I just tried that on my bag workout. Harder than it sounds! I kept getting the order mixed up, going up was fine, back down again my brain kept making other combinations up.
Isn't it though! Same^^ If you listened closely enough to me doing it, you'd almost be able to make out the name of every technique being muttered, (under my breath) as I exhale on each strike - Seems to be the only way I can keep track some days... Travess
Thursday (10/05/18) I spent most of my time teaching tonight, at both the kids class and the adults classes, so didn't really get a lot of my own training done. Kids Karate @ 60 minutes - I got the group (23 kids) started with some static Kihon drills to get warmed up - 10 x Jodan Tsuki, 10 x Chudan Tsuki, 10 x Age Uke, 10 x Uchi Uke and 10 x Gedan Barai, all whilst sat in Horse Stance (to be a little harsh) Next up, I ran a Close Range Defensive/Counterstriking Partner Drill - 1 of the pair throws an attack of their choosing, which the other intercepts, returning 2 Counterstrikes of their own (and repeat) The gymnastics club, that shares the same hall space as us, left out one of their extra thick crash mats, so I thought that it'd be fun to do some Double Leg Takedowns - Firstly against a stationary partner, then, when they were more confident, defending against a hook punch, before shooting in for the takedown. Finally, we had them run through a 3 Obstacle Gauntlet - Obstacle 1: 2 x Palm Strikes (on hand pads) Obstacle 2: Knee Strike (on a Thai Pad) and Obstacle 3: The Double Leg Takedown - Which they all seemed to really enjoy. (There were a few planning things that needed sorting, so I didn't get around to any of my own training in, during the 30 minutes between sessions - But I left my watch/HR monitor running) Adults Karate @ 90 minutes - Sensei started us off with 10/15 minutes of Moving Kihon, to get our blood pumping (I worked along side a couple of the newer students, so that they could copy along, if needed) Next up was some Peer-to-Peer Kata Analysis (I paired with my brother) for any 2 kata of our choosing - I went with Seyunchin and Shisochin (whilst my brother chose Seyunchin and Saifa) Finishing up the warm up, Sensei ran a few Complex Combination Pad Drill - These proved to be a little too complex for a lot of the junior grades, so after a while they were separated off for some Kata practice, which I was asked to take. Rather than just doing repetitive Kata (which quite frankly they did not need a full session on) I only had them run thru Gekisai Di Ichi a couple of times instead, before isolating select technique(s) and getting them to Pressure Test them - They started with the opening Age Uke, working in pairs, 1 throwing a Hook Punch, 1 defending, gradually escalating their impact, until they were operating at Full Power. Next up, adding in the follow up Oi Tsuki, they worked in 3's - 1 throwing the hook punch, 1 defending, and the 3rd stood just behind the attacker, providing a target to step in and strike. Finally, returning to their original pairs, we re-ran the 1st drill, replacing the age uke with an Uchi Uke, and the hook attack with a Liver Shot, again, escalating in impact with each attack - They also got to work on using the Uchi Uke as a Strike, defending against the liver shot with 1 uchi uke, then using the 2nd as a strike (with the forearm) in to the soft tissue of the neck. There was plenty of arm rubbing going on inbetween drills, so it was at least clear to me that they weren't pulling their strikes, which was encouraging. Duration: 3h 11m Starting HR: 77 bpm Max HR: 162 bpm Average HR: 102 bpm Calories: 592 used Spoiler: Thursday Food Log Daily Allowance: approx 2380 calories Breakfast: (9.30am) 491 calories - Scrambled Egg on toast (with 2 eggs) - White tea (with sugar) Lunch: (1pm) 870 calories - Sandwich (gammon, with beetroot chutney) - Crisps - Chocolate bar - Cherry Coke (500ml) Between sessions: (6.30pm) 126 calories - Banana (large) - Cordial (600ml) Dinner: (8.45pm) 793 calories - Fatata (with bacon strips, mushrooms and red peppers) and chips - Beer (440ml) Treats: 284 calories - Beer (2 x 440ml) Intake: 2,564 calories Net: 1,972 calories Travess
