Greetings Everyone,
I hope you are in good health and your training has been enthusiastic!
The website MyShotokan.com has remained unchanged over the past couple years, and yet it continues to grow in membership day after day!
The website currently has over 13,000 members, with 8 to 15 new people registering each day.
The MyShotokan.com website was created at the peak of my training career, And yet, almost twenty years of training Shotokan and teaching a small dojo of students, my training came to a peak, and then stopped.
In the past three years, I’ve done only eight karate workouts.
The First Two Years Off
The first two years – I gave up almost all physical training. I became stiff, and I believe I was physically weaker than anytime in my adult life.
I recall walking down a short, steep set of stairs and feeling my quads trembling under my weight.
At that moment, a light went on – and I became determined to get back into shape, gain some muscle, and put the joy of training back into my days!
Looking Back
About 18 months ago I started with a short swimming routine a few times each week. I was out of breath after 25 meters, and did flutter kick on my back to strengthen my quads and stabilize my knees.
Then, as luck would have it, last year I moved to the same city as my old-time dojo training partner! He started me on a light, general strength training routine and swimming routine twice each week, and we’ve become regulars at one of the local gyms.
Nowadays, I can swim 1000 meters in under 20 min and my body is feeling strong enough to head back to the Dojo – to get some spring back into my muscles!
I’m looking forward to stretch out and seriously approach each kata as though I’m just learning it.
But before I go to the Dojo…
16 Weeks Of Strength Training
However, before I head to the dojo again, I’m taking 16 weeks to see if I can put on some muscle – get strong *and* flexible as I get ready to head back to Shotokan training sometime around the start of November… just as it’s starting to get cold here in Canada.
Bodybuilding and Karate?
As a martial artist, you may have heard that strength training and karate training are not a good mix…I’ve heard that too… but I’ve been finding many benefits to it, so I want to learn more…
As life would have it, recently, I started two projects, and they combined together into this:
A New YouTube Channel and Blog about this training guide I’ve just started following, called Muscle Gain Truth. I’m presently on Day 1 of Week 2, and creating a daily video blog of my muscle gain body transformation as I go along.
==> http://www.youtube.com/bodybuildingblogca
On Being A Sensie In A Dojo
One of the great things I loved, and miss about being a Sensei in a Dojo — is the group of people that you get to train with. The enthusiasm of the group – and the commitment to vigorous training, builds trust and creates friendships that last a life time.
I was always there for classes because the people kept bringing me back. It was fun!
Now I’m approaching my new YouTube Channel as the same thing – the group of people who come to watch and comment on my training – it’s
those people who will give this channel and blog it’s life.
And I couldn’t think of a better group of people to invite!
I would be honored if you would stop buy and say hello!
==> http://www.youtube.com/bodybuildingblogca
Your comments and participation here will have a lot to do with how I restructure and rebuild MyShotokan.com in the future – I think of this youtube channel as an experiment so I can get all the kinks out before MyShotokan.com get’s a make-over…
My Starting Profile
I’m 45 years old. 2nd Degree Shotokan Black belt who hasn’t trained karate in a few years. I’m stiff and overweight. And not very strong.
You can see my ‘before picture’ and video clip here:
==> http://www.youtube.com/bodybuildingblogca
Hope to have you along for the journey!
All the best!
Doug,
www.myshotokan.com
and, oops, I see some unanswered messages in the myshotokan.com
help desk area…I wonder if the help desk is sending email
notifications to me…
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I really is great to see such a good karate community with so many members. Karate seems to have been a bit low on the radar, at least here in the UK, in recent years. Yet it is such an effective way to get fit and healthy. Good luck with the bodybuilding program, hope you added the muscle you needed to fight again!
Jon recently posted..Watch Out for Strength Training Mistakes