The Fat Karate-Ka

Solo in St. Louis: Recap of Silver Sun Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Sun, 27 May 2012 15:18:00 +0000

This past weekend, I completed the emotional roller coaster that is participating in an out of state tournament. Specifically, I attended the 2012 Silver Sun Showdown in St. Louis. It was my first out of state tournament without Teri (or Sensei) and my first time to St. Louis without her. And, without Teri, I had to face a half dozen phobias and new situations: conquering three bridges, the car rental counter and NASKA-style judging.

The Trip

Megabus is what Greyhound could be if it was run by a half-hour MTV reality show: free wifi, outlets to run laptops or charge your phone and, if you score a seat in front, you can work at a table with cup holders. Round trip to St. Louis cost me $38.

The only down side is that Megabus does not avoid scary bridges when routes are planned. Whereas I spend hours on Google maps, popping into street view over every major waterway, Megabus just goes for the fastest route. In this case, the fastest route included the I&M Canal Corridor and the Martin Luther King Bridge.

REALLY?! Have you seen this? It’s a 4,000 foot cantilever truss bridge. I cried when we crossed it. (Just a little, but I think I may have frightened my seat mate.)

The Tournament

For weapons, I performed a sound (but not very memorable) tokameni. I don’t know what else I can say about it. It was one of my better performances. I thought it went well, until I got my scores: 9.95 across the board. (Well. one person gave me a 9.97 but the highest and lowest scores gets tossed.) So, I got fifth out of five.

I was heartbroken. And angry. Counting the bus ride to the train station, the train ride into Chicago, the bus ride and the waiting at each point in between, I had spent 8 hours trying to get to this tournament. There was no way in heck I was going to walk out of here with last place in every division.

For kata, I performed Sunsu. I started strong…really strong. I was totally crushing this kata, until the thrust kick. Before I started the kick, I was aware that my Chinto stance was way too narrow. And, when I did kick, I lost my balance. It was a tiny little wobble…approximately 2 feet in front of the center judge.

When the kata was finished, I stormed from the ring. It wasn’t that I wasn’t going to trophy that had me upset. It was that I was going to get last again for something so stupid that should not have happened. All that hard work was ruined. I paced back and forth in an attempt to stop from crying. Then, it was time to collect my scores: 9.97s. Third place. My eyes filled up with tears again. I hadn’t completely blown it.

The best part, however, came later when it was time to shake hands with the judges.

“It was a very strong kata, intense,” said the first. “It’s why I gave you such a high score.”

I didn’t have time to respond before the next judge had hold of my hand. “Yes,” said the second, “but the wobble.”

“I-I meant to ask about that,” I stammered. “Besides the wobble…”

“No, it was just that.” I had the attention of three out of the five judges. The wobble was a BIG mistake, so big it couldn’t be ignored. But the rest of the kata was…good. And the three judges I was talking to were smiling at me (real smiles, like with their eyes and everything), telling me it was a good kata. For one tiny moment, I thought I knew what it would feel like to be Brett.

I lost sparring 7-0. There was considerably more swearing in this event. From me. It’s an adrenaline thing and I’m really working on it. (For reals, yo.) I landed two techniques, neither counted for points. With a five-judge-ring, that’s not an angle thing. That’s having poor technique. I’ll work on that. (And the blocking.)

Judging

In between kata and sparring, black belts have a lot of time on their hands. We’re first to kata and last to spar. So, I told Sensei Creamer I could help.

“Brett, grab two judges and start a ring in ring 5.”

I looked at Brett expectantly. If I remembered anything from middle school gym class, it’s that your friends pick you to be on their team.

“You two,” Brett said pointing to me and the man next to me.

(Yes. Next incarnation, I’m going to try and make some friends in middle school.)

We had 13- and 14-year-old division, which was a larger group than I am used to. Also, the NASKA-style scoring is a pain for large groups.

In the scoring method I’m used to, you’re given a point range (like 5-7) and everyone in your group will receive a score within that range. So, one of the first three people I see will be put squarely in the middle of those scores. If I like someone better, they’ll be placed halfway between the middle score and the top score. I continue placing people in various halfway points until everyone is done. The scores are lined up neatly on the right side of my white board in the order in which the competitors appeared and nothing is erased. When I’m finished, the scores I award are significantly lower than what the other judges are awarding, but we pretty much agree on who gets first, second and third place.

In this style of scoring, we have 10 possible scores to hand out: 9.90 through 9.99, and the top four scores (9.99-9.96) can only be awarded once. We watched everyone go through and awarded everyone points at the end. The first group through had 10 competitors. I figured I’d just write down what place I thought each person should get and then assign points later.

A little more than half way through, the side of my white board was a mess. The “places” were erased and written over again several times. Some were scribbled out. It was barely legible. I glanced over at Brett’s score card to see if he had an easier system. Apparently he did, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He had a neat column of numbers down the right hand side (mostly 5s and 6s), some of them had a plus or a minus next to them.

The hardest part (besides reading my own hand-writing) was changing the places into scores. First through third was easy enough. For fourth place and lower, I had to count on my fingers to get the score.

Embarrassed, I tried to keep my right hand low as I counted on my fingers.

“Judges, ready…”

“No!” I squeaked. Damn, I lost count.

“Take your time.”

Crap, lost count again.

“Shut up.” I said.

“Take your time.”

Surviving kata, it was finally time to judge sparring. I definitely feel more comfortable here. My only issue is that Brett was much faster than I’m used to. In local tournaments, the center judge says, “Judges…” PAUSE, “score!” Brett was more like “Judges score.” (I skipped the comma on purpose. He didn’t even put in a comma’s worth of a pause.)

I was so consistently late on calling points, that I made it a point to look away from the other judges when I did my hand signals. (I didn’t want the parents and coaches to think I was just mimicking what the other two were doing.)

It went considerably more smoothly, except when I almost got run over by a couple of 14 year olds. I was trying to move out of their way, while still watching them and got hung up on the corner. I also kind of forgot that, while judging, I could step out of the ring. (I spent three years trying to stay inside the ring; it’s a hard habit to break.)

“Stay out of the way, Stacy!”

“Yah, thanks,” I muttered.

Recap

All in all, it was a good tournament. I got to bring a trophy home with me and it was small enough to put in my purse. Just for the record, I brought a really huge purse, so I could fit Sensei’s bo in it. His bo breaks down into three pieces that screw together. I carried it with me the entire time I was in St. Louis – terrified I was going to lose it or forget it.

Even with a competing, equally large tournament taking place the same weekend in Detroit, it was a good sized crowd. I had adult women to compete against, always a plus. Better yet, I had senior women to compete against.

Combative Seminars: Bringing Martial Artists Together

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

“Oh, they’re just fighting,” I said with a sigh of relief.

It was day two of the Hand-Stick-Knife-Gun Close Quarter Combatives Seminar the Romeoville Isshin-Ryu Karate Club was hosting. You have to see the flyer to understand my trepidation. The words “combat” or “combative” appeared at least four times and it had the stencil font that makes you think of the military.

As the love child of a beatnik and a hippie, things that have overt military themes make me nervous. I had visions of black military fatigues and attendees who had bugout locations hidden somewhere. But, as it turns out, I was worried about nothing.

“There’s different ‘types’ of martial arts,” explained seminar attendee Steve Zorn, Warsaw, IN. “There’s sport, art, traditional. And then there’s defensive or ‘combative’ – stuff for survival.”

The seminar was led by W. Hock Hocheim, founder and creator of the Scientific Fighting Congress. One of the principles of his program is to “’bridge the gap between the military, the police, the martial artist and the aware citizen.’ Each group knows things about fighting that the other doesn't.” That’s a quote from his Web site. Someone seriously needs to tell Hock’s graphic designer about this part of the mission statement; it’s not adequately depicted in the marketing materials.

But, desktop publishing aside, there were a variety of styles represented at the seminar. The bulk of the students came the Romeoville school but there were also martial artists from Indiana and Michigan attending.

“It's not just one martial art. For lack of a better phrase, it’s a brotherhood thing,” said Steve, who attends two or three of Hock’s seminars each year. “We have varied styles and come from different backgrounds.”

So, how does Hock bring together a group of people with varied styles and experiences? By looking for common ground.

