My Goju-Ryu Journal -- 1998

January 1, 1998

Happy New Year!

January 4, 1998

James and I are getting ready for our belt test on January 17th, so we got together today and ran through all of our two person forms. We're still kind of sloppy on the ending of 3rd bunkai kumite, since it was recently changed somewhat, but for the most part we felt pretty comfortable with everything. We need to work on our sparring techniques, which we just don't get a chance to practice that often, but that's mainly making sure we know the order they're in, rather than being able to perform the techniques correctly.

January 6, 1998

James and I worked out after class in preparation for our upcoming 5th kyu test.

January 8, 1998

We had a discussion tonight on stepping up vs. stepping back at the end of kata. Sensei Chapman has decided (or we have been corrected) that you step up at the end of kata, but step back at the end of the two-person sets (so as not to bump noggins). Up until now, we had always been stepping back for kata and kiso/bunkai kumite. Just one more thing to remember for the test.

 James and I worked out after class.

January 9, 1998

James and I got together after his Aikido class and ran through all of our two-person sets. We both feel like we're doing everything well.

January 13, 1998

Sensei pretested James and I for our upcoming 5th kyu test on January 17th. We had been doing very well, but when we got up and pretested, we just messed everything up. We were performing the wrong techniques, missing blocks, all kinds of stuff. Sensei stopped us and told us to just relax, and things smoothed out quite a bit.

January 15, 1998

We had a light workout tonight in preparation for the TOGKF banquet this weekend. James and I ran through our two-man sets, but we really just tried to take it easy. I think that we had been overtraining a bit, which may have been the reason for messing up in the pre-test last class. That and just plain nervousness.

January 17, 1998

James and I got up early and left Austin about 5:00 am to get up to Dallas for the TOGKF banquet and our belt test. When we were first scheduled to test, it was supposed to be us and several other people (Sempai David, Sempai Jason, and at least two or three others from other TOGKF schools). As the test day approached, more people dropped out of the test for one reason or another, so that by this morning, only James and I were testing.

We got to the Senter Park Rec Center around 8:30, but it didn't open until 9:00, so we ran through some of our techniques, but lightly. After the doors opened, we went in and changed and started stretching out. The test started at 9:30, with nine black belts on the test board! There was Sensei Chapman (5th Dan), Sensei Werther (3rd Dan), Sensei Yocham (2nd Dan), Sensei Gonzales (2nd Dan), Sensei Johnson (2nd Dan), Sensei Owens (2nd Dan), Sensei Heier (Shodan), and two other Shodans whose names I'll have to look up.

First we ran through all of our katas. These were:

Everything went smoothly. Sanchin was interesting, with a very high black belt to test candidate ratio. James finished Sanchin first, so I had six black belts on me by the time I finished. I did pretty well, but I found that every time I stepped, I didn't have time to get rooted before someone pulled on me or pushed on my legs. When I finished, I had been pulled or pushed back about six feet from where I started.

Next, we demonstrated Bunkai 1-4 and Kiso Kumite 1-3. We had to run through 4th Bunkai a couple of times, and we were told to perform it slower, but with cleaner technique. We also performed Rhythm Bo, but we had to do it several times, because of screw-ups.

Lastly, we did 4 rounds of sparring. First, I sparred Roy for 2 minutes, then a brown stripe from one of the other schools for 2 minutes, then James for two minutes, and then a 1 minute round with Sempai David and the other brown stripe again. I was exhausted by the end, which really surprised me, considering the amount of running I've been doing lately.

At the end of the test, we rested while the test board conferred. Then, Sensei Yocham called us up and awarded us our 5th kyu rank.

All in all, I thougt it was a good test. The things that we messed up on were the things we had been having trouble with, but even those were fewer than we had expected.

After the test, we all went to Sensei Chapman's house and James and I took showers, while the black belts had a meeting. We then went to the TOGKF banquet, at a Thai restaurant in town, and ate for a couple of hours. After the test, we drove back to Austin. Pretty exhausting day.

