January 3, 2014

Happy New Year Everyone!  We completed yet another successful year running a dojo.  I just want to thank all the dojo members for training hard and supporting this nice little place.  It has actually grown to be not too "little" - we have about 90 students combining all the programs.  We set the goal to reach 100 students by the end of year and we didn't quite make it, but we have been steadily growing and that we do not have to increase the monthly fees this year, which is a big achievement in my opinion.

We had a few events since the last blog entry:

October 31: Halloween costume training

November 9: Nishiyama Memorial

                                

 

December 15: Kyu Test

December 18: Manny's first teaching!

December 28: VMAC Annual Oosoji

And the 2014 Winter Training is coming up next week.  It's every morning (6-7AM) from Monday through Friday at Sensei Avi Rokah's TKA dojo in Beverly Hills area, plus Saturday morning at 10:30 we have the closing training at out own VMAC!  Believe me, it's a great training and definitely worth waking up early.  Who is going?  I am!

Also, check out an upcoming Summer Training Camp information here: http://www.legacykarate.info/

Ugh, this blog page is not letting me do the photo layout easily...  FYI, many photos can be viewed on our dojo Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/Valley-Martial-Arts-Center/152796298146068) or on our dojo website photo album (valleymac.com/VTK/vtk_album/index.html).

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And last but not least, I just want to say something about my previous blog entry.  At that time I was still working for ITKF office part time so it was probably not the best to talk about ITKF's internal problem on a public blog.  However, I just want to clarify that 1) I wrote that article based on my subjective observation about the issues happening, 2) It was no way reflecting ITKF's official opinions, and 3) I did not mean to support either side.  Without saying I thought it was clear that that article was my private opinion for my private dojo students, but a person from another country became upset reading it, claiming that I caused significant damage worldwide (though the page was accessed only a handful of times based on the stats and I had to wonder how much "damage" this has actually caused... Oh well.).  In any case, I apologize if I misled anyone with that article.  I am no longer working for ITKF, so I hope it's not going to cause any more troubles...

October 26, 2013

"Post a blog entry" has been on my to-do list for quite sometime but I have been simply unable to get to it for the past 4 months.  Most of my students probably don't even follow this blog, but I'll do my best to periodically post some information here, I promise!

First, let me talk about some events that happened since the last blog update:

July 21: VMAC 2-year anniversary party
  Thanks all for showing up.  I hope you enjoyed the demonstrations by all different disciplines that we offer.
August 18: Kyu Test
  Passing or failing, I hope you all learned something that motivates you to keep training.
October 4-6: AAKF National Seminar
  Me, Eiko, Jon M, Manny, Joe, Shamane, Jon D and Mike participated.  It was a fun seminar, and I hope we can provide you with more of this type of opportunities.
October 5: Dan test
  Jon Menefee is our new black belt!  I'm very proud of you, Jon.
October 20: TMAC Tournament in San Diego
  Joe and Manny represented us and competed hard!  Now they have some "revenges" to do in the next tournament...?

And some future events in the next couple of months:

October 31: Halloween costume training
  Once a year opportunity to train in any clothing other than a gi.  Don't miss it!
November 9: Nishiyama Memorial 
  We will have a special training on Saturday morning, inviting people from other dojos and possibly be taught by a guest instructor.  Free of charge.  Then we will go visit Sensei Nishiyama's grave.
December 15: Kyu Test
  Are you getting ready??  Remember, your test gets harder and harder as you go up.  You need to increasingly put more effort, or else...
January 6-11: Winter Special Training
  Early morning training (6-7am) for 5 days in West LA.  It sounds awful but it really is...  Just kidding, the hardest part is to wake up and drive at dawn.  I guarantee that you will feel so refreshed every morning after the training, and this is the best way to start the year off right!


And usually by this time of the year I'm getting ready to compete in an international tournament, either Pan American or World.  However this year, I'm not competing mainly because of some political issues that our national federation (AAKF) and the international federation (ITKF) are going through.  Many of you received a communication from the AAKF, so it's time to explain what is going on and where we stand.