“I’m interested in the essence of combat: What’s smart and universal,” said Hock. “It’s not any system in particular but the essence of many systems.”

Feel free to giggle at this point, if the existential, hippie-sounding phrases seem out of context. I didn't have that luxury because I was looking Hock in the face and I didn't want to piss him off.

He provided a better explanation of the whole “essence” thing. Let’s say you have a guy from the krav maga style and another guy who learned muay thai. Both of them perform a turning kick. You can’t tell the krav maga guy he’s doing the kick wrong, if it doesn’t look like the muay thai kick. You can’t tell the muay thai guy that he’s doing it wrong either, when his kick doesn't look like the krav maga kick.

“But you can look at those kicks and ask yourself, if you strip away all the ‘style’ what’s left?” said Hock. What you should be left with is good solid technique that will work for the muay thai guy, the krav maga guy and even the karate girl.

“Ideally, I want our guys not to look like any one style,” he said. “They should be completely devoid of flavor.”

Hock brings his flavorless, style-less style of combat to thousands of people each year by providing 35 to 40 seminars in up to 11 different countries.

“It’s a modular system,” said Sensei Eddie Cavazos, “so you don’t have to attend events in a specific order.” Many of the movements and terminology is shared across the modules, whether you’re learning to disarm someone with a knife or using a baton/arnise.

Sensei Eddie has been attending Hock's seminars since the late '90s. In fact, Sensei Eddie is a black belt in many of the Congress' Training Divisions and is a Master Instructor in Knife / Counter-Knife Combatives and Impact Weapon Combatives.

Finding something new and the time to train can be a bit of a challenge. Hock is home in Texas Monday through Friday, most weeks unless he’s out of the country. He tries to turn his seminars into workouts. And he’s always “on the prowl” for new stuff.

“I’m a retired cop, but I have access to free training,” he said. “Of course, I’ve been doing this since 1972, so there’s not a lot of ‘new’ stuff.”

But don't think that means he's not finding new stuff that works. That's Hock's style: a kind of self-deprecating humor that allows him to talk about his accomplishments without laying on the shit. On his own Web site, where he mentions being featured on the cover of Black Belt magazine, he says, "BB has been around for almost 40 years. That's 40 years times 12 covers a year. Folks, that's 480 covers. Sooner or later they will work through all of us." But still, he admits, it's kind of cool.

Sensei Eddie and others who work with and study under Hock can see the advantages: taking what's universal -- what works -- and putting it to practical use. And, despite what Hock says about not finding a lot of new stuff any more, his students find new details, new ideas, at each seminar.

“His courses are fluid,” said Sensei Eddie. “So, if he finds something new that’s working, he puts it in. You’re always learning something new.”

I felt like a fish out of water at this seminar. Have you ever attended one of Hock's seminars? What did you think? How do you feel about stencil fonts and ads at the back of Black Belt Magazine.

Close Quarter Combative Seminar to be Held April 14 & 15 in Romeoville, IL

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Military, Police and Martial Arts Veteran W. Hock Hochheim returns to Romeoville, IL, to teach a Hand-Stick-Knife-Gun Close Quarter Combatives Seminar on April 14 and 15, 2012.

Hock will instruct participants on a variety of techniques and strategies from the programs of his Scientific Fighting Congress: www.hockscqc.com. This seminar will also focus on:

Impact Weapon/Baton Combatives and Filipino Stick Techniques: "The 35 Essentials of Close Quarter Stick Fighting"
Knife Combatives Takedowns and Grappling
Combat Kicks and Counters to Kicks

Please bring a pair of training sticks (rattan Filipino style is the most common) and a training knife.

The seminar will take place at the Romeoville Recreation Center, 900 West Romeo Road in Romeoville, IL. for more information, contact seminar host Eddie Cavazos at eddiecavazos@comcast.net.

The seminar will run Saturday, April 14 from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday, April 15 from 10am to 4:30pm. Both days will have a lunch break in the middle of the seminar.

The cost for is $150 for both days, $100 for one day. You can register online at www.hockscqc.com. Available discounts:

AOKA members can receive a $25 discount for the weekend.

Instructors will get half off their own admission if they bring 3 students with them. Instructors who bring 5 students can attend for free.

These discounts are not available online. Contact Eddie Cavazos for information, eddiecavazos@comcast.net.

If you are traveling in and need to stay overnight, stay at the Romeoville Best Western, 1280 W. Normantown Road, Romeoville, IL 60446, 815-372-1000. It is the closest hotel to the seminar site and has very good rates.

Download flyer.

Fox Valley Goodwill Karate Championship - Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:45:00 +0000

Pictured above is Gyda Stoner, of Kim’s Black Belt Academy in Aurora, who turned 70 last Friday. She also did a brief judo demonstration during the Fox Valley Goodwill Championship Karate Tournament on March 24. (See more pictures on our Facebook page.)

Back in the early 1990s, I took a science class at Aurora University that was taught by Gyda Stoner. Even then, she was a bit of a legend in Aurora.

As a child she had polio. And, I guess, if you had polio back then, you pretty much spent the rest of your life in a wheel chair. But instead of giving up, Gyda Stoner took up learning to use a lasso and trick riding (horses). In fact, she not only overcame polio she got a job with the rodeo. (It’s the type of story that, once you hear it, it sticks with you for 20 years.)

As an adult, she has served on a dozen or more community boards. She’s one of those people who never stops moving and, when you see her name mentioned in the newspaper or somewhere else, you say, “Hey, I know her! What’s she doing now?”

Anyway, she didn’t do a lot of talking during her demonstration. But we did get to watch her toss around her 58-year-old uke (or whatever the Judo-equivalent is). It’s always fun to watch a woman beating up on a guy. It’s double the fun when she’s 70. (EVERYONE was recording this. So I suspect someone will put it up on YouTube, soon.)

Now, for the tournament. Parking was tight, the lot quickly overflowed and cars lined up on both sides of the street outside of the Fox Valley Montessori School. The venue was also a tight squeeze. It turns out, the organizers were actually able to squeeze in three rings plus spectators. It was a snug fit, but it wasn’t really crowded. It was…cozy.

Get this: no score cards on the forms competition. The judges held up fingers. If I understood the process correctly, crossing your hands while showing a score, added a half point. So they could only do scores like 6 or 6.5. It was old school, yo. (But they had flags for the sparring matches!)

The judges were experienced. And it didn’t look like any of the competitors were confused about where they were supposed to be. I wouldn’t say that things moved quickly, but there wasn’t a lot of standing around in the rings either. So, I’d say things were moving smoothly, but a little on the slow side. (Which, of course, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.)

All-in-all, it appeared to be a good event. It’s a little on the pricey side for its size ($60 at the door for a single event), but still one you should consider adding to your annual schedule.

PS - Don't forget to check out our favorite pictures from the event, which are posted on our Facebook page. You can tag pictures of people you know and add your comments. (Don't forget to "like us," while you're there so you can keep up to date with other Martial Arts events.)

IHOF Nomination Deadline is April 29

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:42:00 +0000

Sorry for the late notice on this. I forgot to tell IHOF that I changed my email address.

The Isshinryu Hall of Fame (IHOF) is accepting online nominations through ~~April 1, 2012,~~ April 29, 2012, for outstanding students, teachers, and dojos. There are several categories to choose from, more information is available at the official IHOF Web site, http://www.theihof.com.

The top five people in each category will be recognized at the IHOF banquet on July 27, 2012. (There's also a tournament on July 28.) The weekend's events take place at the Chattanooga Convention Center and the Marriott Hotel within the convention center. Again, all the details are on the web site.

The Isshinryu Hall of Fame Board of Directors is made up of ten members representing many diverse Isshinryu associations and backgrounds. The IHOF does not offer membership through dues collection, nor does it charge for awards.

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April 9 Edit: My bad, the nomination deadline is April 29. Get those nominations in!!

Kata Ownership

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:02:00 +0000

Who "owns" a kata? The question was spurred by a..."debate" Sensei and I were having about creative kata. Sensei is a traditionalist who has little patience for creative kata. Whereas I feel, in competition, tweaking a kata's performance is perfectly acceptable.

