Author: Ash Prime

Bingo! I’ve been very impressed with the effort students have put into Karate Bingo. Many students have completed a full bingo card and a few have completed several. See photo. Great work. I still have plenty of bingo cards available for those who want to continue.

This week I will be giving out weekly training log sheets as seen in the photo. This is a more general training record with recommended activities and space for additional activities along with boxes to fill in details for each day. Students can choose the amount they do and how often. I recommend doing at least a small amount of practice every day. Home practice is essential for higher grades to advance and evidence of this will be required to grade further. While this is a non-grading term, those who wish to advance should be continuously working towards their requirements.

Reminder that mouth guards are now a mandatory requirement for sparring in 9+ class. Those without mouth guards will not be able to participate in sparring.

Halfway through term 3 already!

Please ensure training fees are up to date. 

Mouth guards are required for 9+ students. Those without a mouth guard will be unable to participate in some elements of training. This is a safety issue. Mouth guards must be brought to every class. 

Additionally, please ensure finger and toe nails are cut short and no jewelry is worn in class. 

Bingo! It’s been a good few weeks of Karate Bingo with many students having a go and a few completing their card several times. Great effort all round. This week comes Legendary Karate Bingo. It’s a big one. 

Motivation and Discipline 

Motivation is the spark of desire  to do something. You want to do it or at least like the idea of it.

Discipline is following through and doing what’s required, despite feelings. 

Breaking it down further we have 

external and internal motivation and discipline.

External motivation comes from wanting the reward, your next belt for example. Internal motivation comes from enjoying the actual experience, you enjoy the training, not just the reward. This can fluctuate. Sometimes you have lots of energy and are keen to go. Other times, you are tired or interest is waning and it’s less enticing. You can try to increase motivation by reminding yourself why you like it. Having inspirational material is helpful. Books, movies, games and such can all provide inspiration and motivation. I like to watch karate movies and technical videos, play martial arts video games and read books on karate history. 

External discipline could also be thought of as obedience. You follow instructions or orders for fear of punishment. This can get the job done but can also build a habit based on fear rather than personal drive. Internal discipline however is the willpower to do a thing even when you don’t feel like it to achieve your goal. Maybe you don’t feel like training today, but you know you have to if you want to improve so you just do it. This develops a healthy habit and a stronger mindset that allows you to push through difficult mental or physical feelings that are holding you back. 

Both motivation and discipline and important in martial arts (and anything else you want to achieve) but motivation can be fleeting. It can come and go with changes in mood or energy. This is when discipline is most important. More specifically, internal discipline. There won’t always be someone there telling you what to do. You are responsible for yourself.

It can take time to develop strong internal discipline. It doesn’t just happen. It’s something to work on. A simple method to start is daily routine. Every day at a set time, do  one minute or one set of the thing you want to improve. Set a reminder and just do it. Gradually increase the duration or add variety. In time this will become a habit, just part of your daily routine. You will see results and increased internal discipline. It won’t always be easy. Motivation is still a factor, but when you develop the skill to just do the thing, it becomes easier to bypass the negative feelings. 

Karate Bingo round 1

Well done to everyone who managed to fill in some squares on your bingo card.
Congratulations to those few who completed the entire card:

Harrisville juniors Nellie and Alfie
Ipswich seniors Oliver, Yuki and Mason

Great work. Every little bit of practice we do helps us improve.

On to round 2. Those who completed round 1 have the option to try Super Karate Bingo (pictured) with more squares, set numbers and something extra: zazen.

What is zazen? Zazen means seated meditation, like we do at the beginning and end of class. Simply sitting and breathing. In class we do a very short zazen just to prepare for training and to relax afterwards. Super Karate Bingo asks for five minutes of zazen, several times. This may feel like a long time to sit quietly and do nothing but this is something that everyone can benefit from in our busy lives. To begin, set a timer for five minutes. Sit comfortably on the floor or a chair. Try to keep your back straight. Don’t slouch as this impedes breathing. You can close your eyes or simply gaze downward at the floor. Now just breathe. Deep, relaxed, natural breaths. You will be distracted by thoughts so try to bring your attention back to your breath. That’s it. Just sit and breathe for five minutes. Feel free to go beyond.

This week at Enso Karate:

Karate Bingo!
Don’t forget to bring back your bingo cards and we’ll see how everyone went with round 1. Don’t worry if you didn’t do all or even any of it… Karate Bingo resets each week so you can try again. This is about developing practice habits and improving yourself so just do your best. Those who do complete a card in one week will unlock SUPER KARATE BINGO! More squares! Harder challenges!

Takedown Time!
I will be bringing the mats in for all classes. We will work on break falls (safely falling to the ground), a few takedowns and getting up safely from the ground under pressure. Fun times.

A couple of videos for you all. Firstly, a basic stretching routine, as we do at the end of class. A little longer than usual as I show some variations and hold stretches a bit longer.

https://youtu.be/BU5f0V8ZO00?si=dYBetJabbcbB3lNh

The second video is on kata practice with variations in speed and tension.

