Impractical Practice...

I was thinking about this yesterday and thought it would make an interesting post. The comments/responses should prove interesting and educational for all of us.

Because I am a busy mom who also works full time and is involved in community groups, church groups, PTA, etc, I don’t have a lot of large blocks of time to practice my martial arts. (Although I try my best to make time!) So, I try to incorporate it into little time crunches throughout my day (and life). If you’ve read my Kata post, you know I practice martial arts in the bathroom at work when nobody is in there with me. (The bad part – I have to have phone relief to use the restroom at work because I answer the main lines. I bet they think I’m constipated a lot of the time because I’m gone so long! Gee, it just occurred to me - I hope nobody from work reads my blog or I’m busted!) Below are just some of the ways I find to put my martial arts into practice in what some people would consider unusual circumstances.
I’d love to hear some of yours as well…

• Okay, I already said it – I practice kumites, katas, kicks, knuckle pushups, whatever in the bathroom at work. (When I run out of room on the katas, I just push the stall door open and continue or back up a little bit and continue. (Safety note: Much easier to do this in summer when I can just kick my sandals off and do this bare footed. In winter, with socks – too slippery and easy to fall on the tile floor! Thank goodness our bathroom floors are very clean.)
• I also practice the above things in my kitchen, my bedroom, my living room at home. Same process with backing up and continuing.
• I balance on one foot while watching tv at home (there’s a small tile section right inside my front door where I do that – good view of the tv from there. (But I lock the front door in case someone comes in unexpectedly and knocks me off balance.)
• I balance on one foot at in the kitchen at work while waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. I also practice katas there. The soda machine’s shiny face provides my own little practice mirror. (I really wish I had a big mirrored area to practice all the time. Just my little soda machine glimpses seem to help.)
• I do knuckle push ups and triangle push ups (for the triceps) off the wall in the kitchen at work while waiting for my lunch to heat up in the microwave.
• I try to balance on one leg while brushing my teeth and blow-drying my hair. Now that is a challenge! I’m usually not very successful at that one.
• When standing from a sitting position, I try to not use my hands and try to use the center of my gravity more.
• When going up steps at work (3 flights often throughout the day) I try to also use my center of gravity.
• I don’t remember in what martial arts book I read this, but when opening doors, use your core strength rather than your arm strength. When I remember, I try to do this.
• I read anything I can get my hands on about martial arts. Books, magazines, websites, blogs…You name it, I’ll read it. I try to have a m.a. related book with me at all times so I can learn while waiting in line rather than just wasting my time waiting in line.
• I watch documentaries, movies, again, you name it, I’ll watch it.
• I do a breathing/meditation/energy technique taught to me by one of our school’s teachers, whom I admire very much. It is from a book called “Your Hands Can Heal You” by Stephen Co. I have only done this one exercise from this book and it is very powerful and lets you see how you really do possess energy. I have the book and want to read it and apply its principles, but it is not one I want to rush and just never seem to have the time/place to sit and read it uninterrupted where I can really understand it. New goal for self: Read this book and truly learn and understand it’s teachings!
• And then we have the visualization that I also spoke of in the kata post. I probably use this technique more than any other. I can do this anywhere, anytime, provided I am not distracted from what I need to be doing. Just visualize it and then try it when I have the opportunity to perform it physically. (Currently, I’ve been working on that for a jumping front snap kick and when I do it physically, it is getting better, but I have a lot more work – both visualizing it and physically practicing it to go.)
  
  Anyway, I’d LOVE to hear some of the ways you put your martial arts into practice in impractical / unconventional ways / places!

You Kata Love It...

It is hard to narrow it down to just one thing, but if I had to name my very favorite part of martial arts, I think it would be kata. I know it is a very controversial subject in the martial arts world. Almost every article on kata I've ever read starts out with something along the lines of "Some arts stress the importance of kata, while others think it is just a bunch of bunkai. (That was a pretty good one, wasn’t it?)

It could be said that I have not been involved in martial arts long enough to know which of those viewpoints is most accurate. And if you're the one that said it, I'd almost have to agree with you. You would be partially right. After all, I have only just learned my fourth kata. I have read/heard both sides of the debate. Opponents say kata is not applicable to real life. On the flip side, many say it is the most important aspect as its repetition drives home the muscle memory of the fundamentals; That it enables our bodies to carry out the basics of martial arts without our minds having to think through it first.

What I do know about kata is not based on research or fact, but on pure gut instinct and that is that I absolutely love it. I love the simplicity within the intricacy. I love the elegance, the rhythm, the flow, the power, and if done correctly, the emotion (which if done well, looks more like a lack thereof). I love the fact that I can practice kata almost anywhere, anytime. I can glide across the large dojo floor, or feel the plush, green carpet of a large patch of grass in the backyard under my feet. I can practice kata in my kitchen or the bathroom at work (when nobody else is in there that is!) In those smaller places, all I have to do is compensate with less encompassing steps or kicks, but the movements are all still there. I can even perfect my katas at work at my desk, behind the wheel of my car at a stoplight, or as I'm drifting off to sleep at night - in my mind, that is. When I can't get up and perform the actual physical movements of kata, I try to visualize myself doing just that. And since so much of martial arts is about the mind, this form of practice is almost as beneficial as the physical act itself - maybe even more so. Sometimes I work out the logistics of a technique or move with which I'm having trouble in this way. More than once, in doing so, I've had one of those "Aha!" moments and could barely wait until I could get to a place where I could try it out physically. And the icing on the cake is when, in trying out the solution I've come up with in my mind, I find that it works!

You Kata love that!

Howdy Partner and Happy Trails...

