It has been a while.

Hey everyone, I doubt that anyone even is paying attention to these anymore but I stumbled across my old blog and remembered that I had said I would continue to keep posting every once in a while. Last time I was writing on this blog, I was still going to school and taking a lot of classes. I would have kept doing my blog, but the semester ended and I had to use my time resourcefully in order to keep my grades up. I am now an early graduate, which feels pretty good...but my work still isn't done. Everything has changed, so I decided to catch up the people who are still paying attention. The last tournament I went to was in January 2017. Before the new year, I had some difficulties with all types of things, so I guess angst and anger just built up in time for me to use it wisely. January 28, 2017 - Shasta High School , another Scott Halsey tournament, and I wasn't shook for a minute. I practiced in private as soon as I got there. My morning consisted of stretching and practicing. I had the mindset of "I won't take anything other than 1st place", even though I was injured. So finally my division is set up and all of the competitors line up to show the judges what they got. I look around, I am surrounded by six, tall, big, young men, I still wasn't shook. Especially when it came to Kata (Forms). I had been thinking about my injury and how it impacts me and the way I fight. But I consider tournaments to be just practicing for street fights. 99% of the time I do not know anyone in the ring with me, which makes it a challenge because I do not know the type of fighter they are until they throw something. Since I have been fighting since I was 6 years old, I learned how most people like to fight just by experiencing. I have learned a lot of different techniques that allow me to see what hand or leg is about to be thrown, which is very useful. In the tournament, my name gets called and it is time for me to show the judges what I have been practicing. I performed Long Form 2 and Short Form 3 combined, and by the end I was winded. I took 2nd place, and I was proud. I congratulated all other competitors, but it was time to get my sparring gear on. It was time for Kumite (Sparring). As everyone lines up with their gear on my heart starts pumping full of adrenaline. I love to fight. I only fought 4 people because the rings are divided by experience, so you wont see a black belt just beating the crap out of a white belt because it wouldn't be considered fair. The first guy I went up against was bulky and tall, about 6 foot probably. After we bowed to the judges and each other, the clock was running. I observed how he was moving and I observed how he threw his hands. He was a slow fighter, heavy weight. I knew what I had to do. I started to move around faster, jumping from place to place. After he would attempt to strike, I moved and bounced back in to strike. "Point" I hear. A minute later I had won the match. After all the other people fought I was fighting for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. So two more fights to do and it will be over. The next guy I went up against was tall and slender, so I knew he would be quicker. He had long legs and he used them to his advantage, but it wasn't stopping me...what was starting stop me was the aching pain in my ribs and chest... but I kept fighting. We were at the death match, which is next point wins... so we were both  very ambitious and nervous because we knew whoever won is going to the next round and the other person would be out. His legs and kicks were his problem though. He started getting cocky, and as he threw a kick, i shuffled in and strike his ribs to win the match. The last match was a bigger and bulkier dude again, and I could already tell he was going to try to take advantage of my size. We bowed in, and he threw hands fast but I'm faster so I dodged them. I threw my punches and got my two points, one more point and I would win. But then the time ran up and it was death match, he had one point and I had two. We bowed back in... and we were both hitting hard and there wasn't much stopping. I remember just running him around the ring but trying to avoid his hits and as i threw a kick and hit him in the stomach, he punched my ribs, landing the visible point. Down I went, as soon as they announced the match was over and he won, I fell over grabbing my ribs... now knowing that I tore my muscles too far this time. I stood up, and took 2nd place, but after that I had took a break from karate. I still am injured with a muscle problem, that the doctors still can't explain why I have it. All I know is, my dreams are on hold. My black belt is on hold, and my freedom feels revoked. After growing up at a dojo in my karate studio.. I feel homesick when I can't be there. But I rather wait then be hurt for life. In the meantime I graduated a year early, and got my drivers license, and now I'm traveling for the summer, waiting to get back to doing what I love.

Whats been going on??