Our dojo belongs to a national organization called AAKF (American Amateur Karate Federation).  This is where your membership fee of $30 goes, and where your Kyu certificates have been issued from.  AAKF is a US representative of ITKF (International Traditional Karate Federation) and that's where I compete internationally and you will get your Dan certificate from (upon passing/registering).  Both of these federations were founded by my teacher, Sensei Nishiyama, and naturally our dojo has been a member in good standing since our beginning.

Upon Sensei Nishiyama's departure a newly formed Board of Directors took leadership of ITKF and another of AAKF separately.  Unfortunately the leaders of these 2 federations do not get along, and apparently there were many more in the world who don't like how ITKF is now operating.  Polish federation, the biggest and the most successful traditional karate federation in the world, took an initiative to leave ITKF and many other countries/national federations followed (including AAKF), resulting in ITKF's split in the "current ITKF" and the "New Era ITKF".

In a meantime there were American members who were unhappy with how AAKF was operating, and these people don't like the fact that AAKF is leaving the current ITKF and joining the new era ITKF.  So they decided to split away from the "current AAKF" and to create "new AAKF".  So now there are 2 international federations and 2 national federations to choose from:

  Current AAKF + New ITKF
  New AAKF + Current ITKF

New AAKF, which I heard will soon be established, will have a different name (hopefully making it less confusing...).  New ITKF, however, is trying to keep the name "ITKF" and this matter will likely end up in the court.  Anyway, the more choices the better?  Not in this case.  AAKF and ITKF have been "small but strong-minded organizations" in my opinion.  We can't compete in number of members with other major karate organizations.  Sensei Nishiyama used to value "quality over quantity", but making a small organization even smaller will only weaken it even in terms of quality.  Now either side has less instructors or less athletes, which means less chances to learn from quality instructors or to compete among a large pool of talented athletes in the world...

I have friends/acquaintances that I trust in all 4 organizations, but I also have a few people that I don't trust in every organization, too.  So it is personally very difficult to choose which side I will take.  I know certain "politics" are necessary when we are involved in any organizations, but I prefer to stay out of karate politics because karate for me is about self-improvement and friendship, NOT about power games or hating people.

It is sad that people are fighting over small things or their personal agendas, and in the end we as members/students suffer the most.  We, as your karate dojo, will try to choose the best option for our future growth.  At this point we are still a member of the current AAKF which is now officially affiliated with New Era ITKF, but upon careful consideration our affiliation may or may not change in the future.

June 30, 2013

Somehow I managed to write two blog entries in one month!  Big deal...

I and Eiko had a good time at the AAKF National Championship held in St. Louis, MO.  Eiko took 2 bronze medals (Kogo and Kumite) and I took 2 gold medals (Kata and Fukugo).  It was a great venue and well organized tournament.  And a great after-party, of course!  If my dojo people are like my immediate family, those karate people I see at the national or international events are like my relatives and high school friends back home.  I'm blessed to have known so many cool guys & gals who share the same passion.

Our dojo is going to celebrate 2-year anniversary soon!  The party will be on July 21st.  There will be a training, various demonstrations, food, drinks and more (whatever you can imagine)!  We're very excited about this milestone and the growth of our dojo in the last 2 years.  Guess how many members we have now?  Hoping to reach a hundred before the new year!

Karate class attendance has not been very good.  Jiu-jitsu classes are beating us on a regular basis...  Did you know that the next test is less than 2 months away: it's August 21st.  I know a few of you told me that you were going to test, but are you, really??  You know that the regular training never lies...


 

- June 1, 2013

Long time no blogging!

It's not that there was nothing to write.  I simply didn't have time or didn't feel like writing, or both.  We had the regional championship and Kyu exam in April.  In May a lot of our students took a break/went easy and the attendance was pretty bad.  Now it's a new month and time to get ready for the next short term goal, be it a Kyu test, a Dan test or a tournament!