January 20, 1998

After exercises, I worked with Jason H., who's a white belt, teaching him Tando-ku-kata-dai-ichi.

January 22, 1998

Joey tested for 10th kyu, orange stripe tonight. After the test, we split up into pairs. I worked with Sensei, and he started me on 4th kumite, getting sequences 1 through 3.

January 27, 1998

After exercises, I worked on 4th kumite with Travis. We ran through sequences 1-3, and then he taught me sequence number 4. Sensei then called us together for sparring, and I sparred with Jason H., and then with Sempai David.

January 29, 1998

I had in-laws in town, so I skipped class and went out for dinner.

February 3, 1998

Today, my daughter Aubrey is 4, so we had cake for her after I got home from work. Because of this, I got to class a little late. Sempai Jason ran class while Sensei evaluated Jason H. for upcoming tests. After exercises, Sempai Jason paired us up and we ran through all the Kiso Kumite we knew. I paired up with Roy for Kiso Kumite 1 and 2, and then with Sempai David for 3 and 4. On 4th kumite, Sempai David helped me finish up, showing me the 5th and 6th sequences.

February 5, 1998

We had a small class tonight, so we had a very short exercise period and then spent quite some time doing Kotikitae (arm conditioning) and sticky hands drills. I worked with Sempai David for both, and one of the things we worked on for sticky hands was an awareness drill, where we placed our arms together with our partner and then we both closed our eyes. Pretty interesting.

I then worked with Rudy for a little while, looking at his kata, since he'll be testing for 6th kyu next Tuesday.

February 8, 1998

We had a special breaking class this afternoon. I successfully broke a cinderblock (one of the 16" x 8" x 2") flat ones, although it took me three tries to do it. The first two hurt, when I tried but it didn't break, but on the third try, the successful one, I really didn't feel any pain at all. I was surprised at how difficult it was to break one of the things.

After breaking, we worked on a new Bo requirement for 5th kyu, Kumibo Shodan. It's a pretty simple 11 step two-person set, although it has an interesting reverse strike in it to the opponents bo. Sensei was my partner, and when he hit my bo with that strike, it went flying. It was the first time I've had to do push-ups for dropping my weapon.

February 10, 1998

Rudy tested for, and was awarded, his 6th kyu rank (green belt with purple stripe) tonight. James and I also worked on 4th kiso kumite for a while.

February 12, 1998

After exercises, we split up into groups. Sensei took Sempai Jason, Sempai David, James and myself and started us on the sparring technique form, which is a two-person set consisting of the sparring techniques and their counters. We got up through the sparring technique number 11.

February 17, 1998

I got to class early tonight, planning on going outside and running through my kata, but when I arrived, the Tae Kwon Do class, which meets before us, was sparring, and they had invited us to join them. I sparred several of the TKD students, who were mostly younger, and also Rudy and David.

After sparring for about an hour, we met for our own class. By the end of the evening, I was beat!

February 19, 1998

Sensei wanted to work with Sempai David and Sempai Jason tonight, so after he bowed us in, he asked me to lead class. This was the first time I had lead class, and the first thing I did after I got up in front and we bowed in, was to forget everything I knew. OK, maybe just for a moment. I ran through all the stretching and exercises and then we went through kicks. That was interesting, because I really felt that leading class, my technique and balance was better for all the kicking exercises.

After exercises, we lined up and ran through all of our kata. We then split up and worked on two-person techniques.

February 24, 1998

We have a tournament coming up this weekend (on the 28th), so after exercises, we all gathered around the dojo floor, and we each took turns performing the kata we would be performing for the tournament. I performed Saifa, although I still haven't decided if I'll do it or Gekisai-dai-ni for the tournament.

February 26, 1998

After exercises, Sensei lined us up to work on tournament style sparring techniques. Sempai David and I worked together.

February 28, 1998

Today was the Spring TOGKF Invitational tournament up in Irving. I placed first in my weapons division (Tokumine No Kun Sho), second in kata (Gekisai Dai Ni), and second in Kumite (got beat by Adam again). I also competed in the self-defense division, but I hadn't prepared anything, so I was improvising as I went. Still, I think it went pretty well, even if I didn't place.

