2008 Workout #36, Perfect Pushups #20: One of the best workouts in a long time!

Tonight was excellent!! First class consisted of taking us through a class designed to strengthen our stance. At one point we ended up alongside the yellow belts in stance doing techniques. The next technique in line was three-way kick. We had the option of adding a hook kick and back kick to the rest, and after having been in stance all day long it was a tall order. For the first set, I did only the minimum amount of kicks, but for the second pass I did the extra ones. It was hard, and I was running from the end of one count into the next but I was glad to have pushed through it.

The second class was sparring basics up and down the floor, followed by some sparring drills. By this time I was feeling loose and pretty good, some of the sparring basics even felt decent. I did some sparring drills using lunge punches and roundhouse kicks with , and then we did some free sparring.

Eventually, I rotated in with Lawrence-san who claims that I knocked the wind out of him and it made him mad. I noticed that he started sparring a little harder, but I thought he was just getting amped up. Oh well, a little anger can be a good tool when sparring.

Either way, I ended up across from Garls-san. We sparred back and forth, it was a pretty good match up. Then I came in with a jab to his face, he hit underneath with a reverse punch. A perfectly timed reverse punch that hit me just below the left pectoral near the outside part of my ribcage. I felt the air go out of my back lung first, then the front… then my whole rib cage felt like it cramped all at once. It was a pulsing kind of cramp… one that I almost thought I could will myself out of but I ended up basically going down like a ton of crap.

The next thing I know, I see Sensei Quinn, Sensei Brewer, and Garls-san hovering over me imploring me to relax and breathe, helping to uncurl my arms which has instinctively retracted into my ribs while was pulling my legs out and elevating them to help me get my breath back. It was a scary feeling… I have had the wind knocked out of me before, but the rocking motion of my rib cage cramping was frightening and I thought there was something else wrong for a few seconds before it finally relaxed and I could draw breath again. I laid my arms out to the side and tried to relax… I laid my head back and closed my eyes trying to keep the relaxation going, and Sensei Brewer implored me to keep my eyes open because it made him nervous.

Needless to say, when I could finally stand back up again I bowed out of sparring for a bit. After a few minutes, I was ready to get back in there but class was concluding. I grabbed and asked him spar for a bit after class, we mixed it up pretty good and I actually gave a few decent shots. He popped me in the face once, but I didn’t mind. Part of it was me wanting to assert the fact to myself (and others) that I was ok. The rest of it was that I wanted to end on somewhat of a high note, and I feel like I did.

The punch itself didn’t really hurt that badly afterwards… it is currently just *slightly* sore… and by slightly I mean I’ve had lighter punches bruise me more. I think this was just a matter of perfect timing and perfect location… not necessarily the strength of the hit.

After class, I drew a few compliments from Sensei Quinn and Sensei Brewer on my punches which was nice. Sensei Brewer clarified it as “the punches I was giving, not the ones I was taking” which was pretty hilarious.

In addition to that, I discussed with , Sensei Brewer, and Sensei Quinn about what kata to be working on for my Sandan. I have been thinking about Unsu a lot the last few days and after hearing their thoughts I think I’m going to give it a go, with a Gojushiho Sho chaser just in case something happens and I can’t perform Unsu.

A few Saturday workouts working on it might tell the tale… I might solicit some advice from Sensei Hassell this weekend to see what he has to say on the matter but I am not sure yet.

Good night of karate stuff, and for those of you concerned: don’t worry, I’m ok!

Also: and I did 28 perfect pushups before class… it wasn’t an amazing number but we did a few so it counts!