I hate numbers. I am a "word person", not a "number person". I know there are probably some stats I could quote for you in regards to how many adults start martial arts classes but drop out fairly quickly, but I will spare you the drudgery of that. I'm sure we can all agree that this is probably true no matter what the figures say. (But they apparently hold onto their gi's because I sure don't find any adult ones in the thrift stores!)

Our adult class has lost some students, too. Our sessions last between 8-16 weeks depending on the season. At the time of this blog, I am in my third or fourth session - I've lost track. (I blame it on the number phobia, not a poor memory.) During that time, all three from my first session are gone. One woman, who I'll call Rose, from my second session is still involved. All the others from her class have dropped. We retained one guy from the next session. Another guy from that session hung in there for awhile but he quit coming after I agreed to be partners with him in class one night. (More about that later in the post.) We had a gentleman come in during the same session as these other two guys. He brought his entire family - the wife and all 8 or 9 of his kids. They all sat and watched their patriarch learn karate. He stuck with it for almost a full session, but then did not come back either. And he seemed really into it, too. Last session, we had a 14 year old girl join us. She is very quiet and very shy. Surprisingly, she came back this session. She is starting to talk a little more now. She and I were looking at the 10 or so newbies last week trying to predict who we thought would stick with it and who wouldn't. The funny part - one of them has the same first and last name as I do! So, in case you lost track there, I believe that since I started a year ago, only 4 others have continued their classes out of approximately 8 or so.

Now, back to the guy who went AWOL after he and I were partnered up in class. This guy always came in street clothes -never a gi. He was about the same height as me with our arms & legs being about the same in length. Probably about the same weight - close anyway. In our class, not always, but more often that not. when we break up into partners, the females usually pair up with other females and the guys with guys. One night, we started to break into partners as always and Rose & I started to partner up. Out of the blue, this guy who has never spoken to us before says to me, "You know, you girls always partner up with each other. In real life, you wouldn't be fighting a girl all of the time. You need to step outside of your comfort zone." Rose & I took it more as a slam than constructive criticism and partnered up anyway. The guy partnered up with another, much taller guy.

Fast forward about 2 weeks later. When we went to partner up, I got a wild hair up my…I mean a sudden inspiration to call this guy on his challenge and partner up with this guy to prove I was ready to step outside of my comfort zone. I told him that we'd be partners tonight and I think I shocked him. I think he never thought I'd actually act upon his "dare". Well, we did some kumite practice and because of our similar body shape/size, it was easy to work with him. He was very encouraging and helped me work through the more difficult techniques. It was a very productive evening and I think it surprised both of us that we worked so well together. At the end of the evening, he thanked me for practicing with him. And then I never saw him again. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Remember the delusional girl from my first class ever? The one with the too-small green belt? I never saw her again either. I've come to the conclusion that either A.) I'm so intimidating that I scare them away, or B.) I'm the delusional one…

I prefer to think it's "A"…which basically pretty much proves it's "B"…: )

Bend it Like Dolly...Or Don't Let the Boobs Get You Down

Or more appropriately, "When the Boobs Won't Let You Get Down" : )

Guys, just bear with me here. You will have no way in which to identify with the problem I have with some aspects of martial arts, or even just exercise in general.

Boobs. And I don't mean idiots. I mean female anatomy. Ladies, if you have the garden variety average size, you will probably identify with my problem about as much as the guys. But those of you females reading this who are on the more ample end of the spectrum, you could probably write this blog post yourself.

As I said in my previous post, the adult class stretches and exercises for the first 45 minutes of our class in order to be in better shape and to have warm, stretched muscles for the instructional part of our class. Most of these exercises are just as easy for me to do as anyone else in the room. I am actually pretty limber & stretchy, which I think surprises some people given that I'm overweight. The neck stretches feel great. The toe touches - no problem…I can touch my fists to the floor. The crunches, while not exactly my favorite, are not too difficult - anatomy wise, anyway. The Cobra - I love it. Feels great. But then there are the ones that require me to "bend it like Dolly"…Dolly Parton that is.

Okay, I'm not THAT big, but big enough that when I sit with my legs straight out in front of me together, and try to fold myself in half, my very short waist, coupled with "the girls", well I can barely bend! I just do my best. When we sit with our legs stretched far out to each side (think almost splits) and try to touch our head to each knee, I can rest my forehead on my knee…if I push the corresponding "girl" toward the inside of my knee! (I'm sorry, I know this is pretty graphic, but you gotta admit - it's also pretty funny!) The other ladies in the class and I have a laugh over that one. Now, the next step to this exercise/stretch is to pull the soles of our feet in close and bend down in half and try to touch your head to your feet while keeping your knees flat to the floor. Again, I'm bendy. I’m stretchy. I can do that because the girls are not in the direct path!

Now, you might say, "Get that girl a good sports bra!" I am here to tell you, have you ever tried to buy a good sports bra for those who would need it most? I mean, really? If you're a small chested gal, you would have no problem finding effective and possibly even cute sports bras. I did find two that held the girls pretty securely, but there was one problem. Okay, two problems. First, and most serious of the two problems - remember the gi top is white cotton. You could see right through it. That was not going to do. Remember, I told you, I do not like to "stand out" in a crowd. (Sorry, I couldn't help using that pun - it was unintentional at first - until I realized how funny it was in context! : ) The other problem is that in my life outside of martial arts, the girls are one of my better features and smashing them down making my chest look like a barrel is just pushing the "not caring what I look like" thing I talked about in my last blog, just a bit too far. There you go, guys, here is your chance to get involved in this post and get rich in the process - invent a sports bra that gives us the support we need without making us look like John Goodman taking a karate class.