On July 21st the dojo will be hosting a 2-year anniversary party!  We will ask a few of you to do some type of demonstrations (most likely Kata).  Be prepared.  Like the last year and the year before, we will probably do a training, followed by some demos, followed by lots of foods and drinks.  Your help/contribution will be highly appreciated.  Can you believe that it's been already 2 years?  Actually, I feel that it has been a lot longer, since I've spent a lot of time at this dojo in the last 2 years.  A lot.  Make it every-single-day...

And in August (the 18th or the 25th, not decided yet) we will have the next Kyu exam.  We recently had a few people joined, so this will be their first test.  Very exciting!

It may not be of your concern, but I and Eiko will be competing at the AAKF Nationals in 3 weeks.  Wish us luck!  Depending on how we place, we may get to go to Argentina for the Pan American championship in November...

In October or November, our region will be hosting a 2-day national seminar somewhere in LA, OC or SD area.  There will be some high-rank instructors gathered from across the country, and it will be a cool event.

OK, I listed all the known future events for the next few months, just in case I take another long break from blogging...! :-)

In case you're new to the dojo or to this blog, I have a list of recommended youtube videos to learn your Kata posted on this blog's past entries.  Search by the tag "Kata".  I'll try to make sure that those links are still active.

See you at the dojo!

January 27 - February 16, 2013

A few announcements...

1. Next Kyu exam will be on April 28.  Just over 2 more months!  Train hard!!

2. Regional championship will be on April 21 in Redondo Beach.  Myself and maybe Eiko and Jon? will compete, so come cheer for us!

3. Some of our brown belts will be teaching some classes.  No, we won't have them teach regularly just yet, but this will be a training/trial so that they can plan ahead and practice/learn how to teach.  To start off, Jon M. will be teaching this Wednesday the 20th and is promising us a great lesson; don't miss it!

4. It's always nice to have new students.  In case you didn't know, we are giving you $10 as an incentive for introducing a new student (s/he must sign up for more than 1 month); bring us 6 new students and you get yourself a month ($60) FREE!

5. Get your AAKF membership renewed soon!

6. Train hard!!! :-)

December 30, 2012 - January 26, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Really?  Have I not posted anything on the blog since last year??  Shame on me.

Anyway, we had the Winter Training for 6 early mornings in the second week of January.  9 people completed (5+ classes) the course this year, and 4 of them were from our dojo!  Congratulations Jon Budd, Makoto, Manny and me!

I feel that this year would be a great year for the dojo.  Why?  I don't know!  But it doesn't hurt to feel positive.  I just hope that there would be no more rain to wet our bathroom ceiling and walls...

We've been working on "body snap" and some blocking techniques lately.  We'll probably continue with it for another week or so, but start integrating some other techniques or timing strategies as well.

Hope to see more of you more often at the dojo this year!

December 23 - 29, 2012 (Oosoji!)

Holidays usually mean less students, but I'm glad that we always have at least a few students who come and train when we're open.  Perhaps they are feeling guilty of eating too much holiday dinner and want to burn the calories?  Whatever the reason is, I'm happy to keep the dojo open.

Thank you for coming to help clean the dojo today.  Oosoji 2012 was a big success, with over 10 people participating.  The dojo is clean now, ready to get dirty again in the coming new year...!

I gave Ariana this new kata, Jion.  No brown belts at our dojo has done this yet.  It appears mostly pretty basic, and I'm sure she can nail it in a few months.  Here are some of the recommended videos:

http://youtu.be/grHqWum7U-s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aknokMHE6xk&feature=share&list=UU9XYCZUe4vlFVHRK0xwVnKw
http://youtu.be/Db_FUoW-RFA

PJ is Kanku Dai.  I initially was going to give him Jion as well, but he can do this one nice as well, I hope.  I believe I already posted some Kanku Dai videos in the past, but I don't remember if I had posted this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxAHnS3QXtU&feature=share&list=UU9XYCZUe4vlFVHRK0xwVnKw

I bought a used projector.  We should do a movie night (or youtube night or whatever) at the dojo one of these days!