In fact, doing so, in a thoughtful manner, could even deepen your understanding of a kata's bunkai because you're no longer just asking yourself "why did was this move chosen?" You begin to ask, "why was this move chosen over this other move?" or "Why do we show this move going front and backward...what happens if it's performed on an angle?" Picking things apart, dissecting and questioning is how we learn.

But the real fun (debate) began when I said, "Yes, it's an Isshinryu kata but it's my kata, too."

I believe a person takes possession of her kata when she applies bunkai to it. At that point, the kata is no longer just something she does; it’s something that lives inside her. The important word here, I think, is “apply.”

There are kata for which I know bunkai but I do not claim to own. Tokimeni comes to mind. I have bunkai for pretty much the entire kata from beginning to end. Some of it is good, sound bunkai. Most of it’s kind of flakey. But, going through the kata very slowly, I can describe step by step what I could be doing.

I rarely apply this bunkai performing the kata, however. Visualizing is pretty darn close to daydreaming and I could be very dangerous performing this kata. I don’t mean dangerous as in a “force to be reckoned with.” I mean dangerous as in “Look out! Dear God, what is she doing?” (Daydreaming + weapon = something really bad.)

It’s possible to perform a kata for your entire life and still never be able to claim its ownership.

OK, now this is where my theories on kata ownership become a little convoluted. Although I can claim ownership of a kata, I’m never its sole owner. I like to think of myself more as a shareholder.

Master Keith Smith, my sensei, is also a shareholder in the kata because he taught the movements and most of the bunkai. By this reasoning, Sensei Patrick Buckley (Smith’s first sensei) and Master Steve Young (his current sensei), are also shareholders. So are Armstrong, Long, et al.

All these people own pieces of the kata that live inside of me. So, it makes sense that my kata is different than that kata that lives inside BFF Teri. And our kata are different than the kata that lives in Brett.

Sometimes, my kata looks a bit like Frankenstein’s monster. (The pop-culture version of his monster, not Mary Shelley’s version.) I feel like I should cite my sources.

Sometimes my kata looks ugly. My Sunsu is currently sporting some new “bigger” stances courtesy of Sensei Burrell and a gawky gait that is similar to that of a teenager who had a sudden growth spurt.

But, at least, it’s mine.

Upcoming Events: 2 Tourneys and a Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:03:00 +0000

AOKA Applied Self-Defense Kata Workshop
The American Okinawan Karate Association (AOKA) will host am Applied Self-Defense Kata Workshop from 9 a.m. to noon March 18, 2012, at Red Rock Bar and Grill, 332 Detroit Avenue in Morton, IL. (That's right the AOKA workshop is at a bar. 'Cuz that's how we roll.)

Sensei Miller will instruct participants on self defense against various attacks and will also showing where these types of defenses apply in our katas. There will be no spectators or filming allowed. Pre-registration is REQUIRED the only exception is if your rank is GrandMaster. Further details will be provided with the acceptance of your registration.

Cost is $5 for AOKA members, $10 for nonmembers and FREE if you renew your AOKA membership.

Register online: http://kataselfdefenseworkshop.eventbrite.com/.

Fox Valley Goodwill Karate Championship
The American Hapki-Ye Federation will host the Fox Valley Goodwill Karate Tournament March 24 at Fox Valley Montessori School, 850 N. Commonwealth Avenue in Aurora, IL. The tournament marks the federation's 40th Anniversary. Doors open at 11 a.m., Black Belt meeting starts at 11:30 and competition starts at noon with Forms. This tournament will include forms, sparring and board breaking.

Cost is $50 for one event, $60 for two and $70 for three. (Add $10, if you register at the door.)

Not familiar with this particular tournament. I'm intimately familiar with the venue. (It happens to be where MSOI-Aurora meets for its classes.) It's a smaller venue. I can't see them being able to run any more than two rings and still have room for spectators.

Register or download the flyer at http://www.hapkiye.com/.

5th Annual Naperville Challenge
The 5th Annual Naperville Challenge will be held April 1, 2012, at the Y Sports Complex, 31W290 Schoger Dr. in Naperville, IL. This is supposed to be larger venue than last year's tournament, which had definitely outgrown its old location (my only complaint about last year's tourney).

Doors open at 9am, Black Belt meeting at 10am, Musical and Extreme divisions begin at 10:30am and all other divisions will start promptly at 11am.

Register by March 30, and you'll pay $45 for the first event and $5 for each additional event (plus a $4 "technology and convenience" fee for registering online.) Pay at the door it's $50 for the first event and $5 for each additional event. Normally, I encourage early registration to save money, but it works out to $1. So, you decide.

Register online: https://www.martialartstechnologies.com/register?tournamentID=58
Download the flyer: http://www.akakarate.com/2012-napervillechallenge-flyer.pdf

For more information contact Sharkey's Karate at 630-369-8055 or email sharkey100@aol.com or martialscience@sbcglobal.net.

Martial Arts Tournaments on March 11

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:32:00 +0000

There are two open martial arts tournaments in Far West Chicago Suburbs on Sunday, March 11.

Aurora, IL Tournament
Academy of Martial Arts Circuit Tournament will be held at the Aurora Turners Club Sports Facility 1335 Mitchell Rd., Aurora, IL. Registration is from noon to 12:30 p.m. Tournament starts at 12:30 p.m.
Small tournaments that meet frequently. Event moves very quickly. Fee for competitors is $35 for all divisions. Adult spectators pay $5; kids under 12 pay $3 to watch. USSSA Sanctioned Event and the first tournament of the USSSA point circuit year. For information, call Shihan Mark Nixon, 815-919-7540, or Shihan Mike Peura, 630-553-8378.

Sugar Grove, IL Tournament
Rocky's Dojo and Gym will host their tournament at the Sugar Grove Community House, 61 South Main Street in Sugar Grove. R egistration is at 10 a.m. and bow in is at noon. Small tournament with a good group of judges. The Troutmans have been hosting 3-4 tournaments a year for the past 30-35 years. So, it runs very smoothly, but a more leisurely pace. BFF Teri and Stacy have attended almost every one of their tournaments for the past 3 years. A great tournament for first-time competitors. $35 Registration (walk-in only) for one or more events. $5 adult spectators/$3 for kids under 12. For information, call 630-466-7414.

Academy of Martial Arts Circuit Tournament - Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:45:00 +0000

The Academy of Martial Arts Circuit’s first tournament off the 2012 Circuit Year was held Feb. 26 at the Turner’s Club in Aurora. This was my first time attending and it was a pretty good tournament.

It was well organized and moved quickly. In fact, compared to the leisurely pace of Rocky’s tournaments, this one felt almost rushed. But, whereas I’m perfectly happy spending all day watching and participating in a martial arts tournament, I realize most people are not.

One student from my dojo's youth team attended the Academy of Martial Arts Circuit with me. His parents were impressed with the tournament's pace.

The competition field was little small but that should change as more people learn about the tournaments. One of the biggest challenges they will face is getting more martial arts styles involved. In other words, they need to get the message out to local martial artists that these are truly open tournaments.

The tournament has a lot of potential. The venue was good size with adequate seating and parking. I look forward to attending future events with my dojo's entire youth team.

As for me, personally, I didn’t perform as well as I wanted to at the tournament. Trapped inside my own head (again), I basically lost the tournament before I even showed up.

Now, for the fun stuff.

Kata

On route to the tournament, my hands started shaking pretty badly. I grabbed some Paelo-friendly snacks on the way, but it soon became clear that my problem was not hunger. I also wondered if I was over-caffinated. I mean, having two lattes before a tournament is probably not a good thing, right?

But, this is the third consecutive tournament in which my hands were shaking so badly that it affected one or more kata. So, basically, it’s been an issue since I started competing as a black belt. I don’t know what to do about it or how to fix it. It’s not like have a bad stance, where constant correction and practice will help. I’m fighting against my own brain and body. (And I seem to be losing.)

In addition to the shaking I recently “refined” my stances, which resulted in my gait being kind of awkward. So, when they called my name for fifth, it wasn’t exactly a surprise. “Yup,” I called out and trotted out to take my spot.

Strangely enough, I’m not too upset about it. Well, I’m upset that I didn’t perform as well as I thought I should have or as well as I believe I can do. But, totally deserved last place. That kata sucked, big time.

