Category Archives: Fitness

May 9, 2013 · 5:43 pm

A Day of Rest

Sometimes the biggest challenge, while training for a 6-hour karate test, is convincing myself to rest one day each week to let muscles heal. There is always the thought, “I could stand to improve my spinning stepping crescent kicks.” There are always forms to practice, particularly once you reach a point where you have twenty or more of them.

However, the price to pay for over doing it is typically a muscular injury. That, in and of itself, is enough to keep myself from doing my usual 30-60 minute workout. However, I find that every few hours I have to get up and move. I do a combination. I practice my horse stance (because I can picture my friend insisting I balance quarters on my knees). The fact of the matter is, to be completely at rest…is a very difficult thing.

Still, some rest is better than none. I try to keep myself busy in other ways…writing, reading, playing piano…in general, I find it’s a good practice to have several hobbies and tasks in waiting so that my mind does not instantly turn to doing more sit ups or going for a jog. What do you do to keep busy on your rest day so that you don’t accidentally give in to working out?

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May 2, 2013 · 11:08 am

Morning Exercise

This morning is warm and sunny, and a perfect time to exercise. I started off with jumping rope. My ultimate goal is 300 jumps each day in about a month, but coming fresh off of an injury, I’m only aiming for 100 right now. I got to 115. Pretty pleased considering I’ve done very little jumping rope since I was a child and have lost some of the coordination for it. It’ll come back.

Then I went for a 40 minute walk/jog, with pauses for dynamic stretching. (Dynamic stretching is stretching in faster bursts and not holding the stretched position, and is more conducive to pre- or during workouts.) My walk took me around a small pond near my house, which was quite pretty today, particularly with the spring foliage starting to bloom. Of course, a pre-walk Claritin was a necessity.

Upon my return, did just a few exercises in my dojo. Some shoulder rolls, sit ups, push ups, kicks and floor stretches. I’m trying not to overdo it today because yesterday was 2 hours of helping out teaching and then 2 hours of taking karate classes. Also, I’m going on a hike this afternoon, so this morning’s activities were mostly aligned with getting my legs loosened up a bit. Now I get the glorious reward of a big glass of water.

With six months left until my 2nd degree black belt test, I’m eager to get in as much exercise as I safely can. What exercises are you working on right now?

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April 23, 2013 · 9:35 am

A year back in the dojo

In November 2005, I stopped studying kempo after five years of training and teaching. My reasons were predominantly logistical and financial, however I think a part of me needed to step away from it for a little while. If earning a 1st degree black belt is like graduating from high school, I was that student who needed time off before college. Of course, I didn’t plan on taking so much time off. I didn’t return until April of 2012.

Yesterday marked 1 year since I returned to kempo. Getting back into it has been like waking up from a very long slumber. There was a period of about three months when I regretted my hiatus, but now have come to realize that it needed to happen. Whether because I needed the break or because of the strength of appreciation I have for it now–or a combination of the two–I cannot say.  All I know is that I’m very grateful for what coming back has meant.

A year ago, when I was thinking I would finally walk back into the dojo, I called Sensei up and told him how I was considering starting in May. He urged me to come to class that night. I’m so glad I did! I didn’t have any of my uniforms with me, nor did I have my belt, but I was welcomed instantly by the other students who I have since come to think of as an extension of my family. Who knows if I would have gone back in May? I’m very thankful for the push to get there that night, to work out that night, and to begin re-learning the techniques and forms that I used to practice daily.

Last October I started helping out during classes again. I never forgot how rewarding it is to teach someone, but once more, it was like an awakening, as cheesy as that may sound. Being at the dojo is like being home. It is a place of welcome, a place of learning, a place where I always feel as though I am constantly improving myself and even more importantly, a place where I am fortunate enough to watch others constantly improve themselves as well.

It’s the people that make the place like home. Were it not for Sensei and my fellow students, and the children I am fortunate enough to work with, the dojo would not be the welcoming and inspiring place it is.