Wishing all of you a very happy new year!

December 9 - 22, 2012 (Kyu Exam December 16)

We had a Kyu exam the other day.  In general everyone did well, but unfortunately we had to fail a few people.

Failing is hard, both from the examinee's point of view and the examiner's point of view.  Please do not think that we fail our students for no reasons or just because we can.  We take the tests very seriously, and we are learning from them.

Some people voiced concerns that they didn't understand why they failed.  It's OK to feel that way; you train because you don't know and/or you can't do.  Don't think even for a second that you should pass just because you trained hard; if it works that way, we don't need a test and we simply give you a belt based on the attendance.  We are testing your skill, and unfortunately some of you didn't meet the criteria of that specific rank.  But we failed them because we know that they can get better and eventually pass.

What are we going to focus on for the next few weeks?  Lots of kicking, lots of warm-ups since it's cold, lots of basic timing drills.  New kata, of course.  Oh, don't forget that we are resuming Enbu training, too.  Don't tell me you already forgot the sequence!!

I can't believe it's almost the end of 2012...  Well, maybe I can.  It wasn't the best year for me but I had some great moments, and the dojo kept growing.  We asked all our students to sign the automatic payment agreement; it was a big step for us, and we hope this will work for both you and us.  And we thank all of you for your support for the dojo.  (And please show your support by coming to the 2012 Oosoji on December 29!)

Winter training will take place soon - January 7-12.  Ask Manny what it is about.  You must experience it at least once in your martial arts training life, and believe me, it's not that bad!

November 18 - December 8, 2012

The test is coming up in a week.  Train hard; that's all I can say...!

And it's that time of the year again!  For those who have trouble finding a good gift for someone you care, how about a gift of KARATE!?  VMAC sells gift certificate for any amount ($10+) for 50% OFF!!!  So you pay $60 and your friend gets 2 months of karate training; how about that??  Sorry but the certificates are good for new members only.

After the test, we are having a holiday potluck party.  Bring your famous dish.  I heard a rumor that Makoto will prepare some sushi...

We are doing the 2nd annual Dojo Oosoji on December 29th, right after the class.  What is Oosoji?  Come join us to find out!  It will be a fun activity for an hour; bring a broom and terrycloth and wear a comfortable housekeeping clothes.

September 30 - November 10, 2012

Long time no blogging!  ...Sorry.

Since the last blog update, these events happened:

1.World Championships in Poland
2. AAKF Western Region new officers selected
3. Kyu-level Tournament
4. Nishiyama Memorial

1. World Championships
  I placed in top 8 in both events I competed in (Kata and Fukugo).  I learned a few things that I need to work on, and I know I can get better.  Some people ask me for how many more years I will be competing, and I usually tell them that I will compete for another 4 years.  I don't know about that for sure, but I think I will continue as long as I can get better and can motivate myself to improve as an athlete.  Sure it's nice to win and to be able to call myself a "world champion" but the chance of me winning a gold is not that great.  But I still have a few things that I want to improve (concerning competition matches), so let me see what I can do and take one year at a time...  Next year we will be in Argentina for Pan American Championships.

  By the way, competing and trying to win is only less than a half of the reason why I enjoy going to the international tournaments.  The other half or more is the socializing part.  I meet so many karate enthusiasts from all over the world and I'm so glad to be a part of this circle of friends!

2. Western Region New Officers
  Our regional office has had the same officers for over 2 years, and now that we successfully completed the responsibility of hosting a national championships, it's time to select a new group of officers.  The Big Ron served as Regional Director and I was his assistant.  There also are Treasurer and Secretary positions.  We recently elected Tati (a long-time NKI student) to be the new Director.  And I nominated our own Manny Yumul to be the Secretary and he was elected!  Good for him!  Most of us don't see what the regional office does, but they host some regional events (seminars and exams) and to keep active communication between the dojos in the region.  I hope Tati, Manny and others will put some new and fresh ideas to vitalize our region!

