Lifting and training

Just a quick post; as the purpose of this blog is to track my training and weight lifting progress, I will regularly be posting my successes in the gym as well as the dojo.

The Gym:
It was a ridiculous leg workout today; it left me totally spent, but I beat my 1 rep max!  Full-squat at 295lbs.  I'm restarting the Strength 1 sequence of NROL, so my ultimate goal by the end of the 4 weeks is to have my 1 rep max at 335.  For the record, I will not be counting the reps if I don't do a complete full range rep.  I think in 4 weeks I should be there, but I definitely need to work on getting my ass to get through the full routine.  I'm so spent from doing the squats that I have a hard time completing all the sets of the other exercises, so the sub-goal will to be able to get through the entire leg workout while also hitting my 1 rep max goal...it's going to be damned challenging.

The Dojo:
Biggest success I had today was making my already battered legs work for me for 2 hours straight.  After a good long warm up, we worked kata.  As I've been concentrating on cleaning up my Kanku-Sho lately, I decided to focus on that in particular today.  My main issue has always been keeping my balance in the opening sequence, and then the snap of the hips after each oi-tsuki.  I drilled up to the first kiai very slowly, getting a feel for each technique, and each hip movement.  Finally, I was able to get a good idea of how to make the combinations work.  Time to really work the moves when my legs are in better condition, and really learn to stick the landing.

I also worked a little on Bassai-Sho; as this isn't my tokui-kata, or even a primary focus for me, I was mainly just making sure I remembered the moves, and drilled a couple sections I was having trouble with.

It was definitely a great training day all around, time to hit the gym hard in the morning again, and then dojo at night.

Wish me luck!

Post-Thanksgiving

First, let me say Happy Thanksgiving!  It was definitely a nice long weekend, with some fantastic training sessions prior to Thanksgiving Day, and one incredible session the day of.  It's been a while since I last posted so this one is bound to be a long one.

Last week was marked by the last exam prior to final exams in a couple of weeks, so I was largely very busy preparing for the test on Monday.  Finished up with that and revved up ready for training on Tuesday night.  Tuesday night we were lucky enough to be blessed with a fairly large adult group.  It was largely a kihon-based class; proper body mechanics and impact training utilizing solid stances and focused techniques.  Very little jiyu-kamae, so we were forced to create dynamic tension and action.  To say the least, I had trouble walking by the time I was done.  The fact that I had done wave-loaded squats the day before definitely did not help me much.

Wednesday night was far more relaxed.  Sensei was busy interviewing a potential Krav Maga instructor for the dojo (I'll get to that in a minute), so I focused on kihon-ippon-kumite and jiyu-ippon kumite with one of my kohai.  Nice and easy, just trying to remember all the old combinations and defenses that we used to practice in the dojo.  My favorites will continue to be the kuzushi-waza (unbalancing techniques) - this term relates specifically to take downs (typically taken from Judo) and sweeping (common to Shotokan).

Thursday morning it was time for our annual Thanksgiving day work out.  The day promised to be a good one; a large deck full of adults looking to earn their turkey dinners.  The class started with calisthenics and warm-ups to get us ready, then straight into kihon, starting very basic (oi-tsuki, mae-geri and gyaku-tsuki, etc.) and quickly jumping into advanced kihon (kaiten-waza and shuto-uke combinations).  Once we were all warmed up, we moved onto jiyu-ippon kumite.  This we did for a very short time before we moved onto timed partner drills.  One minute-rounds, back and forth with shift forward mae-geri, and shift back to avoid your partners.  Sensei was gracious enough to use SST (Sensei Standard Time), and one minute became closer to two minutes.  We continued this for some time with different techniques.  To finish off the class we used similar timed rounds on the body shields, gyaku-tsuki, empi-uchi, maeshi-mawashi-geri and mawashi geri.  I'm pretty sure I lost at least 3 pounds of water weight that class.

The weekend was stressful, packing up my brother's apartment as he is in the hospital and will be there for some time, and further the landlord sold the building, and all tenants are being vacated.

I think my only regret from this past week was the lack of weight training, I've been trying to stick to the NROL (New Rules of Lifting) Strength 1 routine, and been having trouble.  I definitely need to start getting my gym time back into my routine.  I can't afford to let myself slip.