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February 25, 2013 · 1:01 pm

Training continues

This past Friday I went to a private lesson at the dojo. Those are the best because they offer an opportunity to delve into theory more than can sometimes be done in class. Also, in these months leading up to my second degree blackbelt test, they allow me to determine which techniques and forms need the most work.

This time, Swift Tigers and combinations 21-30 were under review. I was most pleased to receive the feedback that these are, in general, right on track for testing. There are one or two little tweaks I will work on but overall, I know there is nothing desperately wrong there.

Of course, that only leaves many more forms, but there are plenty of lessons between now and my test. Truly, my main focus is on getting in shape for the test and becoming more skilled with spinning kicks, many of which were new to me as of last spring. While my Sensei confirmed there has been marked progress with those kicks, I want to execute them with more confidence.

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February 5, 2013 · 10:35 am

It’s all about timing…

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One of my biggest challenges on Mondays and Wednesdays is dinner.  On these days, I attend karate class from 7-8, and then another class from 8-9.  With about an hour round-trip of drive time/change shoes time, I’m gone from around 6:30 to 9:30–sometimes longer if I sit around to chat with my fellow martial artists and sensei after class.  This usually leaves dinner in a bit of a lurch.

If I’m going to eat a full meal before karate, I have to finish it by 6 pm in order to give myself a chance to digest before jumping into the first class.  I’m usually not hungry for dinner that early so I usually settle for a snack.  Of course, that leaves me very hungry by 8 pm.  Last night I took a quick break between classes to gobble down a zone bar and some water.  Normally that amount of food wouldn’t bother my stomach…

…Except last night we did a lot of shoulder rolls at the beginning of class.  Just after eating and warming up.  I could eat after class, but that means having dinner sometime between 9:30 and 10 pm, which isn’t ideal since I’m asleep by 11:30 in order to not be a zombie for work the next day.  I suppose the key would be to ask if we’re going to be doing a lot of tumbling about and gauge what I do between classes by that but, if I don’t know ahead of time, then I’m really quite hungry at the start of black belt class.

The thought has crossed my mind that I should just go to class four days a week so I’m only there for one class at a time.  But I really can’t get there on Tuesdays, which leaves me short a class for the week (I like to try for four–there are six offered for adult black belts).  I know somewhere there’s a happy medium but I’d rather not have to feel sick in order to find it.

Have you ever experienced a similar conundrum?  I know it’s a small issue but it’s one I’d like to solve all the same.  One thing I’ve been thinking is to have a big breakfast, a few snacks and then have lunch at around 2 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays…but then, I like to have my lunch in the middle of the day to break up the work day.

What are your thoughts?

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February 2, 2013 · 12:59 pm

Goldilocks and the Three Jump Ropes

When I was little, I participated in Jump Rope for Heart with my elementary school.  We practiced jumping rope for months.  And then after the event, I stopped.  I’m not sure why, exactly, because I remember loving it.  Now, years later, I’m trying to get back into jumping rope.  Aside from the fact that it’s great cardio and I so very deeply dislike running, there’s something oddly pleasing about the sound of the rope sliding over the pavement under my feet.

So of course, I’m on the hunt for the best jump rope.  I think I’ve landed on the best one for me, at least, and thought I’d share in case anyone out there is looking for jump rope reviews.

skd186540sdc1. The Cotton Jump Rope: One of the things I love about these ropes is how easily you can adjust the length by just wrapping the rope around your hand.  It’s soft, flexible and not at all uncomfortable.  One of the things I hate about these jump ropes is that the rope, at least for an adult, feels too light to me.  Also, the way the rope swings from the handle ends up eventually fraying the rope itself.

