Sports Massage - ouch!

I have a recurring quads injury in my right thigh. This 'pulled muscle' injury goes back about 8 weeks now and keeps getting better and then recurring again. It recurred again last week and has bothered me a lot during the last 3 karate classes.

The activity that seems to set it off is jump kicking. Front kicks and round kicks don't seem to bother it though back hook kicks do bother it a bit. Once it is set off I literally cannot do a jump kick with my right leg, it's just too painful!

I am worried how this is going to affect me in my grading. I desperately don't want to pull out at this late stage if I can help it. Unfortunately the kicking combinations are the second section on the grading so I am worried that if it pulls again during that section it will affect my performance of all subsequent sections.

To try and avert disaster and get this pull sorted out once and for all I decided to have a sports massage today. I've never had one of these before (life's full of firsts, even at my age) but I've heard that they can produce good results.

Anyway, I have just returned from this sports massage and I can confirm that it is not for the faint hearted!
After prodding away at my thigh to see where the tightness was he recommended a deep tissue massage. Aarrghh! He was pushing his fingers so deeply into my quads muscle that I felt like he was going to go right through my leg. It was definitely a painful experience but hopefully one worth going through.

I was starting to regret telling him that I also had a bit of lower back pain and that an old injury to my left shoulder was bothering me a bit. However, I did let him massage my back and shoulder (in for a penny, in for a pound!) and this was not nearly as painful as the thigh.

The prognosis? Well, he said it may feel worse tomorrow but after that should get better. I have got to do regular stretching exercises on my thigh and must warm up thoroughly before attempting any kicks. He has advised me not to do any kicking in karate class tomorrow but after that it should be okay to try. He also recommended using a heat pad to warm up the muscle before exercise and to basically just keep moving.

He was hopeful that it would feel a lot better by next week but if it didn't he suggested going back for another massage (I'll have to summon up courage for that!).

Here's hoping it's done the trick! I'll keep you posted.

Tabata training

Have you heard of tabata training? It is a new concept to me. I was interested in finding out more about it after reading a little about it in a newspaper fitness supplement. I was particularly interested when I realised it was Japanese in origin.

Tabata is a form of 'mini' circuit training or interval training 'Mini' because each circuit is only 20 seconds long with a 10 second rest between circuits. There should be 8 circuits for a full tabata session. After an initial warm-up a tabata session takes only 4 minutes to complete. The exercises for each circuit can be anything you like as long as they involve full body movements, so sprinting, push ups, lifting weights, kettle bell squats, bear crawling - you name it! It is probably best to tailor the exercises to the sport you are in training for.

Tabata training gets its name from its developer -  Izumi Tabata  at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. Basically he researched and compared various exercise protocols to find out the most effective way of increasing both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. The 20 second on 10 second off protocol was the most effective.

It sounds easy doesn't it : 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for eight rounds. Apparently not! It's not for the feint hearted. In fact it is recommended that you are in good cardio  condition before trying tabata training as it is very intense. If you are not exhausted after it then you are not doing it properly. Tabata training is used by top athletes and is particularly suitable for combat training. In fact it is such high intensity training that it is recommended that you only do it once a week or even fortnightly.

Martial artist require the ability to produce short bursts of energy quickly to generate power and speed. Fast twitch fibres are needed for this type of muscular action and interval training is ideal for this. Kata also makes good interval training by the way.

Unlike aerobic training such as jogging where the fat burning abilities stop as soon as you stop running, tabata training is said to continue fat burning  for up to 2 days after the training session, so ideal for weight loss!

Sounds good doesn't it? I might give it a go. If you want to find out more about tabata training here's some links:

http://articles.muscletalk.co.uk/article-tabata-training.aspx

http://www.intervaltraining.net/tabata.html

http://www.squidoo.com/tabatatraining

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/tabata.htm

Fear of failure or fear of success...

I did a pre-dan grading course on Saturday to find out if I'm definitely ready for this black belt grading on June 12th. I have written my main report about this on my other blog: Pre-dan grading course - a dose of reality! but there are a few extra things that came out of it that I want to discuss here.

What do I fear most failure or success?

