$$$

Martial Arts are usually about the cheapest activity one can get involved with, unless you do it my way.

There are many Karate associations that I find I need to be a member of to get access to the training and activities I want. Some are very reasonable, like JKASKD and JKABC. They both charge only $10 a year. I am also a member of Karate BC, which is a heftier $70. Lastly, I am a member in ISKF, which is $40. Per year, my association fees will be $130. Not really bad, considering.

I am also a member of the Sunshine Coast Shotokan Karate Club. It is a bargain at $45 a month. The lion's share of this goes for gym rentals to provide space for two classes a week

Lastly, I've started training in Jiu-Jitsu. This club charges a fair price of $85 per month for two classes a week.

Any more charges? Why yes. Whenever I attend a seminar in Vancouver there is a fee, usually about $25 a day.

The good news is that I no longer pay examination fees, as I do not test any more. I also don't pay tournament participation fees, but sometimes I go watch.

There are also cute uniforms to buy. I seem to wear out one a year. They cost over $200 for the top-notch Tokaido brand. I don't know how long a Judo gi (for Jiu-Jitsu class) will last. They cost about $125.

Am I complaining about the cost? Not at all. I'm bragging about how reasonable it is.

I've done a quick Google lookup on exercise classes and yoga. On average, they seem well above the cost of Karate. Imagine the price of figure skating lessons. How about hockey? Golf at our local, nothing-special golf course is $52.50 a round. Playing there twice a week would cost over $450 per month. That's ten times the Karate Club's fee.

Martial Arts are a great value. Cheap price, good exercise....

...and you learn to thump people.

Stiff

I am enjoying my Jiu-Jitsu class a lot. Like wrestling, it is a very intense workout. The classes are an hour long, which is perfect for an old guy like me. Longer would not be good.

It does seem to use a different set of muscles than anything else I'm currently doing. I know this because of all the little stiff spots this morning. Nothing too bad, but noticeable.

There is only one thing I don't like about the class.

There is nothing like Karate's free sparring, or Judo's randori, or wrestling's mini-matches. Nothing where you just grab each other and go.

This is very old-style traditional in martial arts. This is a bit strange in that this version of Jiu-Jitsu uses a very modern and advanced teaching method.

I like just grabbing and going sometimes. Oh, well.

Choice

I find I'm a little bit torn.

My Karate Club had two classes per week. I enjoy these, but I am not learning anything new. It is practise, exercise, and training, but not learning.

I've started at a Jiu-Jitsu class once a week. It is fun, and I'm learning tons. I can't make both of their weekly sessions, as one conflicts with Karate.

I'm doing 2 Karate and 1 Jiu-Jitsu sessions a week, but I could do 1 Karate and 2 Jiu-Jitsu instead. Unfortunately the nights conflict, or I could do 2 of each. Such is life.

I used to be a High School assistant wrestling coach, but haven't been involved in years. The club ended when the head coach transferred to the neighbouring school.

A small number of kids from my school travel to wrestle at the other school. Today one of them came to me and explained how much they'd like to have a practise once a week at my school. Not a new club, but just so they could travel less. The administration will only let them do this if someone suitable will supervise the sessions. She asked me if I'd do it. I hesitated, but agreed.

Suddenly, I'm a little bit back in the wrestling world. How does this affect my Karate/Jiu-Jitsu dilemma? Jiu-Jitsu is very similar to wrestling. Karate is the opposite. Seems like a no brainer. Jiu-Jitsu should get the nod.

Somehow, I feel like I’m abandoning my Karate friends. This is silly, as I’ll still be there once every week. They don’t need me for anything, as I’m not the teacher.

Still thinking things out.

Don't fall

Imagine two 50 meter distances. One is a straight running track. The other is a ledge 50 meters above the ground.

Somebody steps off the ledge and falls. They hit the ground going about 112 kilometers an hour. The time it takes them to hit is little over 3.1 seconds.

This is a very fast speed, and a very short time to traverse 50 meters, even if it isn't very healthy.

Let's compare how fast a person can fall to how fast a person can run.

The World Record at this distance is 5.56 seconds, set by Canadian Donovan Bailey. Did you catch that? He completed a 50 meter run in under twice the time it takes to fall 50 meters.

