Paleo in the House

We're doing Robb Wolf's 30 Day Paleo Challenge. So far so good. Only miss my morning cappuccino.
 


Back At It

Well, that was a gap and a half. Shotokan rank exam last weekend. People who tested looked good. Solid basics and kata, good zanshin, focused kumite.

CrossFit has been hard these days. Tuesday's WOD was particularly challenging. As many rounds as possible in seven minutes:

20 lateral jumps over a paralette bar
10 meter crab walk.

I got seven rounds. Others got 12 and a few got more. Phew.

Old Dog, New Tricks

One of the benefits of doing CrossFit is that it opens doors. I've been watching the Shiden'issen Jujutsu group practicing at the Tucson dojo for over a year. They'd wait patiently on the sidelines while the shotokan group trained in the early evening time slot. When we karate people finished, the jujutsu folks would take the floor. It looked so interesting what they did. One evening they'd work with weapons, another night it would be grappling, and just when I thought I recognized a pattern, they'd change it up and do throws and escapes. I was drawn to this martial art but held back.

Many senior karate instructors (though not all; Chris Smaby in Iowa always encouraged people to learn judo too) in the 1970s and 1980s demanded loyalty and discouraged straying from karate training. This message was communicated subtly. One life time to chase one rabbit. How silly this seems on reflection, how utterly political, self-serving, and limiting.

The outstanding new book by Bruce Clayton entitled Shotokan's Secret opened my mind. To study traditional karate MEANS to study other systems. Our Okinawan karate ancestors learned many martial arts. They had to. They were royal body guards in an occupied and completely disarmed kingdom. The skills set I've acquired over the years is good and strong in the striking department, but this is narrow. What if I miss? What if I'm thrown to the ground? I need to learn escapes, throws and counters, principles of leverage, locks, weapons, chokes, basic grappling. Kicks and punches combined with some elementary but practiced jujutsu techniques makes karate more effective, more capable, more rounded.

Me About to Get Choked

I like learning new things and expanding the repertoire of skills and abilities. To stop learning is to stop living. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn jujutsu techniques, especially with Mr. Ryan Maza and his expert group of instructors including Gabriela, "Tuna", Ko-hai, and others. I'm also very grateful that CrossFit helped open a new door by keeping the older version of me moving. Oh yeah, that's me in the early stages of getting choked, thereby creating another opportunity to practice my tap-out skills. Is there an escape from this kind of  predicament?

Grip Strength

Yesterday at the CrossFit Works gym I competed in my first grip strength competition. It was fun and I learned a lot about how to get a stronger grip. Why is a strong grip important?

Because it is useful. From a crossfit perspective, which stresses the value of functional movement, what's more functional than being able to open that jar of pickles, or sauerkraut, or almond butter? Similarly, what if you found yourself needing to hoist yourself out of flood waters, or a burning room and you only have access to a little ledge to hold on to? Likewise, from a shotokan perspective, what if you need to grab the neck of a scoundrel and separate him from his evil intent? A tight grip has many useful purposes.

I have two Captains of Crush grippers, a T (trainer, with about 100 lbs. pull) and a Level 1 (with about 140 lbs.) Here's a quick clip of a slow close on a Level 1. The Vulcan handgrippers that we used in the competition are harder still. Here's Steve Gardener closing some incredible level. There's even an 1800 lb. gripper, shown here. And here's a guy named Dave doing an awesome grip workout in his backyard with a kettlebell, some bricks, and some mountain stones. Finally, in a wonderful testament to the variety of how humans pursue excellence, here is a website devoted to all things grip related.

I want to thank Erin and Tim for the time they took yesterday to run the competition and to answer all my questions. I'm now a stronger fan of grip training.

Essence and Perception

Is Shotokan karate merely a stodgy, quaint, stiff, impractical court dance done in funny white pajamas on expensive wood floors? Has the aloof, tradition-bound, self-evaluating shotokan system been eclipsed by cage fighter-tested Brazilian jujitsu, grappling, and the merit-based systems which UFC champions practice? Or is Shotokan karate a powerful system of self defense? Is it useful, dynamic, effective, evolving? See this article for more on this.

