Tag: karate

Monday June 8th, 2020

I did do push-ups, sit-ups and squats this morning. During my lunch hour, I called a friend and ran on the treadmill for twenty minutes. After work, I did my second set.

Mondays are my “get going again” days: Saturdays will often include karate and a walk or a run, but I do not do push-ups, sit-ups and squats unless we do them during class. On Sundays, I do try to rest, but rest, admittedly, will often include yard work, laundry, and taking out the trash.

This morning, I wrote in my journal that I was not looking forward to work. Dealing with one of the new folks in our remote office had felt weird last Thursday, and I dreaded picking up that interaction today. I thoroughly documented what I needed to do in order to solve the issue, but I also believed the problem had a straight-forward solution.

Here’s what happened: the documentation helped to bring everyone onto the same page; and the artist in the remote facility turned out to be much easier to deal with, even kind. I think he is new, and just unfamiliar with the workflow. The problem, itself, turned out to be more thorny than I’d expected. By the end of the workday, I felt like I had a working solution, however.

While writing this morning, my mind wandered back to issues we’d run into with organizing the martial arts club. I wrote, “The whole cat-herding aspect of community organizing is tiring.”

Later today, I thought of the Sisterhood at my family’s temple: they are primarily ladies above seventy, along with a couple pre-school mothers and me. Nevertheless, they hold monthly meetings, plan and cook multiple Temple holiday meals, host an annual yard sale and and often raise, during that sale and throughout the year, a good deal of money for the synagogue. Now, you might argue that, because many are retired, they have time than working, middle-aged adults and teens in school. However, they have their issues; our former president is living with a slow growing, incurable cancer. Despite this, she attends meetings regularly and does as much as any other member. The Sisterhood women often care for spouses, or grandchildren, or elderly friends. They are busy. Yet they get so much done.

They inspire me. So, our dojo community is full of smart people and none of us are over seventy or fighting cancer. We can do this.

Saturday, June 6th, 2020

The kids and I participated in karate class last night. Sensei talked briefly about the importance of kihon and the need to continue it; it is the foundation of karate. We also practiced the Ido Geiko drill we learned on Tuesday, and that was fun. S caught on quickly and was super-fast. Sensei asked him and and another fast boy who had mastered the exercise if they were good at math, or liked math. They both did. One of Sensei’s instructors had pointed out to him that kids adept at math often pick up Ido Geiko quickly.

Sensei explained that, when he was a student under the IKO, the teachers would often throw in an Ido Geiko exercise right at the end of promotion. The teacher would give students a series of exercises to do, off the cuff, and they’d have maybe two times to practice it before they were graded. So more like a karate pop quiz. I’m pretty slow at that kind of thing. I do get it, but with lots of practice.

Sensei also covered the difference between hiji ate uchi and hiji ago uchi. A hiji ate elbow strike comes around the body and usually aims for the chin, while hiji ago uchi starts low and rises up. The ending hand positions for these two strikes are clearly different. For chudan (mid-level) hiji ate uchi, as an example, you “post” your elbow forward, with your fist tucked into your chest, whereas for chudan hiji ago uchi, your fist ends near your ear. This is useful information for both kihon and IFK’s third kyu syllabus. Even when I learned third kyu syllabus, I remember struggling to understand the differences between these. Somehow, last night, it clicked.

After Friday night’s class, I ran through all the kata I know. I will need to be able to do the “walk,” or all kata I’ve studied, for the Shodan test. Some of the Pinans were mushed together in my head, so I worked on those. I struggled with Saifa and Tensho. Those were my last promotion kata, too, so I really need to get them down again. I will ask the kids to show those to me. I don’t know if they know Saifa, but they do know Tensho.

This morning, I attended karate by myself. We covered many of the exercises from Friday and Tuesday nights.

Thursday June 4th, 2020

I wonder just how much of the current dojo community politics it is wise to include in this blog. While we are forming, everyone is critical: we have to pull together and I do not want to be a divisive force, whatever my personal experiences may be.

That said, I’ve been fielding complaints, and may need to make a couple phone calls. It takes time and negotiation for everyone to be on the same page. Now I need to defer to what I wrote in the paragraph above and stop.

This does give me an idea, one which is basically already being pursued by other members. At the Temple, the Sisterhood will usually vote, before the start of each meeting, to approve the record of the previous meeting. With the exception of one time, these votes were unanimous and uncontroversial. But on that one exceptional day, the Sisters held a debate, with various members objecting to what was written. The notes were amended, and then approved.

