a Travesty in action

Discussion in 'Training Logs' started by Travess, Jul 16, 2015.

  1. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Indeed - My Instructor decided that to truly appreciate why we favour the softer style over the hard, we really should have to experience them both. (as they say, an uninformed opinion is no opinion at all) Starting to wonder if he may be lurking on this board somewhere, and may have been aware of our chat on the matter. Lol

    Travess
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2017
  2. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 33 – Year 2 (13/02/17 – 19/02/17)

    Monday:
    Wedding Anniversary = Definite Rest day!


    Tuesday:

    My eldest brother came to visit this week, which gave us the opportunity to head out for our 1st ever Road Run together, which despite being 10 years my senior and despite coming off of an 8 month running hiatus due to injury, he was right there beside me all the way… 5.7km @ 34m 40s


    Wednesday:

    MAHOOSIVE dip in motivation today, so much so, I had all but decided to knock any training that I had planned for today on the head – But, after having a serious word with myself, I managed to keep my laziness at bay with a Bodyweight / Strength Training Session* (Hammies have been a tad on the tight side today, so have avoided legs all together!)
    • 20 x Crunches
    • 20 x Bicep Curls (TRX)
    • 20 x Mason Twists
    • 20 x Tricep Dips
    • 20 x Leg Raises
    • 10 x Push Ups
    • 20 x Knees to Elbows
    • 20 x 12kg Kettlebell Press’
    • 20 x ‘Y’ Flyes
    • 20 x Low Row

    (*Repeated 3 times, with a 2 minute rest between each)


    Thursday:

    KARATE @ 90 minutes (of which I probably did about 15/20 mins)

    Tonight was to be a pre-grading sparring session (Grading taking place on Saturday) which I expected to at least be needed to participate in a few of the fights, but was given the task of 1st Aider / Time keeper instead. I did take part in the 10 minute Physical Warm Up at the beginning though, as well as running thru, and demonstrating some Break Fall Drills, for those who are grading, before finishing up their warm up with 7 or 8 rounds of Restrictive (light effort) Sparring Drills.

    (Note: If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d already run thru Sanchin Kata a few times this afternoon, I’d probably be classing today as a Rest Day)


    Friday:

    Another ‘something of nothing’ kind of a day today, just running thru a some Sanchin Kata, a little Sanseru Kata revision and a few repetitions of Low Level Mawashi Geri on a large plastic barrel.

    [Addendum] My eldest wanted to take her scooter out around the garage block enclosure in the early evening, so I took the opportunity whilst I was out there with her, to jump on the Heavy-Bag and do some unplanned Hand Conditioning solely because I didn’t have my gloves with me, with 5 minutes Continuous Bare Knuckle Striking (Blood was drawn, and I may have scared my daughter off of bag work for life, but it was good)


    Saturday:
    Rest Day

    Despite running the kid’s session in the morning, and being used as an Uke for Throws, Break-free drills, Pad drills and Bunkai, at the adults grading in the afternoon, I didn’t exactly get around to any of my own training (Though I do feel like I’ve been put thru my paces none the less!)


    Sunday:
    ANOTHER Rest Day!!!

    Not at all overly happy with this week (barring my run with my Brother of course) as I felt that everything was laboured, and my heart really wasn’t in it :bang: (Fell short on my Sanchin Kata too, so double :bang: ) Oh well, tomorrow is the start of another week, and one I intend not to waste!

    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 18 / Running tally = 97


    Travess
     
  3. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 34 – Year 2 (20/02/17 – 26/02/17*)

    (*Being posted 2 days earlier, as today [Friday] will be my last day training the week, as I am giving myself the weekend off :D )


    Monday:

    Today wasn’t exactly the ‘jump in with both feet’ start to the week that I had envisioned – I was too wiped out from my nightshift to get in a turn on the TRX, before heading on up to bed, then slept in too late to make up for it before training…

    KARATE @ 60 minutes (Teaching tonight, but tried to keep myself actively taking part as much as possible)

    I was tasked to take a brand new walk in student under my wing tonight, so for me (and him of course) it was all about Repetitive Basics (‘Blocks’ / Basic Punching / Introduction to Stances / Stance [only] for the 1st 8 moves of Gekisai Di Ichi) – He was a quick study, which made it all the easier for us to work alongside each other, once he had displayed an understanding of the drill/technique, which then provided him with someone to ‘mirror’


    Tuesday:

    Started a new routine on the Heavy-Bag today, one which I am hoping to repeat, with a few incremental changes along the way, for the foreseeable future. (…and one which is specifically geared towards my 2nd Dan fitness goals) – 11 x 2 minute Rounds with 1 minute rest between each* starting out at around 50/60% effort/intensity for round 1 and upping it as I go (looking to be working at 90/100% for the last 3 or 4 rounds)

    (*Note: I will be maintaining the round count and duration, but decreasing my rest times, as the year goes on)


    Wednesday:

    Squeezed in a small amount of Kata this morning, concentrating on both Sanchin and Sanseru with the former introducing a brand new niggle for me, whilst I am still struggling to grasp the basic pattern of the latter, if I am being totally honest.

    Today’s Bodyweight / Strength Training Session* was almost a direct carbon copy of last Wednesday’s, with exception of the reintroduction of a couple of leg exercises.
    • 20 x Crunches
    • 20 x Bicep Curls (TRX)
    • 20 x Mason Twists
    • 20 x Tricep Dips
    • 20 x Deep Squats (TRX)
    • 20 x Leg Raises
    • 10 x Push Ups
    • 20 x Knees to Elbows
    • 20 x Calf Raises
    • 20 x 12kg Kettlebell Press’
    • 20 x ‘Y’ Flyes
    • 20 x Low Row

    (*Repeated 3 times, with a 2 minute rest between each)


    Thursday:

    Started the morning off (pre 7 am) with 20+ minutes of Stretching today, which has always (ALWAYS) represented a massive hole in my training, and at almost 42 is something I can no longer afford to neglect.

