Author: an Ichi Kyu

I study Kyokushin karate at a dojo in Burbank. I don't yet have permission to say more than this about my dojo. I am also a mother of two, both of whom have studied Kyokushin karate a year longer than I. They are instructors! My husband created the art posted on this site. I have his permission to use it, but he expressly asked me not to credit him as the artist. He's moved on to other styles, and doesn't particularly want a public association with this piece. I love this artwork, personally. And me? I work full time as a cloth and hair simulation artist, as well as a python coder, in the visual effects industry. I have roughly sixteen years experience in film and about four in television. I am 50; I suppose my decision to attempt the black belt test, along with creating this blog, represents my mid-life crisis. Wish me luck!

Thursday July 23rd, 2020

I meditated for ten minutes, under the loquat tree, focusing on a corner with lilies just starting to open, with a sprig of bougainvillea curling around them. The succulents recently planted nearby are doing well. Though I could hear the buzz of a weed-eater off in the distance and the whoosh of cars, the hooting mourning dove sounded closer, and stronger.

We had a visitor: a white and yellow cat, collared with a bell that gave no sound, wandered around from the side of the house. It walked right up to our sliding glass door, and stopped. It looked in at our cat, Bistro, who looked out. I took a picture. Lady Bug, his sister, was there, too, though she is not visible in the photo. The cat then saw me, and spent a good few seconds observing me. Suddenly it turned and scampered back the way it had come. Afterwards, the other cats, indoors, jumped to the windows above the sink, anxious to follow it. I don’t know why it ran away. Perhaps the sent of the other cats, wafting from the open windows, changed its mind?

Moments later, my son came outside. “Mom, Bistro is really scared of something. His tail is all puffed out!”

“We just had a visitor,” I said. I told him about the other cat and showed him the picture.

“That cat looks like a bigger version of Marvin,” he said. Marvin was another visitor we’d had years ago, when S was quite young, like Marvin, whose big ears made him look more like a kitten. S was still in elementary school when Marvin came calling.

To follow up on the opening of the Queen of the Night from yesterday’s entry: we checked on it several times: 9pm, 10pm, midnight, even 4am, and it didn’t open. After I texted Jessica in the morning, she responded with her thoughts: given how it was already drooping a bit, most likely it already opened Tuesday night, so we missed it. So better luck next time! However, I did find come cool time-lapse posts that others have made of this remarkable plant. Here’s a video credited to Brett Flippen as producer:

After a day or two, I should probably move this footnote to yesterday’s entry.

Wednesday July 22nd, 2020

This morning, instead of exercises, I meditated for ten minutes. I sat outside under the loquat tree and tried to focus on natural sounds outdoors. Despite the leaf blower running, I could hear birds and the neighbor’s fountain. However, my mind went everywhere: more changes and cuts at work; concern over this blog since our little martial arts club is unaffiliated, and, though I’m pretty sure I did join the IFK, I only have my daughter’s membership card; fears that the Shodan test will be less meaningful without kumite and in this potentially shortened form; fears that, if I find employment in another industry, the adjustment will be more difficult than expected. When I realize my mind has wondered, I try to find a bird sound or the water, and listen again.

Funny, when I glance over the list of worries above, actually contracting COVID-19 myself, or having a member of my family contract it, doesn’t rate. Why is that? Despite the fact that a good friend and a couple cousins have gotten it, and recovered, the actual threat of the disease feels unreal. My husband keeps a little cheat sheet of the rising national count on a daily basis, which I see, but do not pay much attention to.

Despite the fact that it feels unreal, I act on what I know. In the morning, I still spray down the kitchen counters and frequently touched surfaces, like light switches and refrigerator handle, with a diluted bleach solution. A note taped to the door reminds me and others in my household to wear a mask before answering the door, both to protect us and whoever is dropping off a delivery and ringing the bell. The doorbell, outside and inside door knobs and even the mail box are surfaces I spray with the diluted bleach solution. I take these actions every day. I know that, despite our best efforts, one of us could still contract the disease. Despite this knowledge, I don’t worry about it. I just do what needs to be done.

Other areas of my life could benefit from that treatment: regarding work, I should do my best to look around, and do my best on the job I have, while I have it. It’s not always easy and I don’t always succeed, but that is a good goal. Regarding karate, the same: do what Sensei requires and trust his judgement. He will grant the next rank, or not, depending on how each of us performs during our test. He has given us the requirements and will administer the test. Also, we’ve chosen to continue our karate practice at home, to the best of our abilities, under these circumstances. Our only other option was to stop karate; that option precludes not only a black belt test but also any progress in karate.

