It seems I keep coming back to this topic...
Last month I attended the Wilder Seminar. It was great. By now, in our region, it seems like we get mostly the same 10 to 15 people at the seminars, so to me it seems almost like a family by this point. Which is really cool! It's a much better experience then when I attended my first seminar almost two years ago as a white belt, which I posted about previously. (You can that blog post if you are interested) I didn't mention in my review that there was a white belt there! He was new! I remember when he showed up thinking "Hey! Cool! Another white belt! Welcome to the family of those of us who know!" I made sure to go introduce myself. I was really just excited and thought it was great to see someone who is just starting their martial arts journey get to start it out on the right foot without having to wade through all the bull shit (excuse my language) that is out there.
After the seminar was over there was a discussion about seminars and rank. It was mentioned that perhaps lower ranking belts shouldn't be allowed to attend seminars, because the instructor isn't able to cover more advanced material with non-black belts present.
I wasn't really sure how I felt about this. I chewed on it for a while. Nick and I discussed it at length on our drive home in which I discovered I was actually kind of upset about the remark. I decided I am in disagreement with this opinion, and here is why:
The Black Belt ranking is completely arbitrary. I say this because there are some schools who will give you a black belt in two years and some schools in which it takes up to ten years to earn a black belt. Students may be going to classes the same amount of days a week and same amount of time in each school, but the time it takes to get to black belt is still different. Different schools and different instructors have different criteria for ranking and demand different levels of competency to progress. So... you might have someone walk in who is a black belt who has been doing martial arts for two or three years. And you may have someone show up who is a green belt (or whatever mid rank color your system uses) who has been doing martial arts for five to seven years. There is no way you can ask the student who has been practicing for seven years to sit out while someone who has only been practicing for two years can participate because they are a black belt and it is therefore assumed that they have more knowledge, control, experience, and are more able to handle the difficult or advanced material.
In addition these attendees usually come from all across the style spectrum. At these seminars we have people from different two schools of Shotokan Karate, people from Goju Ryu Karate, people from Aikijutsu, people from TaeKwonDo backgrounds, and people with Judo backgrounds; sometimes people with backgrounds in more than one of the above. Someone from TaeKwonDo isn't going to know the same kata as someone from an Aikijutsu background, who isn't going to know any of the kata from a karate background. Even though the line between all martial arts can be blurred to the point of indistinction, not everyone is walking into the seminar with the same knowledge, EVEN if they are ALL black belts.
Now, I'll be fair and play the devil's advocate here. When I helped Nick design his rank sheets we arranged the requirements in such a way that the more dangerous and more difficult techniques were required and primarily taught to the upper ranking students. I can understand that it would be frustrating to have a white belt present and to have to try to cover the basics or things that they haven't yet learned in order to explain more in depth material, or being hesitant to work with them on more advanced techniques because you don't want them to hurt you. I DO understand and acknowledge those concerns.
However, who is to say a black belt FOR CERTAIN understands everything they are assumed to know? Maybe it's even more dangerous to NOT have any lower ranking belts present, because it is just assumed everyone in the room will know what is going on and no one wants to ask for clarification or help fear of looking stupid? I still have a tendency, because I feel that the black belt rank is arbitrary, to try to stick pretty close to working with Nick at seminars because there is a part of me that still doesn't totally trust the other black belts in the room not to hurt me either. Maybe that's pretty snide of me, but you have no way of knowing anything for certain when working with people you only see once or twice a year at a seminar. No offense seminar peoples, I love you all, but I still have trouble over coming my hang ups.
What to do, what to do? I feel that, If you really want to work on or cover techniques that are so advanced that any rank lower than a black belt should not be working on it, and you don't want to bother with explaining basics, or dealing with people who haven't studied the same style as you, then you need make a seminar that is SPECIFICALLY designed for people who practice Style X who have obtained at least rank Z or studied for Y number of years. It is not open to the general public. I'm perfectly OK with this. Awesome! More power to you! I don't really think it's being elitist even. It's just an advanced level seminar for people who practice a specific style. Cool. I fully acknowledge I am not qualified to attend your seminar and do not feel discriminated against in the slightest. (Although it might end of fostering an elitist attitude if people aren't careful, and I'm sure someone out there would be petty enough to throw a fit about not being allowed into a seminar they are not qualified to attend, but oh well.)
I do think that the Wilder and the the Abernethy type seminars are more of a general education type of seminar. Here is some REALLY cool stuff you can do with Martial Arts, we want you to take it home and incorporate it into your school and your style however you see fit. I think it's GREAT to have lower ranking students at these seminars because even if they can't utilize or haven't learned everything yet, they are getting some of the pieces to the puzzle that they can think about and plug in as they progress in their training. They are there because they are interested and they want to learn. Cool!
Let's foster that and encourage them. Try to remember what it felt like to be that rank. Did the upper belts you knew look down their nose at you? Could you pick up on the fact that they were irritated that you were there watching and learning? Were they mad that you asked questions because you couldn't understand something? Or were they excited to help you on your journey? Did they welcome questions? Did they get excited when they showed you something knew? Did they celebrate with you when you understood or grasped something for the first time or had a 'light-bulb moment'? Even if you had the former type of instructors or sempai, wouldn't you have rather had the latter?
Just some food for thought.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Aikijutsu Video
Hello.
In my last post, I mentioned Nick and I were going to make a video, and we finished it this weekend.