March 1 - May 17, 1998

OK, it's been a very long time since I've written in here. Things have been busy at home and work, so it's been hard to find the time. I finished up the semester at Southwest Texas last week, so hopefully things will be a little less crazy now.

The class is doing very well. We have lost one or two people, but for the most part it's pretty stable. We're getting a lot of higher ranked students (oddly, I'm counted in the higher ranks), so Sensei is talking about upping the class size to 20. We've had several promotions, but I didn't record the dates.

The current roster and ranks (from memory, so don't anyone get their feathers ruffled) is:

I'm sure I'm missing some people, and I'm sure I've got some ranks wrong, so apologies in advance.

May 17, 1998

I drove up to Stephenville this morning for my 4th kyu test. Caleb and Annetta, both Stephenville students, were testing for 3rd kyu as well. The test was scheduled to start at 9:30, so I left Austin at 6:00, planning to warm up for a little while before the test. I wound up getting there at 8:15, before Sensei Johnson arrived to open up the school, so I ran through all my Kata out in front of the dojo until he arrived.

Once the school was opened up, Caleb and I ran through some Kiso Kumite, and then I was introduced to Ashley, another 5th kyu from Stephenville, who would be my testing partner. We ran through 3rd and 4th Kiso Kumite and did a terrible job. It was scary going into a test without my standard partner, but I guess you'd better be used to working with people you've just met if you expect to defend yourself against someone you've never met.

The test got started around 10:00. Sitting in attendance on the board were Shihan Chapman, Sensei Mrs. Chapman (Shihan's mother), Sensei Yocham, Sensei Owens, Sensei Gonzales, Sensei Johnson, and Sensei Werther. Shihan Chapman's father was also in attendance, but was not sitting on the test board.

We were bowed in to start the test and first thing we were asked was the Dojo Kun, which we all knew. We then started on kata. Sanchin testing was interesting. At one point, Sensei Mrs. Chapman (who is probably 5' tall and can't weigh much more than 80 pounds) stood in front of me, dropping into a strong stance and holding onto my hand as I extended it. I could not budge her for the life of me, and I just had to start smiling. I just kept a good stance, kept breathing and pushing, and eventually she let go suddenly, and I didn't fall down, so I figure I did OK. After empty hand Kata, we ran through weapons Katas.

After kata, we ran Kiso Kumite and Bunkai Kumite, plus Bo-Bo Kumite Shodan and Kumibo Nidan (Rhythm Bo). It all went much more smoothly during the test than it did warming up for it, although Ashley got a little nervous during Rhythm Bo.

After that, we had a little break and then went into sparring. First round I sparred Caleb, second round Sensei Gonzales, and third round Annetta. I then had a round of multiple sparring with Sensei's Yocham, Gonzales, and Owens. I tried to keep Sensei Owens between myself and the other two, and did, I felt, a pretty good job. I would say that Sensei Owens is the lesser of three evils when fighting those three, but only by virtue of the fact that she is smaller and has a shorter reach. She's definitely not any less aggressive. After my multiple sparring round, I got to be one of Caleb's four opponents for his multiple sparring round.

After sparring, the test board retired to discuss the test. They then returned, discussed some problems, but nothing glaring, and promoted all three of us. All in all, I think the test went well.

May 19, 1998

I missed class tonight. There was a Virginia Tech Alumni Association dinner where James Robertson, a noted Civil War historian was speaking, so Kelly and I made it a date night.

May 21, 1998

After exercises we ran kata. Sensei ran us through Seiunchin, which I'll be learning for my next rank. I just tried to keep up with the moves, but can't say I started to learn it.

May 26, 1998

After exercises, Sempai David started me on 5th Bunkai Kumite.

May 28, 1998

After exercises, we partnered up and worked on informal two-person techniques. I paired with Rudy, and we ran through defenses against a punch, and then we ran through a defense against a front kick, where you step at a 45-degree angle off the line of attack, catching the kick and lifting to take the attacker off balance. The defender then either steps up to take the attacker down, or kicks the attacker's foot out from under them to take them down, following the throw with a double punch to the ribs.

