Month: November 2016

Yes, of course I’m thankful for the usual – friends, family, good health, my country…  But this blog is about my Karate journey, right?  So here is what I’m thankful for in Karate.

I’m thankful for my Sensei.  The word “Sensei” is both the singular and the plural form of the word that means “one who has gone before” (i.e. teacher).  Because there have been changes in my home dojo (school) and because I do visit other dojos and assist with the college PE Karate class, I’ll just lump everyone in together – “Sensei” and “you” can be both singular and plural so I’m going to run with that.   Sensei – I appreciate the time you take to make sure I understand what to do.  You’re very patient with my flaws and you always take the time to tell me how I can improve.  I am thankful that you truly appreciate the art we study because a teacher who loves what he or she teaches is the best kind of teacher to have.  Your encouragement and instruction mean a lot to me.  Thank you.

I’m thankful for my Sempai – those who are higher ranked than I but aren’t black belts yet.  Again, this is both singular and plural, and I’m going to run with that.  I am thankful for your help.  You have invested your time in me and have helped me succeed in climbing even to your own rank.  You push me hard when we’re paired up in class and I appreciate that.  You serve as good examples to me and you’re my companions on the journey.  Thank you.

What about those who are the same rank as I am?  Well, most of them are senior to me and I still call them Sempai.  So… That leaves one person who promoted at the same time as I did (a couple of months ago).  I am thankful for her as a person and I am looking forward to training more with her in December.

I’m thankful for my Kohai – those who are lower ranked than I am.  Yep, both singular and plural.  Thank you for being my guinea pigs.  I am not now nor will I ever be a perfect teacher, but I am improving my teaching skills because of you.  I’m learning how to figure out what you need from me at any given moment.  Some of you think I’m a hero and I’m learning to look past my discomfort with that and channel it right back to you by showing you the way to be a hero too.  I love seeing you stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things – that is truly heroic.  And yes, two or three of you are teaching me a lot about staying patient and encouraging, but don’t worry about that – it’s good for my character.  I am truly thankful that you forgive me my flaws.  Just like you, I’m still in process and I will get better.

I’m thankful for my online acquaintances – I’ve never met you in person.  I’ve never trained with you.  But you’ve been there cheering me on.  You’ve often given me valuable tips and you’re always encouraging me to be my best.  I have a blog because two of you encouraged me to start one, and as I “grow up” in my art, I appreciate having a record of what I’ve been learning along the way.  Thank you.

I’m thankful for my job and my co-workers.  No, I don’t get paid to do Karate.  I’m an office assistant for the International Student Programs office at the local college.  I’ve written about the connection of my job to Karate here.  I’m funding my Karate expenses with this job, and that alone is something to be grateful for.  I very much appreciate it that my supervisor flexes my hours so that I can assist with the college Karate class.  I am glad my co-workers don’t run away screaming when I mention Karate for the umpteenth time in a day.  And it’s always fun at the beginning of every quarter to see the look on international students’ faces when they realize who is making them do push ups (it’s that lady from the ISP office!) or who is telling them they need to fill out a form to see an advisor (it’s that crazy Karate lady!).

I’m thankful for kihon (basic movements).  Building strength, building endurance, learning finesse…  Kihon has all that and more.  There’s always something to refine. Combinations of kihon are like puzzles to solve.  How do I make my body transition from this to that?  Yes, I’m thankful for what many consider to be “boring.”

I’m thankful for kata (forms). Ohhhh yes, even the kihon kata have a lot to offer.  I’m constantly telling myself that I shouldn’t look like a white belt (no rank) doing kihon kata: I should look like someone my own rank doing it.  I’m thankful that any given kata takes time to memorize and loads more time to refine.  This means I’ll never be bored because there will always be something to work on.  I love, love, love bunkai (interpretation of kata).  This movement could shatter a joint, or it could be a block… Wait, what if I do this with it?  I love the showmanship that goes with performing kata in tournament.  Part textbook, part war dance, part pounding lethal movements into your muscle memory…  Kata is all that and more.  I often find that practicing kata helps me let go of negative emotions – it’s like a moving meditation.

Even though I get hurt sometimes, I am thankful for kumite (sparring).  I used to be terrified of sparring, particularly against anyone more highly ranked than I am.  Now I welcome the chance to be pushed beyond where I think my limits are.  Sure I get trounced quite often, but I wouldn’t learn anything if I were constantly top dog.  I’m learning to conquer myself, really.  If I undermine myself during sparring with negative thinking I stiffen up, miss opportunities to score, and I might even find myself hyperventilating.  I perform better and reduce my chance of injury if I calmly assess my opponent and wait for or create opportunities to score.  I’m thankful that I’m starting to take baby steps in understanding that a good chunk of kumite is about conquering oneself.  I’m also thankful that I can pass along that knowledge by sparring with my kohai – even if it means putting my hands behind my back to let the most timid person in class gain confidence to go ahead and hit.

In a nutshell, I’m thankful for all the ways I’ve grown in mind, body, and spirit and for those who have been with me on this journey.  Have a great Thanksgiving!

Today’s blog post is gonna be short and sweet.

