Xiao Ye and myself arrived Shanghai shortly before 1100am, checked in our hotel and walked to the dojo; thanks to Mrs. inChina that, on short notice, managed to find us a nice and inexpensive accommodation 5 minutes away.

It is not the same dojo as the one that stranded me two weeks ago; it is the same organization, but the place is brand new. It is actually not yet opened to the public: the first class is on Monday.

We will use this beautiful facility Saturday for the test of 13 hopeful brown belts aspiring to earn their desired Kyokushin Black Belt.

The dojo is located inside a sports complex that harbors several buildings, the largest being a full sized athletic stadium, complete with what could be 30,000 seats.

The new facility is adjacent to a basketball stadium with seats for 4-500 persons and shares the changing rooms, showers and restrooms with it; it does not require an immense effort of imagination to foresee that the next knock down competition will take place on the basketball court, it is perfect and only needs some puzzle mat tiles to be assembled on the floor to be ready.

The training hall has a smaller room that will host yoga classes but is otherwise dedicated to karate. The facility is opened from 0930 till 2230; We are welcomed by a very friendly karateka that immediately takes us on a short tour:

On the right of the lobby is a small waiting room furnished with two sofas, a coffee table and a large TV set and is directly opened to a 200 square meters gym, complete with weight machines, running machines and heavy bags. the place is well lit and the music system is of god quality. From there, two doors lead to the dojo itself and the yoga room already mentioned.

The dojo is 10×15m and covered with puzzle mat tiles that are soft and agreeable; a little bit slippery to my taste, but this might be because they are brand new. 3 large windows dispense ample light; the ceiling is probably 15 meters high and hosts an air conditioning system that seems adapted and very powerful. The opposite wall is fully covered by mirrors.

We had a great day training day where Shihan Gong dropped by and said hello; we were invited to share some take away food that was promptly delivered. During this impromptu dinner, we had a chance to talk about what happened in the other dojo last week (if you remember, a brown belt refused to partner with me and I was asked to step aside)… Nidan said he remembered the incident and tried to explain the unexplainable… I let the face saving moment pass and we all agreed that it was “unfortunate”…

This dojo has everything to provide top class instruction; class starts Monday, already two students have registered… In the meantime, we will be training there tomorrow afternoon, and also have 13 aspiring black belts tested on Saturday; now that I have solved Mrs. InChina’s new camera hook up problem to my PC, get ready for more…

Osu!

Have you noticed how sometimes small things seem to hold you back? I’ve been stuck in between things for a week or so, but since I mentioned Scotland to my eldest son last Sunday, the plans are shaping up quite nicely; I’ve also cleared some resistance, fear and anguish with Mrs. InChina; we are again in motion & here is what it looks like:

• Shodan grading (not mine, Mr. Ye’s, our sempai) in Shanghai. I’ll ride shotgun with Mr Ye since he asked me to; we’ll be leaving by bus on May 6th morning; his black belt is on the 8th. We’ll be training together on the 6th afternoon and on the 7th. The test on Saturday, hopefully, I’ll have photos and a story to tell.
• On the 7th evening, I am invited to train with another dojo in Shanghai. This one was introduced by Shihan Patrick Teo from Singapore; in view of the very warm welcome I received in Singapore, I have high expectations, and am looking forward to this experience.
• From May 14th to May 18th, Mrs. InChina and I will retreat to the heart of the SiChuan province and visit two China National Parks, enjoy hot springs, etc… These hot springs signal seismic activity. It is not surprising! we will be very near the epicenter of last year’s earthquake that rocked China. I owed this to Mrs. InChina: where else can you find such an understanding wife that will let her husband go practice around the world?
• June 2nd will see me flying to the USA where I will spend the first 5 days taking drawing classes in NY. I wish to find a dojo to train to in Manhattan at these dates too… Invitations or suggestions are welcomed.
• I will join “Dent” at his private dojo on June 8th and will train there for two months. Guests from Singapore, Asia, South Africa and various parts of the USA will also visit at this period.
• For some reasons, the original plan to stay at Dent’s and have my sons join us there in August did not turn out; We’ll likely spend part of August in Scotland instead… I just received confirmation from Shihan Iain Rodger that we’ll be able to mix training with visiting the highlands and other parts of Scotland.
• I’ll be back in China end of August, only to fly to Tanzania on a prospective business/investment trip sometimes mid September with Jim Sinclair at jsmineset – as a side note, I highly recommend it to anyone concerned about the direction the economy may turn.  From Tanzania, it would then be logical to make the next destination of Karate Journey Southern Africa for 3 months.
• This would take us to Xmas and maybe another stop over in Scotland for PowerOf0ne 3rd Dan and 30 man kumite test? I don’t know how that will be possible, but I’d like that.

