Tag Archives: tang soo do

Gotham and Grading

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I’ve recently been playing through Batman: Arkham Asylum on the 360, and I’ve been surprised by just how much I’ve enjoyed it. I tried the demo way-back-when and liked the fighting system, but I was surprised by all the rave reviews it got when it was released. I suppose it always had a good chance as it was a stand-alone release, I mean, it didn’t have a stupid film tie-in to try to meet in terms of plot and release schedule. The simple fact is that it’s a fantastic game, full of atmosphere and some wonderful controls.

For the first time that I can think of, I really enjoyed the stealth aspects of the game too. Normally stealth games drive me to distraction; I hate having to hide somewhere for ages only to sneak out round a corner and get seen by someone. Batman seems to be the exception to the rule though; the ‘Predator Rooms’ are brilliant. You’re given a room full of armed guards and have to take them all out, but Batman, tough though he is, isn’t bullet-proof. Staying out of sight is the order of the day, so using gargoyles to survey the scene from above is the way to go. There are a load of different techniques to get the job done, including inverted takedowns from said gargoyles, sneaking up from underneath floor panels, smashing through glass ceilings or just plain creeping up on someone unseen. Great fun and a real sense of achievement when it all works.

Joker Choker?

The story is tied together with amazing visuals and a plot and back-history dripping with detail. Interview tapes hidden around the islands reveal insights into how the various bad guys came to be there, and there are all sorts of other hidden things to find. Not least of which being the Riddler’s… riddles. There are some which require you to ‘scan’ particular objects in an area, and some are just trophies hidden which need finding. Add all of these little bits together and you’ve got a completionist’s dream, there’s plenty to come back for. Add in the challenge modes and DLC and there’s plenty to keep you playing long after the credits roll. That to me, is how I know this is a great game – not only have I completed it, I loved the stealth aspects and I’m still playing it now, just to try to find all of the hidden stuff. You can pick up a Game of the Year edition for less than 25 quid now, I’d really recommend doing so.

Other than rotting my brain with video games, I’ve been concentrating on TSD again. This Sunday past I had the privilege to sit on the grading panel at our Spring grading. Having only very recently passed my own first Dan grading, I didn’t expect to be sat there for a long time, at least until I was teaching my own class, but the opportunity presented itself and I wasn’t about to say no. I was really surprised to find that just being in the grading hall made me nervous, even though all I was going to do was sit down and watch others going through it. It’s actually quite difficult to watch one or more people and look for all the things you know should be in a performance, while at the same time conferring with the rest of the panel and making notes, and I really felt the weight of responsibility for these students’ progression (or lack thereof).

I needn’t have worried too much though, on the whole everyone grading did themselves and the club proud. There were a few standout performances and you can really tell which people have been putting in the extra time and training. Sitting less than a couple of feet from them when they went through their kyok pa (breaking) you could hear the nerves in a lot of their breathing. Breaks are normally my favourite part of a grading; it means you’re nearly at the finish line. The day also helped me realise that I’m not getting any younger in terms of competing, and that I’d really like to be able to pass on what I’ve learned so far, and what I’ll continue to learn as the years go on. It actually feels like quite a responsibility, as I’ve always had teachers of a very high standard and I want to be able to pass that high standard on to anyone I end up teaching. Our Kwan has earned itself a very good and well-deserved reputation now, it lies with me and other future instructors coming up through the ranks to make sure it stays that way.

Chilly Starts and Chilli Ends

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Yesterday we gathered students from all three of the different schools in the county currently training under our Kwan’s banner and got together for a big training session. It was the first steps toward the European championships being held this spring, and it was to give us a chance to have a look at what categories we might want to compete in. It was an early start for a Sunday morning, I’d normally be tucked up snoozing at 7.30, but instead I was in the kitchen ironing my dobok and making some sandwiches. It was absolutely perishingly cold too, there was ice outside and just after we got to the dojang in Falmouth it started pouring with snow. Conversely the dojang was really warm inside thanks to the central heating, a blessing which soon turned into a curse once we started exercising, it wasn’t long before I was dryer than a <insert dubious metaphor here> and gasping (although having a cold didn’t help my cause any).

