Over It (with Shout-Out)

Okay, so I got up and ran 2 miles this morning. Knee is feeling like a million bucks. Sidekicks were working for me, kata felt great - what was I complaining about?


It's not necessarily a bad thing to second-guess yourself, to feel behind in your training, and that you don't deserve your rank. Sometimes, it helps you to climb out of your head, concentrate on each and every muscle in a technique, rather than "going through the motions." I can't think of how many times I stopped during my kata this morning and thought, "oh, this would be a good bunkai for that..." Now I can't wait to get back in front of a class and see if I can break some developing habits on some of the yellow belts.

Also, reading Black Belt Mama's past few weeks has given me a couple "warm-up" ideas, particularly one involving a Goju-Ryu instructor with a penchant for toe exercises. I gotta try that one. ;)

If you want to read a truly well-polished karate (/mommy) blog, check her's out sometime. It's also fairly motivational when you're feeling like you just can't do it, to go back and read about her triumph over ACL reconstruction...

www.blackbeltmama.com

Plateau

I'm at that crossroads again.

My training feels like it has completely plateaued. I can tell that I'm losing power and form in my kicks, my kata don't seem to be quite as confident and powerful, and I second-guess myself when I teach.

I've been told for years that this is common with blackbelt instructors, but I was hoping by the time I was a sandan that I'd be through this. Now I'm over halfway to yondan and I still have issues. It seems like the old knee injury wants to flare up with every kick, that my calves and ankles get sore with every stance - yet at the gym, the leg machines don't have enough weight for me?? It's got to be in my head.

I'm not sure what I need to mix up in order to get my confidence back. I was debating beginning another martial art. Crosstraining has worked well for me in the past...

I dunno. All I do know, is that I'm useless as an instructor when I can't even believe in what I'm teaching.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack

Hello fellow bloggers and martial artists - Sensei Michael has returned!

My ill-fated trip to Arizona left me with a lot to think about in regards to life in general - but one of the biggest things is that I missed my students and the karate school more than you can possibly imagine. West-coast clubs simply aren't the same, many seem to be in it for the money rather than the benefit of their students...it left a pretty sour taste in my mouth.

Then, the company that moved me out there decided to lay off 95% of it's work force - so here I am. Job hunting back in TN while teaching my old students back at the old dojo...I love it. They built a state of the art facility while I was gone, 15000 square feet of training floor, dividers so that we can run multiple classes at once, and a lot of dedicated students and instructors - I believe we're up to 150 students with 8 licensed Senseis! It's really exciting to return and see that the dojo has thrived in the past year.

There have been other, more severe and more personal, changes in my life too - I may or may not address these as time goes by - suffice to say, I'm really happy to be back home.

I missed you. :)

Goodbye, my students

It is with a very heavy heart that I must bit farewell to the dojo and town I have grown to love and call home. I have the fondest memories and wishes for the future growth of this one-of-a-kind group of people, led by the most excellent Master I have had the privelage of training under.

I have accepted a position in Scottsdale, Arizona, a "mere" 1600 miles away. I am leaving friends, family, my dojo life, and my sanity behind me - and in many ways, my heart.

However, this is the best thing I can do for myself; personally, professionally, it is all for the best.

I will also now be able to train in a different environment that I have no ties to, meaning I will not think twice over finally, after many long years, opening my own dojo.

You heard me right, Sensei Michael is going public - though it might take me every bit of a year to get that far settled in, to be willing to take the time and the risk to make it happen.

I still have a week left in Henderson, but I already miss my students and coworkers. There won't be the family Thanksgiving an hour's drive to the sister-in-law's house. Christmas with the family at home will involve flight schedules. My brother, my closest friend, wont' be an hour south to Memphis - he'll be a 3 hour flight to Memphis. My current boss and the marketing girls won't be 10 feet away, willing to joke around and waste "precious" company time.

Almost a year ago, I posted a blog about how I had it in my power to change my lifestyle and my future, and when the opportunity presented itself I chose to go for it. I almost regret the choice simply out of my own selfishness of clinging to what we've come to know as our daily lives - even knowing that this is going to improve them. But, as I was sleepless before, so shall i be sleepless again...but for how long?

Any of you know a good dojo in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area?

Dojo Kun: Epilogue

The basic precepts are there, and for our dojo, we expect every one of our students to accolocate them into their every-day lives. When we find a student has been blatantly, purposefully ignoring these precepts, it's not unheard of to take disciplinary action within our power, and can go as far as expulsion from the dojo. Disassociating ourselves with abuse, drug use, teenage alcohol use, and other such fallicies that we are to be above is critical in order to propogate an environment built around honesty and integrity.

Having an expulsion policy is not a bad thing in a dojo. While I posted about circumstances I disagreed with earlier, I'm sure a former student has bashed our dojo based upon her disregard for the rules; and so, as we wish to not have that behavior associated with us, she is removed from the organization, with all rights and ranks removed.

We have a code to live by: Honor, Integrity, and Respect. Each of these (the dojo triad, if you will) are core componants of the dojo precepts, which are summed up in the final lesson:

Remember the true purpose of Karate; to conquer one's self, not others

As I said originally, the reason many people begin study of the arts is for their personal self defense. One of Funakoshi's precepts is even that karate should be used in defense of ourselves and loved ones, never attack. Over time, the training you receive pushes you beyond self-defense. I trust most of my students to be able to react to a life-threatening situation with calmness and rationality - whether that means defense using the arts, or the wisdom of holding back their instincts in order to preserve themselves and others (i.e., smart enough to realize a bullet knows more karate than they do). Once a karatekan realizes that they are able to control a situation, and are able to take care of themselves, why do they continue to train?

