Mt Vic Dojo / Wgtn City Fight Gym Blog

Match Fight Night - Sep 9, 2006

2006-09-13T11:19:00.000+12:00

This, our fourth ever, ‘match fight night’ was the biggest and most successful ever. We had 15 great matches between Kyokushin fighters from Mt Vic Dojo and visitors from other Kyokushin dojos, Seido, Goju Ryu and VUW Kickboxing. The dojo was packed solid with over 200 spectators and many more turned away at the door. All present were treated to 3 hours of continuous action culminating in several big knockouts.

The whole idea of the MVD match fight night is to give a good 6 minutes full contact experience to all involved. It’s a training environment where fighters, corner judges and centre refs can develop their skills in a friendly, semi-casual atmosphere. Many of our fighters this year were absolute novices. To challenge our more experienced Kyokushin fighters we matched them with VUW kickboxers who, although they gave away head punching, were allowed to use a 3 second clinch. We thought the clinch would get our guys moving and using their outside game and that it did! As expected, in the clinch, the Kyokushin fighters were at the mercy of the kickboxers. Outside their comfort zone our guys had 6 minutes to figure out how to avoid the clinch and how to be defensive once inside. It was a fantastic experience that’s inspired us to work both our moving/avoidance skills and our offence from a much greater distance than we’re used to. Best of all, the kickboxers are keen to come back this time whereas last time, without the clinch and without gloves, they found the odds were weighted far too heavily in favour of Kyokushin’s big hitters!
We’re very proud of how all our guys and girls fought and we’re grateful to all the visiting fighters, coaches, and spectators. The entire event was an absolute pleasure to organize and that was in no small part due to the fighting spirit and positive attitude of all involved. We’ve had nothing but great feedback and, with fighters already putting their hands up to be involved, we will definitely consider organizing another event in 6 months time.

No blogs... check the forum!

2005-10-13T14:31:00.000+13:00

It was negotiated over drinks on Saturday that I should blog on the forum instead so you folk don't have to go two places and once you're on the forum perhaps you'll start posting so I can stop talking to myself!

The forum address if you didn't know is www.mtvicdojo.forumup.com

Read the instructions section first. You need to register as a user & then apply to join the members group. Once I give the okay you will be able to see all & post at will! It's a bit micky mouse but it will stop the spam!

So shhhhh... it's all quiet here... for now....

Friday

2005-10-01T10:38:00.000+12:00

Fight training. Light variety. Class of 6. We started in pairs. One person attacking using only kicks, other person blocking & retaliating. All very co-operative. Same thing but hands, starting with one, then a fake & one, then combos of up to four where the retaliation could start after two. Moved on to either hands or legs but stuck with one good shot each time. Finished with a block to a punch where the retaliation was a takedown - left and right. It was a good relaxed but productive session. Bravo.

This week so far

2005-09-29T19:19:00.000+12:00

Monday was another good class! 25 or more I hear. They did ido geiko, kata & sparring. Wed was kata and fight drills (copying straight off the white board). I haven't been hearing so much about what is being taught as how keen everyone is which is very heart warming. Now, importantly on Mon or Wed, I'm not sure which, Megan & Estelle asked for volunteers to help them with the Christmas party this year. So far there is a committee of the two of them plus, Mark (blue), Matt (white) and Catherine (orange). Yay, fresh blood! It sounds like they're planning a fun afternoon (suggestions so far rock climbing or kayaking) & then a byo thing in the evening. (I hope that wasn't supposed to be a surprise). So if you have any good ideas jump into the committee!

Tonight was small! Maybe I over did the pushups last week (mwa ha ha) or maybe the graders have burnout! We started with the nasty fitness routine we did in Taupo... as a warm up. Then into syllabus stuff. There was only one whitebelt expecting to grade so Sempai Conway kindly took him through the syllabus while I took the high grades for ido geiko (everybody's favourite). We went back to the blue tab syllabus and got as far as yellow! There's plenty to work on and in a small class everybody got attention which is comforting. What I mean is there was time to work on fundamentals which we can't get too much of. It's a short class, only one hour but we're squeezing in plenty & I'm continuing to concentrate on giving everyone what they need now so roll up roll up.

Don't forget it's Sensei's session tomorrow. It's so changeable in terms of who turns up that I can't tell you what to expect!

I can however tell you what to expect on Saturday. 10am CIRCUIT! Class sizes have been picking up again (maybe that's why you can't keep up!) which makes it way more fun. Bring running shoes, there's always a quick run for warm up and leave your brain at home.

Thur

2005-09-23T10:31:00.000+12:00

We had eight... 4 black belts two greens & 2 yellows. The night went like this kata, 10 pushups, kata, 10 pushups... repeat about 100 times.

I started at the taikyuko's & went right through the syllabus doing most kata twice & putting as much pressure on as I could muster (I find it difficult to take militant seriously). My aim was to emulate the grading environment & judging by the colour on everyones faces it was mission accomplished.

It was apparent that (as always) the lower kata are ignored as exciting new kata are introduced. It's fun learning new kata but by grading time it's important that the moves to every kata are well ingrained in muscle memory so your eyes can roll back to their normal position & you can concentrate on executing a series of karate techniques with conviction in your eyes instead of rotating flashes of panic, self-doubt, determination, and wonder. Perhaps we should put that in the syllabus? O wait, we did... check out the 9th kyu requirements!

I've heard a bit of negative feedback regarding 1. a lack of written resources and 2. that students "have never been taught" certain things or aren't receiving the attention they require from their sempai.

Okay, I'll be careful here because I have a tendency to be harsh under percieved criticism but...

Get over yourself! Kyokushin is not a bit of cross stitch that you pick up, achieve measurable success immediately & then pick up & put down whenever you feel like it! You're either in or your out and if you're in it's a mighty fine idea to get your butt to the library or the 2 martial arts shops. Get yourself on Amazon or any number of kyokushin websites & start building yourself a resource library (books or dvds - it's up to you!). This is your interest, your passion & the only thing stopping you from progressing at a rate of knots is YOU!

"Do I have to know this [insert option: terminology, theory, history] now?" You needed to know it yesterday!!!! Don't WAIT to study until your sempai tells you it's "time". Don't wait because the person on your right is clueless! They might be clueless forever! I think some of them are... how the hell do you get to yellow belt and not know the dif' between gedan & jodan, how to name what you are doing, where you are striking, what you are using and preferably how to spell it! Are you going to let them be your limiting factor? Even as a white belt are you going to let the yellow belts, the browns or the blacks be your limiting factor? They might be crap! The right time to learn [insert option as above] is the day you first walked in the dojo! You might not be tested on what you read/learn but who cares? It'll make you better! You'll start noticing things. It'll raise the bar for those around you. It'll improve your understanding of karate and you won't need your sempais to be your constant personal coach/crutch. F**k, soon you'll be asking your sempais to fight your tournaments for you!

The day I see the students here taking the principles they learn in class (because I know the black belts all feel like they never shut up, repeat themselves to insanity and frequently repeat training diamonds to blank faces and deaf ears) and appling those principles to their self training (what? self training? yes!) will be the day you get whatever it is you want. If you want more from your dojo, try practicing! The facility is here all day. We have one of the best if not the best in the country! Other stylists use it! It's embarrasing to me that the BJJ students come in here most days and self train while the Kyokushin students don't need to practice, they just need more from their sempai.

I think I'm spent. The above might not apply to you. If you're happy plodding along, learning at the pace offered in class then sweet we're happy too but if you're discontented and think you're not getting the best tuition & probably the best blackbelt to student ratios in the country then take a good hard look around.

Wednesday Class

2005-09-22T09:35:00.000+12:00

Good numbers in the senior class tonight. We had 17 colours & 5 black belts. That's a pretty good ratio!

Most of the class are preparing for grading and the black belts seem intent on doing whatever it takes to get the kyu grades performing on the day. We've got a funny mix at the moment - bottom heavy - heaps of newbies, no brown belts & mostly female greenies & yellows. As a result the black belts are noticing the dojo is missing the raw, insane discipline that it once had.

Greens are interesting because they've usually been training long enough that they can really do some damage, but not long enough that they realise they don't have to. So they instill a fear factor in the club. They're also more than comfortable with the ettiquite and appreciate a strong kiai and loud osu... they almost always know better than the instructors on pretty much all levels and often take it upon themselves to set the ettiquite and osu standard! Without them life is quiet and lacks intensity.

Browns are more interesting because they have hit the home straight to black belt. They're starting to really be stretched... put in front of the class, held responsible for the performance of the class, expected to perform better than the rest of the class (event the annoying naturals), are 'tested' regularly with hidings and otherwise taken way outside their comfort zone. Effectively we take that know-it-all green belt and knee-cap them. Even without their belt you'd recognise them by their darting eyes, they're always checking over their shoulder and somehow, even after 5+ years training, in front of the class they can't remember the basics (lucky there's usually a smug green belt to offer a noisy stage whisper). Without browns there's no-one dashing urgently from front to back and no-one prostrating themselves in a puddle of abject humility in front of the Sensei.

Without these strong influences dojo life as we know and love it is at serious risk!

Anyway, back to the class... Sempai Phil took us through trad' warmup then delegated some of the hand basics. Yellow belts were put on the spot and got a taste of being up front. We haven't had to deal with real beginners up front for a while and the lower grades might not appreciate how hard it is and what a big role we all play in making it easier. By giving a strong osu, being flexible about what you're hearing and being told, reacting decisively to instructions and offering a loud kiai the class can 'carry' a nervous instructor. It's better for the class and it'll make the new instructor more confident faster, meaning we all suffer less with truncated, slow, uninspiring basics & warmups (no pressure yellow belts).

After warmup we did some self defence - basic releases concentrating on circular movements, stance, body position. Did kata for grading and then some fight training. I think we could have gone another hour! More of the same tonight and tomorrow!

This week at the dojo

2005-09-18T14:16:00.000+12:00

Erm, sorry, been a slack poster which is not good with my memory. Monday, I don't know! I think Chris was here! Maybe that was last week?

Wednesday, I was here. Sempai Phil took the class. There were lots of beginners which is always fun. We split the class into those who could fall & those who couldn't. I took the ones who couldn't & taught them how they can & Phil took the others for a throw. We combined the class for a basic takedown & worked on how perfecting our footwork could make a world of difference. Then we did some pad work.

On Thursday I promised Sensei I'd work on stuff for the grading in a few weeks and with a bit of imagination you could relate what we did to something that might happen in the grading ;-) We went through some of the routines picked up at camp. It'd be too easy to let them go and as they addressed very basic body positioning it's something the newbies should work on from early on. We then played with a leg block drill we also did on the weekend. It feels like a very short session finishing for 6:45!

On Friday Chris was finally well enough to take a decent class! Announcement: Chris's Friday class is back on! Megan was the only hopeful so she got a bit of one on one (& at times two on one) coaching in spinning kicks. We had a major breakthrough and by the end (I don't know how many kicks she did, poor thing) she was kicking like a pro! We spent a lot of time working out what was wrong with her technique because it was absolutely typical of most students when they first try a spinning kick. What we noticed was the problem was in the upper body. We're so used to using our upper body for contra balance when we kick roundhouse that our instinct is to do the same for a spinning kick which is all bad. If that doesn't make sense have a quiet look at those that can & those that can't.

Another 'rule' I've adopted since Taupo that might help beginners work out what's wrong with their kicks is "foot-butt-foot" ie. in almost all cases your bottom/hips should be between your support foot and your kicking foot. It's just another way of saying put your hips into it. Ugly kickers almost always 'sit down' to kick ie. have "butt-foot-foot". Again if that doesn't make sense check out your average class doing front kicks.

On Saturday Chris took the 10&11am sessions. We started with the monastery run (one set of steps - I know, soft), then did pyramid training, Lynford Christies ab workout & finished with butts. Some of us non-committed types broke Sensei Paul's rule while he was away & joined in some tourny training. It was a not too intense look at spinning kicks as well as Chris's freaky inside crescent kick. I bet I wasn't the only one who needed a nap on Sat arvo!

Taupo Camp

2005-09-12T08:56:00.000+12:00

Mmmm... sore muscles! We had 40 something high grades attend the Taupo camp with Shihan & Sensei Eguchi on the weekend. It was a full on weekend. 6 sessions covering everything from Chinese zen meditation to kata to fighting (mmm... fighting... it was gooood). We started Friday night with basics (30 count... must do that more often!), then did some self defence (hand) techniques which were new to a lot of the room & ended with Chinese kung fu meditation!!!! I know!!?! It's most unusual for Kyokushin types to look outside our own style but clearly things are changing. This particular medidtation was popularised by a handfull of top fighters who found it beneficial to their concentration & relaxation & consequently focus & speed.

