The Abstract Art of Teaching

We currently have a handful of students training to become teachers.  One question I get is "how do you teach a student?"

Three things: patience, awareness and the color blue.

The color blue?  WTF?

I know you are wondering how I ever teach martial arts when talking about Blue.  Let me ask you what color blue you are now picturing; royal blue, sea blue, baby blue, or green?

Green?  Well it is yellow/blue right?   There you go.

As an instructor, it is not my duty to enforce the royal blue filter on students.  I need to see the information based on the student's blue filter.  At this point, I can upload information they can more readily digest.

Next step is awareness.  Being aware as instructor is be ready for the student's attention span.  Now attention spans run the gambit, anywhere from 2 hours to 2 seconds.  No need to discuss the 2 hour attention span...best students EVAR!  The 2 second attention span theater...well they present more of a challenge.  You are lucky to teach them something easy like punching with their right hand.  Then for the next 60 minutes you two run around punching things with your right hands.

My teachers-in-training have commented on my mantra when i do this, (Switch your hands, switch your hands, switch your hands.)

Well, that is part of teaching.  Teach technique and then reinforce it until it becomes muscle memory.  Then it is up to the student to drill it.

And now the first aspect of teaching...patience.  We all wish to teach the perfect technique the first time perfectly.  Never happens.  We have to be patience and be happy when the student flails the proper limb in the proper direction.  This is a good start and we can refine from there.

That is teaching in a nutshell, patience, awareness and blue.  Or if you prefer, a buddha wearing blue tinted sunglasses.

May the attention span be with you,

DarkArashi

pocket watch

“Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not merely pull it out and strike it; merely to show that you have one.” ~Lord Chesterfield

This is a quote most martial artists live by.  All to often when folk learn about your martial art training they ask how dangerous you are?  They want you to whip out your watch and swing it around for the "Oooh!" factor.

There are lesser martial artists that like this kind of attention.  Always quick to whip out their gold watch and dazzle people with the flash. But consider this, the more you wave that gold watch around, the more unwanted attention you may garner.

There is no shortage of videos on the internet of someone focused on talking over their cellphone, walking through a door and getting sucker-punched.  Then a beat down of three more accomplices ensues.

As a martial artist trains, they develop a self awareness as well as a proximity awareness.  Nothing worse than trying to fight back after being on the receiving end of a blindside.  Imagine being aware enough, that you sense the attack and move without seeing it.  And then planting an elbow into the attacker's ribs.  Not only has this person appeared super fast, but has also decreased the odds against them.

Martial arts training will develop health and give the student slightly more strength and speed than their couch potato counterparts.  But the awareness it develops helps us stave off illness, avoid injury and most of all, allow us to keep our time when folk want to steal our pocketwatches.

Don't stop sweating (no one will see the tears),

DarkArashi

Good luck

One of my friends recently turned 52 and requested a workout for her birthday.  She is a real nice lady and if you ever meet her, you will swear she looks 32.  (So don't call BS on me...feel free to call it on her though.)

I went through this one myself and believe me...turning 52 is tough.

Good Luck! (the workout)

1 Super Squat Combo
14 Pushups (or hold Plank for 14 seconds)
14 Leg Lifts
14 Thrusters with 25lb dumbells.  (man, I hate these m-f'ers)
     or sub in Push-Press or squats or whatever else that sucks for you.
14 Ring Rows.

Rinse and repeat for 4 rounds total.

My time is 14:42

Oh, and Miss Kaye turned in the fastest time.  I still believe she is lying about her age.

DarkArashi

Armageddon!!!

As promised...Armageddon.

This workout consists of three levels.  I recommend a quick warmup:  Jump rope, few pushups, squats and wrestlers.  DO NOT OVER DO IT!!!  That is what the workout is for.  Remember, you get light-headed, dizzy, or even feel the need to purge the Denny's Grand Slam breakfast you just ate...step back and regain your focus.  Passing out during workouts benefits you, nada.

Level One:  5 minute time limit
     1 minute...Sprints-14 yards round trip
     1 minute...Alternating Leg Lifts
     1 minute...Horse Stance with Horizontal punches
     1 minute...Plank Hold
     1 minute...Rolling Wrestlers

1 minute rest, water up and mop off.

Level Two:  10 Minute Amrap (As Many Rounds As Possible)
     100 Jump Ropes (I used a 2-lb rope)
       50 Total Bicycle Crunches
       10 Pushups (I used Paralettes to get full range)
         5 Pullups (You can sub in Ring Rows)
         1 Super Squat Combo (Why?  Well two is just silly)

1 minute rest, water up and hose off.