    KARATE @ 90 minutes (of which I probably did about 15/20 mins)

    We jumped in with some (6 rounds) Light Contact Restrictive Sparring tonight, (hands only, feet only, dominant hand behind our backs…) to get things moving tonight. I was then asked to work with 2 of the new students, to make sure they were up to speed with Gekisai Di Ichi firstly isolating the individual techniques in Standing Kihon form, then running thru the pattern of the Kata in Stances Only, before finally bringing it all together at the end.


    Friday:

    Wasn’t quite as on the ball with my 20+ minutes of Stretching this morning, as I was yesterday, as I didn’t get around to it until just before I was due to leave for morning the school run – Still, better late than never and all that, and it was still a pretty productive day afterwards too…

    Following the school run, I got straight on with a Bodyweight Routine, (No equipment used) – 5 x 20 reps Crunches / 5 x 10 reps Push Ups / 5 x 20 Squats / 10 x 15 Tricep Dips / 5 x 20 Mason Twists, which whilst simple, was still quite effective.

    Had a fairly chilled afternoon, but thanks to the weather, was able to take my girls out with me for a nice long dog walk (with the dog too of course…)

    Finally, I decided an early evening visit to the garage was in order, for a 4 x 4 minute Tabata Heavy-Bag Session modifying my focus with each full minute -Minute 1: Hands only / minute 2: feet only / minute 3: Couple of strikes, then ‘shooting’ in on the bag / minute 4: Hands and Feet (Rest up for a minute, then repeat) I then did a single 90 second Cooldown round on the Freestanding 'Speedball' to finish up the day/week.


    Saturday & Sunday:
    Rest Days

    This will be a planned weekend off, as I have a full docket on the Tomorrow (Kids Karate in the morning, Lunch date with a few friends early afternoon, and tickets to a local MMA event, with doors opening at 3 o’clock, taking up the remainder of the day) and will likely be pretty sleep deprived / Hungover on the Sunday…

    …on a plus note though, I managed to run thru Sanchin Kata a few more times than last week, so Yay!

    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 24 / Running tally = 121


    Travess
     
  4. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 35 – Year 2 (27/02/17 – 05/03/17)

    Monday:

    AM: Well, that was ill advised – Against my better judgment (Having only had 3 and half hours sleep, in the past 25 hours) I chose to put myself thru a Bag Workout / Run Routine this morning, which was made up of a 1km Run, 30 seconds rest, 2 minutes on the Heavy-Bag, 1 minute rest, 2 more minutes on the Heavy-Bag, another 30 seconds rest (which I repeated for 3 rounds) I do not mind admitting that I was completely drained by the last 4 minutes on the bag, struggling to maintain even a half of the pace/impact, that I had in the previous rounds.

    Off to bed now, as I am determined to get in at least 8 hours* sleep today, before I have to head to training this evening… (Managed just over 7, so not too bad)

    PM: KARATE @ 60 minutes (Teaching tonight, but as with before I keep myself active, taking part as much as possible)

    Started off by revisiting Gekisai Di Ichi to see how much had sunk in, since our last session – Once I realised that most of it had been retained, I ran thru it alongside him a few times so that A) it would become more ingrained and B) he’d have a reference point, should he become ‘lost’
    Next up we isolated the 3 main stances of the Kata – Zenkutsu, Sanchin and Sheiko looking at isolating the transition movements (both forward then backwards) then covering where to ‘drive train’ (power) comes from, then finally working to bring both together (I got him to do a few stepping in strikes on the Thai pads, following the transition portion, then again following the ‘drive train’ portion, to highlight to difference in power generation – He easily landed strikes upward of 50/60% harder the second time around)


    Tuesday:

    Today was an Upper-body TRX Strength Training Session concentrating on isolating Biceps (Curls) Triceps (Curls) Shoulders (‘Y’ Flyes) Chest (Press’ and XR Flyes) and Lats (Low Row) – 15 reps of each, for 3 sets.


    Wednesday:
    Rest Day


    Thursday:

    AM: Been a while since I did JUST an Ab/Core day so this morning I did a massive (for me at least) 500 exercise routine – 5 x 20 Crunches / 5 x 20 Mason Twists / 5 x 20 Knee Raises / 5 x 20 Flutter Kicks / 100 second Plank which I have to admit, was a bit of a struggle and really highlighted how much work I need to reintroduce in this area. (Rather than beasting myself on all this in one hit, I did them all over the course of an hour or so – 1 set of each of the first four exercises, rest up for about 15 mins, then repeat, finishing up with the 100 second plank)

    PM: KARATE @ 90 minutes (Teaching again)

    Ran thru Ichi a few times, just as a refresher for the guys, before isolating certain aspects of the Kata, firstly with the stances (revision for the guy I worked with on Monday, and an introduction the lad that missed Monday’s session) then moving on to a few repetitive Pad Drills for select techniques from the Kata – Mae Geri (also, for a sense of the variations, I also let them have a play with Mae Geri Kiage and Kin Geri) Uraken and basic stepping in Oi-Tsuki which is where we ran out of time…


    Friday:
    Rest Day

    Kind of lost my ‘Mojo’ today, and whilst I certainly had the time and opportunity to train, it would just have felt forced (Which I later realised I let myself down with, especially in contrast to last Friday’s training)


    Saturday:

    Still wasn’t really feeling it today, but couldn’t justify another Rest Day, given that yesterday’s day off was kind of unnecessary – Also find the Heavy-Bag useful in these instances, as no matter easy I tell myself I am going to take things, I always end up ramping things up as the rounds progress – 10 x 1 minute rounds, with a 30 second rest between each started out working at about 50% impact/effort for the first round, working up to 100% by round 5, then doing the same again for rounds 6 to 10.