On Sat we went through all the pinan kata to make sure we were consistent (the theory being the high grades that were there represented most NZ dojos) and then gekisai sho because that's the compulsory kata in most competions & Shihan Eguchi, being international judge & kata committee member is the perfect authority for potential competitors.

Next session we did 4 new kata. The Kaikan has reintroduced some old kata that haven't been in the syllabus for a long time. (P)Bassai Dai was one & then 3 Teki kata. I have to confess the tekis were frustrating to learn in a big group because they involve only sideways movement ie. from behind they look like something reminiscent of an MC hammer video! It was difficult enough from my spot in row 3, I don't know how the back row picked up any of the hand movements! Thank goodness for video!

On Sat arvo we settled into fight training which was a well earned respite from the brain workout that morning. The entire session was dedicated to offence. Shihan ran us through the mechanics of a good jab & right, striking-moving-striking & several combinations. We did a lot of punching using just our left which was mighty effective. I must write up the combos we did but without thinking too hard we only worked our punches, a right gedan mawashi (leg attack) & jodan ushiro mawashi (spinning roundhouse to the head). It was all goood. We finished with a nasty conditioning workout which I'm sure will creep into our sessions within the week (at least by Thursday :)

On Sunday morning we reviewed the self defence & kata (surprisingly some of it did sink in).

Our final session was spent on defence. In particular we worked our defence against the 4 leg attacks, built up to middle mawashi's & front kicks & jodan mawashis. Every defence included a setup and retaliation. By the end of the class we were mixing up our new defence tricks with the offensive stuff of the previous day.... needless to say it was chaos... but I know I wasn't the only one inspired by the concepts introduced. Can't wait to share them with the class & see what happens!

Mon Wed

2005-09-08T10:39:00.000+12:00

It's been a good week. Two full classes. I didn't do Mon but I heard it was big & Chris enjoyed it. Last night we did a quick warm up then the whole class did the 3 sokugi kata together. Good workout if a tad ugly... it takes a lot of core strength to pull of the sokugi & they're particularly difficult for beginners who not only had to worry about what direction to go in & what kick to do but also not falling on their ass! I like them :)

Then we split up. Sempai Steve N took the beginners, Sempai Phil took the middle ranks & the rest of us, that are going to Taupo worked through Passai Dai, Sepai & Garyu. Unlucky Megan & Estelle trying to pick up 3 major kata before the weekend! One's bad enough!

To finish off Sensei Paul took us for a classic circuit with the pads & bags. I kindly earned my team pushups for doing one too many circuits.. how's that work, pushups for doing too much exercise?

Tonight we're going to can the self defence & work on kata once again... it's apparent that the seniors are completely unprepared for this weekend so we need the cramming. 5:30 start!

The Nationals

2005-09-06T09:45:00.000+12:00

The IKO Aussie Nats is a very small affair with Australia one of the worst affected by the splits post Sosai. NZ was a significant force with Warren taking the heavyweight div, half the kata competitors were kiwis, half the women & Lyndon & Dave in the mix too. (I apologise if I'm vague or even wrong, Chris was reffing ALL DAY so I was chasing kids a lot).

Kiwis placed first & second in the kata, Lisa & Rhena from Northshore respectively. Warren took out Chad (one of the Aussie big names) pretty easy I thought. Chad who's big but not that big tried to go toe to toe with Warren which was just silly. Warren then had to fight the son of the couple hosting the tournament (you can imagine the noise), Steven Cujic took the spirit award for the battle. It was a really good fight which went 2 ext (I think) & it looked like the smaller guy might have won the lung war but Warren kept some back for the end & took the title.

Dave had to fight crowd favourite Simon Kennedy (you may remember Simon from the Nats in Wellington a few years ago, in the last fight he knocked Johnny Reistad out so cold his head bounced twice on the mat & he spent most of the night in Wellington Hospital). This year he knocked out one of the North Shore boys (a Japanese, sorry I don't know his name) in his first fight. All was going well but Simon put up a lovely mawashi geri which came up under the other guys' chin (no hands), snapping his head back - I thought he was a cripple for sure but no, he woke up eventually & shook it off although he had a very peculiar crease mark down one side of his neck!!! Dave spent the next half hour rehearsing his head cover which may well have saved his head but Simon's well capable of taking advantage & took Dave out with a belly shot (I have to admit I'm not sure if it was a kick or punch, I blinked & missed it).

Rachael was absolutely gutted to lose her first fight. She was taken out by the eventual winner, Erin Pinkney (sp?). I have to say Erin was an absolute machine. She fights out of Brisbane Dojo (Garry O'Neil) & previously out of Mackay Dojo. She's been to the NZ Nats twice. The first time she was just a colt but she took on our Iris (lost) but clearly that didn't stop her & she's a really great fighter. She took the title. It was good experience for Rachael but over far too quick... so to make the trip worthwhile she got to have a crack at Rheena for 3rd place. That one went 2 ext. It was a very even match. Similar styles. I was glad I wasn't on the corner until just about the last 15sec Rachael seemed to lift a bit & Rheena seemed to flag & that's what it takes afterall. Rachael's grumpy face turned upside down & she got a cool trophy for her guts. Yay.

Australia

2005-09-06T08:58:00.000+12:00

We're back! Had a great time catching up with old friends at the Nationals in Sydney. How did one entire generation of our friends (o bar one), end up living overseas & mostly in Australia? I don't get it... it's just not that great over there! Yes it's warm but it costs a fortune, it's big & pretty ugly & everybody lives in caves!

However, I have to say, we were pretty taken with the Manly lifestyle. It could be the beaches & cafes & the super relaxed style & the cool people we were staying with (thanks Matt & Deb Cameron for taking us in for one night & making us so welcome it turned into 4!) or it could be the Fight Gym?

There was something very homely about a Kyokushin Dojo that also hosts a BJJ club not to mention weights gym, boxing ring, capoera & yoga. It sounds huge but no, barely bigger than our dojo (and nothing like our matts :) but they know how to cram 'em in! Everything appeared fairly normal at 5:30pm when I started a BJJ class on the main mat. There was loud music and people on aerobic machines & milling about doing weights & hitting bags but that was okay. It was half an hour later when the BJJ class squished into 1/3 the mat & a large mixed crowd started a kick & box fitness class on the other 2/3! We literally had to lean, ear to ear, above our instructor to hear what he was saying as he demonstrated each move. There was a lot of mime! Apparently it would not be unusual for there to be yet another fitness class squished into a small area about the size of the boxing ring. The fitness class turned into traditional Kyokushin by the time we'd finished but the rest of the place was still pumping. There were plenty of serious looking, hard bodied, thick necked fight types but rubbing shoulders with grey haired old ladies & tiny Japanese girls with limp wrists. It was a much fun place to be!

It was pretty hard to extricate self from family at dinner time so the only other class I checked out was a 'box fit' class at 6am (me at 6am and on holiday!!!). Deb is a regular so she supplied me with the gloves & 'uniform' (very short shorts). Apparently I was unlucky because the usual instructor wasn't in...they reckon I would have liked him... he has a stick which he uses to beat the slackers, he calls it Milo because it's amazing what a difference Milo makes! Regardless, it was a fun class, loud music & everybody with bed hair & puffy eyes. Basically the whole thing is done with one partner, one with focus mitts & one in gloves doing boxing combos interspersed with push ups & crunches. It sounds very simple but I did still manage to shame myself (I blame my kyokushin background ENTIRELY).

I'll explain because Chris has been taking the piss ever since so I'll get in first. One of the exercises involved the pad holder calling between 4 &10, the puncher would then throw that many punches & then drop flat on the deck. The pad holder was then supposed to "walk over" the puncher (from their head to their feet), the puncher would then jump up & repeat. Now at 6am & with no demonstration & everyone else faffing around I found myself with Deb prone at my feet saying "come on, walk over me"... so I did... as you would... I walked on her back! I knew it was all wrong when she couldn't get up for laughing (thank God she's a Kyokushin girl too) & someone came over & patted me on the back. Apparently "walking over" someone in the normal world means you tip toe down either side of their body being careful not to catch any bits of loose flesh. Who knew?

I think this style of class would be great here if anybody's volunteering to take them :) I'd definitely get out of bed to do more the same but not to hold the stopwatch & shout... not even with a stick.

One week to go!

2005-08-20T11:39:00.000+12:00

Sensei Paul's just taking Rachel & Dave through their paces for the last time before the Aussie Nationals next week. What a metamorphasis it's been for Rachel... and Rob Struthers too (training for 1 match). Ya can't beat tournament training! They've both had a major breakthrough, it's terribly impressive to watch... from the sideline with my cuppa... aw I did do an hour bjj today already. Glad it's not me this week but I know next week when we're watching Chris & I will both be wishing we were in there & not the nannas on the side... but then that will pass & we'll be in a much better state to enjoy a week in Sydney without the shuffle =)

Thursday

2005-08-19T10:50:00.000+12:00

Can I just say, before I blog last night's session, that the juniors that were doing the fig 4's on Wed were advanced students! Not the 5 year olds and wall climbers. =)

Last night Moray took his first self defence session. He spent the first hour discussing self defence. We talked about things that might insight a self defence situation (like his t-shirt!) and things we could do to mitigate risk.

He talked about the importance of prioritising the basics - a good base, controlling paralysing fear (breathing & forcing relaxation), hand position, body language & communication (our first line of defence). Then he gave us his secret to a good hard wallop (it's in his arse) and we practiced on the pads.

Now that we've got the theory out of the way I have to say I'm more than ready to get into the physical section next week.

BTW next week the Thursday class will run 1/2 an hour EARLIER than usual. It will start at 5:30 and finish at 7:00. Very soon there will be an MMA class running on Thursdays from 7pm so we might as well practice getting in early.

Wednesday

2005-08-18T08:56:00.000+12:00

I get to blog last night because I was there for a change:) Chris is striken with another chest infection - I know, he's a leper! He's had x-rays & we're waiting for bloods to come back & he's on another course of antibiotics so hopefully they'll sort him out soon.

I took the juniors in his absence & we had some fun. Curse their poor sad lifestyles tho! I get more joy out of the seniors when we do handwalking & rolling! I was seriously average on the gymnastic front as a kid but in the 70's even the fat kids could do rolly pollys!!! They've been doing self defence too so after gymnastics we did a fig 4 arm bar (which the young ones popped out easy - better than the high grades!) and a very basic hip throw should that all go wrong. Finished with kata - brown belts did taikyuko sono ichi in 12 sec & in pretty good form! Can definitely see black belt potential in the greens & browns. Good stuff.

Sempai Phil took the seniors. Good on Moray, dragged Steve back from the abiss. We warmed up with shadow sparring then went into sanbon which was kept very basic because about half the class were real beginners. Phil asked me to take a self defence segment & because noone was there from my Thursday class I repeated last week's techniques, guillotine & 2 defences from guillotine. It was good to work with someone strong & big like Phil, it was a good test. Then, being Neil's last night he got to fight everyone in the class for 1min each. Rachel has a tournament fast approaching so she did the same. Both fared extremely well & came out the other side smiling. Sad farewell to Neil. There's no sign of Kyokushin in the BVI so he's a bit gutted now he's got the bug. Still, I'm sure he'll find plenty else to do there!

Wednesday (today) Neil's last night!

2005-08-17T11:14:00.000+12:00

Tonight is Neil's last night before he heads home to the Virgin Islands! I'm sure Neil is anticipating his traditional goodbye session (spar everyone in class) with glee. Try to get here & make it worth his while ;-)

THURSDAY SPECIAL CLASS

2005-08-17T11:09:00.000+12:00

Don't forget this thursday is Moray's first self defence session. He's teaching not in his capacity as brown belt in Kyokushin but as regular instructor to the Police Diplomatic Protection Squad so his approach will be to give us a 'go to whoa' course in protecting ourselves which you can expect to be a lot different from what we do in class.

If you only make two classes in the next month you should make this and next Thursday!

Sooner than later :)

2005-08-17T11:06:00.000+12:00

Someone reads the blog! Chris Double from the BJJ club has a NTSC video player spare and has kindly offered to bring it in. Fantastic. Thanks Chris - all the karate guys will benefit heaps from seeing how the pros do it on a more regular basis.