Not super happy about how it turned out. We didn't have a great camera to shoot with and we didn't really have time to do a practice run so I am incredibly awkward on camera. I sound like a valley girl. I promise I'm not like that in real life. @.@
As mentioned several times it's just something for fun. It isn't meant to be a practical application video. It's more of, here are some fun techniques in Aiki and how the correspond to certain joints in the body.
I'm not a shodan yet, but Sensei Nick let me wear Hakama anyway, for fun. :D I'm only a mid rank and I've been out of class a few months so my techniques aren't that clean. I request you don't critique my technique since that isn't what this video is about.
I think that covers about everything. Without further ado: THE VIDEO!!!
*Edit, watched the video after uploading it on YouTube... I have NO idea what YouTube did to my video, but the text shouldn't bounce around like it does. Sorry about that. : /
In my last post, I mentioned Nick and I were going to make a video, and we finished it this weekend.
Not super happy about how it turned out. We didn't have a great camera to shoot with and we didn't really have time to do a practice run so I am incredibly awkward on camera. I sound like a valley girl. I promise I'm not like that in real life. @.@
As mentioned several times it's just something for fun. It isn't meant to be a practical application video. It's more of, here are some fun techniques in Aiki and how the correspond to certain joints in the body.
I'm not a shodan yet, but Sensei Nick let me wear Hakama anyway, for fun. :D I'm only a mid rank and I've been out of class a few months so my techniques aren't that clean. I request you don't critique my technique since that isn't what this video is about.
I think that covers about everything. Without further ado: THE VIDEO!!!
*Edit, watched the video after uploading it on YouTube... I have NO idea what YouTube did to my video, but the text shouldn't bounce around like it does. Sorry about that. : /
Friday, April 12, 2013
Wilder Seminar Review II
A few weekends ago Nick and I got to attend one of Mr. Wilder's seminars. If you haven't had a chance to attend one of his seminars, you need to. This seminar presented different material from the last seminar that I attended with Mr. Wilder, which was pretty cool for Nick and I.
The first day/evening we took some time to review material from the last seminar. The closest seminars to us are hosted by Eric Parsons (who runs Karate 4 Life, which is pretty cool because it utilizes Martial Arts to help people, and all his seminars go towards fund raising, etc) in Missouri. By now, I feel like I kind of know everyone who attends the seminars and it is nice to see all the familiar faces. It feels like family. ^.^ Almost everyone there had attended Mr. Wilder's last seminar in Missouri, so it was neat to see how people have taken his teachings and incorporated them into their own practice.
There are definitely a lot of fundamentals that I need to improve on, and it doesn't help that I haven't been able to attend classes or work on Marital Arts a lot over the last several months. It's just another reminder that I need to make sure I make time for this and find a way to make a living doing what I love. But I digress.
Wilder uses structure and linear force to generate power. He talks about stacking the bones in your body and when he hits, it's really cool to watch. As I said in my last review of a Wilder Seminar, it's like Martial Arts Guru magic. It's neat stuff and it really works.
Day two delved more into the newer material. One of the first activities we did was to discover if we are a Runner, Grappler, or Striker. To do this exercise you need three people. One person stands in the middle and has one person behind them and one person in front of them. The person in the middle does something to get their heart rate up and to simulate stress. I.E. Running in place or doing fast jumping jacks. The person behind them positions them-self somewhere behind the person in the middle. The person in front watches to see when the person in the back is ready, and when the person in the middle is sufficiently stressed. They then yell "GO!" and the person in the back rushes the person in the middle. The person in the middle should then respond according to instinct. You need to do this several times (roughly 5) and see if the person in the middle runs toward, runs away, engages, or does something else, like assuming the fetal position.
After you have done this a few times you can look at your tendencies and determine if you are a Runner, Grappler, or Striker. The person behind you should mix it up a lot to make the situations different to see how you respond. Nick is grappler. I tend to be a little more situational. If the person is very close to me, or I am caught off guard/by surprise, my first instinct is to run. If I can see them coming then I move in to engage.
So the point of all this is to practice to your nature. Wilder says that your nature is your nature, it is who you are and it isn't going to change, so you should embrace it and practice to your strengths. Particularly when you practice kata, you should practice with your tendencies in mind so you are thinking of applications that suite your instincts. Is that box block a grab and strike, grab and strike, grab and strike, or is it really more of a shihonage? Depends on if you are a striker or grappler. Work to your nature and practice accordingly.
We then talked about striking from a distance, which is more psychological than anything. Using your eye contact and your body language to control people. This is pretty cool stuff, and something I need a lot of work on. Homework: PEOPLE WATCH. Watch how people stand when they talk to each other, or when you talk to them, and them move your body to a different position and see how they react.
After lunch we covered kicking! I am particularly fond of kicking because while I don't have a tremendous amount of upper body strength, I DO have a great deal of lower body strength. We covered a few different types of kicks, including suni geri and two variations on a shomengeri kick. Wilder does a great job of explaining how to use structural/linear force and the stronger muscles in your hips to power your kicks as opposed to the rotational force we see everywhere else. I won't go into any more detail here because Wilder is really the best instructor for this.
Wilder then took the last hour of the seminar and turned us into monks. With ice cubes. It was epic.