    Also tried something a lady friend told me about today, where in every time she has to go upstairs, she’d start at the bottom of the stairs, stretched out in push up position, with her hands on the 1st step and proceed to perform 3 push ups per step, moving up 1 step at a time, until she reaches the top – I did this twice today, totalling 3 x 9* Push Ups on each occasion (*Should have been 3 x 13, but as I have a stairgate at the foot of the stairs, I started mine once I was passed that point)


    Sunday:

    As today was Strength Training Day and as I didn’t really have anything specific in mind, I decided to hand pick 9 exercises from the Bob Hoffman York Course No. 8 which Icefield recently posted about in the Kettlebell thread (I alternated between Kettlebells and Dumbbells, depending on the exercise)
    • 10 x Reverse Concentration Curl (2 x 10kg Dumbbell)
    • 10 x Normal Concentration Curl (2 x 10kg Dumbbell)
    • 10 x One Arm Clean & Press (12kg Kettlebell)
    • 10 x One Arm Swing (12kg Kettlebell)
    • 10 x Upright Row (2 x 10kg Dumbbell)
    • 10 x One Hand Military Press (12kg Kettlebell)
    • 10 x Side Press (12kg Kettlebell)
    • 10 x Bent Over Row (12kg Kettlebell)
    • 10 x Side Bend (12kg Kettlebell)
    Some nice little exercises in there many of which I have either not thought about before, or had never really targeted the muscle groups that they hit – Which was interesting.

    (Note: All Kettlebell exercises repeated on both sides, with Dumbbell exercises covering both arms in the 1 set)

    I also did 4 more sets of those Staircase Push Ups (as I now call them) so whilst they are not full push ups, I’m still pleased that I racked up 108 reps of them in total.

    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 18 / Running tally = 139


    Travess
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2017
  5. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 36 – Year 2 (06/02/17 – 12/03/17)

    Monday:

    AM: Felt full of energy when I got in in from work this morning, so decided to get myself off out for an 11.1km* Road / Trail Run which I managed in 1h 1m 58s** Getting to sleep this morning should be a damn side easier now)

    (Note(s): * This was down as a 10km run, but my watch died on me, just under half way, so I guesstimated the rest of the distance, then mapped it when I got home / ** Final time based on average pace per km, for the first 4 km’s)

    PM: KARATE @ 60 minutes (Continued with my current teaching responsibilities again tonight, taking on a less involved teaching approach this time.)

    Jumped straight in with 20 minutes or so of Pad Drills to start with, looking at Front and Rear Hand Slaps (along with eventually stringing the 2 together) as well as introducing Tetsu Uchi (Hammerfist) to show how the mechanics between the 2 stay the same, with only the striking tool changing. They also got their first chance at holding the pads, and finding out for themselves how each impact feels

    We then spent the remainder of the session on Gekisai Di Ichi as 1 of my students had only partially covered the Kata up to that point (this was the 1st session with me though) which we eventually covered by the end of the session – All be it mostly from a ‘going through the motions’ stand point.

    (Note: Only had the 2 students tonight, 1 of whom I have been working with for a few sessions now, and the other turned up for his 1st session tonight – Luckily he had a background, all be it 10+ years ago, in TKD and Shotokan, which meant he managed to keep pace well enough)


    Tuesday:

    Just decided to throw a few (4) easy-to-do exercises together today, as I had my 16 month old with me – 1 x Sanchin Kata / 27 x ‘Staircase’ Push Ups / 20 x Crunches / 20 x 12kg Close Grip Curls which I did in turn, and repeated for 5 sets.


    Wednesday:
    Rest Day


    Thursday:

    Throughout Day: No Cardio or Strength training for me today (which is rare) choosing instead to work on a few technical aspects of my Kata/Techniques breaking down Sanchin, Tensho and Shisochin going thru each technique, transition and stance slowly, with a lot of self-correcting and analysis along the way. Also took a little look at my body mechanics for Tetsu Uchi from the fence, refining the relaxation to ‘kime’ point, and the whipping action the facilitates it.
    Also, whilst breaking down the turns in Sanchin Kata I figured it would be a good time to isolate the turns on Seyunchin too, and ended up breaking down the ‘Drive Train’ for the whole Kiai sequence – A few light bulb moments, which led to few “The more you know, the more you realise that you still don’t know” moments.

    PM: KARATE @ 90 minutes (Teaching again)

    One of my student group had already completed his introductory sessions (usually between 4 and 6) so joined the rest of the main class tonight, and another lad was a no show, so I ended up having some 1-on-1 teaching time with 1 the new lad from Monday’s session – This gave us time to work on quite a bit, from Stances – Zenkutsu Dachi and Sheiko Dachi which took very little work at all, as the framework was already there. Then we spent a little bit longer on Sanchin Dachi which was completely new to him, and took a little more focus. (Footwork was good, and length was constantly more of a Han-Zenkutsu Dachi, but as far as I am concerned, it was a really good starting point)

    We then revisited Gekisai Di Ichi breaking down into manageable sections – Repeating them individually, then piecing them together as needed (when he seemed ready) until we’d covered a large portion of the Kata. To help with the understanding of certain techniques of the Kata, we also drilled a few select techniques on the Pads – Backfist, Elbow strike and Front Kick to finish up.


    Friday:

    Pretty chilled day today, as between club admin, work and family life, the last 24 hours have been pretty manic. Went out for a nice 5 mile / 8km Road Run in the early evening, to help myself unwind, and came almost 3 minutes under my expected time for the day (42m 13s Vs. 45m) Which lifted my mood somewhat.


    Saturday:

    Kids Karate @ 60 minutes (Actively teaching)

    Ran thru a few Tai Sabaki ‘Blocking’ drills with the kid’s class this morning, covering Age Uke, Uchi Uke and Gedan Barrai. We also did a short kata display at the end of the session, covering Ichi, Ni and Saifa which I took part in alongside each individual grade group.

    Also managed to squeeze* in a repeat (almost) of Tuesday's session, with an Upper-body ‘Stuff’ routine of 1 x Sanchin Kata, 20 x Push Ups, 20 x Crunches and 20 x 12kg Closed Grip Bicep Curls when I got back home, which I repeated for 5 sets. (*Thank goodness for morning naps and “Miss Peregrine’s School for peculiar children”)


    Sunday:
    Rest Day

    …because, on the 7th day and all that


    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 24 / Running tally = 163


    Travess
     
  6. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 37 – Year 2 (13/02/17 – 19/03/17)

    Monday:

    KARATE @ 60 minutes

    After what I call a Football (Soccer) Style warm up (running laps, touching the ground with finger tips when instructed, running with heels touching bum cheeks or with knees raised etc…) we moved straight into 50 minutes of gruelling Zenkutsu Dachi practice, using slightly exaggeratedly long stances, moving much slower in both the forward and backwards transitions than we normally would, thereby really working the muscle groups crucial for moving effectively and efficiently in this stance.