3. Kyu Tournament
  Too bad we had no participants from other dojos this year, but it was fun and great learning experience, I thought.  No one got seriously hurt.  Thanks so much to all the judges who worked hard to support this event.  I forgot to introduce them at the tournament, so here I go:

Aric Levin, 5th Dan, a long time Nishiyama student and an instructor at TKA (Avi's dojo)
Juan Balmaceda, 4th Dan, a long time Nishiyama student and the instructor at TKI in San Diego
Robert Dobes, 3rd Dan, a long time Nishiyama student and an instructor at NKI
...and our own Jon and Eiko.  Thanks Kyle for serving as a timekeeper.

Results:

Lower Division (10-7th Kyu) Kata
1. Artur
2. Leroy
3. Shamane

Upper Division (6-1st Kyu) Kata
1. Jon
2. Makoto
3. Nate

Lower Division Kumite
1. Leroy
2. Artur
3. Tim

Upper Dvision Kumite
1. Jon
2. Leroy
3. Nate

  We had 20 Kata matches and 27 Kumite matches!  Again, the main purpose of a competition is for you to learn something from the experience.  You're under stress.  You want to look good in front of friends.  You want to win.  You want to beat up someone...  When your mind is not so calm, bad habits kick in and you can't perform your best.  Your body doesn't move as quick as it should.  You feel sick to your stomach.  Then you truly realize what your flaws and that you need to work on them.  It's great that your hard work paid off and you win a medal, but I'd rather you try your best, lose and learn from that experience than you do a mediocre performance, win and think that you're invincible.

4. Nishiyama Memorial
  Many of old-timers at LA Central Dojo got together at Sensei's grave site this morning, then came over to our dojo and had a good training conducted by Ron.  We had about 20 or so people training, a little less than last year but still a good number for our floor space.  And it's always nice to have different faces from different parts of town/country/world getting together for a common reason = Sensei Nishiyama's karate.


It was pretty busy month and half for me.  Luckily (?) I have no family here in the States so I'm not busy during the holiday seasons; it's my time to relax a little.  Speaking of my family, I will visit Japan in April for 10 days.  Let me know if you want to come with me to carry my bag, etc. :-)  I'm actually planning to teach a small seminar while I'm there.

September 16 - 29, 2012

I'm writing this actually an hour before my departure to Poland.  Wish me luck!  And thank you so much for donating for my trip.  I will remember your face when I'm drinking beer in Poland... na zdrowia! :-)

We saw many trial students this month, and a couple of them joined.  It's always nice to get new students, but where are some of our old timers??  We want you to come back, too!

I have a report: I got a new gi!  It was actually a gift from the ITKF for competing in a tournament in San Diego.  It is a special ITKF official gi, and so far only 22 of them have been produced.  It's basically the same style as KI's Mugen gi, with a different label and a Japanese writing embroidered on the back of neck. This one surprisingly fits me well, but it feels a little bulky.  I hope it will shrink a little more over time.  Speaking of shrinkage, I measure the pants length and sleeve length before/after a wash.  Sleeve did not shrink much: only 1/4", but the pants shrunk a lot: 1.5".  I was surprised that the sleeves didn't shrink.  And thanks to the pants getting shorter after a wash, I didn't have to alter them!

OK, I'll update again when I'm back.  Oh, our tournament is coming up in little over a month; get ready!

August 27 - September 8, 2012

It's been 2 weeks since the test, and most of you newly promoted students already learned the new Kata.  Great!  Keep working on it until all the details become natural to you and that you don't have to think about each step.  At the same time, don't forget your previous Kata, as you have to be able to demonstrate all of them when you test for a black belt in the future...

