Karate: Discovering My Two Left Feet

For the past six months, my daughter Tabitha has been taking karate on Wednesdays and Fridays…. and I have watched from the sidelines.

Above is a video of Tab, back right, performing Heian Shodan, the first kata. She had to learn this in order to receive her yellow belt.

I really wanted to participate, as some of the parents also take the class with their children, and I finally mustered up the courage to take the class.

So, I wrote a letter to the sensei and asked if it would be okay to join. I told him I’m not very coordinated, but really want to give it a shot. He said “gambatte ne!” (do your best!) and I’ve been taking the class for the past month.

At first, it was pretty frustrating. My Japanese language skills are soooo terrible, and, did I mention I’m not very coordinated? Slowly, though, the words and corresponding motions are becoming more familiar.

I can actually do Heian Shodan, without stopping, although my form could definitely be a little stricter.

The dojo is upstairs to a sports clothing store. From the road, you would never know there is a dojo nestled amongst the shops, which close about an hour before class begins, covered with metal pull-down doors. There is a dimly lit narrow set of steps leading upwards from the sidewalk that look like they might lead up to an apartment – but this is where we meet for class.

The tiny platform at the top of the steps is always covered in students’ shoes.

During the winter, the platform was covered in knee-high boots (typical here, as the snow is deep) and then, after one warm weekend, as if everyone called each other beforehand and agreed, suddenly the boots were gone and replaced by sneakers. The back rim of the sneaker openings are often bent inward, like make-shift clogs, as people here remove their shoes so often, they just kinda scuff around in them vs. bothering to put their feet in properly lace up.

The room where we practice is lined with stacks of brown cardboard boxes from the overflow of the sports store.

The floor is covered in foam mats – the kind you’d see in a children’s daycare – the center square being white mats, and the perimeter blue. The walls are lined with certificates and photographs of past tournaments.

On the left wall, there is a teeny tiny sliding sliding door (I’m 5′ 2″ and have to duck down, almost half my size, to go through the door) that leads to the lavatory, and presumably, the sensei’s house. When you get to the bottom of these steps, you put on a pair of slippers, and then take them off 10 feet later and replace them with bathroom slippers, and then switch again as you go back towards the stairs. It’s quite the process just to take a tinkle.

A typical class begins with warm up stretches — about 15 minutes. We then take a quick water break.

Next, we practice footwork. This can be different styles of jumps, or ladder obstacles… each with the “proper” way to do them. It is NOT a free-for-all. The sensei is kind, but gets very mad if people goof off!

Then, we break into groups and practice punches and kicks in formation. As we go forward, we do offensive punches and kicks, counting up to five… ichi, ni, san, shi, go.

I do fine for the offensive part, but when we go backwards, which has a different footwork and defensive blocks, I always seem to get my feet turned around. I step backwards with my left foot instead of my right, for example. There is one blackbelt teacher’s helper in the class who always immediately comes running over to me and loudly yells, “SWITCH!”, hits his legs, and then turns his wrist. ::blush:: Tonight, he only had to yell at me twice :P

After the punches and kicks in formation, we take a break and then form two lines for practice with a partner. Depending on how hard we are supposed to kick and punch that night, we sometimes use padded shields. Each punch and block have about 3-4 moves, and words that go with them. You have to say the words identifying where you will be striking:

jodan /joe-dahn/ – Upper level, collar and up

chudan /choo-dahn/ – Middle level, belt up to collar

mae geridan /my-ay-gee-ri-dahn/ – Lower level front kick

After you identify the strike, you go through the corresponding initial set up, contact (block) and then a counter hit/kick (met with blocks).

The last part of class has been practice for the tournament. We spend time perfecting bows, and then individual katas and one-on-one fighting. The sensei would like for Tabitha to enter three competitions : Individual kata, Kata in a group, and one-on-one choreographed fighting, demonstrating the three specific moves I mentioned above; very controlled with exact moves and responses.

While I do essentially have two left feet, I am having a great time and am thankful I just made myself try karate! It is something Tabitha and I can go and do together, as well as practice together at home. I’m also able to help her more, as I am beginning to have a better understanding from having done the moves myself… and she helps me, too. Physically, it’s challenging. In order to have good form, you must keep your gut sucked in and keep all of your moves very centered and snug. I feel like I’m getting faster with my moves and definitely more toned.

(AHH!!! I’m studying KARATE in JAPAN!!!) (Had to get that out of my system. Bye, now.)