Wilder also briefly covered something he calls the "Macta Bacalas" (and I'm probably spelling that wrong, Mr. Wilder, if you're reading this, please correct me) which is the warrior's path. I find myself really drawn to discussions and ideals of this nature regarding Martial Arts and Martial training. It's not that I idealize violence, but when Wilder talks about the difference between a warrior and a fighter, I can't help but want to be the warrior. I don't care about playing the game, or dragging the fight out, or winning for glory. I want to be the warrior that ends it, immediately. The Samurai mentality to some degree... knowing you could snap that ass hole in half like a twig, but not doing it because it's not worth it. It's very hard to articulate for me... I'll have to think more on it and post about it in the future. By the way, if you ever meet Mr. Wilder, he has some pretty amazing Samurai eyebrows when he does his Samurai face. You should ask him to show you.
ANYWAY, I of course wanted to know more about this "Macta Bacalas" but when I asked Wilder said it's something he created, which he covers in his newest book, which isn't out yet. I have since pre-ordered my copy of Dirty Ground and am hopeful that this topic will be covered in more depth.
Overall, it was another great seminar, and a good reminder that I really need to stop filling my life with distractions so I can work on what I really want... as soon as I figure out what that is. For now, I will continue with my art and once school is out I will go back to training. (Although I am very glad I took Anatomy and Kinesiology as the class was very interesting and I hope to have a video posted soon of a project Nick and I are working on inspired by the class).
Till next time, ja mata.
The first day/evening we took some time to review material from the last seminar. The closest seminars to us are hosted by Eric Parsons (who runs Karate 4 Life, which is pretty cool because it utilizes Martial Arts to help people, and all his seminars go towards fund raising, etc) in Missouri. By now, I feel like I kind of know everyone who attends the seminars and it is nice to see all the familiar faces. It feels like family. ^.^ Almost everyone there had attended Mr. Wilder's last seminar in Missouri, so it was neat to see how people have taken his teachings and incorporated them into their own practice.
There are definitely a lot of fundamentals that I need to improve on, and it doesn't help that I haven't been able to attend classes or work on Marital Arts a lot over the last several months. It's just another reminder that I need to make sure I make time for this and find a way to make a living doing what I love. But I digress.
Wilder uses structure and linear force to generate power. He talks about stacking the bones in your body and when he hits, it's really cool to watch. As I said in my last review of a Wilder Seminar, it's like Martial Arts Guru magic. It's neat stuff and it really works.
Day two delved more into the newer material. One of the first activities we did was to discover if we are a Runner, Grappler, or Striker. To do this exercise you need three people. One person stands in the middle and has one person behind them and one person in front of them. The person in the middle does something to get their heart rate up and to simulate stress. I.E. Running in place or doing fast jumping jacks. The person behind them positions them-self somewhere behind the person in the middle. The person in front watches to see when the person in the back is ready, and when the person in the middle is sufficiently stressed. They then yell "GO!" and the person in the back rushes the person in the middle. The person in the middle should then respond according to instinct. You need to do this several times (roughly 5) and see if the person in the middle runs toward, runs away, engages, or does something else, like assuming the fetal position.
After you have done this a few times you can look at your tendencies and determine if you are a Runner, Grappler, or Striker. The person behind you should mix it up a lot to make the situations different to see how you respond. Nick is grappler. I tend to be a little more situational. If the person is very close to me, or I am caught off guard/by surprise, my first instinct is to run. If I can see them coming then I move in to engage.
So the point of all this is to practice to your nature. Wilder says that your nature is your nature, it is who you are and it isn't going to change, so you should embrace it and practice to your strengths. Particularly when you practice kata, you should practice with your tendencies in mind so you are thinking of applications that suite your instincts. Is that box block a grab and strike, grab and strike, grab and strike, or is it really more of a shihonage? Depends on if you are a striker or grappler. Work to your nature and practice accordingly.
We then talked about striking from a distance, which is more psychological than anything. Using your eye contact and your body language to control people. This is pretty cool stuff, and something I need a lot of work on. Homework: PEOPLE WATCH. Watch how people stand when they talk to each other, or when you talk to them, and them move your body to a different position and see how they react.
After lunch we covered kicking! I am particularly fond of kicking because while I don't have a tremendous amount of upper body strength, I DO have a great deal of lower body strength. We covered a few different types of kicks, including suni geri and two variations on a shomengeri kick. Wilder does a great job of explaining how to use structural/linear force and the stronger muscles in your hips to power your kicks as opposed to the rotational force we see everywhere else. I won't go into any more detail here because Wilder is really the best instructor for this.
Wilder then took the last hour of the seminar and turned us into monks. With ice cubes. It was epic.
Wilder also briefly covered something he calls the "Macta Bacalas" (and I'm probably spelling that wrong, Mr. Wilder, if you're reading this, please correct me) which is the warrior's path. I find myself really drawn to discussions and ideals of this nature regarding Martial Arts and Martial training. It's not that I idealize violence, but when Wilder talks about the difference between a warrior and a fighter, I can't help but want to be the warrior. I don't care about playing the game, or dragging the fight out, or winning for glory. I want to be the warrior that ends it, immediately. The Samurai mentality to some degree... knowing you could snap that ass hole in half like a twig, but not doing it because it's not worth it. It's very hard to articulate for me... I'll have to think more on it and post about it in the future. By the way, if you ever meet Mr. Wilder, he has some pretty amazing Samurai eyebrows when he does his Samurai face. You should ask him to show you.
ANYWAY, I of course wanted to know more about this "Macta Bacalas" but when I asked Wilder said it's something he created, which he covers in his newest book, which isn't out yet. I have since pre-ordered my copy of Dirty Ground and am hopeful that this topic will be covered in more depth.