I find this remarkable. How can anybody do that?

Testing

It's all about standards.

We have a Blue Belt in our club, who will be permitted to test in a couple of months for his Purple. The examiner will come to town, and most likely our guy will pass.

If I were his examiner, he wouldn't. I'm not saying he's bad, or even that he can't be ready in a couple of months. I am saying that he could be much better. If I were the examiner, I would take him aside now and give him a list of half a dozen things to fix. I would make it clear that failing to fix any one of them would result in a failing grade. Mean? Not at all. I am confident he could repair any of these deficiencies.

A few months ago, one of our Yellow Belts was testing for his Orange. The examiner promoted him past Orange up to Green Belt. If I were his examiner, he would have easily passed, but never gotten a double promotion. He's good but not that good. An equally exciting reward for a promising student can be permission to test for the next belt a little early.

I am also a firm believer in testing without surprises. Our current examiner does not stick closely to the published testing syllabus, which is an examiner's right. In my old association the exams were done to precise specifications. During exams, students used to perform their entire test without direction. They knew precisely what to do. If I were the examiner, I'd stick closely to the requirements.

I used to be my club's examiner. I had the authority to do kids exams, and adult exams in the lower ranks. I have done so many hundreds of times.

Why do I bring this up? When our club started, we joined our current association rather than my old one. Both are wonderful groups, but I am really jealous of the testing system of my old group.

They currently permit trusted club instructors to do exams up as high as Brown Belt. They would have allowed me this authority.

The fear in some associations is that non-centralized exams lower standards.

In my case, it has always raised them without being harder on the students.

By testing my own club members, I was able to let students know exactly where my standards were. They never failed to meet them.

No phony

I'm kinda picky about my Martial Arts. I refuse to support anybody fake. I'm funny that way.

Recently, I tried a class in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. This name is a registered trademark name for the version of Brazilian fighting taught by Rorion Gracie. He is the eldest son of the art's creator, and has a school in California.

How did I know the local club was a real one? Simple. That info is available online. There are all the authorized Belt holders in the world, and academies. Easy so far.

Does this guarantee that the program is decent? Nope, but it does prove that as far as Gracie Headquarters is concerned, the local club is for real.

Next, and perhaps more importantly, what makes this guy good enough to teach? Well, besides being a Blue Belt in Gracie stuff, he's also a Black Belt in Hapkido. I'm not interested in Hapkido, but it does mean the guy is a Black Belt in something. I wouldn't want to take a class from a Blue Belt. That's a pretty low rank.

So off I go to take a free trial class. The head guy was very welcoming. His Hapkido class was running when I went in, and he was wearing his Black Belt. When the class switched to Gracie stuff he switched his belt to Blue. It's his class, and he's a Black Belt, but he still wore the appropriate belt for the activity. What does that show? Honest guy, in my opinion.

He turned out to be a good explainer, demonstrator, and has a lovely teaching manner overall.

Total marks so far? I'll give him an 'A'. Can I learn from this guy? You bet.

Pants on fire...

Let's make a MMA ad for me. Let's make me sound good, but never actually lie. At least not exactly.

"...started wrestling at age 14, and began training in Judo in 1975. Added Karate, earning a Black Belt in 1986, and is currently training in Gracie Ju Jitsu. Is undefeated in MMA competition..."

Should I use this as my write up? There are no lies.

I did start wrestling at age 14 when my junior high school PE class did a unit on wrestling. A week or two later, we moved on to the next unit, and I never wrestled again until I started helping the wrestling coach at the school I teach at about ten years ago.

I also was introduced to Judo in about 1975. My army sergeant made us do it for a few weeks. I stopped as soon as I could, and have never done Judo again.

The Karate part is actually right. Fancy that.

I am also training in Gracie Ju Jitsu. The teacher is authorized to teach the method, and holds a Blue Belt. I've attended a single one-hour class so far.

I am also totally undefeated in MMA competition. I have used the cunning method of never competing. I am also undefeated in heavyweight boxing competition by the same criteria, Masters Tournament Golf. Granted, I've never won, either.

I recently read a fighter's bio that states they train with a former UFC Champion. Looked the teacher up, and it's false. Granted, on the "Champ's" website he doesn't directly claim to being a former champion.

