Keep on Kickin'

Blackbelt Pretest pics

2010-09-26T20:34:00.001-07:00

Crisp, autumn day..about 92 degrees. Blackbelt pre-test@ LaColina for the class of 2011.

Forms while staying in place...and no breathing allowed.

"Aiiirplanes like shooting stars..."

Yes. It is 92 degrees. That's why we're wearing shorts

with our winter jackets.

Whachoo lookin' at Willis?

"Whoa, I think I stepped in a Dog Mine...!"

Papparazzi

..And he sticks the landing...!

Coming Soon...

2010-07-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

The 2011 version!

Same blog! Different colored background!

Yes we are all giddy with anticipation. Giddy.

Congrats Blackbelts 2010!

2010-05-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the 2010 Blackbelts!

Ryan was able to successfully complete his testing on the 15th at Santa Clara High, so we are now officially done.

Here're some photos from the May 1 testing, If anyone wants the hi-res originals, please drop me a line at hesaka@gmail.com.

Congratulations (More Pics)

2010-05-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations - Pt 2 (more pics)

2010-05-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

Clean up Day!

2010-04-12T07:13:00.000-07:00

(View in full-screen to read captions. Kinda hard to see in the little window)

Perspective

2010-03-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

You say toma-to, I say to-ma-to. You say sunny spring day, I say pollen infested face-down in an antihistamine haze and nose raw from kleenex day.

Key info on upcoming USAT Regional Qualifiers

2010-03-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

from the USAT website:

Selland Arena
April 10, 2010 to April 11, 2010

Registration

Online registration can be made at https://www.usat.hangastar.com/login.aspx

Early registration expires March 26, 2010 at 11:59pm MST.

Late registration expiries April 2, 2010 at 11:59pm MST.

If you're going, don't forget to book a hotel!

Getting it done

2010-03-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

March 13th scrimmage. Rei, Audrey, and Bridgitte fight a combined 15 bouts.

Congratulations Josiah

2010-03-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Josiah for being selected as Captain of the 2010 Blackbelt cadre!

May 1st testing will be here sooner than you think!

Photos from Santa Cruz tourney

2010-03-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

Shots courtesy of Lily Yu. Thanks!

Sore Muscles?

2010-03-04T17:52:00.001-08:00

Wow I should take my own advice more often! Who needs Education when my very own skull contains all the info I'd ever need. Except maybe driving directions.

Anyway, I'm still sore from Sunday's drills (Thursday eve as I write this). So I'm gonna try this.

Courtesy of Dr. Esaka M.D. from University of Gutamala, mail order.

Weekend plans?

2010-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

So what are you going to do this weekend? Rain's supposed to lighten up some. Us? Hmm, you know what'll be real nice? I'm thinking we wake up early, load up the car, and drive to Santa Cruz! Once we get there, I'm thinking we do a little standing in line, sit on the bleachers...oh yeah, sitting on bleachers. More of that action. In fact, I'm thinking we sit for like 6 hours. Gotta love the dank indoor gymnasium lighting and the stale scent of industrial pine-sol. Lovin' it! My life is your vacation. Yeah.

Oh we may spend a few minutes doing forms and a spar or two as well.

Who's going? A whole bunch of folks from Leejon and GST. 33 competitors in all, I think? For the folks on this blog, the following kids from the BB candidate pool will be competing:

Rei - K

Allison - P

Yana - K

Alan - P, K

If I missed anyone, let me know and I'll update this post.

See them run. Run Run Run.

2010-02-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

Another snowstorm smacks into the East Coast. This picture (parents deck in NY, this morning) should be used as a billboard that reads

"California. That's Why."

So....we should have no excuse not to get out and enjoy the mild weather we get 'round here. Sure it's been kinda rainy, mildewy, and athlete's foot-y these past several weeks, but there are occasional pockets of sunshine. Take advantage of those!