We've been working on Uke-waza (blocking technique) for the past week or two.  A block in Japanese is "Uke", which actually means "to receive", however, as I keep telling you, you can't passively wait and receive the incoming attack.  You have to reach out and stop before the technique accumulates force, only then you can actually block that attack.  Body snap together with forearm or wrist snap is crucial for a successful blocking technique, and we'll keep working on that as well.

Back by popular demand (a.k.a. Menefee and Chris' request), we're soon hosting a Kyu-level tournament!  Sunday, November the 4th.  Hoping to invite many from other dojos as well.

Book of the Month: Hidden Karate
My emphasis when teaching a Kata is to teach you to move properly, with precise stance with proper posture to execute correct body dynamics for a technique.  There are many other schools that emphasize applications of Kata techniques, but I never learned Kata that way, and I feel it's more important and interesting (personally) to develop proper body mechanics.  However my idea may be one dimensional and I would encourage you to investigate on different aspects of Karate/Kata on your own.

This book focuses on how to look at Kata as a set of practical fighting/self-defense techniques.  Though I would disagree with some ideas, in general it is very well-thought and presented in details.  It only covers Heian 1-5 & Tekki 1, but you may easily apply the same ideas when looking at other Kata as well.  Skip the fist 1/3 of the book (unless you're really into it) and take a look at the photographed demonstrations of each Kata.

August 19 - 26 (Kyu Exam), 2012

Congratulations to your achievement!  You all did your best.  But as always, the next one will not be as easy as this one (as if this one was easy...!), so keep on training.

Oh, now I have to teach you all a new Kata?  OK...

June 3 - July 21, 2012

I didn't update for almost 2 months...  Shame on me, but for a good reason: I was busy! :-)

Many events happened:

1. National Mini-Camp
Our own Emmanuel participated!  He even got to compete against some black belts from other states!  I'm sure he learned a lot from the experience.  The AAKF continues hosting some seminars across the country regularly, so if any of you're interested in traveling and training, let me know.

2. National Championship
Big thanks to the following people who came to support the event:
Jon B, Eiko, Ron, Chris, Ariana, Emmanuel, Melissa
I hope it was exciting enough to watch.  I did pretty good and won 2 golds and 1 bronze.

3. VMAC 1 Year Anniversary!
I can't believe it's been a year since we opened this dojo...  The anniversary training didn't draw as many people as we wanted, but we still had a good training, and of course a great party afterwards.  We are here to stay and to continue to grow...!

4. ITKF Summer Camp
Thanks to Jon B who covered to teach all the classes, I was able to participate in this training camp.  There were about 40 people from different countries, many of them higher ranks and international judges/coaches/examiners/athletes.  Sensei Nishiyama used to teach this camp every year down in San Diego for over 30 years, and after 3 years hiatus they resumed this tradition this year.  It was a great camp and I learned a lot, hoping to give what I learned to you in classes.  It will happen again next year in July; you should try to come even for a day!  Beach training at 6am is wonderful in many ways...

5. Nishiyama Memorial Cup
There was a tournament on the last day of the camp.  It was held based on the "World Cup" system - 8 men,  all start with Kitei, then Kumite, then Kata (twice), and the final match in Kumite.  You can lose once but you're out if you lose twice before getting to the Kata round (top 4).  I won the first round (Kitei), lost the second round (Kumite, against Damian from Poland - watch the video posted on facebook), then won the next Kumite match and made it to the top 4.  After the first Kata I was at 3rd place (after Rafal and Damian) but after the second Kata I beat Damian by a few points and moved up to the 2nd place, then did Kumite as the final match against Rafal (this video on facebook as well).  Though they are very young, they are experienced competitors and have won many titles including European or World Cup.  They are fast, strong, and have different style from most Americans which was a huge challenge for me.  I hurt my old body trying to match up with them but truly enjoyed the experience.  Those guys are who I have to face in the next tournament: World Championship in Poland this October!