We can do the same: each meeting, including committee meetings, should have notes posted somewhere or emailed out, so that the various persons who participated can read, approve and/or if necessary amend the notes. The notes are important, because they are the record of the decisions made by the group as a whole. Various persons among us are already taking notes and either posting them in a Google document or emailing them out. The next step, then, would be to formalize this with a group approval of the meeting notes.

But exercises: back to my own original intent for this blog, that of keeping me honest and on track for my Shodan test. I did them. In the morning, I did get the Japanese count correct. Doing exercises in the evenings is often more difficult. Shedding the stress of the work day is one component, along with the bedroom, where I exercise, simply being hot.

The kids both went to the dojo today to help Sensei pack up. I’m sad this will be their last summer to hang out at the dojo with Sensei, in that physical location. And what a sorrowful endeavor: packing up the place that had been our spiritual karate home for many years; Sensei was there even longer. He had been a student in that location, and had taken over the dojo as a business from the previous Sensei roughly ten years ago. So, for over a decade, Sensei practiced karate in this place, first as a student, and then as a business owner and Sensei, guiding others along the path. I’m glad the kids could go and help. I hope the experience was good for all of them.

Change is difficult, but inevitable. This one, not enviable.

I need to return to reading the Koran. Going to an older Buddhist text that I read years ago simply puts me back into my comfort zone, which is fine for now. At some point, however, I need to approach a new mountain, and climb it. The Shodan test is as much a spiritual, mental test as it is physical. In Germany, I had a good friend, a student from Egypt, who was both a physicist and a faithful Muslim. She was so kind, also intelligent. She had been born Christian but chose to follow Islam. I don’t expect to convert, but I do want to see with my own heart’s understanding the teachings that cast such a bright light on the world through her. While seeking spiritual guidance, I remember her example.

And yes, for Shodan tests, we’ll have to accommodate changes required by the pandemic to keep everyone healthy. It is not likely I’ll be able to do a ten person Kumite test in August. Sensei had discussed having us do some kind of cardio test: kata in the ocean, or Sanchin practice holding jars of sand, Uechi style. I trust that Sensei and the other Shodans will come up with an appropriate test or set of tests for the three of us. In the mean time, I should do exercises, keep records, read and practice. More frequent meditation would help, too.

Wednesday June 3rd, 2020

I did push-ups, sit-ups and squats this morning, but botched the Japanese count during squats. For push-ups, I did fifty “tricep” style ones on my toes and knuckles on the floor, but remembered to switch to “chest” style for the next ten on the matte, and the last thirty on my knees. For those, I focused on going slower and lower: I struggled with the last few. Since this is my first week back on after a week’s worth of rest, I want to push myself. Evening push-ups are still pretty difficult, particularly in our bedroom. It’s hot and I’m tired after working. For those, my goal is simply to get the numbers in.

I’ve started to read “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones” again. The first time I read it, I lived in Germany as an exchange student. In the evenings, I took a class on Zazen Buddhism, which was taught by my professor for a class on Hinduism. If I remember correctly, he’d recommended that book to me. Each story is a koan, but this time around, they make considerable sense. In one story, an elderly woman supports a monk for twenty years. One day, she sends a young woman to the monk. He resists the young woman’s advances, comparing himself to an old tree on a cold rock in winter, and quips, “No where is there any warmth.” The old woman, angry, burns down the cabin she’d built for him, furious at his lack of compassion for the girl. I’m with the old lady.

During karate class last night, Sensei had us practice a set of alternating blocks with an ending punch. The number of moves was uneven, forcing students to practice the same set of moves on both the left and right sides. This was more of an IKO exercise, according to Sensei.

At the end of class, he had us meditate. He instructed us to envision a peaceful place. I saw Queen’s Bath. Sidi Yu was there: alive, happy, healthy, beautiful. D was there, too. We remarked on how warm the water was, and how beautiful the place: black lava rock surrounded the pool, ringed again by green. Sensei kept us there a full two minutes. My feet started to cramp, so I went up on my toes a couple times. I had not seen that place or that friend in many years.

Tuesday June 2nd, 2020

And another summary

Three of us, a Shodan/Sensei of another style who taught the Kyoku Kids on Saturday morning, a Shodan who’s approaching his second stripe, and me, met with Sensei over Zoom to talk about preserving the community as a club. We asked his guidance in this endeavor, as well as if we could hire him as a consultant.

We convened a second meeting with him and the donor group, and finalized some of the details of hiring him. He offered to guide us through the process of re-forming the dojo community as a club. The three of us envisioned a member-run, non-profit as a likely scenario. Sensei also agreed to continue to teach over Zoom for a period, while we transitioned.

