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So for the past three weeks, I’ve been undergoing training with the SE Denver dojo of Enshin Karate. First, a little background why I suddenly shifted from Taekwondo to Karate.
My TKD instructor was no longer able to continue teaching at the gym in Golden, and I was seeking another alternative. Now, a few years ago, I said if anything was to ever happen to my TKD training that would prevent me from continuing, I would seek out an Enshin teacher.
Lo and behold, the Grandmaster and founder of Enshin Karate is based right here in Denver. He founded the style in 1988, and in the same year, he founded the Sabaki Challenge, in which I intend to compete.
So now, I’m studying at the corner of Monaco and Evans in SE Denver, under Sensei Dave Anver.
I go at least seven times a week, and some weeks I go nine times. Monday through Saturday at 6am, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:15pm, and Saturday at 9am.
The 6am classes are more about physicality and cardio than technique. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are heavy bag training. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are weight training. This rotation is what caused me to stop my P90X rotation for a while, until I get used to the new routine. I will re-start my P90X routine later on, to add to the current Karate exercises.
The evening and Saturday 9am classes are about techniques, forms and (mostly) kumite, or fighting. We actually spend more time working on techniques against another student than just standing there throwing techniques in the air (though, some of that is done).
I’m starting again as a white belt for now, and at first that kind of annoyed me. But then I fought some of these guys. Yeah, I needed to start over. Unlike some schools I’ve trained with, these guys all have a very intense fighting component to their belt tests. Hell, the black belt test involves fighting ten black belts in a row, and I’ve seen about a third of the people fail their tests – and not just the black belt – all levels of belt ranks have had people not pass. That shows standards, even if it does provide some intrepidation to the student.
Another cool thing is the understanding that some other dojos just simply seem to lack. They have two classes – child and adult (Saturday 9am classes are a mixed). And whatever rank one gets in the child class does not necessarily confer over to the adult class when that student gets old enough. In fact, we have one student who was a black belt in the kids class, and just transferred to the adult’s class. He has to re-test, and who knows where he will wind up. It is possible after his first test he may even be a white belt again, as he is now going to be on the path he will walk for the rest of his karate “career”.
All in all, it’s a VERY tough training, and it’ll take me a long way.
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