Back At It

Well, that was a gap and a half. Shotokan rank exam last weekend. People who tested looked good. Solid basics and kata, good zanshin, focused kumite.

CrossFit has been hard these days. Tuesday's WOD was particularly challenging. As many rounds as possible in seven minutes:

20 lateral jumps over a paralette bar
10 meter crab walk.

I got seven rounds. Others got 12 and a few got more. Phew.

Old Dog, New Tricks

One of the benefits of doing CrossFit is that it opens doors. I've been watching the Shiden'issen Jujutsu group practicing at the Tucson dojo for over a year. They'd wait patiently on the sidelines while the shotokan group trained in the early evening time slot. When we karate people finished, the jujutsu folks would take the floor. It looked so interesting what they did. One evening they'd work with weapons, another night it would be grappling, and just when I thought I recognized a pattern, they'd change it up and do throws and escapes. I was drawn to this martial art but held back.

Many senior karate instructors (though not all; Chris Smaby in Iowa always encouraged people to learn judo too) in the 1970s and 1980s demanded loyalty and discouraged straying from karate training. This message was communicated subtly. One life time to chase one rabbit. How silly this seems on reflection, how utterly political, self-serving, and limiting.

The outstanding new book by Bruce Clayton entitled Shotokan's Secret opened my mind. To study traditional karate MEANS to study other systems. Our Okinawan karate ancestors learned many martial arts. They had to. They were royal body guards in an occupied and completely disarmed kingdom. The skills set I've acquired over the years is good and strong in the striking department, but this is narrow. What if I miss? What if I'm thrown to the ground? I need to learn escapes, throws and counters, principles of leverage, locks, weapons, chokes, basic grappling. Kicks and punches combined with some elementary but practiced jujutsu techniques makes karate more effective, more capable, more rounded.

Me About to Get Choked

I like learning new things and expanding the repertoire of skills and abilities. To stop learning is to stop living. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn jujutsu techniques, especially with Mr. Ryan Maza and his expert group of instructors including Gabriela, "Tuna", Ko-hai, and others. I'm also very grateful that CrossFit helped open a new door by keeping the older version of me moving. Oh yeah, that's me in the early stages of getting choked, thereby creating another opportunity to practice my tap-out skills. Is there an escape from this kind of  predicament?

Grip Strength

Yesterday at the CrossFit Works gym I competed in my first grip strength competition. It was fun and I learned a lot about how to get a stronger grip. Why is a strong grip important?

Because it is useful. From a crossfit perspective, which stresses the value of functional movement, what's more functional than being able to open that jar of pickles, or sauerkraut, or almond butter? Similarly, what if you found yourself needing to hoist yourself out of flood waters, or a burning room and you only have access to a little ledge to hold on to? Likewise, from a shotokan perspective, what if you need to grab the neck of a scoundrel and separate him from his evil intent? A tight grip has many useful purposes.

I have two Captains of Crush grippers, a T (trainer, with about 100 lbs. pull) and a Level 1 (with about 140 lbs.) Here's a quick clip of a slow close on a Level 1. The Vulcan handgrippers that we used in the competition are harder still. Here's Steve Gardener closing some incredible level. There's even an 1800 lb. gripper, shown here. And here's a guy named Dave doing an awesome grip workout in his backyard with a kettlebell, some bricks, and some mountain stones. Finally, in a wonderful testament to the variety of how humans pursue excellence, here is a website devoted to all things grip related.

I want to thank Erin and Tim for the time they took yesterday to run the competition and to answer all my questions. I'm now a stronger fan of grip training.

Essence and Perception

Is Shotokan karate merely a stodgy, quaint, stiff, impractical court dance done in funny white pajamas on expensive wood floors? Has the aloof, tradition-bound, self-evaluating shotokan system been eclipsed by cage fighter-tested Brazilian jujitsu, grappling, and the merit-based systems which UFC champions practice? Or is Shotokan karate a powerful system of self defense? Is it useful, dynamic, effective, evolving? See this article for more on this.

I think the answer to all these questions is yes. There is both an essence of Shotokan karate and a perception of that very same Shotokan karate. The essence for me is three decades of trying to get kihon, kata, and kumite right. It means meeting, befriending, and working with people pursuing versions of the same goals that motivate my training. People ask if I've ever used my karate. I say yes, three times this very week. In the dojo. Will karate save my life in a dark alley confrontation someday? Probably not. Might karate make a marginal difference if I had to defend my wife? Perhaps. Has it enriched my life, made it better? Certainly yes.