That was a relief. We held a third meeting with the greater dojo community last Sunday, in order to plan the actual forming of the club, create a mission statement and by-laws, put together a roster of teachers, etc. Various members volunteered for tasks in order to formally bring this new incarnation of our community into existence. We now have committees focused on various aspects of the club. My daughter attended, along with our sixteen year old adult Shodan, B, who also teaches. They liked the idea of a youth council that will be analogous to the adult board.

We’re hopeful that by the end of the month, we will exist as a karate club.

As for me, my week of meditation and “rest” is over, though, admittedly, given both the dojo closure and the unrest in Los Angeles, last week was hardly restful.

I will say one thing about the protestors in Los Angeles and across this nation: I have tremendous respect for persons willing to risk both their lives and their health in order to stand for justice. My family is with them in spirit.

However, if we want to have four adults from my household able to vote for candidates who support their causes in November, we have to stay home. We will show our support through donations to good causes and kind words of encouragement to friends who march.

This is my “ku” week, so 90 sit-ups and squats. I’m doing 50 push-ups on my fists and toes on the ground, then 10 the same way on the matte, and adding 30 more on my knees, when I can. I got in my exercises twice yesterday and twice today. Yesterday I also ran for 20 minutes with an additional 10 minutes walking to warm-up and cool down. Today the kids and I attended karate with Sensei over Zoom.

I have been keeping my paper journal daily. New goal: return to posting those daily writes here.

Tuesday May 26th, 2020

Summary Friday to Monday

For the past three days, Friday through Memorial Day, a group of us called each other and other dojo friends. We brainstormed: proposed ideas to each other, vetted and debated each other’s ideas, asked each other’s opinions about how to preserve the dojo community.

We originally debated whether or not we could take over the building. Three people I spoke with had estimates on the rent that more or less correlated. Keeping the building during a pandemic that could potentially drag on, however, made less and less sense. It seemed to make more sense to let the building go, but preserve the community. How to do that?

At the beginning of Friday night’s karate class, Sensei also announced he’d been planning to retire, and the pandemic accelerated his timeline for this. That was another wrinkle: even if the dojo was able to continue without a building, what would we do if Sensei retired?

What do we actually want? We want to keep the dojo community together. Lots of legal entities could be suitable: an LLC, a co-op, a club. The dojo community still needs Sensei. He’s the force that brought us together and, along with karate, binds us together. So we want Sensei. He will retire, so we do need to form a plan for the community to continue after he retires. We need his guidance through that transition.

Short-term, we want to buy time. I also believe that, if we want Sensei’s help in preserving the community, and we want his guidance through this transition, we have to make that possible for him, given all that he currently has to juggle, and we have to make it worth his while.

My first response to the dojo closing was that this was a funding issue, and you solve funding issues with funds. Summer camps are not allowed due to the pandemic. No summer camps meant a significant budget shortfall for the dojo. Families are dropping out due to their own financial issues, which is further squeezing the dojo.

I just started calling dojo people I knew, and felt them out for how they were doing financially. If one or both persons were working, I just asked, “Hey, if we could get some money together to preserve the dojo, can you help?” I asked people to call other people, or often enough, they volunteered to do so.

Everyone I called was kind and up front about their abilities. And we debated: how best to spend whatever money we collect? How can folks help who do not have funds to put in? How do we keep everyone engaged?

We held a Zoom, defined our goals, and made both a short-term and a long term plan. The plan: see if we can hire Sensei as a consultant, and get some kind of organization in place. Quick.

Thursday May 21st, 2020

Yesterday in the afternoon, Sensei sent email saying that the dojo will close June 30th. F, S and I were so sad to read this. S was about five and F seven when they started studying karate at the Y, and we joined the dojo roughly a year or less later. S is fifteen and S twelve, so we’ve been with the dojo about seven years–most of their young lives.

I plan to call the Os, a couple who are a Shodan and Ichi-kyu, for ideas. If a group of us are able to put up money to help fund the dojo for the next month or two, perhaps we could buy time until conditions improve. It is possible real help may from the government or a grant. Perhaps we could figure out a better way to fund the dojo. I don’t know how long we could afford to keep the dojo going or even if Sensei would accept such an offer.

Other small businesses are in the same situation as his. More folks, voters, will realize that we, as a community, must take action if we want to keep these small businesses alive. I’m willing to gamble that help will come if we can hang on long enough.

Sensei has not exactly been getting rich off of the dojo. He often gives children scholarships, or allows families who have lost work to pay for membership through sweat equity. I don’t know how he’d feel about accepting financial help. He has had donors put up scholarship money for students. How would it be different if the dojo members came together to keep the organization afloat?

