Today is the Day

How Much Do I Remember?

No one was in the building.  I walked into the dimly lit warehouse and found an open floor space.  I wanted to know how much I remembered...if anything at all.  And so I began....

Anxiety Sucks

My face was pressed against the window in the back seat of the family’s green station wagon.  I sat quietly waiting for my dad to finish work.  I watched as he walked out the door and locked it.  Then the ritual began but I did not know what I was witnessing at the time.  He reached for the door handle and shook it three times.   My father walked down the short flight of steps and looked back at the door.   He proceeded back up the steps and grabbed the door handle again and shook it hard.  Three times.  Repeat.

At the time, I had no idea what I was witnessing.  I was only seven or eight years old at the time.  However, as an adult, I can say this is my first memory of anxiety.  Now I can recognize the signs of anxiety with ease.  It’s the little things.  It is the food that can’t touch each other on a dinner plate.  It is the patterned blanket that can only be facing one direction.  It is the nervousness to carry a water bottle in a theater.  It is the glasses, keys and pen that must sit just right on the counter.  It is the ritual of setting the breakfast table in proper sequence.  It is the person sitting in the corner quietly on their phone during social events.

It manifests differently in each person.  In my case, it started as a teenager and continued through college.  The anxiety focused on electricity and fire.  So curling irons, hair dryers and crock puts became a source of stress. I was so aware of my anxiety and I hated it.  It was a waste of time and I knew I was transferring my anxiety onto these objects.  When Erin was born, I had no time for it any longer.  I had to focus on her and I stopped.

Fast forward seventeen years later.  It is different but it is back and I want it to go away.

Sadness

Haven't been this sad in a long time.

I Have A Blog?

Yes...yes I do.

Sometimes I forget.

Just a quick note to say "Hello!" to all the readers who still stumble upon this blog from time to time.  There is not much...ok I mean nothing...to report on karate.  This is my first prolonged absence from the dojo and training.  I miss my instructors.  I miss my friends. I miss my fellow karate blog friends. I miss training.

During the summer, I was at the IKKF Annual Training event.  I was hoping the event would catapult me back in to training.  I spoke to Hanshi Hayes during a break in the sessions.  I mentioned my lapse in training and he told me not to worry because "it was about the long term commitment".

So here I am....focusing on the the long term commitment.

I will be back.

Teaching Your Own Child Karate

My daughter turns 14 years old next week.  In a few weeks, she will graduate 8^th grade.  In a few months, she will start high school.  In a few short years, she will head off to college. 

 Time flies like an arrow…

A few weeks ago, she mentioned in passing about learning karate.  (We have been down this road before).  She wants me to teach her and she wants to learn via private lessons.  I did not give this much thought at the time because I was in the process of driving her from one play practice to another.   The truth is…she simply did not have the time. (Historical society play, School play, Living Stations, Mathletes, Declamation Contest, Softball, homework).

Yesterday, Erin expressed interest in learning the tunfa.  I handed her my favorite set of Shureido tunfa and we went outside dressed in sweatpants and t-shirts.  There were no gi, no belts, no mirrors and we were barefoot on the grass.

It was a good training session. 

Questions:

Do you teach your own child karate?

Private lessons or class environment?

What are your biggest challenges?  

At what age did your child start learning?

I am inclined to have her learn privately and in a class setting.  My main concern is she is so busy with other activities that she will not have the time to study karate. 

PS. Hello Readers!  It has been a few months since I posted.  I hope everyone is doing well.    

Listen....

Listen...to your body.

In mid December, my sister Kim had surgery on her foot to correct a Haglund's Deformity and Plantar Fasciitis.  After the surgery, she had a list of instructions such as no weight bearing (crutches) and elevation for four weeks.  Kim wore a surgical boot for six weeks. 

My sister is not the type of person who is content being at home.  She is on the go....all the time.   Two weeks into her recovery, she asked me to take her to a jewelry making class a few towns away.   Kim assured me it was O.K. with her doctor because she was able to elevate her foot during the class.  On the ride to the bead shop, she told me her calf was sore for about two days and was not getting any better.

My sister was convinced she had a blood clot. 

The ultrasound test in the ER the next morning confirmed her suspicion.  The ER doctor kept her for observation because if the blood clot would shift it would travel to her lung.  The blood clot was in her ankle and was a result of the surgery.  The doctor said her blood clot was diagnosed early.  Kim returned home after an overnight stay in the hospital, blood tests, injections and a regime of cumadin

I am glad my sister was listening....