The day was a great success, we all mixed and worked with people we wouldn’t normally train with or speak to, and everyone got on well. Everyone got a taste of competition style performing, being marked and feeling what it was like to perform in front of a crowd of people, and I think it was a bit of an eye-opener for some. While the first half of the day was entirely forms-based, the afternoon saw the stark contrast of sparring. After some tough strength-building exercises things got moving and everyone got to feel what it was like to throw, and more importantly take a punch or kick. We organised a mini-tournament towards the end of the day and stood out (as seniors) to referee and take charge of the teams. It was really encouraging to see how into it everyone was getting, so much so that the fighters couldn’t hear us screaming ‘stop!!’ when we wanted to award points. Seeing and talking to some of the junior students afterwards, for many of whom this was their first taste of proper sparring, it was a real flashback to my own first tastes of it. Everyone was buzzing and grinning and saying they wanted to get back in and go again, which is always a good sign. Sure, there are going to be some bumps and bruises today, and at least one black eye, but that’s all part of it. Six-and-a-half hours after we started and a few of us trundled down to the local pub for a quick pint and a natter.

Actually it would be remiss of me to not mention the other thing that happened before the end of the session while I’m at it. Everyone was asked to sit, and then I was told to stand, walk to the front and turn to face everyone. In all of the excitement of the day I forgot that I was due to have my black (blue) belt presented to me. Sadly I’ve seen enough of these presentations to not know what was coming next, the legendary ‘Chilli powder test’. Lots of martial arts clubs like to take their newly promoted students down a peg or two to make sure ego doesn’t get the better of them, for some it’s a run down the line as the rest whip them with their belts as they go, for us it’s the chilli powder test. ‘Chilli powder’ is a bit of a misnomer, as times and tastes have changed, so just plain chilli powder doesn’t cut it any more. No, today our instructor likes to mix things up with his own concoctions, and it wasn’t until after that I found out what was in mine. A spoonful of the ‘stuff’ was pushed into my mouth and then I was told to do twenty good pushups in front of the assembled mass without swallowing any or spitting any out, with everyone counting them out for me (and don’t think I didn’t notice those of you who tried to reset the count partway through!). I took my trusty old red belt off and had my new one tied around me, and then made a hasty retreat to the kitchen to rinse my mouth out! It turns out that my own personal blend of heat was a mixture of chillies, chilli sauce, rehydrated chillies that you’re not supposed to touch with bare hands(!), a tub of wasabi paste and to top it off, a sachet of the sauce from a Bombay Bad Boy pot noodle. Nice.

I’m enormously proud of what I’ve achieved, and it was made all that more special by having it presented to me in front of the rest of the students. It still hasn’t sunk in yet really, maybe once it does I’ll have more to post, but I think I’m going to be kept pretty busy in the meantime now. Here’s what my 1st Dan certificate looks like (it feels good writing that).

My 1st Dan certificate - this one's going in a frame!

Back To Work – Naihanchi

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This last week or so has been the first time I’ve been back in proper training since before Christmas, and it’s kicking my ass so far. Our instructor is determined to get us back in shape and strong again after a festive break of decadence and not working hard, and despite the pain and panting it’s causing so far, I’m very glad.  We’ve been focusing on strength work which is always a good thing, and on top of that I have new things to learn, for the first time in ages.

There’s quite a gap between 1st Dan and 2nd, and with good reason, there’s a lot to take on board. I’ve started learning the first on the new forms I need to know, namely Naihanchi Ee Dan (Tekki nidan). The Naihanchi hyung have always seemed strange to me, very different to any other that we practice, and I hope that as I progress further I’ll start to understand more. I find it interesting that traditionally it was always seen as a really important kata/hyung, and yet it employs so few of the ‘basic’ moves that we as Tang Soo Do practitioners understand as staples of the art.