 

Earlier this week I had one of those, “Wow, I’m actually doing this!” moments that I love so much.  We were doing an exceedingly simple sensitivity drill.  Partners had to keep their hands/wrists in constant contact with each other as one blocked and the other punched.  At one point in order to demonstrate how far that particular drill could be expanded Sensei called me up to help demonstrate.  He told me to close my eyes.  I did the drill easily.  With my eyes still closed, Sensei took the lead and moved unpredictably, trying to lightly strike me.  I kept my wrist and hand in contact with his in order to foil his attempts at striking.

So yeah, it’s cool that I can do this “sticky hands” stuff with my eyes closed. But as I trotted back to my place in line after, I realized this sensitivity training could be useful if I’m ever blinded by dirt thrown in my eyes, blood running from a scalp wound, or just plain lack of light.  I’ve done this sort of sensitivity training before – with two hands and indeed the entire body.  But never with my eyes closed, and I never realized the practical application.  It was a neat little “light bulb” moment for me.

Sorry for the brevity.  I’ve been wrestling with MailChimp for months, and this week I neglected blogging in favor of figuring things out on MailChimp.   Hopefully those of you on my subscriber list will have already received email notification of this post.  If not, I guess it’s back to the drawing board for me!

I’ve put off writing this blog post.  Indeed, I didn’t even write last week because I knew what I wanted to say but not how to say it. But now I feel the time is right.  And yes, I’m writing this at the “last minute” before my usual automated posting day/time.

Back in February (2016) College Dojo was already down to one Sensei (instructor) and an assistant brown belt.  Then the assistant moved away, leaving me as senior student.  College Dojo is really a class that students take for credit.  Most people take one quarter and we never see them again.  A few take two quarters, and it’s a “one room schoolhouse” situation, just like any other dojo.  Three or four students might stay on beyond the two quarters not for credit, but just for fun.  I originally joined in order to shore up my basics and stayed on just because I enjoyed the class (and to keep my basics polished).  As the highest-ranked student I inherited a boatload of responsibilities.

This was a very good change and I welcomed it.  I’ve grown used to my new role at College Dojo and I look forward to being involved there for the rest of my Karate career if possible.  This is my favorite age group to work with.  I’ve grown as a teacher and a karateka.

September brought more changes.

Maybe someday I’ll write about what’s been going down at the dojo I call home.  I’ve been too full of anger and grief and the story hasn’t fully played out yet.  In a nutshell, I am very sorry that my “home” dojo Sensei cannot be Sensei there anymore.  Understandably, we’ve also lost the occasional assistance of his lovely wife who is also a black belt.  It’s a good thing College Dojo Sensei stepped in.  I am immensely grateful.  But this change means that I get to be a student in my “home” dojo only every third class until the new white belts are integrated.  Add that to my teaching at College Dojo and yeah, making sure I grow in my own skills is challenging.

In my last blog post I wrote…

“I have to do a lot of work on my own and seek out opportunities to learn at a higher level with higher ranked people.  This is what black belts quite often need to do for themselves so this would have come sooner or later in my career.  It just happened to come sooner than usual.  I am blessed to have a good deal of support from many incredible people.  But even though I’m embracing this new phase, this time of transition is quite challenging.”

I wish that I could reassure myself with the thought that I will see the fruit of my teaching, but College Dojo students move on every quarter and the future of my “home” dojo is uncertain.  The host facility of Home Dojo has never been entirely understanding of what we need (you can read between the lines in this article).  Things have been even more difficult since I wrote that article and eventually everything came to a head a couple of months ago.  There’s been more stuff heaped on us since then.  Not only that, the host facility might shut down our dojo soon.

Because College Sensei stepped in to teach at Home Dojo, College Sensei is now my Sensei.  I am happy with this.  But if worst comes to worst and “Home” Dojo ceases to exist, “College Dojo” won’t be enough.  I will need a new “home.”  Fortunately, we’re part of an organization so we have other karateka pulling for us.  We’ve got ideas noodling around and people are looking for solutions.  I know I won’t be an “orphan.”

In the face of these challenges I am still making progress in my training.  Sensei is doing everything he can to train me and I visit other dojos and have their support as well.  But still, it feels like a premature end to childhood and there’s a little bit of stress that goes along with that.  Also I’ve invested a lot into Home Dojo and facing the almost certain possibility that it will be shut down soon is hard.  I have been grieving over the series of unfortunate events (to borrow a phrase) that have brought Home Dojo to this point.  Shortly after I started training I envisioned myself with a black belt happily expanding the program at “home dojo.”  That’s most likely not going to happen.

It’s time for a new dream.  If I can hold on for a couple of months longer I know I’ll find one, or one will find me.  Meanwhile, I just have to work through my grief and come to a place of acceptance.  It sure does help that vigorous exercise and doing something positive with other people generates some lovely endorphins.  It also helps that I love my art and there’s enough in Karate to keep me quite busy for as long as I am physically able to do it.  I’m working towards my next belt, and that alone could keep me going strong through this time of transition.  But still, I need something to replace the dream of expanding Home Dojo’s Karate program.  It’ll come, I’m sure.