One Year of COVID

It is now one year since our dojo shut down on March 17, 2020. How have we fared during this time as a school and as individuals? Our workouts continued without interruption. We’ve been fortunate to have options at the Temple that hosts our dojo. We can train in a large double classroom (800 sq ft), a buffet room (1,200 sq ft), and outside on the patio (a few thousand sq ft). We keep minimum 6-foot distance, wear masks, and work out non-contact. Some members have trained in person without interruption while others have trained from home via Zoom. It’s far from ideal, but has kept us treading water or slowly moving forward. We held two Shinsas for those who improved significantly. All ranks are provisional; contact elements such as ippons, kumite, and tameshiwari must be demonstrated once we return to normal training.

Less obvious, but more important has been the effect on our individual members. Self-quarantine, lockdown, work from home, remote schooling, business closings, social distancing, etc have all taken toll on our ’normal’ way of life. Many people are out of shape and gained weight due to their sudden sedentary lifestyle. Too many elements are out of our control. Life as we know it is completely disrupted. Continued training during these pandemic times offers members a sense of normalcy. Our class schedule allows members to have some structured regularity to their week. Working out releases endorphins, allowing you to feel better and counter the effects of depression and stress.

This pandemic reinforces my longstanding beliefs in Karate training: Karate is a microcosm of life. Everything that goes on in the dojo also occurs in the real world. There are some katas you like better than others, and some techniques you absolutely hate. You must learn to perform everything at least passably to improve and move up in rank. In life, you have fellow students or coworkers you like better than others, you may have teachers or bosses that you dislike, but you must learn to get along with them and perform your tasks satisfactorily. Keeping routine of going to the dojo and the structure of class can help you organize your life for better efficiency.

Hopefully, we will go back inside the dojo and return to physical contact in the near future. In the meantime, DŌ GAKUIN will continue to offer our members a sense of normalcy in these crazy times. See you for training - wherever that may be!

'Footloose' Footwork

We worked on footwork last week in class. It reminded me of something back in 2014 when I attended a weekend of seminars with Okano-kancho in Perry, FL. Among the workouts, he wanted to lead us through some footwork drills, commenting that he uses a ladder on the ground for these exercises. I knew his father, Okano-soke, had some extreme training measures. Since I did not use exercise ladders or was exposed to them, I thought he meant an actual wooden or aluminum ladder on the floor, with 4 inch side rails and thick rungs, which could do tremendous damage if you misstep.

Anyway, Kancho had us work a step-over drill moving up and down the mats. I used to cover Saturday Judo classes in the 1980s for my buddy Jimmy Zoubantes. I would lead his class through the same drill Kancho had us do, and others even more complex. I guess my muscle memory was still there, as I flew up and down the mats. Well, ‘flew’ for a then-60 year old man, but I moved much faster than many participants much younger than me.

It was after the seminars that I learned about agility ladders: nylon struts with thin plastic rungs that lay flat to the ground. Oh, so there’s really nothing to trip over or harm you if you step out of bounds? You’re playing hopscotch.

Then I related it to kata. There are martial artists who don’t like kata. It’s useless; they’d never use a kata move in a fight; it’s a waste of their time. They’d use a basic punch, kick, or simple combination. They’re right – and wrong. They don’t understand what kata is all about. Basics do come out automatically because we practice them so often. Kata builds muscle memory on moves and combinations not normally used every day. Kata practice allows you to employ a technique in kumite or actual self-defense, should the situation present itself.

My Judo footwork drills from the 1980s kicked in muscle memory 30 years later. We’ve had former students return after many years’ absence and regain their former skills rapidly due to muscle memory. Work the process. Trust the process. The process works!