Day 2: 8th Jan

The second day of training is finished. I missed the morning classes due to work commitments but tonight’s class sure made up for it. My muscles are screaming but I have never been more excited for the upcoming two weeks! I hope to build my muscle endurance and extend my mental stamina over the intensive program. This quote encompasses the reason I am challenging myself to do every class possible over the next two weeks, not just participating but by extending myself.

“Your body can stand almost anything, its your mind that you have to convince.”

Evening Classes:

Kids Classes: It is becoming easier to take off the teachers hat and just train. I have done many years of leadership so helping out the younger students comes naturally now, but by being a good role model and helping out non verbally has assisted me in my growth. This is a great skill as there is a time and a place for talking, but also a time for the ‘just train’ attitude. This is a very mental skill and through my university studies in coaching I have found that kinetic instructing/training (physically) is one of my preferred styles.

In the advanced class we threw on some bogu and jumped into some kumite skills. This was another instance where I had to brush off the cob webs. We focused on three elements of an attack; distance, speed and accuracy.  Even on a swinging bag this can be difficult to execute. We also worked on how to generate reach, I came to the conclusion that I need to bend my knees more and turn my hips more!

Adult Class: Tonight I trained as if I was competing. Hopefully at the end of this intensive I have purged my Christmas over eating and gotten my beach body back! The first half of the class Sensei Sandra stretched us and evaluated everybody’s capabilities after the break. She must have thought we were pretty capable because she put us through our paces after a quick drink break. While performing every kata as I was at a tournament I had only one focus; to enter. While stepping or changing stances, instead of turning the back foot away from the centre, I tried to generate the feeling of entering / like I was throwing a partner. This helped me with my pull to the centre throughout the class. 

I am eager to find out what lessons can be learnt throughout the next week and a half of training!