Shotokan karate is sometimes perceived as irrelevant, old news, lacking in fighting effectiveness. The remake of The Karate Kid for example employs Jackie Chan's kung fu rather than Okinawan-Japanese karate.

The essence of Shotokan karate has roots in Okinawan unarmed combat. It is made up of approaches to executing strikes and parries with an emphasis on timing and distance and body mechanics. It has been systematized into a body of standardized instruction under its Okinawan then Japanese caretakers from Itosu to Funakoshi to Nishiyama and now to current Brazilian experts like Lyoto Machida. Mr. Machida is a third degree black belt in JKA Shotokan karate. He is featured (see front cover image above) in the latest issue of Shotokan Karate Magazine.

Does this mean the perception of Shotokan karate will change? Not for me or the people who love Shotokan karate, but maybe perceptions will change a bit in the eyes of non-practitioners. Will Shotokan karate be the Rodney Dangerfield of martial arts, not get any respect because it gets whoped in the brawling research laboratories of the UFC, or will it continue to flow on because its essence is true, and beautiful, and dangerous too?

Again, the answer to all these questions is yes.

Rank and Credentials

Credentialism is a term that describes the use of certification to signal job or social status. Some employers for example require a college degree to indicate desirable job skills, like showing up more often than not, the ability to follow directions, and perform tasks. Some credentialism is silly, like requiring it for hair dressers; some is not, like requiring standards for medical degrees. Credentials can be used to restrict supply in some occupations.

Shotokan karate has a reputation of being strict in awarding rank. Pursuing the black belt was a big motivator for me in my early years of training. Shodan and nidan were important for the status these ranks conferred among my karate peers. Now, rank seems like a way to mark training time and progress. After achieving sandan, I am now training to improve my ability to communicate the basics of shotokan to anyone interested in practicing it. Yodan for me is more of an internal goal, a way to mark progress in pursuing the goal of becoming a better coach. I'm in Mr. Koyama's region and Mr. Olivers's dojo now, and pursuing 4th dan is really opening up a dialog between a master, a sensei, and an aging karateka who thinks he might be a good coach some day. And, the black belt holds up my gi pants quite well.

I've always admired my kung fu colleagues. There is no formal, outward indication of rank in kung fu. When I trained briefly in this system, people assessed your kung fu skills by watching you perform kung fu. If you were any good, it was obvious. Didn't need a signal. You saw it in the movements.

Last weekend I attended a two-day intensive Level 1 trainer certification seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona sponsored by CrossFit headquarters. The content covered all basic aspects of this fitness system, in my view, the finest on the planet. We learned the essence of CrossFit's definition of fitness as constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity, that it specializes in non-specialization, seeks broad fitness across all ten areas of physical skills, believes in paleo and zone nutrition, how to perform the nine foundational movements, and lots and lots of other stuff.

We did several challenging workouts. Traditionally, this seminar has its participants do Fran: 21-15-9 thrusters and 21-15-9 pullups, as quickly as possible. Instead, we did a harder version of Fran: 21-15-9 95# thrusters (in 95 degree heat outside) and 21-15-9 burpees in ten minutes or less. Ouch.

Then we took a written test. Some passed this, others did not. Fortunately, I passed. What does this mean? It means I have a certificate that signals I have some understanding of CrossFit and some ability to perform reasonable versions of the basic movements and some elementary knowledge of how to teach them to others. For me it means I have marching orders. I need to work on increasing my work capacity. I can do kipping pullups, but I need to increase the number I can do non-stop. I need to work on doing butterfly pullups, to get my first muscle up, to increase skills in doing the olympic lifts, more workouts done as prescribed. In other words, I need to do common things uncommonly well. I'm a CrossFit whitebelt.

And now I need to give back to my gym, CrossFit Works. Loyalty is valuable for building trust and community. One year ago CrossFit Works proprietors Jen and Carl took me from being out of shape, overweight, and unskilled in the ten domains of fitness and have literally changed my life. Through skilled coaching efforts and time investments from Jen and Carl and their trainers Kate, Bryon, Jenny, Andres, and Mateo, my capacity to move large loads over long distances quickly has increased. Their efforts and personal example probably have lengthened my life. Their efforts and example have most certainly improved my practice of Shotokan far better than I would have been able to practice it without the fitness level acquired via CrossFit. Their efforts and example have most definitely helped me in launching The Freedom and Prosperity Academy.

They've done equivalent things for my wife.

If my newly acquired credential can help them in any way, it will be a good thing. To me being a Level 1 Certified CrossFit trainer means I've gotten closer to being a model client of CrossFit Works. It demonstrates my gratitude and acknowledges a debt owed to my trainers for their sacrifices, support, and coaching.