His site says he is the, "UFC24 pay per view Middleweight Fight Champion." There is that Champion word again. He did fight at UFC 24 and he did win a middleweight fight. Champion? UFC doesn't record him as a champion, or his fight as a championship match. Going into that fight, he was 2 wins and 3 losses. His win made him 3-3. Eventually, his career ended with after nine fights. His ending record was 4 wins and 5 losses. I've only ever heard of one guy he's fought, and that guy destroyed him. Is he an experienced MMA fighter? Of course. Was he any kind of champion? Nope.

Does he lie about his record? Kinda. Does it mislead people? Yes. His top student had on her web page that her teacher was a former UFC Champion. I don't think she's lying, but clearly has misunderstood.

I think people need to be prouder of what they actually do, rather than what they haven't. Bald face lies are no worse than bent truths.

...and bald face lies are often much more entertaining.

Learn, baby....

Let's get something straight. I love learning new stuff.

Take martial arts. My thing is Karate, and I'm quite at home and happy there.

Do I stick to the straight and narrow? Nope.

I've taken Tai Chi, Iado, fencing, other Karate styles, and become a wrestling coach.

Right now, I run. I enjoy running, but I don't learn anything. I ride my bike, and that's also not a learning thing either. I'm also in Karate, and although I enjoy the training, there's nothing new. I've been to a few Karate seminars in the last year, and picked up tons. I enjoy that, but they are few and far between.

In the town next to mine, there is a Ju Jitsu club. They are offering a two-week free trial. I contacted the instructor by email, and tomorrow I start my intro period.

Maybe I'll love it, and become a regular. That's the upside. But what is the worst that could happen? Nothing.

One of the big holes in Karate training is that it is definitely a stand-up art. Ju Jitsu sucks as a striking style, but is totally throw-and-wrestle oriented. My wrestling experience makes me feel at home on the ground, but I'm not good at it. This could be a perfect fit. I can only go once per week, which might be perfect for my age.

Old guys need more healing time.

Even ones who are learning new things.

Cold....and wet....

The first half dozen years that a ran, I was a real whimp. I would only run in the spring and summer. I hated running in crappy weather, and so didn't do it.

Over the years, I ran deeper and deeper into the cold, rainy months.

Now, I'm a year-round runner. In July and August, I run 30km per week. The rest of the year I only shoot for 10km, but this is work-exhaustion related and not due to weather.

I hope I can keep it up again this winter. It is nasty that that the older I get, the less I can tolerate crappy weather running.

It's only been cold and wet a couple of run days this month, but already the wet is winter-cold, and not summer-pleasant. I don't mind rain runs in the summer at all.

I live in a lovely place, but grey skies, low clouds, cold weather, and drizzle often go together. It's like running through a mass of grumpy sadness, or maybe its sad grumpiness.

I'll certainly be fine if I stop running when it gets colder, but I don't want to do that. My running is a source of pride. I'll feel bad if I stop.

It's a puzzlement. Run in the cold, and hate it, or quit running and hate the quitting.

The only solution seems to be warm and sunny weather year round.

I wonder who I have to contact to arrange that.

Money Matters

Karate clubs cost money to run. It's sad but true, and it's one of the annoying things about being a Sensei. I always used to hate the money side of things, but I was good at it.

To rent our gyms, our current club needs a minimum of six members. To bring in a big instructor three times a year requires all the fees paid by two more members.

That's eight fee payers, paying for a year, just to break even. This doesn't include anything extra, like equipment, ads, tournaments or the like. It also assumes that the club's own instructor is receiving no honorarium.

It also assumes every member is paying for every month. Some miss training, and so of course do not pay during those months. Often there are students unable to pay the full amount. Our club also has a lower family rate. Great for the family, but it means reduced money for the club.

I figure we're OK, but only just. Our club is also charging the lowest fees around. There is a club nearby charging $115 a month. Within our association a few clubs have their monthly fees online. They charge $115, 65, 40, and 50. Our club charges $40. The other club charging the same as us is one of the biggest groups around. They have tons of money at a low rate by having tons of people. We have a low rate, and just enough members.

It can be annoying for club members. There are the monthly fees, that I've been talking about, and a fee each time one tests, and an annual fee to the association.