June 2, 1998

Ashley ran the exercise period tonight while Sensei worked with Sempai's David and Jason, who will be testing for 1st Kyu at the end of the month. If they pass their test, I believe that they'll be the first of Sensei Yocham's students to rise that high. Shodan by the end of the year? Nah, we won't jinx it by speculating.

After exercises, which lasted an hour and took us through four corner kicks and other assorted nastiness, we partnered up. I worked with James for a while on 3rd and 4th Kiso Kumite, and then worked with Lydia on 2nd Kiso Kumite. It's starting to get pretty hot in Austin. Even with air conditioning at the dojo, I drank a quart of Gatorade and three more quarts of water.

June 4, 1998

Sensei ran us through exercises and then we partnered up. James and I ran through 1st and 2nd Kiso Kumite, starting left-handed instead of right, and then through 3rd and 4th Kiso Kumite the normal way. We actually did pretty well left-handed. At the end of class, Sensei lined us up and we ran through Dojo Kun. He then called Jason H. and Lydia to the front of the class and promoted them both to 8th kyu (orange belt with a green stripe). Interesting, since they passed a test they didn't even know they were having.

June 9, 1998

We had a surprise this evening when we came into class. There had been a scheduled workout last weekend up in Dallas for the students who would be testing at the end of the month, but Sensei Chapman pulled a trick on them, and went ahead and ran the test. Sensei Yocham had been promoted to Sandan (3rd degree black belt), and Sempai's Jason and David had been promoted to 1st Kyu (brown belt with two black stripes). Other promotions were Sensei Owens' daughter to Shodan and Sensei Heier to Nidan. There may have been others, but these were the only ones we heard about.

After Sensei presented the Sempais with their stripes and certificates, we split up and worked on rank requirements.

June 11, 1998

Class was quite small tonight, so after we ran through exercises and worked on some two-person stuff, we suited up and did some sparring.

June 30, 1998

I was out of town June 13-29, so this is my first class back after a two week vacation. We ran through exercises for the first half of class, and then split up to work on rank requirements. I worked with Lydia for a little while on 3rd Kata, and then ran through 3rd - 5th Kata and Saifa on my own. Sensei then started me on Seiunchin, working up to the first elbow strike. We then ran through 5th Bunkai Kumite, which I found went surprisingly smoothly, considering I hadn't practiced it while I was out of town, at least not with anyone.

July 2, 1998

After exercises, Sempai David worked with me to get me a few more moves on Seiunchin.

July 7,9,14, 1998

I was in class these days, but I didn't make a note of happenings, etc. One of the three days, Eva tested for green stripe (8th kyu) and passed. She's looking sharper, but the big thing I saw in her test was that she's kiai-ing louder and putting some fighting spirit into her kata. Jason H. also tested for 8th kyu and passed.

We also added a new student, Kelly, who is a friend of Eva.

July 16, 1998

I missed class tonight because I had to stay late for work. I'm going away to the beach this weekend with several other families, and one of the people going is Jim from class, so we'll try to workout on the beach.

July 18-20, 1998

James and I got up every morning (Saturday - Monday) and went down and practiced all of our two-person stuff down on the beach. We're getting to the point now that running through just the two-person stuff takes about an hour. We focused on trying to fix problem with the Bunkai and pivoting properly.

One thing we discovered is that you eat a lot of sand working out on the beach. Every time we kicked (Bunkais 3-5, Kiso Kumite 4), we kicked sand on each other. Also, during Kumibo Nidan, during the sweep, I picked up a clump of sand on the end of my bo and flicked it right into James' face.

July 21, 1998

We have a tournament coming up in Dallas this next weekend, so we are working on preparing for it. Tonight, we split up into upper and lower rank groups and worked on kata. One or two students performed while the others in the group observed and critiqued. I plan to perform Gekisai-dai-san, so that's what I worked on.

