Grading Prep

Recently I was put through my Kata paces in a scenario similar to what I will experience in my Shodan grading. The table was set up, the table cloth spread out (not ironed as usual, but my neat-freak side will have to let that go), chairs in position and my Sensei sitting on the other side with a pen and paper.

I did my 13 Kata one after the other, and only momentarily blanked on one of them - Tekki Shodan - which I acknowledge I haven not been practicing on a regular basis. The rest seemed to just come to me which was a relief. When I was finished, my Sensei shared with me his notes explaining what I did well, and not so well.

To my horror, I would have been made to repeat seven out of the 13 katas. Thankfully all for minor things that I can work on leading up to grading day, but frustrating just the same. Here is the list of notes (as far as I can remember). Now, I would be able to reference my Sensei's notes had he not immediately chewed them up and spit them out after sharing them with me...(to my own surprise I actually resisted the urge to fish it out of the GC after class).

Taikyoku Shodan - passed
Heian Shodan - passed
Heian Nidan - augmented block is in a front stance, not a back stance, all momentum moves forward (oops)
Heian Sandan - don't let my knee fall in as I make my turn for the last two moves
Heian Yondan - passed
Heian Godan - passed
Tekki Shodan - blanked momentarily, but have since practiced the H-E-C-K out of it
Basai Dai - back stance!! slow them down and make sure to complete each one properly
Jion - hmmm, trying to remember... but I know there was something I needed to fix... shoot
Kanku Dai - don't step up into the sidekicks, draw back with hips
Empi - back stance!! after the double punch, make sure I hit all back stances properly when doing the shutos
Hangetsu - passed (huge victory for me on this one, as my relationship with this kata has never been a good one)
Tekki Nidan - passed

Overall comments: 1) Remove the pauses in my kata, 2) Watch that my lead knee doesn't fall in on front stances and 3) Don't let my soto uke fall too flat, fist should be shoulder height.

So, I feel like I'm about where I should be in my training. Next big step is to focus on Bunkai, I better get that in gear. Now that I have had a countdown put on my blog, I get nervous every time I look at it. Don't know if that is a good thing, but it keeps me focused and stops me from thinking 'I have loads of time...'

Looking back.

Last January I wrote about my goals for 2011. Since the year is coming to a close, I thought it might be interesting to re-cap and see how I made out with those.

First and foremost this will be my Shodan year. 
This didn’t exactly pan out, however I have been given a date of February 24, 2012 – so this is close enough for me. Focused training has begun.

Give 100% every class.  
I do try to keep this in mind, and push myself if I feel I might be getting a bit lazy – it happens.

Stance. I will finally nail my open front stance once and for all.
I wouldn’t say I ‘nailed it’, but I certainly think about it a lot less. The open part is OK, but I routinely end up too narrow or too long which obviously needs work. So, the ‘once and for all’ has not been accomplished.

Yoga. 
I never did go to yoga. It was a great idea, but for some reason I didn’t add this to my routine. I really should have – it probably would have resulted in a better update for the next goal I had…

Have an injury free year. 
Well, this didn’t happen either. After I recovered from the tendonitis in my wrist, I proceeded to re-injure my rib, which was very painful and I sat on the sidelines for the better part of a month. Then there were the minor pulls and strains throughout the year – I’ve actually got one now in my right tricep from repeated back-fists in one training session. I thought it was better until last week when I did Empi too many times and tweaked it again during a punch sequence. Thus I’ve been hesitant to really give 100% in the block and punch department – in doing so my overall performance is affected. Sharp hurts right now, which is bad timing, as I need to get ready for my grading! SO frustrating.

Having now reviewed the past year, it appears I’m chock full of good intent but the follow-through seems to be a problem. Although I recognize I have accomplished plenty of things that were not on my list, I’m still a little disappointed. After all, I had a whole year!

Too much information.

Why is it that after I miss a couple classes, the following class is always so frustrating?

I went away this weekend and missed Friday and Sunday classes, when I returned on Tuesday I experienced 1.5 hours of frustration.

• “This is Godan, that should be a front stance, not a back stance.”
• “Is that your back stance? It is way too narrow, move your foot out further.”
• “Is that your back stance? Why is the weight distribution 50/50? It should be 70/30.”
• “Look at your feet, your back foot is slightly at an angle.”
• “Your over-rotation, is over-rotated.” Huh?

