May 2011 Newsletter
|
May 2011
|
|||||||
| Hello Everyone,The year seems to be speeding by and it’s been a busy few months for us all. There have been two highlights for us, first winning the Hampshire Sports Club of the Year and second having some real success in our first club competition. We’ve got some great things arranged for later in the year in terms of activities and visiting instructors, so please stay tuned.On Sunday June 26th a team of women and their daughters are entering the Race for Life at Down Grange. The inspiration for entering a team came from Caroline Halil, who is one of our fully qualified Body Combat coaches. Many of you will have met Caroline when she comes to support her kids Rebecca, Lewis, Reiss and husband Spencer in their Martial Arts training.
Race for Life is a fund raising event for Cancer Research UK and is a worthy cause and no doubt concerns a subject close to many of us. Through Caroline’s efforts and enthusiasm we have 75 people entered for the Race for Life. Our goal is to raise over £1000 for Cancer Research. So far it looks as if we will achieve this, but every little bit helps. So if you can sponsor the team please do. You can either pledge money via the Race for Life website Race for Life Sponsorship page or make a payment by cash or cheque in an envelope marked for Caroline’s attention.
|
|
||||||
| The Germans are coming! | |||||||
 On the weekend of Friday 1st July to Sunday 3rd July a small contingent from the Karate club in Euskirchen (Basingstoke’s twin city) is coming to visit us as part of the festival of sports.We are looking for someone to host participants over the weekend, specifically one girl and one boy both 16 years old. (they don’t need to be hosted together) If you host them this year, then they will welcome you back to their homes next year when we return to visit them.During that weekend, the Friday night lesson from 7:15 will be extended a little to accommodate additional topics and there will also be a free seminar on the Saturday afternoon which will cover a range of topics. On the Sunday we will be entering the Shikon open Championships.If you are able to help with the hosting, please speak with Bryan as soon as you can.
|
|||||||
Contents
|
|||||||
| Competition Squad | |||||||
At the beginning of the year we decided to form a competition squad and have spent time together as a squad practicing. So far we have entered one competition and our results were quite spectacular. We have a number of other competitions planned for later in the year. Our next big event is on Sunday 3rd July which is the Shikon Open Championships in Harlow. There are also some options to take part in some smaller events between now and then. Anyone interested in joining the team please speak with Sensei Bryan or Sensei Lindsey (Separate information will be sent to squad members on training dates) |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Housekeeping | |||||||
| There are a few little things that we’d like to mention concerning health and safety for us all. Finger and Toe Nails
Please can you make sure that they are both clean and cut short before you train. Jewellery Please take off all jewellery before taking part in any class. This includes rings, necklaces and earrings. If you can’t take a ring off, please cover it with tape. If you have long hair, please use a hair band, rather than a hair pin or grips. Car Park Some of the users of the Car Park (both from us and from ITT) have been speeding in the Car Park. The speed limit is 5mph, please can you follow this. Can I also remind you that you cannot park in the visitors car parking spaces near the exit at any time. Children’s Safety in the Car Park ALL under 16s regardless of age must be escorted to and from the Car / Dojo. There have been several near misses recently where a child has run across the Car Park unsupervised and come close to a moving car. ITT Security are monitoring the usage of the Car Park both for their internal staff use and also our members for health and safety purposes. Waiting area In recent weeks, noise levels in the waiting area have been increasing. This is, at times, making it difficult to teach the children’s classes, because the kids are paying more attention to their parents than their coaches. Please can we ask that you keep noise to a minimum in the waiting area. You are welcome to use the hall or the field outside if you’d like time to catch up with a friend. |
|||||||
| 8 Principle of Martial Arts Practice | |||||||
The study of Martial Arts isn’t just about the external aesthetics of a technique, to a great extent it is about the mental processes necessary to achieve a structured balance between strength and skill. Within Shi Kon, there are 8 key principles that help us to develop as Martial Artists. These are FEET, POSTURE, MIND, BREATH, INTERNAL, POWER, WEDGE and SPIRAL. We practice these already within the adult’s classes and are starting to introduce more of them to the Urban Warriors classes.Each word is a mnemonic for a wealth of knowledge and the doorway to a universe of study. The Shi Kon training system is principle based, techniques are a result of the principles being applied. This means that any movement becomes a technique when the 8 principles are being applied. Some very brief notes as reminders of these:FEET – Force has to be in the opposite direction to create the line of power, this is done through a spiral. The ball of the foot initiates the quads, the blade at the base of the little toe the IT band, the heel the hamstrings. To open the hips and the spine the feet spiral in opposite directions outward. At the front of the arch is the K1 point and at the rear the power point we pulse between the two for power. The power point has to initiate to feed the other energy pumps in the lower back, between the shoulder blades and at the occipital. At the edges of the feet are also the bladder and spleen meridians.