We have the technology

2005-08-12T15:59:00.000+12:00

You may have noticed the whopping big TV Geoff from BJJ has kindly put in the dojo. Finally we have a use for the dvd player the club members presented to Chris & I when we all celebrated the club's 5th birthday! =)

I've set it up in the kitchen so now if you need to reference the kata videos you can!

I've left out one dvd which has the official kata tape copied onto it for reference only (not leaving out the master for obvious reasons) but it's a bit hard to find each kata. I'm sure I've got a copy somewhere with an index. Will do a hunt.

The video player is also functioning but doesn't play NTSC (99% of our karate vids) so might have to swap the one from home - have patience.

Thursday

2005-08-12T11:12:00.000+12:00

I'm having so much fun on Thursday! I've always hated classes with less than 16 noisy people but I have to say, even though it's only small Thursday seems to be working! I think it's the consistency of the format that works or it could be having a couple of new young guys who are real triers or maybe it's just because I'm enjoying the self defence because it's creating ties between our style & what we do at BJJ but we all seem to be picking up skills each week which is great.

Last night we did a slightly different warm up, shadow sparring, with a partner & then did our break falls & rolls. I'm continually surprised that most students have never done or even seen break falls before! We keep drilling & keep seeing an ever increasing gap between 1st timers (totally unco) & regulars (less unco) so it's worth doing.

We went straight into the self defence section of the night because we needed to be really warm for this one. First we did a simple defence against an underhand knife strike. We'd done a 'guillotine' defence against a tackle a couple of weeks ago so we quickly revisited that & then worked two defences against a guillotine choke. The first was effective should you find yourself quite bent over (block the knee, shoot right foot between their legs, sit down & drive their skull into the concrete behind you=) and the second was effective should your opponent be holding you very high (grab their choking arm with one hand & sling your arm over their shoulder, pushing down to relieve some strain, step around them & give them a strong knee in the back of their knee taking them down & driving your shoulder into their jaw/throat. If for some really dumb reason that's not enough we learned a forearm choke, grabbing their far shoulder, forearm across throat & bringing our elbow to the ground). I had 3 more techniques to work but that last one was the undoing of us... everything worked far tooo easily (without the usual, "umm, no, that's not quite working") and we were all pretty hammered. I don't know that any of us are likely to find ourselves being guillotined but we're certainly picking up much better skills as far as manipulating and if not submitting an attacker then at least making the time to jump & run.

Donna took the high grades through Tensho kata & I took the white belts through their first kata & we finished with stretching per usual.

Warning! Email in facsimile language...

2005-08-12T11:11:00.000+12:00

(from Sue)

Hi all - just a quick (by my standards!) update since a few of you have been asking ........& thought I was still in London during the bombings - that I didn't even know happened!!

Finished work on 4 May & defn not bored - spent 10 days in Scotland doing the West Highland Way Walk over 8 days & a week in Belgium to escape deportation! It was a mission convincing immirgation I was not intending to stay in the UK when I re-entered, after 1/2 an hr of sweet talking......or confusing them with my waffling - they gave me another 6 mths, insisting that would be it & I was NEVER allowed back in! Stayed with Roger in Winchester for a month, preapring for our Kazakhstan trip & my Russia trip.

Kazakhstan - did a 23 day tour with a group of Czech guys, 14 of it was hiking in the Tian San region (crossing into Kyrgyzstan territory). We had to carry all our equipment, incl tent & food - plus stuff I never owned before like crampons, harness, caribiners, walking poles, snowaxe, headlamp & various ropes :-) It's one of the most challenging things I have done......& the longest I have gone without a shower! We reached altitudes over 4,000m - I really struggled on day 2 at 3,200m & didn't think I was going to make it, but it's amazing how quickly the body adjusted. We had great weather the 1st week but was hit with everything else the 2nd - rain, hail, snow, lightening & thunder.....even a couple of small avalanches.....where we sent up camp on the snow at the base of Kant Bas Tau peak! The Russian guides told us not to worry, it was far away.......yet we could see & hear it. We were told the weather could rage between 30-40 degrees in the lowlands (Almaty) to -10 in the mountains but we were lucky it did not get that cold, had to be prepared tho! One of my most memorable days was when we came across some nomads, the Russians were afraid we would be robbed so told them we were trainee American soldiers (apparently there was a US army base nearby) coz they're afraid of Americans! Later that day we had to cross a river, the water had risen & was flowing very rapidly........who should be conveniently waiting for us??? Yep the nomads on horseback!! They wanted USD 1 per person to take us & our backpacks accross, then there was some talk of them bring some local food products to our basecamp that night. It was a win win situation as we were sick of our instant dried food that we just added water to & they made some money. The scenery was stunning & towards the end of the hike we stayed in a dacha (holiday house) where there was an outdoor sauna - that was an amazing experience. We also had a couple of relaxing days after the hike which included rafting & rock climbing - very primitive, bare feet & attached by rope in a V shape so the Russian guide was assisting you at the bottom.......should we fall! Almaty (the former capital of Kaz) is suppose to be the most modern & developed city of Central Asia - but it's not very touristy at all, had no access to English news so when I finally found an internet cafe & logged on, I wondered what all the fuss was - am I ok?! I didn't even know about the London bomobings. Hardly anyone speaks English, I found this particularly hard when everyone left, took it for granted that the Czechs could speak Russian & English so was doing all the interpreting for Roger & I. I would have liked to stay longer in Kaz & visit a smaller town, but realised if I was having trouble there it was going to be harder elsewhere so decided to head to Russia ealier. Tried to get a train to Moscow, part of the Trans Siberian journey that would have taken 3 days, but there was no availabilty & my visa was about to expire so I ended up paying for a flight.

Well I thought Moscow would be a bit easier - WRONG! Coz I arrived earlier than expected, I didn't have any accomodation booked, nor did I have a guide book with me, but I did have a English Russian Phrase Book for Tourists (that was written for the 1980 Olympic games!) that one of the Russian guides gave me & a map of Moscow which Roger's work colleague lent me. I made it to the city centre just before the public transport stopped for the night & found an internet cafe & started searching for accomodation. Found one but was advised it was not safe to walk, tried to get a cab but they were going to charge 5 times more than the price I was told it should cost so spent the night in the internet cafe :-) The following morning I made it to the Hostel, to be told it was full! Insisted I had my own sleeping mat & bag so just need floor space, they agreed to give me the couch - but there was a no show & I ended up with a bunk bed - nice! Tried to sort out my registration, but no luck, was told several things - basically not to worry coz it's a Moscow jurisdiction, only a problem if I get pulled over by the police. Since I was planning on leaving Moscow & returning on 6/8 when I was meeting my friend I decided it wasn't important coz it was witin the "3 business day rule". Anyway, I got a text from Tanya (Roger's Russian work colleague) who told me her sister lived in Moscow & to contact her - so I did. We ended up meeting & I never left Moscow, told her about registration, she said it was more trouble than it's worth & if I get fined by the police then just give them some bribe money! Met per parents & spend the w/end with them in their dacha in the countryside about 1/2 hr from Borodino, where Napolean fought (& lost) in 1814. I was very well looked after.......& fed :-)Meeting them & staying with Oxana was defn a highlight of Moscow. It's been hard work, everything is so complicated, they do things very different here, there is no customer service, they are not particularly friendly, welcoming or helpful. I avoided doing the touristy stuff coz I'd made plans with Kathy (BNZers - Stu's sister) & it was nice just hanging out with Oxana, learning about each other (country, culture etc).......practising our Russian / English! Also did some further planning for my upcoming trips.

Now Kathy has arrived & we've been busy - checking in was a drama. She's already booked & paid for 2 people for 3 nights, but they couldn't find us - despite having the confirmation & reference! She had to pay another night while they sorted it out. Wouldn't check me in coz I wasn't registered - but I was still allowed to stay. The following day they found her reservation, but siad she hd to sort out the refund with the booking agent. Kicked up a fuss re my registration, told me to go to police stn, of course I didn't coz I'd heard the stories of corrupt policeman so waited till Monday & got the NZ Embassy involved. Anyway, we've been to the circus & ballet, it was nice but not as spectacular as I'd imagined. Red Square, Kremlin, St Basil & tomb of Lenin was across from the Hotel we were staying at so we got to see our fair share of the main sights. Now we are visiting some of the Golden Ring cities before making our way to St Petersburg. It's so nice to be out of Moscow!

Ok, that's enough.......for now :-) I am fine & having a great time. Will email again with more adventures. Hope this finds you all well. Would love to hear your news so do write!!

Take care, love
Susan xx

Dum Dum Da Dum....

2005-08-12T11:06:00.000+12:00

Wedding bells are in the air!

Vijay has decided to make an honest woman of Deedee (spelling?). They are now an engaged couple and will be getting married early 2006! Yaaaaayyyyy!

All the sempais sigh a big sigh of relief because we've seen Vijay without Deedee & it's not pretty ;-) Now they can live happily ever after.

This week!

2005-08-05T09:29:00.000+12:00

I can't say I know details of Mon & Wed but both nights I saw everybody leaving looking pleased with themselves & glowing scarlet. From what I heard kumite was a big feature both nights. Sensei Paul was in on Wed which is always a bonus. The boys are getting Sempai Dave and Rachel prepped for Aussie at EOM.

I piked on Thurs after a very late night (John Will BJJ seminar) on Wed & Chris kindly volunteered to be replacement Gower. He made a valiant effort to fold his creative wings & follow my routine (although he wasn't up to the rolly stuff, still being well under peak health himself) so class got kata and self defence as promised. A couple of things I'd noticed about our self defence skills had slipped under Chris's radar so it was interesting for him to pretend to be me for a night & see the class from another perspective! (How obscure was that?) We've still got plenty to work on.

Tonight's the night for reviewing the timetable but can't see too many changes likely as a month has flown by, there's plenty to do on the theme (we're still looking forward to Moray's self defence stuff towards the end of Aug) and, as they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it! Next month we'll be gearing up for grading so changes more likely then.

The call is definitely out for an instructor session tho so that's on the cards. Just got to find the time. (Perhaps not this month). Talking of time, there is a possibility the Thursday slot will shift forward to 5:30!!! Interesting! This is a way we might save the session yet give BJJ the extra time they want. Will keep you posted.

Wed & Thur

2005-07-22T09:59:00.000+12:00

I couldn't do Wed but I heard Sempai Phil stayed on theme =) Started with the basics, coaching style to pick up the quality. Ran through some kata and then worked the first self defence technique that Chris taught last Friday.

Last night we had to get the blood pumping fast 'cause it was freezing! Did the warm up drilling breakfalls & rolls again (they get you warm fast) then did Gekisai Dai. Chris gave me a heads up on self defence technique #2 so we had a crack at that in his absence (his big bro was in town for the night).

Basically it's the same defence against a right hand evolving into a shoulder lock. We found it worked completely differently (not suprisingly) on someone like me or Donna vs. Haines so we experimented a bit then we went back to technique 1 and in fact further, to the basic elbow lock (which we nailed) and worked at using one or more of those three techniques in response to a non-compliant opponent. They all lead nicely from one to the other so once you figure out you ain't going to get one it's an easy transition into the next (knowing when to give up on one is apparently harder the bigger your ego is!) Finished with stretching.

It's a good session... needs more bodies though.

Friday Night

2005-07-16T10:28:00.000+12:00

Had 8 plus Sensei plus 2 watching which is really good for 1st night. Chris is still pretty poorly but I think seeing a good group turn up gave him the energy to take a good session. We did a light warm up which evolved into punching training - straight jab, right, hook & upper cut working a lot on body position/alignment & co-ordinating the knees & rotation of the feet for max power.

After that we did much the same but using the focus mitts. Working the upper cut was fun for a change... I could see a couple of Tuas amongst us!

Finally we did the first of 20 takedowns Chris has put together in something of a self defence syllabus. No 1 is a basic elbow lock which goes wrong (worst case) & evolves into a more grunty fig 4 elbow lock on the ground. Worked a treat with most of us but we worked it pretty thoroughly before I could achieve it on Chris. We figured out a couple of tweaks until I could maintain control throughout & get the submission comfortably. I'll talk to Chris about it but it makes sense to me that we work that same technique next Thursday giving whoever missed out a chance to learn it & the rest of us a chance to drill it with different bodies. Then Chris can move on to No 2 next Friday =)

First Thursday!

2005-07-15T12:33:00.000+12:00

Expect me to pump the marketing for Thursday class... because well, I can... & because we're starting from scratch so the only way is up!!!