I think the answer to all these questions is yes. There is both an essence of Shotokan karate and a perception of that very same Shotokan karate. The essence for me is three decades of trying to get kihon, kata, and kumite right. It means meeting, befriending, and working with people pursuing versions of the same goals that motivate my training. People ask if I've ever used my karate. I say yes, three times this very week. In the dojo. Will karate save my life in a dark alley confrontation someday? Probably not. Might karate make a marginal difference if I had to defend my wife? Perhaps. Has it enriched my life, made it better? Certainly yes.

Shotokan karate is sometimes perceived as irrelevant, old news, lacking in fighting effectiveness. The remake of The Karate Kid for example employs Jackie Chan's kung fu rather than Okinawan-Japanese karate.

The essence of Shotokan karate has roots in Okinawan unarmed combat. It is made up of approaches to executing strikes and parries with an emphasis on timing and distance and body mechanics. It has been systematized into a body of standardized instruction under its Okinawan then Japanese caretakers from Itosu to Funakoshi to Nishiyama and now to current Brazilian experts like Lyoto Machida. Mr. Machida is a third degree black belt in JKA Shotokan karate. He is featured (see front cover image above) in the latest issue of Shotokan Karate Magazine.

Does this mean the perception of Shotokan karate will change? Not for me or the people who love Shotokan karate, but maybe perceptions will change a bit in the eyes of non-practitioners. Will Shotokan karate be the Rodney Dangerfield of martial arts, not get any respect because it gets whoped in the brawling research laboratories of the UFC, or will it continue to flow on because its essence is true, and beautiful, and dangerous too?

Again, the answer to all these questions is yes.

Rank and Credentials

Credentialism is a term that describes the use of certification to signal job or social status. Some employers for example require a college degree to indicate desirable job skills, like showing up more often than not, the ability to follow directions, and perform tasks. Some credentialism is silly, like requiring it for hair dressers; some is not, like requiring standards for medical degrees. Credentials can be used to restrict supply in some occupations.

Shotokan karate has a reputation of being strict in awarding rank. Pursuing the black belt was a big motivator for me in my early years of training. Shodan and nidan were important for the status these ranks conferred among my karate peers. Now, rank seems like a way to mark training time and progress. After achieving sandan, I am now training to improve my ability to communicate the basics of shotokan to anyone interested in practicing it. Yodan for me is more of an internal goal, a way to mark progress in pursuing the goal of becoming a better coach. I'm in Mr. Koyama's region and Mr. Olivers's dojo now, and pursuing 4th dan is really opening up a dialog between a master, a sensei, and an aging karateka who thinks he might be a good coach some day. And, the black belt holds up my gi pants quite well.

I've always admired my kung fu colleagues. There is no formal, outward indication of rank in kung fu. When I trained briefly in this system, people assessed your kung fu skills by watching you perform kung fu. If you were any good, it was obvious. Didn't need a signal. You saw it in the movements.

Last weekend I attended a two-day intensive Level 1 trainer certification seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona sponsored by CrossFit headquarters. The content covered all basic aspects of this fitness system, in my view, the finest on the planet. We learned the essence of CrossFit's definition of fitness as constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity, that it specializes in non-specialization, seeks broad fitness across all ten areas of physical skills, believes in paleo and zone nutrition, how to perform the nine foundational movements, and lots and lots of other stuff.

We did several challenging workouts. Traditionally, this seminar has its participants do Fran: 21-15-9 thrusters and 21-15-9 pullups, as quickly as possible. Instead, we did a harder version of Fran: 21-15-9 95# thrusters (in 95 degree heat outside) and 21-15-9 burpees in ten minutes or less. Ouch.

Then we took a written test. Some passed this, others did not. Fortunately, I passed. What does this mean? It means I have a certificate that signals I have some understanding of CrossFit and some ability to perform reasonable versions of the basic movements and some elementary knowledge of how to teach them to others. For me it means I have marching orders. I need to work on increasing my work capacity. I can do kipping pullups, but I need to increase the number I can do non-stop. I need to work on doing butterfly pullups, to get my first muscle up, to increase skills in doing the olympic lifts, more workouts done as prescribed. In other words, I need to do common things uncommonly well. I'm a CrossFit whitebelt.