As well as the practical applications of any form, I’ve always found myself drawn to learn the origins wherever possible. Naihanchi is a nice form from that point of view, as the history is largely well-known and seldom disputed. I’ve known for a long time that the Japanese name for the form is Tekki, which translates as ‘Iron Horse’, but what I didn’t know was a) how recently it got that name, and b) that it was almost inadvertently a return to tradition. Let me try to explain a little more clearly. Naihanchi is now taught as three separate forms, but originally was brought (from China naturally) as one, longer form. This longer form was named Nifanchin, which (apparently, my Japanese isn’t great these days!) also translates as Iron Horse, but it was that stalwart and lynchpin of modern karate, Gichin Funakoshi who renamed it Tekki. He renamed it in honour of his teacher (and creator of the Pyung Ahn/Pinan/Heian forms), Anko Itosu. Between the two it became Naihanchi, which means ‘Internal divided conflict’, and that’s where it stuck as far as Tang Soo Do is concerned.

Although anecdotal, I think for once the Chinese origins of the forms might actually be explained quite well too..

In the 1960’s a kung fu practitioner, Daichi Kaneko, studied a form of Taiwanese White Crane Boxing, known as Dan Qiu Ban Bai He Quan (Half Hillock, Half White Crane Boxing). Kaneko, an acupuncturist who lived in Yonabaru, Okinawa, taught a form called Neixi (inside knee) in Mandarin. This form includes the same sweeping action found in the nami-gaeshi (returning wave) technique of Naihanchi. Neixi is pronounced Nohanchi in Fuzhou dialect, which could indicate Neixi is the forerunner to Naihanchi.

The fact that it was called Inside Knee sounds right for me, especially with the movements contained in Naihanchi Cho Dan, as anyone who has learned the form will recognise.

The fact that those three short forms are considered so important in karate, even to the extent that not so long ago teachers were teaching them to students with the understanding that they contain everything they need to know, is strange to me. That’s probably just a result of the way the arts have changed though, and the changes in training and teaching in the last hundred years. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in one of those old Okinawan dojos to see just how it was taught, practised and applied in those days.

Black Belt

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I’ve tried to think of a clever title for this entry for ages, but I’ve failed each and every time. It’s one I’d always hoped I’d have to write at some point, I just hadn’t expected to creep up on me so quickly. In a nutshell, I passed my 1st Dan (Black Belt) grading.

Seeing it written down like that is strange, and if I’m honest it still hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t think that’ll happen until I’m actually presented with the belt and certificate, which hopefully will be around the end of the month, and I imagine it’ll start to hit home then. Perhaps fittingly, I found out I passed on the 4th, which was exactly four years to the day since my very first lesson. Four years, wow.

This isn’t going to turn into a misty-eyed retrospective, I’ve done that far too often in the past on here, but it’s nice to have a little bit of reflection and to get it down on paper (well, recorded in bits and bytes at least). The grading tests themselves were tough, and for different reasons; the physical was obviously very demanding, the written test gave my brain a bashing, and the essay made me take a good look at myself. It’s done now though, and although I didn’t do as well as I’d like to (isn’t that always the case?) I did well enough to earn my belt. There’ll probably be a few people out there who’d find it strange when I say that I won’t be getting a black belt, but rather a midnight blue one, but it’s essentially the same thing. Tang Soo Do traditionally uses midnight blue, as this is what the founder chose. The reasons for choosing it are a matter of debate for some, but it’s the same thing.

The strangest feeling for me is that there isn’t the sense of completion that I’d anticipated when I first started training. Some people (most I’d imagine) look on the black belt as being quite final, the end of a journey, but it’s perfectly apparent to me now that this isn’t the case. I’m very proud of myself for seeing it through this far, because I’m a serial starter-of-things-I’ll-never-see-through, but I can genuinely see how this is far from the end of something, it’s just the start of something new, a continuation of what I’m already doing. After all, it’s only 1st Dan right, there’s still another 9 to work toward ;) .

