Shotokan does similar but different

[Shotokan]

The last challenge went better than expected with only three days off during the challenge.

 

1. 125 katas

Doing 20 katas a week over the last challenge was not hard enough so it's time to up it to 25.  Again, like last time, these have to be good katas.

 

2. Workout 30 times

Same mixed bag of workouts as the last challenge but instead of five per week, I am going to up it to six.  Grokker workouts, kettlebells, dumbbell and barbell complexes and whatever other fun stuff I can do besides kata.

 

3.  Read for 25 days

I didn't get my goal of 25 days last time but this time, I got this.

 

Extra credit: Publish one blog post

I know I have been using this as extra credit for a long time but I am not giving up.  I am just going to keep adding this one until I do it.

 

Kata 0/125

Home workout: 0/30

Read: 0/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Shotokan]

Day one - 6/21

 

This workout was a Yoga challenge on the Apple watch and I did 30 minutes of Yoga to get my badge.  Along with that was 22 pushups for 22 days for Veteran Suicide awareness that one of my retired Karate instructors started.  I also did 22 bent over dumbbell rows to offset the pushups and five katas.

 

Day two - 6/22

 

Today was 22 pushups and rows again along with five katas and four sets of 15 kettlebell swings with the 35 lb bell.  Today will end with some reading.  I am reading a book by Jim Kwik called Limitless.  I am not too far into it but it seems good.

 

Kata 10/125

Home workout: 2/30

Read: 1/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Shotokan]

Day 3 - June 23

 

Today's workout started off with 22 pushups and 22 bent over dumbbell rows.  After that came 12 dumbbell curls and 12 dumbbell presses.  Four katas and a set of 15 kettlebell swings after each one.  Next came isometric side leg raises, glute bridges and crunches for six reps with a five second hold. The finisher was uneven carries with the 35 and 42 lb bells for three sets of 50 steps.  Some reading will finished off the day.

 

Kata 14/125

Home workout: 3/30

Read: 2/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Shotokan]

Day 4 - June 24

 

Today was almost a day off of training.  Any early start for work and stressful day was going to be my excuse but I ended up getting in two Grokker workouts which made me feel pretty good.  Some reading will end the day.

 

Kata 14/125

Home workout: 4/30

Read: 3/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Shotokan]

Day 5 - June 25

 

Today was filled with good workout intentions but work got in the way.  Even though I had enough activity at work and a good workout throughout the day, I was only able to get two katas done today.  Some reading before bed will finish it up.

 

Kata 16/125

Home workout: 4/30

Read: 4/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Kishi]

Woot! Glad to hear that things are going smoothly over here.

[Shotokan]

Day 6 - June 26

 

More long hours at work kept me from training again but a lot of activity at work kept me moving.

 

Day 7 - June 27

 

Zoom Karate class and it was good.  Lots of kata training and more kata training.  I almost missed it because of work again but I got home just before it started.

 

Day 8 - June 28

 

Mental and pretty much everything rest day but a couple katas get in there.

 

Day 9 - June 29

 

More work and no workout is making me not happy.

 

Day 10 - June 30

 

Another long day of mental draining but some good mobility training and a couple of katas felt pretty good although I my eyes feel like someone is pulling them closed as I type this.

 

Kata 24/125

Home workout: 5/30

Read: 8/25

Blog post: 0/1

 

[Kishi]

FWIW, I get it. I had to pull some long hours recently too and the job definitely got in the way of the work.

 

Take care of yourself now. If it works out to getting some kata and moving heavy stuff, great, but don't hold a need for rest against yourself either.

[Shotokan]

Day 11 - July 1

 

Great Zoom Karate class was the workout of the day.  It was tough with a lot of kata work.

 

Day 12 - July 2

 

All kata work for this workout.  My wife wanted to work on some of the details from class the night before and we got in a pretty good but short workout.

 

Day 13 - July 3

 

Another great Zoom class.  More kata work and a lot of basics.  It wasn't as tough as Wednesday but still a great class.

 

Day 14 - July 4

 

No workout but not exactly a rest day either.

 

Day 15 - July 5

 

Good home workout warm up and then eight katas to finish off the day.  I found out today that the weekly Zoom classes with my Sensei are over.  My club decided that it's time to start training in person again.  They have some safeguards in place to keep students safe but one of my biggest concerns is the park district that hosts our classes is not cleaning between classes.  Even though everyone will have a six to eight foot box to train in, there's a lot of sweat flying around. This will be my first time in 16 years that I am going to miss a full session of Karate. I'm not sure what the future holds but I will keep training at home for now.

 

Kata 45/125

Home workout: 6/30

Read: 13/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Kishi]

You're doing the right thing. I respect how difficult this is; some localities have opened up back here too and some of us have even gone out of state to train with open places.

 

Holding this line is very difficult, and for what it's worth, I salute you for doing so.

[Shotokan]

On 7/11/2020 at 1:49 AM, Kishi said:

You're doing the right thing. I respect how difficult this is; some localities have opened up back here too and some of us have even gone out of state to train with open places.

 

Holding this line is very difficult, and for what it's worth, I salute you for doing so.

If anything good has come about from the current situation, I found that I can look at other ways to still learn new things while being away from the dojo.  Since it looks like my Sensei will not be doing Zoom classes for now, there is a wealth of information available on the internet and and other excellent instructors from far away that are offering Zoom classes from places that are hard to travel to weekly.  I am not sure how much beginners would benefit from virtual training but advanced students with solid fundamentals can learn and improve as long as their mind is open to it. I feel that this is opening up a whole new world of learning by allowing students to go to a seminar or training class that is either cost too much or not be practical for them to travel to.

[Shotokan]

I haven't been keeping track of my training like I should be but I have been working out a lot and getting in some great training sessions.  Katas are coming along nicely and the home workouts are going well too.  I have been training more of what I feel like doing, instead of my structured training, and it seems to be flowing well.

 

Kata 65/125

Home workout: 15/30

Read: 21/25

Blog post: 0/1

[Kishi]

Ooh, free form training. Sounds exciting! Does it tend to have a particular look these days?