 

 

WGGWRP09_xl2. The Weighted Jump Rope: My gripe against cotton ropes being too light led me to explore this option.  Not only do the handles have weights in them, but the “rope” itself feels like a thick, vinyl cord.  Very good weight, and it makes that lovely *snap* when it hits the pavement.  What I hate about this jump rope is that it twists constantly!  After 7-10 jumps, I have to stop and untwist it.  Hardly conducive to a great cardio work out.  And this particular brand–Gold’s Gym–is of such shoddy construction that the handle lightly hit the pavement and cracked open, sending the weights flying out.  This jump rope is headed for the trash.

 

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3. The Leather Jump Rope: This is by all means my favorite.  Heavier than a cotton rope, the leather isn’t so heavy that it just twists and coils on itself like a phone cord (remember those?) and the ball bearings make the rope swing so that it doesn’t chafe against the handles–which are, by the way, a comfortable weight in wood.  Not quite as weighted as jump rope #2, but certainly heavier than the plastic handles of jump rope #1.  This jump rope is just right.

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January 30, 2013 · 1:15 pm

A Lesson in Discipline

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Last week, during my weekly kempo private lesson, my sensei gave me some drills to practice with nunchaku. Why? Because they’re fairly new to me and I’ve been learning some forms that feature this particular weapon.  Do I sometimes crack my own elbow or find myself leaning away when I have to complete a figure-eight that sends it flying at my nose?  Yes.  But as with all things, practice leads to improvement (I won’t say “makes perfect” because perfection doesn’t exist).

So what’s my point?  Should we continue doing all things which are, at first, difficult or outside of our particular skill set?  I’m not skilled at stealing cars but nor would I want to be.  (For the record, I’ve never and would never steal a car.)  But sometimes there are tasks we must practice even if that practice is difficult.  I once heard a student claim they didn’t like doing pushups at karate class so could we please stop?  The correct answer is no–and to do extra pushups.  It is their difficulty that makes them bothersome, and only in doing them more and more can anyone hope to see beyond the inherent soreness that follows to the benefit of developing stronger muscles and a stronger mind.

The same goes for writing.  I’ve heard people say things like, “I don’t write a lot of dialogue because it’s hard for me.”  Okay, perhaps their first drafts of stories aren’t particularly dialogue-heavy, and that’s fine.  But should the story and characters suffer because a writer is unwilling to put in the time to practice?  I think not.  It’s important to keep our shortcomings in mind so that we may work to improve them.

I often vocally remind myself not to wince away from the nunchaku when they’re flying at my head, because my body wants to flinch.  But over time, it gets easier and easier to trust that I won’t smack myself in the face–not because I avoided it but because I didn’t.  Take this lesson and apply it to your writing exercises, your martial arts drills, piano scales or any other endeavor which you find initially unpleasant or unsettling but which, ultimately, will benefit you.

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January 25, 2013 · 1:50 pm

Writing and Kempo Update

Once and a while life gets crazy hectic and my frequency posting here suffers. I always feel really bad about it but at the end of the day, there are things that must be done first.

That said, please don’t believe that I have dropped off of the face of the earth. I’ve been working on a number of projects, including the upcoming launch of my podcast and another guest article on MajorHistory.com.

Karate has been going pretty well too. I’ve been working on my newest nunchaku form, which is far from stellar at the present but I’m not testing until November so there is plenty of time to improve it. I have also been working on a blocking system form that I won’t actually need until I go for my 3rd degree many years from now. There is much subtle movement and snake isn’t one of the animal systems to which I’ve been exposed to a great deal so it is still a very different way to move. I’m enjoying it though.

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December 21, 2012 · 3:20 pm

The Year in Review

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Whether it’s because we’ve survived yet another apocalypse, or maybe it’s that today is my last day of my 20′s, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the last year.  (Okay, I’ve been thinking a lot about the last decade, but recounting that would be a very, very long post that I would never put a reader through.)  Instead, I hope to highlight some of my year in a way that will provide some insight.