I’d also just like to take the time here and now to thank everyone involved in my progress one way or another up until now. My instructors, my fellow students and everyone who showed me some support along the way. It was all appreciated, from people telling me I could do it, to people kicking my ass all over the dojang.

Onwards and upwards.

Dan Dare

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I used to love The Eagle comics when I was a kid, and Dan Dare was always the cover comic. This is one of my more tenuous post titles. What a busy chap I’ve been. Obviously I was out of the country last week on my trip to Cologne to see the city and the Christmas markets, but I’ll go over that later this week once I remember to get the photos off of the camera. The thing which is fresher in my mind is what I went through on the Saturday after I got back, and that’s mostly because of the constant painful reminders I have.

Those of you who know me and have known me for any length of time will know that I started training in Tang Soo Do around four years ago. This blog has been home to my attempts to chronicle my journey so far, and at each milestone I’ve made an effort to update here as a reminder for myself. This past weekend I took the first part of my grading for First Dan.

It seems incredible to me that I could be at a stage where I’d be grading for black belt (ok, so techincally I’m grading for midnight blue), especially when my first lesson is still so fresh in my mind. But sure enough on Saturday afternoon after a long day of travelling the day before, I made my way over the the academy with a head full of refreshed forms to see what waited for me. Dan gradings in TSD are very personal and always done behind closed doors. I remember thinking when I first started that maybe the whole ‘behind closed doors’ thing was a bit of pomp and ceremony, but now I understand exactly why it’s done that way. I won’t go into what happens on the day, that would defeat the whole purpose, suffice to say that even today, two days after I’m still in a lot of pain. I don’t see it disappearing any time soon either, it feels like I’ve been run over.

I’ve still got a couple more parts to the grading to do, namely a written essay and a test, so it won’t be for a while that I learn how well I did or didn’t do. I only hope I don’t have to retake the phyiscal part again. It’s quite a reflective time really, having to face and work through everything you’ve learned (and then some more), especially with it being just a few weeks until I’ve been training for four years. I have a newfound respect for anyone who’s been through the black belt testing, it’s easily the most physically (and mentally for that matter) demanding thing I’ve ever been through.

This is quite a rubbish update. If and when I make it to First Dan, I’m sure I can come up with something better. Pretty pictures and something more interesting soon, promise.

Gargling Broken Glass & Gravel

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Gah, this sucks. I’ve been ill for over a week now. The thing is it’s not just one illness, it’s like some kind of auper-adaptive thing which is working its way down through me. I’ve gone from having a horrible head cold to a nasty sinus infection, and over the last couple of days it’s continued its journey south and I now have some kind of tonsillitis/laryngitis combination. Talking absolutely kills, and so far I’ve spent most of the day talking on the phone – brilliant.

Training with any kind of illness or infection is always difficult, but I’ve stuck it out this last couple of sessions at the dojang, even if simple warmups are proving to be ten times as much work as they’d normally feel. I’m suffering for it though, the day after training at the moment is a wash-out, I’ve not go an ounce of strength or energy. If it weren’t for the fact that Mondays and Tuesdays at work are absolutely crazy and very stressful at the moment, I’d be at home tucked up watching feel-good films with some hot lemon and honey.

I’m becoming more and more aware of just how close my Dan grading is now, and I really couldn’t have had a worse start to my preparations for it. My fitness is down, my strength is down, I’ve been missing a few lessons. All in all, not ideal.