POSTURE – The head should sit on the atlas and be ‘pulled from the crown upwards’ until you can feel the vertebrae of the spine separate and the ‘pull’ to reach right down to the feet. Alignment should be in accordance with the wedge and spiral principles and start from the feet. MIND – The mind must be aware and focused. The left side of the brain is the tool for logical, linear study and right for spatial, intuitive and visualisation. The mindset should be happy relaxed with the ‘hunters mindset’ always poised for use. BREATH – Use the stomach and the back to breathe and don’t chest breathe. This keeps the body connected, brings more O2 to the blood and brain and keeps the emotions stable. Keep around a third of the breath in the body at all times and ‘top it up’. Breathing is the doorway between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. INTERNAL – Connect the core. Chest, lungs, heart, diaphragm, psoas, femoral triangle, calves, plantar fascia. Activate pumps, feet, and lower back, in between shoulders, occipital. Pull the PC muscle and put tongue to top palette. POWER – Combine the above, soften to move, accelerate and focus correctly. WEDGE – Intercept and wedge through directly to strike with an internally connected strike. Use hunter’s mindset. To be used with ALL movement, whether striking, blocking, locking, throwing, chocking or strangling. Wedge can be turned into spiral. SPIRAL – Double helix from the feet, up through the body. Essential for continuous movement. Used with framed movement gives capacity to emit energy in any direction. |
|||||||
| Tai Chi Course | |||||||
 We recently held a Taiji (Tai Chi) course with Steve Rowe, who is an international Taiji teacher. The purpose of the course was to cover: – Neigong (Meditation and Standing Post,) Qigong (Energy Exercises,) Part of the Tai Chi Form and Pushing Hands to finish.The course lasted for four hours and covered some of the most important points necessary in practicing Taiji, including How to stand correctly.Standing correctly is often neglected in today’s world of Martial Arts. It doesn’t look flash or particularly exciting. However if you can’t stand correctly then you’ll never be able to deliver techniques effectively. We spent time learning how to relax our bodies, for many of us this was easier said than done. We found that the harder we tried to soften, the harder/stiffer we became. The secret was to soften the muscles.
You start by letting go and softening the ankles, as you do that you will feel that you are already softening in the knees. When you then let go and soften in the knees you will feel the ‘cascading effect’ begin in the hips. When you let go and soften in the hips you will feel it in the lower back, when you go to the lower back, you will feel it in the chest, when you go to the chest you will feel the head dropping downwards – not forwards and connect into the feet. The connection of head to feet is vital for Taiji practice. Following this we moved on to pushing hands and practice of the long form. At this stage we found out the importance of standing correctly. Thanks are due to both Steve Rowe and Marilyn Kyle who were both excellent Taiji teachers and were able to help us all develop new skills and new knowledge during the course. |
|||||||
Newsletter
This class is great to improve your posture and develop your Core strength. It’s suitable for everyone.
| How to Tie your belt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please can all parents ensure that their children know how to tie their own belt. This will help the coaches to speed up during lessons.  1. Find the centre of the belt and place against your stomach. Take the ends of the belt behind your back and back to the front.
2. Cross the ends of the belt right over left 3. Tuck the right end under BOTH strands (so it is next to your tummy) and pull tight 4,5. Complete the knot tying left over right 6. Pull tight and allow ends to hang symmetrically |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“Bringing together mind, spirit, skill and body in harmony”
© May 2011 – Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy.
The Annex @ ITT Industries. Jays Close, Basingstoke, RG22 4BA
(T) 01256 364104 (E) info@basingstokekarate.com
