For about a year, I have had my kids in Karate as well. Unfortunately, my home club does not have a kids program, due to being a university club.

So I had to find a different club for them. I would have loved to put them into Goju Ryu as well, but the logistics of getting them there and back were too complicated. So I found a great Shito-Ryu club that is not too far away. Aside from Mabuni Sensei being a kata nerd (this is a much more kata-focused style … 65 in total), the club also exclusively focuses on WKF sparring. My laundry list from Shodan included getting more into WKF sparring and, more importantly, judging. So I was really pleased to attend the seminars and actively practice judging. My home dojo is at odds with WKF rules, and focuses more on continuous sparring with (light) contact and has a very active (Japanese) Jiu Jitsu following too. The irony is that I got injured during a WKF sparring seminar.

So I used the downtime to get more into judging. I have enough mobility with my knee brace to move around and see the action, so it was great to come out as a judge for a tournament.

Recovery at home and physio are coming along. I fashioned what I had as martial arts gear to also add some resistance training. I used to do daily kata practice as well, but with the loss of balance and the knee brace, the selection really only narrows down to Sanchin and Tensho. Forget anything that has kicks or low stances, or Shiko.

I am thinking of getting back into Kobudo as well. Except for Kobu Nunchaku, none of the Kihon kata have any kicks or low stances. I taught Sai, Tonfa, and Nunchaku before; that will be next on the roster for recovery.

Published: 2025-05-25
Updated  : 2025-10-04
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