The Spaghetti Arm Kenpo Struggle

I’m a terrible blogger, let’s just go ahead and get that out of the way. The older I get and the more things I add to my life the more sporadic my blogging becomes. I hardly remembered the password to this old thing, but I still think on it often, and occasionally am inspired to write up a post or two.

Today is one of those days;

I guess I always imagined that when I lost a lot of weight (85lbs so far) that I would just become Super Kenpoist and nothing could stop me. Actually, that’s precisely not the case, clearly I have one hell of an imagination. Lately I’ve noticed that once again the biggest struggle I’m facing with my own training is fighting against myself. Before I had no energy, I always felt weighted down, and there were some things that I just could not do because I didn’t have enough command of my body. I didn’t have enough command of my body because there was too much mass.

So I began to shed the mass, and after say losing 40lbs I felt awesome! There was this great ratio where I felt in control of my motions and had a good balance. Then I lost another 45lbs and now I’m in this odd stage where I don’t know my body. My limbs seem so much longer, and I’m weirdly lighter all over. Now don’t get me wrong, when I race my puppy up the stairs at my home I love how light I feel. But when I am in class and I hit someone with my spaghetti arm I’m not as happy. In fact I’m irritated.

I’m struggling to generate torque, I’m struggling on how to utilize back up mass because, well let’s face it, there’s a lot less mass there. Guys I’m just struggling all around, I need more muscle in a bad way, especially in my upper platform. It’s so very frustrating, I’m learning all over AGAIN! So now in addition to the cardio that has been a staple in my life for over a year and a half I’m adding some strength training. I use the word strength training very lightly, just like my weights are right now. “More reps less weight” I mutter to myself as I struggle through 20lb curls and promise myself there are tacos in my future.

I know this is just another bump in the road towards that Black Belt, and I know that I can overcome it with time and perseverance. Doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Have any of you experienced this before? How did you “get your groove back?” Anyways, I’m still working on Operation Build a Better Kenpoist. Good thing I know this is a life art!  

2nd Brown Finally!

1,603 days. That's how long I was a 3rd Brown Belt, 229 weeks or nearly 4 1/2 years. Any way that you slice it, it's a long time. There was a time when I thought I wanted to quit, but I overcame that. There was a time when I couldn't fit into my uniform, but I overcame that. There was a time when I thought that I'd always be a 3rd Brown, but I overcame that too. I learned a whole hell of a lot more than just my required rank material in these past 4 1/2 years. 2015 has been my phoenix year, I said I wanted to lose 50lbs, get back into college, and earn my 2nd Brown. All three missions accomplished! It hasn't completely sunk in yet, it may not until I have a new belt and a certificate in front of me, but there's a joy that I just can't express with words. I haven't been this excited about something in a very long time. I'm coming for you 1st Brown!!!

Welcome Back To SWKA!

I've said it before, hands down the saddest part of owning a karate school is when students have to move away. The heart wrenching phrase "we don't want to go but we have to," breaks me every time. However this is not a blog about sadness, this is a blog about joy! 

For about 3 years now Gene and I have had the same hair stylist, Ashley. We just love her and her work; over time as we got to know Ashley better we learned about her kiddos and she learned about our karate school. After much prodding on our part we were able to convince Ashley to bring her wee ones to SWKA and they ended up staying with us for right around a year. Last May however career opportunities changed and Ashley, the kids and the rest of their family ended up moving to Omaha. We were of course heartbroken. We kept in touch though, we saw Ashley every few months when she came down to give her regulars a hair cut.

2 weekends ago we had a hair cut, asked about the kids, had a normal chit chat and then went on our way.

Last Saturday I went around the corner after the Adult class and grabbed a coffee, when I came back to the school Ashley was there with her son Draven! I thought they were here to visit because they have family that lives in our area. Then Ashley broke into the biggest smile and said, "Do you know how hard it was to cut your hair and keep it a secret from you guys that we were moving back!!"

My heart exploded! I've felt the heart break several times when a student has to leave us, but this is the first time we have had someone move back. Last night both Draven and his sister Dareyen were back in class! Such a sweet feeling! 

6 Questions Post Promotion-Dorian Burns

I'm going to start publishing quick little interviews that I have begun with our students after they receive a promotion. First

 up on the blog is Mr. Dorian Burns. 

 

Student: Dorian Burns

Age: 11

Started Training At SWKA: September 2011

Current Rank: Jr. Orange Belt.

Me: "Alright buddy! So how do you feel?"

Dorian: "I feel happy! I feel super pumped!"

Me: "Good deal! So Dorian why did you want to start Kenpo?"

Dorian: "I really just wanted to learn how to defend myself and other people. If someone was hurting someone else I wanted to be able to help people."

Me: "Do you feel better about being able to defend yourself now?" 

Dorian: "Yeah, I remember seeing someone picking on someone on the playground before I started Kenpo. I didn't know how to tell him to stop. So I jumped on the bully's back and I tried to choke him. But Kenpo taught me that it's much better to find a teacher or an adult first. That's the best option. My mom and dad taught me that too."

Me: "What do you love about Kenpo?"

Dorian: I love like, new techniques. I love learning them. Every time I get a new technique it helps fill in more of my empty time during the day, because I'm not allowed to always be on the Xbox."

Me: "What is the hardest thing about Kenpo?"

Dorian: "Hardest thing is remembering stuff. But when I practice and practice then it all comes back to me." 

Me: "Dorian are you going to get your Black Belt?"

Dorian: "Someday! When I'm probably as old as Mr. Braden!" 

17 Truths of Being an American Kenpoist

It's been far too long since I've blogged, I thought a fun post would be a great way to jump back into the swing of it! Feel free to share with other Kenpoists! 

1) Air Kenpo is the worst, absolute worst!

2) Running the line is probably your favorite

3) You own multiple pieces of Kenpo jewelry 

4) Seminar weekends are always better than tournament weekends, so much knowledge!!

5) You face palm when people think the universal symbol is a spider web. 

6) You exclaim every time Elvis is mentioned "he did Kenpo"

7) If you're a female Kenpoist you despise being "babied"

8) If you don't have a Kenpo related tattoo you've considered it 

9) You've watched Kill The Golden Goose; you know it was terrible, you still get excited because it's Mr. Parker! 

10)You love to talk up the promotional kick to White Belts about to receive their Yellow because that's what all the upper belts did to terrify you!

11) You get excited and pumped about bruises; (you probably call them Kenpo Kisses), you also show them to your non-Kenpoist friends enthusiastically- they think you're insane. 

12) Meeting other Kenpoists from different schools is like discovering family members you didn't know you had!

13) You often lovingly say to other Kenpoists "can't wait to spar you!"

14) You've YouTubed "American Kenpo" and quickly realized how terrible an idea that was. 

15) You've listened to "When Kenpo Strikes."

16) You LOVE Thundering Hammers and 5 Swords!

17) You're always scouring the Internet for Kenpo books you can add to your library