Omedetou gozimasu! (^^)

     My good friend and karate instructor Takeshi (Take) Tamura, Gitokukai Hawaii took 1st place in Kata competition at the 2011 AAU Nationals! Congratulations! Well done!



Kid's Goshinjutsu? 子供の護身術？What's that? 何それ？？

エイヤー！飛び横蹴りだーい！！

     Shihandai William was recently asked by parents to teach the kids Goshinjutsu or Self-Defense (^^). I could not help but chuckle. My personal feelings on teaching SD  techniques to kids is ....NONSENSE!!!

Just think how long it takes adults to master any self defense technique and the mind set to use it. To practice techniques with compliant adversaries is NOT THE SAME as real-life situations.　
In real life, the attack doesn't end when Sensei yells "Yame". 
In real life, you do not have the luxury of packing your Gi and driving home at the end of practice.
In real life, you cannot  join fellow Dojo members for some beer afterwards to Monday morning quarterback scenarios.
In real life, there is no "taking it easy" or "adjusting the intensity of the attack"
That is one of the fallacies of "teaching" self defense in Dojos.
Do you really believe that a 6-7 year old can take an adult down?
Do you really think that a child can effectively block a punch of an adult intent on kidnapping or harming the child? We need to get real.
Adult or child, no matter how much one tries to make realistic scenarios there is a limit. How do you create the fear factor? Is it healthy to submit a child to a realistic amount of fear in training? How can you create a realistic atmosphere when you will always know that there is  margin of safety and that at the end of practice you will go home as usual in one piece.

    Self Defense begins at home, like anything else parents wish for their kids to master. Manners, social etiquette, tolerance, kindness to others, the ability to see what is right or wrong and the ability and courage to refuse things that are unlawful and or detrimental. The Dojo can supplement those traits. It has to be a joint effort between parents and instructors. Through training we can help the kids develop self confidence and the correct mind set to be able to make proper decisions that will make them safe. 
    Even among adults, how often do we become non-compliant in our drills for bunkai and oyos? I would guess 1 %? The majority of the time it is done with being compliant so that the "jutsu" works like magic.  Of course there is also a safety factor involved in training and there is a limit to how real we can get. But we cannot teach in a way that develops false security. That is the danger of compliant drills. 

    What I want to point out is that what the kids learn at home, school,  and Dojo has to be supportive of each other. Kids cannot learn different sets of rules at every location. Take for instance, observing and abiding to laws, city ordinances and various regulations that we have in our daily lives. How can we tell kids to observe regulations and laws if  we and or parents ignore them. Driving with a cell phone and texting, parking in a no parking zone because its only for a short time, drinking and driving, throwing candy wrappers on the street, crossing against a red light or jaywalking because we are too lazy to walk to an intersection.  There are many other examples.

    I truly believe self defense starts at home. Kids will copy and follow their parents. In public they will copy the manners of adults. Self defense is not about techniques, it is about basic social behavior and simple awareness.

    So, at least at Yokohama and Makiki we will stick to kihon, kata and kumite. No special classes of kid's self defense. What use is kihon if it cannot be used for self-defense as a last resort?
I truly believe in the saying,

 "If one goes through without having to use karate, then karate has accomplished its goal".

一生空手を使わずにて本来の空手の役目を全うした。

上記の翻訳は後で頑張ります。悪しからず。



Mystery/謎

はてな？What Gives???



（＾＾）Hmmmm. Mystery. I'm using my Netbook and I find the vids have uploaded! When I use the Home PC or Laptop the vids do not show. Perhaps it is the Windows 7 software that lets the vids upload.
謎、謎である。ネットブックで見るとビデオがちゃんと映る。家のＰＣとラップトップだと映らない。
ソフトの違いかな？ネットとＰＣはウィンドーズ７、ラップトップはＶＩＳＴＡ．三つともウィンドーズライブフォトギャラリーでヴィデオ編集している。
まー見えるからいいか。。。



Ooops! アッチャー

Looks like the vids didn't upload properly yesterday! (**#)
Back to the drawing board! Gomenasai! I'll work on it after I return from my IV session.
ビデオが上手くアップロードしなかった模様。
やり直し。少々お待ちくだされ。ゴメンなさい。
点滴から戻ったらアタックします。

Back to the Dojo! (^^)

Mahalo to all for emails of encouragements! (^^)