Overall, it was another great seminar, and a good reminder that I really need to stop filling my life with distractions so I can work on what I really want... as soon as I figure out what that is. For now, I will continue with my art and once school is out I will go back to training. (Although I am very glad I took Anatomy and Kinesiology as the class was very interesting and I hope to have a video posted soon of a project Nick and I are working on inspired by the class).
Till next time, ja mata.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Long absence and life direction frustrations
Hi everyone...
I know its been forever since I posted... I've had a lot of junk going on lately in my life and I feel like I've been losing and re-orienting my direction in life a lot over the last year.
To understand where I am there are just a few things you probably need to know that will help everything make sense. I have a lot of student loan debt and a degree that I don't like. Well... I take part of that back. I do have a tremendous amount of student loan debt. Around 120k. And I have a BFA in Graphic Design and Interactive Media. Which is cool... except I don't want to work in that industry. I LOVE doing art... and I'm fairly good at it, but I like doing it on MY terms. I don't like clients dictating how the design needs to look, and I certainly don't want to work in advertising and convince people to buy things they don't need with money they don't have. I've probably mentioned all of this somewhere before in previous posts, so if I am repeating myself, I apologize.
What I have been struggling with over the last year or so is what to do next. Where do I go from here? I have been working several different very low end jobs to try to pay down my student loan debt, but I am not even close to making ends meat. Art is NOT a good profession to have in this kind of industry, and it is difficult to get other well paying work with an Art degree. Last year I made $8,000. My student loan payments are $1100 a month. You can do the math.
So I figured I probably ought to get back to school and get myself a degree that pays better and is in an industry I enjoy more. Because if you do what you love you'll never actually work a day in your life. I just... have no idea what I WANT to do. I keep feeling stuck.
For a while I thought personal trainer. Then I wasn't so sure about that. I am MovNat certified, but in Oklahoma, that is worth SHIT because it seems like everyone here is overweight and no one cares about their health enough to do anything about it. I have offered several seminars and I have never had one person call or show up. So that went out the window.
Then I got a job in a administrative type setting. I was working as a Customer Service Rep for a while. Which is a fancy way of saying secretary. But all three jobs I worked as a CSR over the last year were HORRIBLE and ended badly. Terrible bosses seem to be everywhere these days and it seems like people are being abused and mistreated in all levels of businesses these days. So... even though I've been trying to keep a steady job to work on paying my loans down, I seem to keep winding up places where the working conditions and the management are so bad I end up quitting because I refuse to put up with the terrible working conditions.
So I did some research and talked to a few people and decided maybe PTA would be a good fit. It's just an associates degree, they make decent starting pay, around 35k to 40k in Colorado, (which I am planning on moving back [home] soon.) So that would be good. So I took a few classes to see if I like the material and looked into prospective colleges and got my shadowing in line and everything. I took a Kinesiology class, which I absolutely love. I was thinking PTA would get to do a lot of things similar to the material we were covering in class, but incidentally, they don't get to do any of it.
So... now what?!
I keep thinking and thinking "what do I want to do with my life" and I keep coming back to running a school with Nick. That is what I want to do. So... instead of trying to find something to do to make money doing so I can do what I want, I need to figure out how to make Nick's school successful so I don't have to have a day job. I want my job to be the work that I love.
Nick and I have talked a lot about diversifying the school a little bit so that we can make the best use of the space. We would like to offer fairly comprehensive services to our students. We don't want our dojo to be open only a few hours a week in the evenings. Ultimately I think we want to offer self defense classes in the form of Applied Karate and Aikijutsu. We want to encourage our students to read works by Wilder, Miller, MacYoung, and others. We want to offer personal training and encourage good health and fitness practices in our students. (I will be honest, it is a huge pet peeve of mine to see Black Belts who are seriously overweight...) We want to offer nutrition classes on occasion and nutrition coaching if students want it. I think this would be great to have these resources available to students all in one place. I feel like so many schools never go into anything other than, let's kick and punch and go to tournament. People come to study martial arts for a variety of reasons, so why not try to help aid and encourage the diversity of those reasons and give students the resources they might want or need right there at the school?
I have read some stories of schools trying to diversify and that didn't work out for them AT ALL. One story was of a school that had a tea room and a pro shop attached and was about to go under till they got rid of both of those and made them classroom spaces and now the school does incredibly well. On the flip side there is a Krav Maga school in Denver that has two classrooms and a work out space and they do very well. This is more along the lines of what I am wanting.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... while I have been trying to figure out 'what to do till we get the school going' and working, it just keeps taking more and more and more time away from me doing what I really love and what I really want to do: MARTIAL ARTS. Because school class times conflicted with dojo class times, (and I desperately wanted to take the Kinesiology class, which I am very glad I did) I haven't been able to attend any Martial Arts classes since December. And I won't be able to go back to classes till May. ARGH! It's killing me! I HATE not going to class. It's such a huge set back.
So what is the point of having a day job that I'm not making any money at any way, and that keeps me from getting closer to doing what I want to do? It all seems so backwards and frustrating. So I feel like I need to re-organize and re-prioritize my goals.
I DO want to go back to school, but I want to go back for a degree that is going to be the most useful to running a martial arts school and fitness facility. Through shadowing and taking a few classes this semester I think the things I want to do in addition to helping Nick manage the school and occasionally teach classes would be more on the fitness side and the mobility assessments and range of motion tests and such. There are a few different degrees that I am looking at, which would be a B.S. with a major in Athletic Training (which would be a lot of injury assessment and detailed bone and muscle knowledge), or a B.S. with a major in Health and Human Performance with a minor in Nutrition. (Which is exercise science and coaching and nutrition) either degree would be completed with intent to go on and eventually look at getting a Masters in Kinesiology.