Last night we had two 5th kyus & 3 shodans which means we're only about 20 people short of what I like but it worked okay. We started with an aerobic type warmup which included (because of the self defence theme) learning to break fall & roll safely. It's a fundamental of self defence that you don't snap or knock yourself out should you get dumped on the concrete so for the next few weeks we'll be working on these techniques/drilling them so they begin to become second nature (hopeful).

Once the heat was up we went straight into kata. Being that I now specialise in missing huge chunks of training I've become a big believer in, I'm not sure what you call it, 'passive' or 'subliminal' training! It only takes 1 or 2 sessions to 'memorise' a new kata but it makes a lot more sense to me that you do that straight away after your most recent grading so it's in you for at least 3 months before you hope to 'perform' it. That way you can practice it in your own time, think about it, go through it in your head when you're on the bus/at your desk and by grading day 'own' it rather than be walking it through (so obvious & nerve wracking to do/watch).

Last night the 5th kyus both learned Pinan #5. That just leaves Gekisai dai to go for them & Sempai Dave learned Passai Dai (giving Donna & I both a much needed chance to drill it as we only learned it in Taupo). Passai Dai is going to be covered at the brown/blackbelt camp so if you're going to that you'll need to come to Thursday class to learn it (nya ha!)

After kata we went through the first in a series of self defence techniques I want to cover. I'd like to get everybody to a point where they have a block & response for a left, a right, a kick, a nutty onslaught & a few grabs. Intrinsic to your success in self defence is not a specific technique but a concept of what might/probably won't work which means you can adapt/evolve to suit the situation.

Last night we worked on blocking a big right hand & several options for then causing injury to the attacker. Being so wee I'm not a big believer in strikes for self defence purposes except to vital points (not the secret-death-touch-vital-points but more obvious bits like the eyes, throat & groin) so we worked a takedown as our means of taking back some control. It was good having Sempai Dave around being unco-operative but we could do with even bigger 'attackers' to work with. Variety is important because what works on a short, stocky guy (with hair) might not work on a lanky, huge, tiny or flexible person with no hair!

After that we had a few minutes left for stretching, dynamic & then CR (contract relax) stretch. Considering it's mid winter we had an abnormally good dynamic stretch.. taking people out must warm the blood (as well as the heart)!

Will follow similar routine next week but would love to have some representatives from the other colours!

Timetable!

2005-07-15T11:33:00.000+12:00

This is something new! We're in a relatively unique position at MVD, ie. having an (over?)abundance of blackbelts! In an attempt to make better use of this resource and at the same time motivate them (us, me included), we're introducing a new monthly(ish) timetable!

We rejected a rotating roster system and a split class system because we want to maintain (or improve) continuity within each class and on a week by week basis. We want classes to have a degree of predictability so members can better plan their training (always seems more important over winter when it can be a struggle to get to class).

The solution we're trialing is to make one person responsible for one class each week. This person will have up to 2 'assistants' who they will work with to create varied and interesting classes. As it turns out, the people who have been allocated classes are not necessarily the highest grade but are people who have both time and motivation (at the moment anyway) to put into planning a session/series of sessions.

We've taken the opportunity to re-address what goes on from night to night too...

Thursday 'fight night' has become a bogey or something because it's dwindled down to a trickle with many student's not even having a look-see (I do not comprehend that! you're weird!)... honestly if a class doesn't stay big enough we can't warrant the mat time. I know Thurs night TV doesn't warrant staying home so experimentally we're making Thursday another traditional session for general training.

As some compensation for the fighters out there we're guaranteeing there will be kumite on Mon & Wed. On Wed night there will be an opportunity (for those that like that sort of thing) to have a real hard bash. Additionally Sensei Chris is committing to Friday nights from now on! It is a dogi class & he's leaving the content fairly loose but knowing him, you can pretty much guarantee there will be fight training & kumite involved. There are likely to be a couple of cans sunk after (kyokushin counselling) so welcome, welcome, especially if you haven't got to know everybody yet.

Mon stays the same but the focus will be on lower grades & Wed stays the same but we promise higher grades will be catered to as well as beginners.

For now the people responsible for the sessions are:

Mon, Sempai Conway with help from Sempai's Vijay & Tim
Wed, Sempai Phil with help from Sempai's Dave Maguire & Virac
Thur, Sempai Jill with help from Sempai Donna
Fri, Sensei Chris
Sat 10am, Sensei Chris
Sat 11am, Sensei Paul (only those committed to a tournament are permitted)

I've put copies of the timetable in the dojo for you to take away.

Additionally, because it gives us all a focus we're choosing a theme for each month. July (although now we're part way through perhaps we'll extend this for part of Aug) is self defence.

Some of the club's ladies just did a self defence seminar in Taupo & to be honest it was clear we need to put a lot more effort in in terms of linking the skills/techniques we learn in karate to real & practical self defence. Chris & I think Kyokushin has a lot to offer in terms of self defence but it remains a bit of an untapped commodity as we spend so much time focusing on fighting or kata! Sempai Moray snr has a secret life as instructor to the NZ Police diplomatic squad (or something like that) so we're working on getting him in, in that capacity to take a special session & show us how the boys & girls in blue do it. Perhaps we'll ask him to do a Thursday so you lot get over the Thursday bogey (please 'cause I like taking BIIIIG classes with lots of NOOOOISE)!

Big weekend

2005-07-08T10:03:00.000+12:00

Whew big weekend survived... just! Unlucky for Chris he was pretty sick last week & with our main tech away in Fiji & his b***h wife cracking the whip, by Friday when he made it to the doc he had a good case of pneumonia! (In my defence I have to ask why men don't call their own doc once they get married... is it a rule?). Thank goodness for Conway & Estelle (as always) and for the volunteer dads who slept over on Friday night with the kids (I notice mums never volunteer for sleepover duty).

Chris orchestrated a 2 hr session for friday night to wear them out then KFC & charades, which was fascinating... turns out 6-12 yr olds only have two 'acts' when it comes to charades! They either pretend to be aeroplanes or monsters - no matter what the subject of the charade... and more intriguing... the other kids know exactly what they're doing! It was spooky if not entirely good entertainment! Then they watched the Sponge Bob movie over pop corn & I believe were mostly asleep by 11pm. Incredibly they still managed a good grading on Saturday so there'll be a few new kids at the Wednesday 'blue belt up' class from now on, good stuff, that's where all the learning starts.

I heard the adults did a really good grading too. I only caught the beginning but the candidates all looked really driven. Sensei Paul took the grading for Chris (who observed) plus had help from the shodans & I hear that worked really well. Chris is getting a reputation for requiring the unexpected on grading day (I guess as a sneaky means of increasing pressure & prep work) but to be graded by an entirely different sensei with a different perspective probably did the same trick! The results were everybody graded with Neil double grading to orange tab. Congratulations!

Grading next week

2005-06-23T15:39:00.000+12:00

Grading on Saturday 2nd. Juniors in the morning. Adults in the afternoon. The kids are staying the night at the dojo on Friday & it'd be great if some of the adults could make it to the 6 o'clock session. It really impressed the kids last time getting to train with the adults & it was a lot of fun (they are fun when you aren't so outnumbered!). Will get back to you with the time for the grading. REMEMBER if you are grading. You must be up to date with your FEES and you MUST pay your GRADING FEE!!!!!!

September Match Fights

2005-06-23T12:34:00.000+12:00

Sensei Paul is organising another match fight night for September 24th. There should be a few fighters hanging out for a match what with the Nationals being so early. Have a word with Paul. He's taking a special coaching session once more and again it's ONLY for those competing - Paul's puts a lot of energy in & only has enough for those committing to fight. The session is Saturday 11-12. If you want a fight you can just turn up (but don't be late - he locks the door). If you're fighting in Hamilton or Oz I'm pretty sure he'll coach you too - have a word.

Monday

2005-06-16T10:04:00.000+12:00

Yay! Heard that Iris & Lauren were both back training on Monday. We've missed Iris for a couple of years... she was our top female fighter... (punches like a man & always up for a scrap)... went as far as the Women's World Tourny before getting seriously ill. Everyone that knows her will be rejoicing that she's well enough to be back at Kyokushin! And Lauren, spleen & all, back at training, what a trouper :)

Update

2005-06-11T13:11:00.000+12:00

Sorry no post for long time! Been distracted! What's been going on? All is fairly calm in the dojo. O apart from Darren blowing a calf muscle on Thursday night - hospital trip - on crutches for a few weeks but left leg & managed to avoid a cast. Well done. Hopefully back for some rehab in next to no time.

Preparation continues for the July grading. I see the green/yellow belts training outside class & looking really good. Preparation starting for the Hamilton tournament & the Aussie Nats in Sydney. We should have a team travelling for both so if you have an inkling, join the fun. I've been looking at tickets for Sydney & it'll probably be cheaper to go there than Hamilton so have a serious think about it. It's a good excuse for a team trip & an aussie title would be nice. So far Rachel is certain, since I'm there I'll do a kata, Conway & Megan are maybes & Sam might come for moral support (should throw him in the kata too me thinks). I'm sure we can do better!

The ladies trip is all on. Not so big this time unless some funding comes through for the Aucks but we should hit the 20 mark which is a good number.

I heard from Auckland this morning that Tokyo Honbu have approved Shihan Eguchi's & Senpai Miyuki's travel to the brown & black belt camp in Taupo, pencilled for mid September (good timing - just ahead of the Aussie Nats). High grades won't want to miss that one, last time we did bunkai for most of the high grade kata's & it was simply amazing - actually made sense of it all!!! O & that coincides with the black belt candidate's pregrading assessment... hint... don't think the yudansha will be sitting on their hands watching so might want to do a bit of catch up between now & then!!!?

That's all for now...talk soon.

Friday Night

2005-05-26T13:58:00.000+12:00

6pm this friday is the viewing of the guys world tournament video. I've had a look & it's pretty good coverage considering it's amateur video! Don't like helmets though... not the same without seeing the angst on the faces! Where? At the dojo. Bring? A few beers & a few bucks if you want to be in on pizza delivery! How long? The video is only short but will probably follow with an All Japan or similar.

See you all there.

Ladies Weekend

2005-05-20T14:57:00.000+12:00

Okay, the ball is rolling... I've booked the Events Centre (AC Baths) for the 25th & 26th June & booked some accommodation at Tiki Lodge Backpackers.

It looks fairly certain that Sempai Dianne Takiwa from North Shore Dojo & Melissa Wyman from GSW Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will be teaching. Both women are exceptional at what they do and great instructors. Will hopefully have yoga & possibly kickboxing too though per last time, schedule won't be excessively demanding. Want to have a lot of fun & relax.

Because we're mixing up the styles but we want to entertain all grades & stylists the theme this year will be self defence ie. takedowns, armbars, chokes, stand up & on the ground. Lovely. Self defence is something Sempai Dianne has a special interest in at the moment and Melissa can show us what to do once taken down (you're going to love BJJ, you get to lie down in class).

Schedule similar to last time. All day Sat plus Sun morning. The bonus is this time the AC Baths aren't being refurbished so we can take a break midday and/or reward ourselves before dinner in the hot pools!

All training women are welcome will likely be predominantly Kyokushin, BJJ & maybe Seido. Will no doubt have car pools ex. Wellington & Auckland at the very least. The cost for the whole weekend (seminar and accommodation) will likely be a paltry $60 (TBC). That's $12/week from now until then. Food & alcohol not included (although Sempai Dianne informs me that because it's my birthday on the sat, it's my shout - we'll see!) Spread the word. Please email or call me (04 8012102) or speak to your instructor to register your interest before June 3rd. Will confirm registrations & take money by June 20.

If you're going that way...

2005-05-13T13:30:00.000+12:00

There's the Swiss Open on 18 June (applications close 31 May). Email for application forms.

Overdue congratulations...

2005-05-13T13:16:00.000+12:00

I've been clearing emails from our old account & found out congratulations are in order... Sempai Alex Ivanovic & Sensei Stephen Veal in Australia have had a baby boy, Kieran born 18/4/05 AND Sempai Joanne Ross has had a wee girl (on 12/3/05) named Isabelle. Lucky lucky people.

On the subject of babies did you know that FOUR Wellington blackbelts are expecting! What's in the water at Mt Vic?

On the subject of Taupo & events...

2005-05-13T13:12:00.000+12:00

It must be time for another wine, cheese & kata women's "camp" in the lake city? I must make some enquiries!

So I don't do it again...

2005-05-13T12:57:00.000+12:00

Here's a run down of upcoming events. Don't say you weren't told.... (Raan)

30 July: Battle of The Waikato tourny in Hamilton. Officially it's the winter novice tourny but I saw an open division on the form so if you want a fight let us know & we'll find out. This tourny is for kids & colts & kata too so take the opportunity to jump in & get that all important mat experience.

