Wednesday (08/11/17) - Rest Day Thursday (09/11/17) Karate @ 80 minutes - The 1st 60 minutes of tonight's session was a mix of Kata and Ambush Sparring, firstly running thru Ichi, Ni, Saifa and Seyunchin as a warm up, all whilst kitted out in our sparring gear, then if/when Sensei called 'ambush' we were free to attack any one/any group of our choosing until Yama (stop) was called. (One such ambush was called during a water break, and I ended up fending off 2 attackers, with my mouth full of water - Refained from spitting it anyone's face though, so yay!...) The Kata and Ambush Sparring then continued, as we were broken down into groups, each of which was given their own Kata to work on - My group got Sanchin - who then picked specific areas to 'put under the microscope' (We were fortunate to have a guest black belt with us tonight, so it was nice to take a step outside of ourselves, and do the kata her way.) The final 20 minutes was then spent on Bunkai, which each black belt was allocated a group for, with the task of offering 'guidance' on the work on points, for the groups given Kata - My group had been given on Saifa, and had been given the Side Step, Knee Strike and Front Kick Sequence to work on. The session concluded 10 minutes early tonight, to give us time to load up the vehicles, ahead of this weekend's residential retreat. Travess
Friday (10/11/17) - Annual Residential Day 1: Once we'd settled in, unpacked, and sorted all the shopping for the weekend, we only had the time for the one 2 hour session today, before our table reservation at the pub. So, we looked at a Non-Goju Ryu Kata - a session requested by 1 of our 1st Kyu - which involved running thru/learning the bare bones of Tekki Shodan, then once we were 'familiar' with it, we selected a specific sequence, (in groups) and analysed potential Bunkai and/or Principles based on the techniques. A fantastic and insightful session, which set the weekend off to a great start. Travess
Saturday (11/11/17) Annual Residential Day 2: Session 1 (90 minutes) - Tensho Kata - (requested by another of our 1st Kyu students) This session was broken down into 2 45 minute parts, the 1st of which was spent on some revision of Kata, before breaking it down, to delve into the technical aspects of each movement. The second half of the session was used to look at some of the strikes found within the Kata, firstly as a Pad Drill, then on Body Armour and finally on your partner, as a body Conditioning Drill. (I always enjoy drilling these strikes, for what my Sensei refers to as 'phone box fighting range) Session 2 (135 minutes) - Live Bunkai Drills - (requested by yours truly) Earlier in the year, Sempai spent 6 months training at another Goju-Ryu club, as part of his 2nd Dan seminar prep work. Whilst there, he was taught their 'Stock Bunkai' for both Ichi and Ni, which we looked at today, firstly with compliant partners, before gloving up, so that we could do it as part of a more free flowing/sparring style drill. (This didn't escalate as much as I'd expected, when requesting the session, but I think that might have been for the best, as there was a lot to take in) Session 3 (80 minutes) - Ballistic/Heavy Hand Striking - (requested by our 1 and only 2nd Kyu student) This was a 100% Pad Drill session, which looked at relaxation vs explosive tension, when throwing/landing a strike, working on Slaps, Hooks, Hammerfists, Elbows and fighting up from the ground. (This was an excellent session for me, as I carry a lot of tension, even in my everday life, and I walked away with so many lightbulb moments) Travess
Sunday (12/11/17) Annual Residential Day 3: Session 1 (120 minutes) - Bunkai Strategies and Tactics - This morning we broke down in to groups of 4 or 5, with each group tasked with choosing a specific piece of a kata (we went with the 'kicking sequence' of Ichi) then identifying a key strategy, selecting tactics to achieve that strategy, and bringing together as a piece of Bunkai. Once the whole group was confident enough with drill, we then had to create Kihon Drills, that facilitated certain aspects/techniques of the Bunkai Session 2 (60 minutes) - Scenario Planning Session - (in the same groups as the previous session) Each of us were given an hour to devise and plan our Scenario Drill, which needed to cover/include the Set up, 'player' briefs, participants objectives, safety briefs etc. We'd then run thru them in the next session, with the creating group being DS (directing staff) and with select people from the remaining groups as the 'players'. Session 3 (240 minutes) - Scenario Session - This is where we got to physically create our Scenarios, and see them playout. One of the other groups Scenarios was chosen 1st, which had me planned as the main aggressor (standard) playing the part of a drunk uncle (a druncle) at a family gathering. My brief was to try to