The really frustrating part is that because I left Colorado, I no longer have residency there, and since that is where I will be returning to, I will be going to school there, and I don't think I can afford out of state tuition. ARGH. I feel like for every one step I take forward it is two steps back. >.< It's so frustrating. I just feel very stressed out about the whole thing. I know what I want... (I think...) I'm just not sure how I'm going to make it happen just yet...
Grr.
I know its been forever since I posted... I've had a lot of junk going on lately in my life and I feel like I've been losing and re-orienting my direction in life a lot over the last year.
To understand where I am there are just a few things you probably need to know that will help everything make sense. I have a lot of student loan debt and a degree that I don't like. Well... I take part of that back. I do have a tremendous amount of student loan debt. Around 120k. And I have a BFA in Graphic Design and Interactive Media. Which is cool... except I don't want to work in that industry. I LOVE doing art... and I'm fairly good at it, but I like doing it on MY terms. I don't like clients dictating how the design needs to look, and I certainly don't want to work in advertising and convince people to buy things they don't need with money they don't have. I've probably mentioned all of this somewhere before in previous posts, so if I am repeating myself, I apologize.
What I have been struggling with over the last year or so is what to do next. Where do I go from here? I have been working several different very low end jobs to try to pay down my student loan debt, but I am not even close to making ends meat. Art is NOT a good profession to have in this kind of industry, and it is difficult to get other well paying work with an Art degree. Last year I made $8,000. My student loan payments are $1100 a month. You can do the math.
So I figured I probably ought to get back to school and get myself a degree that pays better and is in an industry I enjoy more. Because if you do what you love you'll never actually work a day in your life. I just... have no idea what I WANT to do. I keep feeling stuck.
For a while I thought personal trainer. Then I wasn't so sure about that. I am MovNat certified, but in Oklahoma, that is worth SHIT because it seems like everyone here is overweight and no one cares about their health enough to do anything about it. I have offered several seminars and I have never had one person call or show up. So that went out the window.
Then I got a job in a administrative type setting. I was working as a Customer Service Rep for a while. Which is a fancy way of saying secretary. But all three jobs I worked as a CSR over the last year were HORRIBLE and ended badly. Terrible bosses seem to be everywhere these days and it seems like people are being abused and mistreated in all levels of businesses these days. So... even though I've been trying to keep a steady job to work on paying my loans down, I seem to keep winding up places where the working conditions and the management are so bad I end up quitting because I refuse to put up with the terrible working conditions.
So I did some research and talked to a few people and decided maybe PTA would be a good fit. It's just an associates degree, they make decent starting pay, around 35k to 40k in Colorado, (which I am planning on moving back [home] soon.) So that would be good. So I took a few classes to see if I like the material and looked into prospective colleges and got my shadowing in line and everything. I took a Kinesiology class, which I absolutely love. I was thinking PTA would get to do a lot of things similar to the material we were covering in class, but incidentally, they don't get to do any of it.
So... now what?!
I keep thinking and thinking "what do I want to do with my life" and I keep coming back to running a school with Nick. That is what I want to do. So... instead of trying to find something to do to make money doing so I can do what I want, I need to figure out how to make Nick's school successful so I don't have to have a day job. I want my job to be the work that I love.
Nick and I have talked a lot about diversifying the school a little bit so that we can make the best use of the space. We would like to offer fairly comprehensive services to our students. We don't want our dojo to be open only a few hours a week in the evenings. Ultimately I think we want to offer self defense classes in the form of Applied Karate and Aikijutsu. We want to encourage our students to read works by Wilder, Miller, MacYoung, and others. We want to offer personal training and encourage good health and fitness practices in our students. (I will be honest, it is a huge pet peeve of mine to see Black Belts who are seriously overweight...) We want to offer nutrition classes on occasion and nutrition coaching if students want it. I think this would be great to have these resources available to students all in one place. I feel like so many schools never go into anything other than, let's kick and punch and go to tournament. People come to study martial arts for a variety of reasons, so why not try to help aid and encourage the diversity of those reasons and give students the resources they might want or need right there at the school?
I have read some stories of schools trying to diversify and that didn't work out for them AT ALL. One story was of a school that had a tea room and a pro shop attached and was about to go under till they got rid of both of those and made them classroom spaces and now the school does incredibly well. On the flip side there is a Krav Maga school in Denver that has two classrooms and a work out space and they do very well. This is more along the lines of what I am wanting.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... while I have been trying to figure out 'what to do till we get the school going' and working, it just keeps taking more and more and more time away from me doing what I really love and what I really want to do: MARTIAL ARTS. Because school class times conflicted with dojo class times, (and I desperately wanted to take the Kinesiology class, which I am very glad I did) I haven't been able to attend any Martial Arts classes since December. And I won't be able to go back to classes till May. ARGH! It's killing me! I HATE not going to class. It's such a huge set back.
So what is the point of having a day job that I'm not making any money at any way, and that keeps me from getting closer to doing what I want to do? It all seems so backwards and frustrating. So I feel like I need to re-organize and re-prioritize my goals.