White Envelope

A few weeks ago, I was handed a white envelope by Fritz who is one of my training partners.   The content of the envelope....pictures.  I don't know about you but I don't like to get my picture taken.  I thanked Fritz and put the white envelope in my weapon bag.  It remained buried in the bag until I discovered the pictures last Wednesday during a black belt workout.  The pictures were taken in June 2012 during IKKF testing.  I paged through the photos critiquing my stances and weapon positions (bo, tekkos).  Did I mention that I hate getting my picture taken?

I guess I am feeling brave or perhaps crazy because I am sharing a few of the photos from the white envelope on the Photos page.

Might As Well Jump

An article from Science Daily: 

Go Ahead and Jump: Learning How to Properly Jump and Land Can Help Female Athletes Avoid Serious Knee Injuries

Female athletes tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) six to eight times more than male athletes who play the same sport. A leading sports medicine surgeon believes incorporating a jumping and landing program into a regular training regimen can help keep women on the field and out of the operating room.

"The jump program not only strengthens the knee, but it also help teach female athletes the motor control required to cut, jump and land properly," said Kelly Osburn, a Methodist Center for Sports Medicine physical therapist who helps female athletes recover from ACL injuries. "Most of my patients leave physical therapy stronger than they were before their injury."

Jumping is one area that I still feel insecure about during karate training...even after 5 years.   My ACL tear occurred while landing a jump on a matted surface.

Reader Question: What if the fear of injury...isn't your own?

Hello blog readers!

I received a kind email from Carolyn and she asked the following question:

"What if the fear of injury...isn't your own?"

I ask because... I've seen students leave martial arts because their parents don't want them to start sparring, or get hurt in some other way. More tragically, these students are usually girls. 

Watching someone be forced away from something they enjoy because of someone else's concerns breaks my heart.

Thanks again for your email and question! 

Quiet

This blog is too quiet.

I miss writing.
I miss my blog friends.
I miss the exchange of ideas. 
I miss reading and learning.

I will be in touch soon. 

Michele

Out of Balance

It has been about 8 weeks since I was in the dojo. This was the first time I decided to take a break. In the past, my breaks from training were due to my work schedule or an injury (ACL). Since the dojo is attached to my house, taking a break is significant.

However, I am feeling miserable because my life is out of balance.

These weeks have been extremely busy. I coordinated a raffle, worked a full-time and two part-time jobs. A large portion of time was spent transporting my daughter to camp, play practice, a science institute and soccer practice. I am also dealing with some life stressors which include a family member’s medical issues and extended unemployment.

It has been a difficult two months.

Last night, I decided to stop feeling miserable. My first order of business is to resume karate practice.

Immediately.

Tonight.

I hope I will be feeling a little less miserable tomorrow.

Question - Total Knee Replacement / Karate

Hello Readers,

A karate friend asked me to post a question on the blog. 

Do you know anyone who had a TKR (total knee replacement) and was able to continue karate training?

Thoughts?  Insights?

Catching Up

I am trying to catch up on everything from paperwork to my Google Reader.    

A blog "To Do" list:

Update the recommended links column.  If you have a martial arts, karate or ACL blog and would like to be included as a recommended link, please leave a comment on this post. 

Write an "About Me" post.  The page has been marked Coming Soon for about a year.

Post on a weekly basis.

Respond to email requests.

Thank You

It has been a busy few months.


In March, I was notified by my instructor that I would be testing on June 29, 2012 at the IKKF Annual Training in Reading, Pennsylvania. I spent a lot of time training over the last few months. There has been little time to write a cohesive blog post. As I reflect over the preparation, seminars and formal testing, the phrase which immediately comes to mind is “Thank You”.

Thank You to my instructors, Hanshi and Kyoshi Heilman for your encouragement, support and confidence in my ability.

Thank You to my training partners for your time and patience.

Thank You to my family for your understanding and assistance.

Thank You to the Dojo and Federation community for your words of support.

Thank You and Congratulations to all fellow testing candidates!


The results: I passed the test and was promoted to 6th Dan Karate, 6th Dan Kobudo.

More and Less

Over the last few months, I have been training more and writing less. 

A few thoughts...

1.  Pay close attention.  Some of the best tips / connections are the brief comments made by instructors.  You need to be ready to listen and apply the concepts.