My friend Jessica, my “dirt sister,” came over today. Her Queen of the Night started blooming. It only fully blooms at night. We are to check it roughly once an hour tonight to see, and hopefully record its progress. Above, take at peek at where it was at around 5:30pm this evening.

Tuesday, July 19th, 2020

Yesterday and today, I made up for missing exercises last Thursday evening and Friday morning. I did sets in both the morning and evening on Monday, as well as ten sets of two minute jump rope intervals. After doing jump rope, I went over the Ura kata that I need. If you are asked to do, say, Pinan Sono Ichi Ura, this means that, on every other move, you are expected to spin before completing the move. So, using that kata as an example, you’d have to do the initial block, then spin, then do the punch, then spin, then do the next block, spin, next punch, etc. You have to keep up with where you are in the kata and not get dizzy. The little kid in me loves loves loves uras. The grown-up in me has concerns about executing those turns in sneakers.

Sensei also sent email detailing the black belt requirements. Exercises are the least of my worries. We will not be able to fight at all, however. This was not unexpected. He had hoped to surprise us with a visit from a Senpai that we all really love. However, given the current state of the pandemic, it’s just not realistic to think we could spar and not put each other at risk.

This morning I timed my exercises. So here’s where I’m currently at:

sixty knuckle-push-ups, “tricep” style, took about a minute: 55.35. With the additional forty “chest” push-ups: 1 minute 39.19. One hundred squats with alternating punches took 2 minutes, 34.84 seconds. My sit-up routine was more time-consuming: 3 minutes, 14.34 seconds.

For comparison, on June 19th (yes, Juneteenth), I did fifty knuckle-push-ups, “tricep” style, with an additional thirty “chest” push-ups in 1 minute 34.16 seconds. Ninety squats with alternating punches took me 2 minutes and 18 seconds. Sit-ups, and I have in my notes that I did 100 “normal” ones, and not my usual ab routine, took 3 minutes, 22.45 seconds.

So, time-wise, I’m doing more exercises and still in the same ballpark time-wise. That’s good!

Karate over Zoom went well. F taught and Senpai TN monitored the class. F had us do exercises in between kihon sets. Then she held a mini kata demonstration: she highlighted each student and had them do a kata of their choice. She also asked everyone to give feedback on the kata performances. This included two of our members who have autism or learning disabilities. It was so cool to see each of them perform, and do well!

Saturday July 18th, 2020

This morning, Sensei led the 10am karate class over Zoom. He asked F to lead kihon. Actually yesterday, towards the end of our training with him, he told F that he’d like to see her tire everyone out through kihon. So she did. She pushed the class quite hard, with exercises in between movement sets, careful to give us little downtime.

Sensei remarked to another student, without specifying who, “So you want to be treated as an adult? You want to go through the adult shodan test? Your karate, right now, looks more like that of a twelve year old, rather than a fourteen year old. Show me what you can do!”

F thought he was talking to her. She was not aware that, earlier over the Zoom, one of the other students, a junior shodan who is about thirteen, asked to be able to try out for the adult shodan test. This, at least, was what Sensei had understood her to ask. A little later, we found out she’d meant something different. Our youngest adult shodan, at our dojo, was fourteen. So the request of a thirteen year old to take test would not have been a crazy request. Under the IFK, the rule is that a person must be sixteen years of age. When Sensei’s dojo joined the IFK, he and she had to make the case that she had the experience and maturity to be in her rank, and they did.

In any case, F thought Sensei had chastised her. Just yesterday, F told Sensei she wanted to be treated like an adult in relation to the martial arts club. She didn’t like the fact that, when the club came up in conversation, he addressed me and not her. F felt he did not include her. She wants him to include her, and phrased it this way: he treats her like a kid.

So he answered that she was seeking attention, and he wasn’t going to do it. He countered, she needs to find her own validation within, and not seek it from others. He gave her a good lecture on that topic.

Funny, as I listened to him, I thought of how I could apply that advice to my own work-life. Granted, it’s not quite the same when you are an adult in a professional context. Validation and attention are also tied up with money, promotions, and your ability to provide for your family. The stakes are much higher. Also, our society adds whole other layers of complexity in unconscious bias and institutional sexism and racism, if a professional is a woman, a mother or a person of color.