And now I need to give back to my gym, CrossFit Works. Loyalty is valuable for building trust and community. One year ago CrossFit Works proprietors Jen and Carl took me from being out of shape, overweight, and unskilled in the ten domains of fitness and have literally changed my life. Through skilled coaching efforts and time investments from Jen and Carl and their trainers Kate, Bryon, Jenny, Andres, and Mateo, my capacity to move large loads over long distances quickly has increased. Their efforts and personal example probably have lengthened my life. Their efforts and example have most certainly improved my practice of Shotokan far better than I would have been able to practice it without the fitness level acquired via CrossFit. Their efforts and example have most definitely helped me in launching The Freedom and Prosperity Academy.

They've done equivalent things for my wife.

If my newly acquired credential can help them in any way, it will be a good thing. To me being a Level 1 Certified CrossFit trainer means I've gotten closer to being a model client of CrossFit Works. It demonstrates my gratitude and acknowledges a debt owed to my trainers for their sacrifices, support, and coaching.

Fit to Explore

CrossFit conditioning has opened new vistas of shotokan challenges to me. I am so grateful to my son for getting his mother and me involved in CrossFit. It is fantastic.

With new strength comes new opportunities. The kata Chinte (go here to see a  JKA video clip of the kata being performed) has always baffled and intrigued me. What do some of the moves mean, besides the obvious ones like the eye-pokes?

During the next several weeks, I will explore the inner meaning of this kata Chinte and try to improve my performance of it. Thanks CrossFit (and my son!) for enabling new exploration. (Click on the image to the left for a larger version.)

Flexibility and Kata

My CrossFit coach Mateo is stressing flexibility and it is really helping my kata. As my body ages, joints become stiff, muscles and tendons lose range of motion. This can be countered I believe but requires that flexibility be an integral part of training.

Here's a good example of some standard crossfit warm up drills that help increase range of motion. Here's an example of a stretch sequence called dead bug which works the core beautifully. Finally, here is an entire sequence of really good range of motion boosters.

But being bendy needs purpose, and kata is a great purpose. Here is a good example of what flexible kata looks like. I love how Asai Sensei does the double palm heel strike in this wonderful kata. But to see the benefits of real flexibility, watch Asai Sensei, 'the thunderstorm,' in this clip! Inspirational.

Easter Renewal

I attended my first instructors' training session at the main JKA dojo in Phoenix yesterday. I met some great people and learned some new things about karate. For example, I was asked to perform a kata that I liked and I chose Jitte. My habit from Chicago days is to lock down on each technique and exhale loudly. Hhh-ut, contract core, show good kime.

In this region, the emphasis is on more subtle breathing, through the nose rather than the mouth. Not sure which is better right now, but I think it is possible to execute powerful kime using either breathing techniques. I must research this more.

I also learned that there is a kata review session at the main dojo every Saturday morning from 9 to 11am. They go through all 26 shotokan katas! That is great! I will definitely take advantage of this opportunity at least once a month.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Shojiro Koyama, a most remarkable man. He is a gold mine of information on karate and how to teach karate, and he is a true leader in the sense that he brings out a desire to be your best. At one point in the proceedings, he said, "My karate training is my happiness."

What a great thing to say.

Kamae and Good Friday

Kamae is Japanese and in kanji means "base." It refers to the posture of the entire body. But it also connotes the attitude of the being adopting the posture. It is a reflection of the inner state of the person assuming the stance. Proper kamae is an essential ingredient in shotokan. Correct alignment makes timing and distance drills easier to perform. Slouching weakens technique. Nishiyama Sensei used to emphasize "whole body action" and good kamae. He modeled good posture on and off the dojo floor. Training in CrossFit really improves core strength, a key to proper posture.

Today is Good Friday. Over one billion Catholics remember on this day the trial and execution of justice and mercy incarnate. It is the Triduum.

Today provides an opportunity to adopt the attitude of prayer, the kamae of respect for the love of our savior in freeing us for freedom's sake, as St. Paul put it.