28 Aug: Aussie Nationals in Sydney. Rachel's already put her hand up so there's the beginnings of a team. Go get an Aussie title!

TBA Sept: Brown & Black Belt camp in Taupo... hopefully with Shihan Eguchi. This will also be prelim test time for black belt candidates.

5 Nov: Northern Zones Challenge. Friendly tourny in Auckland. Fireworks too!

26 Nov: North Island Black Belt grading (Auckland I'm guessing - wherever there are the most candidates). Entries due by 1 June. See Sensei. Steve Bassett's time has come so we'll plan a repeat of last year's excellent weekend away to support him!

Duh!

2005-05-13T12:47:00.000+12:00

We've been so focussed on the Worlds we forgot that Kyokushin life rolls on... Chris will be in Timaru next weekend for their 10th Anniversary tourny! There's a meeting Fri night so we'll have to postpone our video night because it would never be as much fun without him there to commentate his fights!

BTW I should have blogged the Timaru tourny. Sempai Mark from Timaru attends all our events & we want to support him as much as possible. They are having a junior & colts tourny sat morn & novice & senior tourny sat night followed by party. Very nice accom is available at the marae. If you want to jump in email or call CG immediately. The cost for flights to Chch are about $290 at the moment. Will try to hook up rides in between.

Wed Class

2005-05-12T12:00:00.000+12:00

Eww it's good to be back... thankfully last night was a gentle one because after last Wednesday (which was no where near as bad as any class I used to take - I'm so sorry) I thought the body was going to fall apart! This morning the body's just making sure I know it's all there.

I have new empathy for beginners... but it won't last long because softness is a temporary sin to be stomped out. It would be nice to see a few more colour grades supporting Steve & doing themselves a favour by partaking of the after class push up, sit up, squat challenge. The silly routine is a good way to gauge how you're improving in strength & endurance as much as anything.

We did kata practically all night in preparation for the next grading. CG would like to see everybody taking better ownership of their training, ie. knowing what's required of you, know the theory and be proactive about training for a high standard... fuddling along, copying the person next door & not adopting the terminology & techniques doesn't make for great leaps. He's challenged everyone who is grading to write down their kata (in Japanese) & be able to name the stances & techniques as they're performed... a good ploy to get the brain going. Don't struggle though, if anyone needs help don't hesitate to flick us an email.

Next Friday (not this week) we're watching the World's video at the dojo over pizza (around 6pm). All welcome. Will bring in the latest All Japan as well - it is good viewing. Some of you haven't even seen international tournament which is a terrible crime because what you see in NZ is a completely different game & watching the top guys will help you learn heaps.

O and talking of viewing... The Contender is on TV Wed 9:30 (started last night) & it is GREAT! If you like fighting.

World Tournament

2005-05-01T14:50:00.000+12:00

Well we couldn't ask for too much more (3 would be pushing the luck Dave, must be your turn next time)... Chris & Conway have both won their respective divisions 35-40 CG & 40+ Conway... so we now have two world champions in the dojo!!!!!!!!!!

Sounded very exciting, Chris got through without so much as an extension - yay! & had one of the only wins by ippon in his first round. Spoke to them both last night coming out of the venue & they both seem to be in shock. They had fantastic support (had to be to throw two heavyweights in the air) & found it all a bit sureal. Dave lost in the first round to a very reputable Japanese... the only injury he sustained was when he helped Chris warm up. He can't be too bad though because he was carrying the A1 size trophies when I spoke to him. We have the fights on video & heard that at least highlights will go to Japan TV so should have something to show... o yeah... besides the enormous trophies & cache of prizes!

Will keep you posted with today's results. Planning a HUGE party this coming saturday at the dojo. It's Chris's 40'th in 3 weeks so bringing that forward & combining with coming home World Champions party! ALL invited. Will be simple. We'll lay on some kegs & some food... planning in progress so keep watching.

More Classifieds...

2005-04-11T15:55:00.000+12:00

Car for sale... Nissan Skyline, 1993, 255,000kms! Imported (by us!) & thrashed by one or other of our techs for the past 6 years. Has lost some guts, needs a new cam belt (apparently). It seems the shape is one preferred by boy/girl racers. Must sell - any offer welcome!

Classifieds!

2005-04-07T15:54:00.000+12:00

Free to a good home... a big black dopey dog! No I'm not kidding. We're getting rid of Cassius!! He's loving & loyal & doesn't stink but he can't stand being left alone & that we have to do more & more now we don't all fit in the car (with the buggy, bike etc etc).

He's a very easy dog to have around but on the very rare occasion he is left alone (during the day) he'll punish us for the insult by moaning, scratching & chewing (he's never dug a hole but probably would). So he needs a wire run because his enormous toe nails slice through wood like it was butter (we have a fabric muzzle that stops him chewing the seatbelts - which he only does if you leave him in the car at the beach or a park - never outside shops!). O I know, he sounds like a real winner! But he'd make a perfect loyal companion for a bloke who wants a dog to hug his ankle all day, warm his feet at night & who has a wire cage for when he has a more attractive date!

Obviously he's good with kids & is healthy. Not sure about the cat thing - we've never got past the chase! Would really appreciate it if you could flex your mind & consider friends or family who might want him... he'd really suit a builder or retired person who likes company.

Next International

2005-04-07T14:28:00.000+12:00

Did you know...Chris, Conway & Dave are heading to Tokyo at the end of this month to fight in the masters at the World Weight Category Tourny? They're starting to pick up their training (focus on themselves for a change) so bear with us for the next few weeks! If you're being slack about training now winter hours have kicked in it might tempt you to come in & watch them beat the snot out of each other most sessions or you might even like to join in!!!

Special thanks

2005-03-30T15:16:00.000+12:00

There are two folks we owe special thanks to.

1. Moray for donating the food for Saturday. Please support him by buying your fresh bread & other fresh baked yummies from 'The Zoo Bakery & Cafe' down the end of Newtown (if you get to Eva Dixons at the zoo you've gone too far). I recommend the cream donuts & the BLT with chilli sauce (especially if you want to enduce labour).

2. Geoff Grant from the BJJ club for lending us his mats. It was a big hassle for him borrowing them back from several locations but he did it gratis out of the kindness of his heart & saved us from having to pay another Kyokushin dojo for hirage!!! Thank you muchly.

T-Shirts

2005-03-30T15:13:00.000+12:00

I have 16 tournament t-shirts left. Mostly small sizes. They're $20 each. Please buy them before Chris gives them away in a frenzy of good will. You can email me jill@mvd.co.nz & I'll organize courier if anybody outside Welly wants some.

Lauren

2005-03-30T15:07:00.000+12:00

Just got a text... she's still in hospital, sore, but getting better & will be allowed out on Friday... sounds happy to be keeping the spleen! Turns out it was badly bruised & bleeding internally but hasn't actually ruptured. :)

Nationals

2005-03-28T17:27:00.000+12:00

Just a quick note - very bleary eyed after this weekend. Just wanted to thank everyone for their tremendous help on Saturday. It was a huge day with kids in the morning & novices and open divisions in the arvo & we needed lots of help to pull of the two ring thing (tricky when sooo many of our dojo were fighting) but with only a few teething issues the result was a 4:30 finish which was the big goal.

The kicking competition was an interesting addition - I don't think some of the kids knew what had hit them but when the peewees started outkicking them the competition soon got interesting & it was a good way for the kids to add to their bling without tears.

For me the standouts for the day were the colts. Jamie Eades from Mt Vic kindly agreed to match fight a kid from another style who weighed in almost 30kg above his registration weight (110kg) & everyone I've talked to so far gushes about that fight first. Jamie gave away more than 25kg but showed outstanding grit and really impressive technical prowess (moving, low kicks, high kicks, hands, you name it) and came away with a convincing win. Another standout in the colts division was Brad Dentice from Mt Vic, maybe because he was such a sparrow of a kid who used to tip toe around the ring & get pushed all over! Well something clicked this year & I've heard several high grades compare his style to Sempai Rob Hammond which can't be bad! The eventual winner of the division I think was a Russian import from Palmy (too tired to look it up). Whoever he was he was a beautifully conservative and effective fighter. Would have been great to see Jamie fight him without the pounding he took in the match fight.

Our Andrew who was in the younger division had to fight Aykut because we didn't have any entries from other dojos & took control quite easily which was interesting because just quietly, although younger, Aykut made him look ordinary at a grading a while back ;-) Looks like everything has just clicked for the older boys... and for Chetan (!) who had to fight 3 fights consecutively (a huge ask for the lasiest toad in the dojo) and took the silver in the under 14s (and a GOLD in kata - well done).

mmm... who else? Estelle took her division. Rachel had to fight Megan which was really interesting because Megan is a hard girl & very technical but we all know what a goer Rachel is. Turns out she can really take a head kick too but Megan won in the end. Both girls lost to a shodan from Hamilton (round robin).

O yeah! Lauren Wong! What a trouper! All 44kg's of her! And a complete novice. Was told she wasn't fighting in the morning because her opponent scratched & then hauled back in at the last minute to suffer a series of huge punches in the face (looked like a candidate for women's refuge by the end) but not fazed she hardly took a respite. Can't not make a comparison to a couple of the men who couldn't decide whether they'd been hit in the throat, nose or groin later in the day - they should be ashamed.... AND I just heard that Lauren is in Wgtn hospital with a ruptured spleen... she didn't notice until she got home from the party at 2am! Lauren will be in hospital for approx a week, they hope the bleeding will stop & they won't have to remove the spleen. Ward 30 - I'm sure she'd appreciate some support from her compatriots!

Baby hysterical... will have to come back to you with the results of Phil's, Vijay's, Greg's, Haines & Graham's fights & anyone else I forgot.... unless someone want's to comment the results for me :)

On the edge!

2005-02-17T15:21:00.000+13:00

Chris & I usually have a serious aversion to 'fund raising' because we hate it when we have to do it and we know you're all probably as busy as us (if you're stupid & unlucky as well) and that you don't have time or energy to spend.... but...

You may have noticed an enormous mountain of what looks like knicker elastic in the dojo kitchen? It is in fact the contents of our old 200kg bag which is too big for this dojo. We were about to filter it into rubbish bins but on inspection I realised with horror that green fingered little old people thoughout the region (and, well, me) spend up to $10 for a small ball of the same stuff at the garden centre for tying back garden plants. By my calculation there is at least $1000 worth sitting there even at $5 a ball!

Because it seems criminal to bin it knowing that it has value, we're going to have a go at balling it up into softball size balls and then ask everybody to have a go at selling some to their granny's and the lady next door. If we get enough volunteers to help roll we should be able to offer a worthy reward to whoever it is that makes the most profit (If you've seen The Apprentice you might put a premium on & flog it in Khandallah). In ADDITION, any proceeds will be put towards a refrigerated fan unit (or two) for cooling the dojo on these balmy summer nights.

So if you're waiting around for class, or have time to spare any day or night we'll supply the coffee & tea if you'll take a break & roll balls! Lets turn that mountain into rubble!

2005-02-10T12:01:00.000+13:00

Wed Seminar

Seminar

2005-02-10T10:20:00.000+13:00

35 at the seminar last night - good stuff! Shihan Eguchi gave us so many ideas that I jotted them down so they won't quickly be forgotten. I'll just use bullets so apologies if you weren't there and it doesn't make sense:

Posture - importance of symmetry & maintaining balance throughout your movement
Form - slow down & go for perfect form - speed is useless without form
Correct form is very difficult to block even when you go slow
Maintain the same posture for all your techniques - this way you're far more difficult to 'read' and block
Lengthen your techniques - make them bigger and slower when training (that doesn't mean overextend at the expense of posture & balance)
Pivot on the feet, let the heels come right up to maximise power
Throw techniques to the same side - eg. right punch followed by right mawashi - that way your opponent can block the first attack but not the second
Every fighter must find techniques & combinations that work for them - find yours & work on making them impossible to block
Mawashi Geri - should come from the outside - this is more flexible (you can change the technique part way through) and is more difficult to 'read'. The movement when you mawashi geri from the outside is the same movement you use for many techniques hence the problem for your opponent predicting what you're up to.
Be deceptive. Fake a high kick but go low & vice versa (especially try this if you have no high kick!)
Keep a hot body but cool head. ie. relax the body & stay calm in your head even while your body is wired & ready to fire.

