an hour later from sensei that it would be good if I had a chest protector... But he promised they'll be careful if I didn't, so I think I'll trust them for now... 18:40-20:10 - Beginner and intermediate level training: - Warm-up with footwork - various sliding, quite fast and dynamic, quite fun - Junbi Undo - Kihon - basic techniques for the first two gradings and a bit of kihon ido - San Dan Gi Ichi - Gekisai Dai Ichi kata 20:10-21:45 - Advanced adult training: - This is the only adult training I don't attend, because it really for the more advanced - from a green belt up (so if I grade succesfully, I'll be able to have one more training, and with advanced techniques, which is somehting I'm looking forward to Sensei told us that if we want to stay today, we can, we'd practise for the grading, so we stayed, of course - San Dan Gi Ichi, Ni, San and Shi - Renzoku kumite (kata in line) in the air, without partner, to make it harder, both sides, also both sides with each technique tripled - Kata bunkai - for Gekisai Dai Ichi, Ni and Saifa - again solo, which wasn't very easy - practising bunkai that deal with attack to the chest in a group of people - Ippon kumite in the same group - Ippon kumite that deal with punches with our finishing - Ippon kumite - again only the punching part with our own finishing with gloves on so we can make harder contact - 1 Sanchin kata - 2x Kanryo Higaonna's Sanchin - And a work-out that we'll be asked to do for our grading - for me 50 of push-ups, crunches and squats. Because of my shoulder I avoided the push-ups, did 50 crunches and 100 squats - to shiko-dachi as a compensation. The squats are easier than push-ups, but my legs still hurt a bit, so I think it was fair. Then I still was a bit annoyed I can't do the push-ups, so I tried different positioning of hands if it will strain the shoulder less as sensei suggested to me yesterday, when I discovered push-ups with kongoken were ok. And it worked. I found a position where it didn't hurt, so I did my 50 push-ups in the end as well ^^ It's great that we got to practise this stuff for the grading. It's approaching fast afterall I forgot to mention I spent some time with sensei yesterday talking about various things. He asked how I felt about the grading and assured me it's going to be fine, that for some people the grading is only about waiting until the time period after which they can grade again passes. That was very encouraging, but if I mess up now, I'll be all the more ashamed And the one grading us won't be our sensei, so I'm sure we'll be under careful observation
Birthday party Friday: 1 Sanchin Saturday 28.11.15: Today was my birthday. And because 3 of my friends in the dojo - meaning all the adult 6th kyus in our dojo had they're birthday in the past couple of weeks, we decided to celebrate together When two of us came earlier, sensei was already in the dojo with another friend preparing snacks. Another friend brought wine and champagne. A friend baked a delicious and nice thematic cake for us! We didn't invite or expect too many people, but in the end 18 people came, including all three of our senseis. We talked and played a quiz game someone prepared. We weren't too enthusiastic about a quiz, but then made it a girls vs. guys and we spent maybe a couple of hours with it having a lot, really a lot of fun. Sensei and her partner even brought some fireworks etc. and it all went really well. I think everybody enjoyed it and sensei thinks we should celebrate birthdays like this more often We stayed in the dojo, went to sleep at almost 5 AM in the morning, but didn't get much sleep overall. 1 Sanchin
Fight Club - kumite training Sunday 29.11.15.: 15:00-17:00 there was a training - "Fight Club" planned. Sensei was planning to start having bigger sparring sessions once in a couple of weeks since September, but only today was the first session. The plan was to hold these trainings for 8 people at max with it being open to anyone practising any style. - We started with combinations in the air with moving to the sides etc. for warm-up, stretched and continued with combinations to the bags. - Then some iron-body conditioning. There were 9 people including sensei, one of them was a friend of a guest from a sister dojo, who does boxing and learned kyukushin for a short while. Judging from his skill he didn't have too much experience, though, but was a nice guy. I was paired with him for the conditioning. I tried to go reasonably hard, but not too much, since I was chatting with him while hitting each other. He was slowly withdrwing his forearms, after a while he admitted he has enough, but enjoyed the training. When hitting each other with open palm to the stomach 4x50 times, he started withdrawing as well and although it was obvious he thinks it good practise, he was slowly perhaps subconciously putting his hand in the way, but still encouraged me to hit him even after taking a short break. - Practising combinations in pairs with light contact, without blocking the strikes, just for getting some possible combinations right. - There were pads planned, but not enough time so we skipped to sparring. Half of us made the trip to buy the gum shields, I boiled it and it fits nicely now. We started with short, 30 secs rounds where each person pairs once with everyone. Gloves and feet protectors, sweeps, takedowns, groundfighting and everything allowed, hard contact to body encouraged, only light contact to head. - My biggest success today was when I was paired with a very big guy from the sister dojo who trains for as long as I do and has the same rank. I enjoyed exchanging hits with him, them suddenly, he went after my legs, caught each one and with head would push me so that I'd fall. He must be much, much heavier than I so he probably thought it easy and lifted me without much trouble. I took the opportunity to "embrace" his head and one arm from his back side and keep myself up that way. We ended up on the ground, my legs under him, but me still holdin onto his neck (the name is probably guillotine choke?). I'm not good at chokes etc, but I thought why not try to squeeze a bit harder, and while I certainly didn't expect much success, he actually tapped out just before the end of the half minute round! A small success that made me happy perhaps also because of how unexpected it was. Well, he tends to introduce me to his friends as "the girl who gave him a huge blackeye while she had a broken leg when we met on our first seminar" It is more than a year old accident, but he still wouldn't let it go. So a small revenge was in order :evil: - In my round with sensei, his punches were much heavier. The head punches and kicks were stronger than what I'd call a light contact, but not too hard to be unbearable or something and as always it was a great experience. I also attempted a kick, sensei probably blocked or did something that caused me to unvoluntarily turn my back to him, which, as I immediately understood, was a pretty bad idea, so I continued the spin and tried a spinning back fist that our thaiboxer friend likes to do. I did it just as an attempt to avoid any sensei's strikes and didn't push through, didn't even touch sensei with it, as he moved sideways. He then told me, though, that he noticed and recognised this strike I think he meant it wasn't bad and to my response that why bother if it didn't even touch him, he jokingly said: You should be happy or I'd get it back at you, because getting hit with a strike like that would mak me angry Anyway it's a technique I never planned on using, and was only a desperate attempt to do something, but it felt natural and if I have the opportunity I might try again - We finished the 8 rounds of 30 secs, but in the end didn't continue with the training. Although the sparring lasted for only 4 minutes, which is really not much, out of the 9 people present one either broke or dislocated his toe, so he left with his friend, and another, after getting punched in the head went to throw up and although he returned and fought the remaining rounds, because he loves sparring, we didn't think it was such a great idea for him to continue.... - At the end, sensei asked for our feedback as to what we liked or not, what we struggle with, what and how we'd like to practise. Nice. 1 Sanchin