July 23, 1998

Again, we worked on tournament related stuff, mainly sparring techniques for point sparring. We also did some point sparring, with the upper ranked students judging. I judged several rounds, and I was surprised how difficult it was. Judging the lower ranked students wasn't bad, since the sparring exchanges tend to be one or two hits. However, once we got into the upper ranks, it was easy to see that hits had taken place, and usually who had gotten the upper hand in the exchange, but it was very difficult to see who had hit first (i.e., who scored the point). The last round I helped to judge was Sensei Yocham vs. Sempai David, and a number of times points were called, but I was unable to determine who scored it.

July 25, 1998

Tournament in Dallas

July 28, 1998

We had a short exercise period tonight, and then ran through group kata. After group kata, we split up to work on kata. Sensei taught me the rest of the moves in Seiuchin, and I practiced it the rest of the evening (about 40 minutes). I'm amazed how much of a workout it is, with the deep stances. By the end of class, I was quite tired.

July 29, 1998

I missed class tonight.

August 4, 1998

We had a good exercise period tonight, but at the end of exercises, everyone bowed improperly. Bad move, it turned into pushup night. First, we did four-person pushups, then we did pushups moving across the mat, then snake pushups. Then we tossed a medicine ball around, did some more pushups, and then the bigger students tossed a heavy bag around. We also did four-person crunches (like four-person pushups). We pretty much did exercises until the end of class, except for a brief period when Kelly tested for 10th kyu. It was a very exhausting evening.

August 6, 1998

There was an awful lot of groaning and moaning and general soreness before class tonight. But I'll note that during class, everyone bowed correctly.

Class itself was pretty light. We ran through exercises and kata, then we split up into smaller groups. I worked on Seiunchin most of the evening, with some corrections from Sensei.

August 11, 1998

Sensei was working with Sempai David on rank requirements tonight, so he asked me to lead class. I ran through exercises and kicks, and then led the class in kata. After that, Sensei had us pair up and work on rank requirements. I worked with Jason H. on 1st and 2nd Bunkai, and also worked with him on Gekisai-dai-Ichi.

August 13, 1998

Tonight was James' 39th birthday, so we did exercises (leg lifts, push-ups, crunches) in sets of 39. After class, he rushed out quick before we could 'celebrate'.

After exercises, I worked with Roy, primarily on Kiso Kumite and 3rd Bunkai. Pretty good bruises.

August 18, 1998

There was a new student in class tonight, Ron, who just moved to Austin and used to study Japanese Goju-Ryu in New Mexico. He said that he studied there for 2 1/2 years, but that they were not as traditional as we are (not as much kata, more sparring, heavier contact in sparring).

After exercises, I worked out with James, working on 5th Bunkai and 3rd Kiso Kumite. I also worked with Sempai David on 4th Bunkai and 4th Kiso Kumite. One of the things James and I have been working on is the blocks and throw and the end of 4th and 5th Bunkai. For the black, I've been working on dropping my weight and drawing down with the blocking hand, so that the block becomes more of a pull. For the throw, I've been working on the strike to the shoulder, and throw in an upright position, instead of leaning into the throw.

James and I also spent a while working on the throw from 3rd Kiso Kumite, technique number 1. Sensei came over and helped us with it for a while.

August 20, 1998

After exercises this evening, Sensei split us up into groups to work on Kata or Kumite. I worked on Seiunchin. After a while, he called James and I over and started us on Tokumine No Kun Dai, or the long Bo form of Tokumine. The beginning is just different enough from Tokimine Sho to get me to screw up the previous Bo forms. Ah, well, practice, practice, practice.

For the last fifteen minutes of class, we did some sparring.

August 25, 1998

After exercises, James, Rudy, and I worked on Kihon Kata No Tonfa. After that, Sensei came over and he showed me some more moves from Tokumine No Kun Dai.

August 27, 1998

After exercises, most everyone split up into groups. I worked on kata, and Sensei came over and gave me the rest of Tokumine No Kun Dai.

August 31, 1998

We found out today, from one of the Canadian Shoreikan groups, that Master Toguchi passed away.