Running requires nothing more than a pair of good sneakers

-- one $80 pair should last you 400-500 miles. That's a year for some, several lifetimes for others. Anyway, it's a fundamental way to both build up endurance and strengthen your support muscles around your ankles and knees. All it requires is that initial will power to lace up, and take that first trot.

Here's a loop that starts and ends at the dojang. It's a hair under 3.5 miles, minimal traffic, and completely flat. If you live in the area, or if you're a parent with time to kill, try it out sometime.

Deep Thoughts

2010-02-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

Long day at the Robinson's Invitational at Sacramento yesterday. Fighting roster was: Williams sisters, no, not Serea and Venus, but rather the more famous Tess and Eva Williams; Jose, Rei, and Anna. Kind of a weird set up, in that sparring happens immediately after forms for every weight/age class. So you had weird situations where Anna would be done fighting before Rei even began forms. Not the most efficient setup, but oh well.

Here's one where Jose rips through his first opponent:

Think it was generally a good day, but for some of the bouts, the scoring was mysterious, even by local standards. Sure, locals is locals and it's to be expected, but it's so black-box and inconsistent that you may as well be watching Olympic curling.

On a side note, I secretly suspect that Olympic Curling does not actually exist. Let me explain. I have never met anyone who Curls, nor have I read anything about this so called sport except every 4 years during Olympic time. Hmmm...? I think that Curling is a giant hoax cooked up by NBC as an elaborate joke to us unsuspecting viewers. How else can you explain the terminology used in the color commentary? "Ohhh...the Canadian skip spooned the rock so cleanly that it Martinezed the chop right down to the kindle." Right-o. A quick Google search using reverse 256-bit desampling of the first three letters of each syllable reveals the Greek phrase for "Sucker." Almost too easy. I'm on to you NBC.

Be that as it may, it was good ringtime for the fighters. Lots of tourneys coming up in the next few months -- Santa Cruz and Fresno Regional Qualifiers for starters. Crunch time!

Friday already?

2010-02-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

Wonder why there's IT training every week now? Remember studying for your last social studies exam? You crammed for a day, then puked out the answers on the test, right? Do you remember any of it now? Probably not. Example: I spent eons studying geography back in the day. Fast fwd a few decades. Today, I can no longer name the capitol of South Dakota if my life depended on it (answer: South Dakota does not have enuf people to have a capitol. It's also a part of Canada).

But I digress.

Point is, physical movement, muscle memory and endurance are all very perishable items. If you do not maintain through consistent repetition, you quickly forget. Don't believe me? Do you think pro athletes just show up and compete once a week? 'Course not. They practice over and over again; probably 10x what you see on the field. When someone says they're "out of shape," it simply means that their bodies have forgotten how to keep their endurance up - seriously, their cells literally have gotten less efficient at processing oxygen due to lack of use...

So be thankful that KJM enfores this repetition with the weeklies. And also be thankful you're not in South Dakota.

Jan 16th

2010-01-07T06:47:00.001-08:00

Remember this event?

It's back!

Game on...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T06:33:00.001-08:00

It's the Year of the Tiger! Hope you and yours have a great Tiger year...albeit not of the Woods variety. Though even that one could have benefitted from the basic evasion drills you all do in practice -- DUCK!

IT Training starts up again on Friday 1/8. Time to shake the rust off those bones.

Value...

2009-12-20T20:53:00.001-08:00

The relative value of something is directly proportional to what you paid to obtain it. Think about it -- the price of a black strip of cloth is, what, $2.00 at Michaels? Even if you happen to be really horizontally challenged, that strip won't cost you more than $3.00. Is that all your black belt is worth?

'course not. You're paying for it every day that you train. And you have been paying for it for the past several years as a yellow, orange, purple, green, blue, and brown belt. And your parents have been paying for it, not just financially, but in their time spent driving as well as in supporting your efforts.