I DO want to go back to school, but I want to go back for a degree that is going to be the most useful to running a martial arts school and fitness facility. Through shadowing and taking a few classes this semester I think the things I want to do in addition to helping Nick manage the school and occasionally teach classes would be more on the fitness side and the mobility assessments and range of motion tests and such. There are a few different degrees that I am looking at, which would be a B.S. with a major in Athletic Training (which would be a lot of injury assessment and detailed bone and muscle knowledge), or a B.S. with a major in Health and Human Performance with a minor in Nutrition. (Which is exercise science and coaching and nutrition) either degree would be completed with intent to go on and eventually look at getting a Masters in Kinesiology.
The really frustrating part is that because I left Colorado, I no longer have residency there, and since that is where I will be returning to, I will be going to school there, and I don't think I can afford out of state tuition. ARGH. I feel like for every one step I take forward it is two steps back. >.< It's so frustrating. I just feel very stressed out about the whole thing. I know what I want... (I think...) I'm just not sure how I'm going to make it happen just yet...
Grr.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
I'm not a wimp complex
The "I'm Not a Wimp" complex:
I gotta be tough.
I can't be seen as weak.
I don't want them to think I'm weak.
I'm not weak.
I don't want them to think less of me.
No pain, no gain.
I can push through this.
I'm not a wimp.
I'm not a wuss.
I'm a pansy.
ETC.
All thoughts that I have either had, or felt myself thinking in response to a vocal or perceived attitude from someone I've been working out with or someone I train with.
Here's the point: It is OK to give yourself a day off, to give yourself permission to sit out, to heal, to recover, to NOT injury yourself or to FULLY RECOVER from an injury you DO receive.
Very, VERY often I forget this. I tend to push myself very hard, sometimes because I feel like I have something to prove, sometimes because I don't want to be thought of as weak, and sometimes just because I like to jump in with both feet and give it all I've got.
This is my reminder to myself that it's in my head, and no one thinks I'm weak if I have to take time out to heal. If I take care of myself, then I can continue to practice Martial Arts and Exercise for the rest of my life. And if they do, then they either don't know or they're a jack ass.
I would encourage you to do the same. Give yourself time to recover. Take a day off. See a a Doctor, a Massage Therapist or a Chiropractor or all of the above if you have injuries. Don't let people talk you into more than you can do. More importantly, don't let yourself talk you into more than you can do.
I am notoriously bad at jumping back in before I should, or overdoing it when I'm already sore. Which is why I keep having shoulder problems. If you don't allow yourself to heal COMPLETELY before returning to your activities, the injury will just keep coming up and you will be in pain perpetually and begin to do very serious and irreversible damage.
Anyway, I just have to remind myself sometimes to slow down and take care of my body. If I forget, or feel like I can't because I have to maintain a "tough girl" image, then other's might need a reminder as well. And if anyone gives you shit for it, you tell them I said to bugger off.
Samurai Girl says:
Take care of your body! You are NOT weak, you are NOT a wimp, you are NOT a pansy. You are a self respecting individual with enough strength to do what is needed for the long term. It takes more courage to step down then it does to keep going when you can seriously mess your body up for life.
I gotta be tough.
I can't be seen as weak.
I don't want them to think I'm weak.
I'm not weak.
I don't want them to think less of me.
No pain, no gain.
I can push through this.
I'm not a wimp.
I'm not a wuss.
I'm a pansy.
ETC.
All thoughts that I have either had, or felt myself thinking in response to a vocal or perceived attitude from someone I've been working out with or someone I train with.
Here's the point: It is OK to give yourself a day off, to give yourself permission to sit out, to heal, to recover, to NOT injury yourself or to FULLY RECOVER from an injury you DO receive.
Very, VERY often I forget this. I tend to push myself very hard, sometimes because I feel like I have something to prove, sometimes because I don't want to be thought of as weak, and sometimes just because I like to jump in with both feet and give it all I've got.
This is my reminder to myself that it's in my head, and no one thinks I'm weak if I have to take time out to heal. If I take care of myself, then I can continue to practice Martial Arts and Exercise for the rest of my life. And if they do, then they either don't know or they're a jack ass.
I would encourage you to do the same. Give yourself time to recover. Take a day off. See a a Doctor, a Massage Therapist or a Chiropractor or all of the above if you have injuries. Don't let people talk you into more than you can do. More importantly, don't let yourself talk you into more than you can do.
I am notoriously bad at jumping back in before I should, or overdoing it when I'm already sore. Which is why I keep having shoulder problems. If you don't allow yourself to heal COMPLETELY before returning to your activities, the injury will just keep coming up and you will be in pain perpetually and begin to do very serious and irreversible damage.
Anyway, I just have to remind myself sometimes to slow down and take care of my body. If I forget, or feel like I can't because I have to maintain a "tough girl" image, then other's might need a reminder as well. And if anyone gives you shit for it, you tell them I said to bugger off.
Samurai Girl says:
Take care of your body! You are NOT weak, you are NOT a wimp, you are NOT a pansy. You are a self respecting individual with enough strength to do what is needed for the long term. It takes more courage to step down then it does to keep going when you can seriously mess your body up for life.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Yamamoto Seminar Review
Last weekend I attended the Yamamoto seminar in Columbia Missouri. Sensei Nick is (sadly) in the middle of the ocean, so it was just myself and another student from the dojo for this one.
This seminar was a bit different than previous seminars I have attended, but I really enjoyed it. Mr. Yamamoto studies Karate AND Aikido, so there was a distinct Aiki flavor to the weekend, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have much more experience with Aiki than I do with Karate, so it was refreshing to be in familiar territory for once. There were some Karate applications and Kata bunkai discussion, which was similar to what I learned at the Wilder seminar. A very distinct similarity was going over how to stand and position yourself to be relaxed, yet rooted for powerful striking.
