June 7, 2007
More Motivated Than Ever
Lately my blog has been more about the "mama" and less about the "black belt". It’s because my training has taken a more introspective turn as of late. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to apply my kata’s and I’ve been spending a lot more time training on my own.
Over the past two weeks, I have worked hard to dust off the kata’s that I haven’t done in a while, both weapons and open hand. You know what they say. . . if you don’t use it you lose it. I’ve been running through all my open hand kata’s every day and trying to make sure that I’m applying proper technique while using good power. I have learned the last two kata’s I will need for black belt, and now just need to work on making them all look great and work well when it comes to bunkai. I’m definitely getting there.
I have a three day training camp coming up this summer. This will be the last one before I’m supposed to test for black belt, so I want to make sure I am polished and sharp for that. There will be lots of important people there and I want to make a good impression.
In addition to kata, I’ve been working a lot on sparring techniques. Sparring becomes a lot easier once you’ve looked thoroughly at the bunkai (application) for kata. You start to see combination moves that are useful for sparring as well as for a real attacker on the streets.
Most of my neighbors know that I take karate, but this week I surprised one of my neighbors when he saw me wielding sai and whipping them around in the backyard. I’ve been getting lots of questions about what exactly those things are and how you use them since then. Several have told me they feel more secure in the neighborhood knowing I’m around. That’s me. Who needs ADT Security when you have BBM right?
I wish I was as confident in my abilities as some of my neighbors are; but I have to say that my confidence has been improving greatly over the past few weeks. The extra time each day spent running through kata’s and learning how to apply them has been of great value, both physically and mentally.
In addition to the karate, I’m going to make it a goal to continue with the pilates training which will definitely help with flexibility and core muscle strength. I’m also going to make it more of a habit to do some light weight-lifting.
I’ll be leaving for my annual trek to the beach, and I’m thinking that I might try to run a bit while I’m at the beach too. It’s always easier to run at the beach than it is at home, so if I start there, maybe I can continue the habit once I return home.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this motivated to train, and the hard work feels really good. . . bumps, bruises, sore muscles and all.
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Other people are always going to be more confident in you than you are in yourself. It just seems to work that way.
On weapons in the backyard…when I brought my weapons outside to practice in the only flat part of my yard, I got honked at. Several times…by different people. And the cars passing by went slower. Guess who doesn’t really practice her weapons outside anymore.
It’s good that for all of the anxiety that they inspire, that those belt tests also inspire such progress, both in your practice and the rest of your life. You’ll be great in the test–and have fun at the beach.
Keep working on your core strength. Most of your strength and power will come from a strong core. And you’ll look good in a swimsuit without having to get bronchitis! 🙂
Good luck in your testing.
I’m glad you have motivation. Have you ever tried acting? Hollywood’s spawned tons of karate heros–Norris, Van Damn, Segal, etc. But not too many ladies do karate acting. Off the top of my head I can only think of Cynthia Rothrock. I’d go watch all your movies!
I think beach running is great. I think it’s harder to do, but easier on your joints. GL as always and as MJ says : “Don’t stop ’till you get enough”.
It does feel good to jog 🙂 I started jogging last week and my legs are sore, but I feel so great! I can’t wait to get out there and jog every day. I hope you get the chance to go for a run. It’s sooooo miserable but sooooo good 🙂
My weapons kata always suffer if I neglect them. Like you, I occasionally train with them in my backyard. So far, no questions or comments from my neighbors.
For me, learning and understanding bunkai is very different from just memorizing kata, even though the two are interwoven. The bunkai is the essence of karate. If you’ve got the bunkai, you know your style.
Where has time gone? One day you were just a beginner hoping for the ability to place your hand in the right place when called to do a block, and now.. look at you! Ready to test for your Black…
Go for it! I’m cheering for you all the way.
I understand you recently took some heat rounds from the miscreants on *****. Kindly go to YouTube and search “****** Throwdown” as well as “****** Challenge.” You will enjoy a good laugh at the expense of mouth boxing Kiddies lacking Adult supervision.
Look at the Tabata method for conditioning. Google it. Excellent approach although a bit severe. Takes a couple of weeks for your nervous system to adjust to the shock.