1. Slow, relaxed
2. Slow with tension
3. Fast, relaxed
4. Fast with tension
5. Fluid, continuous movement

https://youtu.be/S5EPSdCJxJM?si=dJMJD9sHZ60tB51A

Get ready for KARATE BINGO!

A new incentive to encourage solo training at home. Every week I’ll hand out Karate Bingo cards to everyone. The goal is to fill in every square but even just doing some is good. Use a highlighter or coloured pencil to fill in completed squares and bring it back the following week.

For stretching, follow the basic routine we do at the end of class.
For push ups, squats and lunges, do a set of as many as you can. Feel free to do more sets but only fill in square of each per day.
For kata, choose any kata you know and practice it the set number of times. If you’re still learning a kata, go through the parts you know. Our online videos will help. If you know several kata, cycle through them throughout the week.

You’ll notice each row has stretching, kata, push ups and squats or lunges. A good plan would be to do a whole row each day for five days. The time required is quite minimal and you can easily do these throughout the day. No equipment required. This is a very basic solo training routine that will help develop a habit of practicing at home. You may even find that you want to do more.

Complete the whole card to earn respect and admiration along with leveling up your strength and skill!

👊🏼🥋🔥

Great start to term 3. Good to see everyone keen to get going. Lots of energy.

A gear order will be placed at the end of next week so if you need anything please let me know by end of class next Wednesday.
Mouth guards and gloves are required for 9+ class. Uniforms and kobudo practice weapons are also available to order.

Please ensure term fees are up to date or let me know if you need time to pay.

Thanks.

Preparing for term 3, please familiarize yourself with the following Health and Safety guidelines.

1. Mouth guards. All students in the 8+ class will require a mouth guard for sparring. These can be purchased online or at stores like Rebel Sport and SMAI. Standard contact sport mouth guards come in a variety of prices and levels of protection. Generally, the entry level mouthguards are fine for our purposes. Note that these require fitting at home prior to use. You can purchase your own or place an order with me once classes resume.
2. Fingernails and toenails. Nails must be cut short for class. Long nails are a safety hazard to yourself and your training partners.
3. Jewelry. All jewelry must be removed before class. This includes, rings, necklaces, watches, bracelets and piercings.
4. Gloves. All students in the 8+ class will require their own personal sparring gloves. These can be the basic elastic mits we have been using or standard MMA style open finger gloves. You can purchase your own or place an order with me once classes resume. Shin pads are optional.
5. Hygiene and attire. Please ensure your clothing, sparring gear and self are clean for every class. Deodorant is recommended for teens and adults. Karate-gi (uniforms) are optional but please make sure you wear clothes that are appropriate and that you can move freely. Avoid tight, restrictive shorts.
6. Injuries. Please inform me of any existing injuries before class. Any injuries sustained during class should be reported to me immediately.

A brief overview of our kata, their names explained and some basic concepts within.

The junior kata (forms) are very simple, practicing a short sequence in different directions to introduce stance, defence, attack, changing direction and body awareness. 

Junior kata one

A simple kata to learn front stance (zenkustsu dachi), high defence (jodan age uke) and chasing punch (oi zuki). 

Junior kata two

Building on one, this teaches square stance (shiko dachi) and low sweeping defence (gedan barai). 

Junior kata three

Introduces cat stance (neko ashi dachi) and hammer fist (tetsui ken). 

Kihon kata – basic techniques form

This kata introduces cat stance (neko ashi dachi), front stance (zenkutsu dachi), and square stance (shikodachi). Techniques include redirecting defence (soto uchi uke), high defence (jodan age uke), low sweeping defence (gedan barai), rear hand punch (gyaku zuki) and hook punch (kagi zuki). Several self-defence applications can be found within this sequence. 

Sanchin – Three Battles

Mind, Body, Spirit

This kata develops mental focus, builds a strong body and forges one’s fighting spirit. Working in sanchin dachi (three battles stance), Sanchin includes close range techniques of escaping holds, redirecting attacks, takedowns and powerful strikes. Coordination of breath and movement develops power and resilience. 

Tensho – Turning Palms

Building on Sanchin, Tensho develops relaxed control and redirection of attacks, tactile awareness, multi-directional defence and attack and more. 

Saifa – Smash and Tear

As the name suggests, Saifa is a strong, dynamic kata. Short, close range sequences to end an encounter quickly. 

Rohai – Image of the Heron

Balance, evasion and redirection are key aspects of Rohai. Appearing graceful in movement, it features a flow of techniques that adapt to the response of the opponent. Grappling, takedowns and joint manipulation are included. 

Kusanku – Named for the Chinese martial artist who passed on this form in Okinawa. Also know as Kanku, Kushanku, Kosokun across different schools. 

A long and complex kata featuring  a wide range of stances, strikes, defence, redirection, takedowns, holds and a jump kick! A complete  fighting style in itself. Set as the black belt kata for good reason. This takes a good amount of time to learn and even longer to unlock the applications within.