    Tuesday:

    This had all the markings of a Rest Day today, until about 6 o’clock in the evening that is, when my wife decided that she was gonna take our eldest to ‘Beaver Scouts’ instead of me, leaving me with 45 minutes to kill – 3 x 4 minute Tabata Concentrating on the Core for Drill 1, alternating exercises with each minute (Crunches, Mason Twists, Flutter Kicks, Plank) Kettlebells for Drill 2 (Swings, Bent over Row, Goblet Squats, Clear & Press) and then some straight Shadow Fighting for the Drill. (Really enjoyed this one…)


    Wednesday:

    Been kind of neglecting my TRX of late, so threw together a quick 5 set, 5 exercise Upper Body Routine today, which included Bicep & Tricep Curls, Low Rows, ‘Y’ Flyes and Press’ (15 reps each, for sets 1, 2 & 5, 10 reps each for sets 3 & 4 – No rest periods)


    Thursday:

    AM: My Wife had the day off work today, which gave me the freedom to get out and pound the pavements (which I may end regretting, if we end up doing another full lessons on stances tonight..) whilst my youngest had her nap - 5 mile / 8.05km Road Run @ 41m 58s which left me pretty puffed to me honest, but as it was over 6 minutes under my 8km times of just a couple of years ago, and 4 minutes off that of 18 months ago, I’ll take it as a win!

    PM: KARATE @ 90 minutes (Teaching again)

    My final session at Karate (Having to take a month or 2 off, for family related issues) tonight, so I really wanted to get my 2 guys squared away, ready for their integration in to the rest of the class, which meant more Stance work more Gekisai Di Ichi and a few more isolated Pad Drills – All of which was assessed by my instructor, who happily signed them off at the end of the session.


    Friday:

    Threw together a small Head-to-Toe Strength Routine today, to finish the week up on – 27 x Calf Raises / 27 x 12kg Goblet Squats / 27 x Core Exercises* / 27 x ‘Staircase Push Ups / 27 x 12kg Closed Grip Bicep Curls for 3 sets of each. (*Crunches for set 1, Mason Twists for set 2 & Flutter Kicks for set 3)


    Saturday & Sunday:
    Rest Days

    Pretty full on week this week, training Mon thru Fri, sometimes twice a day, so decided to give myself the weekend off…

    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 26 / Running tally = 189


    Travess
     
  7. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    Wow, a month or 2 off? I hope nothing too serious happened and everything will go nice. And that you will be able to return to trainings fresh and full of karate energy :)
     
  8. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Kind words as always Nachi - Thank You

    Nothing too serious, my presence is just unavoidably needed elsewhere during my clubs training times, but I will definitely be keeping up my Sanchin Kata (if nothing else) at every opportunity.

    I am gutted to be missing my brother's 1st Dan, and Sempai's 2nd Dan gradings, both on Easter weekend though. :bang:

    Travess.
     
  9. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 38 – Year 2 (20/03/17 – 26/03/17)

    Monday:

    4 x 4 Minute Cardio Tabata drills, with Shuttle Runs on minutes 1 and 3 of each Tabata, and Bag Work on minutes 2 and 4, then repeat for all 4* rounds.

    (* Round 4 was just a ‘Cooldown / Active Rest’ round, replacing the Shuttle Runs with a light Jog, and the Heavy-Bag with some tip tap n’ dodge work on the upright speedball)


    Tuesday:

    3 x 4 Minute Tabata drills – Tabata 1 = Abs / Core*, Tabata 3 = Push Ups and Tabata 4 = Kettlebells**

    (* min 1 – Crunches / min 2 – Mason Twist / min 3 – Flutter Kicks / min 4 – Plank)
    (** Min 1 – Swings / min 2 – Goblet Squats / min 3 – Bent over Row / min 4 – Clear & Press)


    Wednesday:
    Rest Day


    Thursday:

    Very relaxed day today, covering a few Stretching Drills in the morning, then in the afternoon, I ran thru various Kata, all completed slowly and methodically, with a studious focus.


    Friday:

    Headed out on the Heavy-Bag today, to put myself thru Iain Abernethy’s Solo Bagwork Podcast Routine, which I bookended with a couple of Sanchin Kata and cooled down with a relaxed 1km Road Run


    Saturday
    Rest Day


    Sunday:

    4 sets of a small Kettlebell / Core / Sanchin routine this evening, with each set consisting of 1 x Sanchin Kata / 20 x Bicep Curls / 20 x Mason Twists / 20 x Press / 20 x Goblet Squats


    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 22 / Running tally = 211


    Travess
     
  10. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 39 – Year 2 (27/03/17 – 02/04/17)

    Monday:

    School Run* (literally) in the morning – 370 metres

    (* doing a 1km fun run with my 6 year old in May, so we will be running to school every day, whilst the weather is nice, to help her prepare)

    Lunchtime I headed out for a ‘Best effort’ 1 mile Road Run (7m 19s) then it was straight in to the garage for 1 x Sanchin Kata followed by a 4 min Tabata on the Heavy-Bag then 1 more Sanchin Kata and finally finishing it all up with a 1km Road Run to cool things down.


    Tuesday:

    School Run (Day 2) in the morning – 370 metres

    I started things off today with 2 x 4 Minute Tabata drills – Tabata 1 = Abs / Core* and Tabata 2 = Kettlebells**, before heading out for a 2 mile Road Run (15m 50s) then cooled down with a few Slow Speed Kata (Ichi, Ni, Saifa, Seyunchin & Shisochin)

    (* min 1 – Crunches / min 2 – Mason Twist / min 3 – Flutter Kicks / min 4 – Plank)
    (** Min 1 – Bicep Curls / min 2 – Goblet Squats / min 3 – Press’ / min 3 – Tricep Dips)


    Wednesday:
    (Unplanned) Rest Day

    Woke up with few more aches and niggles than usual today (Left knee, lower back and right shoulder, all tight)


    Thursday:

    School Run (Day 3) in the morning – 370 metres

    Started my workout with another Road Run today, this time this time extending it up to 3 miles (26m 01s) then headed straight for the garage, for 5 x 1 Sanchin Kata and 1 minute, hands only, on the Heavy-Bag (30 second rest between each round) then cooled down with a relaxed 1km Lap which I only walked, as my leg/knee didn’t fare well on the run today.

