Training at the JKS Honbu

I found this youtube-video to be quite interesting. As one can see, there is very little ego present (nobody *has* to win and no-one gets very upset if someone score if they themselves miss) In addition to that one can see that the intensity and "fun-ness" is at a high level. Myself; i love to participate in classes like this. There is also some kata at the end and disregard the russian comments :)

Link to video

And then it was over for this time...

Amos sensei is on his way back to New York and we have our heads filled with "move from center; start swiftly and then maybe back off; the wall isnt very intelligent; your tecniques must be smooth; be considerate of what your partner is trying to accomplish; you must maintain your composure at all times" - and so on. I am very excited bout the clarity of senseis teaching and i cant wait to train with him again.

Big kudos to those of the higher grades that participated in *all* the classes available:

Bjørg, Villi, Disa, Gudrun, Vidir, Gretar, Arnar, Leifur, Kari, Einar and the very big Einar, Gusta, Eyrun, Heida, Hafdís, Valgerdur, Oddny. And ofc kudos to Helga for watching everything, making sure we got it right. ;) (Let me know if i missed someone) And lowergrades; as soon as you can do all the classes; I really recommend that you do.

And to everyone that showed up; Thanks for coming, please remember the principles of what was taught and apply it to all of your karate.

Amos sensei training camp 25-27sept 2009

Its that time of year again, guys. If you wanna learn shotokan karate from one of the best teachers alive, then do not miss this awesome event at Lindaskoli.

Richard Amos method of transmitting complex concepts in a understandable way with new exercises is amazing and that is the main reason why i have traveled out of the country more than 10 times to train with him (He has also visited Iceland twice before) He is now coming to a place very close to you and i cant emphasize this strongly enough: Do not miss it.

And to the brown and blackbelts: You have the opportunity to join in for all the classes (yours and the lowergrade class) and if you do, you will get your name mentioned on my fabulous (!!) blog.... ;)

Seriously; immersion is vital for fast progress and weekends like this where we can do over 10 hours of training with a worldclass teacher that actually really wanna teach are quite rare, so i am definetly there for all possible sessions. (I also do the kids-class in addition to the regular classes when i visit him in NY)

I guess you can tell by the nature of this post that i am quite excited bout the weekend already..... :D

Workout music?

I am looking for some help as to what kinda songs that would be good to have on my Ipod for working out to. Upbeat, happy stuff seems to make most sense and to kick it all off i will post some of my favs to get the list started. Hope you guys will pitch in with your best tunes.

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil
Tubthumpin - Chumbawumba
Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
Pretty Vegas - INXS
Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue
Whatever You Want - Status Quo
Waterloo - Abba
Dude Looks Like A Lady - Aerosmith
Back in Black - ACDC
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm
I Understand Completely - Paul Gilbert
Hard To Handle - Black Crowes
Truth - Clawfinger
Bad Horsie - Steve Vai
Summersong - Joe Satriani
Pretty Fly For A White Guy - Offspring
Mr. Brownstone - Guns and Roses
Let Me Entertain You - Robbie Williams
Alive - Pearl Jam
Them Bones - Alice in Chains
A New Level - Pantera
You Gotta Fight For Your Right - Beastie Boys
YMCA – Village People
Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex
Get This Party Started - Pink
Funkytown - Lipps Inc.

And now; YOU GUYS!!!!!

You can do it!! :-D

Just a quick post about putting your biggest muscle into whatever you are trying to accomplish......

:-)

Apology

I know many people wanna order japanese uniforms and belts, and i will just here publicly take the opportunity to apologise for procrastinating in helping you guys out with this. (Its not *all* my fault since its also been hard to get all the measurements, but thats beside the point)

I will print out an orderform and measuring info and then we can either make a group-order from Japan (and save on shipping) or i can put you guys in contact with the European dealer in Holland with whom we will get the best price available.

Again, i am sorry, and will try my best to get my head around this issue now.

Mizu no Kokoro

Seeing as i have a clear personal opinion as to how one should feel and respond during kata and kumite; i thought i should try to elaborate on the japanese saying "mizu no kokoro"...... However, as my feeble attempts failed to impress me, i decided to link to an article online, instead. Some of this guys meditation-ideas might strike us "westerners" as being bit too much, but at least i think its a good attempt to explain what i mean.

:-)

And here is the article