円心一本組手

Enshin-Ippon-Kumite
(round one step sparring?)

It is just a one step sparring practice, with a bit of twist.
All of us form a circle, a very small circle. One person stand in the middle. Starting from a person, in a clockwise/anti-clockwise direction, everyone move in with an oitsuki. The person in the middle is suppose to do like what we normally do in one-step sparring. But this time, immediately after one attack, there will be another one coming in. And one will need to coordinate well so that one can continue the attack without much problem.

Sensei did a bit of demonstration. All are just simple technique, but sensei made it flow so nice that it seems as if it was coreographed before.
RuiZe who have experience in chinese martial arts did it with his own variation, a mixture of his chinese martial arts and Karate, making it looks quite fanciful but nevertheless, effective. Leong Lok senpai still have his speed to do all the complicated technique that will really kill/break bones if he extends the attack fully. Another guy have all his attack made into double punch that comes out smoothly one after another in either sequence. Some have very fast movement, some have very long reach, some have very nice kick, some evade precisely.

It really amazes me, how versatile are us.
Perhaps it doesn't really reflect the real fighting situation, but it is a good point to start practicing.

Today's 一言：Mind block... (can't think of any fanciful attack~)

Kick kick kick...

Well, sensei is famous for his kicking.
And today, somehow the training was focus on the kick.

The trick is simple, practice more, and you will kick faster.
(well, provided you practice in the correct way).

There are small tricks, here and there as to how to make a kick better. Turn the body until what way, pick up the leg till what height, twist at what timing... All these theories can be regurgitated easily. Next is just the repetition of the training until we are able to control ourselves.

Yes, Karate is a lot of self control. Punching and kicking can be done easily. But a punch and kick that is with full control is not easily done. The fun part about doing Karate (for me, especially doing Kata) is the process of learning how to take control of myself. From the very begining where I can't seem to coordinate my motion, over turning or over stepping, losing balance or having psychomotor problem, until the time when i can control myself nicely.

Well, of course the training doesn't just ends there. After being able to do the kata as it is supposed to be done, then is all the details that make the kata more fluid, more nice, more fun. And to do all this, more controls are required.
And the feeling of being able to take control of myself fully, feels really great.

Coming back to kick. Sensei made us kick two kicks consecutively without the leg touching the ground. I still need to put in a lot of effort and mind power to control my kick, ensuring it is moving in the correct path. And this is just another journey of having more self control.

Today's 一言：kick kick kick~

Competition

The varsity competition is officially cancel, due to their school strong objection of holding it.

I don't know whether should the blame be put on them. Well, they are to be blamed, but not completely as well. There is this other party that they have no control of as well.

Talking to the team, a lot of them are dissapointed. Not because of there is no competition, but because of not able to go to the competition together. Yes, next year there will be competition, and most likely it will be organized without problem. Yes, there are other competition in between as well that we can participate. But the people who will be participating may be different. Some of us has graduated, some of us will be going for exchange and not around.

This is team spirit.

Not only about competing and winning, but going there as a team, supporing each other, cheering for each other, consoling each other.

Feel so touched.

Today's 一言: Team spirit above all.

Going wild

Normal training.
But being wild, it becomes different.

I have no idea why all in a sudden today, I have the feeling of wanting to punch hard and fast. Although it might appear to be the same speed as I normally do (guess that is due to lack of proper training), but yea each punch is harder than what I will normally do in a training.

Even when I am doing kata, before training start, and during the second session of training. I threw my technique hard and fast. Well, perhaps that will compromise the sharpness, but it really has been sometime that I last throw my technique with such force.
Well, self control is still a problem. I may be able to generate a force greater than what I am able to control. From time to time, I accidently hit myself. Especially when the fingers hit the fingers, that is one of the most painful moment.

But to improve, we need to inch forward bit by bit. Today, I inch forward to throw a stronger punch, tomorrow I inch forward to be able to control the stronger punch.

Started to punch my sand bag again.
Knuckles a bit sore.

Today's 一言: Getting wild is part of becoming stronger.

Competition

This is plain irritating.
It really made me feel like cursing and swearing with 7 different languages and dialects.

First, they keep on postponing the competition time. Well, even if they want to set it at a later date, they could have fix the timing way way ago, and not telling us one month ahead. Lousy time management and I didn't get any appology for that.
And now they are accusing us for wanting to change the date and starting to put the blame on us. They really have problem with their logic thinking and need me to remind them when is the original dates of the competition.
At first, they wanted to separate it into small little category so that they will have more chance to win medals. They were complaining that we have been winning all the medals all along. So, the idea become, if i cannot win while fighting you, I don't need to train harder. I just need to set up a separate category for my people to fight and to win medals... what the??
One of my team member was saying, they are also new in this field. They also just started learning it. And being at a younger age is definitely an advantage over us because as we age, we become less flexible! If they really want to separate the team, why not separate it into black belters, and brown belters, and those below? And in each category divide into different weight category again. Isn't that fairer?
Now that uni is only fighting uni. Which means we only have one oponent. The only event that we can look forward to is the team kumite event and open kumite event. Which they impose a limitation to the numbers of players that we can send in. Ok~ fine. And the latest is, they now want to scrape away the uni against uni, and for us, we will be just participating in the open category...

I really feel like cursing and swearing and scolding them until their eardrum shatter into pieces or they rather shatter their ear drum 'voluntarily'.

Irritated.
May be we should just pull out from the competition.
No point wasting time with a bunch of people who don't have even a tiny speck of karate spirit.

Today's 一言：＠＃＄％＾＆＊

Sweat

Have no idea why...
Training today, and training on Monday, I sweat profusely.
Sweated so much that it just drip off from me, creating a tiny, but notice-able puddle.

Was it because of the weather?
Or training have become tougher?

Or was it because I have just started to punch harder?

Today's 一言：Bathing in sweat..