We had a nice distraction on Saturday though, with the Falmouth Beer Festival. Twice a year CAMRA organise big beer festivals in Cornwall; October in Falmouth and May in St Ives. As usual, it was a great day. A group of us headed down in the afternoon and spent a few hours sampling the various ales and ciders, watching the live music and this year some morris dancers too. I love the beer festivals, it’s such a good atmosphere. By the time we left I’d worked my way through quite a few half-pint vouchers and whoever suggested getting a Chinese on the way home – I salute you. The dark evenings and being a bit merry played havoc with my head. My body thought it was about 11 o’clock, when in fact it was only just past 7. Great times though, and officially the start of the run-up to Christmas. Five weeks ’til my holiday, eight-and-a-half until Christmas – the countdown is on.

Leaps And Bounds

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The unseasonable weather continues with some gorgeous sunshine, and we were blessed with some on Saturday too which was a real treat. It meant that although the field was absolutely soaking at dog agility, I didn’t have to wear a massive coat and end up looking like a drowned rat. Murphy’s going really well at agility now, he’s turned a corner and when I think back to a year ago when he started, it’s like having a different dog. It used to be nigh on impossible to keep his attention or to stop him buggering off to sniff something or someone, but now he’s a little agility machine! It used to be the case that I could see he was a way behind the others in his group, and although Murph couldn’t care less, I found it quite demoralising. I’m fiercely competitive in just about everything I do, and not being the best at something (regardless of having a few days or a few years experience – I expect to be amazing at everything straight away) was infuriating for me. But now he’s really very capable. Granted, I can’t work as far away from him as some can, but I’m sure that’ll come with time.

We’re up to 20 obstacles or so now on a course, and that’s including everything except weaves. This week was the first for us with a seesaw in the middle of it, and he absolutely nailed it. Weaves are by far the most difficult obstacle to learn, there’s so much to it and there’s so much that can go wrong. You always enter the poles from the right, and making sure they do that at speed, from any angle, and without skipping a pole is really tricky. I’ve been holding off entering any competitions with him until I was confident he was capable. I know he’d have fun regardless of how well he did, but I’d like to be able to give a good account of myself. I think he’s nearly there now, and while it probably won’t be a full agility course (he’s not up to 9-12 weaves in a course yet), he could still do jumps and tunnels or something similar. Maybe once I get him measured we’ll look at entering something in the Spring.

Training with a broken finger and with most of the club away at the tournament was pretty depressing, but in a way quite rewarding as well. Other than the person instructing, I was the only adult present. It was quite good to work one-to-one with the kids, especially with them having just graded. It meant I was able to help them start to learn their new one-step and self-defence techniques. Tonight’s where it’s really going to hit home again what I’m going to be missing when I don’t train at BJJ. I went up to see the guys at our new gym on Saturday and let them know what happened, and my instructor (speaking from a lot of experience) told me I’ll be looking at two weeks before I can start to make positions again, and four or so before I can roll properly. I wanted to get back a lot faster than that, but after giving myself a day off the splint yesterday and spending a lot of it in a lot of pain, I’m sure it’s not going to happen.

Halloween isn’t far away now and I’ve got a fancy dress party to go to. I’ve had an absolutely genius idea for a costume, and I can’t wait to get it done. How many people will recognise it? Probably not too many. I don’t care though; it’s far too cool to not do.

Neither Here Nor There

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Right about now I should be sat in a car on my way to the midlands with a bag full of equipment, starting to get nervous about taking part in the British Tang Soo Do championships. Instead I’m sat at a desk clock-watching and waiting for the weekend.

I knew from the start of the week that I wasn’t going to be able to go, thanks to a mix-up at work with annual leave, and in a way that’s almost a blessing in disguise. I didn’t break my finger until Monday night and at the time I didn’t know it was broken, but if I was still going at that point and found out that I wouldn’t be able to compete I’d have been absolutely gutted. As it stands I’m more annoyed than gutted. I’m envious that I’m not going up with the folks from our clubs, and I know envy isn’t an attractive quality in anyone, but it’s tough. I’ll be going along to training tonight to show some support for the few left down here in the normal class, but I won’t be able to do very much myself.