I only missed two classes! How did everything fall apart so quickly? I was quite deflated come end of class, so I stuck around and did some kata after everyone left to try to leave on a good note, but even then… “What was the long pause for?”
Aaaaaaaagh!

I understand the purpose of me being there is to learn, and if someone weren’t there to kindly highlight my deficiencies what would be the point? But there are just some days when it seems no matter what I do, it will involve a glaring flaw. Very frustrating.

Some classes you leave on a high, some you leave on a low. For me, Tuesday night was a low.
I hope tonight is better.

My impending grading.

Well, the date has been set for my Shodan grading – Friday, February 24.
When training through the ranks you know that if you stick with it the day will eventually come, but it always feels so far off. It is officially 94 days off for me.
One word: Yikes.

Each class has now been spent focusing on the details, from foot and knee position, turning without over-rotating, and adding Kime to everything I do. It really feels like my training has been kicked into overdrive and I’m no longer just ‘going to Karate’, it is more purpose-driven than ever.

Requirements and things to remember:

• Basics: Kime, and don’t let my lead knee fall in as I push off back foot.
• Kata: As long as I practice ‘from the ground up’ and turn my brain off during the test, I should be OK. Put on my Karate Mask and find a rhythm.
• Bunkai: We rarely spend any time on this during regular class, so the prospect of having to do this for my black belt test in front of an audience is causing the most anxiety for me. It feels like I need to spend lots of training time learning something completely new.
• Sparring: Again, we so rarely do this in class that I feel like if I am asked to do it in a test, it would be a hot mess – all form would fly out the window and self preservation would kick in. 

I guess it does come down to caring what other people think, and assuming people expect someone testing for their black belt to be sharp, crisp and in control – I certainly would. I believe for Basics and Kata I can pull this off, however, Bunkai and Sparring are a different matter, both I consider relatively new skills I need to develop. My opinion? These are skills that should be introduced and practiced regularly throughout the ranks, and with only 94 days to go, I’m just not comfortable cramming and exhibiting either of them, alone, in front of a crowd.

Stop being so nice.

Well, it's official, I'm too nice.

I've written in the past about the Karate Mask, but have a really hard time walking the walk on this one. I'm totally focused as I bow in to begin my Kata, but soon after the first move the mask falls off; I do the Kata fine, with some form of rhythm and good technique, but the emotional, mental and physical intent all seem to slip away. By the time I'm done, I am left wondering where it went and it is very frustrating. This is also true of my basics. I enjoy what I'm doing and it shows, but just last week I was told (in a nice way) to stop being so nice.

To combat this kindness, I have recently started envisioning someone standing in front of me while I execute my punches and kicks – not naming any names, as it varies depending on how my day went :).  Wow, what a world of difference this has made, or at least it sure feels that way. I'm no longer looking in some general forward direction, I'm actually focusing on the space directly in front of me and hitting with intent, right to the chest or face. I know, I should have been doing this all along, but I guess I've just been too nice until now. This is all part of what the Karate Mask should be – just let go, bury the enjoyment of doing something you love, and for that small moment in time, become a more aggressive and determined version of yourself. Don't just hit, HIT – and hurt the person! I need to start walking the walk on this point, so come grading day it feels more natural to me.

Hmmm, who will I punch in the face tomorrow?

Hangetsu Update:
I've finally got the pattern down and am no longer intimidated by that darned stance, so last night I was focused on tweaking everything in-between – including the tension and breathing. I'm still not loving it, but I am finally seeing progress. I never thought I'd be writing THAT in this blog.

The flickering light.

I've made no secret that Hangetsu is my least favourite Kata – in fact, it falls to the bottom of the list like a very heavy brick. Something happened tonight however, that may have... dare I say it... started to change my opinion. (gasp).

It dawned on me that I've been approaching Hangetsu all wrong, and the best way I can describe this is that I feel like I've been practicing it in the dark. I've been worrying too much about how everything looks instead of how it feels.

There is something to be said about skillful instruction, and how one simple phrase or idea can make a world of difference to a technique that has been dogging me for months. In particular it is the stance – and when Sensei pointed out the importance of the heels in this technique, slowly, very slowly the lights began to flicker.

Where once I was so frustrated that, despite my best efforts, my knees and toes were pointing in the wrong direction, and obsessing about how I hate the way the stance looks, it now became crystal clear that I must lead with my heels, and a subtle 'gripping' of my heels once I'm settled in the stance will help it fall into place.

Tonight, the lights flickered for a brief moment in time and it just stared to feel a whole lot better. I'm optimistic.