Cold floor, seminar and moustaches

Even real men feel the cold. Even real men with moustaches for Movember feel the cold, wintry, November floors of dojos. That's what me and fellow Movember bandido felt when we went down to the Bristol winter seminar for some extra tuition.

As ever with Shorinji Kempo the folk were friendly and we had a good time and picked up a few learning pointers along the way.

Are lower stances the way forward?

We drilled low front stances tonight during Tang Soo Do. Specifically low and deep front stance. This fairly simple 'walking' stance can be notoriously difficult to teach to young children. It's a paradox I find. So simple: from ready stance, step forward or back, maintain feet forward and flex the front leg, keeping the back leg straight (acting like a buttress). There is a lot more to it, but in essence it gives a good stable base from which to apply techniques.

But...I'm forever correcting the children's front stance. My biggest gripe with them is they stand on a tightrope. Turning left into front stance requires stepping out and back to give a wide and deep stance. Working on this is essential as kids tend to turn into it and end up with feet aligned.

It was, however, my training in the senior class which gave rise to some internal questions concerning my front stance. Master AC emphasised deep front stance, making us push hard into it, gripping the floor and straining muscles. I was tired and hot and grumbled at the prospect and didn't want to tip my pelvic bone out of alignment so reluctantly sank down. There is a good article here regarding front stance and pelvic alignment at fighting arts. I've often had this in mind when practising my front stance and actually, I believe, used it as an excuse not to explore it more. Tonight when pushed to produce a lower, grounded stance I had excellent feedback but bore in mind my pelvic position. It was possible to produce a low stance, gripped to the floor with my feet in correct position without tipping the base of my spine.

My conclusion is that it's good to revisit base techniques and be open to trying stuff out. It's all well and good to intellectualise training but the only way to the heart of one's practice is through doing... Trying it! Practising!

New Shorinji Kempo ad

I've worked up a new flyer for the Shorinji Kempo club:

http://cambridge.shorinji.org.uk/

Indonesia quake

Spare a thought for the Indonesian quake victims.

Martial arts class flattened during earthquake; survivors crawl from debris:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8287159.stm

The cramique workout

The cramique workout has been thus named in honour of the yummy if calorific raisin brioche found in Belgium! I had to do the workout to burn some of the bloody calories off!

For the cramique workout you will need:

4 slices of cramique

1 dob of butter

1 empty room

1 old t-shirt

1 old pair kung fu pants

- Firstly spread the butter on the cramique

- Eat the cramique
- Feel lardy
- Wait an hour or so.

- Pull on the items of clothing and go to the empty room with a bit of floor space.

- Do x10 burpees, x10 block and punch combos, x10 front kicks (each leg), x10 round kicks (each leg), x10 side kicks (each leg), x10 press ups, x20 sit ups.
- Reduce heat and each subsequent set by 1 repetition, so next set is x9 burpees, x9 front kicks...etc

- Repeat all the way down to 1.

- Salute the sun (real sun not needed) and at each pose hold for 10 seconds.

- Repeat sun salutation holding each for 20 seconds

- Repeat sun salutation holding each for 30 seconds

- Stand breathing in mother pose.

- Have a hot bath!

Mucking about in the garden

So I decided to do a little in-garden entertainment today instead of a run. Warm up was 5 minutes skipping with 12 burpees then some light hand techniques. 

I took this photo through vanity I guess. Sad I know but I wanted to see how it looked (I can't lie!)-and at least I get to examine my round kick a little closer. It seems ok I think- back foot turning out but the kicking foot isn't as horizontal as I'd like: maybe I could roll that hip over a little more. I suppose it depends on the target. If I was aiming for side of jaw I'd be happy enough with that. Bal dung in Korean- the top of the foot.

Interestingly Korean round kick (dollyo chagi) tends to encourage a lean back further with the upper body in order to reach for the higher targets, but I much prefer to stay more upright with my round kick. I feel it's more stable and I can bring my hands into play. Certainly Shorinji Kempo mawashi geri is more upright discouraging the lean.

My bloody thumb!

Energetic sparring and conditioning session at Tang soo Do last night. I learnt another important lesson whilst bashing up a fellow student: keep your bloody thumbs tucked in! I didn't have my gloves so was free sparring 'naked' (so to speak) and as I thumped him (with a good straight punch I might add!) I caught a hard part of him and as my thumb wasn't tucked tightly round correctly I whacked the end of it which drove it backwards and stressed the first joint. (the carpometaparpal joint apparently! see below) Bollocks, it hurts. But as I said I'll learn. Hopefully ... I'm fairly sure I've done this before! 

Subsequent bag work was good as I was then obliged to tuck it in firmly to contact correcty without further injury.

As it was the last lesson of the year we went for a curry afterwards. The company was great but the Curry Queen on Mill Rd has gone done the swanny for sure....

Three step sparring

This evening at Tang Soo Do training we did some little-practiced three step sparring which turned out to be very satisfying. It's not usually part of our training like one step sparring is but it brings in an interesting dynamic and forces sharp thinking and quick reflexes making it a good pre-sparring technique.

The three step sparring we exercised tonight were random techniques in classical, formal style so not codified and open to creative interpretation. Given this it meant you had to think fast to get some correct blocks and counter techniques in. Although it's a very linear structure (go see this article by Dojo Rat for more on linear or circular) in many ways there is a lot of room for interesting counter techniques on the third defence bringing the entire syllabus into play: hits, kicks, grabs, throws, immobilisation and although done in a very contrived way I think this may be a good precursor to sparring for some junior grades.

A big problem I see with junior grades and sparring is that they rely far too heavily on strength and speed, forgoing a lot of technique. When I see this I always encourage them to slow it down, take the opportunity to try some fancy stuff and practice things 'live' rather than see it as all out conflict! The aim isn't to kick me black and blue. Not yet anyway. I find ramping up to sparring much more sensible than throwing the juniors in at the deep end at full speed and strength. Tang Soo Do sparring is very energetic and quite spectacular to watch and it would be a shame to miss out on this. Above all I find it thrilling to do and great FUN!

What remains...

"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."

B.F. Skinner

This makes me think of Picasso-somebody who mastered the rules, then forgot them.

Most people think of Picasso's paintings as being of the abstract or cubist variety. His politically charged and poignant Bombing of Guernica is a fine example of his analytical and cubist style which he, along with Georges Braque, pioneered and for which he is well known. What some people fail to understand is that in his early life he was an exquisite realistic painter, mostly leaning towards neo-classicism which was popular at the time. At the age of 15 he painted the incredibly life-like 'First Communion' (1895/96) which prompted his own father (and teacher) to give his son his own palette and brushes and vow never to paint again! 

Although Picasso may be known for his fantastic and innovative cubist work and possibly later in his life for his whacky neo-expressionist work it can't be forgotten that this guy was an innovator and art pioneer who had gone through the process of learning the rules-mastering them even so as to be able to (at a very early age) create paintings with almost photographic detail and then pushed through those rules, burning them up forming new styles, new adventures in art.

Sound familiar? It should. Martial artists do similar things. Learn the rules-practice hard and do the basics well. Then get your black belt. It's after this we can start pushing boundaries, looking at other styles (if that's what takes your fancy) or just looking deeper into your own style and making it your own. We might not end up being a Martial Arts Picasso but at the very least we should, just like him, learn the basics thoroughly in order to master them. It's then that our true journey of discovery begins. (See also this article about black belt being merely the introduction...)