Wow, tonight's workout was HOT. The temperature was only around 22C in reality, but for some reason it felt a lot hotter tonight.
Normally on Wednesdays we work on kata, but tonight we did a lot of basics work before venturing on to the kata of the night.
Basics classes at this dojo are great. The students are predominantly brown and black belts and as a result we have a base level of knowledge that allows Sensei to go into more detail about basic techniques and combinations. When the average rank of the club is more near the orange and green belt ranks, the extra detail just confuses students, so it's important for any student above the average rank to seek out other places to get that more in-depth instruction.
I'm very lucky, in that I am "senior student" at one club, and still I have another club to train at where I am 2-4 black belt ranks junior to the senior student... this allows me to practice being an inspiring student leader at times, but still surround myself with karateka who inspire me to train harder as well.
At any rate, tonight was a very good workout, but I was very glad when it was over. I carry an extra 30 lbs around these days, (for those who mistakenly get the idea that I'm trim just because I train karate and am a black belt) so all that extra insulation adds to my already-present tendancy to sweat like a river is flowing off of me... it was great to suck back a 500mL bottle of water as soon as I got home, and I'll drink another before I go to bed so my muscles have a lot of fluid to help with cleaning up and repairs.
I think next class I'm going to dampen my gi top or the shirt I wear underneath my gi top, so I start out with cool water on me to cool me down. I've employed this strategy successfully when I'm at outdoor training camps and about to go train in a shadeless field at 10 AM on a summer day looking to be a complete scorcher.
Next class isn't until next Wednesday for me, due to the holiday weekend coming up. I might train on Monday with a friend who has dojo keys, maybe practice some kumite (sparring/fighting), which I'm not all that confident at/comfortable with.
But that's a whoooooole 'nuther entry.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Karate + me, 6 years.
Welcome to my new karate blog. I don't really have any special goals with this blog other than to have somewhere to write about my experiences at karate.
As an introduction, my name is Jill and I've been training Shotokan karate off and on over the last 15 years, having actually physically trained for 6 of those years. I recently attained the rank of "shodan", aka 1st dan, aka 1st level black belt, and I am 32 years old.
My brother initially introduced me to the sport, having attained the rank of shodan prior to my starting training. Douglas ran a club of his own, so when I moved in with him to go to university at 18, joining karate wasn't really a question - as a lifetime athlete who wasn't interested in university sports teams, karate looked like a fun physical activity to get into and I had private instruction at my fingertips.
Karate has turned out to be WAY more than I ever thought it could be. It started out merely as an interesting, engaging physical activity that challenged not only my whole body (muscles and coordination), but my mind and my emotional control as well... and then as the years went on and I flew from under my brother's wing, I discovered an incredible society of people who have made karate their life's blood for 10-40 years. These days, I'm deeply wedged into that part of the society in our local area. I'm one of the core people who train regularly and attend every seminar and elite training class available locally, and I am not afraid to take up seminars and camps in other cities, provided the $$ and time off is available of course.
I've met some of the most amazing people in karate over the years, and some of them I'm very proud to say belong to a "mutual admiration society" when it comes to me, as well. As in, I think they're cool as shit, and they think the same of me. How awesome is that??!
There are, of course, jackasses in karate. And there are slick slimy folks too, and there are assholes. Not everyone is cool - in fact, a very elite percentage are truly cool. This is, after all, a reflection of real life - every kind of group contains a small percentage of truly cool people, if you take the time to find them. But, there are people who are better off avoided as well, even in traditional Shotokan karate, where "The ultimate aim of karate lays not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection in the character of its participants".
At any rate, with all its mix of people and politics and all that fun stuff, karate has been an amazing force in my life, has altered my way of viewing the world forever, has been great for exercise both physically and socially, and it's one of the few places I feel totally and completely safe.
Great to have those kinds of places, they really charge up a lot of things inside.
Jill
As an introduction, my name is Jill and I've been training Shotokan karate off and on over the last 15 years, having actually physically trained for 6 of those years. I recently attained the rank of "shodan", aka 1st dan, aka 1st level black belt, and I am 32 years old.
My brother initially introduced me to the sport, having attained the rank of shodan prior to my starting training. Douglas ran a club of his own, so when I moved in with him to go to university at 18, joining karate wasn't really a question - as a lifetime athlete who wasn't interested in university sports teams, karate looked like a fun physical activity to get into and I had private instruction at my fingertips.
Karate has turned out to be WAY more than I ever thought it could be. It started out merely as an interesting, engaging physical activity that challenged not only my whole body (muscles and coordination), but my mind and my emotional control as well... and then as the years went on and I flew from under my brother's wing, I discovered an incredible society of people who have made karate their life's blood for 10-40 years. These days, I'm deeply wedged into that part of the society in our local area. I'm one of the core people who train regularly and attend every seminar and elite training class available locally, and I am not afraid to take up seminars and camps in other cities, provided the $$ and time off is available of course.
I've met some of the most amazing people in karate over the years, and some of them I'm very proud to say belong to a "mutual admiration society" when it comes to me, as well. As in, I think they're cool as shit, and they think the same of me. How awesome is that??!
There are, of course, jackasses in karate. And there are slick slimy folks too, and there are assholes. Not everyone is cool - in fact, a very elite percentage are truly cool. This is, after all, a reflection of real life - every kind of group contains a small percentage of truly cool people, if you take the time to find them. But, there are people who are better off avoided as well, even in traditional Shotokan karate, where "The ultimate aim of karate lays not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection in the character of its participants".
At any rate, with all its mix of people and politics and all that fun stuff, karate has been an amazing force in my life, has altered my way of viewing the world forever, has been great for exercise both physically and socially, and it's one of the few places I feel totally and completely safe.
Great to have those kinds of places, they really charge up a lot of things inside.
Jill
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