For a while, as the Fort Saint John instructor, I had the perfect system.

The fees were pretty low, but had within them a buffer. The fees were not monthly, but collected 3 times a year. The students never paid testing fees, or association fees. The club did. We also had tons of members. I even gave the students their next belt when they passed their tests.

People seemed to really like not being nickled and dimed to death.

How long?

So how long does it take to get a Black Belt?

Well, that would depend on the standards and regulations of the art and association involved.

I can only really speak to what it's like in the kind of Karate I am involved with.

The absolute minimum time would be 3 years. There are mandated time periods between each exam, and that must be time with regular training throughout.

This, of course, assumes passing every test with the minimum allowed training time between. Failed exams mean it would take significantly longer. It also assumes no extended vacations, injuries, or significant other commitments.

It also assumes that exam opportunities are available precisely when the student needs them. Black Belt exams almost never happen when wanted.

Fat chance on all of that. I tested as quickly as possible within the rules. No time missed from training either. I passed all my coloured belt exams, and went for my Black Belt after 3 years and 6 months of training.

Failed that one, passing on my second attempt. This got me Black Belt after a total of 4 years and 1 month.

This is much shorter than most folks, but longer than some.

I figured all this out so I could accurately answer student's questions.

If I hadn't been pressured to progress quickly, I would have taken significantly longer. I bet I would have taken double time on all three levels of Brown Belt. Maybe would have waited a year between Brown and Black.

Other martial arts have significantly different requirements. I have met people with Black Belts assigned by a major international Taekwondo association who had only a little over one year of training. They used to bet pushed around in sparring by the Green Belts.

Other groups insist on significantly more training than my group does.

Black Belt doesn't mean just one thing.

Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts are the big trend these days. You must have seen it on TV. Boxing and kicking and wrestling all at once.

I watch it a lot, and enjoy it immensely. Sadly, like many other things, it sells itself as something it isn’t.

They call it realistic fighting and even sometimes say that THERE ARE NO RULES. Both are false, and both are linked.

Think about boxing. They can’t handle people who kick, or grapple. The reason is obvious. Boxing rules don’t allow kicking or grappling. Only a stupid boxer would train on how to fight with kicking or grappling.

MMA has many, many rules, too. No shoes, pads on hands, padded floor, no wrist or toe locks, no eye or throat strikes...and on and on. Each rule puts restrictions on that the competitors then ignore in training. Of course they do.

In the end, is it really very realistic? Nope. Are there realistic elements? Of course, just as there are in every art.

But let’s get back to the strong parts. MMA people are quite well-rounded, as martial artists go. They have to be able to grapple, both standing and on the ground. They have to be able to both choke, and defend from chokes. Arm bars? Same thing. They have to be able to kick and punch. They must be fast, and strong, and have first-class endurance.

And they must be the toughest people around, because all that stuff hurts.

Karate's turn

I guess I should talk about Karate.

It started long ago on the islands of Okinawa. Some claim there are early links to Chinese arts, but that doesn't really matter.

It was a form of unarmed combat. Some styles claim to have evolved from the aristocratic martial arts of the area, but most people agree that it was a peasant way of fighting. Eventually, Funakoshi started teaching Karate on Japan's main islands, and from there it spread to the world.

It's funny how Karate people, doing a peasant art, tend to identify with Japan's warrior class. The two are definately not related in any way.

In technique, there are definately strengths and weaknesses. Karate people generally have an extreme fear or distaste about fighting on the ground or being grabbed. That is a weakness. The power of the kicks and strikes are a strength.

We Karate people do steal. We copied the uniform from Judo, along with the coloured belts, and idea of the Black Belt.

Karate people also often shamelessly over-estimate what their techniques can do.

We also work on perfecting defensive techniques for attacks nobody would ever use. For example, "If somebody grabs your wrist, you should do so-and-so." Who the heck ever attacks by grabbing somebody's wrist?

It's my martial art of choice, but it ain't perfect.

Judo

The martial arts world owes Judo a lot.

It was the first to become what we would recognize as an organised activity.

The founder was Jigoro Kano. He started training in various Jujitsu styles in 1877 at age 17. I don't know if he wanted to hop around, or if it was just circumstance. His first teacher died in 1880, and his second in 1881. His third lasted longer.

