It was a very busy weekend, here I am just gone 7pm and I am looking back thinking 'where did the weekend go?' Did try to get a little lie in this morning but only managed it until 9am and then it was all hands on deck to start getting the kitchen tidy, getting Ele ready for her grading and then before you know it, its the adult masters grading and its 4pm! Really enjoyed to day, I especially enjoyed the breaking as I havent done it with a palm or with my left foot before so it was a really positive way to finish the grading off with.
Next week is going to be manic, this is the last proper week that I am filling the role of sales manager so I am out and about all over the place and coupled with 2 sales meeting and a management board meeting at the end of the week I will be extremely glad to have a weekend of doing nothing (except maybe sneaking in a quick bike ride) and lounging around in my pyjamas. But before I can enjoy all that I have a 5.30am start tomorrow.
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Friday, 11 December 2009
Busy weekend ahead
Just sitting in a Costa in Cheltenham at the moment, bit of a loose end as I have had to take my mother in law into hospital today for tests. Went training last night and had a really good session, did a bit of work with Martin on three step, always good to think about how you put over the concepts within pair work and also from a personal perspective it was interesting to see how Martins Karate influences his posture and movements. After the beginners session it was 45 mins of myself and John running through all the patterns (except Chon Ji but including Choong Moo), 2 step and 3step so ended up as a really focussed and targetted session, hopefully we both got a lot out of it as John is very technically minded and has a focus on getting the techniques just so.
Well the coffee is going down and I am starting to feel a bit more human as the caffeine kicks in, time to get on with some work (the wonders of the connected world!)
Grading on Sunday, looking forward to getting stuck in as I always enjoy gradings (even when I feel crappy its always a good blast) even though this time I am not actually being tested for a belt rank. Not sure how many people are doing it this time as there werent that many last quarter. Tomorrow is super busy as Shelly and I are taking the kids to the pantomime at the Everyman in Cheltenham, last years was a blast so with any luck will have a great Saturday and Sunday leading into my last week at work before Xmas, starting to feel very festive and want to get the decorations up so I can start snaffling mince pies in earnest!
Well the coffee is going down and I am starting to feel a bit more human as the caffeine kicks in, time to get on with some work (the wonders of the connected world!)
Grading on Sunday, looking forward to getting stuck in as I always enjoy gradings (even when I feel crappy its always a good blast) even though this time I am not actually being tested for a belt rank. Not sure how many people are doing it this time as there werent that many last quarter. Tomorrow is super busy as Shelly and I are taking the kids to the pantomime at the Everyman in Cheltenham, last years was a blast so with any luck will have a great Saturday and Sunday leading into my last week at work before Xmas, starting to feel very festive and want to get the decorations up so I can start snaffling mince pies in earnest!
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Something of interest
Over a five minute lunch break today (a rare visit to the office) I was noodling through my documents and came across my essays that I have been doing throughout my training (an integral part of training at the school) and I came across a recent essay which is very pertinent to the whole idea behind the blog and is something that I think would be of interest to any individuals involved in MA training and especially those students of the Ilyokwan Academy as this really sums up alot of what Master Olpins ideas and ethos are about.
Black Belt: A beginning not an end
When I began my training in the martial arts I have to admit to not giving much thought to attaining a black belt, it seemed such a long way off and so out of reach that I just put it to the back of my mind and concentrated on the day to day aspects of my training. Seeing other students going through the process recently has focussed my attention on what you need to do to attain a black belt but also what it means to me personally if I was successful in obtaining one.
Many people perceive the attaining of a black belt in a martial art as the pinnacle of their training, being presented with the belt the be all and end all of their training.
To some this is what motivates them to train, to learn and to develop their skills during their training; however I believe that such a focussed approach and imbuing the achievement of a black belt with near mythical qualities can be extremely detrimental to the student.
For some students they get what they want from their training and they see the rank of black belt as the final stage. For some training and achieving a black belt is about personal pride, boosting confidence, getting fit and proving something to themselves with something demonstrable to show. For these students they have a defined goal and once they have achieved the rank of black belt they are left with nothing going forward. The goal of getting the belt has been their target for so long that they have neglected to think and to understand what happens afterwards. For these students disillusionment and in most cases a ceasing of training follows the high from getting their belt.
Master Olpin regularly warns students about the danger inherent in placing too much emphasis on obtaining a black belt and 'chasing belts' if your goal is to be a lifelong martial artist, it should be remembered that a black belt is just that, a black belt, a piece of material. The wearing of the black belt does not suddenly give super powers to the wearer or mean that the student has mastered all of the basics patterns and forms that form part of the training schedule to black belt status.
Watching a recent children’s film 'Kung Fu Panda' re-inforced this message, Po trains with Shifu and is taught martial arts skills, throughout his training he has believed that this will be a path that will lead him to the fabled dragon scroll. The Dragon scroll, Po believes, will provide him with the 'ultimate knowledge' that will allow him to defeat all opponents as it is something 'special'. When the time comes for Po to read the scroll he discovers that it is empty of words, merely reflecting an image of himself. When he finally realises that there is no 'magic ingredient' and that he has had the ability within him all along to defeat his opponents he is free to express himself.