September 1, 1998

I missed class tonight. My son's school was having an open house.

September 3, 1998

After exercises, we partnered up and worked on rank requirements. Sempai Jason worked with me on Kiso Kumite Yondan and Bunkai Gekisai Dai San. After that, he started me on Bo/Bo Kumite Nidan, but we had only barely gotten started when Sensei lined us up for the end of class.

September 8, 1998

During exercises, we worked on combinations for sparring. When we were done, we suited up and free sparred for several rounds. My first two rounds, I went with Sempai David and Sensei, both intense rounds. I started to feel sick during the second round and had to stop to keep myself from throwing up. I wasn't taking a pounding, it was more that feeling of being unable to catch your breath. After I recovered, I sparred with Deanna, who's a new student, and with Ashley.

After sparring, we worked on some kotikitae or arm conditioning. I banged arms with Sempai David, Jason H., and Ashley. I think Ashley gave me some of the best conditioning, but then, she's young and here arms are mostly bone, it seems.

September 10, 1998

Rudy ran the exercises while Sensei and Sempai David worked on rank requirements in the back. After exercises, we performed Sanchin kata and then partnered up. Roy and I worked on two-man sets together, and then I took a look at his Gekisai dai Ichi, sorrected a few things, and then started him on Gekisai dai Ni.

Towards the end of class, Sensei called the students who were working on Saifa together and showed us some changes he had gotten from Shihan Chapman to the way it should be performed. The main difference was to make it more flowing and circular, where previously, Sensei Yocham had been teaching some of the techniques as more linear.

September 15, 1998

Before class this evening, we put on a little demo for Mr. Bodeley's Tae Kwon Do class of 4-6 year olds. Eva performed Gekisai-dai-Ichi, and then we all performed Sanchin while Sensei performed shime (sp?) on us. Roy then performed Saifa, Sensei did Kururunfa, and I did Tokumine No Kun Dai.

After class started, we had a quick exercise and warm-up period, and then performed kicks. However, instead of the normal kicking from fighting stance, we started from Shikodachi, came up, chambered, kicked, and returned to Shikodachi. That was exhausting.

After exercises, we partnered up and worked on rank requirements. Sempai David worked with me on Bo/Bo Kumite Nidan, and we worked through technique #1. We then all switched partners and Sensei worked with me on techniques 1-3. We then switched again and I worked solo on Tokumine No Kun Dai kata. We then switched again and James and I worked on 5th Bunkai and Saifa. We then switched again and I worked with Roy on Gekisai dai Ni.

September 17 - 29, 1998

Sorry, sorry, I've been slacking the last couple of weeks keeping this up. I've been busy with school and work.

September 26, 1998

Today was the TOGKF camp-out up in Irving, although it would up being more of a get-together, since the Senseis weren't able to arrange accomodations with a camping area. Instead, it was held at the house of some of Shihan Chapman's friends or relatives. It worked out very nicely, though.

Sensei Yocham ran us through exercises to get warmed up, and then three times through Sanchin kata. Sensei Gonzales then taught a seminar on Muay Thai kickboxing. After that, one of Shihan's friends, Sensei John Shipes, taught a seminar on Tai Chi, and then another one on Tuite. All in all, we had about two hours worth of seminars.

After the seminars, we all ate lunch and hung out. Shihan set up a game of kickball, only when you hit the ball, there was a specific technique for each inning. One inning it was a reverse punch, another a jumping front kick, and another a ridgehand, etc. We also did some sparring/grappling in the pool that was there.

I packed up about 5:00 and headed back to Austin.

October 1, 1998

After exercises, we did some breaking. I was unsuccessful in my attempt to break a cinderblock, which I find somewhat disconcerting. I'm a pretty big guy, I ought to be able to break one. Sensei always makes us finish our breaks, so I stomped it to break it, but I'd rather be driving a heel-palm into it. I also broke a couple of board with a side-kick, which for me is more a test of my aim than a test of my kicking power.

