Saturday 20 August 2022

 Yoga has kept me sane all these years and through-out covid. It continues to sustain my immune system to combat covid and its mutations. 

yoga pushes/carries the life source...energy(prana) to give the body life, vitality, flexibility, strength, structure, composure....the ability to be and do...relief from stress. Prana is transported to areas of the physical body not reached by normal movement.

Yoga works on other level of self, mental, emotional, spiritual. Self awareness and mindfulness has been included in psychology as a well-being strategy. It has originated from yoga which is written in the ancient Sanscript language of India.

Asana is the postures which begin to release the body from tension and stress and directs prana to certain areas and organs of the body.

Pranayama, the breathwork, focuses on the breath which is the first element and quintessential to physical life. It is the most substantial way that prana( vital life force) enters the body

Yoga Nidra is relaxation techniques. We all need to learn how to let go and give our body permission to relax; complete stillness is a key.

meditation takes us to higher levels of awareness and spirituality reaching a peaceful bliss....freedom from everyday thought and worries. If you can find complete nothingness for even an instance, it will rejuvenate you.

 http://magicmovements.blogspot.com/     buttons and labels for background to yoga and my initial course. Many other workshops have been completed over the years but these blogs were, more so, used to document martial arts training. 

Most recently (July2022) I did a worshop on Bandhas(locks) with Yoga in daily life...swamaji Gopal. There are many benefits from these locks, when released bandhas blast prana internally directed to certain areas, organs and tissues of the body.

I find,the hand and foot bandha relieve the pressure on the wrist and ankles during yoga practice                    

Tuesday 22 March 2022

 Have been doing Ninjitsu with a young sensei who's understanding of the Japanese terminology is well developed. To his credit to make such an effort with language as it really is essential to a better understanding of the technique. It is a combination of Judo and Aikido and varies from other Ninjitsu that I have engaged with. very limited experience. Will be doing a few different styles for a while as I have an idea about performance(theatrics)

Monday 21 March 2022

 Two years of lock-down and thought I should retire. But no I'm thinking of growth so that it employs 1, if not 2 people. So started training to see if I still had it.

Monday 5 April 2021

 My website has been removed so will take the opportunity to update soon...It's on the list

Wonderful to be out of lockdown and started to engage in Krav Maga (no art, all street combat) and a spot of shudokan Aikido. Aikido training programs are very different in the sense of beginning techniques but the advanced all come to the same techniques with slight variations. Perhaps the founders of schools have put their preferred methods of execution/delivery as they experienced the combat training.

More importantly did a project with dance ..choreographing martial arts movement, difficult because of the level of experience of the participants.....They cottoned on very well but weren't really interested in it as dancing the tarantella and theatre sports......understandable, they didn't really come into it for the martial arts...yet it was a beginning to break into that field

Tuesday 5 May 2020

5-5-2020
Were all in covid19 locked out of our activities...training being one of my most valued.
February I was very appreciative to Wing Chun Bing Fa Kung Fu Academy for allowing me a month of training to see if I was upto it, having aged somewhat and injury  since I was a Wing Chun student. It has been many years since I trained William Cheong style Wing Chun. The repetitive drills instill a standard defence finishing with a direct bombardment of continuous blows. Still there is always value in learning different strikes (sao) and strategic applications. Wing Chun has a name for every form of the hand and how it can strike. I found that standing thru-out entire sessions a little difficult for my back. Perhaps there will be another time if they allow a sporadic student.I still hold wing chun concepts very central to my strategies.
never fight force with force, centreline...watching the elbow needs much more work from me.

I attended one session back at Aikido before we were all home grounded for our own health and more so that of others.

Really looked for a new club for judo last year but maybe I'll have to die my hair for youth. Not such a good idea as I dont need any more injuries from that sport. Perhaps I could assist with children.

In my isolation, I'm maintaining my yoga practices to develop asana progressions from simpler posture to more challenging versions. Half heartedly doing the arm balances as well

Monday 19 August 2019

Forgot folks, always forget to enter my yoga training, teaching. So because of the knee and foot injury, I've decided to start working on my hands. Very foreign for me who has been very balanced on my feet. I under took a series of arm balance sessions. My biggest obstacle is desiring to work on my hands rather than feet. I'm working on it, occasionally!

Monday 12 August 2019

 I started training with a new aikido club, perhaps March-July. Very apprehensive about eye moreso than knee and foot but by July I felt like an aikidoka again; confident that the rolling wouldn't affect the lens in the eye. A youthful club and somewhat objectionable to be regarded a junior, never the less it is advantageous to go back to basics especially with the training variations and my deductions of the differences. A lesson in humility is worth regarding. I hope I get better at it. Tis difficult to crawl when you can prance; pretend ignorance when you've been training these arts as long as I have. I appreciate that only the wise will learn from me whilst engaging in the orchestrated combat.

Back to Judo and I'm avoiding lifting people. I feel comfortable in the basic throws and trips. Have to gain language again. Pokes in the eye are a hazzard, yet I've done that myself in niwaza randori. Very cautious of the injuries until I get confident again and I hope someone reminds me of my limits; as I tend to add another injury, Aging is another precaution, I should admit to myself.