Team Ryouko Rocks!

Mark and I had the pleasure of training yesterday for four hours (!) with Team Ryouko. This is a group of extreme martial art/acrobatic/breakdancers from Toronto. You can check them out on YouTube to see what they are all about - their backflips, flying kicks and weapon demos are amazing and extremely intimidating.

We went to Brockville to watch their seminar but decided once we got there to participate. Thank goodness that we did! We did four seminars with them: Acrobatics, Breakdancing, Trick Kicks and Bo Staff. Each one was awesome. These guys were able to completely break the moves down into (somewhat) easily learnable parts so that we could attempt everything.

Not only did we come away with some incredible routines and great tips for making our demos better, but we learned some great new strengthening exercises to incorporate into our classes.

At the end of the seminar Team Ryouko put on a demonstration for us that was fabulous! We are incredibly grateful to Val from Thousand Islands Martial Arts for bringing Team Ryouko to Brockville. We hope they come back again - this is a seminar that we would encourage everyone to go to and one that we will definitely not miss!

Great Friends, Great Day

Surrounded by great friends, there was no way that today would not have been a success. The tournament was well attended and everyone was in such high spirits that the time flew by. The kids were amazing, everyone did their very best and they received medals that reflected that. I was especially impressed by their etiquette. We had been practicing tournament etiquette for a few weeks now and they remembered every bow and thank you. They waited patiently for their division and they all left with a smile. They beat on the Red Man suit (which turned out to be a black suit, oh well!) with all their hearts and they all earned a first place certificate for doing so!
We were so grateful for all of the help we had. Our judges were fantastic, thank you so much Sensei Bruce, Sensei Niki, Sensei Missy, Sensei Rebekah and Sempai Tyler for handling the kumite ring. Thanks also goes out to Sensei Cathy, Sensei Ingrid and Sempai Lee for judging both the kata divisions and the self defense portions. Our scorekeepers were amazing, even managing to squeeze in a couple of late participants, thank you to Mike and Tom at Ring 1 and Mike and Ralph at Ring 2. A special thank you to our kids who also helped; to Brenden for taking pictures and videotaping and for jumping in to corner judge when needed and to Cassie and Colton for handling the snack table with such efficiency. A HUGE thank you to the Streekstras, Andy and Chris. Andy, who supplied and wore the Red Man Suit (for three hours!!!) and to Chris, who handled the long lineups of eager combattants, while doling out certificates.
This tournament couldn't have happened without all of the help from such great friends. We are grateful for each and everyone of you! Can't wait to do it all again!

The Energy is Coming Back

The energy in the club felt great last night. The kids are all hyped up about the tournament this Saturday and the adult class by Sensei B had everyone sweating like crazy and smiling the same.
It is so amazing to see the kids coming in asking about extra dojo time to work on stuff. That's the excitement they need and it is what will make them better martial artists. If they just come in twice a week to take their class and leave, never thinking about karate again until they come back a few days later, they will get stale, bored and probably start thinking about quitting. Gradings are few and far between for kids so tournaments, seminars and demonstrations keep them motivated to work hard and learn quickly. It will be amazing to watch them this Saturday and to see their hard work paying off!
The adult class last night was fast paced, focussing on good, strong technique and low stances. A little memory work was involved with doing kata backwards and mirror image which we haven't done in a while. Practicing kata like this is such a challenge for the mind. It can make you extremely frustrated yet it is so much fun! It certainly makes you focus! The drills were awesome and we even had a little bit of bunkai thrown in. It was a super class! I noticed a few people thanking Sensei B for the class and that is very good to do. Especially if you thought it was one of your favourite classes, go and tell the Sensei. It is nice for them to hear and you might find they do more classes like that if they know that everyone enjoyed themselves. Muscles should all be a little sore today, what a great feeling!

A Very Productive Morning

This morning the focus in class was on preparation for the tournament which is going to happen next Saturday on September 20th. The three hours we trained today was extremely well spent. We worked on self defense, kata, sparring and the etiquette involved in all of it. We worked on what to do if you win and more importantly, what to do if you lose.
The kids were all amazing. They developed incredible self defense sets and they worked on them continually, without fooling around, for hours. They practiced their kata with great focus(they can almost get up in front of everyone without hardly a giggle now). We even have a new student (who has only been taking classes for one week) signed up for both kata and self defense. Very impressive!
When we returned home, Niki and Michelle from the Sharbot Lake Karate Club stopped by with more registrants for the tournament. They will have a lot of kids there. We are filling up the divisions nicely. So far the biggest division is the white/yellow belt division for kids under 9. So anyone in that one had better practice, practice, practice!!!

Now it's my turn

In preparing for my latest grading I had a huge help. Well, actually, it was a huge help-er. My uke, Veronica, practiced with me for hours on end and basically knew all of my self defense sets, pressure point demonstrations and bunkai just as well as I did. (Somedays she knew them better than me!) Well, now the tables are turned.
Now it is my turn to be an uke. But it's not Veronica who is now throwing me around. It's her younger sister, Rebekah. Gotta love indirect payback.
We have a lot of work to do before she is ready to grade but with all of the stuff still fresh in my mind, I hope to be a big help. And it's kinda nice to be thrown around for a bit. Especially when I look over in the mirror and see that brand new belt around my waist. It's still not quite broken in yet but it shouldn't take long at this rate. Go Rebekah!!

New Belt!

Last night we received our new belts and certificates. It seemed very surreal. We hadn't been the recipient of a new belt in over four years. Although we've watched many people receive their belts since then, it felt very strange to be on the other side.
I made the mistake of sucking in my stomach to allow Sensei's hands to reach around me better to tie my belt. Of course then it was tied way too tight. Smiling through the pictures was tricky as I was fighting for every breath. I remember back when it felt like I was grading all the time that I would actually stick out my stomach as the belt was being tied on so that it wouldn't be pulled too tight. Ah, the things we forget.
Our new belts are beautiful. Mine is on display right now on the buffet in our dining room. Not exactly an appropriate place but Mark's just happy that I've finally taken it off.

Tournament Time!

Now that our grading is over and we have relaxed for a few days, Mark and I are heavy into planning a tournament for our club. Tournaments are fun and exciting and for a lot of the students at our club, they will be a brand new experience. We both know that your first tournament is also very stressful. Not knowing what to expect can be very scary. I know that the first tournament I entered I had originally just planned on watching. One of my Senseis told me I should enter and I was very glad that I did.
This tournament will be a small one with only a couple of other clubs coming. It will be a good chance for everyone to try competing and to realize how much fun this part of their training can be. We will also have a few weeks to focus some classes at the club on the proper etiquette for tournaments. (In karate, there is always etiquette to be followed!)
There is still lots of preparation to do and more volunteers to find but we are focused on making this a great experience for everybody!