However, as an individual faced with these undercurrents, what do you do? You, also, must find validation within. You know what your education level is, what your own prior work experience is, and how hard you have worked to get to where you are. The obstacles you’ve overcome, the challenges you’ve faced down, the self-doubt and doubt of others that you’d had to stave off: you know these things about yourself. Therefore, like F, you must seek your own validation within. In the face of the storm, the pandemic, the discounting and doubting from others, strive to be unshaken. Know at your core what you are capable of, and what you are. Know you define it.

Given the conversation from yesterday, F decided to prove what she could do. So she kicked an already rigorous kihon up another notch. F exhausted us, and herself, in short order, so much so that Sensei stopped kihon to instruct us in breathing. He then gave F pointers as an instructor: the instructor, in order to be a good leader, cannot overextend her- or himself. “You shouldn’t give what you don’t have,” he put it succinctly. In this breathing exercise, you breathe in and hold your breath. While holding, you tense up your body, push your hands before you slowly, then release your breath.

We think the name for this kind of breathing is “ibari,” but we are not sure of the spelling. I tried to find reference to it in Oyama’s “This is Karate,” and it sounds similar to Nogare breathing, but isn’t quite the same. You use it to gather your strength and focus, if you will. F will check in with Sensei on the spelling. I’ll post a correction when we know for sure.

F modulated her instruction according to Sensei’s advice, and provided time for the grown-ups with our rusty joints to actually perform some of the kicks better, etc. She still pushed us hard. At the end of class, she had us hold stances: both Migi (right) and Hidari (left) Zenkutsu Dachi, and Kiba (horse-riding stance). We held the Zenkutsu Dachis for one minute and the Kiba Dachi for two minutes. This is while our legs are burning from her previously brutal kihon! Also, S, F and I had had that workout with Sensei the day before! So those four minutes felt very long.

At the conclusion of class, Sensei praised F. He praised her for her leadership as well as her physical fitness before the whole class.

After class, Sensei held a brief meeting of the Udancha to go over who would be testing for what. It was my first time to participate in the Udancha. I felt honored. Sensei also gave high praise to my S, and SL, the other highly accomplished junior shodan close to S’s age. That was so nice to hear.

When it was all over, S and I told F, “Hey, Sensei’s remark that someone was working out like a twelve year old? That wasn’t aimed at you.” Hearing this surprised and embarrassed her. Nevertheless, she was our tiger trainer as a result.

Finally, and unfortunately, the kids’ reward for that excellent workout was to help mop the floors. Followed by evening ice cream.

Osu!

Friday July 17th, 2020

Yesterday morning I did do my usual exercises, but I didn’t last night. During my lunch break, I went here:

I donated blood for the first time. This was something I have wanted to do for a long time, but I’ve been below the weight limit for most of my adult life, except when I was pregnant. At my last physical, I realized I was finally slightly over the limit and discussed it with my doctor. She said the need for blood donations now is greater than usual, due to the pandemic. So, after leaving the doctor’s office, I called the Red Cross from my car and finally made an appointment. Yesterday, I kept the appointment.

I had no idea what I was getting into, but many people do it on a regular basis and it saves lives. That’s good enough for me. Though I played the cool cucumber, the intake nurse noted my pulse was slightly elevated. I confessed I’d never donated before. She pricked my finger to check my ability to clot, and assured me, “That’s usually the most painful portion of it! You’ll do fine.”

A gentleman set me up for the actual blood draw. Their needle was no different from the kind used for blood draws for a physical. The time period was longer, and a nurse gave me a “gummy” toy car, enclosed in a glove, to squeeze. R&B played inside the Red Cross van; I watched in amusement as one nurse, the gentleman who set me up, grooved to the music.

I resisted the urge to make vampire jokes.

My husband did receive vampire jokes from me prior, and responded with fainting jokes. He donated blood before, and knows exactly what not to say. And I knew when to stop paying attention to his texts.

I think of the blood donation in the same manner as a kumite match, or karate fight. It will weaken you, but it is also a learning experience that, in the long term, it can make you stronger.

Perhaps, in the case of a blood donation, it is more about mental strength than physical, at least for me. Once the blood draw had actually finished, I was feeling good, and then I saw the bag of blood and thought, “That came from me?” I immediately felt a bit dizzy, then I thought to myself, “Well this is silly–one or two minutes ago, most of that blood had already left my body and I did not feel this way. I feel this way because I looked at that bag. That bag is a good thing–and I am just fine.” The nurse told me when to sit up and I waited to sit up until I was told, and I felt just fine.

I did have the orange juice, and an entire bottle of water. I thought about taking some of the treats, but had brought fruit and nuts in the car, for the specific reason of not needing to take any sweets.