aggressively (forcibly) coerce the 'player' to have a few drinks with me. The players brief was to either Talk me down, then, if/when that proved to be ineffective, to Physically subdue/restrain me, without causing me harm (though one of them did just bang be out with a big left cross... FAIL! Lol) There were also other peripheral players to add to the tension/chaos. Next up was my groups scenario, which took place in the setting of a public bathroom (pub/club/restaurant) and saw the aggressor following the player in, following a previous disagreement, and confronting them as they washed their hands. The aggressor was there to prevent the 'player' from exiting, and was brief was to do this in any 1 of 3 ways - Standing in the doorway, hurling abuse / enter the room fully, but just keep stepping in the 'players' way, (without saying a word) whenever they tried to exit / agressively invading their space. The 'player' was to either attempt to talk their way out of it, to try to create an opening to passively pass (this could include physical contact) or to pre-emptively strike and escape - All of the participants opted for the latter, with the exception of 1, who allowed himself to be backed in to a corner, his space invaded, verbally taunted, and all without a fence. (There were other scenarios run, but I was neither part of, nor privy to them) Monday (13/11/17) Annual Residential Day 4: Session 1 (60 minutes) - Multiples and Weapons - As this was the final session of the weekend, and we'd be making the 3 hour drive back directly afterwards, it was kept very relaxed and low key. Multiples include 3-on-3, 6-on-6 and many, many Free-for-alls. Sensei would walk around with a bag of weapons, (rubber knives, Kubotans, Baseball bats, rubber ashtray etc...) and would randomly hand them out/leaving them laying about, during the chaos, which we were free to use. We then finished up the session with some really fun Monty Pythons, Black knight knife 'sparring' - Each player had a (rubber) blade, and was free attack anyone they chose in a slashing/hacking manor. If you were caught with any such attack, you could fight on (twas but a flesh wound after all) but that part of the body was out of action! Plenty of people hoping around on 1 leg, or with both arms tucked in their belts, or even the heads covered up in their gi (or all of the above) by the end of each round. An absolutely phenomenal weekend, with SO much learned, SO many laughs (I'm talking face ache and tears rolling down my face) a few too many beers and whole hell of a lot of commerardary all round. Travess
Tuesday (14/11/17) AM: Having finally been granted access to my garage again (we had been storing a triple wardrobe in there, for a number of weeks prior to this past weekend) I took the opportunity to get in a much needed session on the Heavy-Bag, no rounds (so to speak) just one single 30-minute Workout, following Tabata protocols. This wasn't a particularly intense session (barring the last 4 minutes) rather a chance to work on Technique, Range, Movement and Alternating Stance (southpaw/orthodox) PM: Judo @ 90 minutes - We started off with a basic Warm arm up, which consisted of Jogging, Sprints and Ground Transitions much the same as we had the previous week. I have no idea where to begin in explaining our 1st drill that we ran through, except to say it was not that easy to pull off at all. (I have asked the instructor for a list of the techniques covered, in all sessions to date, so will hopefully be more informed in the future) This again was followed by a few rounds of Back-to-Back Randori, playing for Chokes, Holds and Locks - I am still struggling (not surprisingly) with these, but still feel that I am getting a whole hell of a lot out it. The 2nd Technique Drill we worked on tonight was a Harai Goshi, (sweeping hip throw - Yay, I remembered one!) This was practiced firstly on its own, then as a recovery technique from a failed Foot Sweep, then again from a failed O'soto Gari (outer reaping sweep) then finally in defense against a lapel grab (gotta say, I really did 'Gel' with this throw...) The session, which I am now realising is the norm, was finished up with a couple of rounds of Stand-up Randori playing for Throws and Takedowns, which I'm still a little out of my depth on, but which I can at least see/feel a (very) slight imrovement on. Travess
