Training Karate in Japan

Training in a traditional Japanese Dojo was a crazy experience. For one they didn't speak any english so trying to understand what they were saying was fun. Also, they are much more strict and formal. The first class we attended was full of 7-10 year olds. We bowed in, then warmed up. After we were warm we were told to get in groups of three, so I went with Daniel and Ari. They handed us three different sized pipes, a large, medium, and small. Then we put the pipes down and attempted to balance on them. After about 30 seconds we would switch. At first it seemed easy but after about three rotations our feet were aching. After we worked on balance, we started doing kata. It was amazing how accurate and sharp the young kids were. Unlike american kids that do karate that are sloppy and uncoordinated and can barley remember the moves (no offense american kids). I can just imagine how good they will be once they're adults. The next class we went to was for older kids ages 11-14. In that class I grouped with two girls they were both 12. As we did the drills they giggled at me because I couldn't understand what the teacher was saying. Some of the other kids spoke a little english but were too shy to talk to us. The third class we went to was for teenagers and adults. At the beginning everyone ran over and grabbed a helmet. In our dojo we don't wear helmets and my parents never made me wear one so wearing it for the first time was awful. It was hot and sweaty and itchy. I felt like I could barely breathe. Also the helmet threw my depth perception off majorly. I would try and kick and miss by two feet. So it took me awhile to adjust. After three classes in a row we were tired and starving. I'm grateful for the experience and that the Japanese people put up with us dumb americans. 

Training with Akira Fukuda

Photo curtosy of JAPAN MARTIAL ARTS CENTER

It's been a day since the seminar with Sensei Fukuda and I can barely walk. After five hours of training on Saturday and four hours on Sunday I am ready to go crawl into a ball under about 40 blankets and never come out. You would feel the same if you had to hold the same stance for 10 minutes then move as fast as you can. We did this one drill where you squat down then jump up over someone and land squat down that move up into a stance. At the time it didn't feel that hard, but trust me I felt that drill the next day. Overall the Seminar was really good. I learned a lot of different concepts and new perspectives on Kata. 

So a little background on Akira Fukuda. At first, he wanted to be a professional surfer but soon realized that surfing had no chance of being in the Olympics. So he started Karate. Now he's the USA National Team Coach, he has 9 US National titles, he's a Pan American Games gold medalist, he was ranked top 4 in the World, and was awarded the Olympic Athlete of the year award. Originally he is from a Shotokan Dojo but throughout his life he has come to master  all five styles of Karate. Which is very rare these days, mostly people stay in one style or two max. But his unique knowledge of all the styles and other styles of Martial Arts (judo, wrestling, Taekwondo, etc.) made him the perfect candidate for the US Kata coach. 

So I'm very thankful for the opportunity to meet and train with such an inspirational person. Hopefully I will be able to train with him again.

Karate Wasn't What I Expected

Be honest, you probably think that karate is all about ninjas and breaking boards and beating people up. But in reality it’s not, Karate is so much more. To me Karate is about respect, hard work, and dedication. My name is Tiana, I’ve been training in Karate for the past six years, in those years I have won the Junior Olympics 3 times, USA open 2 times and Nationals 4 times. I have traveled all over the United States competing and met some amazing people along the way. 

I first started Karate when I was around 9, a friend of my sister was really into Karate and he was always trying to get my sister and I to come. At first I was like most people who think Karate is only in movies where they do backflips and beat up bad guys with one hand. My sister was all for it, “Now I’ll finally be able to beat up Tiana” was what she said. I couldn't have my little sister beating up on me so of course I had to go too. 

We went into the dojo which was small with two training rooms, the walls covered in mirrors. The first thought that ran through my head as I looked at all the people in weird white outfits was “Please don’t kill me.” A man with white hair and wisdom in his eyes came in and told the class to line up. He yelled something in Japanese and all the students bowed, I bowed too but I had no idea why. He yelled something again in Japanese and we all bowed again. Already I was feeling nervous, then he told us all to get a partner so we could practice techniques. I turned to my sister but she was with her friend I turned back around to see a tall muscular girl who was at least 3 years older standing in from of me. My heart was beating rapidly ‘Oh great now I’m really dead’ I closed my eyes and flexed up my body waiting to be hit. All the sudden I felt a light tap hit my stomach. That’s it? This girl who looked like she could knock me out with one hit simply tapped me. I was really surprised on how much control everyone had, no one got hurt no one died. After the class was over the man with wisdom in his eyes came over to me and asked me what I thought about the class. I shrugged, it was defiantly different from any other sport I’ve played. “Keep trying” he told me, “I can see you're a fighter.” From that moment on I knew that this was what I wanted to do. 

This is me at one of my very first tournaments.

 "PARK CITY KARATE BOOSTER CLUB." <i>Live PC Give PC</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.