Tonight is going to be a busy night, straight from school to work, and then who knows how long I will be there.  After that it's either off to the gym or the dojo, preferably the gym.  I'm coming to the conclusion that I really only need 3-4 days in the dojo to really keep my technique and form sharp, right now my focus really needs to be on speed and power, and that means more gym time.  We'll see how well I can stick that this week.

Wish me luck!

Riding the Hip

The concept of "Riding the Hip," was introduced to me at Camp Shotokan this past summer in Carlsbad, CA, by Sensei Nathan Scarano, 6th Dan of the American JKA Karate Association - International (AJKA-I).  The idea is to use the forward momentum and direction of the hip thrusting in mae-geri to generate a powerful attack; either follow-through with the mae-geri or  as a set up for another technique, typically oi-tsuki.


I've been taking the time since camp to make this technique work for me, and the other day it finally happened!  Two effective mae-geri, both times knocking my opponent down.  The amount of stopping force created is incredible.


The idea is that when you drive the hip forward at the beginning of the mae-geri, you continue driving off of the back leg past the point of execution, and use the initial momentum generated to initiate forward movement, and the thrust from the back leg to create additional power.  The closest comparison is adding a front-leg blitz to a mae-geri.  The two videos below will illustrate my point fully.


The first shows Scarano Sensei demonstrating at a training camp in Hungary, this shows how Riding the Hip can be used to create a broken rhythm and set up for a secondary attack:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDxokTwsyhM&feature=channel_video_title


This next video, shows the effective use of Riding the Hip when applied strictly to a mae-geri attack.  The karate-ka performing the kick is Russell Adderson Senpai, also of the AJKA-I:

Now that I've made it work for me once...time to make it function in competition and everywhere else!


Wish me luck!

Pacifism through Combat?

I was talking to a friend at school today, and I mention to her that I'm not by nature a typically violent person.  She points out to me that I participate and train in a very violent sport...the title of "sport" withstanding, I took it at face value as an amusing point, and left it alone.  Later on I found myself thinking about her statement, and it amused me, but it also got me thinking.

Martial arts, specifically the traditional styles, have always expounded and advertised how they teach self-defense, and that we as martial artists should never condone or willingly be violent individuals.  I will be the first one to say that I do not in any way condone violence of any kind.  I stand by my statement: I am a pacifist.  Given the option I will diffuse confrontation peacefully and diplomatically every time, but at the same time, given no other recourse, I will resort to violence to protect myself and my loved ones.  Even Gandhi, possibly the most famous promoter of non-violence, was quoted as saying "I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence...."

You could make the argument that training in the martial arts, specifically sparring/kumite is by nature violent.  I say that it isn't, I say that kumite is competitive, it is testing, it is everything but violent.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, violence is defined as, "the exercise of physical force so as to inflict injury on, or cause damage to, persons or property; action or conduct characterized by this; treatment or usage tending to cause bodily injury or forcibly interfering with personal freedom."  By this definition, there is nothing violent about taking part in kumite; you can actually say that sparring is "practicing" violence.  Or better yet, pressure testing our ability to do violence.  We are training to do violence when violent intention is necessary, when life and limb are in danger.

So, back to the title of this post, can we have pacifism through combat?  Obviously we can!  Kumite is combat, but it is not an inherently violent situation.  I hate that cliched phrase, "we train so we won't have to fight."  It's a nice, poetic paradigm, but in the end it's utter garbage.


Kumite, just like the rest of karate training, is what you make of it.  If the result is violent, that's because we must create violence to overcome violence.  That is no different than being more competitive than the person standing on the line across from you at a competition.


We train to bring damage and destruction to those who wish to do us harm.  We train to be able to fight and win when no other option avails us.  In the end, we're really training to prevail.

Ouch

Wave loading is definitely an incredible lifting method...my legs are so sore and tight right now, I can't remember the last time that my legs felt like this (it was probably the last time I did wave loaded squats!).  Exam time tonight, and then heading home...only to sit down to work on my lab report.  I'm glad I got into the gym this morning.  I would have been feeling like crap tomorrow morning if I hadn't.

It's going to be an interminably busy day tomorrow, working on the lab report during every free moment I have in the hopes of getting it done properly and on time.