I later learned that Mr. Wilder and Mr. Yamamoto had the same Sensei. Ah. So that's where they got it.
The first day we covered how to stand (not quite as in depth as in the Wilder seminar) and how to be immovable through relaxation (which was not covered in the Wilder seminar). Also covered was how to be deceptive through relaxation and some of the defensive condition techniques. The Wedge, Dracula's Cape, and Answering the Phone. Or as Mr. Yamamoto says "Combing the Hair." We covered, not quite as in depth as the Wilder seminar, striking with power and remaining relaxed to do so. We also covered not crossing the road twice, so when you move, you move in one direction, with purpose.
One highlight of the seminar for me was getting to do some relaxed cuts with the bokken. I've always been TOLD that Aiki stems from sword practice, but I've never understood HOW. After doing some cuts and Mr. Yamamoto demonstrating to the class how some of the movements in both Karate and Aiki relate to, or are even taken directly from, sword movements, it makes much more sense now. It makes me want to do more sword training for sure.
Yamamoto focused more on internal versus external effects, which break down like this
The second day Tina and I were late, due to some difficulty checking out at the hotel that morning. >: / So we missed maybe the firs 45 minutes or so of that day, but what we covered was mostly application of what we learned on day one. We practiced several Aiki type techniques and Aiki-minded applications to the Karate kata. Which would be like, this move from this Karate kata, but it is done in a relaxed way so as to be deceptive. It's just a different approach, not better or worse, just different.
Aiki tends to be my happy place, so I was really excited to learn some Aiki applications to Karate kata. It's not that I don't like Karate, I DO. Aikido/Aikijutsu just seems to have it's own unique methods. It's different from almost any other martial art... Not that all martail arts are the same, except they kind of are, but that's another can of worms. Even Judo "the gentle way" looks NOTHING like Aiki.
All that aside, I actually got to talk Martial Arts with Mr. Yamamoto after the seminar on the first day. If you get a chance to go the hang outs after the seminars that Eric Parsons hosts, they are well worth it, by the way. It was a great chance to discuss some of the difficulties I've been having with Aiki and get some outside perspective. We discussed muscle vs. finess on a technique and also how height/weight/body type plays a role in martial arts, etc. It was really spectacular to get some one on one time to really discuss some of my thoughts and difficulties with the Martial Arts with someone who has a similar background to what I am striving for. (Aiki and Karate)
Last but not least, I wanted to follow up a bit on the last post I wrote following a seminar review about attitude. I have to say the attitude at this seminar was better than any seminar I've been to. Everyone was friendly and talkative and outgoing. I didn't get the weird vibe like I've had before at all! I made a point to try to get around and talk to people and get names. I met several great gentlemen including Mark, Tony, Ed, Brian, Ryan and others. I am terrible with names, but those are the ones I remember. I worked with different people and had a great experience. I hope every seminar I attend goes just like this!
This seminar was a bit different than previous seminars I have attended, but I really enjoyed it. Mr. Yamamoto studies Karate AND Aikido, so there was a distinct Aiki flavor to the weekend, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have much more experience with Aiki than I do with Karate, so it was refreshing to be in familiar territory for once. There were some Karate applications and Kata bunkai discussion, which was similar to what I learned at the Wilder seminar. A very distinct similarity was going over how to stand and position yourself to be relaxed, yet rooted for powerful striking.
I later learned that Mr. Wilder and Mr. Yamamoto had the same Sensei. Ah. So that's where they got it.
The first day we covered how to stand (not quite as in depth as in the Wilder seminar) and how to be immovable through relaxation (which was not covered in the Wilder seminar). Also covered was how to be deceptive through relaxation and some of the defensive condition techniques. The Wedge, Dracula's Cape, and Answering the Phone. Or as Mr. Yamamoto says "Combing the Hair." We covered, not quite as in depth as the Wilder seminar, striking with power and remaining relaxed to do so. We also covered not crossing the road twice, so when you move, you move in one direction, with purpose.
One highlight of the seminar for me was getting to do some relaxed cuts with the bokken. I've always been TOLD that Aiki stems from sword practice, but I've never understood HOW. After doing some cuts and Mr. Yamamoto demonstrating to the class how some of the movements in both Karate and Aiki relate to, or are even taken directly from, sword movements, it makes much more sense now. It makes me want to do more sword training for sure.
Yamamoto focused more on internal versus external effects, which break down like this
- Interntal (Things YOU control)
- Structure
- Relaxed and Confident
- Hide Your Technique
- Move Your Hand First
- External (Things to do to HIM)
- Break His Structure
- Kill His Center
- Cheat
- Cut Through Him (like a sword!)
The second day Tina and I were late, due to some difficulty checking out at the hotel that morning. >: / So we missed maybe the firs 45 minutes or so of that day, but what we covered was mostly application of what we learned on day one. We practiced several Aiki type techniques and Aiki-minded applications to the Karate kata. Which would be like, this move from this Karate kata, but it is done in a relaxed way so as to be deceptive. It's just a different approach, not better or worse, just different.
Aiki tends to be my happy place, so I was really excited to learn some Aiki applications to Karate kata. It's not that I don't like Karate, I DO. Aikido/Aikijutsu just seems to have it's own unique methods. It's different from almost any other martial art... Not that all martail arts are the same, except they kind of are, but that's another can of worms. Even Judo "the gentle way" looks NOTHING like Aiki.
