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!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
September 9 - 15, 2012
We've been working on Uke-waza (blocking technique). We'll continue with it for another week or so, mixing up some variations (sweeping blocks, hooking blocks, etc.).
Some of you are excited (perhaps a little too much) about the tournament in November. Good that you have a goal that motivates you to train hard. Winning a tournament only means that you happened to be better than your opponent that day, that time, in that specific situation. You can win simply by luck (as I have proven many times! :-p). What's important is that you train hard for it, and that you do your best in it. I hope you're enjoying the process.
For me personally, only 3 more weeks until the World Championships. Do you know what that means? Yes, only 3 more weeks and a few days until I can drink again...! :-)
Some of you are excited (perhaps a little too much) about the tournament in November. Good that you have a goal that motivates you to train hard. Winning a tournament only means that you happened to be better than your opponent that day, that time, in that specific situation. You can win simply by luck (as I have proven many times! :-p). What's important is that you train hard for it, and that you do your best in it. I hope you're enjoying the process.
For me personally, only 3 more weeks until the World Championships. Do you know what that means? Yes, only 3 more weeks and a few days until I can drink again...! :-)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, August 31, 2012
UNOFFICIAL Dojo T-shirt
Remember that we had a T-shirt design contest a couple of months ago? Melissa came up with some great designs but we had to modify and made just one kids shirt design. But I really liked her original designs, so I decided to personally order this one (FYI, she designed 5 differrent animals: dog, bear, tiger, bunny and monkey, of which the first 3 were used for our official kids shirt).
...And of course I have to add this text on the back.
Let me know if any of you're interested in buying this shirt. It will be somewhere around $30 (neither I nor dojo is making any profit). I know it's not cheap but think it's worth it. This will be the only chance to own this T-shirt (except for dog or tiger design, which I might order someday).
EDIT: Since they are offering 30% off for this weekend, I'm taking orders in the next 2 days! So hurry!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
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...
Oh, now I have to teach you all a new Kata? OK...
Sunday, August 19, 2012
August 12 - 18, 2012
OK, one more week till the exam. Good luck to those who are testing!
We've been spending a lot of time going over Kihon, and Sen drill and its application. I know how difficult it is to do the timing drill right especially if you're a beginner, but believe me, you just have to keep on trying. And it is the base of all Kumite timing and strategies, and there is no other way to go about. "Feeling" the opponent's action is something you can only get from the experience, and I hope you get to understand it soon if not yet.
Now my concern is about the party after the exam... :-)
We've been spending a lot of time going over Kihon, and Sen drill and its application. I know how difficult it is to do the timing drill right especially if you're a beginner, but believe me, you just have to keep on trying. And it is the base of all Kumite timing and strategies, and there is no other way to go about. "Feeling" the opponent's action is something you can only get from the experience, and I hope you get to understand it soon if not yet.
Now my concern is about the party after the exam... :-)
Sunday, August 12, 2012
July 22 - August 11, 2012
I've been trying to update this blog every week but apparently I'm not good at it. 3 weeks have passed already since the last update. Wow.
Only 2 more weeks until the exam. Keep working hard! Some of you are already ready, and some are not. I will try my best to get everyone prepared, but ultimately it's your responsibility.
As you all know our dojo strives to be the best traditional karate dojo around. The best facility, the best teaching quality, the best tuition, the best people... It makes me happy to hear that someone finds us after a long search for a "good karate dojo". Why did we start this dojo in the first place? It's because we didn't have a place to train ourselves in the area. We do this for the love of karate, pure and simple. Of course there are people who may not find us "the best" for any reasons. But we're proud of what we do here, and you can count on us that we keep ourselves true to the karate principles and traditions.
For me, it's less than 2 more months before the world championship in Poland. I'll try to push myself a little harder for the next month or so. I just wish that this crazy heat wave would calm down a little...!
Training subject: Sen (or more like Sen-no-sen), and some exam basics. In the last couple of tournaments I felt pretty confident tha my "Sen" timing would work and did score a point or two using it. Before that when I was teaching I was trying to explain what I was not confident about, but now I know that it works and have proven it. It is very deep and one can never practice it enough. We will continue with it and try to relate it to other applications/strategies.
Only 2 more weeks until the exam. Keep working hard! Some of you are already ready, and some are not. I will try my best to get everyone prepared, but ultimately it's your responsibility.
As you all know our dojo strives to be the best traditional karate dojo around. The best facility, the best teaching quality, the best tuition, the best people... It makes me happy to hear that someone finds us after a long search for a "good karate dojo". Why did we start this dojo in the first place? It's because we didn't have a place to train ourselves in the area. We do this for the love of karate, pure and simple. Of course there are people who may not find us "the best" for any reasons. But we're proud of what we do here, and you can count on us that we keep ourselves true to the karate principles and traditions.
For me, it's less than 2 more months before the world championship in Poland. I'll try to push myself a little harder for the next month or so. I just wish that this crazy heat wave would calm down a little...!
Training subject: Sen (or more like Sen-no-sen), and some exam basics. In the last couple of tournaments I felt pretty confident tha my "Sen" timing would work and did score a point or two using it. Before that when I was teaching I was trying to explain what I was not confident about, but now I know that it works and have proven it. It is very deep and one can never practice it enough. We will continue with it and try to relate it to other applications/strategies.
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