Fit to Explore

CrossFit conditioning has opened new vistas of shotokan challenges to me. I am so grateful to my son for getting his mother and me involved in CrossFit. It is fantastic.

With new strength comes new opportunities. The kata Chinte (go here to see a  JKA video clip of the kata being performed) has always baffled and intrigued me. What do some of the moves mean, besides the obvious ones like the eye-pokes?

During the next several weeks, I will explore the inner meaning of this kata Chinte and try to improve my performance of it. Thanks CrossFit (and my son!) for enabling new exploration. (Click on the image to the left for a larger version.)

Flexibility and Kata

My CrossFit coach Mateo is stressing flexibility and it is really helping my kata. As my body ages, joints become stiff, muscles and tendons lose range of motion. This can be countered I believe but requires that flexibility be an integral part of training.

Here's a good example of some standard crossfit warm up drills that help increase range of motion. Here's an example of a stretch sequence called dead bug which works the core beautifully. Finally, here is an entire sequence of really good range of motion boosters.

But being bendy needs purpose, and kata is a great purpose. Here is a good example of what flexible kata looks like. I love how Asai Sensei does the double palm heel strike in this wonderful kata. But to see the benefits of real flexibility, watch Asai Sensei, 'the thunderstorm,' in this clip! Inspirational.

Easter Renewal

I attended my first instructors' training session at the main JKA dojo in Phoenix yesterday. I met some great people and learned some new things about karate. For example, I was asked to perform a kata that I liked and I chose Jitte. My habit from Chicago days is to lock down on each technique and exhale loudly. Hhh-ut, contract core, show good kime.

In this region, the emphasis is on more subtle breathing, through the nose rather than the mouth. Not sure which is better right now, but I think it is possible to execute powerful kime using either breathing techniques. I must research this more.

I also learned that there is a kata review session at the main dojo every Saturday morning from 9 to 11am. They go through all 26 shotokan katas! That is great! I will definitely take advantage of this opportunity at least once a month.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Shojiro Koyama, a most remarkable man. He is a gold mine of information on karate and how to teach karate, and he is a true leader in the sense that he brings out a desire to be your best. At one point in the proceedings, he said, "My karate training is my happiness."

What a great thing to say.

Kamae and Good Friday

Kamae is Japanese and in kanji means "base." It refers to the posture of the entire body. But it also connotes the attitude of the being adopting the posture. It is a reflection of the inner state of the person assuming the stance. Proper kamae is an essential ingredient in shotokan. Correct alignment makes timing and distance drills easier to perform. Slouching weakens technique. Nishiyama Sensei used to emphasize "whole body action" and good kamae. He modeled good posture on and off the dojo floor. Training in CrossFit really improves core strength, a key to proper posture.

Today is Good Friday. Over one billion Catholics remember on this day the trial and execution of justice and mercy incarnate. It is the Triduum.

Today provides an opportunity to adopt the attitude of prayer, the kamae of respect for the love of our savior in freeing us for freedom's sake, as St. Paul put it.

Unsu-ed

One of the signature katas in shotokan karate is Unsu. It is a very athletic and flashy kata with its roundhouse kicks from the ground, a dramatic 360 degree turning jump, and my favorite sequence of circular blocks followed by double palm heal strikes in sanchin-dachi (hour glass) stance. An accomplished karateka can put on quite a show by performing it with technical expertise and personal passion, as in this clip of Mr. Yahara, who is famous for his beautiful, gravity-defying leap near the end. 


The clip shows three separate Unsus by Mr. Yahara. The second is probably the best filmed of the bunch. Notice the flawless four-point landing after the leap. Exquisite. Love it. Wanna jump up and do it right this minute!


There is an instructors' training clinic at the central dojo in Phoenix on April 3rd. Mr. Shojiro Koyama will be teaching Jitte and Unsu. My Jitte is fair, but my Unsu needs lots of work. Today is Saturday and so it's off to the dojo I go, with rolled up gi, ready, willing, and, thanks be to God, able to work on improving Unsu. I'm totally Unsu-ed.

Clean and Empi

One of the lifts I'm working on in CrossFit is the power clean. I love the transition of the elbows from straight to bent to receive the weight on the shoulders. This has to be quick and sharp, like the empi uchi technique in shotokan. Power cleans lead to powerful empi uchi. Powerful empi uchi lead to sharp elbow transitions in power cleans.