I spent my lunchtime up at the hospital in the fracture clinic. I had an appointment at 11:45 and when I got there I couldn’t believe how busy it was and how many people were waiting to be seen. In the end I waited just over an hour for my appointment, an appointment which took approximately ninety seconds. By that point it was more despair than anger at having to wait so long to be told almost nothing. According the specialist I saw it will take about a month for the bone to set properly, and if I catch it wrong before then I’m going to know all about it. He didn’t say I definitely couldn’t train, which is good news, but told me I should wait until I can stub that finger on a table without it being agony before I try anything much. I’ve tried it since. It’s still agony.

As I won’t be able to train at BJJ tomorrow, I’m already trying to come up with ways to occupy myself so I’m not left thinking that I should be somewhere else training or competing. Luckily dog agility has moved to Saturday mornings now that it’s too dark in the evenings, so that’s the morning taken care of. I intend to do a lot of cooking I think; I enjoy it, it keeps me occupied and I get to eat the results :) . We’re all getting together on Saturday night for a few drinks and some films to try to cheer up one of my good friends who’s had an exceptionally rough time of it lately.

Time to actually choose some music for the drive home. I grabbed a random one without looking from the pile of CDs in my car this morning, and the scandinavian girl singing at me was a real blast from the past and instantly took me back to earlier in the year. Spooky. Spooky and really distracting when driving!

Green Fingered

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I wish this was an update about my gardening prowess – although my first lawn is growing like mad – but unfortunately it’s more literal today.

Last night I went along to BJJ, but for the first time at the new full-time gym. I say full-time, it’s only open in the evenings, but the point is it’s the club’s building and it’s not shared with anyone else. It was the first time I’ve ventured out to see it and I’m impressed, it looks really clean and good.

Our club's logo and a nice clean floor and wall

Our club's logo and a nice clean floor and wall

I didn’t realise it but the lesson time had moved from 8 to 7.30, so I got there 20 minutes after the start of the lesson – oops! It was quite a small class and thanks to the new mats with their super slippery tops, making the position was really easy. We worked another De La Riva sweep which rolls up beautiftully into side control thanks to a sneaky push/kick half-way through. We went into some open rolling which was absolutely awesome. Not having to worry about putting your head or feet through the chipboard wall is great, and having all that extra room to work makes it feel far more open. The slippery top to the mats will take a week or two to wear down, which will be a good thing. Although I really like being able to shrimp and switch hips so quickly (it’s like grappling on ice!), it makes some stuff really tricky. I got caught in full mount at one point and whereas normally I’d bridge into Upa, my feet had absolutely no purchase and I got choked out quite nastily. Overall it was good though, I spent the majority of the time I was rolling in either side or mount, and scored with Americana once. I can definitely feel the beginnings of my ‘game’ evolving, and I know where I work well from and where I tend to end up in trouble.

Some of the guys checking out the rest of the gym

Some of the guys checking out the rest of the gym

Getting back briefly to the title of this post, and my green finger. While I was rolling with a guy about the same size and strength as me, neither of us wanted to pull guard so there was a lot of pushing, shoving, grabbing and general bullying going on, trying to get on top. At one point I took his lapel and passed it over his arm to help me tie him up, but just as I got a nice pistol grip on it he tore it free. My little finger got caught up as he did and there was a loud crack and a lot of pain. I’m still not sure exactly what I did, but for the rest of the class I taped it up and cried like a girl when it got hit was totally manly and didn’t bat an eyelid.

By the time I got home a small bruise had started to appear under it, and by the time I got to bed I couldn’t bend it thanks to the swelling. Here’s how it looked first thing this morning…

My broken/dislocated finger started to go pretty colours

My broken/dislocated finger started to go pretty colours

The bruising’s gone really dark now and started to go green around the edges, so I think by the middle of the week I’ll have a really attractive green finger. It’s throbbing like mad and I keep doing stupid things like shoving my hand in my pocket which hurts like nobody’s business! I’ve busted my toes before and although they hurt, it’s nothing like as impractical as that finger. I can’t type properly, write and whenever I drink I look like a ponce with my pinkie sticking out. C’est la vie. Rafa showed me his fingers at the end of the class and his knuckles are a mess, I guess it just comes with the territory.