2.  Open your mind and receive information.

3.  Be grateful for correction.

4.  Accept the help and support of others.

5.  Take a deep breath when you are feeling overwhelmed.

6.  Identify and highlight your strengths.

7.  Identify and minimize your weaknesses.

8.  Persist.

9.  Enjoy!

ACL Reconstruction - Five Years

May 15, 2012 was the 5 year anniversary of my ACL surgery.  Five years!

The initial purpose of this blog was to interact and document my recovery from surgery and my return path to karate.  The anniversary posts are important to me.  They serve as a reminder of how far I have come and how fragile the human body can be.  I tore my ACL landing a jump during a two person form.  It was not a contact injury rather my body turned against itself.  My foot planted and my knee went in the opposite direction. 

The truth is that I have been thinking a lot about my knee lately.  I have been training hard and pushing my knee with intensity.  After some practice sessions, my knee feels gooey (it is the best word I can use to describe it).  I have been training on several different flooring surfaces - carpet, mat, padded surface. I have a variety of knee braces in my locker which I normally do not use.  Last month, I bought a thin brace at the drugstore after a knee challenging workout. The thin brace provides support without restricting movement.

And then there is jumping...

I have been hesitant to jump in kata since my recovery.  I do the jumps...kind of.  I added a column to my spreadsheet and listed the number of jumping techniques in kata (19) and the number of times you drop to one knee (13),  The numbers are approximate because I keep finding more.   The worst knee moment for me is landing a jump kick on my right (reconstructed ACL) leg.  I hesitate and hesitation is not good.  I am at a point in my training where I need to do the jumps.

Best of luck to all who are going through ACL surgery and recovery!  Thank you for all the emails over the past five years with your questions and comments.  Check out my ACL links page for more information.  If anyone would like to share their ACL success story and write a guest post, feel free to contact me. 

Spreadsheet Karate

In my work life, everything has a spreadsheet:  sale forecasts, production plans, customer master lists, inventory, purchase orders, bookings and invoices.  At home,  I use spreadsheets to track my monthly expenses and balance my checkbook.  I even put my Christmas gift purchases on Excel.  Spreadsheets are easily converted into charts and graphs.  The rows, columns and cells help me stay organized.

Over the next two months, my goal is to be organized in my karate training.  I started a personal karate training log.  I considered using this blog as a place to record my training.  I decided against it because the post format would be cumbersome to scroll through.  I decided to create a spreadsheet.   I set up a separate worksheet for karate and kobudo. The far left column lists the name of the form - 19 open hand kata and 27 kobudo kata (8 different weapons).  The rows across the top are separated by week.

I recognize that spreadsheets are not for everyone.  My sister Kim is a creative person with a career in marketing/communications.  She designs websites and makes jewelry in her spare time.  Kim hates spreadsheets and does not use them for work or at home.

I don't know if I will even like or find a karate training spreadsheet useful.  Only time will tell...

Do you have a training journal?   Is it a spreadsheet?  

ACL Injuries in Women

From Science Daily: 

For some reason, women tend to have knee motions that make them more susceptible to injury. Among other things, when landing from a jump their knees tend to collapse inward more than that of most men. They suffer significantly more ACL injuries during physical activity. "We're finding differences in nervous system processing that we believe are related to this," Johnson said. "The causes for those differences are unclear, but it may be due either to a biological difference, such as hormones, or a cultural difference such as different exercise and training patterns."

One...Two...Three

We count a lot in karate class.  One...two...three...ichi...ni...san.

In the beginner classes, it is an easy way to keep everyone together and practice safely.  Counting/pausing gives the instructor an opportunity to view the class and offer corrections.  We practice kata to a count, we count during drills and basics and we count turns when working with a partner.   Counting becomes less evident in the advanced classes and almost non-existent in the black belt class.

There is a downside to counting.  It gives the students an unnatural beat or tempo to execute their techniques.

one...pause...two...pause...three...pause.
block down...pause...punch...pause...step...pause.

We were working on tempo this week in the dojo.  The goal was to accelerate the beat and break out of the monotone count of a kata.

one,two,three...pause...one, two...pause...one, two, three....
block down, punch, step...pause...knife hand, punch...pause...kosa, step, block down

The class noticed they had preferences and certain kata were easier for them to break free of the standard count.   The dojo will be working on this concept again next week and in the upcoming months.

A big thanks to Kyoshi Baer for the training suggestion at a recent seminar!