And on top of the great seminar, we are absolutely stoked with the gift Shihan brought from Kokobungi Dojo - a HUGE timer! We thought we were going to have to have one engineered but this one does it all and it's big enough that Chris doesn't have to hover around the corner of the room squinting at the old small one! Fantastic. Perfect for the Nationals too! Happy days.

Congrats

2005-02-08T14:50:00.000+13:00

Congratulations to Sempai Liz Martin, who is now living in Ireland, is married to a nice Irish bloke, Sean (bodybuilder of course) and had a daughter, Lizzie, on Jan 5th. Liz is one of my contemporaries but a confounded heavyweight with a sadistic sense of humour i.e. could never stop giggling when she was batting me around the dojo - lucky I'm so humble ;) Well done Liz - miss ya!

Monday class

2005-02-08T14:13:00.000+13:00

A good turnout for Sempai Miyuki. A quick scan saw about 24 including 2 newies which is great for such short notice. I was gutted to miss most of it but baby didn't cooperate. The sempai took a padwork session working the basics. Unfortunately I missed the gist of all but one technique which was a real short mae geri (thrown from punching distance) - it looked horribly effective - can't wait to try it. If I can I'll get someone who was there to fill in the gaps. Look forward to Wednesday with Shihan Eguchi now!

2005-02-03T14:55:00.000+13:00

Rubin & sis

2005-02-03T13:39:00.000+13:00

Here's a pic of Emma-Jane (fresh from belly)!

Nationals

2005-02-03T13:27:00.000+13:00

MVD is hosting the Nationals this Easter which makes it too convenient for you not to compete! Anybody willing to commit to the tournament is welcome at Sensei Paul's coaching sessions on Saturday at 9am (I was lucky enough to attend these last year - you'll benefit enormously). Sensei's rule is: only those willing to go in the ring are welcome and if you're late don't bother - he'll put a lot of effort in so he expects some back!

Don't forget kata is an option! ...and if you're not competing you're likely to be asked to volunteer to help out!

Visitors! Special Sessions!

2005-02-03T11:25:00.000+13:00

On Monday & Wednesday next week we have two special guest instructors! On Monday Sempai Miyuki Eguchi (formerly World Lightweight Women's Champion!) will be taking the class and on Wednesday Shihan Eguchi will be instructing. The cost is $20 to cover the Eguchi's diversion from Auckland where they are coming this weekend with Sempai Troy who hopes to qualify for the World Weight Category Tournament in April. Don't miss these sessions (sorry Donna) - they're both awesome and entertaining instructors.

Also, good luck to Sempai Vijay who's also fighting in Auckland (someone gave him his mojo back!?).

Quick visit

2005-01-28T15:03:00.000+13:00

Just a quicky because that's how everything is when you're feeding a baby every 2 1/2 to 3hrs from beginning of one feed to beginning of next feed 24/7 & it takes an hour at a time! Actually can't complain. She's a good sleeper & by persecuting her with that routine during the day we get a couple of 4-5hr sleeps in the night :)

In case you didn't hear... had her on Jan 14 (Friday) with very little fuss. The excitement started shortly after I'd gorged myself on one of Moray's BLT's up at home (so I'm blaming him), CG out digging in the garden & suddenly I had the horrible feeling I was going to have her at home! Thankfully she slowed up so CG could have a shower & we made it to the hospital with an hour to spare. Unfortunately Chris missed all the excitement as I had him in a head lock the whole time meaning he saw nothing but my shoulder & when he tried to shift for a better view I gave him a bleeding nose. Probably for the best! We escaped the torture chamber within 4hrs & went home for some peace & quiet taking little Emma-Jane Frances with us. She was 3.4kg & has dark curly hair. Rubin is very pleased & proving very useful.

Will be in touch next week with info about classes. By all reports Mon & Wed are going really well & we're really grateful to the black belts who have stepped up & taken charge for us. Everyone is really lucky to have such great black belts around right now - great timing!

See you soon I hope. JG.

Nothing

2005-01-13T10:20:00.000+13:00

Nothing going on. Entirely absorbed with waiting for this baby to come now. I've scrubbed the cabinets in our outdoor laundry & polished the enamel on the washing machine to a high shine (our laundry is usually so dusty, cobwebby & weedy it even brings out domestic blindness in me), I've grovelled under furniture (that worked with Rubin), waxed all our woodwork (some things twice) and even mowed the lawn but still no baby! Even after the doc booked me in for induction next week there's still no sign. I'm starting to think it's all a figment of my imagination. I guess I was destined to come to work today & do that handful of things I was going to leave regardless of the guilt & the demanding phonecalls I know would ensue. What the hell am I going to stress about if I finish all that though? So I blog :)

Can't say much about training except it's back on. CG thoroughly enjoyed Monday class. I think he said 5 blackbelts & about 12 coloured grades. He missed last night because he was tied up at work but from through the wall his impression was it was another good class with 5 black belts again & a range of colours.

We're very motivated to start the year with a couple of meetings. One with the instructors - we've got so many now it makes it nice & easy to split the class up & takes some pressure off us while baby's small (if she ever comes) but we want to make sure there's good continuity so come grading time it's not all rush & make sure everybody, including high grades, are extended appropriately.

Secondly we need a club AGM because afterall, this is a club & we think by sharing the day to day operations with some of you clever types, motivated types, social types, (& especially) organised types the club will really benefit. We've been asked to host a junior tournament in Wellington at Easter & CG wants to test a two ring system & some other fun so that'll be a priority for the first part of the year.

Soo... be prepared, put your thinking caps on & consider what you think we should be doing but aren't and what you can do to fix that (telling us doesn't count).

Hmmm... training!

2005-01-07T06:15:00.000+13:00

I can't believe it's end of week 2 and we haven't had a single session! Sorry! So much for my theory CG would be escaping the garden... he's been manic (I thought I was the one supposed to be nesting). But then this year's wee project turned into a major involving kango, dingo & about 6 tonne of refuse so he's been in boy toy heaven (& completely buggered by day's end).

Training does officially begin on Monday! No question! Absolutely certainly. I'll try not to be in labour between 6&8.

I'm baack!

2005-01-04T13:05:00.000+13:00

Temporarily anyway. Still no baby but did have a false alarm & end up in hospital once already! (Bugger - shortened our wee break). She's not due until Saturday so I shouldn't be too keen but I'm so shattered & vacant that another horrific birth experience seems like a very good option right now... and I'm very keen to have a normal core (had to be rescued from a donut (the floating kind) in my brother's pool because my ballust was so out of whack!).

I can be found most days sitting/lying around a lot under a sunhat & blanky with a benign look - every bit the resplendent preggy figure but secretly I'm using the time to fantasize (sorry - practice 'visualisation') about conditioning training & (this is new) escapes & chokes!! I can't wait to use my lungs & muscles again!!! Hope this baby is as amenable as Rubin was.

Christmas on the farm(et) was great. Rubin would have been entirely content with Buzz Lightyear - every morning he'd wake us up to show us all Buzz's features & tell us what a lucky boy he was which was very enchanting but very likely the last year we'll get away so cheaply. I forgot to do the milk & biscuits for Santa on the night so I got up with the rooster (or as it became known 'that damn rooster') & had to scull milk & eat chocolate biscuits leaving just enough evidence that Santa had plenty to keep him happy & then, wired on chocolate, wait 2 hrs for Rubin to wake up (it took a bit of prodding). Rubin was gutted that Santa didn't eat the ends of the biscuits so it turns out I probably could have produced a clean plate from the cupboard!

Farm life was fascinating. I found out that cows don't give milk until they've been mums!!! Cows & bulls both have horns. Chickens don't bite little boys but they bite their mums! Roosters are needed to make baby chicks (5 on Christmas week!). Sheep need regular haircuts on their bums & regardless of how placid they look when shorn by a professional, if you don't know what you're doing it takes two grown men to hold them down & you don't want to be doing it on an a steep hill slippery with poo.

One lamb was sacrificed for our Christmas dinner... and I mean sacrificed... it was the first time we'd used a coal fire spit (not gas) & although all the signs were right (we waited for glowing embers) within minutes of hooking the lamb on & it dripping fat, the entire beast caught fire & despite my eldest brother's best efforts (he actually put down his cigarette & tinny - now he doesn't even do that to beat me at tennis) the whole frickin thing shot flames & went cajun!

On the up side fresh eggs & veges were plentiful as was fresh air & company for Rubin (better than sleeping tabs) & I was considered far too fat to help do dishes & my brother & Chris initiated a breakfast making competition early on so we were treated to exotic brunches & bbq dinners every day with very little responsibility. It would be surprisingly easy not to come back. Only one comment re. lifestyle properties - a full time caretaker is mandatory.

This is it...

2004-12-23T13:19:00.000+13:00

Today's our last day at work so my last day with access to the internet (I have a hollow feeling inside). We hope you all have a very happy & safe Christmas surrounded by the friends & family you love most & fortuitous enough to avoid the ones you're just stuck with. Take care, make somebody happy & we'll see you sometime after the big day.

PS. highly recommend Woolworths online shopping for Xmas groceries... it's not too late. Cost $9 but save all that time, sweat, trolley & bumper bashing!

No wonder it was so popular...

2004-12-23T11:36:00.000+13:00

The Ultimate Sports Multi everybody loves have been recalled! BEFORE you rush away & regurgitate your morning dose... it's not poison but you might be taking too much!

The Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 dictate that 1 cap a day is appropriate (a little less than the 1-4 caps stipulated on the jar!!). That might explain how I was able to function on 6hrs less sleep than usual when I was on 3 a day! But seriously, I don't have details on which of the vits we've overdosed on, if anybody really wants to know I can point you in the direction of more info.

Surprise Visit!

2004-12-21T07:50:00.000+13:00

Not only Santa but Nigel Kennedy, magician extraordinaire, was in the dojo last night! The weather was too unpredictable for Rubin's montessori to have their Christmas party at the beach as planned and we were plan B! About 60 under 4's & their parents mortified the guys turning up for Monday class but acted as a timely reminder that although it's party season contraception should never be too far from mind.

Nigel titilated the kids by pulling a fat white rabbit out of a box and impressed the hell out of me when Sempai Rob Hammond appeared out of the blurry haze that is my permanent state of mind at the moment! We had no idea Rob would be back from the UK for Christmas so it was a real surprise to see him. Sneaky Sempai Dave Maguire knew & chose to appear for the first time since he got back too. Pity the class was so short but Rob crammed in as much as possible & gave everybody plenty to think about & work on. It's good for everyone in the dojo to have somebody through who's trained extensively with the big names like Garry O'Neil, Nicolas Pettas & Francisco Filho (& who's not afraid to name drop either ;-)

We'll encourange Rob to make as many appearances as possible between now & Jan 11 when he flies out so stay tuned for special sessions. BTW there is a session on Wednesday for anyone who's not partying & who's finished shopping & wrapping (Rob won't be there).

Christmas hours

2004-12-16T09:57:00.000+13:00

We expect to be playing the waiting game over the Christmas period so apart from a few days after Christmas when we hope to catch some rest on my bro's farm we won't be straying too far from the hospital!

As a result you can be fairly sure there'll be some form of training between Christmas & New Year as CG escapes his garden duties... and unless baby comes early & all the other seniors disappear (DH will be disappearing to NY! But PK will be back from JP!) there will certainly be training in the first week of Jan... but not on Friday.

I'll try & blog if there are last minute changes but my PC at home died completely so best to be flexible!

Boxing Day Session - From Donna

2004-12-15T11:00:00.000+13:00

Kick off at 10:30am, a nice civilised time that lets you have some early morning Christmas pud to help get you over your hangover. Finish up by 11:30am at the latest, just in time to whip home and get stuck into leftovers for lunch...yummmm.

What we'll be doing.

Cardio based stuff mainly - bit of circuit stuff with some resistance work thrown in, bit of bag work, bit of sparring if people are keen (watch those soft squidgy bellies!), bit of this, and finally a bit of that. Expect to Sweat.

No dogi required, this is a sweaty session designed to make you feel virtuous over everyone when you get home.

Fundraising

2004-12-12T17:53:00.000+13:00

The imbibers at yesterday's BBQ were full of brilliance (it just got better as the evening went on) and came up with a unique fundraising idea following last weeks grading. You might have heard of charity auctions where celebs make themselves available to spend time or maybe have dinner with the highest bidder... well this is a variation on the same theme. It became apparent that there are students who would pay very good money to be selected by Sensei to fight certain candidates at various stages of their next grading. (I thought last fight was the obvious choice but pure evil prompted bids for first fight - love that!). Although completely unethical and entirely contrary to the budo way I was impressed with the Kyokushin spirit that some students showed by inviting bidders and as time wore on, providing more than a little incentive to others to bid. I'm just wondering whether this morning saw any change of heart?