Yep -- that strip of black cloth that you're all working towards is heavy with the price of sweat, sacrifice and self-discipline. Aren't you glad it isn't a cheap token that anyone can just buy off the internet? After all, what good is that?

streeeeettch

2009-12-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

Given a choice between doing 300 pushups, running 10 miles, or stretching for 8 minutes, I would pick the former two in a heartbeat. The third option? Well, let's just say that even if the choice included stabbing one's self in the eye with a toothpick, I may not opt for the stretch.

That's not to say stretching is unimportant. It totally is. Not just in an offensive capability (better range of kicks, wider selection of techniques at your disposal) but defensive as well (injury prevention). The problem is in consistency. Unlike strength or endurance training, wherein you can go from zero to respectable in a matter of weeks or months, there's no cramming for flexibility. If you don't stretch for years (or many many years like me), it takes THAT much time to fix.

Younger folk tend to be more flexible. But if you don't keep it up, you lose flexibility. Day by day, hour by hour, inch by inch. Trust me, the easiest thing to do is to maintain your flexibility by stretching every day -- don't wait as long as I did or it shows and it HURTS!!!

Hard-earned truism

2009-12-11T06:03:00.000-08:00

Recent personal events have really hammered home the notion of how precious every single day is... Train like you mean it. Because it's your time, your parents' time, your instructor's time, and your teammates' time. If you're going to do something, do it because it's important to you, and do it with gusto...or go do something else instead. That simple. And that complex.

LJ Alumni thoughts?

2009-12-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

hey BB Training Alumni out there...yep, you guys, the current Black Belts! Leave us your comments?

You know, stuff like:

What was your experience like?

For the class of 2008, did you REALLY have to run the hills while wearing 10lb ankle weights?

Throw the current crop of challengers some words of advice, or share a story or two, por favor!

as the Pilgrims said: "どうもありがとう！"

2009-12-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving...another notch on our belts and the holiday season is underway!

While the Thanksgiving day is over, we should try and keep the concept of gratitude and appreciation in mind. A good friend of ours had this to say:

"We have many things to be thankful for! For our health, opportunities, life and our families. There are so many people that are their for us and we don't realize how important to us. We are all blessed with opportunities to show what talents and all the aspects of ourselves that God gave to us....whether it is fighting talent, a "drive and want" to be better, athletic talent, mental talent or even being there for the rest of their teammates. We should also be thankful for the parents we have that sacrifice so much for us. I am thankful for the parents that aren't even mine."

Well said.

Friday the 13th IT training AAR

2009-11-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

AAR, by the way, stands for "After Action Report". Coincidentally, "AAR" is also the sound many of us made after Friday's session. But I digress. Here's a synopsis of what we did on 11/13/2009:

==Calisthenics:==
- calf work: Jumping Jacks x 100 x 4 (standard, front/back, cross, standard)
- ab work: situps x 100 x 3
- upper body: pushups x 25 x 4

==Basic Conditioning:==
- 20m sprint x 10 (10-ish. lost count, sorry)
- line drills x 2 x 3 (2 sets per person, 3 times)
- frog jump line drills (explosion strength for quads and glutes)

==Basic movements:==
- 20 minutes...slow and strong.

Thought it'd be an easier workout now that we're indoors, but guess I was wrong. 3 days later, as I write this entry, my quads are still sore... That may be because I'm like 87 in dog years, but you get the idea. Standard redbelt training on Thursday, also in the dojang. I wouldn't count on any cakewalk on that time either!

IT Training this Friday, Nov 13th, 5pm @ studio

2009-11-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars: IT training is Friday, November 13th, 5pm @ the dojang.

We'll likely be indoors, as the night-vision goggles won't arrive on time for the outdoor run. Dang backorders!

Postponed!

2009-11-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Sparta event is postponed....but we'll do the Stanford juniors' scrimmage instead. Details here!

