May 2012
21 posts
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Working it out: 30/05/2012
Lost tonight, 7-4. Thought I played about as well as I could have given the circumstances (we had no subs due to an early injury, so the whole team was pretty fatigued by half time); had lots of shots on goal, and put in a few good stops there, but just too hard to stop them all going in with the sheer number of good shots coming at me. So I had a lot more work tonight than I usually do, but it...
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Working it out: 28/05/2012
Strong focus on kata tonight, with renraku 4 and a little kumite thrown in there as well. Felt quite fatigued through the warm up; I’ve noticed that sometimes, when I focus too much on maximum effort with my strikes, I forget to breathe! Once we had a short break, my energy was restored and I felt pretty strong throughout the whole session. Only three sessions before grading!
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Working it out: 25/05/2012
In today’s class, we focused on renraku 3 and 4, and also did some kata. Feeling more comfortable sitting low with a longer back stance, but tonight I spent quite some time grappling with my footwork and alignment in Pinan Sandan. In particular, I struggle with the middle sequence where alignment is so crucial and can so easily drift away from the optimal straight line. I wasn’t...
while i am acting like i am 15 again, why don’t i just go read a ron/hermione fanfic and create dodgy-looking forum sigs that show my utter lack of respect for the gaussian blur filter. ugh. stupid girl feelings.
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tumblr, you are one of the few places where i can swoon about cute boys in my life, while feeling comfortable that probably no one i know (in my offline, day-to-day life) will see it.
with that said…boy, you’ve got quite the jaw. i was glad to bump into you today so i could gaze dreamily at said jaw…
“wait, you’re telling me this ISN’T livejournal?” -...
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Working it out: 24/05/2012
Really felt like I needed to be the gym tonight, more than I wanted to be…my reco knee has been feeling a little tweaky the last week, and I know it’s because my movement efficiency is getting out of whack. I think the most uncomfortable thing in today’s set was nothing to do with the strength work…it was the quads and ITB rolling! SO MANY TRIGGER POINTS.
WARM UP...
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Working it out: 23/05/2012
I have been neglecting my mobility work over the last couple of months. Have felt a lot of tightness in the same old places - shoulders, neck, hips - and while I haven’t felt restricted in my movements at karate, I know it’s only a matter of time before I get myself into trouble by being slack with my movement maintenance work.
MAIN SETS
Traps release
Thoracic extension stretch...
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Working it out: 21/05/2012
Base moves and kumite was the focus of tonight’s session. There’s a new black belt who has joined the class; though we are lucky to have a really positive group and a good mix of skill levels, it’s nice to have a different energy in the mix. Though I was sorely outclassed, it was fun to do some controlled sparring with her. Also got the opportunity to spar with two of the...
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Working it out: 16/05/2012
We won! 3-2. It was a close call, but we managed to eke out the win. Was very sore from my power training on Tuesday night, but once I got warmed up I didn’t notice my soreness too much. Still feeling pretty tight now though!
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Working it out: 15/05/2012
Good sesh tonight! In these last few weeks before grading, my plan is to top up for hip and upper body strength, and maintain hip mobility, with the aim of maximising my power outputs at grading.
WARM UP
X-Trainer 5 min @ L7
Traps release
MAIN SETS
Lat pulldown (3 x 10 @ 35 kg)
Incline DB bench press (1 x 10 @ 2 x 7 kg DBs, 1 x 10 @ 2 x 8 kg DBs, 1 x 5 @ 2 x 10 kg DBs)...
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Working it out: 14/05/2012
Worked on renraku 1-3 and kata tonight. Starting to feel less awkward in a longer stance, which is always a good sign of progress. Sensei is close to selecting a date for grading; it’ll be sometime near the end of June, which gives me an extra 1-2 weeks on what I thought I would have to prepare :)
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Working it out: 11/05/2012
A strong focus on technique tonight, spending the bulk of training on renraku 1 and 2, and also performing solo kata in front of the class. Aside from kata-specific movements that need some work, the overall message from Sensei was to work on maintaining longer stances and sitting lower to the ground when in stance. Easy to say, hard to do! I found my legs fatiguing very quickly with a small...
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Working it out: 09/05/2012
Another draw tonight, 4-All. Not winning sucks! Draws are the worst idea in sport. I would prefer to lose than to draw haha… Hopefully we’re back with a win next week before our bye :)
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Working it out: 07/05/2012
Worked on renraku 1 and 2, both in the ippon kumite context and with application in free sparring. I really enjoy the rhythm and intensity of the renraku, and I feel like my skill set is slowly expanding to give me more options when sparring. Looking forward to working on my multiplanar movements over the next year and onwards, to really take my sparring to another level.
