Author: Ash Prime

“A thousand days of training to develop, ten thousand days of training to polish.”

• Miyamoto Musashi

I love this quote. As one of the greatest swordsmen, undefeated in his lifetime, we can put some trust in Musashi’s words.

Think about those numbers. If you were to train every day for almost three years, you would reach 1000 days. If you train just one day per week at class (that’s only 40 classes per year) it will take 25 years to reach 1000 days of training!

How about 10 000 days to polish your skills?… Training every day, this will take 27 years! At this point someone will be highly skilled.

Training one day per week at class…. 250 years! Hmmm…

Now, I’m not saying everyone should train to be the greatest of all time (I know that’s not everyone’s goal) but if you want to even just be quite good at Karate, ponder this message.

If you want to be great at anything, art, music, sport, anything…. frequent, high effort training is essential.

It’s also perfectly ok to just enjoy something and do it for fun with no particular goal, but try to know why you are doing something.

Effort and Consistency

Imagine that your belt and rank are temporary. Why? Because they represent your knowledge and skill level which are not necessarily permanent. What if at the start of every year you reset to white belt and were required to demonstrate your current knowledge and skill to re-acquire your rank? Would you maintain your previous level? Would you could go up a belt or even drop down to a lower rank?

These skills we learn, the knowledge of kata, the physical abilities, strength and fitness, they fade with time. Without constant practice and revision they can be lost. Certainly at times I have forgotten parts of a kata I haven’t practiced for a while. (There’s a lot to remember!) With a brief revision it comes back but it is so easy to lose these things that we work hard to attain.

Achieving a black belt is a great accomplishment. You will always have a black belt but you may not always BE a black belt. This applies to every belt. Effort is a choice. You don’t have to be the best that you can be, but if you want to, it’s up to you to do the work consistently.

Or just have fun… 🤷🏻‍♂️

Helping Our Homies Inc are in need of food donations to assist locals in need.

I will be collecting donations at class this week and next week if you are able to help with a few packets or cans.

Please refer to the list for requested items.

• Jams/Peanut butter/Vegemite etc
• Tea/Coffee/Milo etc
• Packet noodles
• Pasta
• Pasta sauce
• Spaghetti
• Baked beans
• Rice
• Tinned Fruit
• Soup
• Cans of Tuna
• Long life milk
• Weetbix and other cereals

Weekly Training Log

Keeping a record of your training can be very useful. It can be rewarding to see a visual representation of what you did in a week, helping you achieve goals and it can show you areas that you might be neglecting.

Using this table, you can make brief notes on what you do (kata names, number of push-ups, type of cardio…) or just tick the box or write down the duration. Write the date somewhere so you can keep track of your training over time.

Try to do at least one box every day, more if you can.

Kata: Practice kata. Many things you could focus on here. Technique, speed, power, visualization of applications.

Strength: Any strength training such push-ups, squats, lunges, pull-ups or weight training.

Cardio: Any activity that raises your heart rate and gets you breathing heavily. Running, cycling, skating, swimming, sparring, bag work.

Impact: Hitting bags or pads or doing body conditioning.

Stretching: Go through the class stretching routine.

I’ll print some out to bring to class or you can print your own.

Hi all. Class will be on this week despite public holiday.

In general, classes will run on public holidays as long as it’s during school terms.

The Enso Karate Kata Matrix

I’m always looking for new ways to help students achieve their goals. Personally, I find visual guides very helpful for getting a clear picture of information. 

I have created this kata matrix as a checklist for grading kata requirements. Students can easily refer to this guide and tick off the kata they know to ensure they meet their next grading goal. 

For each belt level, all circles need to be ticked off. For black stripe belts, the applications for the highest kata must also be known. 

Over the next few weeks I will be using this guide during class to make note of who will be ready for grading at the end of term 3. Those who I see are ready will receive invitations to test.

There’s no rush to grade. If you don’t know your kata yet, it’s best to hold off until you are very confident with all requirements. 

“There are no styles of karate-do, just varying interpretations of its principles.” Mabuni Kenwa. One of my favourite Karate quotes. There’s always so much discussion and emphasis on “styles” online. Is this style good? What’s the best style for this or that? Has anyone heard of this style?… It wasn’t just Mabuni who had this opinion. They all (the “old masters”) just practiced Karate in a way that suited them. Yes, this could be called their own style, but they didn’t intend to create a style to be exactly copied and named. I’m sure most Karateka are aware of the events surrounding the naming of styles. Humans are still very tribal and love labels so it does make sense that people get into the idea of styles. Personally I don’t subscribe to any particular style of Karate. Initially I trained in a Shito-Ryu dojo. Moving on from there I tried another Shito-Ryu dojo that was very different. Even the same style was different. Is there a better example of style being irrelevant? Since then I let go of style names and just practice Karate. You may see elements that some would call Goju-Ryu or something resembling Kyokushin…. To me it’s all just Karate. If you like naming a style, that’s fine of course, but also consider expanding your practice beyond the confines of said style. My school is named Enso Karate. While I would not label what I do as a style, the name selection was intentional. An enso represents a concept. When the mind is free to let the body create. There should be a freedom in your exploration of Karate. There is no one way to do anything. Be open. 

Hi all.
We are now in week 3.
Thanks to all who are continuing with us. It’s great to see the ongoing commitment. Your support keeps Enso Karate classes going.

Please ensure training fees are up to date or contact me to arrange payment over time.

Thanks.

The junior class will have the opportunity to grade towards the end of this term.
This will see the introduction of the new junior belts.
Each level will be a white belt with a coloured stripe (yellow, orange, red etc).
We also have an option for certificate only grading if they don’t want a belt.
Grading is always optional but it can be a great way to motivate students to practice as it’s always rewarding to receive a new belt and/or certificate.
Their first grading will be very simple. A test of their stances and basic techniques.

We all love push-ups right? Sure we do.
They’re great for your body and you can do them anywhere, any time. They do take some practice in the beginning though.

Here’s a video with some tips as well as regressions (easier versions) and progressions (harder versions) that you can try to see what level is right for you to work on.

I recommend keeping track of your push-up training. Keep a notebook or notes app handy to record your numbers. It’s good to see your progress over time.

Try to do regular push-up practice.
One option is to do one set of as many as you can, every day.
Alternatively, three times a week do three sets with a minute or two rest between them.

Some people find it difficult to be motivated to practice. Building a habit that is just part of your daily routine can really help. Think of the things you just do every day. A set of push-ups takes less time than brushing your teeth! You can set a reminder to go off at a certain time each day. 9am. Push-ups! Go! Maybe you prefer afternoon. Whatever works for you. Improving at anything is a choice. It’s up to you do decide that you want to improve and take the necessary steps.

Do some push-ups!

(Unlisted video. You’ll need this link)

https://youtu.be/gmu3KkYpZvI?si=1NPrgaboIOawXKl4