Posts under ‘Martial Arts’

I posted a picture of two students of the Academy of Okinawan Karate competing in a koshiki (sparring in armor) match last week, and I have the video up now, too:

I’ve since learned the competitors hold their punches to the head back just a bit to cut down on neck injuries and limit the brain [...]

Koshiki Match
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri
The Academy of Okinawan Karate held its Winter Tournament on Saturday. I only managed to capture a few pictures and videos, but I sat on a lot of panels as a judge. That was an interesting experience in itself.
I’m waiting for YouTube to process the first video and I have a [...]

All in all, I’m in good health. I’d like my cardio to improve, but I’m ahead of many people my age and most people my weight. Despite a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure, my blood sugar has been consistently good and my blood pressure has dropped from borderline to just a tick [...]

I’ve finally managed to put the camera to use a little more in the last month or so. Most of it has been event or family photography rather than the creative photography I’ve been intending to do all year, but at least I got out and put my rig to use.
Sometimes my 50mm prime lens [...]

The Main Event!
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.
I attended Throwdown 3 Saturday night, a mixed martial arts event in East Peoria featuring 20 fights. This time I had a seat at a VIP table, putting me just ten or fifteen feet back from the octagon. What a blast!
I took a handful of pics with my cell phone [...]

SanI’ve learned another sai kata called San Cho Sai. It looks like this:

Next week I’ll start picking up some of Daredevil’s fightin’ skills when my school’s Black Belt Club works some Escrima techniques. That should be a lot of fun.

I finished my sparring requirements this evening and I am officially a Nikyu, or second-degree brown belt, in Shuri-ryu Karate.
Next week I’ll start learning a new kata called Bassai Dai, and I’ll be going through several more requirements for my next few stripes as I work toward Ikkyu, or first-degree brown belt. My goal is [...]

The Midget is back in karate with me. Today I ran the class, and we watched one of our brown belts run the kata bassai dai. It’s an advanced kata, and it includes a movement often referred to as “monkey steals the peach.” In the attack team I’m on, it’s my job to attack the [...]

I’m leading our class tomorrow as my Sensei will be at another dojo. As such, I’ve been searching the Intertubes for pointers:

Karate has been quite eventful this summer. Every time I tie on my belt and bow onto the mat, it amazes me how far I’ve come in the two years I’ve been studying.
Earlier this month, my sensei named me Senpai of our dojo. This is loosely translated as senior student, but when used as a [...]