This is an all-you-can-eat buffet style event where you sign your name on a board, and get matched up as many times as you want through the day. Whereas you may get 2 fights on average at a regular tourney (with a $75 price tag no less), this Stanford scrimmage lets you get 6 or 7 fights for only $25. Someone get a calculator and check my numbers, but that's a pretty good deal I think...

Here're some shots from last year's Stanford event:

Rei asking for lunch money donations.

Nothing in this hand...oh look, someone put a quarter in your ear! Whoa how'd he do that?!

....bad hair day for Audrey.

This is madness! No. This is...

2009-10-29T05:07:00.000-07:00

...Spartaaaaaa!! (kicks poor sod off a ledge). Love that scene.

Speaking of Sparta, they're coming for a scrimmage on Sat the 14th @ high noon. Sparta has a great group of juniors -- you may also have seen their senior fighters like Mr. Martinez and Mr. Uy workout at the dojang.

You'll probably be pretty tired from IT training (same day, in the morning), but if you spar in tourneys, you should come participate. It's one thing to practice with your teammates, but after a while, you start specializing in fighting that one person... Always good to see new folks and see how they move.

Ok, back to the movie. Kids, go beg your parents for a PS3 -- the Bluray player rocks. And no Rei, you may not touch the PS3. This is mine.

Got Pics?

2009-10-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

If you have any pics or videos you'd like added to this blog, send them to me in an email!

Thanks to the Agcaoili's for sending me some from the first IT training -- I added those to the Oct 10th entry below.

Silicon Valley Tourney 10/24

2009-10-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Phew. That was a looooong day -- 8:00am to 6:00pm. Tournaments are always draining (not just for players, but for coaches, volunteers, and parents!); it's 5 hours of inaction and stewing in one's own juices, followed by 10 minutes of intensity.

We had almost all of BB candidates yesterday competing or supporting; really cool to see everyone out there : Alan, Austin, Jose, Yana, Allison, Audrey, Bridgitte, and Rei. Also great to see alumnus like Celina helping out.

While performance isn't everything, some personal observations...

- Holy cow, Jose was on FIRE. Motions, check, patience, counter...accurate and effective execution of training. Watch out, this boy is a head hunter! Wish I had some photos. Since I don't, here's the next best thing (sister Stephani was also crisp -- fun to watch and cheer for!).

- ok, not really a BB candidate topic, but that was one of the most chaotic tournaments I've see in the past 4 years. For example, after staging K1-5, tourey organizers gave up all pretense of sequence and called up everyone from K6-25 at the same time. So we had black belts starting, followed by yellow, then black, then red, then green...confused parents and coaches started to flood staging....yep in other words, pandemonium.

- On a real positive note, good to mix up the warmups between PowerTeam and GST. Thanks to GST Juniors Team Captain Tiffany Lopez for not only taking the initiative to round up both teams' sparring competitors and warm 'em up, but also in providing coaching for Nicole to help out our besieged coaching staff (Evan, Kevin and Master Garr covered about 17 kids...)!

- aaaand don't forget -- whether in a tourney or in training, you are able to do what you do because you have people who care for you and support your efforts! Thanks to Master Frank A, Master Garr, Evan, Kevin, Eric, Dominique, Celina, Whitney, volunteer parents...and of course, Brian's Personal Fan Club.

Say Hello to my Leeetle Friend

2009-10-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

10 Oct 2009, IT Training #1

2009-10-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

So...what does "IT" in IT Training stand for anyway?

Before we get in to that, let's reflect back on what we did:

- Warm up with 4 laps around the track (1 mile). Range was from 8 min/mi pace to about 11min/mi.
- Stairs part 1: sprint up, across, down x 10
- Stairs part 2: hop up, two feet together; jump down x 10
- 100m sprints x 5
- 50m hop back and forth on the line x 10
- 50m run backwards x 5
- stretch

Key point to all of the drills is -- don't give up! Speed matters less than persistence. Running workouts are SUPPOSED to hurt. Grind it out. If you make excuses in your head and drop out when you're tired, it'll become a habit... On the flip side, if you gut it out, your body and brain will get used to the experience; in fact, if we did the exact same workout next week, I bet it would feel easier for everyone!