Level Three:  Round-down 10 to 1 reps  (or as we say in class, "HOLY CRAP!!!")
     Burpees
     Plank Running, total each leg
     Thrusters with 25-lb dumbbells (Sub in Kettlebell Swings, or standard squats.  Your pain)
     Bent-over Rows with 32-lb Kettlebell, each arm (Or appropriate weight for you)
     Lying Hip Extension

All done.  Have a friend roll you over to the couch or your car.

Any questions, no...good.  Embrace the carnage.

Da

I haz a sick!

I have the sniffles, I am sick
I am fuzzy headed, I am sick
I weigh 600 lbs, I am sick
I feel the cold inside, I am sick.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know.  Be man, tough out these little imbalances.

It is this attitude that weakens us.  Guess what? You are not soldiers, let alone warriors.  When I notice these imbalances showing up, I adjust my living patterns.

I start with eating patterns.  "What?!" around Christmas with all that eggnog and alcohol and cookies and what ever the fourth part of that food group is.  Yes!  Is it easy, NO!  Does it suck?  YES!  But what sucks worse is being out of balance and sick for a week.


Resting patterns are next.  This is really NOT easy for me.  3 to 4 hours of sleep and I am off and running.  When the imbalances show up, I am a restless sleeper.  Brain says to shut down and sleep.  Body is twitchy due to all the little viruses BITING ME!!!  So I take my moments to calm and rest.

Training patterns.  This is to easy so I'll skip to the next one.

Socializing patterns.   I am already antisocial, but still need to put in appearances for the Christmas card aspect.  But does anyone realize how many socials they have and how stressful they are.  You need to dress appropriately and wear the proper masks.  And keeping up with all the gossip? 

So pay attention and respect your body or...later, your body just might start disrespecting you.

Good luck,

Decepticon Workout

The workout:
This workout is five rounds long.

Each round is a 3 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) with one minute of rest in between.

Exercises:
        - 1 Super Squat Kick Combo
        - 5 Pushups
        -10 Wrestlers

A Super Squat Kick Combo is:
      1 squat and Knee strike up in front
      1 squat and Front Snap Kick in front
      1 squat and Side Thrust Kick to the side
      1 squat and jump up and spin 180
         degrees to face the otherside.
         Repeat on the other side.

For those doing the math a Super Squat Kick Combo is 8 squats.

Sound easy?  Great go for it.  When you count rounds only count full rounds.  If you make it to wrestlers and the time runs out.  Doesn't count.

Here is my score, now CRUSH IT!!!!  I did 4 sets per round.  20 rounds total.  I am sure you can do the math on this assignment.  Still a little rubbery in the limbs.  The workout is deceiving, but worth it.

Good luck,

Big or small?

We have been trying to one-up each other since the days we drug our knuckles as we chased after mammoths.

I recently eavesdropped on a conversation about who had it tougher with their training.  One person was big and demanded they had it the toughest trying to move their mass about.  Another one was small, and complained about not having strength and a vital constitution.  Last one, was a woman, and her complaint was not have the genetics of a man.

They argued hard about who was right...and the irony is, they all were.

The problem is they all use a yardstick to measure with.  When a man holds the yardstick up to a woman, he can say "See, you are a few inches short".  When a woman holds a yardstick up to a man, she can say "See, you are a few inches short."  No one likes to hear this, it hurts...down deep.

Yardsticks are really worthless for measuring.  Too long, too short, you are always off.  They are great for measuring things that are 36" long or a yard.  But measuring humans beings...that is just dumb.

I'd like to bend that yardstick into a Mobius' Loop.  There, that is more like it.  This is how to compare ourselves to each other.  Imagine looking down and seeing someone.  You can easily say, do this, do that.  Help them out right?  Then look up, you see that same person and wonder how the hell they got up there?

So how do I know about being big and massive or small and weak, or even being a woman?  Well, two out of three anyway.  When I went into wrestling, I was small and anemic.  Incredibly weak, and to boot, I wrestled people 5 to 6 weight classes above me when we trained.  I got beat, spanked and a whole multitude of humiliations. Later, when I wrestled someone my weight, the strength showed.  Some opponents could not even stand to continue some matches.  Being small means you simply need more heart and more patience to overcome your challenge.

How about being big?  Well, 207 is the largest I have been.  Not terribly fun, but when I put on both weight vests now, I weigh 295lbs.  Moving 300 is a monumental task.  I would work out and sometimes could not get off the floor.  Other times, I could feel my joints about to shear in half.  At the end, I crawl out of my vests and wait to die.  But all you simply need is more heart and more patience to overcome your challenge.

So, it really does not matter where you are on the Mobius Strip Yardstick.  You will always have the challenge of overcoming your weakness.  Your true obstacle is seeing weakness as an excuse.  No excuses, no mercy, no problemo.