The Challenge: 13.00-15.00

Didn't feel it at all today. Finger still swollen, foot still tender. Plodding around during kihon, too much extra movement, no economy, no balance.

Starting to realize something important. I'm a good teacher. I could easily teach a self-defense class without focusing on the fitness stuff. It isn't that I don't think it is important, it is just that you can run and jump and sweat anywhere. But you can only really practice goshin jutsu at the dojo. Knowing this, I have to be even more keen about getting my body where it needs to be - to fight the urge to neglect its importance.

Learned some things in Kumite that I should work on every time out. More than anything have to look to move forward - defeat myself. NO STEPPING BACKWARDS!

The Challenge: 12.33-13.00

40 minutes of Seisan. Talking it out trying to internalize some of the variants of the first sequence. It has to be a feeling, a motor pattern rather than a deliberation. It must take a lot of repetitions. Also it has to be practiced with the danger, the sensitivity to range. Really anything can be put on the end of your forearm. Seiken, uraken, hiraken, shuto, teisho...doesn't really matter. The feeling guides the motion, the target determines the tool. I think I'll spend the rest of the month studying Seisan and see what I can find.

Finger isn't as painful, but my legs are wrecked. Couldn't go to the dojo today.

The Challenge: 12.00-12.33

Morning Kata - 20 minutes.  My finger is swollen up like a sausage.  My back feels better and my toe is manageable.

Sanchin work.  Tension and stance work more than posture and breathing. Tried to execute the turn smoothly and powerfully.  Tried to even out the morote uke and the tora kuchi.  It can feel great at times, like nothing at all.

With some Chinto, I practised in the Onaga philosophy adding to the stopped movements, finishing the sentence.  For example, the osae and soto uke point in the kata.  Spin to pull and push one opponent into the other. Or of course the juji uke to spinning jodan ushiro and dropping yoko empi.

If I should ever feel my body in a kata position, I hope something will come out of me to finish the sentence.

The Challenge: 10.00-12.00

Didn't do Kata once today. Glad I did some this morning. Kumite drills. Nicole wanted everyone to be intense. She doesn't seem to understand that intensity only comes when you fight for something. People who don't know what they're fighting for have no reason to fight hard. You have to introduce stakes.

Still feel heavy on my feet. I think it's a combination of things. Can't control my hips and COG. I feel as though I weigh 190 and my legs can only comfortably move 165. I should weigh 170 and my legs should be able to move 200 comfortably.

I'm not seeing with my spirit. My sense of ma is growing but my sen is blind. My go no sen is weak and undependable. I have a good sense of when tori commits but I'm late. Good and bad.

My back is killing me and I stubbed my toe. I jammed my finger, the middle one (as always), making a bad fist. Some successes to be sure but none that I'll remember as long as my swollen fist.

12 hours in and I feel old.

The Challenge: 9.60-10.00

Ten hours down, 990 to go. Just do what you've done a hundred more times :-}

Morning karate.  Have to focus on internalizing simple things.  Footwork, stance and posture.  Today did Seisan without the punches and blocks.  Just feeling my muscles, my breathing and my hips.  Changing levels, intentional and unintentional.  Fighting and embracing the habitual routine.

PC coordination is strange.  Push down and your abs tighten but differently than if you'd just flexed your stomach.  Should shiko dachi be accompanied by an upward tilt of the hips?

Seisan dachi should be about sinking the PC, not flexing the glutes, to get the angle.  Likewise chokusen gets the angle by twisting the hips not locking the glutes.

Trying to coordinate punching extension, shoulder low, tenshin, bringing the hip around and staying low when moving from shiko to seisan.  Kagi zuki fits into here but I'm not sure how.

Gosh.  The secrets of karate really rest in doing things that you've done thousands of times better than the other guy.

The Challenge: 7.60-9.60

A day and a half off and I feel a lot better. Much decreased soreness. Sensei had me practice my rolls with James. Then he absolutely killed us. I have to learn the new black belt Kata.

My mind wanders in the Kata especially when I'm tired. I fall back into the habitual performance. I really have to focus on a few choice things and slowly build up the execution. First balance then footwork then stance then breathing, fist, hip and shoulder. Only then should I start to worry about what the extended movements are, the contingent movements, and the remaining attackers.

Sure, sharp and sound. Every step should be surefooted - establishing balance, sharp-footed - done swiftly and precisely, and sound-footed - improve rather than weaken your position in relation to the opponent.

The Challenge: 5.10-7.60

My second yudansha clinic. Started with Ryusan...pretty. Kosa Dachi work as a prelude to Rohai-dai.
Nb. 1. Kosa uke - drive from opposite hip.
2. Descend into empi.
3. Stance for kyusei kamae.
4. Neko ashi: foot ready.
5. Cross deeply behind on spin.
6. Not heito, kiri.
7. Kiri, hikite, nukite - one beat.
8. Hip in pivot!!!
9. Turn of the hips in chokusen drives the knee over the toe.
10. Haishu.

Hen-shu-ho combines sabaki with uke.
1. Sabaki forward and upward. Feel for the moment when tori fights you forward.
2. Drive the forearm directly into tori's head and pivot. Consider control of the head generally.
3. Sabaki pivot. Empi, sinking. Feet inside (feet outside and you fall). Step outside with turn & hypersupination.
4. Sabaki shift left. Yoko geri with toes into joint.
5. Sabaki shift right. Block second punch and kick in one beat.
6. Sabaki pivot. Control wrist and shoulder. Drive yoko geri into hip.
7. Age-haishu. Shuto and nukite in same beat.
8. Age to soto. Punch to floating rib.
9. Sabaki forward left. Mawari. Step on foot .Armbar. Slice tendon with Shuto.
10. Block, uppercut under arm to collar, pulldown.