Maybe, just maybe, there's something more to it than self defense and sometimes-harsh discipline. Maybe the human desire for self-improvement, bolstered by the humility and the expertise the training demands, pushes us to an honorable striving to be perfect. It pushes us to hold onto our self-control, respect others, be open minded. It pushes us to pass our knowledge on to others, to maintain our own private study of the history and of the other arts.

Go into your next training session demanding that little bit more of yourself every day. Every time you improve, you are conquering that miniscule fear and self-doubt, that voice that says "I can't do that", the one that says "I'll never learn to do that, my body isn't made for that, I don't think that's possible." We make the impossible possible every day.

Remember the true purpose of Karate; to conquer one's self, not others.

Dojo Kun: Part 4

We're running out of these, don't worry. ;)

The next of our precepts, symbolic with the maturity of knowledge into the strive for more; the passing into Autumn, and the Brown associated with the seasons, and Kyu, this precept focuses upon.

Always train with an open mind.

This is a fairly simple concept - no matter what our situation and in all walks of life, keep an open mind to different concepts and ideas. Don't be so quick to pass judgement on a situation you haven't examined from every angle.

Such simple concepts often elude us. How many times do you roll your eyes because the person in front of you at the grocery store is counting out food stamps when you're trying to get out? How often do you get upset with the kid at the drive-thru window because your fries are cold? How often are you presented with an irate customer, friend, or coworker who want to take out their own frustrations on you? Be patient, examine it from all sides, and you just mind find some common ground or a new way of seeing things.

Always train with an open mind.

Dojo Kun: Part 3

In keeping with this week's postings (and nearly doubling my blog entries) the series continues:

Learn to respect myself and others.

Synonymous with the Summer and the early steps of maturing as a karatekan, it is rather analagous with the Green kyus; of course, when I say things like this, I don't mean to imply that these ideas are only presented at that time - each of these are taught from day 1.

Respect for the dojo and its teachers goes back to Japanese tradition. We remove our shoes and socks, bow before entering or exiting the area, always turn away from our teachers while adjusting the gi or belt - all of this implies a level of respect for your teachers and the dojo as a whole. Phrases such as Onegai shi masu or literally, "Please do me a favor", as well as Arigato gozaimasu, or roughly "Thank you for teaching me", are also common in many dojos during the opening and closing ceremony. We thunder out with a made up "Japanese" word Osu!* when we wish to respond in the affirmative (rather than the true Japanese Hai! which is more accurate) or to display understanding or enthusiasm. All of these are respectful behaviors that are expected in any Japanese Karate system.

However...

Think back to our training, and the lessons in self-control and the abhorrance of violence. We must respect ourselves and our opponants enough to maintain control in an altercation, or to avoid it completely if possible. We must apply this precept, as all of them, in our daily lives...the workplace being the most obvious, and probably hardest, to accomodate.

There's the gossip around the water cooler, the rumor mill, the office flirt, the pompous boss. There's the irate customer and the negligent parent; as well as dozens of other positive and negative attitudes and fallicies we all come across. What matters is not who we stand with and why; it's how we react to these people, and the respect we show them as a person.

This is an especially important precept when teaching teenagers and other young people as well - children (and teens) especially need to learn respect for themselves and others, to be above peer pressure and the typical clique-ish behavior that's so natural to fall into.

Learn to Respect Yourself and Others.

*Before the flames start, a word about "Osu!" This is not actually a real word, as most of us are raised in the arts to believe. This is actually an abbreviation for the Japanese phrase Ohayou gozaimasu, a casual greeting. We have modified the usage and the phrase to serve the purposes of a direct "I understand". See, I taught you something today!

Dojo Kun: Part 2

This is the second of the primary lessons. The second precept, and in my mind the hardest one to learn.

Never lose self-control, or act in a violent manner.

Why do we study the martial arts? This is one of the first questions asked of a new student, and 90% of the time, the given answer is "self defense".

This is true, to an extent. Many people begin the studies in order to learn how to protect themselves and others, and gain the self-confidence that comes with it. There is, however, so much more. It does not speak highly of me if I am attacked, and beat the assailant within an inch of his life, battered and permanantly injured. The loss of self-control comes with the lack of respect for your opponant, and ultimately for yourself. Especially in today's society, there is a fine line between self-defense and deadly assault - but beyond legal ramifications, we have an obligation to protect others, even from ourselves. The full extent of martial arts should only be used in defense of your life or the lives of others - use of our abilities to detain, distract, or temporarily disable are enough to suffice the rest of the time. Be aware that we are entrusting you with not only techniques that can hurt; more than a few are quite fatal.

This carries over, as do all the precepts, into our daily lives as well. Managing our tempers, mastering ourselves - this is a challenge greater than any attacker presents us.

Associated with this precept are the more beginner - intermediate oriented control exersises, emphasis on a controlled environment and soft defense/sparring techniques that appear at the Yellow belt kyus. The symbolic application is looking to the Spring, the dawning of new knowledge, skills, and life.

Never lose self control or act in a violent manner.