What did surprise me was when Steve Brown, Jr., was called next for fourth place. “What?” I said. He cocked an eyebrow in my direction. He was displeased with the outcome. Hey, you can’t always trophy, right?

As a side note, Steve said he thought my kata improved a lot. (He’s judged my kata several times when I was competing as an upper kyu.) So, either the ~~new, bigger~~ refined stances look so good he could see the improvement through the shaking or I seriously sucked as a kyu. Or he was being nice. I don’t care. I was having a bad day, I’ll take the compliment and run.

Jorge Chacon got first in kata. He did Kusanku again, which was also the kata won first with at the last Rocky's tourney. It’s a beautiful interpretation of the kata. (Although his bow-in is a little too long for my taste.)

Weapons

Long story short, I did considerably better with weapons. I got mad. Mad at myself for sucking so badly at forms. Mad at one of the judges who made a pretty sexist remark at me. (“It’s tough competing against all men.” ) My stances were high, but I was OK with the general performance. It was as good or better than any other winter bo performance. (I can only practice bo outside, so I don’t get a lot of practice in the winter.)

I got fourth out of five. The fifth-place guy dropped one of his tonfa. I was bummed because:

His kata was shaping up pretty nicely up until then.
I did a pretty good kata and I don’t want people thinking I only got fourth because he dropped his weapon.

Shaking hands with the judges, later, one said “Now, THAT was a good kata.”

“Yeah,” I laughed. “I mean, ‘thanks.’”

(Steve got first, if you're wondering.)

Sparring

The very first thing that happened was I was scolded by the center judge for losing my ticket. In my defense, I put the ticket in my bra and I NEVER lose anything that I put in my bra. OK, obviously it has now happened once. Prior to the match, here was a hilarious (and uncomfortable) 60 seconds during which I seriously looked for that ticket, too.

The bad news is I lost. The good news is I got to fight with the light weights. (AWESOME!) I just like the sound of it "Light Weight Division."

I was totally 20 lbs heavier than the guy I sparred but (I think) we were pretty close to the same size. It’s hard to tell because, like most women, I have this whole body-image thing going on. And it is, therefore, hard for me to compare my size to the sizes of other people. For sure, the guys who were legitimately in my weight class were several inches taller than me. So, apparently, I’m more densely packed than I used to be, which is good.

I'm not going to lie, I wish I fought better. I do think I'm a better fighter than how I actually fought on Sunday. I wasn't my usual aggressive self. (The guy I was sparring is like 20 years younger than me. That's a little intimidating.)

I stuck around to see Steve beat Mitch for Grands.

Fat Karate-ka Facebook Cover (Poll)

The Fat Karate-ka's Facebook page has a new look. We thought it would be fun to use our "cover" image to feature a competitive martial artist. So, to that end, we've put up a little survey/poll on Facebook to see who our first featured martial artist will be.

The "winner" will get:

Featured status on our FB page from Mar 17-May 17
A $25 Marie Collender gift card
Our Total Adoration

It's not really a contest, per se. We're just giving out the gift card to add the spirit of competition.

Pictures from Academy of Martial Arts Circuit Tournament Available

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:05:00 +0000

The Academy of Martial Arts Circuit's first tournament of 2012 was held Feb. 26 at the Turner's Club in Aurora, IL. A write up on the tournament is coming soon.

In the mean time, I've posted pictures of some black belt kata and the sparring on the Fat Karate-ka FB page. Take a moment to hop over and tag some pictures and leave some comments.

Reader Question: Quest to Buy Women’s Karate Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Hi - I am a 43 year old female who has been studying Karate for about two years. I love it! I am on a quest to find women's karate shoes (mostly for kata and practicing). Do you know of anyplace to purchase them? Thanks!

My only experience with martial arts shoes are the Ringstar sparring shoes and I’m not a huge fan. They look and feel like something Run D.M.C. would have worn (like from "Tougher than Leather" era or earlier). And, they make your feet really sweaty. However, if you have a broken toe (or just think that maybe you might have broken your toe), they are much more tolerable. In fact, with an injured toe, they are AWESOME.

I also keep some lyrical dance slippers in my karate bag. They’re nice when you have a ripped callous.

I don't know of a karate shoe specifically for women. But, if someone does make women’s shoes, they’ll cost twice as much as the guy’s shoes.

At my dojo, the Adidas SM II is popular. My understanding is they are in men's sizes. So, in the US, that means you just subtract 2 from your normal size and you have your size in men's shoes. For example, I typically wear a 9, so I would order a 7.

What do you think? Do you use karate shoes? And, if so, what ones would you recommend?

Fit Karate-ka Class Update and Map

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The Fit Karate-ka classes start tomorrow. And the two bridges that are closest to Annie's Om Towne Fitness (which is, technically, located on an island) will be closed, starting today. (I'm known for my awesome timing.) The bridges on Benton will be open and the street will be turned into a two-way street during the renovation (which shouldn't be confusing at all).

The Downer bridges are "historic" (which is political speak for "old as hell") so I'm totally in favor of the closure. However, I wish it could start in the summer or just about any time after the class starts.

The good news is that there is free parking in the parking garage at Downer and Stolp. If you're patronizing a business on Downer (that would include us over at Annie's Om Towne Fitness), you can park for free on the parking deck as long as you're there for less than an hour. (And my class is 45 minutes and less than a block away, how convenient is that?!)

As an added bonus, if you sign up for the entire six-week session, you will be guaranteed to see me, at some point, crawling on my belly to get to the building. The only thing scarier than a historic bridge is HALF a historic bridge.

If you want information on the bridge renovation, you can read the official propaganda on the City's Web site.

Feb. 8 update: ~~Remember: Fit Karate-Ka Classes meet 7:15 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 7 through March 13, at Annie's Om Towne Fitness, 18 W. Downer Place in Aurora. (Don't let the missing bridges scare you off. )~~ Canceled. We'll try again in a month or two.

2012 Silver Sun Showdown Open Martial Arts Tournament, St. Louis, MO

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:27:00 +0000

BFF Teri, the kids (minus one who's taking the picture) and I, hanging out outside of Pappy's in St. Louis after the Silver Sun Showdown in 2010. A great tournament followed by some great barbecue.

The Silver Sun Showdown will be held Saturday, May 19, at Hazelwood West High School, 1 Wildcat Lane, St. Louis, MO. Please note, that this is a new location. Previously the tournament was held at East High.

Check out their Web site for full details. There are various competitor fees depending on the competitor’s division and UKA affiliation. I also noticed there is a family discount for when 3 or more people from the same family participate in the tournament. (Thank you, Sensei Creamer!)

For more information, call 636-279-3730 or email or email, allstarkarate@charter.net.

Academy of Martial Arts Circuit Tournament, Aurora, IL

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:49:00 +0000

Academy of Martial Arts Circuit Tournament will be held Feb. 26 at the Aurora Turners Club Sports Facility 1335 Mitchell Rd., Aurora, IL. Registration is from noon to 12:30 p.m. Tournament starts at 12:30 p.m.

Fee for competitors is $35 for all divisions. Adult spectators pay $5; kids under 12 pay $3 to watch.

USSSA Sanctioned Event and the first tournament of the USSSA point circuit year. For information, call Shihan Mark Nixon, 815-919-7540, or Shihan Mike Peura, 630-553-8378.

Hanging at AKA Grand Nationals

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:59:00 +0000

I have no idea why it looks like he’s “flipping off” the judges’ table at the Grand Nationals. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, but this photo cracked me up and I’m using it.

This past weekend was the 47th Annual AKA Grand Nationals. BFF Teri is getting over bronchitis. So, the I went solo to hang out with and photograph some awesome martial artists.

I was planning on doing some “real” event coverage, since I wasn’t competing. You know, write about the actual AKA Grand National results. I was going to put my background in journalism to some practical use, but no responded to my request for press passes. So, it’s back to Circuit Gossip and blatant name dropping. (And I’m really, really bad at names. So, there probably won’t be a lot of that either.)

If you were looking for pictures from the tournament, you can head straight over to the AKA Grand Nationals album on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to tag people you know.

I knew for sure that Brett Thomason and Terry Creamer from All Star Karate Academy near St. Louis, were going to be there. So, I immediately started looking for them. With my long list of phobias and anxiety, it’s always a big deal when I go off by myself somewhere. It’s turned out OK the past few times I’ve tried it, but there’s a huge potential for it to turn into a complete cluster fuck. So, it’s important to have a “safe zone” you can come back to when things get to be a little overwhelming. They didn’t know it, but the All Star group, was my safe zone.