Xmas in the family in France, ski in the Alps in January; Mrs. InChina’s wish to visit New Zealand may take Karate Journey there, then of course Australia and we’ll already be in June or July next year… All right, let’s wait until I am in the USA with Dent to put a plan together for the follow up of Karate Journey.

In the meantime, happy training to all, one day at a time…

Osu!

Last Friday evening karate class in Shanghai was great & a good workout; If you do not want to read the detailed recount in my online workout journal, I give you here a brief highlight of the class before telling you what happened last Saturday during sparring with the black belts:

Make it count.

Hitting the pads is not a leisurely activity, if you are not ready and willing to pummel the crap out of the pads to make it feel like something real is happening, get outta here! It was not worded that way, but close; the meaning was unmistakable.

Lower yourself!

Several times Mr Ding, the 2nd Dan giving class, came to show me a better lower kumite position to assume to hit the pads – I did not seem to get it! Indeed, I had all my joints locked in max flexion (ankles, knees, hips) and he was insisting that I get lower… He took me aside at the end and showed me… raising my back heel makes it easier to go lower… Okay, got it, I’ll do that, I just thought that I had to keep my heels grounded; thank you!

Sparring day Saturday: I am told to step aside!

Today is kumite; I feel a little stiff from last night and got up early to loosen up that old body.

My heart skips a beat with a mix of excitement, anticipation and fear when I find close to 50 black & brown belts on the mat Saturday morning: I expect to be tested, but what an opportunity to measure & calibrate where I am at!

Seiza, warm up; we are asked to find a partner. I stand in front of a brown belt; I bow and osu, he looks from side to side visibly distressed; he utters “oh my God” in a tone that unmistakeably means “oh sh*t! why me?”

I bow and OSU again, loudly enough; an uncomfortable calm replaces the few giggles; I’ve made clear that dojo etiquette won’t suffer an exception!

I am wrong; I only provoke more frantic drowning looks from my “partner” that tear a now embarrassed silence for help.

The 3rd Dan in charge comes towards us & asks me to step aside. I stand to attention, bow & osu; he is going to tell the brown belt that this behavior is out of place…

Wrong again! Without a word, he pairs the disrespectful idiot with someone else and resumes class, leaving me there in shock!

Like a Mexican in Texas!

Not quite: Mexicans don’t lose face, but close enough I feel!

I am in the middle of the mat in Oi Dachi wondering what is going on? I do not know. I make my way to the side of the mat for what is going to become a very painful 90 minutes; I am not alarmed yet, surely some explanation will come and I will be paired with someone and be able to participate in the class – That’s why I am here after all!

I take interest in the self defense moves; they are different from the ones we learned in our dojo, and practiced with more intensity. Shihan arrives and takes over the class, the rhythm increases a bit as does the order; from very good, the demonstrations become crisp and excellent and come with sensible explanations.

I try to learn by observing, but from the sidelines, it is not easy. Martial arts require practice, you can’t learn them in a book or online! That is why I am here after all! Everybody knows that: any time now someone is going to ask me to join in, I’d better remain ready and keep doing some warm up exercises.

Kumite! I move towards the heavy weight group and I produce a real effort to stand in the way of the group; not quite bumping into people, but I make it very hard to ignore me “HEY GUYS, I AM HERE, I CAME FOR THAT!” — “HELLOOOO, CAN”T YOU SEE ME?” — Short of crossing a line, I can’t do much more than that… Not to avail, I am transparent, being ignored for some reason!

What is going on here – what is wrong with these Shanghainese?

That’s it, I get it! They are waiting for a few rounds to go by, allowing me to get a feel of things, like Shihan Patrick Teo did when I was in Singapore last month! That was indeed helpful to allow me to see and adjust to the level of intensity and contact before letting me have a go with his senior ranks; very sensible.

This is not my Kyokushin!

Class is nearly over: everyone is visibly exhausted. I make a last attempt at staying warmed up and ready; but by now I am just hoping for that circus to end: my muscles are cold; asked to jump in now, I would injure or make a fool of myself, likely both. I am not in the mood any longer!

Cool down, seiza, the class is dismissed!

I head to the changing room and pack away; I am about to exit the premises when a someone asks me why I don’t join the class and points to a group of orange, blue and yellow belts, mostly kids & teenagers, doing warm up on the mat…

Are you freakin’kidding me!?