Once the draw is done, you wait for fifteen minutes to make sure you are okay. The nurse who released me instructed me not to exercise for 24 hours, or drink alcohol. So that was it for both my evening and morning exercises, along with that evening glass of wine.

Today, however, the kids and I met Sensei in the Figure 8 Park for a work-out. He had us do two minute runs broken up with kata and exercises. We one set of 20 push-ups, sit-ups and squats. For kata, we first practiced three of the pinans. Roughly in the middle of the workout, we did the sokugis, or the first punching katas. We ended the workout with Gekisai Dai and Sho, and Sensei led. After a couple runs, we simply drank water and socialized.

During the kata drills, Sensei also had us pay attention to how much distance we need for social distancing during the pandemic: he recommends thirty feet, outdoors, when folks are exercising. He instructed S to count it out for himself, since S, who is quite tall, also has large feet.

Tonight, I am teaching and hope to run the IFK upper 17 moves after kihon. I will ask my kohai and co-teacher to run kihon. We will use this video after the break:

Wednesday July 15, 2020

I have been lax in writing in this blog, but not with exercises. I did rest on Sunday, but since Monday, I have managed to get in my usual 60 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats in, as well as the additional 40 push-ups on my knees. Tuesday night, I was the Zoom monitor for karate class, so I did not participate in the actual class. Instead, I gave feedback to students practicing karate, or changed the Zoom spotlight as needed. Today, during our 3:30pm session, I also substituted for my son S while he finished up a Zoom D&D game.

Today and Monday, I went back to the jump rope intervals for cardio. Also on Monday, I reviewed Saifa kata, Tsuki No kata and Bo Sono Ichi. For Saifa, I found a great video:

This video was put up by a Kyokushin dojo in Cape Town, from the look of the poster. This gentleman is great because you can really observe his hand motions. For the life of me, I could not remember how this kata began. It has been over six months, possibly longer, since I practiced it. I felt I needed to re-learn it.

Still reading “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones,” though the stories are a bit odd. I understand there’s a moral, in a way, but the past couple do not necessarily deal with enlightenment, but rather its opposite: a nun has a golden Buddha; she’s so jealous of other statues receiving her incense that she devises a funnel to send her burning incense directly to her statue, and it turns the Buddha’s nose black. In another, a tea master is very particular about the hanging of a basket, and his astute observational skills are tested by a craftsman.

Saturday July 11th, 2020

Last night, over Zoom for karate class, N. was the instructor, but she traded off with DJ. DJ is an adult yellow stripe; she is having surgery next week, so Sensei gave her an opportunity to promote prior to her surgery. She demonstrated her knowledge of kihon, along with N. After kihon, she did the kata walk required for her rank, exercises and syllabus. She had fourth kyu, the one that features shutos, which, in my opinion, is one of the more difficult ones to learn. It simply has more moves. DJ did really well, though she struggled with Tsuki No kata. That one is a bear under normal circumstances, and she had to learn it in a hurry over Zoom. She passed her promotion, however. She is our first adult to promote over Zoom!

This morning, Senpai B, who is our youngest black belt–she earned her adult black belt at age fourteen–led the class. She called on me to teach kihon. I asked if she’d like me to alternate with F and S, since they were present for class. Senpai B approved, so we lead the entire kihon, alternating between us. F and I threw in some instruction where we thought appropriate. I did some instruction for performing ushiro geri that Sensei had given to DJ last night: he instructed us to chamber first, look behind you, perform the kick, draw your leg back quickly to your chamber, then set the foot down. I repeated the instructions, but had trouble keeping my balance! Nevertheless, I slowed the count and instructed folks to follow those steps, and struggled through myself. Senpai M, our Nidan who moved east, had given us similar instructions a while ago.

After kihon, B took back over and taught Pinan Sono San.

When class was finished, F went back inside to work on her English literature class and S stayed outside with me to practice Bo Sono Ichi. Neither S nor I could remember it, so we did a quick run-through of Pinan Sono Ichi Ura. We did well with that, except that we forgot to do blocks instead of punches during part of it.

We googled Bo Sono Ichi and found this very accomplished video of a black belt demonstrating it. Not only did this gentleman do an awesome Bo Sono Ichi, but he had up videos for Ni and San:

From what S and I can tell, this video and the other bo staff kata videos were first posted about nine years ago by members of the South Delta Kyokushin IKO Club. They appear to be re-posted about 2 years ago. In any case, this karateka is awesome and you should check out his other two videos.