I put another book on the bookshelf, as the "book of the month" for July and August.  It's Lyoto Machida's book.  Those who don't know him, he actually used to compete under our Karate rules as a Brazilian national team member, became a professional fighter and at one point was a UFC champion.  His fights reflect the style we practice a lot; if you compare him with other fighters, you know what I mean.

So the next exam is just over a month away: August 26.  Are you ready?  Probably not yet, but are you GOING TO BE ready?? - the answer depends on how much training you do during the coming month!

April 23 - 29, 2012 (Regional Championship)

It's always fun to learn a new Kata, right?  But even if you have to continue practicing your old Kata, don't get bored because there is always something more to learn.  I've been doing the same Kata (Nijushiho) for about 18 years and I still have points here and there that I want to perfect.

Also we're continuing with Sasoi-waza (inviting technique - one of many ways to set the opponent up).  Footwork is obviously important for it so we'll keep working on that as well.

We had AAKF Western Regional Championship on April 29 in Redondo Beach.  Thank you very much for those who showed up to support/cheer for us.  Adonay, Nicholas D, Angela and Angelica competed in youth division, and Eiko and I competed in adults division.  We all took medals home, I believe.  But again, the results don't really matter (except that it becomes a good excuse for a party!) but what's important is what you learned from the experience.

We have the National Championship coming up on June 15-16.  We will train hard to prepare for it, and we encourage all of you to try to come watch us compete since it will be in LA.  This championship is probably the oldest annual karate tournament in the US, but unfortunately it's not one of the biggest because of several reasons.  But still, there are some strong competitors worth watching and it's always fun to socialize with karate peeps from different part of country or world.  There will be a 2-day seminar taught by highly talented instructors before the championship, and there will be a GREAT after party Saturday night!

February 26 - March 3, 2012

Practicing leg sweeps this week and the next. I must admit that this is not my favorite technique and I'm rarely able to make it work in a free-sparring. But I still like to practice it because at least I can get more comfortable with it and learn how to avoid getting swept.

Thank you so much to those who took me out on my birthday! It was a great night out and I thoroughly enjoyed it and my Facebook profile pic proves it! Now I want my birthday gift from every one of you... COME TRAIN MORE OFTEN! Those of you who are thinking of testing, it's less than 2 months away. Get your practice time in, ask for a help if you have any problems. Take a private lesson or two if you must. I'm working hard to create a material that hopefully would help your test preparation, and here is a sneak preview:

Book of the Month has already been placed on the bookshelf. It's Karatedo Kyohan written by Master Funakoshi (the picture on our dojo wall, the left one). I used to have this book but misplaced it (how?? It's a big book and I don't think I gave it to anyone!) so I had to get another one for the dojo. This is a limited edition and not is no longer available. There is a book with the same title readily available at a bookstore, however, the photographs had been swapped with someone else's therefore it's not the same book. Anyway, it's surprising to see how different our karate looks from what this Master demonstrates in the book, but I'm sure the principles remain the same.

An announcement: our region's effort of fundraising for the Nationals continues - They are having yet another Garage Sale in Santa Monica on Saturday, March 24. Please donate any unwanted items that you think can sell. We had our own Garage Sale a few months ago and made a few hundred bucks (thanks to my chair collections! :-)) and we're trying to make even more this time. Gather stuff at our dojo, and I will take them to Santa Monica. Your help would be highly appreciated.

Lastly, renew your AAKF membership, please! I'm collecting the forms and dues for now, and will forward them to the region in 10 days. If you want to save $10, you have 10 more days left to give me the form and $20.

February 12 - 18, 2012

Continuing with combination attack drills, including some timing drills. I'm thinking, probably just one more week on this subject and then move on.

We had a great seminar (Regional Fundraising Seminar in Redondo Beach) and 6 from our dojo participated. We all had great training as usual. Most of these seminars are not just for advanced students (though most participants are black belts) and anyone can participate and benefit from it at different levels, so please don't hesitate to seize the opportunity! The next seminar is coming up on April 21. We also are going to have a 2-day seminar on June 13-14: this is the AAKF National Mini-camp and will be taught by some of the highest rank instructors in the nation. Please do whatever you can to free up these days (as well as the following 2 days which are the National Championships; WE NEED YOUR HELP TO ORGANIZE THIS EVENT!!!)!