Tomorrow, I think, I'll take some time between two classes to do some work on kata.  I'm getting particularly frustrated with Kanku-sho and Gankaku.  The issue in Kanku-sho is the small hip action at the very beginning of the kata with the soto uke after the first two oi-zuki.  It's so minor, but always seems to set the tone for the rest of the kata.  With Gankaku, as it always is, my issue is balance.  So tomorrow, assuming I get the chance/time, I think it's going to be a question of working on my balance as well as hip vibration and rotation. It will be good to finally get Gankaku nailed down for competition use.

Thursday, again assuming there will be time, will be a kumite session with one of my friends from the JKA.  It's definitely going to be a day to work on my kicking techniques, in conjunction with zoning.  I can make zone blocking work for me to a certain degree with my hands only, but it's a foreign language when I try to add in kicks; so we'll see how it works out.  I just want to be able to hit like this guy:

Anyway, back to the books, wish me luck!

Wave Loading

So in my disgust of not having worked out since Saturday (sounds excessive to some I suppose, but I didn't really get all that much exercise last week) I decided to go to the gym and begin the Strength 1 phase of the New Rules of Lifting book.  The Strength phases are interesting in that the authors introduce a method of lifting called wave loading, essentially you're tricking your muscles into lifting weights that you would not usually be able to lift.  The first day's set of wave loading was on squats.  I love doing squats; I'm a big fan of all leg exercises in general really, but squats and dead lifts are my two personal favorite exercises, period.  The idea is that you start of with doing 6 reps of a challenging weight, then 1 rep of a very challenging weight, a weight that is very close to your 1-rep max.  Follow that up by another 6 rep set of weight that is heavier than the weight from the first set, and follow that with one more 1 rep set, but this time with a weight even higher than the previous 1 rep.  The idea is that after the first 1 rep, your body remembers the heavier weight, and when you do the next 6 reps, those weights should feel easier.  The psychological boost, helps your muscles to get the heaviest lift out without a problem.

These 4 sets are then followed up with two lighter sets; one set of 10-12 reps, and a last set of 15-20 reps.  Honestly, it's these last two sets that really kill me, my legs were absolutely fried and it felt wonderful.  I'm still feeling rather rubbery going up and down the stairs, but there's a startling amount of spring in my step.  I'm just slightly disappointed with myself for not completing the rest of the workout after the squats, but my textbooks were calling.  I can't afford to risk my studies just to progress in the gym.

Tomorrow is upper-body day, concentrating on wave loading for chest and the lats.  That's going to be interesting!  Anyway, back to the books...no real training this week, so the gym is my catharsis from all the tests and papers over the next couple weeks/

Wish me luck!

Dojo Days

Saturday has to be the best day of the week...I get to spend nearly the entire day in the dojo doing the things that I love most: training and teaching.  Today it was more assisting with teaching, Sensei had total control over the classes; I actually prefer this from time to time, because it allows me to work one-on-one with students rather than attempting to get an entire group to understand an idea.  As has once again become the habit, Saturday is kumite day, nearly straight and pure jiyu-kumite with the kids.  Some of these kids are awesome at what they do, and I can't wait to see what kind of animals they will become as they grow older.

The adult class was the most fun I've had in a while, practiced first on close distance fighting, no clinching, but operating in the clinch range.  Your front foot was put right next to your partner/opponents.  The point where they touched became a pivot point, and you couldn't move your foot from that spot.  Limits what you can do, and really makes you think about your defense.  Work both sides like that, with full force attacks and your body is really feeling it.  After that there was jiyu-kumite with one side only allowed to use hands for attacking and the other only allowed to kick.  I focused on making my mae-geri really work for me; both front leg and back leg.  The timing is easy, but the difficulty is getting the forward thrusting action rather than an upward swing as can become habit during kihon.

Took it easier during competition training, as I've been competing less to let my knee heal a bit sooner, but still worked on kata a bit.  Hopefully get some real kata work in this week.  Tournament tomorrow, and then back to the books...exam on Tuesday night (another night of no dojo this week...).

Wish me luck!

A little late

Last night's training: focus was primarily on preparing kyu ranks for an upcoming belt testing, which is fine, and gave me time to focus on certain aspects of my own training.  During kihon, I worked on working my body through the center line in all techniques.  Making my elbows and knees come together at the mid point of ever step, and for every turn.