My mind is screaming “THIS IS NOT MY KYOKUSHIN!” together with some well thought out silent retorts while I politely reply: “no thanks, we have plenty of those at home!”

I bow, I osu and I leave!

Of note: we worked Friday on a descending (actually an up, then down “straight” punch that targets the collar bones and upper chest. It lobs over the guard and descends fast like a lifted tennis ball just behind… I got corrected until I got the feel of it… I saw that on the face of my brown belt partner holding the pads for me. Then it was his turn… there is a lot of power in this punch and it can cause some degree of discomfort on the receiving end…

Osu, here is where I am at:

Heading to Shanghai tomorrow with Alex and Sempai Yu to train in Shihan’s dojo over the week end. We’ll go by bus; I let Alex organize where we’ll stay, etc… I’ve been a control freak in my professional travels for 20 years; I tell you, relinquishing just a little bit of that makes it feel like an adventure already. I am looking forward for some good training and good times; I’ll have pictures and stories to tell.

Alex’s question was: “what to do during the day?” – Indeed, we’ll be training at night… It doesn’t really matter to me for a day or two, but now I am wondering what I will do during the days once my karate journey is on the road? No worries, I am not freaking out, just wondering with quiet and serene anticipation.

I’ll go to Shanghai again on May 5th, together with our assistant instructor Xiao Ye. Mr Ye is taking t=his Shodan test and asked me to ride shotgun with him. I feel honored that he asked me and I am relishing the opportunity to witness first hand a shodan test. I’ll be training with Xiao Ye as much as possible between now and then. That’s more pictures and stories coming too…

I’ll be arriving at Dent’s dojo in New Jersey the second week of June. The question now is what to do during the first week; my options are:

• stopping in Paris and train with my son and a K4L colleague that will be there, or
• stopping in New York and attend the drawing class I’ve been wanting to go to for the last 4 years, or
• dropping by my parent’s for a few days… my mum doesn’t understand what this karate journey is all about. Not that I have any chance of successfully explaining it to her, but at least, I feel I must try.

My heart leans towards drawing in New York; no decision yet, but if someone has a sofa to rent in Manhattan, that would be nice… please drop me a line via my contact page. I could also do with a couple dojos to visit; if I go the drawing way, I’ll only be busy during the day & a bit of training and meeting new friends in the evening would be great (contact page).

My 3 sons confirmed their intention to join me at Dent’s in August for 3 weeks — they are getting organized with their dates, plane tickets, etc… That’s great! I am looking forward to it.

Mrs. InChina’s mood about my karate journey is on/off; she is getting used to the idea of me being away for long periods of time. Of course, she is not looking forward to it but she is being very supportive… There are still too many unknowns and “ifs” to really make a plan, but in case the travels take me to Southern Africa by Q4 and Australia by Q1 2011, she’s already said would like to join me there for a while.

As far as training is concerned, everything is going well except my left shoulder joint that is, again, giving warning signs of flaming! I am being careful and will try to drop by the hospital on Monday to get some advice.

I have also been procrastinating on clearing up my space & letting go of all these things I won’t be able to do or follow during my journey… Sometimes the obstacles to “escape the bucket of crabs” are self created.

Osu!

PS: Sue at My Journey To Black Belt, that was stranded in Cyprus is being repatriated tonight to the UK – I trust you wanted to know the good news. If you remember, I mentioned Sue’s “adventure” on ‘Self Protection Against Distant Volcanoes”.

Most of you have seen this beautiful video that is currently making the rounds on internet…

Great video, music & story…

However,

I am not sure it happened the way the video is sequenced…

In fact, I am sure it did not!

Also,

• You are not supposed to hunt or bring anything up from below when diving with air tanks – which the guy was if we believe he chased the octopus for over 3 min.
• How do you go about diving holding a camera AND a gun? you only have two hands, unless of course if you are the octopus…

That is today’s world in a nut-shelled metaphor: unless you have a perfect story, or body, etc… nobody listens or sees you – Instant fame is very often made up – it gives a sense of inadequacy to most people that can never meet up with these non-real expectations – it gives them the sense that their lives are sub par… when they are not!

Life happens more like Sandman’s elephant story :

(…) Remembering the encounter in 1986, (…) he walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly. (…)

at ground level, life is smelly, dirty & cares not for happy endings… that what makes the beauty of it, in my view.

What happens to the lesson when we tell lies?