I found Brett near the center ring, which at this tournament was a stage. I’ve seen this before on YouTube and photos, but this was the first time I’ve actually been to a tournament that had a stage.

“Hey, you,” I greeted him. “Where’s your ring? 11? 13?”

There was a sign outside that had several rings labeled as adult black belt rings. But, sometimes things change on the actual day of tournament.

“Oh, I’m on the stage.”

“Shut up!”

“Yah.” He squinted at me out of the corner of his eyes. “You want to go up there?”

“Kinda,” I admitted, wondering how long it would take me to pull off my boots and scramble up. “But, I’m going to wait until I earn it.”

“Nah, just go up there and pretend you have a question: ‘Excuse me…uh…is that a sword?’”

* * *

I found a good seat for photo taking and began watching the tournament. Call me naive, but I sat at the center ring for a good 40 minutes wondering when the black belt women were going to have a turn. Then, slowly, I came to understand they weren’t. The center ring was reserved for 18-29 year old men for most of the day.

At the AKA tournaments I’ve been to, you get your ring assignment and then, you’re there for the entire tournament. So, I probably should have realized that sooner.

So, I watched Brett secure third place in weapons and then wandered the tournament, looking for older competitors and women. Of course, I made sure to make it back to watch Brett in empty hand kata, too. (Hey, what else do you expect of a stalker-fan-girl?)

* * *

Speaking of creepy, stalker girls, this is funny. I had finished watching the women’s 40+ sparring competition and the men’s tournaments were getting ready to start. I decided to stay at the same ring, which would hold men’s light weight and middle weight divisions. And one of these, I’m guessing middle weight, was Brett’s division.

Anyway, it was his turn to spar and I cheered for him. Loudly.

Here’s the thing, when I spar, I love people cheering for me. I live for it and will give anything for more of it. I’ll even put up with people shouting out half-ass advice at me, because I know it’s coming from a good place. So, if I know the person sparring, I’ll show them some love. Hell, I’ll show love to someone I don’t know if I like how they spar. (Which probably explains the strange looks I was getting at the women’s 40 and over match.)

Anyway, after Brett’s second match, the center judge said to him, “Hey, looks like you got yourself a fan.”

Brett gestured vaguely towards his own head and leaned his ear closer to the judge. He couldn’t hear what he said.

“I said you got yourself a real fan over there,” the judge bellowed, pointing directly at me. “She’s been screaming her head off for you every time you got a point.”

Everyone around the ring looked at me and started giggling. (OK, probably not everyone…but a significant number.) Horrified, I dodged behind some other spectators. When he was up to spar again, I tried to cheer, but I couldn’t do it. I was painfully aware of…well, me.

Brett finished second in sparring. He was pretty tired by his last match. (You could tell.) And he basically had his rear end handed to him. And, I’m not being mean by stating that. He pretty much said the same thing to me after the match.

“Hey,” I said. “Did I embarrass you when you were sparring?”

He looked surprised. “No.”

“Cool,” looks like I was the only one embarrassed.

* * *

I found Sensei Creamer later, while everyone was finishing up to take a dinner break. Most of the divisions were winding down around 4:30 or 5 and the Grands weren’t supposed to start until 7.

We watched some of the remaining competitors in the extreme weapons division, talking about them and the tournament.

“So, when you coming down to see us?” he asked.

“I really want to,” I told him. To be honest, I’m afraid he’ll stop asking Teri and I to come down to his dojo, because it’s something I want to do. But can’t, yet. “It’s just…there’s this really big bridge between us.”

“Oh,” he said thoughtfully, “you mean the distance.”

I looked at him for a moment before I realized he thought I was talking metaphorically. “No,” I said giggling. “I mean the Mississippi river and the big-ass bridge that goes across it.”

“Oh! You’re scare of bridges!”

“Terrified.”

* * *

All in all, no major melt downs. No huge embarrassments. And, best of all, no new phobias to report.

Don’t forget to check out the photos from the tournament! I only posted my favorites, having taken more than 600 before my camera died. (About 100 of them were blurry and had to be deleted. I don’t have Teri’s skill with a camera.) And I didn’t post any in which the competitor was making a weird face. AKA Grand Nationals album is on the Fat Karate-ka’s Facebook page.

Fit Karate-Ka Elements Class…Seriously?!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

I’m not sure if you’ve seen the news but I’m starting a new fitness class in February…as a teacher. It was one of those unplanned-planned things that you kind of fantasize about. Then, the opportunity comes up in real life and you have to just try it and see if it works. Here’s what happened.

I was at my friend Annie’s house for her annual holiday party. As usual, most of the adults were crammed into the kitchen, watching Annie heat up pizza and hors devours while we chatted.

“I can’t get over how different you look,” she said. “How much weight have you lost?”

“Umm, like 103 lbs?” I said. (Like I wasn’t sure of exactly how much I lost.)

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared in my direction. It occurred to me that, some of these people haven’t seen in me in a year or more and probably didn’t even recognize me. I began to get uncomfortable with everyone staring, so I pulled out my all-purpose response, “I know. It’s crazy, right?”

So, I found myself explaining paleo, watching their faces slowly morph into expressions of horror. (So many people want to know how I did it, want the same results. But when I tell them what I did, they think it’s “crazy.”) I talked about my love of competitive karate and how disappointed I was that I had to take some time off from Cross Fit for financial reasons.

“That’s too bad,” said Annie. “You know, if there’s anything I can do for you at the [yoga] studio…” (Did I mention that Annie owns Annie’s Om Towne Fitness?)

“Actually,” I paused. “I was wondering if I could borrow your students to try motivational speaking.”
Annie’s eyebrows flew up into her hairline. Obviously, she wasn’t expecting this direction.

“I know, I know. But, I did this short seminar-thing for work and I didn’t entirely suck at it. In fact, I got some hella laughs. A lot of bloggers get public speaking gigs and, I thought, this could be something I can be good at. Eventually. If I can find an audience willing to put up with my learning curve.”

She stared at me for a second. “I was thinking more of having you teach a class.”

“Oh.” Now, I was the one who was surprised. “In what?”

“In Isshinryu,” she said slowly.

“No,” I said flatly.

I'm not going to start holding classes on my own as a brand new black belt…in an area that is flush with with martial arts schools. The idea is crazy. Still, I’ve had this idea that’s been in the back of my head for more than a year. Not for a karate class, but fitness classes that would marry into traditional martial arts.

The idea had been there for a while, tucked into a little nook in my brain. Once in a while, I would pull it out, dust it off and give a hard look at it. Then, I'd put it away again. But it was there. And now there's a chance to make it happen. (Plus, I had this really cool domain name I purchased on a whim.) Now, I had this chance to a fun fitness class for a huge group of people (or a group of huge people) for whom traditional classes had no appeal. People like...well, like me.

So, I talked to Annie again (and checked with my Sensei) and (between us) we came up with a beginning class for adults. I'm calling it Fit Karate-ka Elements. (I stole the "elements" term from CrossFit. It means "stuff you can use later.") It uses the traditional kicks, punches, blocks and drills of Isshinryu, set to music. Kind of like Taebo but with better music…and learning real karate elements so students can move into traditional karate classes, later, if they want.

The class will be held from 7:15 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, Feb. 7 through March 13, at Annie's Om Towne Fitness, 14 W. Downer, Suite A in Aurora, IL. Annie's Om Town Fitness is upstairs from the coffee shop, right on the river, next to a not-so-scary bridge.

So, if you're in Chicago's Far West Suburbs (or know someone who is) check out the details here:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2589192344/. In true martial arts tradition, if you pre-register, you get a much better deal ($27.37 for six weeks -- that's cheaper than a park district class).

So, spread the word. (Please.) I'm a nervous wreck about this and need the validation and the help to make it happen.

Ken Knudson 2012 Tournament - CANCELED

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

UPDATE 02-08-2012: The 2012 Ken Knudson Tournament was canceled. I received a refund in the mail, today. I have no other information.