Gift Ideas

2004-12-12T17:44:00.000+13:00

I continue to be amazed by what we can sell around here! This week it was a training voucher to be given for Christmas by some girl to her boyfriend! She's not an ungenerous girlfriend & I took to the idea with some gusto, creating a voucher full of promise (& the excitement of some threat)! I expounded the Sensei's experience & achievements & suggested a variety of sessions that the giftee might select from. If anybody else is looking for a novel gift idea for friends or family (without a heart condition) don't hesitate to let me know.

Boxing Day Session

2004-12-12T17:40:00.000+13:00

Sempai Donna has volunteered to take a filthy, nasty session on Boxing Day morning as a way of purging the excesses of Christmas Day. It's become a bit of a tradition - no dogi's necessary - just a short sweet workout in time honoured Kyokushin tradition. She's as yet undecided about timing - sometime around 10 or 11 so if you intend to come along now's a good time to get in her ear.

End of Year

2004-12-12T17:11:00.000+13:00

We had a great time on Saturday. We owe a huge thanks to Rachel for organising the venue (what a great score) & for playing hostess too and also to Sam for helping & taking care of the music. In hindsite it was so much better than having it at our place because I didn't have to tidy the house & the garden & then deal with tidying up in the morning too!!! Very grateful. End of year awards went like this: Most Improved Student went to Scott Gordon, by popular decision, I don't think there was a single senior who didn't think of Scott first! Technical Award went to Sam Minns not only for his lovely everyday technical ability but also for the way he fought both at the Nationals & at the Match Fight Night. Budo Spirit Award went to Rachel Ray. Another obvious choice... you might think Rachel is a quietly spoken, gentle soul but if you saw her fight at the Nationals you'd realise that inside there somewhere is pure killer! Rachel also exhibits the budo spirit with her approach to training - she always gives her most & is proactive about looking for ways to be stronger & better. Finally the Student of the Year this year went to Estelle Adamson. Estelle is not only one of our most consistent attendees, she made a commitment during the year to help with the juniors on a weekly basis (that alone was probably enough to sway CG;-). She has emerged as a leader in the dojo by her own training example, by making herself available to other students and the club for help & advice and she has approached her role as an increasingly senior member in class agressively. Well done Estelle - you're a great role model... I won't repeat what CG wanted to infer about your drinking ability.

Saturday

2004-12-10T17:19:00.000+13:00

If anybody's out there... you've probably switched off PC's now but it's looking like a really horrible day tomorrow so we have a plan B for the bbq! If it's not nice weather Rachel Ray has offered Havana for our use. Apparently BYO BBQ food is okay and chip in some money for a keg or something (I'll leave those details up to the drinkers). If you want more info call CG on 027 4444194. Same time.

End of Year

2004-12-09T08:49:00.000+13:00

We ran out of time last night to do the presentations of the end of year awards so we're going to do them on Saturday. We decided to try something new this year & have a very casual bbq at our place instead of the big night out - that way I can be barefoot & pregnant & don't have to get a sitter & anybody who wants to can head into town after and if you have work functions you can get a head start! Kick off is 3pm. Come to 26 Sutherland Cres, Melrose - look for the huge fence - we're behind that. If the weather's dodgy call 9704882 or 0274444194 to check what's happening. It's BYO bbq food & tipple & per usual, gastric delights for the Sensei!!

Grading

2004-12-09T08:17:00.000+13:00

Oops - sorry Graham - I didn't blog that there was a grading on last night! Maybe you should leave your dogi here? It was a great grading I thought! Probably because I wasn't in the firing line :) A great way to end the year though. Four new green belts - congratulations. I don't know how the candidates felt about the pressure put on (like an enormous thunderbolt from above?) but it seemed to bring out the absolute best in everybody (warms the heart ;) If Sensei continues on the same theme from now & keeps asking you to step up in so many ways all you guys will breeze through your shodan gradings! It's really going to put the pressure on us lot who are already graded higher... as a group we'll have to work on the same themes (without the threat of regular humiliation at grading time) or we'll end up looking like poor cousins!!!

Special Event for Karate NZ!

2004-12-05T14:59:00.000+13:00

Chris & I were honoured to be included in a special celebration for Kyokushin NZ last night. Shihan Doug Holloway who introduced Kyokushin to NZ was given a surprise party for his 60th birthday and 40 YEARS since he started Kyokushin Karate in this country! It was a fascinating evening (pity the few guests who didn't do martial arts) attended by many big names involved in the introduction of martial arts to NZ, all of whom still train and all of whom had amazing and often hilarious stories to share about their experiences in Japan as long ago as the 1960s and the years since. It's apparent that Shihan Doug must take credit for bringing karate to this part of the world and was instumental in it's growth and success across the country. It was amazing to be among a crowd (3 generations) whos lives have been enormously and positively changed by martial arts and to see everybody expressing their gratitude to Shihan Doug on so many levels. It was suggested by Seido's Shihan Renzie Hanham (via Shihan Andy Barber) that the country owes Shihan Doug a debt of gratitude because martial arts have such a positive impact on the character of the students. Among the 'first generation' guests present were Wellington's own Pat Toner (Judo & Made In Nippon), Seido's Shihan Andy Barbar from Nelson and Kyokushin's Sensei Rob Begbie from Hamilton.

Other News from Auckland!!!

2004-11-30T11:09:00.000+13:00

Somebody else deserves congratulations following the weekend...!!! Chris & I managed to miss Sempai Chris Taylor because of what can only be described as my candy-assed weakness on Thursday night (couldn't do a 10hr working day on 5.5hrs sleep). And then at the grading CT could only spare a few minutes between coming back from Cambridge and expecting other visitors from out of town (I have to say Auckland distances & traffic suck for catching up with friends). Unfortunate because it turns out he had some exciting news to share... he's engaged to be married AND as a bonus, gets another daughter with the deal!!! Double-damn that we didn't make dinner on Thursday - I'm sure you're all aware Chris & I like to vet your partners like overprotective parents but under the circumstances we'll have to trust CT's taste ;-) Knowing he has the beautiful Lily in Auckland (and Lily's new step-sister) to assist him with these life changing decisions is a great comfort. Congratulations Chris, we hope you are very happy with the new life & family.... look forward to catching up next time.

New Black Belts!

2004-11-30T07:02:00.000+13:00

Huge Congratulations are in order for all the candidates who participated in the North Island grading... after several dramas & last minute withdrawals there were seven shodan candidates & one nidan. It was clearly 'the year' for the guys who did make it through the last few gruelling months of training because all of them were well prepared, looked strong and pulled it out on the day... (and there's already an air of anticipation for next year)!
Special congrats to our guys, Sempai's Phil & Conway. Everybody from MVD was really proud to be represented by you guys. The dojo is the best place for the carnage stories but both of them (once Phil's faculties returned) were able to smile wriley as they admired their welts at the end of an appropriately hellish grading... proof enough that they well deserve to join the Kyokushin yudansha ranks. (Watch out for Conway, he was already trying to pull rank at breakfast on Sunday... unlucky everybody present was still a higher grade than him:).
I'm sure everybody who travelled would agree it was WELL worth the trip & combining the grading is definitely the way to go - it gave all present a chance to see the strengths & strengths of the other dojos and our new yudansha; as well as time to meet or catch up with friends & whanau (not sure if this blonde can pull that off but I am 1/64th Moriori!!). I'd even venture to say it'd be worth making the event National. Can't not mention how good Sempai Lisa looked too. As strong & as big as the shodan candidates were she showed clearly the distinction between shodan and nidan. Well done.
Thanks to everybody from our dojo who travelled, particularly the lower grades (great start). It was great to see Sensei Raan extend his visit so he could participate and most of us owe a huge thanks to Sempai Moray for supplying 20 crays... it was quite sureal sitting 20 metres from the Takapuna shoreline after the grading, amongst multi-million dollar homes stuffing ourselves with crayfish & supping Tui!

Wednesday class

2004-11-24T20:46:00.000+13:00

Fantastic! I'm soo jealous. I dropped Rubin & the dogs off at their respective kennels (aww!) so we can jump on a plane early tomorrow to Auckland... meaning, I got to see a Wed session for the first time in ages. It's so great to see a full dojo and everybody working so studiously. Sempai Vijay took the class with help from the "Sempai's Steve" (Newby & Bassett)! Phil & Conway made an appearance & it was great to see them walking through their partner work & looking awesome. No problems expected on Saturday. Vijay did basics, kata (how many yellow belts?) and some fight work. It's fascinating to see the instructor say "do this" & give interesting variations & heaps of opportunity to work the technique and half the class revert to their best/favourite techniques the minute he's not looking... what is it about yellow belt? What a waste of your time & Vijay's breath! Sure it might feel weird the first few times but I could see the guys who did try the new combo starting to become natural after 20 or 30 times.. not too much energy invested to add a whole new movement to your repertoire! And then... following our class... the BJJ club had John Will over from Australia for a seminar - is it my happy hormones or have we got a wonderful den of martial arts training?

Corporate Entertainment

2004-11-20T09:59:00.000+13:00

I blogged a few weeks ago about CG being asked to entertain a bunch of lawyers at their Friday night drinkies. It was last night & sounds like it was a HUGE success. It helped that the lawyers were all in kimono or happy coats, drinking rice wine which set the mood nicely. CG did a lot of the things we think are normal but they thought it was hysterical! Got bosses & juniors in embarassing cinches, humiliated some guy who did his wrist in punching CG in the belly (fancy messing with that force!) and ended with tamashiwari... actually managed to convince some guy to attempt a blind folded head break! A brief lesson in Japanese drinking language kicked off what looked to be a hilarious night. The organisers said it was the best entertainment they'd ever had at a function and think he should entertain at corporate do's for a living! So... if anybody wants (we need to think of a stage name) I'm happy to act as pimp - hourly rates negotiable!

Wednesday class

2004-11-18T17:57:00.000+13:00

Chris (Sensei) gave me an enthusiastic run down on what went on at Wednesdays class. He had a go at incorporating what we learned at Blair's seminar last week about core stability & maintaining a neutral spine into our traditional training. He went as far as saying he has 'renewed enthusiasm' for teaching ido geiko in class because these new principles had such an instant and rewarding impact on everybody's form. Repetition should not only improve our physical stability but the habits created will flow through into our other traditional forms and kumite. He gave me a quick demo & although I thought his precision was spot on before I could see a visible difference which is pretty amazing.

Dogi at training

2004-11-18T17:45:00.000+13:00

Sensei Paul has asked me to reiterate the point he made at training last week.... you should be wearing a FULL dogi to training on Mon, Wed & Friday. That means bottom AND top. These are traditional classes and one of the priviledges of training in Kyokushin and part of the discipline is wearing a full dogi, regardless of the weather! There are plenty of countries a LOT hotter than ours and where they don't have the luxury of light cotton dogi, auto washers & driers! AND at this dojo at least you get regular water breaks!!! As the weather gets warmer it's a good idea to bring your running shoes along every time or leave some in your locker because if it's too stuffy in the dojo we sometimes jog up to the park and train in the fresh air (don't be clever & think if you don't have your shoes you'll be excused ;-)

Ab Seminar

2004-11-14T13:00:00.000+13:00

Briefly, what a great seminar! CG is working on writing up what we learned so it doesn't go in one ear & out the other. Look out for that blog. Blair & friend took 18 of us through some theory and then 6 good exercises for working the core. 6 doesn't sound like a lot but with the emphasis on form it was a challenging class and 1hr easily turned into 2 & a half! There was some interest & Chris seems amenable to chasing the seminar with up to 4 friday classes where he'll simply run through the same exercises so everybody can nail the form & ingrain the routines in their memory. He thought they'd combine well with some stretching as well. Show an interest to CG about that one.

Travellers...and seminar goers

2004-11-12T10:06:00.000+13:00

It looks to be a big grading in Auckland. With 20 from here, 20 from Hamilton, some from further up north, Mahia & all the Aucklanders as well! The arrangements have been made for the bus tour. The cost pp is $25 and they need a deposit of $15 pp to secure your seat (there are far more people than seats so it's first in first served). If you want to be included you need to let us know & hand over your dollars ASAP. Tonight at the seminar would be a good time :) We have 15-20 registered for tonight already so we easily made quota. Blair is bringing a colleague who he considers is even better qualified than himself and spare swiss balls. If you have a swiss ball of your own please bring it and anybody else who is interested in core strength is welcome.