Like this Zen master of old making oddly shaped pancakes; “perfect!” would he say after each; when a student asked him why he was saying “perfect” when the pancakes were obviously not, he replied:

… “perfect”!

Osu!

There are 3 great things I noticed about keeping a workout journal for my karate journey:

1. It keeps me “on task” and eliminates the delusion that the work got done when I actually skipped a session – (yes, it also happens to me).
2. It helps me dealing with the “little voices” always ready to offer credible excuses. I trained & have something to report, or I did not, period!
3. My journal is public; I openly receive encouragements & nudges from a supportive community of like minded karatekas; I am also inspired and in awe at the workouts and progress reported by others – an invisible “peer pressure” is also active and keeps me accountable.

While I am in China, my usual karate week revolves around 4 nights at the dojo, 2 nights of yoga, occasional extra endurance and strength workouts. Typically, it would look like this:

• Monday: Dojo Night, karate; usually with kumite.
• Tuesday: Pilates – (but they changed the dates, so I cannot go any longer), I will make Tuesdays BAD days (Big Abs Days) where I will focus on a core workout.
• Wednesday: Dojo Night, karate.
• Thursday: Strength (but lately, I have been slacking badly in that area) – Yoga Night.
• Friday: Dojo Night, karate.
• Saturday: Dojo Night, karate.
• Sunday: Yoga Night.
• Throw in the daily makiwara work; I have a wall mounted makiwara behind my desk & twice or 3 times a day, I hit it for a few reps… and the hands, forearms and grip work I perform every second day with grippers and improvised hojo undo apparatus (also from my desk…).
• Yoga days are rest days; I enjoy the great stretch that yoga brings, but it is not a straining workout.

Going back through the past weeks, I noticed that I neglected interval training; I usually perform “stair work” in the staircase of my building. I have also stayed away from strength training, partly because of my shoulder injury. I finally have delayed implementing a “Ross Enamait” type of program to take me through to the next level.

The additional bonus of a workout journal is that, magically, “everything that you measure, improves”.

Are you keeping track of your workouts? How does that help you?

In spite of the rumor, I do not think the volcano eruption in Iceland was meant as a retaliation against the money changers that bankrupted the country two years ago.

Governments can create and print trillions in a hurry to keep your bank open, declare martial law to restore order or outlaw bad weather when a collective frenzy of arrogance seizes them; we saw that in Copenhagen. But can Human power structures do anything to save the day against a distant volcano? Should you start thinking about your self protection, awareness and self reliance?

You have all viewed the reports in the press; I also had no clue… The good news is that we start to hear tales of human generosity, but karatekas the world over were either unable to reach competition places across Europe; or worse, were stranded in foreign lands.

My fellow karateka & blogger Sue C. at My Journey To Black Belt (aka known as “Kick A$$ Sue”), is presently stranded in Cyprus, unable to return to the UK.

At first, her flights were delayed until the next day, but as the situation in Iceland unfolded, and flights were canceled across Europe, the delays got longer. Sue is okay and taken care of by her travel tour organization, but it is not the case of everyone around her… some of her fellow travelers are out of resources and out of luck; they can only hope that the reputed Mediterranean hospitality is not a legend and rely on the kindness of the locals to make it through their ordeal.

What often separates life from death in a crisis is your state of preparedness; imagining even only once what you would do should a situation arise, may make the difference. I noticed that we always tend to think of self protection too narrowly. I am not suggesting to always imagine the worst, after all life needs to be lived; I wanted to raise your awareness and trigger your thinking…

Could this happen to you? Could you be stranded somewhere without the proper resources available? What other cases can you imagine? What if the banks were closed for two weeks? What would you do? What can you do now that would help in such a case?

A comment from Sensei Bob H on my recent introspective Grading For 8th Kyu post got me thinking about what path I am on. In that article, I explain how expectations misguided me and the lesson I learned. Sensei Bob’s comment reveals the shifting sands upon which my karate journey was laid.  Here is Bob’s comment:

Bob H Says: Sounds like the test was perfect in retrospect. Now that might not have been the intent. But does it matter? A belt is recognition (by others) and a reminder of your responsibility. You show your wisdom in your introspection. But you have to choose one path. Either you are a 3rd kyu that deserves his belt back or you are a white belt truly starting with a clean slate. If you are really the former, then taking a white belt is just vanity. If you are the latter then taking a white belt is humility. On the second path, you aren’t entitled to any belt or rank despite your own opinion. The flip side is that the belt doesn’t change who you are or what you can do. Osu!

Indeed, the test was perfect, my perception of it less so.