The 17th annual All Chicago Open Ken Knudson National Martial Arts Championships will he held Feb. 19, 2012, at Curie High School and Park, 4949 South Archer Avenue, Chicago. Doors open at 9 a.m. Black belt meeting at 10 a.m. Tournament starts at 11 a.m.

Competitors 50 and over can compete for free.

Pre-registration rates for entries postmarked before Jan. 31, 2012:

All Divisions (except Team Forms), $40
Adult Spectators, $8
Child Spectators, $5
Team Forms, $25

Registration after Jan 31, including at the door:

Competitor's First Division, $45
Additional Divisions, $10 each
Adult Spectators, $12
Child Spectators, $5
Team Forms, $25/team

The full tournament flyer with registration form is available here: http://www.usdtka.com/flyer12.pdf.

The Bucket List (Stacy’s)

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:18:00 +0000

This was (kind of) inspired by Sandman’s list. Truth is, it started as a 40 by 40 list. The good thing about having a list with a finite end, is it makes you choose more realistic goals. And I firmly believe that real goals should be both realistic and have a definite end. The bad part is, however, that establishing strict time lines (before making your list) doesn’t let you dream big.
Plus, you have to think of 40 things. I’m turning 39 in a couple of days and I haven’t even finished the damn list (which I started writing a little more than a year ago).
So, thanks to Sandman, I’m removing the arbitrary time limit. I pulled out my notebook with my original 40 by 40 and I’m crossing some stuff off, letting myself rethink some of them and just doing a general edit. I warn you. It’s not a very exciting list. (Oh, and it’s in not in order of importance. It’s in order of when-I-thought-of-stuff.)

Do an open mike night (comedy).
~~Win a “real” trophy at a big tournament.~~
~~Black belt.~~ :)
Participate in one amateur MMA fight. (Rethinking this one because of #27.)
~~Reach 160 lbs.~~
Teach a women’s self defense class.
Show a piece of artwork in a gallery.
~~Lead a seminar or give a presentation~~. (Killed it.)
Read the Bible. (Mainly because there’s a couple of politicians that I’m pretty sure are wrong about some of the stuff they say is in there. I really need to read it straight through to be sure, though.)
Do a chin-up.
Learn passable Japanese. (Right now, I can introduce myself, count to 20, and yell out random colors and nouns. Oh, I also have a decent collection of swear words my elder daughter taught me.)
Visit Toronto. (I heard it’s just like a foreign country up there.)
Participate in NASKA for a season. (Was planning to do this one at 40 – it’s right after an age division break.)
Build a working trebuchet.
Meet my half brother in person. (Haven’t seen him since I was 2 or something. And how messed up is it that I thought of this after building a trebuchet and visiting Toronto?)
Get over the whole bridge phobia thing. (It’s getting old and I want to be able to go places -- like St. Louis or Iowa -- whenever I want. )
Go horseback riding. (I’ve done this before as a child. It’s just been a really long time and I thought it would be cool to do it again.)
Go skinny dipping.
Meet Jillian Michaels. (She is so freakin’ cool.)
Do a sexy dance for my hubby. ::blush::
Participate in a Karaoke night at a bar.
~~Inspire someone to do something really awesome.~~
Find more time to puppy pile – ongoing. (“Puppy piles” are where the whole family flops on a single couch or the big bed in the parent’s room to watch TV or read a book together. Not particularly exciting…but it’s nice.)
Throw a Halloween party.
Learn to wrap presents.
Learn to rap. (Word.)
Get eyebrow pierced. (Rethinking this one. See #4.)
Get a portrait tattoo of my dad.
Go canoeing.
Full splits.
~~Wear a cute Japanese school girl cosplay costume~~.
Added 12/31/2011: Find some really great women martial artists and interview them for the blog. (I didn’t say female because, although there are talented girls out there, I want to find adult women those girls can look up to and use as inspiration on their journey into adulthood.)
Added 12/31/2011: Win one Grands. (Just one…I’m not greedy.)
~~Added 12/31/2011: Buy an external mic for my video camera. (So, when I do #32, people can hear it.)~~
Added 1/15/2012: Visit Okinawa.

Just for the record, I’m also rethinking #26. I would like to know how to rap, but I’m not really sure if I really want to learn how to do it. (If that makes sense.) I feel the same way about tango dancing and a half dozen other things.

Preparing for New Years

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:48:00 +0000

I hope your Christmas (or other) holiday was filled with family, friends and satisfying foods. Now that the presents have been opened and my house has returned to its usual (and comforting) state of disorder, it’s time to start the prep work for New Years.

To make sure the kids at the dojo start their year off right, I gave each of them a cheap planner for 2012. I spent 20-minutes at Dollar General, seriously comparing the difference in size and quality between the 50-cent planner and the dollar version. In the end, I decided to fork over the cash for the more expensive planners, because it provided more room for writing inside each date (and some of our kids are just learning to write).

When I gave them their presents, I explained that every day, starting on New Years, I wanted them to write down what they did for practice and to bring their calendars back so I could see what they did.

“You can write down anything karate-related,” I told them, figuring the important part right now is to get into the habit of writing stuff down. We can work on their actual practice habits, later.

“Anything?” one of the older girls challenged. “You mean if I watch The Karate Kid, I can write it down?”

I seriously thought about putting forth the provision that she could only record it if she watched the Ralph Macchio version, but then thought better of it.

“Absolutely. If you spend New Year’s watching a Bruce Lee movie marathon, you can write both Enter the Dragon and Fists of Fury separately.” (Yah, I know, he’s Kung Fu. I’m making a point here.)

My elder daughter waited until everyone else got their calendars. “Can I have one?” she asked.

“Sure,” I said handing her one. “You know the rules.”

“I’m going to practice every day and write everything down.” There was a manic gleam in her eye.

Then, I let her in on a little secret: everyone was going to get stickers when they remembered to both practice and fill out their calendar. There may even be opportunities to earn extra stickers during the year.

“Stickers?! YES!” she exclaimed, working herself into a competitive frenzy. “I’m going to earn MORE stickers than ANYBODY!”

It’s a little soon to tell, but it looks like this idea may be a winner. My elder daughter’s over-the-top enthusiasm aside, the kids looked excited to get their planners. I can’t wait to find out who remembers to bring their calendars to the first class after our break.

In addition to getting everyone to write down what we do every day, I’ll be talking to Team-MSOI about goal setting and deliberate practice. And, my assistant coach, wants to do more conditioning with the kids.

I’m still working on my personal goals for the upcoming year. Typically, I make my resolutions on my birthday, which is just after New Years. It gives me a couple extra days to think about things. Do you have any dojo goals for the upcoming year? Do you have any personal martial arts related goals that I can steal?

Reader Question: Why Don’t More Women Compete and What Can Be Done?

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:26:00 +0000

BFF Teri and Stacy at Holiday Tournament, Dec. 4, 2011, in Gary, IN. Although Teri and I
attend "sister" schools, we met for the first time at a tournament.

A reader sent us this email:

I am a brownbelt and have been urged by my classmates and blackbelts to compete in tournament fighting. I am 42 and feeling some sense of "now or never" setting in. I have heard (and seen) that "not that many women sign up" and find this kind of sad. … I am curious on your thoughts of why more women don't sign up and what the event coordinators can do to encourage more women to sign up.

I wish I knew why there aren’t more women in competitive karate. In the little kids’ divisions, the girls often outnumber the boys. Then, when the age divisions go up, the number of girls participating goes down. Interest in karate seems to decrease as a girls’ interest in boys increases. There’s probably a mathematic formula that shows the relationship more definitively.

For adult women, maybe it’s because involvement in fighting arts is viewed as “unseemly” or “inappropriate.” Also, as women, we’re trained to put our desires away so we can help our children, husbands (or partners) achieve their desires. Money is always tight. Why would we take money from the family budget for something as selfish as going to a tournament in St. Louis? Why should we spend good money on an entry fee for a tournament when our kids want to go to Anime conventions or the mall?

But what do I know about what motivates other women? All I know is that I started because, if I kept doing what I was before, I was probably going to die. I love competition and tournaments gave me the motivation to keep moving and get in shape.

One way for event coordinators to bring more women to tournaments is offering free admission for women who pre-register. That way there’s less of a monetary risk for the women who wish to go (without knowing if there will be a large division). The number of women who registered early can then be used to attract more women competitors.