     I resumed karate practice today. It was great to be with the kids again. Due to summer vacation it was probably only 1/4 the normal attendance. But never the less I was energized by the kids! Today I let the kids take turns at being the "Sensei". (^^) I had to smile throughout the session.
I found out how much my stamina had fallen. Just doing the 号令 goreis had me winded.  I had to keep in mind not to use my right arm which has the PIC in. Nothing worse than the PIC getting jarred loose. If that happens, it straight back to ER. Something I would rather avoid!
Interesting trying to teach hikite with only one arm usable! (^^)  One hour went by quickly
    今日から空手指導を再開した。チビ達と一緒にエイ！ヤーは実に楽しい。夏休みなので四分の一しか集まらなかったが彼達から良いエネルギーを貰った。階級問わずに皆「先生」をさせた。ふふ。見て自然に笑顔が。。。大分スタミナが落ちた。号令をやるだけで息切れがした。後は右腕を使わないよう注意した。点滴の管が外れたら、ＥＲに逆戻り。それはなんとしても避けたい！片手で引き手を教えるのは面白かった。一時間があっという間に過ぎた。

 With Tamura Sensei's help worked on some One Point lesson vids.

      In this sequence the hand movement is interpreted as a defense against a single wrist grab and a counter elbow strike against the ribs. The movement may differ according to the Dojo. I do it by bringing back the hands to the waist first before breaking the wrist grab. We also do it against a two handed wrist grab leading into a elbow lock. The focus for me is the dislodging of the opponent's wrist grab. Please remember this is just one of many interpretations out there. This is a just a single sequence vice multiple sequence.
　　この場合は片手で手首を取られた時に対しての防御。カウンターはあばらに肘打ち。道場によっては違いが出る。自分の場合には一旦両手を脇に戻してから外し技に入る。両手で手首を取られた場合にも使う、カウンターは肘関節押さえである。主に相手の手を外す。これは色々な解釈の中の一例である。連続技の中の一つでもある。

   Oh well, it's one of those days! (**#) Difficulties remain on uploading the vids. The one point drill was a drill in which you teach the body accurate movement without having your eyes open. It is an adapation of a shooting drill. You place some markers on the wall to simulate the chin, ribs, solar plexus, groin. Begin by punching at a marker, then close your eyes and punch towards the same marker, then open your eyes to see if the punch is where you wanted it to be. The difficulty increases with combination (oizuki & gaykuzuki)

   The markers can alos be used to working on your kicks, the keyr here is to keep the leg chambered and not put to down on the floor in between kicks. Changing the speed of the kick helps giving the leg a good workout! Have fun.

    I apologize to all Yachiyo fans. She had to work overtime and could not make it to practice and work on the vids. For the time being I am very limited to what I can do. Have to wait until the PIC is removed and then I can really start on my rehab. There are so many things I want to share with everyone.
Some old some new. The important thing to remember is that we are always a 初心者 a beginner. Or studies never end.

The long road to recovery (^^)

     
       5days have passed since getting released from the hospital. My daily routine is settling in. I was fortunate enough to able to schedule my IV every morning at 0900 or 0930 with the exception of Sunday at 0730.
I need to catch the bus as my stamina has not recovered enough for a 45 minute walk. I would guess that my pace is about half of what it used to be. I need to be careful not to push myself to a point of shortness of breath. A normal karate session is still a dream for now. I am prohibited from lifting more than 15lbs.The stitches where the tubes were inserted needs to be pulled out next week. Until then I need to be careful that I don't "pop' the stitches.

The hardest part is to saran wrap my IV before taking a shower! (^^) Can't get that wet. I have learned that I am not that coordinated to do a good job of it with one hand. Fufu. So far, no mishaps though.
Activity is still severely limited. Fatigue hits fairly quickly with any physical exertion.

    
     I try to do some Sanchin, Tensho and other breathing exercises to get my lungs back to 100% (if that is possible) . Light inhalation and exhalation is not bad, but deep breathing may not be good at this point in recovery. I can "feel" the strain. So for now I limit it to shallow ibuki and nogare. Plus the stitches in my side prevents doing sanchin properly.

   To date how I got this pneumonia remains a mystery, especially since there were  none of the usual symptoms or indicators. So checks continue. I am just glad I am able to go about my business.

Of course listening to music helps my rehab! (^^)

MY GOAL!

The morning after. 一夜明けて （＾＾）

Ahhh, Nothing beats being home!