1. A Modern Masquerade: In 2012, I released my first book on Kindle, a book of poems.  What I learned was that sometimes, even when the preview software shows that everything is lining up well, the Table of Contents will still be messed up if necessity demanded creating it in a program different from the rest of the book. Here’s to hoping that won’t be an issue in future since I’ll just be using Pages.

2. My website and blog: I created my domain for each in January of 2012.  As it happens, this is my 150th post on my blog.  Between WordPress, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, I have about 100 subscribers, and am approaching 1,000 views.  These numbers may seem small but considering I started with 0 on all of those, I’m pretty excited about it!  More exciting than the numbers though is what I’ve learned and shared through creating both my website and blog.  Like life, both of these things are ever changing, fluid entities.  While I try to instill some regularity, change sneaks in sometimes and I went through about five themes before I finally settled on one I like (for now).

3. Whitepaper: I published my first whitepaper, which covered the topic of building characters from scratch.  Writing this was a fun challenge, and I’m looking forward to writing more.  Who knows, maybe someday I’ll compile them into a book on the craft of writing.

4. Books: I started two new books this year!  And of course, I’m still editing/reworking parts of Out of the Sea.  I think when I originally started that book in 2008, the idea of a book taking years and years to write seemed strange.  I remember setting goals to get it all done in a year.  Sure, writing a first draft didn’t take me that long, but now I’m going through every line, and double (or triple) checking my research.  I’m loving the process though, particularly for that book, which was my first attempt at historical fiction.  What I’ve learned here is that while it’s important to have project timelines, flexibility is also crucial.

5. Martial arts: Wow, where to begin on this one?  After a 6.5 year hiatus, I thought about going back to karate starting a little over a year ago, but I didn’t actually do anything about it until April of 2012.  After talking with my sensei on the phone, I got back into it.  Now I’m prepping for a 2nd degree black belt test next November and I couldn’t be happier to be back at the dojo.  Sure, I’ve gotten injured here and there, but it’s bound to happen occasionally.  What I’m most grateful for is the friendships I’ve found since going back this past spring.

6. Guest blogging: I’ve started exploring blogging and writing for places other than my own website.  This not only increases reach, sure, but it’s always exciting to work on a project for another site.  I think it might get a little addicting.  In 2012, I guest blogged in only two places but already I have 2 lined up for 2013 and it’s not even that year yet.

I made the decision on my 29th birthday that my 30′s weren’t going to be a decade about which I might someday say “I wish I’d done things differently.”  I’m going to go after everything I want.  More published works.  More travel.  More opportunities to engage with friends and family.  I want to purchase a house, condo or apartment.  Hopefully in another ten years, I’ll be writing a blog post about how my 30′s were some of the most productive years of my life.  Until then, I’m glad that the world didn’t end so that I get a chance to do all of this.

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December 8, 2012 · 10:51 am

Sparring Club

Last night was the first sparring club session at the dojo where I study kempo.  I think it went very well!  There were only four of us, but I felt it was a good number for a first session.  Not too overwhelming.  Sensei ran the first half of it, giving us some drills to practice, and then I timed/refereed some matches.  They weren’t full on freestyle matches–we did some where we alternated who was on offense and defense, and then a very mini point tournament like the kids do in their Thursday classes.

One of our folks last night had only sparred once before.  The other was a seasoned sparrer and we had someone experienced in boxing.  It was a great mix.  I’m looking forward to the next session, though I’m not yet sure when it’ll be.

As for my own sparring last night, I think it went pretty well.  I missed a couple of blocks in the matches, but I was happy with my footwork overall, which is what I was focusing on the most, so that I could get out of the way in case I missed the block.  I was also thinking about what one of the masters said at the recent black belt test about not bothering to block a kick in sparring, but rather to move so that you’re not where the kick ends up.  This is designed to get you to close the gap to make the next strike, and so perhaps is best practiced when not solely on defense, but I decided I might as well start getting used to it last night, since it’s different from how I’ve sparred in the past.

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