    Managed to steal myself away in the evening, for a quick bit of Sanseru Kata revision too.


    Friday:

    Cancelled my 4 mile Run today, in favour of a 4 x 4 minute Tabata Workout - Tabata 1: Resistance Kettlebell Exercises (Bicep Curls / Tricep Curls / Press / Pullovers) Tabata 2: Abs / Core Exercises (Crunches / Mason Twists / Flutter Kicks / Plank) Tabata 3: Body Movement Kettlebell Exercises (Swings / Goblet Squats / Bent Row / Clear & Press) Tabata 4: All on the Heavy-Bag


    Saturday
    Rest Day


    Sunday:

    Just a straight forward 13km / 8.1m Multi-Terrain Run this morning (1h 11m 28s) to finish out the week.


    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 23 / Running tally = 234 (Note: As a means of ‘Shime’ testing my stances, grounding and transitions, I have been performing the last Sanchin of each day with my 6 year old, 52lb daughter on my back.)


    Travess
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2017
  11. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 40 – Year 2 (03/04/17 – 09/04/17)

    Monday:

    Pretty non-exertive day today, starting with a few (3) fairly intensive Stretching Tabata in the morning. I then spent a fair bit of time on some studious Kata practice in the afternoon, firstly looking more in depth at Sanchin Kata, highlighting and focusing on various key principles of the Kata. Next up I looked at Sanseru Kata, which included a small amount of the relevant Bunkai Study


    Tuesday:

    Upped the exertion level a little today with a 510 x Rep Bodyweight routine (broken down in to 3 sets of 17 reps over 10 different exercises, which I split in to 3 block workouts)
    Block 1: Crunches / Push Ups / Squats Block 2: Mason Twists / Bicep Curls (TRX) / Lunges Block 3: Flutter Kicks / Tricep Curls (TRX) / 52lb Press (using my daughter’s bodyweight) / Mae Geri (from kneeling position)


    Wednesday:
    Rest Day

    …Though I did go swimming (well, splashing) with my 2 girls for an hour in the afternoon.


    Thursday:

    All out Cardio day today, (which I do not mind admitting, was a bit of a struggle) starting with another ‘best effort’ 1 Mile Run (7m 16s) aiming to beat last weeks’ time of 7m 19s (followed by a 3.5 minute rest) and finishing up with a 3 Exercise Drill – Sanchin Kata / 30 Second Shuttle Sprints / 1 Minute Heavy-Bag which I repeated for 6 Rounds* with 45 second rest period between each.

    (*Note: The 6th round was my ‘Cool down’ round, with the alternate exercises of Tensho Kata / 30 second light jogging / 1 minutes light continuous jab/cross striking, in place of the ones listed above.)


    Friday:

    Popped out on the Heavy-Bag for a Technical Striking* session today, working on striking surfaces, target areas, hip (and double hip) mobility, stances, cover hands, grounding and full commitment of technique. Had also planned to include a technical kicking session, but as A) it was over 32 °C in my garage, and I was already at melting point, and B) I had already provided myself with enough work on points to last me a good while, I chose to call it a day.

    (Note:* 500 Strikes in total, 50 Strikes each (25 each hand) including Jab / Cross / Lead Hook / Rear Hook / Lead Hammerfist / Rear Hammerfist / Lead Ura-Tsuki / Rear Ura-Tsuki / Lead Backfist / Gedan Barrai (as a strike)


    Saturday

    Kid’s Karate @ 60 minutes (in the Morning)

    Ran thru everything the Kids ran thru today (at my Instructors request) which after a brief (10 minute) cardio based warm up, consisted of Stance Training (Zenkutsu and Sanchin) Pre-emptive Slaps, Mae Geri, Kiai and Gekisai Di Ichi

    I had originally planned to do another (fairly) big run today, but I am not a fan of running when it is too warm (too warm for me at least) so switched it up to a 4 x 4 minute Tabata Strength Session instead, alternating between Push Ups / Mason Twists / Bicep Curls / Squats on each minute, then repeating for each Tabata.


    Sunday:
    Rest Day


    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 25 / Running tally = 259 (Note: Continuing my ‘Shime’ testing theme of having my 6 year old on my back, for the last Sanchin Kata of each day.)


    Travess
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2017
  12. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 41 – Year 2 (10/04/17 – 16/04/17)

    Monday:

    Got the day/week off to a great start, with a lovely, long, 2.5 hrs / 10.6 km Walk which was a nice change of pace for me.

    Karate @ 90 minutes

    My 1st official session back training since March 17th (barring teaching the kid’s sessions) which was broken down in to 2 halves. The 1st 45 minutes was spent on Multiple Pad Drills (which at any one time was made up of 5 pad holders and 1 striker) which ranged from calling out specific strikes, calling out specific pad holders (by name) or even all pad holder ‘swarming’ the striker, forcing them to break free to strike. We also did shuttle runs (to cause fatigue and disrupt focus) before being expected to pick out selected targets, and strike effectively and efficiently.

    The 2nd 45 minutes was much more relaxed, working on the Evolution of Kata which entailed being broken down into 3 separate groups, and devising a portion of your Own Kata (4-6 steps only) as well as a practical piece of Bunkai relating to the techniques. A couple of people from each group then mingled, with the intent of teaching each other the moves of their devised Kata (not the application though), which they would in turn then teach back to their own individual groups. Finally, we all came together to see each group perform that the Kata they were taught (not the one they devised) to see how well it had ‘travelled’ and whether or not anything had been lost in the translation. We were also given a few minutes to give an example what we thought the intended Bunkai was – I personally love these sessions, and take so much away from them.