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Working it out: 02/05/2012
Drew tonight, 3-all. Really should’ve got the win but we let this one slip, giving up 3 goals in the second half. Feels like the team has been in a bit of a slump for the past few weeks, so hopefully we can get back to winning next week because that’s much more fun :)
April 2012
43 posts
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Working it out: 30/04/2012
We have about 6 weeks until grading, so the focus of our classes has definitely shifted to being much more technical. We worked on solo kata tonight. Sensei Dave and Sensei Dawson gave me a few things to work on:
- Getting lower in my stance and keeping it low throughout my kata.
- Refining my rotationary movements to maximise power, e.g., in my uchi uke.
- Value speed with control, rather...
kellyneel said:
i was hoping this was something strange viewed through an electron microscope that just looked like baked goods
hahaha if only i were that creative. alas, these are just wonderful homemade macarons. with prominent nipples.
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Working it out: 27/04/2012
Am having some issues with my footwork and alignment in Pinan Sandan. It was bothering me a lot tonight, and I wasn’t quite able to get on top of it before the end of class. Sensei wants me to focus on lengthening my stance by a few centimetres, keeping my front knee pressed forwards, staying low throughout the kata (especially the transitions!).
During our warm up, I copped a little...
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P is less than 0.05
whatshouldwecallgradschool:
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HOW I FEEL WHEN MY FRIENDS DON'T CARE ABOUT MY...
whatshouldwecallgradschool:
all. the. time. life feels boring when you’re a phd student.
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WHEN MY PI MOVES MY OFFICE TO A ROOM WITH NO...
whatshouldwecallgradschool:
credit: anon
when life imitates art imitates life. also reblogging for vmars.
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p = 0.053
whatshouldwecallgradschool:
hahahaha the horror!
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WHEN ASKING MY PI IF I CAN GO TO AN INTERNATIONAL...
whatshouldwecallgradschool:
credit: Patrick
This is how I use my time in the office. Doing PhD-related “work”.
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Working it out: 23/04/2012
Somehow managed to get a lot more power in my front kicks tonight…Sensei’s technical drills are helping me improve my kick set up, and it is starting to feel more comfortable to get my knee and heel up. It has taken a long time for me to feel like I am starting to progress with my front kicks. Maybe it’s a pipe dream with the current muscular strength/power in my glutes and...
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Working it out: 20/04/2012
Felt much better at karate tonight than on Monday night. Worked on front kick and side kick technique; I performed my kicks reasonably well tonight, in terms of getting the heel up and knee to belt level to set up the kick. Also focused on Pinan Yondan; I need to hone my capacity to relax and recover within the kata as I am finding that I spend most of the kata feeling very tense and contracted....
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Working it out: 18/04/2012
2-all draw tonight at indoor soccer. I had a really crap throwing game tonight and just made my own task harder as a result, because I had to stop so many more balls coming at the goals. Ah well, onwards and upwards next week :)
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Working it out: 17/04/2012
Still felt physically below par today, but I’ve spent a lot of time sitting recently, so I really needed to move about and work on releasing muscular tension. Glad I pushed through despite feeling too tired, too hungry, too over it! Won out over myself with logic (always a strong hand); I told myself that I would feel better after a solid hour of movement, and I was right! :)
WARM UP
-...
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Working it out: 16/04/2012
Found training quite tough tonight…felt faint before the first warm up set was finished, then felt nauseous later on. Not sure why I was feeling unwell; normally it is because I haven’t eaten enough during the day, or haven’t had enough sleep, but I was good for all of that today! Bit disconcerting with not long to go until grading, but at least I feel alright now. Hoping that...
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Watchda bomb.
“Science teaches the value of rational thought as well as the importance of...”
– Richard Feynman defines science. (via explore-blog)
They want me to teach science next year. Then the students would KNOW the lessons were ALL probably untrue. (via pollyammo)
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Working it out: 12/04/2012
About two months until the next grading, and I have to admit to feeling quite a bit rusty. Heaps of technical cues to work on: Back stance: squat depth, length of stance, and weight distribution;
Front kick: heel to bum, knee up above belt level, accuracy;
Side kick: balance, kicking accuracy, and engaging my hips to translate the momentum from pull back into the next stance/sequence;
Pinan...
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Working it out: 12/04/2012
Forgot to bring my runners to uni today, so since I was heading straight from uni to the gym, I ended up training in my Chuck Taylors. Not exactly ideal gym wear, but nevermind! As it was, I did a pretty easy session in the gym, doing a few self-assessments of movement and loading during certain exercises. I’ve got about 9 or so weeks until the next round of karate grading, so I am keen...