I know what you’re thinking, Stacy wants to compete for free. OK, sure, who wouldn’t? But there’s a bigger issue here.

When an event coordinator takes care to make sure that all competitors (or as many as possible) have a positive experience, he is improving the tournament for everyone. If you have an otherwise great tournament, but only 3 adult women show up, three of your competitors will tell other martial artists, “It was an OK tournament, I just wish the divisions were larger.” It taints the experience.

I’ve been to a few tournaments that had a large number of women competing. (And ones that didn’t offer free admission to women. It was just one idea, guys!) The first one that comes to mind is the Silver Sun Showdown in St. Louis. The year I went, there were ten women in the senior division (35+). TEN! OK, for sparring, there were three of us. If I remember correctly, however, IHOF (Isshinryu Hall of Fame) tournament had several women fighters.

What do you think? How can tournament coordinators attract more women competitors, particularly fighters? Is it even their responsibility?

PS - Go ahead and sign up for a tournament. If there's no one in your division, you can ask to spar up or go with a different age division. The judges don't always let you; sometimes they come up with other options. Be open. And, sometimes, when there's a lot of competitors, you still only get to spar once.

8th Annual Karate Holiday Tournament – Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:59:00 +0000

BFF Teri and I attended the Annual Holiday Tournament in Gary, IN. We decided to drive up separately, but I followed her in my car. Basically we realized that sometimes, when we compete against each other, the ride home can be long and uncomfortable. And our friendship is worth more than saving a few bucks in tolls and gas.

So, on the plus side, I conquered the Des Plaines River Valley Bridge. (Twice.) I told Teri the secret was keeping my eyes focused on her huge rear end. (She was driving a full-size van.) And I made it across without passing out or peeing my pants. Although, I freely admit I may have cried just a little.

We arrived incredibly early and I was more hyperactive that usual. (I did mention we drove across a huge, scary bridge, right?) We met up with Chris and Natasha, who we’ve hung out with in the past. And we met a couple other people from their dojo. We had a lot of fun taking and posing for pictures. It was also a great opportunity to talk to other black belts (of varying ranks) about things like classroom management.

Now, for the fun stuff.

Weapons

Teri and I each got first in our divisions for Weapons. Of course, Teri actually earned hers whereas I got first because I was the only one in my age division. As soon as I realized I literally had no competition, I called out “Hey, Teri, I made Grands!” and started giggling.

“What?”

“I’m the only one, I get to go to Grands.”

“That’s not fair.”

I shrugged my shoulders. In truth, I didn’t really think it’s fair either. Don’t get me wrong, I still competed in Grands. I figured: (1) I need more practice performing my new kata in front of judges, (2) it was my only chance, at this tournament, to see how I’d score against other people, and (3) it’s not like I actually thought I had a chance of winning.

Scoring at the AKA tournaments is on a curve. What I mean is that a judge gives the person he thinks should win first place a 9.99, the person who should get second place will be scored 9.98 and so on. Our ring had three judges, Teri’s division had two people and they tied. That means that one of the judges gave the same score twice. (There was much confusion among competitors in the other divisions over this. How could there be a tie with only two people?) The judges, with the competitors’ approval, voted on the winner instead of making them perform another kata. Teri won a split in a split decision.

As a side note, after my “division,” when I was shaking hands with the judges, my only comment came from a judge who said “You know, the sai are a very difficult weapon.” (Ouch.)

Forms

I competed against Natasha in forms. (Apparently, she’s working on a new weapon’s kata that she didn’t feel was ready for competition, which is why I was all by myself before.) Anyway, I did a decent Kusanku. I can honestly say it was one of my better performances of the kata but it wasn’t good enough for first place.
My only comment from a judge was that I "needed more power." Which leads me to think, once again, that I have no idea what the judges want when they say that. I cannot punch or kick any harder or any faster than I am…so they HAVE to be looking for something else.

And, by no means, should my griping be taken to mean that I thought I deserved higher scores than Natasha. I agree she out performed me. I just don’t understand what judges mean by “more power.” I mean, I’ve been competing for three years and hearing the same frickin’ criticism at every frickin’ tournament I go to. So, this can only mean: (1) I don’t care (which you know isn’t true), (2) I’m incredibly stupid (which I really hope isn’t true) or (3) there’s something I’m just not getting.

Teri did Sunsu. It’s always strange to see her perform that kata, because it looks so different from the way I learned it. She also got second, but she also got some useful criticism from one of her judges. I watched as he walked through the opening movements with her, demonstrating what he wanted to see. The difference: she asks for comments from the judges, whereas I just consider myself lucky when a judge offers his comments.

Recognition

After forms, I ran upstairs to grab a snack from concessions. I forgot to pack my usual tournament snacks (fruit, nuts, paleo brownies) and was trembling from hunger. Of course, there were no paleo-friendly foods, so I scarfed down a hotdog, considering it the lesser of the concession stand evils. (Side note: I think we should bring tail-gating to martial arts tournaments. Imagine a bunch of martial arts families trying to outdo each other with their grilling prowess.)

On my way back, a gentleman stopped me. “You run that Web site, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” I didn’t know of another Martial Arts blogger who was attending.

“I find out about upcoming tournaments from your site.”

Holy crap, no kidding?! Someone’s actually using our tournament info?! AWESOME!

“Wow, thank you,” I said enthusiastically. I skipped back to our ring, feeling really good.

The Grands

Teri and I each felt we performed far better weapons kata during the Grands. It was my very best Chantan Yara performance to date. That’s not saying much but, in a way, it’s still saying a lot. We had three judges, I can’t remember all three scores but I’m pretty sure the high score was 9.97 (THANK YOU) and the low score was a 9.94. What’s funny is that there were 5 of us competing. So, apparently one judge thought I deserved sixth place (out of five). Well, they say sai is a very difficult weapon.

I can’t remember the name of the young man who won. He was from the 18-29 age group and is from Minnesota.

Kumite

There were three women, all of us very different ages. Teri acquiesced and took third place. I fought and took second. It was a sound beating but I got a point in, so I’m happy. The simple truth is I need to spar more, especially against other black belts and against more aggressive fighters. I’m totally out of my element when I’m at a tournament with “real” fighters and I think it’s just a lack of experience. I’ve reached the decision that I NEED MORE RING TIME. Now, I just need to figure out how to get that.

First Tournament as a Shodan

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:30:00 +0000

For me, November 13 was an almost perfect day. It started out with a Rocky’s Tournament, was followed up by some musical theatre and ended with splitting a serving of creme brulee with the husband. The only problem was I had to leave the tournament before I had a chance to participate in some sparring (because of the afore-mentioned theatre tickets). Although, even missing out on sparring couldn’t put a damper on Sunday’s overall awesomeness.

The MSOI-Team all arrived early. There were three kids competing for the first time, so I walked each of them through the bow-in rituals.

There was only one minor melt down and it took place before the tournament started. One of the girls’ on the team had burst into sudden, angry tears, when she was practicing her kata. Panicked, I grabbed her into an awkward hug, turned us around toward the stands and yelled, “MOM!!”

The girls’ mom had her head turned away as she talked to someone else in the stand. Even though I didn’t say her name, she instinctively knew which mom I was calling for, and rushed over to take my place.

Eventually, we were able to ascertain that our team member had “forgotten” how to do her chicken headed blocks. She became increasingly irritated when her mom pointed out that she did know how to do it, she’s practiced it a hundred times and she just needed to relax. She refused her mom’s suggestion of stepping away for a minute to get something to eat or drink.

“A’ight,” I said. “Left foot forward, right foot back. Set your left hand high and your right hand low.” I got into the set position and gave her mom a nod that said, “OK, I’ve got this now.”

We went through that section of the kata over and over. If she set the wrong hand on top or got flustered, I didn’t give her a chance to resume her crying. I just snapped, “Again!” And we’d start over at the beginning.
After a few times, Enia joined us. “Do you want me to go over it with her?”

I remembered my promise, after the last tournament, to let the kids prop each other up when they needed it. I needed to trust them to be a real team.

“You know, that would be great. Thanks.” I leaned over and added in in a stage whisper, “If you can calm her down a little, too, that would be awesome.”