    Tuesday:

    Feeling a bit ‘stiff’ this morning, so I thought a (fairly) intensive 2 rounds of Reverse* 4 minute Tabata Stretching might be an idea (*Light stretching for 20 seconds, holding at 100% for 10 seconds) followed by a single Regular* Stretching Tabata (*Light stretching for 10 seconds, holding at 100% for 20 seconds)

    (seriously) Struggled to find the motivation this evening, but ultimately forced myself into 3 sets of a small TRX / Core Based Workout made up of 10 varying exercises, with escalating rep counts (Exercises 2 thru 9 only) Set 1 – 15 reps of each / set 2 – 18 reps of each / set 3 - 20 reps of each

    • Exercise 1 Sanchin Kata
    • Exercise 2 Bicep Curls
    • Exercise 3 Crunches
    • Exercise 4 Tricep Curls
    • Exercise 5 Narrow Squats
    • Exercise 6 Low Row
    • Exercise 7 Mason Twists
    • Exercise 8 Press’
    • Exercise 9 Reverse Lunge
    • Exercise 10 Sanchin Kata


    Wednesday:
    (Active) Rest Day…

    ‘Active’ because A) It included another long walk @ 1h 45m / 7.9 km and B) Our Juniors club was invited by the local sports centre to take a 90 minute session for them, as part of their Easter holiday activity club – Whilst I mostly maintained a pretty non-physical supervisory role, I did get involved once or twice (Including getting an unexpected O’ Goshi performed on me, resulting in me being dumped onto the hard wood floor…)



    Thursday:

    (Note: Ended up doing so much less than I planned to do today, which is disappointing, but which will hopefully leave me rested enough for my 60 minute/10km interval run tomorrow)

    Karate @ 90 minutes (20 minutes Training / 70 minutes Teaching)
    Jumped straight in with 3 x 2 minute rounds on the Pads tonight, with the Pad holder calling out the strikes and combination count, working hands only, feet only and all in, respectively, for each round.

    After the pad work, I was ushered off to teach another new walk in on his ‘1st session’ (though he had fairly comprehensive background in both TKD and Kickboxing, which made him extremely easy to teach) which I started off by getting the lay of the land on of his basic technical knowledge (basic punches, blocks and stances) Once we’d established his starting point, we got straight to work on Gekisai Di Ichi which as he had a previous working knowledge of the individual techniques, was just a case of getting him to put them together as a complete Kata – He ended the session managing to run thru the entire Kata by himself, all be it in a rather broad strokes, rough edges kind of way, but the foundations were definitely there.



    Friday:

    Headed out for a 10km / 1 hour* Interval Run this morning, alternating between walking (which I limited to 100m out of every 1,000) jogging and running at pace (*10km OR 1 hour, which ever came 1st – 10km @ 54m 31s)



    Saturday

    Karate @ 120 minutes

    Today was a last minute revision session, designed for those about to take part in the Dan grade grading tomorrow – We covered Throws and Take-Downs to start, specifically looking at Tai O’ Toshi, O’ Goshi and O’ Soto-Gari (Valley drop throw, hip throw and outer reaping kick/sweep) for which I played the part of both universal Uke (being thrown by multiple partners) and instructor, offering points and advice where needed.

    One of the Black belt candidates is already a 1st Dan Karateka under another Instructor (from a sport karate based background) who has been training with us for the past year or so, who wanted to cover both Kata Principles / Bunkai and Sparring Principles as their previous club covered none of the former, and had a very different approach for the latter.

    Lastly, I stole 10 minutes away to myself to work on Gekisai Di Ichi and Shisochin before doubling up with my Sempai, to revise and refine Sanseru Kata – Due to my work schedule, this was the last time I will see any of them until after the Grading, so hopefully my input helped, and they will all have a good show of it on the day

    In the afternoon, my eldest and I took advantage of the good weather, by going for a nice long (for a 6 year old at least) 1hr / 4.8km Walk



    Sunday:
    Rest Day


    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 14 / Running tally = 273 (Note: Continuing my ‘Shime’ testing theme of having my 6 year old on my back, for the last Sanchin Kata of each day.)


    Travess
     
  13. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 42 – Year 2 (17/04/17 – 23/04/17)

    Monday:

    Managed another short, 1 hr / 4.9km Walk this morning, when I got home from work, which are proving to be a great way to unwind after work, which previously took the form of a beer or 2…

    Karate @ 90 minutes - My Instructor decided to run a fairly relaxed Kubotan session this evening, covering its uses for Limb Control, Joint Manipulation/Destruction, ‘Pressure Points’ and Striking. As this was the 1st time that some of the newer students had used this ‘weapon’ we also touched up the legalities of carrying/using the Kubotan in the UK, as well as its place/relevance in your Self Defense arsenal – These always prove to very enjoyable, all be it slightly painful sessions… :D


    Tuesday:

    Unwound after work with another 1hr Walk this time around managing 5.2km which definitely left me feeling ready for my bed!!!

    I realised today that it had been (unintentionally) a full week since I did any Strength Training, so decided to remedy that with a Kettlebell Session consisting of 3 x 20 reps @ Bicep Curls / Goblet Squats / Tricep Curls / Swing and Press intentionally neglecting my core, as I’m planning on throwing that into a Cardio/Core mix tomorrow.


    Wednesday:

    Took the time to take a slightly longer Walk this morning, as I didn’t need to get to bed today – 1h 54m @ 8.5km

    Headed into the garage in the afternoon, for a 5 minute, Varied Exercise Drill which involved working for 5 minutes solid, switching the activity every 30 seconds between Ab Roll Outs / Burpees / Plank / Mountain Climbers / Ab Roll Outs / Sit Throughs / Plank / Bag Work / Ab Roll Outs / More Bag Work resting for 1 minute, then repeating for 3 rounds*

    (*Training Note: This was originally planned for 4 rounds, but I took an unscheduled ‘knee’ during my last set of Mountain Climbers, and my form started to suffer during my Bagwork, so I called it at 3 rounds. I need to do a lot more of these kind of explosive/burst drills, as they are a real weak area for me, but think I may have overreached on the timings a little. Might try it again next week, omitting the last 2 drills and running it as a Tabata drill instead, to see if that would be a better starting point for me, before revisiting this format further down the line)


    Thursday:

    I took advantage of some free time I had after school pick-up, and headed out for a short 30/40 minute / 2.5km Walk with my eldest daughter.