Hey everyone. These past couple weeks have been so crazy. I know that there might not be as many people paying attention to the posts anymore but I'm going to keep doing this until I get my black belt hopefully. The blog for me is really fun because I love to write. I write music and books and poetry all the time and when I thought about writing for karate that would probably be as fun. So thanks to anyone who participates in it.
     So, the tournament. It was at Sequoia Middle School and it was hosted by Mr. Scott Halsey. My Sifu, Mr. Myrtle trained with Scott Halsey for many years. We show up around 10:30 AM to register and get our hands stamped so the judges know who is a competitor and who isn't. I just got my new GI and I just put the patches on it too so it looked very professional.
   They had like 9 rings I think. The tournament always has the little kids do their forms and spar first so they can get it out of the way and everybody else can do their thing. There were a lot of little kids there, you'll always see little kids who already have higher belts than you do but you know. I was stationed in ring 6. 14-17 division. Normally, there are 3 Divisions; Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. The Beginning Division is 1 year or less, the Intermediate Division is 2-4 years, and the Advanced Division is 5 years and up.
    There were only two divisions in our ring though because there were not very many people. Just Beginning and Advanced divisions, so it went by pretty quick with the forms. Everybody did a good job and the whole time I was just counting down how many people until it was my turn to perform...I was so excited to show the judges that I came to win. The person who was before me was almost done so I stood up and got myself presentable for the Judges so it wouldn't take a lot of time for me to perform. Then they called my name.
    I turned around quickly but sharp, I walked down the isle straight with my head up and made a sharp left turn and walked to the middle of the ring and bowed into the ring and to all the people I'm competing against, and of course the Judges. I walked all the way up to the judges and bowed and got into my formal horse stance and said... "Judges, My Name is Chloe Lane, I do Kenpo Karate at Northwest Martial Arts. My instructor is Professor Alan Myrtle, the form I will be doing today is Long Form 2 & Short Form 3 right side . With your permission...may I begin?"They nodded and told me to continue.
    I bowed to them again. I never turned my back to the judges, but I walked back and bowed again did my long greeting to them and bowed again. Then I got into my stance and did my form. When I was doing my form I could see everyone looking at me from every angle in the room. My kiai brought attention throughout the whole tournament. I've never puked in my life but I felt sick to my stomach when I noticed.
    My performance didn't exactly go how I thought it would. I accidentally messed up a little bit but I played it off so well that nobody even noticed. After I got done with my form I yelled "Judges!" and got low into a formal horse stance until they told me I could stand up. I took first Place.
   After we got our trophies we rushed to get our sparring gear on and get water too. I got all my gear on and ran back over to the ring. The Advanced Division sparred first. They called my name and I was on the red side and my opponent was on the white side. The judges have red and white flags and when a point is called they throw up which color they saw get a point.
    We bowed to the judges and each other and stood across each other. I never lost eye contact with my opponent the whole time. The judge yelled "Fight!" and we danced. ;) My opponent was a boy named Matt who was a big dude. He threw a couple punches and I dodged them and hit him in the ribs and the head, and then I round housed him in the solar plexus. They called break and gave me a point. He started to run at me immediately as the Judge yelled fight again. So I jumped in the air and knife edged him in the stomach. They called break and gave me another point.
     I couldn't get hit, because if I land one more point I win and I can move on faster. So I used my black dot focus, and I moved around quickly and threw stop kicks and back knuckles. And I won match. I got about a two minute break before my next match. It was with a kid named Brandon, he is a blue belt.
   We bowed in and started the match. I was waiting back ready for him to throw on me so I can counter. We moved around and he threw punches and I striked back. I got the first point but he got the next. It started get very intense. He hit me in the face a lot really hard but that wouldn't stop me. I was so focused and ready to show everybody what's up.
    I got the next point after that with a kick to the stomach and multiple punches to the ribs. It was 3-3 and the time keeper called time, which meant...sudden death. The next point wins. They yell fight and we move around so fast throwing punches but dodging them at the same time. He came in and I stop kicked him and he pushed my leg after and came to punch me very hard in the eye. The Judges called break...but I was so mad. So I ran at him and he backed up and I started throwing hands and all the Judges stood in front of me to stop me so I stopped.
     They called contact, which means that the point Brandon had was an illegal hit in. But they gave me the point for the stop kick and the punches to the head before he hit me. So I won that match, Brandon and I shook hands.
   They had me fight immediately after that with a girl named Lexi. I was so mad and I was just ready to take my first place home. We bowed and I ran in and punched her in the ribs and the head and she fell. She got up and I got the point. They yelled fight and she ran at me but I dodged her and I jumped in the air and kicked her in the chest. I got the point and then it was the last one again so I couldn't get hit. She bowed and I got into my fighting stance and kiai'd loud to scare. We moved around and she threw one punch and I ran in and threw multiple and they called it. So that's it, huh? I finally showed you all who I am.
 I took two first places at the tournament. Now we're back at the dojo and we're working for the next one in July! I'm gonna be starting college too and I'm taking a weight training class so I can be a lot stronger than I am right now. I'm so ready for this. I'll post all the pictures I have from the tournament and I'll show you guys my trophies. I'm gonna record a video of my form and add a link into my next post so you guys can get a visual on what I'm doing. I hope you guys enjoyed it, I'm going to keep doing this so check in every once in a while and see whats been going on. Thanks guys!