Have I chosen one path?

In truth, I am far from 3rd kyu, nor have I a clean slate: I believed I could train with a white belt until I reached my previous level, then be entitled to my green belt. That seemed to make sense when I started. But for some reasons it did not. It brought confusion instead & I got lost. I became oblivious, blind and deaf. Worse so, I was mistaking vanity for humility!

I was using the correct map but didn’t know where I was. Each time I measured the distance traveled, it indicated the wrong location. Sensei Bob shows me the starting point of my chosen road.

A white belt with a clean slate.

Sensei Bob’s lesson, does not change who I am; it clarifies where I come from & where I am at on my chosen path.

I feel like I just shed a whole lot of unnecessary heavy luggage that gratefully, I do not have to carry any longer. I can stop bumping into obstacles, and learn how to deal with them.

Thank you for your wisdom Sensei Bob; you permit me to travel light.

Osu.

Fred

Although many are, not all of you, Dear Readers, are hard core karatekas. To fully enjoy my previous post, Blue And A Half, the understanding of a few concepts is necessary: this article intends to bring a little bit of clarity into the jargon.

The image above shows the color belts of the Kyu ranks in my kyokushin organization. The progression is from left to right, white is beginner, then orange is 10th kyu, orange with a stripe (not shown) is 9th kyu, blue is 8th, 7th with a stripe (that’s me), then yellow for 6th and 5th, green for 4th (Alex) and 3rd, and finally brown for 2nd and 1st (Mr. Ye) – After 1st kyu, you can earn a black belt, also called shodan.

Shodan also means beginner – traditionally, black belt is where the learning really starts; when you attain shodan, you have come full circle from beginner to beginner

Glossary:

• Sanchin dachi – the stance of the three battles.
• Yoi – get ready.
• Kihon – set of basic techniques (like a punch or a kick).
• Pinan Sono San – Kata Pinan 3, requested for 8th kyu.
• Kata – Formalized sequence of techniques.
• Kiai – the famed karateka shout.
• Osu – Salute.
• Kyu – grade before black belt (from 10 novice to 1 most advanced).
• Kumite – sparing, combat.

Please see also:
- Blue And A Half
- Grading for 8th Kyu
- What Are You Expecting From Your Karate Journey?

It took the best part of 8 minutes to examine, approve, confirm and stamp the abilities and progress displayed by the 7 of us taking the leap from 9th to 8th kyu.

Osu! Sanchin dachi! Yoi! Kihon (4 or 5 reps on the count); Pinan Sono San! Yoi!… two kiais , Osu! 40 push ups, 40 kick squats and done; Pfew, that’s efficient or what?! Fred, very good you get 7th Kyu, others pass to 8th kyu. Next! The “being tested & rising to the occasion” left me a little hungry.

Maybe it was winter that cut through the ranks, or maybe a measure of pre-selecting aspiring candidates, I will never know. There were a good 35 of us, expectantly taking a promotion test this week, a third of the numbers from last November.

The testing ranged from 10th for the novices to 4th kyu; the more advanced gradings, beyond 3rd kyu, are conducted in Shanghai; no one was taking 3rd kyu. In total, two students did not pass and two, myself included, got a double promotion, the rest a normal one.

From 5th to 4th kyu, a minute of kumite spiced up the event: this time, two of the three students were paired against each other. I did not see their fight but they must have done well & were promoted.

My friend Alex was battling Mr. Ye at that same time. Mr. Ye is a very good brown belt and our part time instructor. I was curious to see what Alex’s 98Kg and solid low kicks would do to Mr. Ye’s lighter build; a new request to remain inside a square made of 4 mat tiles (yes, 2×2m or 7×7 feet square), dramatically reduced escape options: a little bit like whacking someone in an elevator!

Our dojo limits the techniques one can use at this level: only low kicks and fist techniques are allowed! There must be a rationale to it, but I ignore which. I regret this limitation because my imagination runs wild at the thought of being pitted against a 50 pounds lighter opponent in 4 square meters with no place to run & the possibility to use my knees on their bodies & faces… But let’s not get carried away, the rules will have changed by the time it is my turn.

An hour after it started, everyone was on its way home with a new belt. While driving, I was wondering why we didn’t take the chance to have a good training session with Shihan; there was no urgency, he was not returning to Shanghai that evening; it would have been a pretty good opportunity to learn something.

Osu!

Please see also:
- Understanding Karate Jargon.
- Grading For 8th Kyu
- What Are You Expecting From Your Karate Journey?