Journey to a new style...

[_Simon_]

‘….during the fuc*ety, 18th century, there was a cu*ty wa*ker-fu*k bas*ard paradigm shift in the huge kn*ckers application of sh*t-sack Tee where the fu*king, co*ksucky sh*t bast*rd an*s ringp*ece w*nkerty…’

Pretty close!!! Needs more cowbell.

Ps. Oh and the 1000 words found out today is just a minimum. *whew!*

 

[drop bear]

I do swear a great deal in my history of Karate essay...

It's the old gag.

Do a thousand word essay.

"Two men walked in to a bar. They both drew guns and fired.

Bang bang bang bang............


And they both died.

The end."

 

[drop bear]

Your technique execution isn't going to improve that much over the next 3 wks. If your open to unsolicited advice, I suggest you cut down on drills as far as reps, speed and power is concerned and just work on relaxation and control. Especially true in kata. Not only will this give you smoother performance (often much liked in shodan tests) but also keep you fresher during the length of the test. The tendency is to try too hard, only adding pressure on yourself and roughness in execution. IMO, relaxed control is key. Let your years of training and practice do their own thing. Good luck.

Nobody finishes a fight wishing they had spent less time on cardio.

Just saying.

 

[Gyakuto]

Pretty close!!! Needs more cowbell.

Ps. Oh and the 1000 words found out today is just a minimum. *whew!*

As someone who marked projects and essays as part of their career, bear in mind, succinct, pithy writing is appreciated: you don’t want to irritate the marker with verbosity. Make good use of sub heading so the marker knows what’s coming up, but no so many that the flow of the essay is interrupted.

Secreting paper money between the pages goes a long way to good marks.

 

[_Simon_]

Nobody finishes a fight wishing they had spent less time on cardio.

Just saying.

A great saying. Yeah I've really ramped up the cardio, to more than would be necessary. Trying to take into account nerves etc which sap me, so hopefully my reserves are well and truly good.

 

[_Simon_]

As someone who marked projects and essays as part of their career, bear in mind, succinct, pithy writing is appreciated: you don’t want to irritate the marker with verbosity. Make good use of sub heading so the marker knows what’s coming up, but no so many that the flow of the essay is interrupted.

Secreting paper money between the pages goes a long way to good marks.

Hahaha...

Yeah for sure. My writing is very much not circular or excessive, just so much that I couldn't leave out. All good I'm glad it was just a minimum word count, and I actually learned so much through the process of research and study

 

[Gyakuto]

A great saying. Yeah I've really ramped up the cardio, to more than would be necessary. Trying to take into account nerves etc which sap me, so hopefully my reserves are well and truly good.

For stamina take D-Ribose, Ashwagandha, and two hours before the grading, two shots of concentrated beetroot juice with a dirty mouth (brushing one’s teeth stops it working: non-nitric oxide synthase pathway requires oral anaerobic bacteria to make it work).

The number one thing that will reduce your performance is you. Self inhibition/doubt etc, so have a little ‘mind management routine’ to distract your mind off things just before you kick off. I imagine slats of armour-like timber, slamming sequentially into place around my abdomen kicking up a bit of dust, then a mini Bruce Lee appears in front of me an does rapid Wing Chun chain punching into my impervious belly, caterwauling throughout! Then I start my kata…It really helps.

 

[Gyakuto]

Hahaha...

Yeah for sure. My writing is very much not circular or excessive, just so much that I couldn't leave out. All good I'm glad it was just a minimum word count, and I actually learned so much through the process of research and study

You have learned much, young _Simon_……what have you learned?

 

[isshinryuronin]

Nobody finishes a fight wishing they had spent less time on cardio.

Low stress cardio is always good. My post was in response to the quote below:

but I'm now currently sick. Possibly pushed too hard or just other stresses, so training is slightly derailed

Over-training, especially when hard on the joints or causing mental stress, is not condusive to a multi-hour (as most are) black belt test. When I was training for my shodan, my training was very intense, and I got water on the knee a few days before the test. As the final days of the test draw near, working on "relaxation and control" IMO is more beneficial than trying to squeeze out more power or speed. Gyakuto notes this below.

