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Found via Mario McKenna’s blog.

The director of the school, Shihan Joseph Walker, and myself

The black stripe down the center of the belt signifies the next step is Shodan, or black belt. This means I’m done testing for rank for a while, and it’s up to me to keep going to class, refining my technique, and helping other students until the big test comes.

Ten years ago, I never would have imagined I’d come this far. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m in the best shape I’ve been in since I was 19. (Yeah, I still cringe when I see pictures of myself in a gi or running kata, but I’m working on that, too.) I’m very fortunate to have found a school of this caliber so close to home, one that offers equal measures of instruction and inspiration.

Now I’m going to go cut that obnoxious white label off my snazzy new belt.

Anyway. Here’s what you missed last week:

Sensei Miller breaks three boards with an empi strike

My instructor demonstrated a break at the end of the basic class, and he broke three boards with an elbow strike. He actually started from a standing position and dropped his elbow onto the boards. These are 10×12″ pine boards, 1″ thick. Not easy to break, necessarily, but safer than things like bricks, patio blocks, and coconuts.

I used a 50mm prime lens so I wouldn’t have to mess with flash. I got a little bit of motion blur, and next time I may try setting my own shutter speed to try to get a little more. There’s a fine line between capturing the subject in focus and getting the blur of the action.

Break day itself was successful, though, and you can see more pictures here. You can see me holding boards for some of our students, and you’ll find my break, a basic stomp kick where I broke three boards. Next time I’ll try three with a hammer fist or elbow, not sure which yet.

Now I’m going to get some much-needed sleep.

Wa-taaaahhh!

Running kata in sand was very different from the carpet, mats, or even grass I’m used to. I expected the sands to shift beneath my feet, but I didn’t realize the surface would be different every single time I ran a kata. One step would be fairly solid, the next would be wet mush. I’d plant my foot in a mound to get a good footing, then I’d jump and land in a hole left from a previous kata. It was challenging and a tough workout, but it was also a lot of fun.

Throwin' Down

After kata, we ran our wazas, which are sets of prearranged responses to attacks. The sand didn’t make as much of a difference there, only landing on sand after a throw or fall isn’t quite as soft as you’d expect. Slapping is a little more like hitting water, where if you hit it too fast it doesn’t quite yield right away and you get a bit of a sting.

On the last day we took things a bit farther. We visited a different beach, and we got right down into the water. We ran kata with waves crashing down around us, then again went on to our wazas and even added sparring to the agenda.

Plowing through the sand for a double punch

Kata in the sand then felt like practice for kata in the ocean. The currents pushed and pulled as we moved, and oftentimes the undertow would wash the sand out from under our feet. One moment I’d have firm footing to execute a kick, the next I have to hurry up and move before I lost my footing completely and fell over.

And yes, we did get smoked once. We were standing there running kata at one point and a seven-foot wave came rushing in at us. We braced ourselves as best we could, but it knocked us right on our asses. The Wife was laughing too hard to catch all of the action, but you can see the aftermath here.

Finish him!

Sparring on the beach was also a lot of fun. We had to time our attacks with the current, we had to keep moving in the shifting sands, and we used our environment by throwing water at one another for distraction. I never did get close enough to my opponent to try to sweep him, but we traded blows and I came out the winner.

Many martial artists recommend practicing in a variety of environments, and I’d like to recommend sand and water become a priority. I’ve run kata in pools at various depths in the past, but the beach was a whole new experience. On the physical side, it engages several more muscles to retain balance and execute technique. On the mental side, it requires a lot of focus to anticipate shifting surfaces and time movements with the current. A beach may not be convenient for many people, but if the opportunity should present itself, don’t let it slip away!

As an aside, be glad I can’t push scents out to you through the Internet. A karateka’s belt is supposed to retain the blood, sweat, and dirt of his practice, so we never wash our belts. I dried my belt in the sun, but the ocean has given it a rather unique funk and an almost greasy feel. I’m told it will fade in a couple of weeks, but I feel sorry for the next person I roll in a Judo match with.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to afford a return to Hawai’i, but when it happens, I’m sure I’ll be right back on the beach. I can’t wait.