So..what does IT stand for?

...IT hurts!
....IT's harder than I thought!
.....IT's going to be a long nap afterwards!

Proper Attire

2009-10-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

What to wear for the Oct 10th IT training, you ask?

It's the same as red belt training -- in other words, full uniform.

Just make sure you wear running sneakers!!!

Don't show up in flip-flops, unless you're really hard-core and are confident that you can outrun everyone regardless. If you fit that description, you'll also be required to wear a 30lb knapsack filled with sand.

If you're one of those people that fall down a lot, wear a helmet. Otherwise, just show up in full uniform+sneakers...

Don't forget!

2009-10-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

IT training is on the 10th of October @ Gunderson high school, home of the Fightin' Grizzlies and Martin the Metal Detector.

This is the 1st one of these IT sessions, so come prepared to work hard! Pack a water bottle, sneakers, and whatever else KJM tells you to bring (so make sure you attend class on Wed prior!).

I'm not sure why, but KJM asked me to post these helpful hints on vomitting one's lunch:

1. Place hands on knees
2. Distribute weight evenly between legs
3. Take deep breath
4. Aim at a point 10-12 inches away from your feet
5. Hurl

Apparently, this is crucial information for IT participants. Don't ask me. I'm just relayin' info here.

Don't feel like training today?

2009-09-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah you know that voice. Then one that says, "Hey I've got too much homework to train today." Or the really convincing one that goes, "Boy I'm a little beat today, maybe I'll just sit on that couch..."

Kinda feel hypocritical writing this, as I succumbed to those voices last night and ended up bailing from training...but here goes. IGNORE that voice! You'll not only feel better for having moved one step further in your training, but you'll have done what 90% of your peers have not -- namely to get off your butts and DO something. Through the course of a month, a year, or a decade, those little actions make a ton of difference.

Personal experience? Well, I can tell you that I feel more tired today when I didn't train as compared to the days after I had a really great workout...

OODA loop?

2009-09-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hey quick question. Which one of you knows what OODA loop means? You heard Master Ortez mention it a bunch of times; and I know Master Garr talks about it in both his basics and fighting training. C'mon, you can tell me, I won't tell.

All right. OODA loop is a concept that Colonel Boyd of the USAF came up with, and it stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, and Loop (as in start from the beginning again). Here's how it works:

Observe:
Oh how nice, I spy a foot flying toward my noggin.
Orient:
Let me reflect on what happened last time I had a foot come a-flying.
Decide:
Mayhaps I will get out of the way.
Act:
Duck
then...Observe again. As in, here comes the followup kick....

Problem is, if we don't get to the Decide part in OODA, you get stuck in the Observe-Orient part (i.e. by the time you're ready to act, your opponent has changed the situ and you have to reset and take in the changes, which chews up even more reaction time). Flip side is, if you can enforce you OODA loop on someone else, you can get THEM stuck in the O-O and gain the advantage.

Easier said than done, but that's what it means.

Key point of all this is, if you don't know what somethin' means, do ask! Caveat of course is, ask someone who knows (not me. I had to ask too.).

2010 Candidate List

2009-09-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

Audery Agcaoili
Bridgette Agcaoili

Josiah Alvira
Allison Anderson
Rei Esaka
Jose Mejia
Austin Nguyen
Alan Park
Yana Roumeliotis
Ryan Salazar

September 10th, 2009: BB candidate Pre-test

2009-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

And so it begins...

Just stay focused for the next 211 days. No problem!

Runners!

2009-09-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

This is a shot from the BB candidate pre-test run. These five finished with sub 5min times. Me? I'm the figure you see on the horizon, re-experiencing his In-n-Out lunch. Delish.

Training Calendar

2009-09-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Pay close attention to the IT Training and Red Belt training days!
(see Useful Links section on the right)