This really brought home to me what I believe is core to understanding that obtaining a black belt is merely the start of an even longer journey than the one I embarked upon when I decided to begin studying a martial art. I hope in the future to go on and progress within my chosen art and move higher within the dan structure, not for prestige, but more for beginning to truly understand what it is I am training in.
I have tried to not focus too much on the gaining of a black belt but more on what I wanted to achieve as a much longer term goal. My reasons for taking up a martial art were; a structured way to allow me to maintain my health and fitness, coming together with a like minded group of people and taking part in a discipline that would allow me to test myself constantly. I believe strongly that these reasons do not change, if I am fortunate enough to achieve the rank of black belt, rather they change and adapt to meet the overall goal of keeping a lifelong interest in training in the martial arts and continuing on the journey started when I first walked through the doors of the school.
Black Belt: A beginning not an end
When I began my training in the martial arts I have to admit to not giving much thought to attaining a black belt, it seemed such a long way off and so out of reach that I just put it to the back of my mind and concentrated on the day to day aspects of my training. Seeing other students going through the process recently has focussed my attention on what you need to do to attain a black belt but also what it means to me personally if I was successful in obtaining one.
Many people perceive the attaining of a black belt in a martial art as the pinnacle of their training, being presented with the belt the be all and end all of their training.
To some this is what motivates them to train, to learn and to develop their skills during their training; however I believe that such a focussed approach and imbuing the achievement of a black belt with near mythical qualities can be extremely detrimental to the student.
For some students they get what they want from their training and they see the rank of black belt as the final stage. For some training and achieving a black belt is about personal pride, boosting confidence, getting fit and proving something to themselves with something demonstrable to show. For these students they have a defined goal and once they have achieved the rank of black belt they are left with nothing going forward. The goal of getting the belt has been their target for so long that they have neglected to think and to understand what happens afterwards. For these students disillusionment and in most cases a ceasing of training follows the high from getting their belt.
Master Olpin regularly warns students about the danger inherent in placing too much emphasis on obtaining a black belt and 'chasing belts' if your goal is to be a lifelong martial artist, it should be remembered that a black belt is just that, a black belt, a piece of material. The wearing of the black belt does not suddenly give super powers to the wearer or mean that the student has mastered all of the basics patterns and forms that form part of the training schedule to black belt status.
Watching a recent children’s film 'Kung Fu Panda' re-inforced this message, Po trains with Shifu and is taught martial arts skills, throughout his training he has believed that this will be a path that will lead him to the fabled dragon scroll. The Dragon scroll, Po believes, will provide him with the 'ultimate knowledge' that will allow him to defeat all opponents as it is something 'special'. When the time comes for Po to read the scroll he discovers that it is empty of words, merely reflecting an image of himself. When he finally realises that there is no 'magic ingredient' and that he has had the ability within him all along to defeat his opponents he is free to express himself.
This really brought home to me what I believe is core to understanding that obtaining a black belt is merely the start of an even longer journey than the one I embarked upon when I decided to begin studying a martial art. I hope in the future to go on and progress within my chosen art and move higher within the dan structure, not for prestige, but more for beginning to truly understand what it is I am training in.
I have tried to not focus too much on the gaining of a black belt but more on what I wanted to achieve as a much longer term goal. My reasons for taking up a martial art were; a structured way to allow me to maintain my health and fitness, coming together with a like minded group of people and taking part in a discipline that would allow me to test myself constantly. I believe strongly that these reasons do not change, if I am fortunate enough to achieve the rank of black belt, rather they change and adapt to meet the overall goal of keeping a lifelong interest in training in the martial arts and continuing on the journey started when I first walked through the doors of the school.
Getting hectic
Christmas is looming and work is going into overdrive as this is our year end so I am out and about pretty much from now on, this means that Thursday will be my last training session of the year. I will be attending the grading on Sunday as it is always a good opportunity to put yourself under a little pressure to see how you have been progressing, plus gradings are always good as it gets loads of us together. Tuesday night was good as my eldest daughter needed to stay behind due to lifts etc and I always enjoy spending soem time with her at the school as I get to see how she is progressing within her MA. She has been training now for about 5 years and she has a real enthusiasm for MA that can't help but rub off on you, always a good time spent when I am with her and does recharge my own batteries.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Where am I?
Okay, the past week or so has been pretty difficult for me due to the stomach problems I have experienced but I seem to be much better and I did go back to classes last night. It was during the lesson that my instructor pointed out that I had not blogged for a few days, when I pointed out that I didn't think people would want to read about my stomach problems he actually said that I must remember why I started this blog and that actually when I experience setbacks and problems like this that it is important to still blog and put down how I am feeling and coping because that is at the heart of why I wanted to do a blog as part of my black belt goals. This is a completely valid point and something that I lost as I was focussing on the negative aspects of being ill witout realising it was this negativity that I should have been blogging about.
