The most beautiful samu I've ever seen

I was careful to say *I*'ve ever seen as, if you look closely at the photo, you'll see that these diligent karateka are in fact my children and therefore this is special to me...

The act of cleaning the hall before training is a great way to make sure everything is clean and tidy and hopefully reducing the likelihood of splinters or at the very least making for a more pleasant experience. We don't have a dedicated martial arts hall so this is fairly necessary - I was scolded after one week's lesson when we hadn't been able to sweep the floor and had done some floor exercises and everybody's white do bohk's were filthy! But to be honest the kids love doing samu. And so do I!

I like the idea of devoting some time to cleansing (nurturing) the place where we'll train. It's almost a pre-training meditation. After all you're lost in the act of cleaning and making sure the floor is free from splinters or miscellaneous objects which may injure (in the past I've found-as I'm sure others have- thumb tacks on the floor, paper clips and small lego blocks which are REALLY painful underfoot!...). Of course this time can only be achieved if you turn up nice and early without being rushed-that's what I like. It may be considered a calm before the storm (especially when I'm teaching the little ones!) but I do have a job getting the brooms off the little ones who love to do it partly to play with the brooms and partly they like to help dad out.

I don't think they should do it out of obligation to me, but one day they'll see that it's nice to do it for their own benefit and for that of the others they train with. Doing this simple chore puts us against ideas of servitude if we're not careful. It's not only about serving others (although the word samu may allude to this) it's about working through a concept of diligent application for each and every one of ourselves.

This cleansing ritual is very useful. My opinion is that it's about helping others through a simple task as well as helping ourselves through applied and continued service to the hall and our co-students. This helps us retain a sense of ourselves-we're a member of a club: black belts masters, 6th gup all perform cleaning tasks. This helps us all see that we work together to help each other grow through martial arts.

The Martial Arts Show, Birmingham, NEC, May 22nd-23rd

So it's that time of year again...more martial arts shows. This time it's at the NEC which means it's gonna be bigger (and better?) than last year! Last year's was pretty good and I got value from going just from the demonstrations which were great! It was good to see other martial arts styles practising. I like to see different flavours of martial arts so for me it was fun. Plus I'd talk the hind legs off a donkey so beware contributors...

As well as demonstrations there are free seminars and suppliers' stalls. Last year I got to chin wag with Iain Abernethy so I might see if he's going along again and catch up.

I was going to embed the promo video but it's so cheesey I didn't bother. If you're desperate to see it go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk_LG_zPrNw

Martial artists have better will power

Or Zanshin is good for you.

I was listening to the Today programme the other week and a piece on will power struck me as quite relevant to the martial artist. Listen again here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8451000/8451220.stm

Scroll down to 0721:

"According to neuroscientists, having a lack of willpower isn't a character flaw, it could all be down to the physical make-up of the brain. The American science writer Jonah Lehrer explains an experiment by a psychologist at Stanford University."

Being self aware constantly can help build up the frontal cortex which is the area of the brain which handles willpower. Scientists found evidence that subjects who were trying to be aware of their posture throughout the day also built up their willpower. Also exercises in self-awareness or pay more conscious attention will help improve it too!

More cake anyone?

Shoes may have changed how we run

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8483401.stm

Wearing cushioned running shoes may have changed the way in which many of us run, new research suggests.

Using slow-motion footage, scientists have discovered that experienced barefoot runners land very differently from runners who wear shoes.

Green Tea is Good for You!

(but we knew that didn't we.)

Green tea 'may block lung cancer'

Drinking green tea may offer some protection against lung cancer, say experts who studied the disease at a medical university in Taiwan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8453628.stm

Man it up!

In response to my last post somebody made an oblique reference to this (I think she was calling me a whimp:-)

Gotta love the Chuck Norris bit...

The Mighty Migraine

Pronounce it how you will but the migraine is a bummer. Especially in the middle of a Tang Soo Do beasting. High energy, high kicking, and my temples about to explode through the pounding. To be fair I suffer from the less violent 'visual' migraines when white blobs appear in my vision until I go half blind and then have a mild to bad headache. But it's not advised for martial arts. Having said that....

My still working thought processes managed to juggle the options. It started half way through the adult class so I could have whinged and bowed out and gone home or just sucked it up, breathed deeply and got on with it. The latter being what I chose to do and I'm glad I did as by the end of the lesson my head was clearing and I even had fun!

Martial arts aren't magic. I reckon the migraine would have gone in just the same amount of time but training to focus and have a determined spirit is something quite important. Make your mind up on the course of action and get on with it without whinging even if it is a bit difficult. (You had the choice earlier to bow out and you didn't so get something out of it.)

All good.