Tag: black belt requirements

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!

Friday June 26th, 2020

I slept late today. That felt wonderful.

Sensei came to our home and we did a black belt training workout with both kids and me for about forty five minutes. It was just so nice to see him in person, even though we needed to be cognizant of social distancing. He had us sprint down our street. He timed us and encouraged us to cut our times by one or two seconds during the last three sprints. In total, we sprinted about ten times.

In between about every three sprints, he had us do push-ups, sit-ups and squats in sets of twenty repetitions. I did mine on my knuckles on the pavement, in front of the nearest parked car. He verified that the black belt requirement is sixty knuckle push-ups, or one hundred on your hands and/or knees. So I’m good. I had been pushing beyond that sixty more recently, just in case I needed to get to one hundred.

Sensei also corrected my punching form during squats. I had been imitating a particular move I’d learned a while ago in leaving a fist out, mainly to keep track of which “side” I was currently on for punches. He said to bring the fist all the way back into hikite. This makes the punch more powerful, and makes the twist proceeding the punch happen more naturally. Your uraken shita-uchi is much stronger when you start with your fist pulled back. So I will practice this in the coming week.

We also did karate over Zoom. Sensei had us do nunchuck exercises. They were basic, which the grown-ups among us definitely needed. Then he taught us the beginning of a nunchuck kata. Class was fun!

After class, he spoke with Senpai T and me about the teaching schedule for July.

My husband D and I also walked the bike path in Burbank, and listened to a couple podcasts. I now have shin splints, but I really got in a good workout. Now I should meditate for a bit, read and sleep.

This was an awesome day!

Monday June 15th, 2020

I have not updated this site for a few days. I did do push-ups, sit-ups and squats last Thursday and Friday. Friday evening, we had karate, as well as Saturday morning. Sensei had hoped to have a beach work-out, with appropriate social distancing, but the beaches are not yet open for group activities. He had to cancel it and hold class over Zoom.

The kids, husband and I did go to the beach Saturday afternoon. We tried Will Rogers State Park Beach, but the lot was full and we were unable to stop. We drove on to Point Dume. The kids swam. D and I were cold. A strong, chill breeze kept our ears sore. I wore a towel over my head and pinched the towel closed under my chin to protect my ears.

Once the kids finished swimming, we hiked along the trail. On the way back, we saw seals! Not many, but we could see a cluster on the rocks, close to the shore, from one of the look-out areas.

On Sunday, we had our dojo community planning meeting and managed to agree on a letter to send out. We need to run the letter by Sensei for edits.

I have been keeping the paper journal every day, though finding time to update this site is sometimes challenging. So since this should be the Monday entry, I’ll jump to Monday.

I did push-ups, sit-ups and squats this morning. Sensei posted a black belt training work-out for those of us testing on his Facebook site. He’s suggesting one hundred push-ups, sit-ups and squats. This week, I am still doing ninety. I’ll be at one hundred pretty soon. I do these exercises twice daily, on week days, and presumably, Sensei’s workout is for a day. Hopefully I’m good. This morning I could only do about seventy push-ups on my toes. That’s fifty “tricep-style” on the ground, and twenty “chest” ones on the mat, before I have to go to my knees. I know I’m allowed to do them on my knees, but it makes me feel “less than,” if I cannot do the requirement on my toes.

Senpai H, who tested last year, told me that we only have to do sixty for the black belt test if we do them on our knuckles. I do do them on my knuckles. Sensei likes to mix it up, however. The last time I discussed exercises with him, he’d suggested reaching the point where I could do sixty on my knuckles on the ground. Given we may not be able to do a ten man kumite round, however, or if I end up simply fighting my two children for ten rounds, he will have to make other parts of the Shodan test more difficult, in order to make up for the lack in that area.

He also recommended jump rope intervals for cardio this week, so I did that today instead of jogging. Also included: drilling Sanchin back to back with Tensho, so I practiced those as well. I was rusty on Tensho, but watching a video of Bobby Lowe helped bring it back.

I wrote outside this morning, and, while writing, the squirrels were all over the place. They are in the lemon tree now. I’d never seen them there before. Normally they like the loquat tree.