Having this time to reflect over the last couple of weeks has made me think about the journey so far, I am nearly half way through and next March is starting to loom large in my thoughts. I asked my self a question the other day "Have I done everything I could so far in my training?" The honest answer has to be no. I could of course train every other night, do theory work use all of my spare time focussing on my MA training. I then clarified the question to "Have I done everything I could so far in my training within my limits of work and personal responsibilities" again truthfully the answer has to be no. I am a 'normal' person and some times after a particualry stressful day I just want to switch my brain off completely and veg out on the sofa, if I ignored this and stated 'of course I do everything possible' I wouldnt be truthful to myself or the process of testing for black belt. I think looking back on the last few months I have done an awful lot to support my journey and I have had a good number of successes so far, of ocurse there is more I can do, and part of the journey is the constant need to push yourself that little bit more each time, to constanlty evaluate and critique what you are doing, but never forgetting to celebrate the small successes along the way. I think the better question that I will ask myself as I approach the end of this part of the journey is 'Am I happy with my progress so far and do I know where I need to focus goign forward?' The answer to that question is a resounding YES, I have personally seen myself improve in a number of areas already, my personal fitness is approaching the best it has been in probably 10 years, I am starting to feel confident in my patterns and basics, I am starting to feel comfortable talking to other students about techniques and assisiting more junior students in their training and the other aspects of my MA training are seeming to slot into place. This is of course in the context of where my knowledge of MA is currently at, that of a fairly experienced beginner.
Having this time to reflect over the last couple of weeks has made me think about the journey so far, I am nearly half way through and next March is starting to loom large in my thoughts. I asked my self a question the other day "Have I done everything I could so far in my training?" The honest answer has to be no. I could of course train every other night, do theory work use all of my spare time focussing on my MA training. I then clarified the question to "Have I done everything I could so far in my training within my limits of work and personal responsibilities" again truthfully the answer has to be no. I am a 'normal' person and some times after a particualry stressful day I just want to switch my brain off completely and veg out on the sofa, if I ignored this and stated 'of course I do everything possible' I wouldnt be truthful to myself or the process of testing for black belt. I think looking back on the last few months I have done an awful lot to support my journey and I have had a good number of successes so far, of ocurse there is more I can do, and part of the journey is the constant need to push yourself that little bit more each time, to constanlty evaluate and critique what you are doing, but never forgetting to celebrate the small successes along the way. I think the better question that I will ask myself as I approach the end of this part of the journey is 'Am I happy with my progress so far and do I know where I need to focus goign forward?' The answer to that question is a resounding YES, I have personally seen myself improve in a number of areas already, my personal fitness is approaching the best it has been in probably 10 years, I am starting to feel confident in my patterns and basics, I am starting to feel comfortable talking to other students about techniques and assisiting more junior students in their training and the other aspects of my MA training are seeming to slot into place. This is of course in the context of where my knowledge of MA is currently at, that of a fairly experienced beginner.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Good to be back...at least in spirit
Was good getting out to training tonight, at least got to do a bit and masters was really good as it became one of those discussion sessions that are excellent for expanding your knowledge of the martial arts. Still not 100% but I am determined to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible. A few bullet points from tonights training;
*When looking at training students in self defense techniques you use the principle of isolating and exaggerating the movements to let the students grasp how they can be applied in situations. Once this has been accepted by the student you can then start taking the larger more exaggerated movements down to a smaller level.When bringing the movements down to this smaller level it actually allows more players to be brought to bear naturally.
*Another fundamental principle to adopt during training in self defense is redundancy, ensuring that the moves you employ have a follow through that could also be just as effective as your initial move.
*When looking at training students in self defense techniques you use the principle of isolating and exaggerating the movements to let the students grasp how they can be applied in situations. Once this has been accepted by the student you can then start taking the larger more exaggerated movements down to a smaller level.When bringing the movements down to this smaller level it actually allows more players to be brought to bear naturally.
*Another fundamental principle to adopt during training in self defense is redundancy, ensuring that the moves you employ have a follow through that could also be just as effective as your initial move.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Cut off...but not by much
Feeling a bit out of it at the moment due to not training for a week, I have been using the time usefully though, a few posts on the forum have meant I have at least been contributing and making contact with other students, a big thanks to John as he has been a mini whirlwind on both the forum and the blog. I took advantage of the dead time travelling yesterday to get on and finish my first draft of the thesis. It felt good to get this first draft done and I have sent it off to my instructor to get some feedback, suggestions etc I didn't realise until the end that it is over 6,500 words so really pleased, once feedback is recieved that will most likely increase as I can already see a few areas where some continued research has thrown up some more info that may be pertinent to include. I am keen to close off the thesis though as that will reinforce a positive and will allow me to free up time to focus on other theory activities. I did put a small forum post concerning the origins of patterns in Okinowan karate up and I think I will do some more digging as this is going to help with coming up with a weapons routine for my grading. Rich gave me the idea to explain briefly the background and then show a couple of shorts patterns with different weapons to illustrate this. I like that idea and hopefully can get something bottomed out in my head before Xmas.
Sitting in Newcastle Airport with a cup of tea waiting for my flight so will probably go off and do some research.
Sitting in Newcastle Airport with a cup of tea waiting for my flight so will probably go off and do some research.
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