Martial arts: the first year

Posted on Sep 11, 2008 in Life, Martial Arts | 0 comments

Early September marks one year since I began training at Northwest Martial Arts. It’s been a very quick year in some ways, yet my steady improvement shows how much I’ve learned. Not that I think I’m anything but my white belt, don’t get me wrong, but my instructors have done a good job steering me along the path.

I remember how we—my wife and I—started training. We’d just had dinner at the nearby Mainstreet Alehouse and, arteries thickening with our meal of nachos and potato skins, we took a walk. I had answered my phone when we passed the dojo, and I was surprised when Crystal crossed the street to grab a flyer from the A-board out front.

“I think we should take karate,” she said when I was off the phone.

“Really?” I asked, surprised.

“I know you’ve wanted to start taking it again for a while. I think it would be fun to do it together,” she answered. That was it. We called and said we wanted to come by to try it out and haven’t looked back. After a month of karate only we began training in aikido, too (this summer I began studying goju-ryu karate once a week, too). Practicing martial arts is such a great experience. It brings focus, mental and physical exertion, self-confidence, balance and coordination, friendship, flexibility, appreciation of Japanese history and culture, goal setting, and yes, sometimes some pain and bruises. All of this is more true when you’re fortunate enough, as I am, to share it with your spouse (and another close friend).

You can read my other posts about martial arts, but to sum up after a year, here’s what I’ve accomplished:

• Passed two belt tests; one in February 08, the second on 28 August 08 (when Crystal passed her first);
• Can perform heian shodan, heian nidan, and matsu kata well, and know the basic movements of heian sandan,tekki shodan, and saifa (a goju-ryu kata);
• Learned sanchin kata (YouTube video of one style; Wikipedia entry) and have glimpsed the stability, power delivery and power acceptance training diligently in it can bring;
• Improved my punching ability from extremely weak to “not too embarrassing”;
• Worked on occasion with Hiroo Ito Sensei, who wrote the introduction to The Way of Sanchin Kata
• Participated in two demonstrations to the public;
• Begun getting comfortable moving in, rather than away, when an opponent attacks; and
• Become aware of and started working on reducing my facial expressions (twitches, etc.) and unnecessary movements (shoulders rising, etc.) that telegraph my intentions.

So far, the only real injuries I’ve had are a lost big toenail on my left foot (it was stepped on in April and is just now about 90% grown back) and some burned feet (hot mats + bare feet = ouch). Bruises, on the other hand, I’ve had plenty of.

I’ll finish by thanking my excellent instructors, Yamamoto-sensei (karate), Krohn-sensei (aikido and karate), and Malik-sensei (goju-ryu) for their dedication and instruction. Here’s to another year!

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