The number one thing that will reduce your performance is you.

So true. You can do all the repetition, speed and power work you want, but if you're mentally out of sorts it won't do you much good. Mental control and relaxation have to be practiced as well (something not usually realized by lower belts) and will do more good than the other training just before the test. And this will aid in endurance during the test at least as much as cardio.

 

[_Simon_]

For stamina take D-Ribose, Ashwagandha, and two hours before the grading, two shots of concentrated beetroot juice with a dirty mouth (brushing one’s teeth stops it working: non-nitric oxide synthase pathway requires oral anaerobic bacteria to make it work).

The number one thing that will reduce your performance is you. Self inhibition/doubt etc, so have a little ‘mind management routine’ to distract your mind off things just before you kick off. I imagine slats of armour-like timber, slamming sequentially into place around my abdomen kicking up a bit of dust, then a mini Bruce Lee appears in front of me an does rapid Wing Chun chain punching into my impervious belly, caterwauling throughout! Then I start my kata…It really helps.

Nice! Thank you! Music/singing helps me get out of my head. One person suggested once before a tournament that I watch epic martial arts movies and go out there with an attitude that I'm going to war, I'm going to destroy everyone etc... that approach didn't vibe with me at all haha. Just doing things that relax me and remind me aaaall's good

 

[_Simon_]

You have learned much, young _Simon_……what have you learned?

Ah just learning more of the history. Chojun Miyagi and the others, how different streams developed etc. I'm not great with history and only had a very generic understanding, but was fascinating seeing all the links and the different branches that gained a life of their own

 

[_Simon_]

Mental control and relaxation have to be practiced as well (something not usually realized by lower belts) and will do more good than the other training just before the test. And this will aid in endurance during the test at least as much as cardio.

Very good point, thank you again

 

[Gyakuto]

Nice! Thank you! Music/singing helps me get out of my head.

That’s another strategy:singing (inwardly…belting out Rage Against the Machine on the shinsa doesn’t go down well), reciting lyrics, seeing waves ebbing and flowing etc.

One person suggested once before a tournament that I watch epic martial arts movies and go out there with an attitude that I'm going to war, I'm going to destroy everyone etc... that approach didn't vibe with me at all haha.

That’ll come from studies on university students taking maths tests. One group were told to imagine they were Albert Einstein/Stephen Hawking while doing they set, the other a confident academic person, the control, just did the test. The Albert Einstein group did significantly better in the test!

But aggressiveness can be counterproductive and is known, in Iai as the ‘third paradox’. Aggressiveness toward an opponent blunts the senses, discombobulates the mind…throws you off your task. But being totally passive make one’s techniques lifeless and ineffectual. One has to be dispassionate but not detached. It’s very difficult. Don Corleone (Godfather) put it well, “Never hate your enemies…it affects your judgement.”

Just doing things that relax me and remind me aaaall's good

Can you see how meditation and being unattached to your thoughts (Zen), viewing them from the outside rather than being carried away in the flow of them, really does go hand in hand with martial arts?

 

[_Simon_]

But aggressiveness can be counterproductive and is known, in Iai as the ‘third paradox’. Aggressiveness toward an opponent blunts the senses, discombobulates the mind…throws you off your task. But being totally passive make one’s techniques lifeless and ineffectual. One has to be dispassionate but not detached. It’s very difficult. Don Corleone (Godfather) put it well, “Never hate your enemies…it affects your judgement.”

Very interesting... and makes sense.

Can you see how meditation and being unattached to your thoughts (Zen), viewing them from the outside rather than being carried away in the flow of them, really does go hand in hand with martial arts?