Oh, lastly, don't forget to renew your AAKF membership if you are a current member. It will expire in March, and if you renew before the end of March (we need to send it in by mid March though) you save $10 ($20 instead of $30). New students can join now or when you take a test (you must be a member when you test; no exception), and you get a benefit at seminars and tournaments.

February 5 - 11, 2012

We're working on the Combination Attack (Renzoku Kougeki Waza) now. I want to include some of the basic combinations from the exam requirements here and there. I don't want to spend too many weeks on this subject but perhaps for 1-3 weeks, then move on to something else.

We're canceling this Saturday's Advanced Class, because we will have a regional seminar in Redondo Beach. Is anyone going? I'm going for training, not for teaching this time, and I encourage all of you to try to make it. Almost every time I take someone's class, I find one or two new things/ideas that I want to work on or that I want to incorporate in my teaching. Though I have good 20+ years of training experience, there are many other instructors who are far more experienced or skilled than I am, and I want my students to be exposed to them as well.

January 1 - 14, 2012

I already wrote Happy New Year in the last entry, oops.

And this blog update has been only every 2 weeks instead of every week without intention. Sorry, I'll try my best to post once a week.

So we started out a new year, and we already have a few new students. Very nice! I hope you'll all like what we do here and continue progressing. I'm confident that you will keep getting better as long as A) you keep training, and B) you have the right attitude/mindset. Unfortunately I've seen quite a few people who are kind of plateaued with their progress. It could happen to anybody. To break out of this, only "training hard" is not enough; you have to pay attention, be open-minded, think what you're missing, and work for it diligently.

We just completed the Winter Special Training! Jon B, Emmanuel, Jon M, Chris and myself received the certificate of completion. Emmanuel requested that we should continue having classes at 6AM; let me know if anyone else is interested... To me, this is a special "once a year at the new year" kind of deal, and I don't necessarily enjoy getting up at 5 in the morning every day. We're hoping that we can host it at our dojo next year, or at least to have our own version of it for 1-3 days possibly.

As far as our regular training is concerned, we will move on from Koroshi-waza to trying another offensive strategy. Most of you got the new Kata sequence down (but if not, look at the Book of the Month on our kitchen bookshelf or check my recommended youtube videos. We will continue refining your Kata in the coming months.

December 18, 2011 to... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I thought I already wrote 12/18-24 entry, but I guess not. Sorry, time flies. And we're in 2012 already!

We've been working on new Kata, plus practicing Koroshi-waza quite a bit. It's a great offensive strategy to compliment "Sen" (defensive/responding) timing we regularly work on. We're expanding it as we continue, including close-distance Koroshi or a failed Koroshi switching to combination attack. We'll do this for another week or so, then move on to another offensive strategy, I think.

Thank you very much for those who helped us clean the dojo at the end of last year. Tiffany, who failed to show up, agreed to do it all by herself at the end of this year. It's on the blog, so it's official...! The dojo sure feels clean and we started out the year very fresh. Thanks again, everyone.

Some exciting things are gonna happen this year. The national championship will be held right here in LA in June. Hopefully I'll do well and be able to compete at the World again (this time in Poland in November... COLD!!!). We will probably host a couple of Kyu tournaments again. Many of you will keep advancing in the rank (exams in April, August and December). Advanced class will start this Saturday. I'm gonna get married... Just kidding, just checking if you're paying attention. But maybe someone else will. And someone will have a baby. Very exciting year indeed.

I put out a new "Book of the Month" on the bookshelf. It's a Kata learning book which is a great learning tool to look at when you just started a new Kata.

Don't forget, Winter Training is going to be this month, 9th to 14th. Some of us participated and completed the whole week last year. Who is in this year??