Wednesday (15/11/17) - Rest Day (in THE truest sense of the term) Thursday (16/11/17) AM: Nothing too strenuous this morning, just 4 x 4 minute Stretching Tabata, focusing mostly on Hamstring, Quads, Groin and Calves, as well as Hip and Ankle flexors, using both Static and Dynamic stretches. PM: Karate @ 90 minutes - Following on from one of the sessions that we did on our residential, we delved deeper into Ballistic Striking/Heavy Hands. This started off as a Pad Drill, looking at Slaps, Hammers Fists, Inside Leg Kick and Low Level (think Kicking a supporting leg out) Side Kicks. We dispensed with the Pads for the last 30 minutes, and repeated the strikes (minus the low side kick) as a Conditioning Drill, (attacking limbs and landing heavy body shots) eventually adding additional follow strikes of our choosing. I had the (dis)pleasure of being on the receiving end of a few exchanges with my Instructor for some of the last portion, and the impact, whilst tapered, certainly was massive. Travess
Friday (17/11/17) AM: Took my youngest Swimming for an hour in the morning, but I use the term 'swimming' lightly, as it was mostly her walking around, with me moving around in 'Plank' position along side her - Still, got a fairly decent shoulder workout out of it... Lol Midday: Was invited out for a 'social' Dog Walk, along with a few others, but as I still had my youngest with me, we only stayed out for about 30/35 minutes in total. PM: I was almost of a mind to keep today as an active rest day, counting the days activities thus far as enough to see me through - But then I realised how long it had been since my last Strength Training Session, so out came the TRX: 8 Sets, each set following the pattern of Bicep Curls / Low Row / Tricep Curls / Low Row / Press and another set of Low Row, then resting (90 seconds) going for 10 reps of each for set 1-4, then dropping down to 8 reps of each for sets 5-8. I then finished up the session (and the day) with 51 x TRX Bicep Curls (AMRAP) Feeling the burn!!! Travess
Saturday (18/11/17) A nice simple little addition to the log today, in the form of a 4-mile/6.4km Road/Trail Run, which I took it pretty steady for, coming in at 34m 18s, giving me an average pace of 5m 21s per km. Travess
Sunday (19/11/17) Scrapped my planned Bag Work/Bodyweight Tabata this morning, as I was already (close to) nodding off, when I pulled in to my driveway. I then ended up sleeping through my alarm too (1st night's back on shift, following a break, always wipe me out...) so didn't really leave myself much time before I had to make a start on dinner (excuses, excuses!!! ) but (thankfully) my wife offered to bath the girls, so I could crack on with a (very!) quick Strength Session - 31 x Push Ups (AMRAP) 107 x Crunches (AMRAP) 49 x Staircase Push Ups (AMRAP) 127 x Squats (AMRAP) As usual (for me) my AMRAP sets aren't what I'd consider my absolute limit*, just as much as I can achieve with good form, before each exercise stops really looking like an abomination of what it should Note: *With the exception of the Push Ups, which have always been a major problem area for me, and which I could not have managed another rep of. This is also the reason that I include the Staircase Push Ups, as when I started this journey, these were the only ones that I could really do to any volume. Travess
Monday (20/11/17) I took a bit of a nasty tumble in the morning, whilst (successfully) preventing my youngest from having a nasty fall, but surprisingly felt completely uninjured - Fast forward 8 hours, and I awaken to find both shoulders almost seized up (unable to rotate my arms, without a fair amount of discomfort) and the small of my back feeling very stiff and tender. I decided to attend Karate all the same, in the hopes that it would help loosen me up, and alleviate some of the aches and pains. What followed was an hour of Pad Drills, focusing on Pre-emptive Power Strikes, and Striking whilst encumbered, (being held back by a 'do-gooder' etc...) all whilst dealing with Multiple Attackers. The final 30 minutes saw us repeating the above drills, this time swapping the pads out for Gloves and Gumshields though, to see how getting bombarded with shots, potentially dulled the effectiveness of your own shots. By the end of the session I was feeling much better, with my recent aches, stiff joints and general meh feeling, being a thing of the past. (even if just barely) Unfortunately this lasted all of about an hour, and by the time I was ready to leave for work, I could barely move again! Tuesdays Judo session is starting to feel like it may have to settle for being a spectator event, as at this point I think that taking part would be STUPID - just like taking part in tonight's Karate class was (...and still is!) Travess
Tuesday (21/11/17) Rest Day As planned, I decided to give Judo a backseat today, but did pop along to watch, and take notes. Wednesday (22/11/17) Woke up feeling a lot better, and a lot more mobile this morning, so decided a light workout would probably be okay - Set 1: 4 minute Stretching Tabata 10 x Push Ups 15 x Crunches 20 x Squats 2 x Ichi (1 slow / 1 regular speed) Set 2: 4 minute Stretching Tabata 10 x Tricep Dips 15 x Mason Twists 20 x Lunges 2 x Ni (1 slow / 1 regular speed) Set 3: 4 minute Stretching Tabata 10 x KB Pull Overs 15 x KB Press 20 x KB Swings 2 x Saifa (1 slow / 1 regular speed) No real niggles or aggravations following that, so I will call it there, see how I feel tomorrow, and if okay, repeat the 3 sets. Travess
