My Karate Journey, Age is not an excuse
My karate journey began when i saw an advert in the local paper for a class held in Okehampton. I rang up for more details to enquire if, at 42yrs of age, I was too old to start. No was the answer so i started my training with Steve Chamberlin who, after 3 months, emigrated to France and Peter Hill took over the class. I have been training with my Sensei, Peter, at the Dojo (training centre) ever since.
My initial thoughts, when taking up karate, were that it would help improve my my fitness and flexibility as well as giving me something to focus on and study for. As I settled in to the classes I really liked the discipline it installed in me and the commitment needed to train. I was drawn to the technical side of learning the art of karate and I knew from the first lesson that i wanted to see how fair i could take it. It also offered me a calm environment to train in, being formal with feeling regimented which was completely different to the one i work in allowing me to give all my attention to my sensei. I liked the way the lower levels trained in with the higher grades and I found the respectfulness of the training helpful to the progress of my learning.
I did find training really difficult to start with, both physically and mentally, and would tire quickly learning the new techniques for each stage. Each grading created new challenges along the way and the whole process has definitely taught me the art of perseverance!
After 5yrs a family friend, Matt Luxton of Functionally Aware Fitness, started asking me about my karate lessons and this led to me thinking that we could work together to achieve my goals within karate and Matt would be able to practise adapting his programmes to help me with my training. Within a few months I noticed an improvement in my core strength and my level of fitness.
During the last 6 months building up to the Dan grade, where I know I had to be as physically fit as possible, and the programmes Matt designed for me had huge benefits with the results being clearly visible. I was able to maintain my level of fitness and focus entirely on my karate training.
Nutrition:
We had never really discussed nutrition in any great detail before but as the level of training intensified, Matt said to me ‘’If you’re training like an athlete then you should eat like one.’’ This got me thinking ways to increase my energy levels through diet and a closer inspection of my diet showed how poor in nutritional value it was! The first, and probably biggest, change I made was to stop drinking tea. This made a huge difference as I was drinking between 10 and 12 cups a day! I also cut out potatoes and all refined foods such as bread, sugar and processed foods. The aim was to try to eat as naturally as possible which helped again with my training as i was thinking how eating those foods impacted on my training ability.
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My Starting weight and diet; 13st 8lbs
Breakfast: 2 cups of tea.
Lunch: Garage stop for pasty/sandwich, chocolate and crisps. Often thought lunch would be skipped.
Dinner: Traditional family meal e.g. meat and two veg.
Lots of tea drunk throughout the day
Noticeable dip on energy levels around 4pm.
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My end weight and diet; 12st 2lbs
First thing: Glass of water, pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon.
Breakfast: Porridge, 2 poached eggs (free range) on bed home grown spinach and avocado.
Mid AM: Carrot, pepper and cucumber sticks with my lean greens drink.
Lunch: Approx 100g of chicken and salad.
Mid PM: Natural Greek yogurt with oats and fresh fruits.
Dinner: Chicken or fish, sweet potatoes and greens.
Water drunk throughout the day and 3 cups of liquorice tea.
Once a week I would have red meat in an evening meal.
Within one week there was a huge boost in my energy levels!
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The Right Team:
All these people played a big part in Karate journey and deserve a special thank you!
Sensei (Peter) – For all my karate training.
Matt Luxton – For all my strength and conditional training.
Kylie Evans – For all the physiotherapy she helped me with, She become a lot more involved towards the end of training process. I first went to her with a sore neck and quickly realized that she would be a valued addition to the team. Kylie was responsible for keeping my body in good working order, which she did very well w#as it felt great during the grading period.
The week before the grading I had 5 sessions with Sensei, 2 sessions with Matt and 1 with Kylie.
The Grading Process
My grading was taking place on Wednesday 31st of July during the Limington summer training course. The week included 5 days of training with the grading taking place on the last day. Training began each day at 6:30am with a session before breakfast. Then 10am to 2pm was dedicated to our course training and 2.30pm to 3.30pm was our personal training and the chance for me to practice routines for the grading.
The days of my grading arrived and I woke having slept really well. Early morning training went very well and left me feeling completely prepared for what was to come. Course training finished 1pm and was a steady session during which everyone from my club supported me to avoid any injuries! Then I ate lunch, showered and changed my gi (karate suit) ensuring I was comfortable with everything before I left for my grading.
Grading started at 2.30pm. I went into warm-up and I had a final practice of the routines. I felt ready for the process and was glad that i didn’t, at that moment, feel nervous — in fact I couldn’t wait to get started! I thought that nerves would kick in once I started but they didn’t, however I did totally rely on all my training to take over during any initial reactions to the environment. It began with basic movements which were free of tension and after each sequence I couldn’t wait to show off my next set of skills. The whole thing felt like it ended all too soon however when I was told I had passed I did have that ‘’Gold medal feeling’’!
Where to next……
Well the plan is to continue for as long as physically able and hopefully work towards taking 2nd Dan for which I have to wait 2 years. In the meantime I look forward to carrying on the hard work with Sensei (Peter) and Matt, I am keen to keep focused on my karate goals. I believe this goes to show age is not important in achieving things!