Also, I’m reaching out to the Os because, like my daughter and me, Mrs. O had planned to test for her Shodan in August.

Wednesday May 20th, 2020

Sometimes the Way isn’t clear. But Lao Tsu says, “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent upon arriving.”

Sensei sent email to the dojo membership saying that, due to the impact of the pandemic, he cannot safely, or in a way that is financially sound, open the dojo and plans to close it permanently.

The grandparents also spoke with us about possibly moving out, but I think we talked them into staying for now. They worried about us feeling limited by their presence.

I did write for ten minutes this morning, but don’t have it in me to post it given what I know now. Yes I exercised–hoping it will keep me sane.

I didn’t know what to say to Sensei. I sent him this picture:

along with the one above. Maybe I should send him the Lao Tsu quote. How to comfort and inspire the one who normally does that for you and many others? How do you teach your teacher peace, particularly when your own heart is a turbulent ocean?

Monday May 18th, 2020

I did push-ups, sit-ups and squats. This is the beginning of my third week on eighties.

Apex, the grey cat, just climbed into my lap. It’s raining; I let the support chair under the trampoline down, hoping it will allow the water to drain. The rain isn’t heavy. I’m not sure that helped.

One of the bags containing Sabrina’s clothes is wet, though it was in a mostly covered area. Later today I will take out her clothes and let them hang dry, just to be on the safe side. Her large sunhat is on top, and that may have actually protected the clothing.

Today I should run, text Jessica and send email to work that I need to shift my hours tomorrow. B will be in a school awards ceremony. It will be interesting to see what format they use: Zoom, YouTube, Google. We plan to watch as a family in the grandparents’ study. They have a large television.

Mondays are more difficult, regarding exercises. Once I get through push-ups, the rest feel more do-able. Starting–that moment of hesitation that I need to get past–feels challenging. Now I try to just start and trust I’ll get through push-ups. For squats, today, I “recognized” each of the next two numbers corresponding to the two next sets while counting the current set. So while I’m counting my “ich” set, I think “Ni -punches, San – regular” as I count. Then while squatting and punching for the “Ni” set, I think “San – regular,” “Shi – punches.” I lost concentration during my last set of punching squats, and executed some sloppy punches, but then pulled it back together.

I am still doing stretches on the book case. My right side is quite sore and far less flexible than my left side. I worry that I may have injured it. It gives me a lot of pain during that stretch now.

I’m running late for work and need to wrap up.

Friday May 15th, 2020

I may have work for at least another two weeks. Our head visual effects supervisor, who also leads our business unit, said everyone will have two weeks’ notice.

Yesterday morning, I thought I would have a lot of data entry to do during my lunch break. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Only about eight parents responded to the email I sent out requesting contact information to hold Religious School over Zoom. I will have to scour my emails and meeting notes for contact information. That will take a while and is a much bigger job than transferring data from email to a spreadsheet.

This morning, I woke up thinking about solutions for this problem. I came up with a few different ideas for how to approach the problem. Later today, I’ll call the Rabbi.

We could email all the classroom Zoom meetings to all the parents for whom I only have email addresses. Or we could setup a “triage” Zoom session for any one not already contacted by their child’s teacher. Based on their child’s age or grade, I’d direct them to the proper Zoom class session.

Another option would be to send out the teachers’ email addresses to the parents, and tell them they have to contact their child’s teacher directly in order to participate.

One thing I know for sure: I am the worst secretary ever: not organized unless I’m forced to be, resentful of tedious tasks and bad with names. If I were not a volunteer, I would be so fired!

Maybe for the fall, I’ll write a PySide widget as a standalone and have people do actual “computer” registration, rather than our usual paper-based registration. The widget could send email to a Temple email address. I’d write a second widget to receive the emails, collate them into a list and generate a spreadsheet. It could also generate a tab-delineated text version that could be imported into any spreadsheet program. But basically, have it all digital up front. I could setup a little database system that is super-simple and compatible with whatever other programs they have, but it could operate all on its own. I can make a table widget, that’s editable, that could display the data, too. And the Temple would own the code itself.

Oh, and I forgot the purpose of this blog: I did do push-ups, sit-ups and squats both yesterday after work, and this morning. I am a responsible karateka; if only I could convince everyone at the Temple to substitute push-ups for, say, challah or sit-ups for all those cookies the Sisterhood provides, or squats instead of watered down grape juice. We could count in Hebrew as we exercise! Then Japanese! Then, because we do live in Southern California, Spanish! We’d be fit, trilingual and versed in Judaism!