All Japan Results

2004-11-09T16:23:00.000+13:00

This afternoon I got an email from Sempai Troy in Japan just before he went to commit sepuku for losing in the first round on the weekend (he's one sad Arab). He didn't give too much detail (any) but did say that Tanaka Kentaro won the All Japan (Japanese Nationals). I'd like to take this opportunity to remind a few people that I named Kentaro for World Champion in 2007 after seeing him fight at the World Tournament in 1999 (he was 18 then). Contrary to anything CG will tell you my prediction was not based on looks nor was it because we had dinner with him & he's a doll. The boy was awesome (he fights like a wee Kazumi) and clearly he's well on his way to fulfilling my prophecy! I'll let you know when we get some video. While I was trawling the net for info I found this page about a K1 vs Kyokushin showdown in Japan earlier this year. It's worth a read. Tanaka won by default after taking so many bare knuckle punches in the head he looked like road kill (I refrained from linking to that pic). Check out the 'Ichigeki' tournament in May on http://www.so-net.ne.jp/feg/k-1gp/btop.htm

Transverse Abs Seminar

2004-11-09T07:35:00.000+13:00

Friday night - must do session! This Friday Blair Apperly (who's added Rachel & Sam to his list of cult followers!) is taking a session especially for martial artists on the subject of transverse abdominals. What are transverse abs? Thems the things in your core that you need if you don't want to look retarded doing kata & ido geiko & if you ever want to perform a decent kick. We'd love to make this session mandatory but of course we can't... but every student will benefit enormously by attending & high grades should make EVERY effort possible to attend. He's doing it here at the dojo at 6pm (in place of the normal Fri class). Cost is $15. (T-shirt class). Please confirm by email if you can attend. Depending on how long it takes we might check out some of CG's video library afterwards over pizza (nobody tell Blair about the pizza!)

2004-11-09T07:34:00.000+13:00

Winning style!

2004-11-09T07:31:00.000+13:00

What NFS can do for you!? Vivian Saul, one of my big NFS customer's WINNING the local sculpting comp!

Auckland

2004-10-31T18:40:00.000+13:00

It's all getting very exciting! We have 20+ travelling to Auckland for the blackbelt grading on Nov 27th! That's a great turnout & just shows that someone loves the candidates even if we have a strange way of showing it most of the time (& especially on the day!). I've booked a flash looking house right on Takapuna Beach where we can congregate & the strays can crash. Good ol' Moray looks like he might have a few crayfish to bring along so we'll plan a post grading get together on the deck prior to the official get together... now if we can just convince Sensei Paul to drag the dojo jetski all that way as well as a van full of bodies we'll have a half civilised party!

Labour Day Training

2004-10-25T09:59:00.000+13:00

Yes - there is a session tonight.

Sits Vac!

2004-10-24T11:28:00.000+13:00

I'm looking for someone to do some regular cleaning in the dojo & at Online. Wages are ordinary (but membership could be negotiated :). If you want a second/third job or if you have a teenager that might be interested please give them my number 04 3854715 or email jill@mvd.co.nz. PS. Please don't send me your objectionable or useless teenager because they need to learn the value of a dollar... I'll crush them within a week & it could be ugly & embarrassing for all!

Potions & Spells

2004-10-24T08:46:00.000+13:00

My supplier of NFS stuff has sent me prices on a whole 'nother product range that may appeal to some of you. You can now contact me for herbal goodies like arnica, liniment, st john's wort, immune boosters, healers, miracle cures for everything from fractures to stress & even one to get back your mojo! As with the NFS range I'll sell to you guys for well below RRP out of the kindness of my heart (& to keep you fit & sane enough to train & pay fees). I'll put the price list for the potions I thought sounded relevant, along with a brief explanation of each in the dojo. If you want a .pdf version flick me an email & I'll forward one. Tell your friends & family too - I take a miniscule cut so the more volume the better for the club.

T-Shirts Plus!

2004-10-22T13:43:00.000+13:00

I know I promised t-shirts for Auckland but this seems like a MUCH better option! (I know G.I.G I copied again, but at least this time you should get referral benefits!) There is still time for these to hit the country for late November but don't procrastinate if you don't want to be disappointed! The US exchange rate is improving daily (NZD almost at 70c US) so the prices are very good. Go mad!!!

Verdict

2004-10-21T13:38:00.000+13:00

I just bit the bullet & tested my splits - I was expecting to be disappointed because I was slack on the dynamic stretching last week and haven't done the isometric stuff more than once or twice a week since day 1 but I was stunned... I've lost SEVERAL inches in all three directions! My best split (left) only has 2-3 inches to go which is better than ever in my life (and in XL dogi pants practically irrelevant!) Remember I'm only doing about 2 min stretching (every day) so it's not a big commitment at all. If you start the habit now you could be in the splits by the next grading!!

BLAIR...Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach

2004-10-20T15:59:00.000+13:00

From Estelle (thank you :)... What a great session I had with Blair on Saturday afternoon. Sensei Chris suggested a consultation with his mate Blair could well be useful for me and once again, dare I say it in writing, Sensei was right. Blair took Sempai Fiona and myself through an assessment to hone in on our....mmm ....shall we say physical challenges. He had us bending, stretching, squatting, lunging and laughing all in the interests of self improvement. Luckily I didn't have hypercondriac tendencies before because now I have quite a list of things that I need to work on . Not the least of which is getting my butt muscles to start doing some of the work. Apparently they're not firing and so my quads, back and knees are doing far too much. It was hard to believe those big glutes were getting a relatively free ride. I walked around the rest of the afternoon periodically poking myself in the butt to see if they were doing anything, then I needed something to compare it to so I started poking Guy in the butt too...needless to say my glutes need a wake up call. I also now know why I have great difficulty doing some of the stances and how this affects my katas. The subtleties Blair picked up on were quite outstanding. The way I roll my ankle, grab the floor with my toes or shift my weight slightly and all the other idiosyncrasies I use to compensate for bad form. Squatting properly with your feet pointing straight ahead proved another challenge, something else I can't do. While Fi was proficient at it and could hold a pole just a few inches off the ground I was at the other end of the spectrum and my pole needed to be significantly longer.......I thought this may be an opportunity to pick up some night work pole dancing but I think there are other attributes you may also need and crashing in a heap at the bottom of the pole is not what the public are hoping to see. You may think being so physically challenged would be depressing but quite to the contrary it is very enthusing. Doing 10 high squats properly is going to advance my technique and training far more than continuing to do 100 low squats on noisy knees that add no benefit. I'm actually looking forward to the challenge and when someone tells me to haul ass I'll no longer need to make two trips. Regardless of where on the training and fitness scale you are if you ever get the chance to attend a session with Blair I am sure you will find it extremely beneficial. Anyone who can lie their own head on their own shoulder as easily as he can deserves an audience. A big thank you to Sensei Chris, Sempai Jill and Rueben for taking time out of their weekend together to once again dedicate it to the dojo students. Cheers Estelle

Homeward bound

2004-10-20T08:57:00.000+13:00

Chris got a happy call from Sempai Dave Maguire yesterday. He's COMING HOME! To live! I think he's been away at least 6 years (making his fortune in the UK) but being a sociable critter, the distances in London have finally got to him so he's selling up & heading home. Of all the karate friends who've headed to London I think Dave is the only one who made a successful transition into full on training over there and even competed successfully across the UK. He told CG yesterday that, in the spirit of kindness, he invited Sempai Rob to his dojo because, since his own move, Rob has fallen off the wagon, isn't doing any real training and is worrying all around him with his rapid & ugly weight gain. Rob returned the love by kicking Dave in the head. Nice. Nevermind Dave, we're looking forward to having you back. BTW single girls, Dave is still searching for the perfect kyokushin wife :)

Assessments

2004-10-19T19:12:00.000+13:00

On Saturday Chris organised Blair Appleby (Apperley?), the Chiropractor, to come to MVD to assess three of the dojo girls and help them with weaknesses/imbalances that despite heaps of effort in the dojo, have been holding back their progress. Blair spent ages with all three and, like everyone else who has seen him, all were impressed with how thorough and knowledgeable he is and came away absolutely sure that their problems can be resolved (without expensive treatments or surgery!). Blair is coming back with programs and is even doing assessments of the girl's diets. Chris was lucky enough to sit in and it was apparent to all that weakness/balance problems won't go away without getting right back to basics - like ensuring that the right muscles are firing and in the right sequence when performing movements we do a lot like squatting, pushing and rotating. Clearly, the earlier the better! If anyone else is interested in an assessment have a chat to Chris - Blair gives us amazing value for money because he's a martial artist himself and has a special interest in what we do!

Be afraid...

2004-10-19T18:54:00.000+13:00

I'm back online at home! I caught 3 nasty viruses the same week I got a faster modem and cable connection... I only found out when Paradise gave me the courtesy call thanking me for all the expensive excess traffic so I unplugged for several weeks!!! Turns out Norton's anti-virus is a complete waste of time! If you're only semi-literate on the PC like me, I do recommend 'The PC People'. The nice man came & fixed up my whole system better than before and for very reasonable $$$. How can you not trust a computer guy wearing a star trek watch? So now I'm back online & plagued with the insomnia that comes with sleeping with a med ball up your top expect far more frequent updates!

Idea #2

2004-10-15T14:44:00.000+13:00

Some very creative thinker sought us out this week to provide 'entertainment' at a corporate get together nearer to Christmas! She's from a legal firm & they've agreed to pay good money for 2 or more of our guys to either beat each other for an hour or beat each other for a few minutes and then teach half cut lawyers to beat each other for the rest of the hour!!! I think it's a fantastic idea. They're going to have a blast, we're way cheaper than renting sumo suits and it's a very good fund raiser for the club! If anybody works at firm who might be interested in this type of 'team building' event please let me know!

Idea #1

2004-10-15T14:39:00.000+13:00

For a few years now Sensei CG has been taking an elective karate class, once a week at Scots College. I don't know if elective afternoons are the luxury of private schools but Chris has developed a very good 6 week course so if anybody is on a school board or if you're married to a school principal, please have a word in their ear to see if this is something we can offer elsewhere!!

Monday Class

2004-10-11T18:54:00.000+13:00

Loving daylight savings and having the wall gone! I remember at the Vivian St dojo (10 years ago!) when I was unmotivated after work I'd focus on how great it was being in the dojo with late afternoon sun pouring in and now we've got the same sunny environment! So good for high kicks even if it is a tad sweaty & whiffy! Sensei CG is taking a fun class following all the serious prep that went into last weeks grading. Judging by the sound effects alone (I have been working hard until now), he's done a wrestling warm up, ippon kumite and self defence with some vicious choke finishes & throat attacks which caused some great gagging & lots of laughing (Kyokushin people are weird & sadistic!). They're just finishing now with light 'promise' sparring. I'm jealous!

Auckland

2004-10-10T16:06:00.000+13:00

We have a decent sized group travelling to Auckland for the boy's grading including some of our newest beginners! Sensei Paul is taking a people mover so talk to him if you're interested. We're still waiting on confirmation from the Auck's about venue and then we'll book accomodation together if possible - they're doing their best to get a venue with accomodation which'd be great! However, in true Auckland style they're focusing on the aftermatch first and it sounds like it'll be another of their famous bus trips. A great way to sample Auckland nightlife. Phil & Conway will be grading with Lani Takiwa, another Auck colt, Jo, Big Kapi from Hamilton and another chap from Tahi's dojo who we don't know. Vijay will be grading alongside Lisa (the blondie who's always winning kata comp's) and Aram Goes from Mahia. I remember Aram's shodan grading - it was one of the best I've ever seen - he believes in winning every fight when he's grading and that was back when we did 40 rounds for shodan and he was a lightweight. I remember because he smashed the s**t out of me! It should be a great day so do your best to make it!

Stretch saga

2004-10-10T15:56:00.000+13:00

Well it's been 3 whole weeks & I'm still doing the dynamic routine at least once a day and it makes a helluva difference! It only takes about 6 reps to get to max stretch now unless it's really cold so the time dedicated is sub 2 min total! I'm having trouble knowing whether my front kick has drastically improved or if my belly is growing so fast it's increasingly in the way! I now have to kick around the outside because I'd hate to explain to my doc (and Chris) that I'd induced labour by kicking myself in the stomach!! The isometric stretching is resulting in more pain the day after which I'm taking as a sign that I'm doing it right at last. I'm holding off testing the splits for a couple more weeks with high hopes for really noticeable improvement. Will keep you posted.