Later I worked on applying this same type of idea to kata, specifically with Empi and Sochin.  Two very differing kata, but with attributes that I've always loved.  Empi was my tokui-kata for years, and still holds a special place for me.  It's one of the few kata that just feels right all the time.  Sochin is fast becoming my knew tokui-kata.  It's a short kata, but very difficult to perform correctly.  The fudo-dachi alone is challenging on the legs due to the angles and direction of stress that you place on the quads and the knees.  Furthermore, the stance is as low as zenkutsu-dachi, but places more stress on both legs rather than the typical 70%-30% that you usually see.  Sochin is one of those kata, that no matter how well I perform it, it just never feels right; so, I work harder at it.  I'm having a difficult time deciding between Sochin and Kanku-Sho for tokui-kata...but who says I can't have two, right?

During the kumite section of the class, we worked on jiyu-ippon kumite, the only thing standardized was the attack by tori (10 times oi-zuki jodan, and 10 times oi-zuki chudan).  Uke applied any defense technique or combination.  I was working on two ideas; taking the angle and using body rotation (kaiten-waza) to create defensive technique.  The angles are a bit easier, but the hard part is using your body movement for defense and not worrying too much about uke-waza.  The spinning techniques are much harder, they require significantly more coordination, and depending on how fast and strong tori is attacking...well let's just say they can make it very difficult for uke when standing in an awkward position.

This is a visual of the kind of technique I was attempting to make work.

Unfortunately, after a fantastic training session, I didn't get any studying done.  My girlfriend came over and we grabbed some dinner with Sensei after training, which was fun, but she ended up staying so late that I was too tired to stay awake.  Well lesson learned, either get work done ahead of time, or plan on not worrying about it that night!

Probably head to the gym today, time for another swim workout I'm thinking...we shall see.

Wish me luck!

"Lazy" lunch break?

Time-management...I can't begin to stress how much I need to work on that!  I'm a terrible manager of my own time, I allow my love of movies and everything enjoyable get in the way of what needs doing.  I get in my own way.  A very simple project that was assigned last week was due today...I had all weekend, and all of last week to finish it, but when am I taking care of it?  Right before the class it's due in.

It really is a self-defeating cycle, by doing this I pushed everything back.  Instead of getting a chance to work out and spar and improve myself physically, I decided to delay my mental improvement.  Now I'm sure I've done a half-assed job that will probably just barely get me the grade I need.  A little more time and effort in the right places, and I'll have all the time in the world to do the things that I really want to do (watch movies, workout and train!).

There's a huge lab report due next week, equivalent to a midterm exam, plus a midterm exam next Tuesday.  I need to organize my time efficiently and get my ass into gear starting this evening.

I'll be in the dojo until 8:30pm, but after that my time is my own, spend a little time with the girlfriend, but before I sleep, I definitely need to get through at least one chapter of notes for next weeks exam, and begin writing the lab report.  No sense in delaying, right?

Wish me luck!

P.S. Review of training will be posted later tonight, with notes and observations.

Losing battles...

There's an awesome battle going on in my head at this time; one that pits natural human laziness against my desire to train and compete in karate tournaments, hence the name "Lazy Budo."  Lately, I've found that laziness is winning out, and I thought that perhaps this might be a good way to keep myself on track and push forward and reach new levels.  While the main focus will be my training, and keeping track of my progress, life does tend to get in the way as well.  So expect to see rants and ravings of a very irate student from time to time.

Well to kick things off, with my knee being hinky of late, I've taken the precaution of dialing back on the pounding that it's been receiving, and started swimming again.  It's been almost 9 years since the last time that I did any real kind of swim workout, and let me tell you - the pool is kicking my ass!  Not to mention that I have a gimpy shoulder that likes sliding out of the joint to boot (I'm hoping the swimming will help to strengthen the joint), but the rest of my body just is so not used to this kind of workout anymore.

Sadly, lethargy took over this morning, I didn't wake up to make it to the pool before leaving for school, and it looks like tomorrow will be a mess as well with me being backed up on work.  If all goes well, though, I will have a solid hour of sparring in between classes.

My goal for tomorrow's sparring session is definitely working on cutting angles and combining that with ashi barai (sweeping) and mawashi geri (round-house kicks) attacks.  My idea is to use the angles offensively as well as defensively.  Use the cut to avoid an attack and set up my counter, or to cut on the angle to create a broken rhythm.

The dojo workout tomorrow night will be focused primarily on good body mechanics, making my body move more efficiently through as small a space as possible.

Thanks for reading, and wish me luck!