A Very Tough Week

As some of you may know, my family and I live in Houston, Texas. We relocated last year, and have been adjusting to our new lives here since the move. My karate training has been a main source of strength and focus for me during our period of readjustment. This past weekend and into this week we have experienced Hurricane Harvey here in our city, and it was been a tragic event for many many people in Houston and the surrounding areas. Thanks to God, my family and I have been safe, and have not lost anything, other than time away from work. We are very fortunate compared to others.

As someone who suffers from anxiety, and deals with it everyday, as you can imagine, this type of thing can be a struggle. I have not been able to stay completely with my traditional training this week, due to anxiety issues. Yesterday I shifted my focus to breathing and relaxation techniques through Sensei Jon's Tai Chi classes and exercises. I found this to help me tremendously, and possibly even what I needed to keep me out of the emergency room, as my anxiety and pain levels had gotten so high, that I was very close to chosing that route. There are so many great and life changing things available to us through martial arts, and I am so glad that I have been blessed to be able to utilize them in my way of life.

Please continue to keep the people of Houston and surrounding areas in your thoughts and prayers.

Oss!

Halfway Point

Today I reached the halfway point in my required training to reach my orange belt. I have progressed much faster on this level mainly because I stepped up my training quite a bit since my yellow belt test. I believe that once I saw what I was able to attain with hard work and dedication, my drive increased even more. I have been training between 5-7 days a week, not only working on new material and forms, but also on previous material that was covered in the yellow belt level training. I look forward to improving on what I have learned and to getting closer to my orange belt level test! Oss!

Progress

I trained another 5 days this past week, only taking off on Friday and Sunday for some family time and rest. I really feel great with the way training has been going, and as I mentioned, I have really stepped up my training time on this level. I believe that after seeing my accomplishments and the way things are progressing has given me the drive to continue to better myself and do more. I have been doing either lessons or full classes 3-4 days a week, if not more. On the other days I am making sure that I at least get in the 10 minute total body workout, which I have also been doing every day with my training. One of my favorite classes thus far on the orange belt training level has been Class #1.

10 Minute Total Body Shotokan Workout

After being promoted to yellow belt, one of the first things I did with my training was to study the lessons and classes that Sensei Jon said I needed to work more on. I also realized that the one class that I hadn't yet done was the 10 minute total body workout that Sensei Michael posted in the white belt kyu level. The 10 minute workout is intense and I loved it. I can honestly say that I was sore for a few days after doing it the first time. Since then, I have done this class with every workout I have done, and added it to my regular training. I can't recommend it enough as far as conditioning and building core strength. If you haven't checked it out as of yet, I highly recommend it!

A Small Bump In The Road

For last nights training, I worked with class # 3 in the 7th kyu orange belt training level. This was the very first class that I have encountered in my training thus far that just didn't flow very well for me. I'm not sure exactly what didn't click, but I found myself playing catch up a lot, and just constantly falling behind the exercises. I believe it had to do with doing some of the new moves at this level in kihon form for the first time aside from the lessons. While I finished the class feeling a bit down about my performance, I also can't wait to train today so I can take this very same class again, and hopefully yield toward different results.

Practicing Geri

For outsiders to karate, most associate "punching & kicking" as 2 of the most well known offensive maneuvers in the art. In reality, there are several forms of both, and a whole lot that goes into each. During my training at the white belt level I was introduced to Mae Geri Keage and Mae Geri Kekomi. These translate into snap kick and thrust kick, and both have different forms of execution. As a yellow belt, the training for these 2 kicks continues to build by adding side versions of each, known as Yoko Geri Keage and Yoko Geri Kekomi respectively. These moves require a lot of practice and repetition, as they are not only used in kihon and static kihon drills, but also in different forms of kata.

A Great Week OF Training

Last week, and this past weekend, we're great for my training progress. I have continues to work on all of the lessons in the 7th kyu orange belt level, as well as the kata, both takyoku and Heian nidan, as well as the classes. I have really enjoyed learning all of the new forms and movements in this level. I also tried the 10 minute complete Shotokan workout for the first time this past weekend, and I have a lot of great things to say about it. I will be recording a brand new podcast this week discussing it, so please check back soon!

Intro Into 7th Kyu Orange Belt Training

This past week, I began my 7th kyu Orange Belt level training. My training so far for this level has been mixed with continuing my yellow belt level training, and working on improving all of the techniques that I have learned thus far. The lessons that I have worked on so far are building upon the previous level and taking them a step further. While the Taikyoko Nidan is pretty easy to follow along and begin to study, the Heian Nidan takes a lot of patience and repetition, as there are many new steps involved in this intricate kata. This has been a focus of mine over the past week. I look forward to the lessons and classes involved in this level, and welcome the new challenge!