S and I watched the other bo staff kata, then returned to this one and watched it at a quarter speed to learn the hand switches. When Sensei had taught this, and to be fair, he’d taught us bo staff katas more than once, he’d had us drill the hand switches. It was fun to do, but it has been several months since we practiced it. However, I need it now for the Shodan test. S caught on very quickly, then critiqued me while I practiced. Finally, once I had it down, he left to play Mindcraft with a friend, and I drilled it until I felt more comfortable with it.

To mix things up a bit, I practiced Pinan Sono Ichi and Ni Uras, then went back to the bo staff to practice some more.

Thursday July 9th, 2020

I sat outside this morning in the front yard to write. F was in an animated discussion in the back yard, by the time I finished my morning exercises. S was up, too, but dozing on the sofa with KKJZ, the local jazz station, playing in the background.

The front yard is so green! The crepe myrtle trees are blooming. The spider lilies are also still blooming, and the grapefruit tree has fruits slightly larger than golf balls hanging on lower branches. Jessica’s succulents look healthy, too.

Exercises: I did them this morning: sixty “tricep” push-ups (fists on the floor and on my toes), and forty “chest” push-ups on the mat, including about twenty still on my toes for those ones. Squats with alternating punches on the even sets of ten, and sit-ups, all done with clean Japanese counts. Evenings are always harder, but I did get in the sixty “chest” push-ups on my knuckles on the floor, with forty “tricep” ones on the mat, though most of that last forty was on my knees. I also did squats with alternating punches, and 100 lower-ab exercises, so mostly dutchmen and leg-lifts, with some toe-touches and diagonals sprinkled in there. What’s even better: no weird pains in the backs of my thighs or shoulders. Yay me!

I should write up a page on how to start a home exercise regimen like this. I have been doing exercises like this since I started taking karate classes. My plan to test for a shodan, however, inspired the regular daily home regimen.

Starting out, however, someone who isn’t training regularly may have no idea of how many repetitions he or she can do, so that’s where to start: figure that out first. How? Set a timer for two minutes, and do as many of the exercises as one can for that time span. Count the number of push-ups and write it down. Then reset the timer, and see how many squats one can do in two minutes, and how many sit-ups one can do. That’s basically six minutes total of exercises–not an intimidating number at all. Take those numbers, and do that many every day, for 5 days. Do it once in the morning, and once in the evening. Now we’re at a twelve minute commitment total, but broken up over the day.

Of course, taking at least a minute or two to stretch between those two minute sets is smart. Realistically speaking, those six minutes will take closer to ten or fifteen, depending on how much stretching or rest a person needs between sets. Not letting the total time exceed fifteen minutes is important, however. The less time total one spends–say twelve minutes–the more likely a person will be able to stick to the regimen.

For push-ups, I may need to take a photo or sketch a diagram of what a tricep push-up is like as opposed to a chest push-up. Also, Sensei says it is very important not to go too deep and end up with a rotator cuff injury. So I should have pictures showing what’s fine and what’s too deep.

You do the regimen two times a day, five days a week, for three weeks. On day 5 of the third week, in the morning, time yourself for the exercises only. See if you are completing your original number faster. Hopefully what took you two minutes to do starting out will take less time. Even if it is 5 seconds less, that’s still good.

Finally, after you has been able to stick to the work out for 5 days a week, for three weeks, you meditate for that twelve minutes during the fourth week, twice a day. Meditation, besides being good for you, will “hold” that spot in your day.

Depending on your health and ambition, for the next 3 weeks, you add repetitions. If you could only do 5 comfortably, maybe add 2 to 5. If you’re dong 20 comfortably, try adding 10.

Wednesday July 8th, 2020

I worried about doing exercises this morning because I’d experienced some pain in my left back shoulder blade and shoulder area last night. This morning, it was better and I was able to do all the exercises. In general, I should try to slow down and not rush through the exercises; if something hurts, then I need to modify what I do or do different exercises.

Since I’d had pains in one thigh last week, and last Monday’s treadmill run did not cause any new pain, I decided to stick with that and avoid jump rope intervals. Mentally, it was a bit of a challenge because I was watching the time go by pretty intently. A good podcast can help, but those commercial breaks are always an excuse for me to look at the time I’ve already jogged and mentally calculate how much time I have left. That is something I’m not proud of.