Enia gave a small smile and a thumbs up. Then, I stepped aside, so she could help her teammate.

* * *

Blackbelt kata and weapons were the first events. The idea was to get our events out of the way so we’d be free to judge the kyu levels. (Conversely, the blackbelt sparring is last, to make sure we don’t sneak out early.)

For my open hand kata, I performed Kusanku. When prepping for the blackbelt test, I had (more or less) set Sunsu aside while I worked on kata I felt weren’t as strong. My thinking was that, because Sunsu was my tournament kata all last year, I had spent a great deal of practice time on it and, if I wanted the other kata to be strong, I should work on them instead. By the time the tournament rolled around, I had realized I had practiced Kusanku more than any of the others.

This is the fun part, another blackbelt named George, performed the same kata. Why is that fun? Because George has his belt in Tae Kwon Do and I’m always thrilled to see “our” kata performed by other styles.

* * *

In weapon’s kata, I performed Chantan Yara (kind of) and Teri performed Hamahiga, which she learned this summer at the AOKA training weekend.

During my kata, I started shaking uncontrollably. (Stupid stage fright!) This is only the second time I’ve tried a weapons kata other than Tokimeni in competition, so I imagine some amount of nerves are to be expected.

About half-way through I remembered what Sensei said about a good kiai chasing the butterflies away. So I picked a fairly strong move from the kata and threw in an extra kiai. The good news was it worked, the butterflies were gone. Unfortunately, the sound of my own voice had chased the kata right out of my head.

So, I’m not totally sure what the last half of my kata was, but I’d like to think it was vaguely similar to Chantan Yara.

* * *

I acted as score keeper, rather than judge for the kyu kata. It gave me a chance to watch and see if I would have scored the same way as the other judges. It also allowed my bossing, controlling nature to flourish. (“Next up for kata, Jose! Lisa on deck for scoring!”)

I was corner judge for sparring. Some of the more experienced (and male) judges tried to talk me into score keeping, but I stood my ground. I may not be comfortable judging kata, but I KNOW how to call points in a ring. (Plus, the score sheets baffle me. I can never remember how the bye is supposed to work.)

After the five and six year old white belts went through, Sensei Rocky entered the ring. “You’re next group are higher belts,” he said. “They’re going to go harder if you let them. Make sure to call them on contact. Keep control of the ring.”

He looked at me directly, “You know how they are.”

“Oh, yah,” I laughed. “I know.”

The other two ring judges looked at me, with puzzled expressions. I explained, “It’s not really a Rocky’s tournament unless I’ve been called for contact…twice.” It was a bonding moment. We chuckled and fist-bumped and I was one of the guys. (Of course, I didn’t add that it’s usually just Teri and I sparring each other at these tournaments…I figured some things are best left unsaid.)

* * *

Now for the fun stuff:

Me: 3rd for kata, 3rd for weapons (out of three), left before sparring.

BFF Teri: 2nd for weapons, 1st for sparring. Although Teri didn’t place in kata, she was trying something brand new that isn’t among the traditional Isshinryu kata. Personally, I thought it was …pretty. Based on what I saw (we didn’t discuss it), I think her performance will have more power and purpose, once she works out the bunkai. Then, it will be truly awesome. (You know, like her kata normally is.)

Team-MSOI: Everyone brought home at least one trophy.

Martial Arts Tournament: AKA Grand Nationals Coming to Chicago in January

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:41:00 +0000

The 47th Annual AKA Grand Nationals Tournament will be held January 13 through January 14, 2012, at Hyatt Regency Chicago on the Riverwalk, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL.

Register by Dec. 1, 2011, to receive early bird discounts. Find more information at the official AKA Grand Nationals Web site, http://www.akagrands.com/.

The Shodan Test

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:03:00 +0000

I literally spent the last four days trying to put together a video that summed up the test. I was pretty proud of it, while it was still in my head. It turns out that I have neither the software or technical skills required to make the video I wanted. So, I put the video editor to the side and started doing what I do best.

I can now say that I finally understand why Teri was reluctant to write about (or even talk about) her test. No matter how hard you tried, or how well everyone says you did, you never really do as well as you wanted to. When all is said and done, if we actually got letter grades on Shodan tests, I probably would have pulled a C minus. Maybe, even a D plus. But, lucky for me, the test is kind of a pass-fail thing.

I have trouble remembering dates. My kids have learned that I will not wish them a happy birthday until I get my Google calendar reminder (or see it posted on Facebook). My husband has saved a fortune in anniversary presents because I can never remember it, myself. With that kind of memory, what chance do I have of remembering actual historical dates?

Sensei: When was Tatsuo Shimabuku born?

Me: September 19, 1918. [It was 1908.]

Sensei: When was Isshinryu founded?

Me: 1958. [1956.]

And, I have equal trouble remembering names. Lucky for me, Sensei gives partial credit.

Sensei: Who was Shimabuku’s very first teacher?

Me: . . .his uncle. [This is actually right, but the uncle’s name was Chioyu.]

The kata portion of the test was OK. At our school, when the test is over, we receive score sheets that include sensei’s comments about each of the kata. What’s frustrating is it’s the same comments I hear all the time. Here’s the thing, I practice a lot. But, when you keep making the same mistakes again and again, it makes you wonder why you spend some much time practicing. (Seriously, I could be working on the blog or napping or something.)

As for Sanchin…

It’s no secret that I struggle with the whole “mental arrow” of karate. I have a really short attention span and I’m easily distracted. I often record myself practicing and I can see where I lose my place, get confused or (my favorite) wander out of frame for several seconds before I rush back completely embarrassed. (That’s right, I totally forget what I’m doing and wander off to do something else.)

Sensei said I seriously need to work on my focus. (Duh.) Actually, I was probably more focused for my test than I have ever been when working Sanchin kata on my own. So, good thing he didn’t see any of my practice video. But, like Sensei Burrell said, “Sanchin is the only kata that’s totally different when you practice it by yourself.”

(And, yes, that is my underwear sticking up out of the back of my gi in the picture above. Luckily, I was completely unaware of this during testing.)

In general, I’m much better at remembering concepts, ideas and relationships. So, that’s why I think I did pretty well when explaining how to determine the proper fit for sai and bo. I think I even did reasonably well remembering the “official” kata times that came from the films of Shimabuku performing them.

And, I’m comfortable with my bunkai (practical application). I’m not ecstatic about the bunkai portion but I feel I did OK for Shodan. My bunkai wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t elegant. But, most of it was pretty solid and works. In fact, I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to show any bunkai for the weapons kata.

During the test, however, I did have one, horrible bunkai failure. It was a move I’ve tried in the past and worked with no problem. But, performing it for the test, the technique failed. My uke was holding onto my gi top and, after performing the break, she still had a tight grip on my top. I was like a bunny in headlights, just frozen and forcing my way through the planned application. (I SWEAR it worked before, even against different sized people/uke. I just couldn’t believe it was letting me down.)

If this ever happens to you during a test, act like you’re in a real fight. If you are really in a fight and you throw a technique that doesn’t work, you just move on. Hopefully, the next technique will work. Although, that’s kind of hard to remember in a testing situation.

So, once again, probably a C performance overall. But, like my sister-in-law says, “C still gets the degree.” And, best of all, I won’t test again for at least a year. (Woo-hoo!)

Karate Tournament: 8th Annual Karate Holiday Tournament, Dec. 4, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Strunk) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:02:00 +0000

The A.K.A. 2012 Tournament Season kicks off with a holiday tournament in Gary, IN.

The 8th Annual Karate Holiday Tournament will be held Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, at the Genesis Convention Center,One Genesis Center Plaza, Gary, IN. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Tournament starts at 11 a.m.

Pre-registration cost is $45 for the first three events, $5 for each additional event. After Nov. 30, the cost is $45 for the first event and $5 for each additional event. Spectators pay $8, children five and under can watch for free.

PDF of the flyer and registration forms can be downloaded here:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=1BE2MzHWXtxBIt8dpDsw_gMgzp2AyvJQL7B4SNC3WhS4VQQzUCITUD06oES68

Thanks to Sharon Clark of the Marvin Clark Karate Acadmey for sending The Fat Karate-ka the flyer.

[11/3/2011 Edit: Corrected pre-registration deadline to Nov. 30.]