Dec 29, 2020
seen from Brazil
seen from Türkiye
seen from Croatia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Türkiye
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Türkiye
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from Thailand
seen from Australia
seen from Italy
seen from Venezuela
seen from China
454 + 455
Went to the Dojo early, hung out on the floor with Sensei a bit and then assisted classes and then some team stuff.
First class was weapons. We drilled BO: Strikes, blocks, combos, kick. Then did Bo1 and Bo2, 4-5 times each.
Brown & Blackbelt class was Seiunchin. We broke it down super slow, counted moves and just worked on precision. My legs are DEAD after today. And after all those hundreds of horse stances (Kiba Dachi). Ugh...
Linking Karate Techniques to make Better Martial Art
Linking Karate Techniques to make Better Martial Art
Newsletter 883
Interlinking Martial Arts Forms
Here’s an interesting little trick for you, one that will open your eyes and expand your art by ten…
I did Kenpo back in 67, I noticed right away that the forms were built simple to complex. Actually, simple to hard to understand.
You learned your basics with the first two forms, then everything went haywire, the forms were lists of techniques, no…
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10/10/16-10/16/16
(The dates this week are kind of weird!) Filming today! Universal Design stuff- so as soon as it's done you guys will be the first to hear my ideas. I'm super excited about this one! Also, I finally got my kata videos for the November tournament uploaded so I'll post those at some point tomorrow. Sorry this post is short- I have tons to do and you guys will get to see it sooner if I get my butt off of here and into the studio to film! Best, Michelle
10/3/16-10/9/16
For the past two weeks and for the next month and a half I’m going to be working on a short term goal: The Pennsylvania Karate Championships. I’m competing in them for the first time from out of state and I’m both nervous and excited. I’m preparing Su An Su Kata and Urashi Bo, as well as getting ready for sparring.
I recorded my katas this week and as soon as I get them uploaded I’m going to post them on here. I feel pretty confident with my Su An Su- just needing to tweak a few things here and there. Urashi Bo is a bit of a different story- I feel alright with it, but watching myself do it proved that I’m nowhere close to where I want to be with it right now. There will be lots of repetition and consulting over the next few weeks regarding that.
I’m also pretty nervous about sparring. The female division weight rank is “less than 150 lbs” and the age group is 18-34. As a 125 lb, 22 year old female, you can pretty much guess how I’m feeling about that. I could very well be pitted against someone a foot taller than me and with 25 lbs on me. Yikes. I’ve been practicing sparring with higher ranking male senseis at my school and plan to do so as much as possible before the tournament. Hopefully training harder will make fighting a little easier.
9/26/16-10/2/16
Okay, so I promised that I would start documenting my training. Here goes nothing…
I want to start out by introducing myself. Unless you actively follow me on tumblr or know me personally, you’re probably asking yourself who the hell is this girl and who does she think she is?
So, hey there! My name is Michelle. I’m 22 years old and I’m currently training for the 2020 Olympics. Wait- what?! Okay, let me backtrack a little bit. I’ve been training in martial arts since I was 8 years old, and since then it’s been a huge part of my life. It started out when my little brother went to a bring-a-friend week at a Tang-Soo-Do dojpo in Pennsylvania where we grew up. He ended up signing up, and I ended up being dragged along to his lessons. By the time he got his yellow belt, I was enthralled. I remember telling (not even asking!) my mom that I wanted to do that. She signed me up and soon enough I had begun my martial arts journey. Fast forward a few years and my family up and moved me to Western New York, and I hated it. Everything was a struggle for me as a preteen girl in a new town and a new school- except karate. There were no Tang-Soo-Do schools in the area, so I started training at an Isshin-Ryu school under arguably one of the greatest martial artists of our time, Shihan Bill Adams. I went to class two or three times a week, and I fell even more in love with the sport and found some great role models and made some awesome friends. I’ve been training with Bill for 10 years now, and I’ve received both my shodan and nidan from him. Through Bill’s school, I’ve not only gained experience and rank, but I’ve gained a career, a family, and more love and support than I ever could have asked for. Don’t get me wrong, the dojo has it’s ups and downs (as I’m sure any martial artist at their own dojo can testify to!), but the ups far outweigh the downs. Which brings us to where we are now- training for the 2020 Olympics. Once I caught wind that the 2020 Olympics would (finally!) be introducing a karate division, I was hooked on the idea. I asked Shihan Bill to coach me for them, and he agreed. So now begins the 4-year long training process which I’m going to attempt to document through this blog…
So, for a quick overview, I take about four classes a week at Bill’s dojo and train two or three times a week one-on-one with Bill or one of my two other sensies, Jason and Tom. In addition to my martial arts training, I teach eight classes a week at Bill’s dojo. I’m currently also working on pursuing Universally Designed Martial Arts in Western New York. Bill also recommended that I start practicing yoga to increase my flexibility. I just found a class (yay!) that I like and I plan to make it a regular part of my routine, hopefully two yoga classes a week. I also attend meditation once a week and try my best to meditate daily. On top of all this, I unfortunately have to work a side job, which is currently serving / catering / bar tending for a local brewery- it sucks and I’m trying to make martial arts profitable enough so that I can ditch that all together, but it’s a long process.
I hope that I can watch myself grow throughout this process with the aid of this blog. I’m going to post at least once a week, less about myself and more about my training. Please feel free to ask me questions or offer me suggestions! I’m always looking for new input and I love constructive criticism.
Best, Michelle
East Coast Budoblr!!!!
I train in Isshin-Ryu karate and I want to start competing more. I live in NY state and don't want to travel terribly too far. Anyone know of any good competitions in the area coming up before the end of the year? I'm not even picky- I've competed in karate and TKD competitions and I'll do just about anything. I'm trying to gain experience and network with fellow martial artists. Help a sister out please!
The Greatest Strategy in the Martial Arts
The Greatest Strategy in the Martial Arts
Newsletter 821 ~ sign up now!
What’s with All the Bowing Stuff in the Martial Arts?
“Politeness is the greatest strategy.” Al Case
The most polite man i have ever met was my instructor in the Kang Duk Won. He was also the best martial artist I ever saw, which leads to an interesting possibility:
Politeness goes hand in hand with competence.
Think about it, if you are polite, honestly polite,
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