After class tonight, Sensei told us that Shihan Chapman would be coming down to Austin on October 24th and would like to run a board test. Potentially, Ashley and I would be testing for 3rd kyu and James and Rudy would be testing for 4th kyu. Sensei also announced that he would be testing several other students on the 13th.

October 6, 1998

After exercises, Sempai David worked with me on Bo/Bo Kumite #2, and then he started me on Kiso Kumite Godan. We got through the first three sets of techniques.

October 8, 1998

After exercises, we worked on rank requirements. I worked with a couple of the lower ranked students until towards the end of class and then worked with Sempai David some more on 5th Kumite, getting technique number 4.

October 10, 1998

Saturday morning. I got together with James and Sempai David and we worked on all of our two-person stuff. Sempai showed me techniques 5 and 6 for Kiso Kumite Godan and also started me on Bamahiga Sho Tonfa kata.

October 13, 1998

Tonight, we had a short exercise period, and then Sensei lined up Roy, Lydia, Eva, Jason H., and Kelly for their test. I thought the test went smoothly for the most part, although there were a couple of people who were very nervous during the test and showing it.

I partnered with Roy for most of his two-person techniques, and except for one relatively major flub, I thought it went quite well. The flub was when we were performing 1st Bunkai Kumite, we started to perform 3rd, tried to correct and got completely lost. By the time we got it figured out, everyone else was down, so Sensei had us perform it again, and this time it went much better.

Anyway, at the end of the test, Sensei, Sempai Jason, and Sempai David went back to confer, so we all worked on rank requerements. After they returned, Sensei promoted Roy (6th kyu), Lydia, Jason H., and Eva (7th kyu), and Kelly (9th kyu). All in all, I think the test went well, and I was particularly impressed with Jason H. and Eva, both of whom looked really good on the test.

After class, Sempai David worked some more on Bamahiga Sho with me.

October 15, 1998

After exercises, we split up and worked on rank requirements. I worked with Brian (one of our new students) on first kata and then on Kiso Kumite Shodan. Towards the end of class, I got together with Sempai David and we worked on Kiso Kumite Godan. After class, Sempai ran me through the rest of Bamahiga Sho Tonfa kata.

October 20, 1998

Well, today is my 2 year anniversary studying Goju-Ryu. Pretty cool!

After exercises, we did some arm and leg conditioning. Sempai Jason worked with me, and we pounded arms and legs until I was pretty sore. I then worked with Roy, James, Rudy, and Ashley on Kihon Kata No Tonfa. I also started Ashley on Bamahiga Sho tonfa kata, which was interesting since I'm pretty iffy on it myself. We got through the first turn and almost to the second.

After class, I got together with Sempai David and we ran through 3rd kyu rank requirements. We mainly worked on Bo/Bo Kumite #2 and Kiso Kumite Godan. We were almost done with Kiso Kumite Godan, working on technique #6, when David flipped me a little too close to the wall and I rammed my foot through the drywall. No injury, just a little dust and a beautiful foot-shaped hole.

Sensei hasn't told me yet if I'm definitely testing on Saturday or not.

October 22, 1998

Shihan Chapman and Sensei Owens were down this evening. Shihan ran class while Senseis Yocham and Owens worked on some of their two man sets. We ran through a fairly short set of exercises, including a new (to me, anyway) type of push-up, cat push-ups. First perform a normal push-up. Next, arch your back up and pull your head underneath you, tucking your chin. Now, roll forward so that you chin brushes the ground, and arch your back down, so that you wind up looking up. Return to a normal push-up position and repeat. It's always hard to describe this stuff, it'd be much easier to show. We only did a few of those, but they were killer.

After exercises, Shihan showed us some self-defense applications for some of the exercises we do in class. We then performed Sanchin kata and went through fighting application of techniques out of Sanchin. That was very interesting. When I studied Isshinryu many years ago, we didn't really deal with any kind of fighting application from Sanchin. In Goju-Ryu, we had dealt with some fighting application, but Shihan Chapman's was more detailed than I had seen before.

After class I talked to Sensei Yocham and he told me that I would not be testing on Saturday. He had hoped to do a pre-test tonight but it didn't work out.