On top of that I’ve found out that because of ‘work-related differences of opinion’ I can no longer go and compete at the British TSD Championships this weekend. I am absolutely gutted, I’ve been looking forward to it for ages, and now I’ve had my chance to go taken away. I’m not sure if I’m more angry or upset. Never mind, I know the rest of the guys will do me, the club and the county proud, and come home laden with silverware again. Good luck guys, even though you don’t need it.

Changing Of The Guard

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Saturday saw one of my favourite nights of the year; Eurovision! For my American or Asian counterparts, the Eurovision Song Contest is a very glam, very camp, annual music competition held over here in ‘Yurp’. The various countries put forward their entries which really span just about every musical genre you could imagine, and we, the public, vote. It’s on for about three hours, and has a MASSIVE audience across the continent. I’m a huge fan and love getting together with my mates once a year to vote, do a sweepstake and generally get beered-up and have a good time.

A long-standing part of Eurovision for me has always been the commentary by the inimitable Sir Terry Wogan. He’s very dry, and gradually gets more and more drunk while taking the mickey out of the other countries. Unfortunately last year was his last, after years of what can only be called very political voting in the Eastern Bloc nations. He was obviously getting more and more disillusioned and last year’s very obvious voting for Russia was the straw that broke the camel’s back. So this year we welcomed Graham Norton into the fray, and personally I was very pleased with him. He’s got the same cutting sarcasm and his own cheeky witticisms, and once he got into his swing he was genuinely very funny. Well, what I heard was; I was at a very raucous party with my friends, drinking and eating European beers and snacks and arguing over the scoresheets I’d printed from the BBC website. Good times.

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A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of the coaches for the new Kids Kickboxing class, and every week since I’ve been turning up for the extra hour before our Sunday Tang Soo Do lessons and working with the little guys. Quite where they get their energy from I’ve no idea, but I wish I could harness some. So far I think it’s going really well, I’ve had pretty much the same group with me each week and I’ve managed to remember all their names, which to be honest has been a task in itself. I’ve very quickly been able to see which of them is picking things up easily, where any problems might lie, and which ones of them have freakishly strong punches for their size!

It’s enormously rewarding watching them soak up everything they’re told and shown, especially when you’re able to identify a small thing to change which makes a big difference to their technique. They sparred with us (the coaches) last night, and I think I can safely say that almost without exception, they loved it. It’s not often they’re told to get stuck in and start hitting adults, and you could almost see their faces light up when we were getting them padded up. I’m looking forward to seeing how they progress over the coming months.

I’m really pleased to have this head start on teaching, because it’s definitely where I think I want to be in the not-too-distant future. Don’t get me wrong, I love my own training and will keep going for as long as I’m able, but I have to think realistically too. I’m thirty-two in nine days time, and I might only have a few good years of being able to compete and train for fighting at the level I do now. What does that leave afterwards? I’m not indestructable, I can’t keep going forever, and not training would leave a massive gap in my life. I think I’m lucky to be training in something traditional, as if it were competition or sport oriented (especially sport karate) I think I could get very bored just teaching drills and not actually training for a purpose any more. Spending all my time working on drills and techniques that I know I’d never use in competition would be pretty soul-destroying. It’s now that I need to focus on getting a strong Dan grade and to keep working beyond there, and work toward teaching more; both kids and adults alike.

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Have you ever had one of those ‘I knew it!‘ moments? You know the sort of thing, you’re sure you were right about something, and it turns out you were spot-on. I had a good one this last week and it’s made me feel much better about myself. It’s nice to know that even if other people take you for a fool, you know better :) .