upnorthkyosa's reflective training journal

5-1-2007 - Teaching Entry

My students were really excited today. I got them new uniforms and they passed the informal probationary trial period for my school. These guys put in lots of time and have really show themselves to be dedicated. The most interesting thing we did tonight was work some basic grappling positions. I have some female students among this new group and I sensed that some of the positions were a little disturbing. I tried to give the information as deadpan as I could and just be very matter of fact about the self defense applications. I think it worked alright, because the excitement level remained and everyone was smiling as we were working some of this new and somewhat compromising stuff.
 
5-3-2007 - Teaching Entry

Tonights class was very simple. My brother's birthday was today and he neglected to come and for some other reason, some of my other senior students did not come. My most senior student did come, however.

We worked through all of the forms and then we moved into the kicking sequences, working through some of the specifics, including the angle of the high block. Both of us agree that the way that we used to do it was pretty ineffective and that the way that the Okinawans originally intended it, actually worked. We tested this by throwing full power punches into this new conformation and I have complete confidence in this.

For the rest of the class, we worked some weapons work and I feel that the very simple drills that we are working again and again, are really helping my overall weapon handling work. Lastly, I covered wrist control in grappling. We talked about how wrist control can be used in a number of positions and how that this really was the key to most of the joint locks utilizing the arms. My intent tonight was to get across some of the strategy involved with wrist control, and Jeremiah seemed to pick up on how one form transitions into another rather smoothly.
 
5-4-2007 - Practice Entry

I did my regular weight lifting routine program after work today. I didn't have alot of time to work on much else, because I was just trying to fit something in today. It's been kind of a hectic week and I'm going to have to push my practice time into the weekend. I don't usually do this, as I normally want to spend as much time with my kids as possible when I'm not working. Looks like I'll be getting up early...
 
5-5-2007 - Practice Entry

I worked Martial Arts Workout B this morning. I'm trying to catch up after taking a couple of days off during the week. For some reason, the early morning thing was REALLY hard this week. Anyway, the highlight of this workout is the weapon work. I really worked on trying to time my footwork better. I've noticed that when I'm working with a partner, my footwork is lagging and this really reduces the effectiveness of what I'm attempting.
 
5-6-2007 - Practice Entry

I worked my normal weight lifting program today. Everything seemed to lift fine and I wasn't too sore. I didn't have too much time for running afterward. I wanted to get the kids outside so we could do a little yardwork this morning. That is going to consist of me raking and them playing with the toy rakes we bought for them!
 
5-7-2007 - Practice Entry

Holy ****! Getting out of bed this morning was really tough. My wife was out of town all weekend, so I stay up a little later to talk to her and paid for it. I ended up working Martial Arts Workout A this morning. It took a while for me to really get into the swing of things because I was so groggy, but eventually I snap out of it and get productive.

One thing that was really weird about this workout happened when I tried a side kick spinning side kick combo. That combination was really awkward for some reason. I could throw one kick accurately and the other just wouldn't want to come out at all. Maybe my back has something to do with that. Too much twisting.
 
5-8-2007 - Practice Entry

Getting out of bed was easier. I didn't feel so groggy and I feel motivated to get up early for the rest of this week. Now, I just have to hold on to these happy feelings...

I worked my normal weight lifting routine. For some reason, a couple of my high weight sets were very difficult. I could only pull of four reps instead of the normal five. I think its because I took it a bit slower, but I'm not sure. After the weights, I went for a run. My 2.5 mile time is 19:15 minutes. I'm hoping to shave that down a bit in the coming months.
 
5/8/2007 - Teaching Entry

Todays classes were productive. During the first class, I worked the students through their basic forms and kicking sequences to start and then we worked a new kick for them...the roundhouse. This was easy for some to pick up and harder for many. The biggest part of this kick is the pivot in the waist and on the foot. You have to time both or you tie yourself up. For beginning students, this can sometimes be difficult.

My second class was very fast paced and cardio vascular. We worked forms and kicking sequences to warm up and then we went over some of the more difficult kicks at the green belt level. I think that both of my students are going to have to spend alot more time on those kicks before they can be ready to test. Lastly, we worked a drill where I would call off a joint lock and they had to come up with an Ill Soo Shik that would get a student into it on the fly. That seemed to really challenge the students.
 
5-10-2007 - Practice Entry

I did not get up yesterday morning. I felt pretty sore from the night before and I was a little concerned about over training. Now, however, I think that my concerns were a little over-inflated. This morning, I almost went back to bed for no reason at all.