Oh yeah for sure, it's something (like the last grading) that I'll give my attention to quite a bit in the next few weeks

 

[Fungus]

Nice! Thank you! Music/singing helps me get out of my head. One person suggested once before a tournament that I watch epic martial arts movies and go out there with an attitude that I'm going to war, I'm going to destroy everyone etc... that approach didn't vibe with me at all haha. Just doing things that relax me and remind me aaaall's good

I tried a few times when I do heavy bag work to listen to som fighting or combat songs with earplugs. I am normally a very calm person, and after a day in the office, I surely don't need to get more calm. To get into "fighting mode" before the session, rather then midway though listening to some fighting music or something similar helps get into the mood faster. It seems to help me get better "chinkuchi" and respond faster on the heavy bad, rather than jsut stepping into the dojo after a day at the office thinking about many things that have nothing todo with fighting
I like "mental warmup" along with "physical warmup".

It happens that i just about make it to the dojo, without having at least 30 mins to torture the heavy bag before the class, those days are my worst, as i step right into the class mentally unprepared.

Some adrenaline is required not only for delivering punhces, but also for taking them! I sometimes even do a brief kiai or breat hout when I plan to take a punch. It helps to tense up your body maximally, and here you need to some adrenaline - or so i feel, otherwise I feel to soft or weak.

 

[_Simon_]

I tried a few times when I do heavy bag work to listen to som fighting or combat songs with earplugs. I am normally a very calm person, and after a day in the office, I surely don't need to get more calm. To get into "fighting mode" before the session, rather then midway though listening to some fighting music or something similar helps get into the mood faster. It seems to help me get better "chinkuchi" and respond faster on the heavy bad, rather than jsut stepping into the dojo after a day at the office thinking about many things that have nothing todo with fighting
I like "mental warmup" along with "physical warmup".

It happens that i just about make it to the dojo, without having at least 30 mins to torture the heavy bag before the class, those days are my worst, as i step right into the class mentally unprepared.

Some adrenaline is required not only for delivering punhces, but also for taking them! I sometimes even do a brief kiai or breat hout when I plan to take a punch. It helps to tense up your body maximally, and here you need to some adrenaline - or so i feel, otherwise I feel to soft or weak.

Yeah for sure, whatever helps! That being said I crafted a "Grading playlist", got quiiite a range of different music on there haha. It's usually music that makes me smile (something that lightens my tendency to get too serious) or that gets me excited and pumped up, so some heavy music on there too. The grading day is pretty mixed in terms of requirements. And when I compete I'm tournaments, for kata I would usually try calming and relaxing the system, dissipate tension and nerves, but kumite I would excite and energise the system, jump around etc. Two different approaches but I felt they work really well in preparing!

 

[Fungus]

for kata I would usually try calming and relaxing the system, dissipate tension and nerves, but kumite I would excite and energise the system, jump around etc. Two different approaches

That differentiation makes perfect sense to me!

 

[isshinryuronin]

when I compete I'm tournaments, for kata I would usually try calming and relaxing the system, dissipate tension and nerves, but kumite I would excite and energise the system, jump around etc.

Makes sense in competition. But just for the hell of it, in the dojo, try reversing it. You may get some new perspectives on both kata and kumite.

But aggressiveness can be counterproductive and is known, in Iai as the ‘third paradox’. Aggressiveness toward an opponent blunts the senses, discombobulates the mind…throws you off your task. But being totally passive make one’s techniques lifeless and ineffectual.

Yes, it's a difficult balance - How to have aggressive and passive elements at the same time. While in sales I learned a concept of "diplomatic aggressiveness" to get past the bureaucratic doorkeeper and get to the decision maker. It entailed controlling the action to advance on the objective while being relaxed and controlling your mannerisms to appear non-threatening. This is most important in closing the deal as well.

To very roughly quote Musashi, "Your combat stance (or is it gaze?) should be the same as your everyday one." I think this idea would help strike the balance you're talking about. Takes a lot of self-control and discipline, though.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Great stuff! Editing down is usually straightforward: remove superfluous words such adjectives, tautologies and the really obscene swear words.

Take out all the articles. It's faster and forcces the reader to read it with a Russian accent.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Secreting paper money between the pages goes a long way to good marks.

But not so many the flow of the essay is interrupted. Use large denominations.