Zanshin and the Burpee

Last night Dave, my CrossFit Sensei, had us do 75 burpees for time with a 12 minute cutoff. He gave us a pep talk before in which he said because it was a simple own-body weight exercise, basically drop to the floor, do a pushup, hop up and clap hands over your head, there was absolutely no excuse for not maintaining continuous movement. Don't stop. Keep going. Don't hold back. All out. That is, zanshin.

It reminded me of lessons from three of my main karate influences, my Japanese teachers. I had the gift of learning the basics of shotokan from Shunsaku Koga, a graduate student in sports medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the late 1970s, now living in Japan with his fine family. We still communicate, thankfully. I remember during kumite drills Koga-san would assail his much larger opponents and literally explode through. The club of about 60 of us formed a circle for full speed free sparring on Friday nights. I still see the image of Koga after launching one of his utterly fearless but controlled attacks and rocket-propelled punches to the upper lip, which would have killed the target had it landed full force two or three inches further than allowed. The attack began, followed through and ended in a flash, a blink. His whole body would quake as the glass shattering kiai erupted. He was behind his opponent having gone through all blocks and evasions. It scared the crap out of me and I was sitting on the floor. The look on the face of his opponent is also unforgettable. Looked like a facial prayer. Thank you God for sparring me. From those days I saw zanshin in action. Go forward no matter what.

I heard the word itself in Sugiyama Sensei's Chicago dojo. He defined it in those hot, humid summer clinics in the 1980s and 1990s as mental determination, mental follow-through before, during, and after an attack. Koga-san. I imitated what I had seen Koga do in the Madison dojo and tried to apply what I was experiencing in Chicago. My kiai got louder. My techniques got focused. Confidence replaced fear.

Nishiyama Sensei taught follow-through too. I was always shocked at what he saw that I missed in people's kumite and kata. When two karateka performed the same kata side by side I always thought the more athletic kata was better. But Nishiyama looked for more. He looked for evidence of zanshin. Like in the duel scene between the samurai and villager Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. After that fight, the villager is still standing, dead, while the samurai stands behind him, calm, ready, balancing between mindfulness and mindlessness.

Thank you Koga-san. Thank you Sugiyama Sensei. Thank you Nishiyama Sensei. Dave Sensei, domo arigato senor roboto.

I did the 75 burpees in 6 minutes and 59 seconds.

Corruption and My Favorite Movie

The word corruption comes from a Latin root meaning "destroy," especially in the sense of ruining principle, integrity, or virtue. I wrote about the theology and economics of corruption in the Judas lesson of my high school Apostles and Markets curriculum. I described corruption as betrayal of benefactors' trust, as when Judas betrayed our ultimate benefactor Jesus Christ. The New Institutional Economics uses agency theory, problems between principals and their agents, to analyze corruption. Copying someone else's homework is often described as cheating. My lesson stresses that cheating is also a violation of an implied contractual agreement between student and teacher, between student and parents, and between student and school reputation.

One of my favorite depictions of corruption in film is the 1962 Japanese movie, Harakiri. This three minute trailer summaries the story line well and suggests how ugly is the hypocrisy of corruption in medieval Japan. The film builds tension by slowly revealing the story of a young samurai too poor to own real swords. His money-raising scam was to threaten clans with committing seppuku unless given money to leave. One clan calls his bluff and the poor man is forced to follow through with the ceremony. The rest of the story unveils how the young samurai's father extracts revenge on this clan by systematically challenging and defeating its top swordsmen. Tatsuya Nakadai, my favorite Japanese film star, plays the father.

The duel between the father and the clan's number one swordsman on the plains of Edo is unforgettable. The wind howls, the tall grass whips wildly as the samurai face each other. After the battle, and the father's work of exposing the clan's hypocrisy and cruelty is complete, the clan survivors try to cover up. There is a final scene that captures evil's desire to remain hidden, or at least to appear ordinary, normal. The stone pathways and gardens are raked smooth again, hiding the battle that took place there only moments ago.

And this just in!  I found a really good review of Harakiri on YouTube here. The author has a brilliant blog called Constantine in Tokyo. Her reviews are outstanding. Treat yourself to a visit!

Fighting Spirit

Last night we did a classic benchmark workout called "Fight Gone Bad." It was designed by Greg Glassman, founder of crossfit, to help prepare mixed martial artists for the intensity of a fight. It consists of three (sometimes five) rounds of five exercises; sumo deadlift high pull with 75 lbs., 20 lb. wall ball thrown 10' high, rowing for calories, push press with 75 lbs., and 20" box jumps. Athletes perform each exercise for one minute then move to the next station. Scores consist of the accumulated total of repetitions and calories burned rowing. My score was 191. The monster athletes in our gym racked up scores in the low 300s. There is a one minute rest between rounds.