Last night, Sensei taught karate class over Zoom! A group of us had a small meeting with him after class to talk about promotion, since he’d suggested to a few students that they are ready to promote. For two adults in our group, he felt strongly that they should promote to green, which is the beginning of the advanced level. It would be good for the club, since they could then help teach. He suggested the club hold a promotion soon, particularly to reward the kids for sticking with karate during this pandemic. We are not sure how to pull that off, at the moment. TF suggested compiling a list of everyone’s current rank, and the last time they tested. Then, we can go over that list with Sensei and discuss who is ready.

We also discussed reaching out to a family that recently moved to the East Coast. Three of them studied karate with us for years, and we’re hoping to have them participate with us over Zoom. F has been in touch with the daughter, also an ichi kyu, who chose to set aside her junior shodan in favor of her adult rank.

The class was fun: Sensei went over the nunchuck kata again. SL, one of the junior shodans, also demonstrated a different nunchuck kata that he learned. He is one impressive kid.

This morning, while writing outside, I wrote this: it’s so pleasant–cool breeze, sunny but I’m in the shade; birds are singing, squirrels chirping and mosquitos buzzing. Mosquitos? Out this early? They’re the little “tiger” ones, new to this area.

Tonight, I admit, I did not do exercises. Instead, TF put together a kata study group that included the two yellow belts promoting to green, her and me. We drilled Tsuki No Kata together. It is one of the longer and more difficult kata. Once you get it down, though, it’s very cool. It focuses, at least in the beginning, on stances (kiba, sanchin, zenkutsu dachi) and emphasizes both reverse and straight punches (gyaku tsuki and oi tsuki). Lower-ranking kata will tend to have more mirrored moves and more straight punches, in contrast, and they follow a more clear pattern. This kata also starts from standing meditation, another mark of more advanced kata.

There are two versions on-line that actually look like the same performer, though one version is pretty blurry. I’m posting the more clear one, though I think we actually watched the other while we practiced.

We practiced this kata together over Zoom for roughly an hour and a half. At the end of it, I was pretty tired. I did a few push-ups, and rushed, despite planning not to rush through exercises. D came outside to check on me. I did not do squats or push-ups. It was after 9pm, and I was pretty tired. But I felt good after practicing the kata with friends. Also, kata practice is a good work-out by itself, so it’s an acceptable substitute for evening exercises.

Monday July 6th, 2020

This is my second week of one hundred repetitions for my daily exercises.

At work, a friend had told me about a comic character called “One Punch Man,” who really does seem inspired by Masutatsu Oyama’s karate teachings. In theory, One Punch Man claims to have gotten his super powers by doing one hundred push-ups, sit-ups and squats, plus running for 10 km a day, for roughly a year and a half. That comes up if you just Google “One Punch Man,” under “how did One Punch Man get his powers?”

Here’s a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Punch_Man

Though my requirement for push-ups is technically sixty, given that everything else is one hundred, I’m trying to get in a hundred, even if I have to do forty on my knees. If I were not doing push-ups on my fists, the requirement would be one hundred. H, who promoted to shodan last year, did do one hundred and advised me to go with doing push-ups on my fists.

I did do exercises before work and after work. That went well in the morning, though I did not leave myself enough time to do my usual ten minute write. Evening exercises were a different matter. My back-right thigh is still stinging some, so I did squats without alternating punches. I did try to work in some punches around fifty repetitions, and it just hurt. Most likely, the hip-twist I do while punching at the top of the squat is somehow messing with that sore muscle.

During my lunch break, I jogged for twenty minutes on the treadmill, with a warm-up and cool down. I am hoping that, on Wednesday, I’ll be up for jump rope intervals again, but not today.

Work is also worrying, given the lack of work at work. As I mentioned earlier, my company does visual effects for live action, which is not happening at the moment.

I was also saddened to learn on Sunday that one of my cousins unexpectedly lost her younger sister. She had the burden of informing her father and the rest of the family of their loss. These kinds of events remind us to be grateful for the family and friends we have and for our own health.

On a lighter note, one of the stories in “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones” reads like a joke. Soyen Shaku, the first Zen Master to teach in the United States, would take a nap every afternoon. This is according to his students in Japan.

One day, they asked him about it. He said, “I go to Dreamland to meet the old sages, just as Confucius did.”

One hot afternoon, the students, children at that time, also took a nap. Shaku scolded them upon finding them sleeping. The children answered, “We went to Dreamland to meet the old sages, just as Confucius did.”

“What was the message from those sages?” asked Shaku.

“We asked them if our schoolmaster came every afternoon to meet them, and they said they’d never seen any such fellow!” answered one wise child.