Friday (11/05/18) Following a warm up of 5 x 30s of Shadow Boxing, and a Moderate go at Sanchin Kata, I got started on my 2nd scheduled Strength Training Session of the week, which took the form of an EMOM Bodyweight/Kettlebell routine, spending 10 minutes (10 sets) on each of the 6 Exercises - 8 x Push Ups / 10 x Halo / 12 x Bicep Curls / 14 x Calf Lifts / 16 x Mason Twists and 18 x Squats to make up a full hour. I then cooled down with 1 x Tensho Kata and a 10 minute Walk. Duration: 1h 19m Starting HR: 74 bpm Max HR: 125 bpm Average HR: 105 bpm Calories: 321 used Spoiler: Friday Food Log Daily Allowance: approx 2380 calories Breakfast: (9.30am) 486 calories - Homemade Smoothie (large banana, protein milkshake, Muller Yogurt) - White tea (with sugar) Lunch: (1pm) 644 calories - Sweet Potato Fries (150g) - Treat (Jam doughnut) - Appletize (250ml) Dinner: (8.45pm) 694 calories - Sirloin Steak (new potatoes and mushrooms) - Carlsberg (440ml) Other: 466 calories - San Miguel (pint) - Wisper - Carlsberg (2 x 440ml) Intake: 2,572 calories Net: 2,251 calories Travess
Saturday (12/05/18) I went for a horrible, horrible Road/Trail Interval Run this morning, for what was meant to be 16.1km (10 miles) following the format of Run for 1km (walk for 30s) Run for 2km (walk for 40s) Run for 3km (walk for 50s) Run for 4km (walk for 50s) Run for 3km (walk for 40s) Run for 2km (walk for 30s) Run for 1.1km... ...But unfortunately, things did not work out anywhere near as planned - Over half way into the 11th kilometre, my vision started to feel like I was looking into a fun-house mirror, which was closely followed by a (mild) nosebleed, so I thought it best that I stopped whilst I still had a choice. Gonna take a few days out now, to rest up, refuel, and look after myself. I have a 10km event next Sunday, and my 2nd Dan grading 3 weeks after that, so I might look in to booking myself in for an MOT, with the local GP this week, just for piece of mind. Duration: 1h 01m 23s Distance: 10.56km / 6.6 miles Starting HR: 81 bpm Max HR: 178 bpm Average HR: 167 bpm Calories: 763 used Travess
That does not sound good. Get to the go, and rest will do you good for the race, the hard work has been done already, so a week off won't harm. I hope you feel better soon.
Wha? That sounds scary! Do you have a low pressure or something like that? Rest and GP is indeed in order. I hope you'll get better till the race and especially for the grading.
Cheers peeps - Low blood pressure was my 1st thought, but I took a reading shortly after the incident (it happened not 500m from my parent's place thankfully) which was 119 over 79 (compared to my last relaxed reading of 104 over 66) which is well with 'ideal parameters' I've been eating like it is going out of fashion today, to give my body the fuel to deal with any short comings, and will be taking it very easy over the next few days. Travess
Fingers crossed that it comes back as something minor. I know green leafy veg and red meat are a good source of iron to help replenish blood loss.
Update: GP was not overly concerned, as all readings (blood pressure) that followed were normal, and as I have not shown any immediate signs of it being on going. She gave me 2 weeks worth of iron supplements, and suggested that I knock back on my training in that time. I still plan to run on Sunday, and knowing full well how full on the weekend of my grading assessment is, will still need to maintain a fairly high level of fitness, to even stand a chance of completing it (let alone passing it) but following that I will definitely be dialling things back considerably. As for today, I have Karate in an 40 minutes, and I will definitely be taking things at my own pace. Travess
I hope you're taking it easy and recovering. How are you feeling about your upcoming grading? Have a good class.
The weather for the weekend looks like nice conditions for a race (not too hot). I hope this stay on the mend for the race and the all important Dan grading!