Fight Gone Bad, or as I like to call it, Fight Gone in a Direction I Hadn't Quite Anticipated or Hoped For, is intense. I felt like my lungs were going to get up out of my chest, turn around and say, that's it, we're outta here.

Kumite matches in most shotokan tournaments are only two minutes long, with occasional overtime matches to settle ties. Fight Gone Bad would help train shotokan athletes for endurance. Kata training also is supposed to train fighting spirit. Fight Gone Bad has helped my kata tremendously.

Aristotle said virtue is the habitual practice of doing right. In a way, Fight Gone Bad and crossfit training is habitual expansion of ability, and shotokan is the physical, outward expression of doing things right.

Yahara. Yeah, Hara

Hara is a Japanese martial arts concept referring to the belly. I read that it can be translated from Chinese or Japanese into "red field," or "golden stove," and is considered the location of "ki" energy. It is located about three fingers below the navel and two fingers in.

Mikio Yahara (get it.... "Yeah, Hara"... uh boy) is one of the Japan Karate Association's most amazing athletes. Here he is as a young man, kickin' Japan Karate Ass'n.

And here, he is as an older man kickin' Japan Karate Ass'n.

I love to watch Yahara Sensei's spinning movements. Attack from this side, then like lightening attack from the other side. His techniques are quick and powerful because they come from hara, from the red field, golden stove, or just the core.

CrossFit strength and conditioning effects the hara area, the core. Many mixed martial artists love crossfit training for this reason.

I love crossfit. Love shotokan too. The two re-enforce each other multiplicatively. For a treat, watch this clip of Yahara's hara in action! Be sure to turn up the volume. If you aren't inspired to get right up and do kata or hit a heavy bag, check your pulse.

Better than Sin

The dojo kun, or training hall motto that we recite at the end of each workout in shotokan starts with these words from our school-teacher Okinawan founder, Gichin Funakoshi: "Seek perfection of character." What does this mean?

I prefer to interpret it as striving to get better and that that is good enough for now.

The noun perfection and the adjective perfect have at least two connotations. Perfect in the sense of not possible of further improvement, without any flaws or defects, and perfect in the sense of complete, or fitting, or unmitigatedly conforming to some ideal, as in perfect gentleman. It is this second meaning to which I think we are referring in the dojo kun.

Pursuit of perfection in the former sense is the devil's call. It is tempting a person to commit the sin of pride. Be perfect so you can be worthy of Christ. It is sneaky and dangerous. During Lent, I am thinking about what a huge undertaking it is to "seek perfection of character," especially in my case. But the good Jesuits taught me that the first sin, the sin of the angels against God, was all about pride. You mean you're going to lower yourself and enter history to save humans, asked Lucifer of God in disgust. Adam and Eve, our first parents, thought they knew better than God what was and what was not authorized.

Then, our sins. How trivial they are compared to the sin of the angels and our first parents, observed St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises. And how awful. Dante taught me in l'inferno to hate the sin not the sinner, as when Virgil discusses the pitiful sight of Paolo and Francesca whirling around in hell. Sin keeps Christ nailed to the cross. How unjust. How unfair is sin.

But then there's grace, the free gift from our loving Father in Heaven. And what grace means to me is that striving is pleasing to God. The "arriving" is up to God; the "striving" is my freely given response to God's love. And in this sense, seeking the perfection of character means keeping open to trying, even though I stumble, even though I fall, I get up and keep heading in the direction I know is right. I keep trying to be true to my nature. Keep trying to do a correct reverse punch. Or, a (nearly perfect) gyaku zuki. And to live virtuously.

Because getting better is good enough for His children. And so it is good enough for me.

Bar Fist

My hunch is that the human hand, no matter how strong or well conditioned, would be damaged if used to strike a human face. Though non-contact in theory, those summer shotokan clinics in Sugiyama Sensei's Chicago dojo in the 1970s and 1980s had frequent accidental encounters between fists and faces. I remember seeing noses in places where they weren't meant to be. But I also remember seeing the offending hands in a damaged state as well.

I wonder if gripping the iron bar in the lifting exercises of CrossFit makes the fist stronger in shotokan karate, not in the sense of being able to withstand the boney content of the human face, but in the sense that striking the MAKIWARA board becomes easier. By the way, watch this woman hit the makiwara. I would want her on my side in a fight.

My makiwara is stored in the garage. I must set it up somehow. But where to anchor? I'll figure something out. Because I remember Sugiyama Sensei asking during those grueling clinics in humid Chicago, "Oh. How many strike makiwara board today? (No hands raised) Oh. I don't have any karateka in dojo today."

