Karate Talk

Fit or Famine

Nature is incredibly unfair to human bodies when it comes to physical fitness.  They have said that you can undo 2 years of training by taking a single month off, and I'm forced to agree.  Sadly, as you age, this only gets worse!  Which means that getting in "fighting shape", so to speak, is a real endeavor, and staying there requires a commitment of time and energy that you might not always have.

My husband is somewhat younger than me, and I watch enviously as two or three really tough trainings make a noticeable improvement to his abs.  Two or three months' worth might get mine back where they once were!  Both of us wish we were about 3 - 6 months further along in our fitness programs than we are, although neither of us is exactly the fat and squishy type.  However, after a really tough training, we feel it more than we'd like.  We vow to work out more at home, but the time just isn't always there, so we're mostly holding steady, with some small progress made.

This is where the difference arises between casual karate, and competition karate or testing karate.  Casual karate keeps you mentally and physically healthy, and prevents any excessive departures into the land of flab (unless your eating habits are truly appalling!).  It's great for what I'd call maintenance, but doesn't usually take you to the next step, no matter how much you put into your hour-long class, three times a week.  When you're competing, or preparing for a dan test, a much greater commitment is required, because a much higher fitness level is required.  Several sparring matches in a row require endurance, both cardiac and muscular.  Controlling your muscles for a crisp kata when you're stressed and nervous requires precision practice, repeatedly, and muscular fitness to overcome adrenaline rushes.  This fitness level you are expected primarily to gain on your own, or through adding extra trainings to your schedule.  In fact, we are frequently told that a minimum of 4 - 5 days per week is what you need to prepare for dan testing, partly for purely physical reasons.

The exception to this rule is "spirit training".  The Master of our region, although satisfied in general with the caliber of karate being performed, is less happy with the spirit.  People are flat, unmotivated.  They miss class, and don't always train hard when they are there.  I can't deny that I've had some issues with that lately, and I've seen plenty of it around me.  In response, we've had "spirit trainings", which some of you will know translates into "go until you drop, then stand up and keep going"!!  The idea is to remind yourself that sometimes your mind quits before your body needs to, and that part of the whole idea is just to keep going, even if you're exhausted and sore.  We had one a couple of weeks ago (absolutely brutal!), another one about 4 days later, and another one last night.  We black belts, of course, were expected to set the tone by making sure we did all techniques as well as possible, and not complaining or slacking or looking too tired (I'm not sure how well we succeeded on that last one, but we did passably well on the others).

What was great was to see the response in many of the color belts, who haven't been pushed as hard as they might have been.  Many of them in our current crop are pretty young, and there are limits to how much you can lean on them.  Now that they getting higher in rank, and getting a little older, we're starting to nudge them to their next level of capability, and I think most of them will respond.

As for me, it's had a positive effect on my motivation, slowly moving me from apathetic to enthusiastic, just in time for Summer Camp and then Nationals, after which we can let down and recover a bit.  It's also having a positive effect on my legs and abs, although gained at great price!  We've learned some brutal little exercises that are seemingly easy -- until you're on repetition 70 or so!  I'm trying to motivate myself to do them at home, to nudge my own training to the next level it needs.

I'm glad that I am getting fit mentally and physically at about the right time for the peak of our annual karate season, and by the time Nationals are over, I will probably be ready for a little time of famine to recover from it all!  =)

I Don't Wanna!

As much as karate is part of my routine and I can't imagine life without it, there are still times when it seems to take Herculean efforts to get myself to training.  Throw in a husband who's not always on the same biorhythms (or whatever), and some days it's a real chore to get that gi on, pull the hair back, get to the dojo, and approach class with any degree of enthusiasm. 

During my spells of psycho enthusiasm, this seems so impossible.  Of course I want to train, I love it!  I want to go to class, I'll go early, I'll stay late, I'll push myself to the limits of my endurance!  Extra training in the regional dojo?  Sure, I'll drive an hour for more class, in fact, I can't wait!

This is not one of those spells. 

Thankfully, it's not the opposite end of the spectrum, either.  It's a sort of habit right now, something I do because I do it.  Most of the time my energy and enthusiasm pick up once I get to the dojo, and I've actually been training well this summer and feeling good, with a few exceptions.  This past couple of weeks has been a bit of a test, however, with record breaking heat (hate heat, really really hate it) making the prospect of putting on 10lbs. of heavy weight cotton and sweating in it just not all that appealing!

My husband is a not on the same biorhythm (or whatever).  He has not had a good training summer -- for very valid reasons.  He has a good internship which he is hoping to parlay into a full-time position.  He's working really hard, and frequently works a overtime.  Sometimes he doesn't get home in time to make training, some days it's really close, and some days he could do it but he's wiped out from a long and stressful day.  I've been there, so I don't push him too hard.  I try to gauge whether or not it's the kind of stress exhaustion that could be really helped by physical endeavor, or whether he's wiped to the point of just plain not having it in him.

Both of us are coming off a week or so of absolute flatness.  No motivation, no desire to do anything (karate-related or not!).  Sitting on the couch in the air conditioning, eating and drinking unhealthy things, was the only thing that appealed.  We did a lot of that (more than we should have!).  Monday night training sucked.  I was hot, I was tired, I didn't train well, and we were sort of snipping at each other which just makes it all more irritating and tiring.

I'm trying to force myself out of the rut.  I'm getting up really early, to tackle chores and errands before the mercury rises.  I'm forcing myself to take care of chores I don't particularly enjoy (like cleaning the kitty boxes), instead of finding excuses to put them off until tomorrow... or the next day... 