(^^) No 4am chest Xrays, blood samples, Vital checks, no tubes to drag around. The freedom to stand up and go to the frig for some water and grab an energy bar. All the things we take for granted that was denied for the past two weeks. I have to tell you it took a while to figure out how to back into the toilet with all those tubes! And, I had to get very creative just to wipe my okole as my motion range was very limited. I can start taking a full shower from tomorrow, so it is a "bird's bath". Luckily Yachi took on the dangerous task of wiping down the areas on the back I could not reach. OOOOOH, that great feeling of getting that one spot cleaned! Sends waves of shivers down my spine! Hmmmm getting kinda of erotic?? From tomorrow I'll have to saran wrap the IV before taking a shower. Attention to details! Lack of it may cause infection and send me back to ER. No thank you for that!

While I was incarcerated, Yachi did a MAJOR House cleaning. No virus can survive! One major point that permanently glued to my head is personal hygiene and cleanliness. Leave no trash lying around, don't let dust accumulate on the shelves or floors. Wash your eating utensils immediately, don't leave it out in the sink overnight. Don't get LAZY.

A second point left implanted was my diet. I confess! I am a "loko (local) food" addict. I can't walk past a eatery without "having a small bite". (**:) Hawaiian local food is probably the most dangerous in terms of health. Rich thick gravy, meats starches.... Hmmmm so Ono (tasty) The once in awhile turns quickly into "all da time". Yeah, sure now they have "mini-plates" but when you look at the regular......Fufufu.
Yup, time to buckle up and start eating healthy!

versus

Which will you choose? It's your life!

When I reflect my Dojo days in Okinawa and Japan, I do not remember much emphasis placed on the health aspect. At times, the outings after practice went 360 degrees of what is now being espoused. I recall at a Dojo where students just hung their Dogis to dry, some went without washing for a good while which made it very interesting in terms of breath control! But not much was made of it.
Time for my Daily trip to the hospital for my IV of antibiotics!
More to follow.

Just a short note to let y’all know I have been discharged from the hospital this afternoon!!!! (^^)
今日午後退院しました！

I still have 6 weeks (seven days a week) of checking in at the hospital for follow-up IV of antibiotics as the cause of my pneumonia is still a mystery and the docs do not want to take a chance of any recurrence. So, every day I check in for an hour of IV.

まだ六週間の通院で点滴をしなければならない。今回の肺炎の原因が今でに不明なので医師たは大事をとって引き続き点滴で再発を防ぎたい様だ。毎日一時間の点滴（週末も入れて）

Naturally, my physical activities are severely limited (nor do I want to overdo it!) so I will relegate myself to the “Ahh, grasshopper, 20 more pushups” verbal leadership (^^). With the help of Take, Steve, Miwa and Yachi I hope to continue the just started “One point lessons” series so that I can leave as much as I can for my students and friends.
無論運動や活発な動きは禁止である。まー怒鳴る事はできる。出来るだけワンポイントも復活して皆の自分の知っている空手を残したい。やちよ、武、スチーブ、美和の協力を借りて実行したい。
It is strange having a semi-permanent IV tube implanted in my arm. I feel like walking up to nearest gas station and “fill ‘em up” and be reenergized.
点滴の管が半永久の腕に入っているのでなんとなく近くにガススタンに行き”満タン宜しく”でエネルギー補給がしたくなる

I thank all of you who have sent words of encouragement during the past two weeks of pain and feelings of despondence. I can hear my good friend Tony saying “This is when you find if you really pursued the way of Budo and Osu!” (^^) I am happy to report my Shugyo has led me the correct way in this past time of crisis.

このたび、励まと激励のメッセージを下さった皆に感謝したい。こ二週間痛みと絶望感との戦いに皆の声で助かった。友人のトニーが「本当に武道と押忍の修行をしてたかはっきりする」と説教されるのが聞える。まー取りあえずは今までの修行で今回の危機を乗り越えたと判事が出来る。

The battle (tongue in cheek version0 PT 1

          The past ten days have been frightening to be honest. The enemy was invisible and well entrenched. From when, the answer is still not out.  The battle started on Weds afternoon with first wave of vicious and painful attacks. One small cough would trigger a super painful spasm. The body reacted as if being tasered and all that left my lips were “UNNNNNNNNGH”

FIND THE ENEMY!!

The immediate counter-attack was the draining of the affected lung and bombardment  of anti-biotics. By the next day, a vast amount of liquid had been  drained but my temperature continued to rise. More CT scans and Xrays. Six days later another operation which left me with two additional drains! I would have made a good CM for Roto Rooter!

Whew, its exhausting just writing this splurb! More to follow!

2nd Surgery completed

Last night had my second surgery which successfully removed the bulk of the contamination. Still attached suction to remove residue junk. Going home day for now is Sunday with no additional  complication.  I need to suck in 1500 ml to get released (**)
Easier said than done!