Kano established his own dojo in 1882. This young man, aged 22 with only 5 years of martial arts experience, developed and taught what was soon being called Judo.

So what do we owe him if we are not Judo people? Well, he invented the entire belt rank thing. He also invented the whole martial arts uniform thing. His version is the Judogi, or gi for short. Karate copied the Judogi, and later Taekwondo copied the Karategi. Before Kano's gi, people trained in street clothes.

Nowadays training in street clothes wouldn't be all that weird, but back then it was. I've got a book around here somewhere that is a reprint of one from the early 1900s. The gi didn't come along until about 1907, so in all the photos in this book the Judo people are barefoot and wearing old-man dress pants, and sleeveless undershirts.

Kano also come up with the idea of martial arts competition, and was the Judo would be the first martial art accepted by the Olympics.

I'd love to learn a little Judo.

Ninja

Did you know that the modern view of Ninja stuff as a martial art comes from a chain of two men?

The more famous is Masaaki Hatsumi. He is the guy that came out in the early 1970's and said he was the Grandmaster of 9 schools of martial arts, including 3 schools of Ninja stuff (Ninpo).

He had learned it from the late Toshitsuu Takamatsu over a period of 15 years. Apparently, the two lived about 450km apart, and Hatsumi made the long trip to train regularly.

Does any of this make you sceptical about the validity of Hatsumi’s claim to be a nine time Grandmaster? Mind you, Hatsumi was an experienced martial artist before meeting Takamatsu.

Let’s line things up a little differently. Instead of 15 years to become head of 9 styles, let’s call it 1.5 years to master one style. Let’s make that person be me, an experienced martial artist. Now, let’s put my teacher a 10-15 hour distance away. Heck, let’s make it closer. Keep me in my home, and put my teacher in Los Angeles. I decide to train with him regularly. What would that mean? Let’s have me fly there for one weekend a month.

Will I be the equivalent of 10th Dan skill in 1.5 years? I will have spent 18 weekends with my teacher.

You’ve got to be kidding. Or maybe Hatsumi doesn’t claim to be of that skill level in all 9 arts. I bet he’s just saying he has inherited the claim from various schools. The last student in a style perhaps inherits its head position by being the last man there, regardless of skill level. I can accept this way of seeing things.

Why then, do Hatsumi’s followers take such pride in calling him a 9 times grandmaster? Perhaps it is the kind of advertising that lies without lying. You know, like those products that claim they contain no trans-fats at all, but that are full of fat. It’s not a lie, exactly.

Anyhow, if you’d dropped into Takamatsu’s dojo long ago, you would not have known it was a Ninja art. He dressed like a Samurai to train. Light coloured jacket, dark hakama pants. You’d probable think you’d stumbled upon some kind of Aikido school.

When Hatsumi went public, he changed things a lot. Judo had its own uniform, Karate its own, and Taekwondo its own as well. He wanted a distinctive look. What do you choose to wear when you are the only practitioner of 9 martial arts? He wanted black, but not just a black gi. Several other groups already did that.

He introduced the now famous Ninja look. You know, the black costume, with a black eye-slit mask. He got those split-toed Ninja shoes. Where did he get them from? Not from Tatamatsu. The suit and mask is exactly a Japanese puppeteer costume. They’ve used them for decades, and the outfits are available off-the-rack. They even come with the mask. The boots are a good idea for a climbing around, but they are really just every-day Japanese construction worker footwear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwB4vYTr23g

The problem is people now think Ninjas hundreds of years ago wore those outfits. What do I think real Ninjas wore? I bet it was the most run-of-the mill clothing available. If they were just going to walk down a street, I bet it was the equivalent of a t-shirt, hoody, and a pair of jeans. Blend into the crowd. Maybe even a baseball hat.

I wonder which martial art I should pick on next.

Fatty traps

A good amount of exercise for a work week.

4 workdays should mean 40km on the bike, but I had two extra trips to town, so I've done 60.

My normal weekend goal is a run each day totalling 10km. In a few minutes I'm heading off to do at least 12 all at once.

There were 2 Karate classes, and I missed neither.

Probably sounds like things are going pretty good. Alas, there is also diet.