What has Karate given me?

        Hello Everyone, and welcome back to another post. Karate has been very active lately. We're so close to our tournament and we have been non-stop practicing for it. Our other instructor, Nic Jr. has been in class a lot lately. Mr. Myrtle and Mr. Myrtle Jr., have been pushing us a lot lately so we're already ready for the tournament.

         Competitions have always been my favorite thing to do. I love to go to the tournaments and show everyone my form and the sparring of course. Competitions are very intense though, there's one thing you should know; in every tournament, you will get injured. Some people don't have control when they're fighting because of their adrenaline. Which means, you need to be able to take control of the fight.

          When I go into a fight I get so excited. The one thing I always do is black dot focus. And that is, if you focus on someones solar plexus, then you are able to see any movement they make on their body. And in a fight, that is very efficient. When I'm fighting in a tournament I like to focus on their moves before I think about countering. What I mean is, I like to figure them out so it's an easier win. 

         When I'm fighting, I never stop moving. I'm always switching up my foot positions, and tricking them out so they don't know where to go. Nic taught me if someone has length on you, you stop front kick them and keep pushing them back while throwing hands on them. At my dojo there aren't many young girl competitors...which means we don't really fight girls ever. But when I fight girls it's normally my karate friends. I like fighting the guys though, because my friends I have been training with the trainers and the trainer's friends...so honestly, it's kind of easy. 

          I've been fighting in ever since I was seven years old. I remember the first time I ever competed in a tournament. I was an orange belt and I took second place in forms (Kata) and 4th in sparring (Kumite). I've always had this fire inside me, and I'm always been ready for a fight. I've been gettin' more self assured than I've ever been before. Plus nobody picks on me anymore, I done put a stop to that, threw my first punch- end of story.
         And that's what karate brings me...confidence, security, and discipline. I used to have hard time with everything when I was younger. But as I grew, and as I got more comfortable with my strength, I finally just thought to myself...why not explore the dark and find the light in it? Because the way I see it, everything is always gonna be complex...but if you can find the light or be your own light then everything just so happens to fall into place for you. And that's what karate did for me. 
          That's why I'm recommending karate or some sort of self-defense for you guys, because the real world is horrible. And if you can't defend yourself or believe in yourself then it's gonna be a difficult obstacle. Well, I'm not saying self-defense will solve all your issues, but most of them. If you go around showing everyone that you're not afraid the wise become curious, interested and then take time to invest in you. Also, knowing where you stand is important as well because if you don't know where you stand then people will take advantage.
            No matter how nice people might have made everything seem, when you take a step back and look at reality you learn for yourself that not everything and not everyone is so nice. And like I've said before...knowing that you're strong enough to push through a complex situation, a difficult fight, a bad day... etc., you eventually figure out that you're strong enough for the next obstacle coming your way. And each time you complete a complex obstacle, you get stronger than you were before. So if you let that sink in for a little bit....maybe you'll give it a try. 
         

Why you should try Self-Defense.