Nijushiho Power Clean

We did skills work last night at CrossFit Works on the clean and jerk. Two reps at the top of each minute for 15 minutes, for a total of thirty clean and jerks. Of course, I always do a split jerk because it reminds me of zenkutsu dachi (front stance).

During rests I walked through the moves of that most magnificent kata, Nijushiho, which means the twenty-one steps. Wonderful kata. I love the ageuki-empi (rising block-elbow strike) sequence followed by the slow, sweeping movement of the arm. I can still hear Nishiyama Sensei's voice in my head saying "go catch" as fifty of us would perform this sweeping movement in the Chicago dojo during one of his clinics. May God smile on the face of Hidetaka Nishiyama.

My power clean and jerks are getting better. Can't imagine clean and jerking almost 600 lbs. like Mr. Leonid Tarenenko did in the clip I linked to above. But I sure can do a front stance like he does, though my legs don't look like those tree trunks. And whenever I do Nijushiho I always say in my mind during the sweeping move, "go catch!"

Snatch Kata Part 1

I am blessed. At karate training Saturday, I mentioned in passing to my Sensei Enrique O. that the Olympic lift called the snatch was a "mystery movement" to me, not unlike the golf swing. It turns out Enrique Sensei was a Mexican national champion in Olympic lifting.

Because he knows both karate and Olympic lifts, he can draw from both to teach one or the other. After training was over, out in the parking lot, he made up a snatch kata to illustrate how the hands/arms should move quickly to the overhead position. I imitated and got that part of the snatch drawing on that part of my brain devoted to countless repetitions in karate, but this time applied to a different objective.

He also demonstrated what he called the S-shaped curve for the body's route during the snatch. This was easier to watch than to do, but it is helpful to have the image of my karate sensei doing it in my mind's eye, there in the sunny parking lot on a Saturday morning. Can't wait to attack snatch again during CrossFit training this week. That is, if we do it. We may not. CrossFit exercise variation is great. Part of what I enjoy so much about it is its variety.

But it is certainly a blessing to be around so many knowledgeable people. Sensei Enrique O., Dave S., Jen H., and Carl W. I am so grateful to know them.

Jitte and PVC Pipe

I continue to work on improving my Jitte kata. CrossFit training is really helping. To do the Olympic lifts, especially snatch and clean and jerk, one needs shoulder flexibility, among other things. I love the three-move sequence in the middle of Jitte in which the karateka executes a fumikomi (stomping kick) while holding the arms over head, and twists the body core in a one-two timing movement, with shoulders and arms just behind the landing of the foot and the snap of the hip.

The snatch is really a mystery movement to me now. Mine really suck. I need to work on basic form. CrossFit makes use of PVC pipe lengths to help get proper form without weight. I will get some PVC today to help improve snatch form and thereby, Jitte.

What a great feeling to do this sequence well. What a gift to move the body, seeking to have it conform to some ideal. Striving to do kata well, the way it "should" be done, reminds me of how we're hardwired to seek some standard. We're heading somewhere, and we have to figure things out for ourselves. But we have help. We're made in His image and likeness.

IF Trial

Tonight I begin a two-week trial with IF, or intermittent fasting. The regime will be three days of fasting per week. The fast will be 18 hours long. Assuming I finish dinner at 8pm tonight I will then fast until 2pm the following afternoon, and consume the second meal for that day within six hours.

I plan on consuming approximately the same amount of food as normal, only on fast days in two instead of three meals. There is some evidence that intermittent fasting has some positive health effects.

I will estimate sleep, stress, energy, and recovery levels on a daily basis. I am especially curious to see if there is a change in either CrossFit and karate performance during this trial period.

Diminishing Returns

I'm not a whiner, at least I don't think of myself as one. Occasionally though, I complain. Before complaining I feel I need to say that I think the world of my crossfit grandmaster, Dave. He is wonderful. He has a degree in physics from the University of Chicago and brings scientific precision to his approach to fitness instruction, and has given me so much information on how to get more fit that I will be forever in his debt.

Last night we did 20 rep max for back squat, adding at least 5 more pounds from last week. I did 20 back squats with 175 lbs., 10 more than last week. Progress. Cool.

Then we did 150 situps for time. Dave urged us to attack these and not hold back. The penalty for stopping was 5 burpees. I didn't stop, but slowed down considerably after the first 50. I wondered as I was wearing a hole in my butt if this exercise was doing my gut any good. Was core fitness happening?