All that aside, I actually got to talk Martial Arts with Mr. Yamamoto after the seminar on the first day. If you get a chance to go the hang outs after the seminars that Eric Parsons hosts, they are well worth it, by the way. It was a great chance to discuss some of the difficulties I've been having with Aiki and get some outside perspective. We discussed muscle vs. finess on a technique and also how height/weight/body type plays a role in martial arts, etc. It was really spectacular to get some one on one time to really discuss some of my thoughts and difficulties with the Martial Arts with someone who has a similar background to what I am striving for. (Aiki and Karate)
Last but not least, I wanted to follow up a bit on the last post I wrote following a seminar review about attitude. I have to say the attitude at this seminar was better than any seminar I've been to. Everyone was friendly and talkative and outgoing. I didn't get the weird vibe like I've had before at all! I made a point to try to get around and talk to people and get names. I met several great gentlemen including Mark, Tony, Ed, Brian, Ryan and others. I am terrible with names, but those are the ones I remember. I worked with different people and had a great experience. I hope every seminar I attend goes just like this!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Watching MMA
As mentioned in previous blog posts, I more or less live under a rock. I tend to be pretty detached from main stream anything. I don't own a T.V. that plays channels, I don't read the newspaper or watch the news, etc. I pretty much live in a bubble. I know this isn't really a good thing, but it's where I'm at right now, so it is what it is.
I went over to my mom's house a while back and she wanted to show me some MMA fights since I had never seen any. Yep. I've been practicing Martial Arts for several years now and I've never watched a boxing match or MMA match at all. My mom and step dad are pretty supportive of my Martial Arts goals and they link me all kinds of stuff, keep an eye out for articles, etc. and my mom is actually (and surprisingly) really big into MMA. She knows a lot of the fighters names and styles etc.
Well, my mom was telling me about some of the MMA fighters and how the Brazillian JuJutsu guys were pretty hard core, especially when they 'ground and pound'. She was also trying to explain how good this one guy was and how he just toyed with his opponents. I THINK it was Anderson Silva, but it's 11pm and too late to call my mom and double check.
ANYWAY, so my mom pulled up the episodes she had recorded and was having me watch some. I got to thinking, as my mom was getting all excited and yelling at the T.V. and I was watching through my fingers over my eyes...
"Isn't this just a little bit fucked up?"
Pardon my language. But seriously: what is so wonderful and exciting about watching two guys get into the octagon and beat each other till they are bloody and broken? I mean... if you REALLY think about... that's kind of messed up. They beat the other guy till he gives up or can't continue anymore, and they stand up covered in blood with huge bruises already forming, black eyes, and the crowd goes totally wild. Woah.
And we've been doing it pretty much since the beginning of recorded history.
We have rules to protect our fighters now, but gladiators competed in the Colosseum and fought to the death. Think about it... Two or more people got up in front of a crowd of thousands of cheering people and fought each other until all but one of them DIED. For ENTERTAINMENT.
All I can think is "Why?"
I'm about to open a huge can of worms with this, but I'm going to do it anyway and I'll try to be brief:
Violence is part of human nature. We can't escape it. It's part of who we are.
I'm not saying we're not capable of mercy and compassion and love, but I don't think it's our first instinct or our natural tendency. When we don't understand something or we're afraid, humans generally react with violence. "What is that?" "I don't know.." "Kill it!"
In a perfect world, we wouldn't have things like Martial Arts, because everything would be love and rainbows and sunshine. No one would hurt each other or hate each other and things like rape and murder and theft wouldn't happen. But we don't live in that kind of world, so it's a moot point. Sorry hippies, you can't escape your programming no matter how much you try and you can't change anyone else either.
I would wager that, for whatever reason (religion/original sin, evolution, instinct, etc.) violence is in our nature. We can't escape it. During the time when there was no law and we had to defend ourselves, or abide by laws such as Hammurabi's code "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" being violent kept us alive, fed and our families safe.
In today's 1st world countries, there is no need for that type of violence. We have police officers and a legal system to take care of the bad guys for us. So how do we get these primal urges out? Watching MMA, boxing, and wrestling, and if we can't satisfy our need for violence though those channels, or feel that the justice system fails us (bullies in school for example and teachers/principles who won't do anything) we have cases of monkey dances in bars, road rage, school shootings, etc.
I would almost argue that sport fights, or in the past, sport killings, are/were necessary to appease our darker sides and keep a greater peace. It keeps the real beast lurking inside content, keeping the rage and our violent natures at bay.
The caveat being, real violence rocks us to our core. It touches and twists us in ways we cannot understand until we have experienced it first hand. Soldiers coming back from war, rape victims, people who have suffered gang beatings, people in the law enforcement industry. I have read stories about and talked to some people who have experienced real violence, and having to actually hurt someone, having to kill someone, being violated by someone, these are things that are utterly shattering to a person. They can take years to come to terms with and to get over. Some people never get over it.
If going through these things is so devastating to our psyche, then why do we crave violence and often react with violence first? Why is violence is such an integral part of our nature if it is so damaging to us?
Finding the answers will involve a great deal of research looking through piles and piles of information regarding history, culture, violence, psychology and philosophy. Even then I'm not sure there is one single right answer. I think most of Miller's work is going to be a good place to start, and following his sources. Reading work by other experts on the topic will help, so I will probably read some of Marc MacYoung's work as well.
Still.... it's a big question... probably one with many answers.
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