Hello everyone & welcome back to my blog. I just wanted to thank everyone for participating in my blog and commenting often. I really appreciate it and I've also considered your questions and tips and hopefully everything is clear and I leave out no details. So anyways, last week I got to teach a Saturday morning adult class. There were a lot of high-school kids there and one adult.
      In the beginning of the class, I began by working people out. I made them run 20 laps, and the I got out jump ropes and  we jumped for about 5 minutes. After that I got out medicine balls and had everyone get partners and throw the ball high in the air towards the other person and then the other person would catch it and hold it above their head while doing a squat. Then we did 65 curl ups, 50 knuckle push-ups, and jumping jacks. Working out before class is very important because it loosens your muscles up before you do such focused movements.
         We've been doing a lot of different stuff in karate and its been really exciting. We've all been getting ready for the tournament still and we've been learning some new weapons. I was working on my staff set and have been pretty much going over the same movements, but when I get more down I'll explain more about it. But we started doing escrima stick fighting, and its really fun. I've learned it a couple times but we haven't done it in a long time.
         We were learning the first couple moves and the counters for it. When something is coming at you over head, you hold the stick diagonally above your head so the other weapon slides down off it.
The counter is to grab their hand and turn it until their arm is twisted and they can't let go of their weapon while you hit them once on the nose and on each temple and then take the weapon and attack. I can't wait to learn more about it soon.
        I hope I'm making some of you interested in taking self defense classes. Because knowing how to defend yourself from anything at anytime makes you feel a lot more confident. Karate is a great art to learn because you get to learn how to do so much, no matter how old you are. When I first learned how to disable a gun from someone in 7 seconds, I was 7. When I first learned how to do the back breaker I was 11.
     Karate is good for exercise, because you never stop working out. Its also good because you learn how to find ways to focus on things, like getting your head in the game. Karate teaches you breathing techniques as well. It teaches you how to slow down your breath and learn how to control it. When your wind gets knocked out you just kiai until its back. Another reason why karate is good is because it teaches you that sometimes its okay to fail.
        When my brother Nic and I fight he takes me down a lot and proves to me that I really do need to keep my hands up, that I really need to find different ways to move around...and its making me a lot better, which means its gonna continue to do that. And sometimes not winning in tournaments is a downer but you know that there a plenty more. So that's why I think you guys should try some sort of self-defense. Though, I highly recommend karate. So that's it everyone, I hope you enjoyed.
     

How it's going...

      Hey everyone, First off I'd like to thank all of you again for taking the time to check out my blog. I've gotten a lot of feedback, which is great. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and ideas. I've taken them into consideration and they gave me a bunch of new ideas to go in depth with my topic. So I hope you enjoy.
       My goal to earning my brown belt in September is going well. I've been taking time to learn some new techniques. The brown belt techniques are complex, and there are also no basics to learn anymore, so that's kind of neat. But we've been mostly practicing for our competition.
       Our competition is coming up in May. I'm really excited about it, Mr. Myrtle and I have been talking about the competition. I told him I was disappointed about the last tournament that was in February because the judges didn't play fair. And it sucks to say but that happens often. But Mr. Myrtle told me not to worry because what we have at our dojo is something that people notice easy.
         When it comes to competitions, we're very professional. We all want to take Grand Champion home so we put everything we've learned into play. Performing your form in front of 3 black belts is a little nerve racking. I've been doing tournaments since I 7, and I still get nervous when performing. During your form, it is really important to keep your hand chambered to your side, make sure you have the correct movement/stances, and to make sure that you're being very clear that you know what you're doing, also make sure you kiai.
           Everyone knows what Kiaing is, the funny sounds that the karate dudes make. But its very important to kiai because if you got hit hard in the solar plexus, you need to let your air out so you're not winded. When someone gets winded in a fight they call time and make you kiai three or four times, while the other person turns around and takes a knee. Sparring is never nerve racking for me, I like to get in the ring and fight...but that might just be me. Everyone fights everyone, like I've said before if they're in your division that means you're fighting.
            Sparring is probably my favorite thing to do because it really shows you that if you can beat this person that you don't even know, you can probably win again if someone tries pulling something on the streets. But your confidence has to come into play, you have to get your head in the game and focus on how to dodge and counter, how to be the first one to hit not to get hit. I'm just so ready to perform my form and spar.
              I know I'm not even close to getting my brown belt, but I'm gonna be working as hard as I can to get it. Which means going back over my old material and learning new things at the same time, and also making it better than it was the last time I took a belt test. But, I have to go teach a class now so, I guess I'm getting closer to my goal faster than I think.