In general, prior to this little hiccup, I had been feeling very positive, and confident in what I bring to the party (which is to say that my instructors all appear to have faith in me going in, so I am shelving my doubts and scepticism, and allowing them to guide me) Now though, there is an air of uncertainty, which I am trying not to let appear bigger than it actually is, so as not to add any increasing doubt, to any other existing issues. The way it stands at the minute, following a lengthy chat with my wife, I may now well be sitting the run out this time around, even if I am on the mend - It's just not worth the risk for me, if it ends up bringing my ability to grade in to question. Travess
That's me, chipper to a fault... Monday (14/05/18) Karate @ 120 minutes - So, after a long chat with one of my instructors, I made the choice to attend training tonight, with the agreement that I'd only give as much as I was comfortable with - Which was to keep my efforts low key enough, so as not to increase my HR above 130 bpm (I failed in this, needing to take a 5 min break between the Kata and the Kihon portions of the warm up, to bring it back down again) Sensei got things under way with a Kata based warm up - Ichi, Ni, Saifa and Seyunchin - followed up with a few Kihon Drills. I really held back here, especially on the Kata, staying half a step behind everyone else, working with no tension at all, and still I found myself struggling. Sensei had an extensive Pad Session lined up, which there was an uneven number in the class for, so luckily I was put in 3, where I was able to dip in and out at my leisure - I'd say it was around 70% Coaching / Pad Holding, with only 30% of actual striking (for me at least - I was successful in keeping my HR under 130 bpm doing this) To finish up the pad portion of the session, Sensei set up a little 4 Point Pad Gauntlet - Point 1: Low Inside Leg Mawashi Geri / Point 2: Mae Geri / Point 3: Parry and Kizame Tsuki and Point 4: Uchi Uke and Kizame Tsuki - I stayed on the pads for most of this, but did allow myself a few goes at striking too. Finally, for those that wanted to make use of the (optional) extra 30 minutes, Sensei ran a few of Rory Miller's One Step / In-fighting Drills, which are both fun and relaxed, so I'm happy to say that I felt up to taking part fully here. Duration: 2 hours Starting HR: 98 bpm (not sure why it was so high to start with...) Max HR: 154 bpm Average HR: 110 bpm Calories: 425 used I'll give myself another Rest Day before doing anything else now though. Travess
Wednesday (16/05/18) - Rest Day No. 2 Thursday (17/05/18) AM: I started off my morning with some light Arm/Shoulder Strength Training, working in Super Sets of Bicep Curls (12kg x 12 reps) Tricep Curls (12kg x 10 reps) and Lateral Shoulder Raises (12kg x 8 reps) which I repeated for 9 sets (with a fair amount of rest between each set) I also extended the school drop off in to a 40 minute Dog Walk this morning. PM: Kids Karate @ 60 minutes - Following a Fitness and Kihon based warm up, I centred the entire session around Mae Geri practice - Firstly as Kihon (focusing on chambering the knee and 'recovering' the foot) then in Partner Drills (taking it in turns lightly pushing the ball of the foot in to their partners abdomin area) and finally on the Pads, to work on delivering power, which then advanced to the Heavy-Bags (No training in between the 2 sessions for me, as 1) I needed to take my daughter home, and 2) my instructors wanted to chat with me about how my current issues may impact on my upcoming grading*) Adults Karate @ 90 minutes - Sensei ran a very relaxed, analysis based Kata Session tonight, starting with running thru Ichi, Ni, Saifa and Seyunchin, all with no tension/kime, focusing on finite body mechanics. Next up (and for the remainder of the session) we broke down in to groups of 2's or 3's, studied the way our partner(s) performed certain aspects of their chosen kata, discussed the pros and cons of any differences, and then tried to implement them into our own Kata, to see how it affected our performance. (Note: *Sensei has been advised by our insurance carriers, that it is in his, and my best interests, for me to get a clean bill of health from my GP, in writing, before I get the all clear to grade.) Travess
Friday (18/05/18) I awoke feeling better, and slightly more energized today than I did yesterday, even feeling comfortable enough to attempt some Light Tabata Sets. Using the 30 minute (school drop off) Walk as my warm-up, I got started on a 5 x 4 minute Tabata routine, once I was back home - Tabata 1: Light Shadow Boxing Tabata 2: Step Work Tabata 3: Bodyweight (alternating between Plank, Push Ups and Wall Sits, for each 20 second work period) Tabata 4: Staicase Walk Tabata 5: Moderate Shadow Boxing - I then finshed up the workout with a (moderate) Sanchin Kata and a (regular) Tensho Kata. Today was a good day, that has left me feeling slightly more positive about things. Duration: 1h 02m Starting HR: 64 bpm (can't remember last time it was that low.) Max HR: 120 bpm Average HR: 102 bpm Calories: 171 used Travess