    Karate @ 90 minutes - Started off with a few Pad Drills tonight, firstly working on a static stringing together of Jab, Cross, Hammerfist and Lead Hook before eventually releasing the reigns a little (so to speak) and turning it in to more free flowing drill. The remainder of the session was then dedicated to Mawashi Geri which we practiced at Thigh Height, midsection and Head Height and the benefits/effects of the various striking areas Ball of the Foot, Instep and/or Shin utilizing Kihon, Pad Drills, Conditioning and a Semi-Compliant Partner Drill – I found myself suffering a little following the conditioning and Partner drills, specifically when we were looking attacking the inner thigh with the shin bone, so may have to wait and see if a run tomorrow would be ill advised.


    Friday:

    I didn’t end up going for that run today in the end – Although, my decision had little to do with any leg soreness, which may have resulted from last evening’s session, and more to do with waking up all congested, with a pounding headache and difficulty swallowing.

    I actually felt much better come the afternoon, though, still wanting to overdo it, I chose a simple 100 Push Up Exercise (Increasing in reps from 1, all the way up to 10, then back down to 1 again) followed by a studious breakdown of Sanchin Kata both of which gave me the senses of doing something, without actually overdoing things…


    Saturday & Sunday:
    Rest Days

    Whatever ailment presented itself as a niggle on Friday, came at me full force over the weekend, completely wiping me out! :( Slept for over 12 hours last night and feel like I could sleep for 12 more…

    Sanchin Kata: Tally for the week = 16 / Running tally = 289

    Travess
     
  14. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Wk 43 – Year 2 (24/04/17 – 26/04/17)

    Monday:

    I decided to go for another chilled walk this morning, despite still suffering from what appears to be a head cold – 1h 20m @ 6km

    Karate @ 90 minutes (60 minutes Training / 30 minutes Teaching)

    We jumped straight in tonight with 10* x 1 minute rounds of Light Contact Sparring, (*Which I did 8 of…) switching partners for each round - There was an uneven number, so every partner change Sempai would randomly select someone to sit out. I was instructed to sit out for 2 of the rounds, so chose to do 1 minute of Mason Twists the 1st time I ‘sat’ out, and 1 minute of Push Ups the 2nd time.

    Next up we all concentrated on some Basic Stance Transitions focusing mostly on Forwards and Backward Power Generation as well as Footwork and Directional Changes – We spent quite a bit of time on this, drilling turns (with strikes) up and down the hall. Once we’d all worked up enough of a sweat, we moved on to Kata and sweated a whole lot more! :D Firstly, we covered Gekisai Di Ichi, once at 50% then again at 100%, moving straight on to Gekisai Di Ni this time twice at 50%, then again once at 100% - This was when I was asked to take a couple of the junior (grade) students to one side, to introduce them to Ni, and how its principle differ from Ichi.


    Tuesday:

    (Yet) Another 1hr 20m / 6km Walk this morning, listing to one of Iain Abernethy’s podcasts, and unwinding from the previous night’s work…

    Very chilled day today, which included 4 x Sanchin Kata in the afternoon, then in the evening, I did 2 minutes of (extremely) light Shadow Fighting before finishing up with a 4 x 4 minute Stretching Tabata Routine.


    Wednesday:

    Still not quite feeling 100%, following the weekends sudden onset head cold, I decided to postpone my hour long run, in favour of something less challenging on my respiratory system. Since I had an hour (or thereabouts) earmarked anyway, I figured I’d make the most of that time, starting things off with a 30 minute / 2.5km walk Once back Home, I got started on a 4 x 3(ish) minute round Kettlebell / Sanchin Kata routine with each 3 minute block being broken down into Kettlebell Swings / Goblet Squats / Clear & Press / Plank / Sanchin Kata working each exercise for 30 seconds (barring the Kata obviously) with a maximum of 20 seconds rest between rounds. Next up I spent 10-15 minutes on a Walkthrough Revision of Shisochin and Sanseru Katas and the finally finished up repeating the above mentioned Kettlebell / Sanchin Routine

    (Note: It is taking me way too long to write these up each week, so from here on out I will be making my updates more of a daily (or so) occurance)

    Travess
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2017
  15. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Thursday 27/04/2017 (Wk 43 – Year 2)

    Didn’t have a lot of free time today, as it was the 1st after school Karate session of the new term, and I had few related errands to run (last minute admin, equipment collection, lesson planning etc.)
    Whilst half of the kids had taken part last term, the other half were completely new to the club, so following a quick warm up, I separated the 2 groups off, sending the more ‘experienced’ kids off with my Assistant Instructor to cover a few revisionary Pad Drills, so that I could focus my attention on the newer students.
    We spent a fair bit of time chatting, mostly about what they could expect to cover over the next 10 weeks, but also touching base on their legal rights, when it comes to self-defence, as well as the school’s specific policies on the matter, and how the 2 might always see eye to eye. We then finished up with 15 minutes (or so) of Pad Drills specifically, pre-emptive front and rear hand slaps.


    Karate @ 90 minutes: Started off with another 10 x 1 minute rounds of Light Contact Sparring, switching partners for each round, with certain restrictions either added or taken away (Hands only, hands and feet, takedowns allowed / disallowed, ‘sticky hands’, no head shots allowed etc…) per round too.
    The remaining 75 minutes was spent entirely on Pad Drills working on multiple strike and angle combinations, strikes moving in, strikes whilst retreating, strikes (and kicks) exploding up out of a seated position (to name but a few) - All in all a very entertaining, slightly exhausting and oft times informative session.

    I only ran thru Sanchin Kata 1 time today!

    Travess
     
  16. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Yesterday (Friday 28/04/17) was a Rest Day, and boy was it ever… :whistle:

    Saturday 29/04/2017 (Wk 43 – Year 2)

    Had the Kids Karate class this morning (9am-10am) with the entire hour spent on Stance Transitions, Moving Basics and Turns – It is very rare when we do not incorporate any Kata or Pad Drills into our sessions, but Moving Kihon was the main area of concern, following last weekend’s grading.