October 24, 1998

Sensei Yocham had told me that I wouldn't be testing today, just James and Rudy, but he asked me to come to the test to help with sparring and two-man stuff.  I arrived a few minutes before the test and I brought my son, Matthew, along to watch.  Imagine my surprise when they asked me to pre-test, so that Matthew was sitting alone watching the test.  He was wonderful, though.  He got pretty bored during kata, but enjoyed the two-man empty hand and weapons stuff, and really enjoyed watching me get knocked around during sparring.  Hmmm ...

Shihan Chapman, Sensei Owens, Sensei Yocham, and Sempai David sat on the test board.  Sempai David was my partner for my two-man techniques.  Everything went smoothly except for a couple of places in 5th kiso kumite where I forgot the techniques, and Bo/Bo kumite nidan, where there were several places I messed up.

After the test, the test board discussed some of our problem areas, and gave each of us a list of things to work on.  They then promoted James and Rudy to 4th kyu.

In the afternoon, Shihan Chapman ran a seminar that I went to.  He taught the first white crane kata (Hakutsuru So?) and then taught a tanbo kata.  The tanbo is a short hardwood stick, about the same size as an escrima stick, only hardwood instead of rattan.  The kata itself was part of a longer escrima kata that Shihan had cut down for a basic intro kata.  I like tanbo, it seems like techniques that can be performed with a short stick are more universally applicable than, say, a sai kata.  Of course, any weapon kata teaches you principles that can be used with other weapons, but I can't do sai kata with my mag-lite, whereas tanbo kata works quite nicely.  He he he.

October 27, 29, 1998

I took a week off.  I had promised my wife that I would take some time off towards the end of the year, and having just tested, it seemed like a good time.

November 3, 1998

After exercises, Rudy, James, Ashley, and I worked on Bo/Bo Kumite Nidan.

November 5, 1998

Sensei was out sick, so Sempai David ran class.  After exercises, we paired up and worked on two-person stuff.

November 10, 1998

I ran exercises, then Matt, Kelly, and Brian tested.

November 12, 1998

After exercises, we worked on Bo/Bo Kumite Shodan and Kumibo Shodan.

November 17, 1998

It was my anniversary, so I was out of class.

November 19, 1998

I got to class late.  Sensei was out so Sempai David ran class.  I brought Matthew with me again and he sat and watched class.  Again, I think he got a little bored.

After exercises, we worked on rank requirements.

November 24, 1998

After exercises, I worked with Eva an Kiso Kumite #2 and Bunkai Kumite #2.  Around 8:30, Sensei dismissed the lower belts and had a purple belt and up class.  We ran through kata and then he introduced Rudy, Roy, Ashley, and myself to Tensho.

November 26, 1998

No class.  Happy Thanksgiving!

December 1, 1998

After exercises, we ran through kata.  Sensei had everyone line up and we ran through all the kata sequentially.  When a student finished the last kata they knew, they dropped out and went to work on two-person techniques with a partner.  Sensei ran Rudy and I up to
Gekisai-dai-san, and then introduced us to Gekiha-dai-ichi, which will be the next numbered kata we learn.

December 3, 1998

December 8, 1998

I skipped class tonight.  I have a presentation tomorrow for grad school and I needed to finish it up.

December 10, 1998

December 15, 1998

December 17, 1998

December 19, 1998

No class tonight, just wanted to note that this is my 3 year anniversary since I quit smoking.  Woo hoo!!!

December 22, 1998

Sensei was out on vacation, so Sempai David ran class.  He ran us through exercises and then we ran through Sanchin kata as a class.  After that, we paired up and worked on rank requirements.

The heat at the school was out tonight, and the weather was cold (for Austin, anyway).  As we were running through Sanchin, I could see my breath and my nasal passages were getting kind of raw.

December 24, 1998

No class tonight.  Merry Christmas Eve!

December 29, 1998

Last class of the year.  Sensei was still out, so Sempai David ran class.  After exercises we worked on rank requirements.  See ya next year!
wpwood@saifa.net
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