What can I do from home?

With so many schools, venues and clubs closing (albeit temporarily!) at the moment there is a risk that we all stay home and end up in each others pockets.

There are upsides to this – it may not feel that way but bare with me on this…

The Gift of Time
If you are one of the many people who are now working from home, you have the time previously spent travelling to exercise. Social distancing may mean that we can’t be out with more than 2 people (unless from the same house) at the moment, but you can still exercise in the house / garden.

Time doesn’t just mean our daily commute of course. In today’s society we are all guilty of spending an increased amount of time on technological devices – the irony that this blog is online isn’t lost by the way! Time also means just spending time together, as a family. The risk of social distancing is loneliness. If there are people in your house – spend time with them. Why not get that old board game out the cupboard, cook food together, talk with each other. Remember that this will just be people you already live with!

There are upsides of course to technology. We need to consider those who live alone. Pick up the phone to a family member or friend. If they have the tools, use them – so many social networks have a video option. Video call someone can make you feel that you aren’t so alone. It isn’t always just hearing a friendly voice, it’s seeing someone there too. It’s human nature to crave interaction with other people.

We all know that fresh air is good for us, so if you aren’t a physical exercise kind of person, why not just get out in your garden if you have one? clear the weeds, cut the grass etc. Now is a great time to get out there and see what’s growing in your garden.

But what about Karate – how can I train at home?

It’s not that difficult! No matter what size space you have available you can do some form of training. Think of some of those techniques you first learned when you joined:
* how to make a fist
* how to stand in front stance / back stance / straddle stance
* how to punch on target
* how to move in front stance or back stance
* how to block – upper rising block, outside forearm block, inside forearm block, downward block

None of these points take up much space – as long as you can stand (and even if you can’t!), you can practice.

What have you been told you need to work on by your Sensei? when you punch is it on target? Is the height right for a middle level (chudan) punch? Is it targeted centrally?

You can easily do your warm up that you do at your club too, helping you to keep supple, rather than just sitting all day at your laptop, in front of the TV or just lazing around!

So what are you going to do? We’d love to hear!

Oss!