I like my weight about 175, but this summer it went up 10 pounds or so. Being home reduces the temptation of fabulous restaurant or cruise meals. I am a soda junkie, which doesn't help wherever I am. I also feel obligated to finish off that lovely three pound jar of Costco chocolate raisins. I also picked up a ton of angelic taffy, which I've managed to ignore. Sadly, rediscovered it last night.

My weight is down to 181, which is almost halfway to good, old 175.

Luckily for me Starbucks makes non-fat lattes.

Work is killing me?

Working is bad for my health, or at least my fitness.

In the two summer months, I biked 313km, and ran 521km.

During the work year, I bike to work. This comes out to about 50km per week. I try and run 10km on the weekends. The comparative rate for a week of summer training is 35km on the bike and 58km on foot.

I bike a little more now, but run a heck of a lot less. I run less than one fifth of my summer rate. I ran almost as much every day in the summer as I now run all week.

Just don't have the gas in my tank to keep it up when working.

If I were a man of leisure, I'd stay at my holiday rate.

I averaged about 1.5 Karate classes per week in the summer. Through the year, I go to two per week. That’s pretty close to even.

I eat better at home, in the sense of healthy. I eat a lot of restaurant meals when on holiday, and we spent a week gorging on a cruise. No cruise food at home. Portions get normal sized again. My weight is currently up, but it will start crawling down again. Funny how gaining is fast, but loss is always very slow.

I figure I’ll get slightly less fit, but will still lose weight do to controlled eating.

Always beginning

I was playing with my iPad, using an app called Stumbleupon. You put in a bunch of your interests, and it finds you random things on the internet that kinda match.

It brought me to a page of martial arts quotes. Lots of pseudo-deep, Asian-sounding fluff. Saw one near the bottom of the screen I’ve always liked from somebody I respect.

   It’s just a job.
   Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand.
   I beat people up.
               Muhammad Ali
 
This lead me to scroll down through the fluff. Found one that actually made me think. I don't know who the author is.

   All martial artists are beginners.
   Some of us have just been beginning longer.
               J R West

Story of my Karate career, or what? Started in 1981 as a beginner. Earned my first belt....and the club folded. A new club started the next year, and I was a beginner again.
Each time a student earns a new belt, they start over with a new set of information and Katas to learn. Beginner.
Get to Black Belt. More new stuff to learn. A lot more. One compares oneself to more experienced Black Belts and sees how little one knows. Beginner.

Been a Black Belt for decades. Always more to learn. Different Katas, different versions of known Katas, applications for techniques, new techniques, refereeing courses, coaching courses, first-aid courses...

Expert? Not even close, and I've been a Black Belt for 25 years.

Just an old beginner....

Can you count?

The count is really, really hard.

Nobody understands this, until they have an instructor who doesn't know the tricks. All the great Senseis seem to do it the same way. I can do it, too, but was never taught. Maybe it becomes naturally after years of teaching. I don't know.

Simplified, the instructor counts, and the class performs the technique when the count is heard. For the students, the count represents the transition from motionless to full speed. Therefore, the instructor should insist that nobody move before the count.

It is very different from counting during an exercise, say jumping jacks. Doing jumping jacks the count is done when the jump is over and the hands extend above the head. This is very different.

When an instructor slips from the one to the other, value is lost. If the teacher is doing the technique with the students, they must make a point of not moving before the count. It should be as if the teacher is hearing it at the same moment that the students do. Many get confused and end up counting on the completion of the punch. Wrongo.

There are other parts to a Karate count, too.

Count slowly, and the students should move slowly. Count sharply, and they should move fast. The sound of the count when done quickly doesn't really matter. The students don't hear the word, just the sound.

Even when desiring speed, it is important that the spacing between the counts give the students time to finish the prior technique, and to set for the next. The teacher should not base the spacing of the count on what they think it should be, or at what is suitable for the senior students, but rather on a speed appropriate for the slowest students in the room. Go faster, and the drill is wasted on part of the class.

