Training With The Holidays In Mind

As I continue my journey to black belt with Global Martial Arts University , I am not only training and preparing for my orange belt test, as part of the 90 Day Challenge, but I am also keeping myself in shape, and preparing for the holiday season. Many people tend to eat and drink more with lots of holiday gatherings and parties. This leads to a lot of people starting off the New Year by rushing to joining a gym, or starting a new workout program of some kind. For me the best way to prepare, is to be in as best shape as possible prior to the holiday season, and maintaining my workout routine as best as I can. This doesn't mean not to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and parties. It simply means to have portion control and do whatever you have to in order to maintain your workouts. GMAU is a perfect tool for not only learning martial arts, but for getting and staying in shape!

A New Day

After what has been an exhausting and draining week both physically and emotionally, I am starting today off fresh. I feel good, happy to be feeling well, and ready to start to get back on track. Starting things off with breathing exercises and looking forward to get back on track with my training this weekend. Thank you everyone for the kind words and for listening to me discuss what I'm going through. Oss!

Still Battling

I have been dealing with an extremely difficult week of my panic disorder. It has been almost crippling. I have not been able to play with my son, to train, or barely function. I am doing my very best to fight through it, but as I mentioned, it can be so hard to get through an hour calmly, let alone a day. Any words of advice or positive thoughts would be extremely helpful. Thank you.

Everyday Is A Battle

Right now, I am taking each day at a time. Yesterday I was able to do some stretching and light exercise, but no karate training due to my panic disorder. Today is a new day and I am taking 1 day at a day. I am hopeful to be able to resume my training and start to get back on track. Either way, I will not let this disease defeat me.

The Importance Of Stretching

While working through my injuries, I have found great help in the 20 minute stretching class conducted by Sensei Michael in the yellow belt kyu classes. Having practiced DDP YOGA for many years, I found this class extremely helpful, and very similar in how it helped me to stretch and lossen my body, which is much needed when working out on a consistent level. I will be adding this to my normal training regimen for sure.
https://globalmartialarts.university

My Karate Inspiration

Check out my newest YouTube video, "The Karate Dad - My Karate Inspiration" which covers my reasons for getting into martial arts, and it's impact on my life for many years.

The Karate Dad

Home Dojo

One of the great advantages of training at home with Global Martial Arts University is the ability to use your own space or home dojo. While this can be an accommodating training bonus, it can cause some disadvantages as well. Speaking for myself, I enjoy training in my own personal space, which for me has been an area in my living, as well as an area in my bedroom. The only time I need to change things up is when I do my kata training. More space is needed to complete all of the kata steps, so for this I do my training outdoors, in a breezeway type area. Even in this spot, space is tight, but I am able to complete this steps of the kata forms. My journey training as part of the 90 Day Challenge continues!

Finding Motivation & Keeping It

From doing research into martial arts, I have found that the problem that many people of all ages face, is motivation. Whether they begin training as children, or as adults, many students fail to reach the level of black belt because they mainly lose interest in their training. Many students who are not fully devoted to training in their art find it difficult to stick with their training and often quit after a lack of effort.

For me, I have used my desire to not only want to learn Shotokan and to better myself, but I have also used my son, and wanting him to be proud of my as another form of inspiration. My son enjoys watching me train and will often attempt to do some of the moves himself. I hope to continue my training and to eventually reach the level of blackbelt and to ultimately pass what I have learned on to my son.

Global Martial Arts University

Kihon Drills

My training yesterday was a review and practice of all of the kihon drills in the yellow and orange belt kyu. I started my workout with DDP Yoga Energy 2.0 and went right into my Shotokan training. The repetition of these kihon drills not only provides great training and preparation for my upcoming orange belt exam, but of course, also provides a great workout. I like to focus on tightening my core and working on my posture as well while practice these drills. I also incorporated a warm up and cool down as well to make it a well rounded workout. Global Martial Arts University

Working Even Harder

My orange belt level training is going great, and I had a very productive training weekend. I have begun to incorporate DDP Yoga into my overall training, and have found that it helps me a great deal and gets me loose and in great shape for my karate training. I am reviewing and practicing all of the lessons and classes as much as possible in preparation for my orange belt test as part of the Global Martial Arts University 90 Day Challenge!

Working Through Anything

One thing that I have prided myself on with my karate training, is that, whether I have had some kind of nagging injury, or even a mild illness, I have been able to work through, or at least modify my workouts, to be sure that I'm not missing a beat. Having a history in pro wrestling, and baseball, I deal with back and knee pain quite often. I have found that the exercises and the training involved in Shotokan Karate have helped me improve physically, in addition to everything that I am learning involving the art form.  Global Martial Arts University

Stances

My workout yesterday consisted of practicing all of my stances from the yellow belt and orange belt kyu. Stances and posture are the root of all karate forms and are so very important in the execution of any move. I have struggled with posture my entire life, and have seen a change in my posture with working on my stances, and doing them properly. I have been able to make an entire workout based on practicing my stances, and doing kihon drills for all of the stances that I have learned so far. I hope that this is reflected in my orange belt test as part of the Global Martial Arts University 90 Day Challenge.

Test Preparation

With the start of the new month, my training shifts to even more of a focus on my review and practice of all of the lessons, as I prepare for my orange belt exam. Today I will reach my 100% required time needed to test. While this does qualify me to be able to test for my orange belt, I still have plenty of classes and lots of review to do before I actually take my test. This test is also extra special, as it is part of the Global Martial Arts University 90 Day Challenge. My test this time around will be seen and voted on my other GMAU students, with prizes on the line. While I have been working through some nagging injuries, I feel that my inner peace and drive have increased a lot since I started my training, and I very much look forward to what is to come!