I don't actually fear failure. If I fail and I can see good reason for it then I could accept that with good grace. In fact I would be one of the first people to feel disgruntled if people were passing  when they didn't deserve it as this diminishes the success of those that do deserve to pass. I don't want to fail obviously but I don't fear what failure would do to me - as long as I could see it was fair. I would just train for longer and try again - I wouldn't quit.

What about success? We all want success in our black belt grading but does it always sit comfortably? People often feel unworthy of their black belt, worried about the expectations that may be placed on them or worried that they may not live up to people's expectations of a 'black belt'. I'm not particularly worried that I may feel like this. If I feel that I've really earned a black belt then I hope I will feel proud to wear it.

But there lies the rub....What I really fear is that success may feel like failure; that the experience of grading will be so bruising emotionally that I won't be able to enjoy my success. I want my grading to feel like a positive experience - Physically shattering, yes! Mentally draining, yes! But emotionally battering, no! I don't want my black belt to be a constant reminder of a negative experience. Why should I fear this? Well because I know it has happened to someone close to me. Someone who never really came to terms with his black belt because of the experience gone through to obtain it and he no longer practices that martial art. Don't get me wrong, he is a mentally strong and resilient person and he was physically capable of performing the art but those emotions just creep up on you in unexpected ways and can leave scars that last for years. I don't want my karate to be tainted in this way.

Forewarned is forearmed! My pre-dan grading course has made me realise that I am susceptible to emotional pressure - that I can become negative and stressed way too easily. I need to deal with now. I need to change my perception of the grading - knock it off its grand pedestal and realise it's just another grading, another step of the journey completed. I need to get my head in the right place and go into the grading with a positive spirit and a realistic expectation of my ability. A pass, whatever the mark will be a worthy pass and should feel like success.

What do you fear most success or failure?

Getting to grips with goshin waza

At class last night we got the chance to work on our goshin waza  (self-defence techniques). I had them more or less worked out in my head. Some of them were ones I'd learnt many months ago and some were fairly new. However, it doesn't matter how well you work things out in your head you really don't know what you can make work until you try it out in practice!

What always amazes me with many of these goshin waza techniques is how fairly subtle changes in the techniques lead to huge improvements in their effectiveness. A small shift in weight distribution, re-positioning of the hands, stepping closer to the opponent etc can suddenly change a weak technique into a strong technique. Many of the self-defence techniques that we do tend to have an overlap with some jujitsu techniques. Luckily for me my training partner (who happens to be my husband) is also a black belt in jujitsu. He is able to talk me through all the little nuances that make a big difference to effectiveness. This extra tuition that I can get from my husband as well as my instructor means that my performance at goshin waza tends to be one of my strong points in karate.

At the end of the lesson we got to demonstrate all our techniques to the class. Being on show like this is always slightly nerve racking but it's good practice for the grading - we'll definitely be on show then! I think the demonstration went okay (apart from the belt and gi problems) though my escapes from lapel grabs still need a bit more work.

Another step closer to shodan.....need to focus on bunkai next.

Training review - flowing kata!

I've managed to get back to some useful training this week. There has been no karate classes at all this week due to the Easter break (and my instructor enjoying a break in Tuscany) so it has seemed even more important to do some training at home.

My main focus this week has been kata. I have three kata to perform in my grading- Bassai Dai, Seienshin and Annanku, together with some bunkai. Kata has never been my strong point, at least not from an aesthetic point of view! However I do feel I've made some significant strides forward in the last few weeks. This week I've been following Felicia's advice about practising kata as a flow drill and I think it is paying off. Instead of just doing the kata with full power and with correct timing you practice it softly and flowingly at a faster speed than normal. You have to pay attention to correct stances, footwork, hand positions etc, so the kata is not performed sloppily but just without the power and changes in timing.

Doing the kata in this way makes it feel a bit more meditational - eventually you stop thinking about the moves and they just flow out of you. It is also less exhausting to do the kata softly and so it is possible to repeat the kata several times in succession. Today I did all three kata 6 times each straight after each other. That would have been very difficult to do if I had done the katas with full power! So doing it this way has given me more practice. However, it is still important to do the kata with power and timing as well so that I don't forget so I've made sure that the last repetition is done in this way.

I've also been working on basic kihon techniques - punching and kicking combinations. The punching combinations I'm pretty confident about now but some of my kicks still leave a lot to be desired! Why are back kick and side kick so difficult? I still have trouble with forming the correct foot shape and getting sufficient height (and we're only talking chudan height here). Yeah I know - it's just practice!