    We have a full afternoon planned today, but I did manage to squeeze in a Full Body (not quite though) Strength Training session, just before lunch – 4 x 4 Minute Tabata changing up the exercise with each minute, Tabata 1 & 3 = Bicep Curls / Crunches / Press’ / Mason Twists and Tabata 2 & 4 = Squats / Calf Raises / Lunges / Hamstring Lifts I do like little drills like this, as they vary things up, target multiple areas and do not require a whole of time or space.

    I also got to run thru Sanchin Kata 5 time today!


    Travess
     
  17. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Addendum to Yesterday (Saturday 29/04/17) – Following a lovely day out, we all decided to take a Walk in the evening, and ended up covering a little over 4km which was a nice end to the day :D

    Sunday 30/04/2017 (Wk 43 – Year 2)

    My Wife always takes the girls over to their Grandparents on a Sunday, and I never really make as much use of the guaranteed free time as I should – Happy to say that today was not so unproductive…

    Warm Up:
    1km Road Run

    Exercise:
    Sanchin Kata
    4 minute Tabata*

    (30 seconds rest, then repeat x4 rounds)

    Cool Down:
    Tensho Kata
    1km Road Walk

    (*Training Note: Work sections of my Tabata were broken down as follows – Minutes 1 & 3 = 20 sec Burpees, 20 sec Ab Rollouts. Minute 2 & 4 = 20 sec Bagwork, 20 sec Ab Rollouts)


    Covered Sanchin Kata a total of 6 times today.

    Travess
     
  18. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Monday 01/05/2017 (Wk 44 – Year 2)

    Another morning in from work, another nice long walk – Around 6km in about 1h 20m this morning. I also did a bit of stretching this morning too, when I got back in:

    4 minute Tabata Static (split) Stretching
    4 minutes of Straight Dynamic Stretching (Mostly Head height Mawashi Geri on the Heavy-Bag, but with some Hip flexor, Swing kicks and Gate mobility thrown in too)
    Another 4 minute Tabata Static (split) Stretch
    4 more minutes of Dynamic Stretching (Mostly Head height Yoko Geri this time, but again with some Hip flexor, Swing kicks and Gate mobility thrown in too) – A cracking start to a Bank Holiday Monday, well, it would be at least, if I wasn’t now on my way up to bed…

    Karate @ 90 minutes (Just 60 minutes Training for me though, as I had to leave early)

    Started out with a few Pad Drills tonight, drilling Combinations, Guard Change (southpaw / orthodox) Open and Closed Hand Striking to get everyone warmed up. We then partnered up to work on Avoidance and Redirection with us both walking straight towards each other – Their aim: To block our path, our aim: To side step, redirect with minimal contact, or redirect more forcibly. (we did this both compliantly and non-compliantly).
    This then escalated to include your partner either trying to put a hand on you as you passed each other, or them actually grabbing a hold of you, with the aim to still pass/redirecting/breaking free passively. (Compliant and non-compliant)
    Finally (before I had to leave at least) we had to deal with our partner getting their hands on us in a more direct and decisive manor (striking) – All in all a great session, even if I did receive a few too many elbows Just behind the ear, during the last drill.

    Sanchin Kata: Tally today = Just 4


    Travess
     
  19. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Yesterday (Tuesday 02/05/17) was a Rest Day.


    Wednesday 03/05/2017 (Wk 44 – Year 2)


    Morning: Went out for another walk this morning, heading out for about 1h 15m and covering around 5km in total

    Afternoon: Got in another 10-15 minutes of Stretching again today, this time focusing solely on static stretching.

    Evening: Karate @ 90 minutes (Regular Thursday evening training rescheduled for tonight, as a result of a local election)

    We were instructed (asked) to attend tonight’s session dressed in civvies, specifically whatever we’d wear on a casual evening out. (for me it was Jeans, smart footwear, and a shirt)

    As with Monday, we warmed up with a few Pad Drills this time still drilling Combinations, Guard Change (southpaw / orthodox) Open and Closed Hand Striking but with the added requirement of forced Range and angle restrictions/extensions. We also ran a few Kicking Drills the focus of which, as with the previous Padwork, was to identify any and all restrictions caused by the attire worn, and adjust as required.

    We then repeated the Avoidance and Redirection drill from Monday evening's session (both you and your partner walking straight towards each other – Their aim: To block forcibly your path, our aim: To side step, redirect with minimal contact, or redirect more forcibly with an added strike – all of which was done with a non-compliant uke.)

    Finally, we ran thru Saifa Kata a couple of times (50% then 100%) then we partnered up again, this time looking at, applying and Pressure testing the more Grappling, Controlling, Submission orientated techniques of the Kata – Strikes (from the grapple were controlled), but all submissions were applied fully to a Tap Out…

    Brilliant session, though my neck is already very sore, with limited mobility, and my jaw hurts like hell, so I’m probably gonna be moving/turning like Darth Vader tomorrow.

    Sanchin Kata: Tally today = 5

    Travess
     
  20. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    Thursday 04/05/2017 (Wk 44 – Year 2)

    Morning: Headed out for an Interval/Recovery 5 mile/8.05km Road Runwhich involved walking for the 1st 100m of each Kilometre, then running at pace for the remaining 900m – The goal of which was to run faster during the 900m segments than I usually would on a 5 mile run, so that despite the walking, my average pace would still come in below a set average (5m 40s per km) Whilst the time spent walking was used to monitor/regulate my recovery time. Overall time 44m 49s which is an average pace of 5m 34s

    Afternoon: 45 min After school Karate club: Small class today (19 vs the usual 26) due to a clashing basketball tournament – Today, following a generic warm up, we had them look at scaled down version of the Avoidance/Redirection Drills that our adult class has been covering this week, still escalating to include grabs and pushes, but at a much more compliant level. Lastly, we ran a few Pad Drills, specifically looking at Reactionary Single Strikes as well as Combinations.

    (Note: There was an older girl in the class this week, that didn’t attend last term, and subsequently missed the 1st session of this term too, who was very impressive during the pad drills – Which made it quite a surprise, when I found out that she currently trains at the local Matt Fiddes franchise/outlet…)

    Sanchin Kata: Tally today = 5


    Travess
     

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