Karateka on the beach

A total of 13 of us went to Hawai’i together, and as it was organized by our karate school and the majority of us were karate students, I thought this would make a great entry for the collection. Not so much for it’s photographic value, but for its sentimental value.

This was shot on the beach near the Outrigger Keahou hotel in Kona, Hawai’i. We worked out  here every morning at 6am, with the exception of the last day where we went down to the Magic Sands beach and got down into the surf.

Elvis no esta muerto.

Meet Chris. He trains at the same dojo I do, and he’s probably the most enthusiastic student on the mat. He loves karate, he loves Elvis, and he always brightens up the dojo with his spirit.

Chris also has Down’s syndrome, and he has a hard time learning new things. However, he more than makes up for it in determination and effort. He’s busted his butt to earn that yellow belt and those stripes, and he asks us every day what he needs to do to earn that last stripe and that next belt. He’s a good reminder that hard work pays off. When he doesn’t earn his stripe during review, he doesn’t get discouraged. He’s disappointed, sure, but he just shows up for the next class and works even harder. He asks for extra help, and he applies what he’s learned as best he can.

Progress is a result of effort, not time.

A lot of people could learn from his example.

I didn’t take near as many pictures as planned because I was running the slideshow and helping with the video presentations, but I made sure to grab a few photos of the Kamiza.

The left side of the Kamiza display

The kamiza is the highest seat in the room, often the north wall. In a martial arts dojo there is often a Kamidana Shinto shrine placed on the kamiza, and it’s the wall we bow to upon entering the dojo. In the Academy of Okinawan Karate dojo, a cross replaces the kamidana and students are encouraged to bow to what they believe in.

The right side of the Kamiza dispaly

When a student is promoted to black belt, the school holds a kamiza ceremony where they formally join the other yudansha in the top spot in the dojo. The new black belt brings a bottle of sake to share with the other members of the ceremony, and Shihan keeps the bottle for use in future ceremonies to represent the other black belts. The bottles were set up at the banquet hall to represent the school’s history, and the legacy Shihan has created so far in promoting 40 black belts in the school’s 40 years of operation.

The weekend went very well, and Peoria’s Journal Star ran a nice article congratulating Shihan on his 50 years in the martial arts. The banquet was followed by a selection of seminars on Sunday afternoon, and by all accounts everyone had a great time.

I feel fortunate to be part of such a great school, and while I intend to celebrate earning my Ikkyu (first degree brown belt) rank very soon, I look forward to the day I’ll earn the right to add my own sake bottle to Shihan’s collection.

It started with a crashed server at work. It took a turn for the better this evening when I burned through two more steps of my karate review process, leaving me only sparring and ju ju undo to complete to earn Ikkyu, or first-degree brown belt.

Then it ramped up again when I got some good news from Evileye Books, which I hope to share with you in the coming weeks. It means more work, but that’s a good thing.

Now I’m all amped up and need to burn off some energy.

A belated song of the day:

I can’t believe it’s May already.

I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday this week. I blink and another day is gone.

I have another book to write, two more short stories to write, and I’m developing one webcomic and planning another. I’m practicing to make Ikkyu (first degree brown belt) in karate and am trying to pump up my home workouts in general. And oh yeah, there’s that family I like to hang out with.

I feel like a shark: I can’t stop moving. If I stop, nothing gets done and everything’s behind me.

The song of the day:

Mr David performs the Go Pei Sho kata

Tonight the school’s newest black belt, Mr Jason David, was the featured graduate. He performed three times, demonstrating an empty hand kata, a kobudo (weapons) kata, and put on a board breaking demonstration.

I cranked up the ISO to help freeze the action a bit, so there’s a bit more noise in the photos than I’d otherwise like, but I feel like I’m really starting to get then hang of focusing with my 50mm prime lens and taking advantage of the available light rather than fumbling with a flash and trying to time shots.

You can find the rest of the tonight’s pics in the complete graduation set, including more pics of Mr David performing a sai kata and breaking some boards (or, more accurately, allowing a third-degree black belt to break boards on him).