         

Getting Stronger & Smarter

     Hello everyone! First off, I would like to give thanks to everyone participating in my blog. Keep asking questions it gives me ideas on where to go with the posts. Anyways, I have conducted an interview with my Karate Instructor, Mr. Myrtle. Mr. Myrtle has been teaching and learning Kenpo for more than 20 years.
     I asked Mr. Myrtle, how to get ready for my brown belt test. I told him I am ready to keep moving. He said that if I keep practicing perfect, I will soon achieve my brown belt. He also told me once I earn my brown belt, I will be assigned classes and students and have a part time job there helping out! I have teach the beginning of classes here and there.
     I'll start the class and work them out. I love to push people farther than they think because when you're working hard and you're using up all your breath you start to think in the back of your mind, "Crap, I can't keep doing this I need to take a rest." Not in karate you don't. If you tell yourself that you can do it, and you keep pushing and pushing you will feel very motivated to keep doing so, you feel a lot stronger after a workout (and also kind of exhausted) but that is the best part after doing karate...knowing you can use your stamina for quite some time without getting winded.
     Recently I was in the hospital, so karate has been a little complex for me. The doctors told me I have musculoskeletal bruising throughout my chest, ribs and near my heart. I was having heart palpitations with my chest pain, which worried me. I asked Mr. Myrtle how I should practice with the condition. He told me to take it easy on the fighting, I don't get hit a lot which confuses me to how I have the bruising, but he said if there are any bruises around your heart then it can be a serious situation and to be easier on myself.
     That is another huge thing about karate, you have to know your limits. You have to make sure your health is in good shape otherwise, you could seriously injure yourself. Mr.Myrtle told me to be stretching and work myself back into shape slowly. I've been very curious on how to become a better fighter. I've been training a lot harder, a lot smarter, and I've been using different moves every time.
      Mr. Myrtle told me to use combinations, like throwing a couple punches, then a back knuckle, then back up let them come towards you and kick. I can't decide which I like more, kicking or punching. But Mr. Myrtle also told me to counter more often. I took that into consideration and scored a lot more points with it. At this rate, this tournament better be ready for me.

So what is this all about?

      Hello Everyone, and welcome to my blog. My goal here is to show everyone that defending yourself is important. I decided to do self-defense because I've been involved with self-defense since 2005. If you have low confidence, if you have a lot of energy built up, or even if you wanna take out some stress, self-defense is definitely the way to go. I've been studying the art of Kenpo Karate, Kick boxing, & Grappling. So while I'm on this journey I'd like to share it with you.
       I'm mostly working with Karate. On April 2nd, I took my Green Belt test, which is four belts away from my main goal, A black belt. The best test was about four hours long, which was crazy. During the test my friends and I were expected to go over all of the techniques that we previously learned, the forms we previously learned, the basics we previously learned and all of our new material.
     My master says that Basics are the whole base of Karate. (of course) Basics teach you the most important things, like your stances... For example the fighting stance, also known as the ready position. There are all sorts of finger techniques, strikes and different punches and kicks.Techniques are very important, they are the main moves. There are 10 techniques in your first belt list, but from there on there are 16 in each list, and they are not easy to learn. There are all sorts of inserts, hidden moves, ect.
          Forms are a collision of techniques and moves put together. There are tournaments that my team and I attend. Where we perform the art and try to place. In competitions, there is open forms, Kata (Forms), and Kumite (Sparring). The way sparring works is by rank. So when they line me up to fight, they look for experience and place me in the advanced division. It wouldn't be fair if they lined me up with a yellow belt who has only been in fighting for a year. The rounds are 3:15 long. We are required to wear gear. Head gear, Hand gear, Foot gear, and a mouth guard. But in the dojo we train without it with my trainer Nic.
     I'm planning on taking my next belt test (for brown belt) in September. Which is complex goal that is going to be hard to achieve. But with the hard work that I put into Karate, I'm expecting to get it.