My hunch is that after about 75 situps, the body gets mechanistic and subtly starts cutting corners and taking the easier, shorter path, and that diminishing returns sets in. Does exercise have diminishing returns, I wonder. Do big sets translate into big gains? What is the relationship between number of repetitions and results?

Grappling

Last night we did 'Grace', or 30 clean and jerks for time. Prescribed weight is 135, I did scaled 115 in 7:42. Then we did 3 rounds for time of 8 chest-to-bar pullups, 12 pushups, 15 air squats in under 5 minutes. My time was 3:47. Happily, my kipping pullups are back.

After workout Chauncey and I mixed it up with some ground fighting. He definitively whooped my ass, choking me out after, oh I don't know, 457 nanoseconds. Thanks Chauncey for the lesson. I hope you will show me more grappling techniques.

Shotokan practitioners are turtles on their backs. To be well rounded, we need to practice wrestling, grappling, take-downs, reversals, holds, and escapes. Several of shotokan's techniques are applicable on the ground, but need practice.

Training Virtue

Faith, hope, and love remain, writes St. Paul in the familiar second reading from 1st Corinthians for today's Mass, but the greatest of these is love. Love is the greatest virtue. Without love, the habitual practice of the other virtues loses meaning. Love is the anchor.

What is the greatest virtue in the practice of shotokan karate and crossfit? The development of strength over time is certainly a contender. And flexibility another. Sharper technique, more focused power, better kata, fiercer sparring, more correct form in weight lifting, all these are training virtues.

But showing up is the greatest training virtue it seems to me because all the other training virtues rely on this. The 11th Precept of Karate by Funakoshi Sensei states "Karate is like boiling water, if you do not heat it constantly, it will cool." Go to CrossFit. Go to the dojo. Show up. Because by showing up, we cultivate the habit of doing something that is better than not doing.

And the virtue in regular training is the training of regular virtue.

Haito and The Art of War

At first glance haito zuki, or ridge-hand strike is awesome. But is it?

In the clip Kagawa Sensei steps in and to the side of the line of attack of his opponent, i.e., cooperative stationary target. The haito zuki is cool because it attacks the attacker from behind even though Kagawa faces him from the front. But is this practical for self-defense application?

The Art of War asserts all warfare is based on deception. The first time I watched the haito zuki clip it surprised me and in that sense, I suppose it has some practical value as a surprise feint or distraction for a more powerful counter attack.

On the other hand, I think training haito with the intent of surprising an opponent or sparring partner may actually telegraph the intent to surprise, as if to say, hey, I'm going to be sneaky right now. Ready? Here it comes! But used judiciously haito zuki might be effective.

Tabata

Tonight we did tabata intervals. One round was as many air squats as possible in twenty seconds, rest ten seconds, then as many burpees as possible in twenty seconds, then rest for ten seconds. We did eight rounds. Score was lowest reps in any given round. My score was 12 squats and 5 burpees.

I'm working on the kata Jitte. Tabata sets are conditioning exercises that should build stamina for doing Jitte many, many times.

One Body

I love the second reading from Corinthians for today's Mass. St. Paul talks about how, though made up a many parts, the body is one. He uses this many parts-one essence as a metaphor for describing how each of us brings a different skill set to various roles that can benefit the whole. "Some people God has designated in the church to be first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues." Different people, one body in Christ. (1 Cor. 12:28)

I also love reading and thinking about the writings of shotokan's founder, the school teacher from Okinawa, Gichin Funakoshi. The 5th of his 20 Precepts translates "Spirit first, technique second." When I am judging kata performance at tournaments and there are two fairly equally matched karateka doing the same kata, I try to apply this precept in determining the winner. If techniques are equally well executed, who has the better spirit? By which athlete would I least like to be hit with one of those techniques? Who is merely walking through the kata and who is orchestrating the body's parts for one purpose?

Precept 17 is wonderful too. "Beginners must master low stance and posture, natural body positions are for the advanced." Different parts, one activity; different ages, same activity.

St. Paul wrote, "Now you are Christ's body and individually parts of it."

Weighted Planks and Kata

Last night at CrossFit Works we did weighted planks. We put 45 pound plates on our mid-backs and did the yogo plank posture, laying on the floor holding body straight like a plank, supported on toes and elbows, for as long as possible. I held it for about 1:40 minute first round and 1:14 second round. It's hard but feels good.

Kata requires a strong core. The movements in shotokan kata are supposed to be sharp and crisp, as in this demo of the kata Unsu by Yahara Sensei. Notice how the arm and leg techniques appear to be anchored to the floor through the body's core. The power generated in this way is amazing.

Strong core, strong kata.