Thursday (23/11/17) Yeah, so that never happened! Don't get me wrong, there were no niggles to speak of, and all my aches seem to be behind me, but I decided to err on the side of caution (laziness???) ahead of training this evening. Karate @ 90 minutes - This was a very relaxed pace session tonight, very physically low key, but man was it painful. We spent the entire session on Locks and Joint Manipulation/Destruction Techniques, starting with Fingers, and working our way along to Wrist, Elbow then Shoulders, even finishing up with a couple of Knee/Leg Locks. Lots of grown men and women making some very weird and wonderful sounds, with a fair few surprise responses. Not a subject matter we usually delve that deeply into, as it really is a tertiary skill set (to us) but alway so much fun when we do! Travess
Friday (24/11/17) Ive gotta admit that I felt a little disappointed with myself yesterday, for canning my stretching/bodyweight/kata sets, plus not really breaking much of a sweat at Karate, so I decided to swap out my rest day, in favour of some Strength Training! Today I opted for an Arm/Back/Chest Pyramid Session on the TRX, for a total of 6 sets, with each set being made up of 10 x Press / 12 x Tricep Curls / 14 x 'Y' Flyes / 16 x Bicep Curls and 18 x Low Row I gave myself a fairly long break (minimum 2 minutes) between each set, as my joints were still a little stiff after last nights training. Travess
Saturday (25/11/17) My plan for today was originally a 4 mile run, but with the weather for most of the week being wet and (very) windy, I didn't hold up much hope and started to think a few rounds on the Heavy-Bag might be a better choice. Typically though, I step outside this morning to find barely a cloud in the sky and not even a wisp of a wind in the air, so I put it to vote (at the Kids Krotty class in the morning) between the Bag Work or the Run, and wouldn't you know, it came up as an even split!!! So both it was... Heavy-bag: 5 x 1 minute Rounds (30 second rests) (2 minutes rest) Run: 5km Road/Trail @ 26m 59s (another 2 minutes rest) Heavy-bag: another 5 x 1 minute Rounds (30 second rests) This started to get (more than) a little sloppy, during the 4th round of the 2nd Bag work set, so I had to considerably drop the intensity for the 5th and final round. Travess
Sunday (26/11/17) Rest Day Monday (27/11/17) Karate @ 80 minutes - (I was 10 minutes late) - Spent the 1st 50 minutes doing some 1-on-1 teaching, covering some Moving Kihon, a little Gekisai Di Ichi revision, but mostly looking at some Free Flowing Partner/Pad Drills (which I was wearing full Thigh/Torso/Flank Muay Thai padding for) I was then able to join in the rest of the class for the last 30 minutes (not before Sempai and Sensei took advantage of my attire though, spending a good couple of minutes each, absolutely laying in to me!!!) which was a continuation of their Power Train/Stance work, as applied to Kihon and Kata. Travess
Tuesday (28/11/17) Judo @ 65 minutes (cut short by 25 minutes, due to an aggravated injury ) - There is a club grading next week, so this session was spent running through syllabus requirements for that. We started off with a quick warm-up, which amongst other things, contained a lot of varied Ukemi (Break-fall) Drills. We then partnered up with a similar grade (I ended up with a fellow white belt, who joined the same week as I did.) Holds: Rolling our partner out of a defensive position, and on to their back, then applying a hold, which had to be held against a resisting uke for 10 seconds - Theses holds were Mune Getame (chest hold) Kesa Getame (scarf hold) Yoko Shiho Gatame (side 4 quarters hold) and Kami Shiho Gatame (upper 4 quarters hold) These were then all repeated, this time looking a various Common Escapes. Sweeps/Throws: These were all performed at repetition, on a compliant partner - Osoto Otoshi (major outer drop) Di Ashi Barai (advancing foot sweep) O' Uchi Gari (great inner reap) Uki Goshi (floating hip throw) Tai Otoshi (body drop) and Ippon Seoi Nagi (single point shoulder throw) This really was a massive information overload, as all the above was covered in just the 65 minutes that I took part in, which also included a brief look a chokes (Gi, Rear Naked, and Triangle) that I have not gone in to detail about above, so I am not sure how much of it sank in... Travess
Shoulders have not been an issue thankfully, as hitting the ground hard is nothing really new to me (not sure if that is a good thing though...) but the variations of takedowns/throws I am now at the mercy of is, which has increased the variations of my 'knocks'... ...Smashing my ankles together, scraping my nose across the matts and hyper extension of joints to name but a few! Travess
