The 2nd week of October is coming to a close, and I couldn't be busier at work. Not to mention that this is the exam month for Lincoln, after work hours do not offer any reprieve from the long days as we have to go through his lessons to prepare for his exams in 2 weeks' time.
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| PSA Tanjong Pagar, Beautiful View - Galaxy Note 9 |
Work is loathsome as usual.. I really miss my project management, business systems, web projects and e-commerce days.... This month there'll be an audit which was suddenly brought forward by 4 months on short notice, and there's plenty of preparations to be made including coming up with a last minute special edition newsletter which I'm in-charge of, and it has to be ready by next Monday at the latest. And those are on top of the other stuffs I have to prepare for the audit and daily functions. 😕💢💣💥💫💀!!
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| View From Office Pantry - Galaxy Note 9 |
Anyway, Lincoln and I just had our grading last week. He passed to 5th kyu and finally earned his blue belt after 18 months. Although the blue belt was long overdue, I'm proud of him nonetheless. I know he hasn't been able to appreciate the training, but I hope that as he matures, the values he learned and practice (although forced onto him) will help shape him into a better person. He has to read Master Funakoshi's twenty precepts one day and decipher the true meaning behind each precept.....
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| With His New Blue Belt - Galaxy Note 9 |
As for me, I failed the 2nd Dan grading. I was firstly shocked at the result, really.... That was the first time I've ever failed any kind of grading in sports.... It got me very riled up, but after I've calmed down, I recalled why the grading sensei didn't pass me:
1. Basic movements (移動基本) lacked power
2. Kata was not correct
When I thought about those reasons over and over again.... Omura sensei was correct actually.... My basic movement lacked power as I was a bit unsure on some movement sequences. There was one that was particularly hard: step back age-uke, forward mawashi-geri and ura-ken uchi in kibadachi, chudan jun-zuki. I was a bit "hesitant" of sorts when executing that combo which contributed to the lack of power impression. I didn't use full strength either as I didn't want to get too tired for the Jiyu Kumite and Kata. As for the Kata, I'm very sure I didn't do the manji-uke's kokutsu-dachi correctly at 2 instances:
- The 1st was a turn after a chuudan oizuki into a manji-uke followed by a kagi zuki (same to the right)
- The next was also a turn after completing a teisho-uke in kiba-dachi to manji-uke again (same to the right as well)
I had problems with shifting to kokutsu-dachi at above sequences due to a hurting right knee.
Soo..... My conclusion is.... I have to lose weight and gain more power by resistance training. That will solve problem (1). In fact losing weight alone will solve (2). Hence, my goal for the next 6 months is to lose the weight I've gained in the past 1 year if not more, while increasing my strength and stamina.
The jiyu kumite was not as bad as I had thought. I got punched once in the nose and another in the chin, but I delivered some hard body shots and a good kick to my opponent too. I kept to the rule of not aiming at the face, which he didn't. Although I hated how I got hit by those cheap shots, at least I controlled myself well to not do the same. Besides, it meant that I was too trusting and had not paid attention to protecting my head. Lesson learned: be more alert, and never let your guard down! People under pressure tend to break rules!
Well.... I have half a year to prepare to re-take my 2nd Dan grading.... I'll have to make good use of this time. Fall seven times, stand up eight.
Anyway.... I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on the road ahead: focusing on mentoring Lincoln for his exams, practice harder for my karate, lose more weight, increase stamina and strength before the next grading!!
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| Vivocity Outdoor Playground - Galaxy Note 9 |
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| Candy Tree @ Candylicious Sentosa - Galaxy Note 9 |
Here's a closing shot for this entry:
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| This Is My Drawing For an Old Folks' Charity Event at The Art Station, They Coloured My Drawing Very Nicely 😊 - Galaxy Note 9 |
~ Photos Taken With Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ~
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