It's an uphill battle but starting last night and into this morning, even though I'm still tired and drained from the heat, I'm also more on top of things.  My mind is working a little more quickly, and I'm not having to force myself to do things.  I'm hoping that this carries through into tonight's training, and I can come out of the dojo feeling a whole lot better than I did Monday night.

Why?  Not because I think every training has to be stellar, or anything like that.  But because when your motivation is already suffering to some degree, having a bad training is the nail in the coffin that makes you look at your gi the next time and go, "I DON'T WANNA GO TO TRAINING TONIGHT!  WAAAH!!!"

=)

More on Black Belt Diplomas

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to claim that you have to have a Shotokan diploma from our organization or you're nothing!

The point of the last post was that when you enter a new dojo/region/organization/style/whatever, you need to conform to their requirements and expectations.  At the very least, you should expect to be asked to demonstrate your skills in some sort of formal situation.  I get irritated when people act like that's an unreasonable request, because I think it's very immature.  Be proud of what you've accomplished, but never think that you can just rest on your laurels, and that what you've done in the past is automatically sufficient unto the day!

That Little Piece of Paper

When you graduate from high school or college, you receive a diploma.  It's a piece of paper certifying that you have completed a certain course of studies and have demonstrated a certain skill set to a certain group of people, who are willing to go on record verifying that you've done all this.

When you make a black belt in our style, you also get a diploma.  This is issued by the organization headquarters in Japan, and signed off on by the committees there.  In order to receive this diploma, you have to have completed certain requirements, including having worked your way up through the kyus, and having tested before a certified panel of examiners who evaluate whether or not you, for your age, sex, and physical limitations (if any) have demonstrated mastery of a basic skill set. 

So, how important is that little piece of paper?  You may as well ask how important the black belt is.  In and of themselves, they mean nothing.  One is a piece of rice paper with calligraphy on it, some names, some dates, some numbers, a signature or two.  The other one is a length of silk or cotton fabric dyed black, that you tie around your waist.  They don't make you superheroes, they don't make you better or cooler or more important than the rest of the world, they don't give you bragging rights and they certainly don't endow you with extra powers to vanquish evil!  They are important for what they represent:  Many hours of training and dedication, of improvement, of training mind and body and spirit to do stances, techniques, katas, kumite properly.  They represent your hours of sweat and frustration and success, and your growth. 

People enter our dojos who hold black belts from different styles or organizations.  If the black belt is from an entirely different martial art, say tae kwon do or jujitsu, or from an entirely different karate style (like goju or wado) then they start again at white belt.  If it is a Shotokan black belt from another organization, they will probably be permitted to train with us as a black belt.  However, before they can be considered full black belt with us, they will have to test to retain their rank.

This is where the trouble sometimes arises.  Some people feel, understandably, that they have worked very hard for a long time, have demonstrated that they know what they're doing, and get very grumpy when they're told they will have to go through the dan testing process again before the organization will recognize them.  Others have come from dojos that are not affiliated with any organization and have sometimes been taught that the major organizations are all just a big scam to take your money, so they think this requirement is just a way for our organization to make a few quick bucks off of them. 

We had a new person train with us.  While his style was obviously Shotokan, it was equally obvious that his instructor hadn't been part of either ISKF or USANKF for quite a long time.  His katas were very old style.  We worked with him on bringing him up to date.  We also warned him that he would probably have to test to retain his rank with us, and he seemed okay with that.  He brought his dan certificate in to see if it was valid, and we presented it to the regional headquarters.  It had only taken a quick glance, however, to know that it would not be accepted.  It was a handwritten document from a dojo with no affiliations, from an instructor that we'd never heard of.  When it was not accepted, he quit.  It's a real shame, because he was good and would easily have passed the test to retain his shodan.  He was also a nice guy and fun to train with, so it's our loss.

So did we place too much importance on that little piece of paper, and lose a good student because of a technicality?  In a word, no.  Period.  That piece of paper says this person has demonstrated his ability in the Shotokan fundamentals, and has had training and experience in a specific skill set.  Without it, you are asking us to take his word for it, and the word of his instructor, someone nobody has heard of, with no credentials.  Sometimes the instructor is very good (as in this case) and the black belt is very valid.  Sometimes, they were taught by someone without the necessary background (years of personal training, years of formal training, any teaching training), and it is painfully obvious.

Consider it this way.  Suppose a person was home schooled.  At the end of their education, they receive a handwritten document swearing that this person has a great education.  Would you expect a college to accept this as the equivalent of a high school diploma, no questions asked?  Or would you expect them to put the person through placement exams to determine what they were taught, and what their skill level is?  Take it one step further, suppose the home schooling extended through "university level" training, and they have a handwritten degree.  Is that the equivalent of a college diploma from a fully accredited university?  Would it be fair or reasonable to ask a university to consider it as having the same standing as their own degree, to officially recognize credentials that they haven't verified, to perhaps grant them an official degree without asking them to take any exams at their university? 

Of course not.  Why?  Because their name is on that diploma, their repuration in the future will be based in part on that student's performance in the world after college.  It's not fair to ask them to sign off on someone's education when they haven't satisfied themselves that it is adequate.  And they will confirm that it is by putting the student through testing and/or classes, and signing off on them.

Similarly, our organization has a worldwide presence and a reputation.  If someone holds a black belt diploma from us, then it means something very specific.  It's not fair to ask us to give one without verifying that the holder has met all the criteria.