Jitte and Snatch

Jitte is an awesome kata from the shotokan movement encyclopedia. The first move performed with a bo could be interpreted as a block or strike at an incoming attack. Performed without a weapon, this same movement conjures up the image of a block and simultaneous attack at the opponent's hand holding a staff. The most challenging movement sequences in this kata are the three stomping kicks and simultaneous double blocks/strikes with arms overhead. The physical challenge is to lift the legs in high, twisting kicks and generate power from the floor by holding back the hips and upper body in a way that generates kinetic power before a last-instant release.

CrossFit's incorporation of Olympic weightlifting like the snatch has improved my ability to do Jitte more effectively, particularly the three most challenging movements. What I've noticed is the increased flexibility in my shoulders as well as a greater ability to anchor them on a stronger core.

Come to think of it, the first move in Jitte could also be seen as moving from a standing to a prayerful posture, with right palm open and upward-directed, as if the body were saying thank you my Lord.

Gyaku Zuki and Existence

Reverse punch is a glorious technique to execute. Your feet are planted flat on the floor for stability, your hips move sharply in the direction of the target, and your pullback arm is the equal and opposite movement that adds power and focus.

I think Aristotle is right that we come to know the world through our senses. Perception may be flawed, like an unstable stance in doing gyaku zuki, but it is the contact with the world that matters. This computer is not a dream in my or someone else's mind. It is real.

We are real, created creatures in a non-arbitrary universe. To do gyaku zuki is to celebrate the gift of existence. How wonderful to feel the rotation, the building power, the crisp stop of focus at the target when all tendons, muscles, and bones are directed to one purpose.

Gyaku zuki is meditation in motion, a prayerful reminder of who is who and what is what.

Core Fitness

My karate teachers often spoke about where a technique's power originates in the body. Power they said is centered in tanden, literally "red field," the area about one or two inches below and behind the navel. It is the body's center of gravity, the core.

CrossFit is sometimes described as developing core fitness. Instead of short distance isolation exercises, like bicep curls, crossfit emphasizes multiple joint compound exercises like thrusters, lifting a medium weight from the floor over your head. This approach really works for me. We do next to no crunches in CrossFit Works and very few situps. But my tanden area has never been more fit. All the exercises require in some way a strong core.

The big error of the Enlightenment I think was de-emphasizing spiritual, or civilization's core fitness. Some Enlightenment thinkers argued God was a human invention. This error, confusing who is the Creator and who is the Created Creature, is dangerous. Think of the horrors it has allowed that passes for progress or "civilization's advancement."

I think both physical and spiritual core fitness is essential.

Ashi Bari Mediation

I love de ashi bari, foot sweep. Only get it right about one in one hundred attempts, but when it works, it is so elegant to see the opponent falling helplessly to the ground. It is one of those wonderful movements in shotokan that requires a tiny amount of physical effort which then generates an enormous result. The challenge is to get the timing right. This is finesse, not brute force. Sweep the leg too early or too late, you're vulnerable to counter-attack. Sweep it just at the right time before he sets weight on front leg, down he goes. Like in this example.

Training ashi bari this weekend in the dojo got me thinking about the nature of temptation. The expression "the devil made me do it" is not quite right theologically speaking. It implies the temptee is powerless against the temptor.  In ashi bari, the sweeper doesn't change the sweepee's direction of travel, only taps one of his legs to break balance. In temptation, the sinner is headed in the wrong direction by his own free will and the devil just taps the leg a bit to break balance. Down goes the sinner.

Moral? Practice ashi bari frequently. Think about countering the devil's ashi bari with counter-measures.

Blind With Purpose

My favorite scene in Denzel Washington's movie The Book of Eli is when we get a close look at his eyes. He appears to be blind and this information compels a re-thinking of all the previous scenes. A blind man with purpose goes farther and straighter and more effectively than sighted men without purpose. But how can this be?  The Book of Eli is like a Christian version of the Zatoishi series. The big difference is purpose. Denzel is deadly because he has one. Zatoishi is deadly even without one.

Kumite

Here's 1:50 minutes of shotokan kumite. The last fight in the sequence shows a much smaller karateka knock down a much larger one. Executed correctly, these techniques are very powerful.

Combo

Much in my life deals with combining things. I got married, for instance. There's a combination. I combined Catholic social doctrine with economic analysis when I wrote Apostles and Markets. That was a combination. And I have trained shotokan karate off and on for about 33 years and now do CrossFit. There's another combination.

So this new blog is going to explore all kinds of ways of combining things to get new things. Combining karate and crossfit has enabled me to do both these activities better.

Combos.