Fig: The style of Karate that I learned

First-Time Experiencing Karate

The way I started my journey in martial arts is quite funny. I was forced by my mother to start training at a local training center in Myanmar. The main reason was that I was chubby and had to lose some weight during middle school. The place was located at a swimming pool called Kokine Swimming Club, which was where I used to frequent. The Master there who taught me how to throw a punch was really patient and kind in teaching new disciples. Of course, as I progressed further along the belts, the training became much harder and intense. I remember senior instructors using their belt as a whip to sling towards our legs as we trained jumps for cardio. And there was one kid who broke his wrist from blocking the kicks from those instructors and it was intense. And also, I had a nose bleed after eating a fist to the face from sparing. Looking back now, these were the good old days where we trained quite intensely.

Fast-forwarding a few years, I got my black belt at the end of my middle school which was quite fast compared to other countries, especially in Japan. Part of the reason maybe the fact that I was still a child and the instructors were kind there. But, it was also my first taste of the fulfillment of being disciplined. Getting the Black Belt after two years of consistent training really made me feel proud of myself. Even though it was just two years, as a young kid, it taught me that significant things in life must come from some form of hard work. However, there was a 2-year gap where I couldn't continue on with training as high school studies became a top priority.

The lifestyle felt different after 2 years without martial arts, and I knew I had to get back to training to reclaim part of myself. So I went back to training after high school and of course, my skills in Karate had become dull during those years and I had lost some strength too. And there I trained for another 2 years to regain all my experience and attended a seminar lead by a top official of our Karate Organization from Japan. The participation in the seminar pushed me to work harder on my plan to study in Japan because I really wanted to participate in a competition which at that time, there were none in my home country.

But as Covid hit in 2020, every plan that I've had, slowed down and it wasn't until 2 years later in 2021 that I was able to apply and be admitted to a Japanese University. Soon after getting to Japan, I joined a local karate club of the same style and trained there twice a week. The training there was different from what I was used to, mainly in the emphasis on intensity, instead of volume. But regardless, I trained there for the time being and later on joined the University's Karate Club which at the time, consisted of only 5 members.

Fig: Special Training Session with OB/OG University Club Members

Training in Japan

Training with fewer members than before meant that I had more time to train on the skill that I was lacking. At that time, I was training all 5 weekdays alternating between local and university clubs. Part of the reason why I trained 5 days a week was that a competition was coming up around November 2022, just a month after I came to Japan and I was really thrilled to compete in my first competition. However, I wasn't able to get a place either in the "Form" [型] or "Sparring" [組手] categories. But at least compared to before, I had gain a lot more experience.

Fig: First Competition

After learning from that experience, I focused on improving my skills further with usual training but this time, with increased intensity at the local karate club. I remembered during the training, I was thrown and taken down during one of the sparing section with the chief instructor there after which he pointed out my missteps that allowed openings. The training was especially effective towards another upcoming competition in 2023 Feb and this time, one of the OB senior members of the Shizuoka University Karate Team joined with us, from which, for some reasons, I felt a significant boost of confidence. And finally in this competition, I was able to placed third on both the Form and Sparring Categories.

Fig: Placing Third on a Local Karate Tournament

The Current Progress

As I was going into my second year at Shizuoka University, I find it pretty hard to manage school work, part-time job and training. At around the same time, I have also applied and got nominated to an exchange program in Canada. Thus, I have no choice but to stop training karate for the time being to focus on my academic pursuits. However, it does not mean that I will not return back to training in the future.

To find out on the life of an exchange student in Canada, check out this [post]

Thanks for reading thus far!