I've also been finalising my goshin waza  (self-defence techniques) with my husband who will be my grading partner. I've decided on demonstrating three defences to attacks from behind (double wrist grab, over-arm bear hug and arm bar to throat), three defences to lapel grabs and three defences to kicks to the head on the ground. My husband doesn't let me get away with anything and grabs me really tight. He makes me really work hard to get the techniques to work, so I'm hopeful of putting on a good performance of these in the grading.

I feel a lot less stressed about the grading now and I'm starting to feel on top of things....with only 7 weeks to go that's a good sign!

Back and raring to go.....

Nissi Beach

Long time, no blogging! I have just returned this week from a holiday in Cyprus. It was very relaxing and refreshing and I managed to switch off from karate almost entirely for a whole week! Well, physically at least. My brain, on the other hand,  remained in karate overdrive for much of the time.

However my body feels much better for the rest - all the aches, pains and tiredness I had experienced a few weeks ago have disappeared and I feel raring to go again. The holiday wasn't entirely without exercise though (I just can't sit around doing nothing for very long) and we played tennis and squash most days as well as swimming and some gentle walking along the coastal path - but like they say, a change is as good as a rest!

Troodos Mountains

Despite not getting home until 4.00am on Monday morning we still managed to get to class on Monday evening. It was great to be back and though I felt tired from lack of sleep my body was definitely up to the challenges of the class, which focused on fitness and then kata.

Our Hotel

To make up for missing classes last week and the fact that there are no classes next week due to Easter, we attended an extra session at one of the other clubs my instructor runs. My husband and I were able to spend the whole class just working through all nine of our ippon kumite techniques and then demonstrated them to the rest of the class, which were mainly children and young teenagers (hope we didn't scare them!)

Our balcony

Then last night we attended our usual class and after one of sensei's mad fitness drills we spent the rest of the evening trying out some bunkai from the pinan katas. You know, the more I learn about the pinan katas the more impressed I am with them and I often wonder why they are regarded as beginner's katas - there is so much to learn from them, you just don't see it until you are more senior. They are definitely not katas to be learnt in junior ranks and then forgotten.

Me on a jeep safari

As you can see, I have launched myself back into my training with a vengeance and I'm feeling very enthusiastic about it. There's just over 7 weeks to go now until the black belt grading and I'm feeling pretty hungry for it, so let's bring it on.....

Training progress - getting a little overwhelmed!

The balance of my training has changed a lot over the last two weeks. Most of my training has been done in my usual karate classes, plus a couple of pretty demanding weekend courses. I have also returned to kobudo training after missing a few weeks. With all the muscle soreness I have experienced over the last 2 weeks I decided not to do any additional training at home.

My legs now finally feel okay and I'm starting to feel that I can pick up the pace again. I have still not returned to the push up challenge which I stopped about 4 weeks ago because I was struggling with it and generally wondered if I was over training a little. I have not yet reached my target of 50 push ups, the maximum I got to was 35. I'm still considering whether to pick up this challenge again and try to reach my target. The problem is there are so many other things I need to concentrate on that are more directly relevant to the karate training so I may leave it for a while and pick it up again after I have got my black belt.

I'm not too worried that I'm not doing any fitness training at home because sensei has us doing a fair bit in the classes. Most classes we have 2 or 3 rounds of push ups, sit ups, burpees, star jumps, straight leg raising etc, as well as some stretching exercises so I'm still doing that kind of stuff.

I have finally settled on my 9 ippon kumite techniques. Some of the finishing moves may need a bit of tweaking but essentially I just need to keep drilling them (both physically and mentally). I now need to settle on my 9 goshin waza (self defence) techniques. We get to choose what type of attacks we want to receive and then have to demonstrate 3 different defences against each of them. I think I'm going to choose attacks from behind (bilateral rear wrist grab, rear bear hug and rear head lock); 3 different types of wrist grab from the front and 3 escapes from lapel grabs.

I also need to work on my kata. I attended a kata course a couple of weeks back and received a lot of feedback about my kata performance so I now need to practice them incorporating the information given. 

The amount of stuff I need to be working on seems enormous and overwhelming at times but then again I can only do one thing at a time- and there's still 10 weeks to go!