One problem I'm having is that its getting dark later and later, so I'm not tired when I need to be going to bed so I can get up around 4:30. I'm going to need some more discipline in order to make it through the rest of this school year. When summer hits and school is on summer holiday, I can move my workout period a little later.

For now though...

Anyway, I worked Martial Arts Workout B this morning. Everything seemed to go okay, except for my fake/spin side kick combo. I kept getting off balance. I think it was from over rotating and trying to throw a kick. I'm spinning too fast. The problem is that you have to go fast in order to do it effectively in sparring.

Hmmm....
 
5-10-2007 - Teaching Entry

Very weird class today. The building that I have some space in was basically taken over by the Mother's Day Race people and it was filled with people picking up their race material. It was really nice out, so I moved everyone to a local park.

When we got there, we found the area that we usually practice covered with sticks and pine needles. So, we picked them up and did some forms. Every once in a while, someone would step on a stick, though, so our efforts weren't as successful as we wanted them to be. I think next time, I'll require people to wear shoes.

We ended up working on forms, Ill Soo Shik/bunkai, and strike points. It was a pretty good class, not too aerobic, but good in a technical sense. One thing that I need to get across to my students is that they need to test their bunkai better. They need to be sure that this stuff is going to work and without some sort of testing, they may have some false confidence in what they are doing.
 
5-11-2007 - Practice Entry

I woke up this morning and went right down stairs to lift some weights. I did my normal weight lifting routine and then got my wife up so that we could run together. It was cold out this morning. The lake breeze was kicking up, reminding us that Lake Superior is still bitterly cold. All in all, it was a pretty good run. My wife and I finished our loop in 17:35. I think we are going to tack on another mile just for good measure.
 
5-14-2007 - Practice Entry

I worked Martial Arts workout A this Morning. Everything was pretty normal other then being a little extra tired from the weekend.
 
5-15-2007 - Practice Entry

I lifted weights this morning and then went out for a run. It was a challenging morning. The temp was abotu 50 degrees and a strong wend weemed to be hitting me in the face at every turn. When I got down by the bay, I could see that the seagulls were busy. They had been snatching molting crayfish from the shallows and feasting on their tender flesh. The running trail was covered with their carcasses and they crunched under every step.

It'll only get worse.

And, the run left me really tired for some reason.
 
5-16-2007 - Practice Entry

I worked Martial Arts Workout B this morning. Weaponwork.
 
5-17-2007 - Practice Entry

I did my normal weight lifting routine this morning, followed by a long run. I'm also leaving on a BWCA trip with my students at school, so I'll be getting lots of exercise out in the wilderness.
 
5-21-2007 - Practice Entry

Very tired this morning. I got back from the trip last night and I was exhausted. The conditions were rough. We had the wind in our face every direction we paddled and the black flies tested my chi field like nothing else. I worked my normal weight lifting routine this afternoon, but skipped the run. I'm still pretty tired and I think it'll take a few days for me to recover.
 
5-22-2007 - Practice Entry

I worked Martial Arts Workout A this morning. Things seemed to go okay, but I did have a little problem with some of my forms. I had to refocus a couple of times and do them a second time so that I could get them up to the standard I normally hold myself. I don't know why this was happening, I can only chalk it up to maybe still being tired from my trip.

Also, practice seemed to take a lot longer then normal. I didn't get done until almost 20 after six. This workout usually never takes me that long!
 
5-22-2007 - Teaching Entry

I introduced my beginning students to sparring today. I went through the rules, we put on some extra gear that I have in my dojang, and we went through the beginning and ending rituals for our matches. Then we sparred. Everyone had different reactions. Some students took right to it. Others were a little more tentative and a few positively repulsed. I'm not exactly sure what to do in order to even out some of this disparity. Hopefully, just having more opportunity to spar will help.

During the 2nd class, we worked on some forms and kicking sequences in order to get one of my students who hadn't been there for a while, up to speed.
 
5-24-2007 - Practice Entry

The last couple of days, I've been sick. And I was just thinking a few days before that about how it's been a while since I've been sick. Anyway, I skipped my Wednesday morning workout and I'm not going to teach class today...even though I've been feeling a little better. I don't want to push it and I don't want to get all of my students sick.

I was able to work up enough energy for a light workout this afternoon. I did Martial Arts Workout B. That was enough for me.
 
5-27-2007 - Practice Entry

This cold is killing me, but I still did my normal weight lifting workout and run. I actually improved on my time for my loop this afternoon. Now that I am caught up from last weeks sick-break, hopefully, I can stay on schedule next week.
 
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