There is also a trick to turning around. The word for this is mawate. If this is barked out with the same enthusiasm as the count, students won't hear the word until it's too late, and perform another technique. This makes them cautious when they think they might be getting the turn-around command. Bad training. The trick is not to bark out "MAWATE" as a rushed, single syllable bark, but differently. With a totally different voice than the count is given, the first two syllables are given slowly, followed by a barked out last syllable. The students know they are going to turn around, and do it briskly at the end of the word. Sensei says, "ma-wa-TE". It is foolproof. The students won't even be aware you're doing it, but they will not mis-step, or hesitate from fear of mis-stepping.

There are other tricks as well. It's like being a symphony conductor. If you do it well, you can control things perfectly. Unlike a conductor, nobody will notice you doing it.

Pie

So far in 2011 I have run 920 km, and biked 1254. Leaving Horseshoe Bay, the bike mileage would get me through BC, Washington, Oregon, and as far as Red Bluff, California. That's on I5, which is illegal, but you get the idea.

If at Red Bluff I switched to running, I'd have passed Disneyland already, and am halfway from there to San Diego.

I'll be in Mexico soon.

If I'd gone east instead, I'd be over the Rockies, through Alberta and Saskatchewan, and have just gone by Brandon, Manitoba.

It’s only September. If I only bike to work, my bike will crank out another 800 km. If I only run on the weekends, that’s another 150 km wear on the runners. Mexico or Ontario, I believe.

I wonder how many pieces of blackberry pie it will take to fuel that effort.

Friday

It was an interesting class tonight.

Two people had seen the posters, and came by for a look see. Hopefully, they come back.

Tonight there were nine of the old regulars. It was the first night back for several besides me. I guess I shouldn't call them old regulars, as half of them are teenagers.

Back at it.

My style

I've been thinking about what kind of Karate club would suit me best, within reason.

Things should be vibrant, and the people excited. This would require a healthy number of folks. We currently have about a dozen, which is just enough. More would be better, and it's beginner sign-up time. Let's say we get half a dozen new students. My first requirement would be met.

There should be a full rank structure. The presence of senior students takes some of the pressure off the instructor, and also helps both the senior students and the lower people. The higher colour belts love to help the lower, and it forces them to verbalize what they've learned. Great for both groups. We have 3 Blacks Belts, a Brown, a Blue, several Yellows, and several non-beginner Whites. Bring in a few beginners, and we're all set with a dandy rank structure.

We need a good training locale. Last year we were at a school gym right next to my house. I'm hoping we're there again, but if not there are a couple of schools closer to town.

Class time matters to me. I like things as early as possible, which is not what many want. We've been running 6:30 to 8:00, which is a fine compromise. Sensei could set up a kids class prior to this for an hour if she ever chooses to.

I also like different training atmospheres. Don't know if I can make this clear. A typical class is kind of go-go-go-long explanation-go-go-go-long explanation. This if fine, except it isn't perfect for higher students.

I like that kind of class sometimes, but also the no-explanation type as well. In this type, the instructor gives a simple technique to do, say rising block, and gives a count. They cruise around and physically move misaligned arms into correct position. A few quick quiet words, maybe, and the count continues. The teacher is mostly looking at how people perform.

I also sometimes like a totally silent class, or part of a class. People working out alone, or in small groups. People asking for help from the teacher, or anybody they like. The teacher mainly is watching for the group to start running out of steam, and if they do they call the class back into line. If they don't run out of steam, they are left to keep going.

I ask a lot of my Karate club.

Fresh year

Well, the bikes are in the shop. Helen's needs a flat fixed, and mine is there for its start-of-year fix up.

I face another two hundred days of riding to work before summer returns again. My rides are pleasant, usually, and I like my job, normally.

The Karate Club has been doing some recruiting. I am wondering how that all is going. I'll be seeing the crew tomorrow evening. Can't wait.

There are a few missions kicking in. Tomorrow, I'll do my weigh-in on the Wii. It will let me know how two months of power eating have modified things. I'll set a goal, and start the slow grind to meet it.

A new toy I picked up is a Kinnect attachment for my Xbox. It sees what you are doing and uses that as game input. My first 'game' for it is a workout manager. It's vaguely martial arts based, and I'm hoping to use it as an addition to running, biking, and Karate.

That might sound silly, but if other eating and burning stays stable one can lose fat with minor exercise. Burn a lousy hundred calories a day and you'll lose about a pound a month. Keep it up, and it's 12 pounds a year.

September sets the tone for the year. At least for me.