Dear visitor,
my name is Thomas Meissner and I am very happy to welcome you on this page. During the shutdowns in many countries I decided to upload some materials, that can help karateka to endure their quarantine. If you scroll further, you will find programs, instructions and a constantly optimized training protocol – these will hopefully support you when you train on your own! The online course, that is offered here, also contains detailed instructions and much, much more. If you have some time go there and have a look! My references to other teachers or pages are not affiliate links. All my advice are honest and come from the heart. You may also find useful information on my brandnew blog, have a look here.
The free content, I offer here, is slowly growing. So I start giving it a structure. Please watch the introduction video at first.
- Short meditation exercise.
- Short warrior challenges, that fit into every schedule.
- Karate-supplementing high intensity workout
- Mobility routine
- If you click here, you get to the zoom-trainings of my dojo. There you find recordings of former trainings and you can also participate in live training.
Train hard and enjoy it!
With kind regards and very respectfully,
Thomas
(If you don´t mind , I would be happy if you share this page with your friends and training partners. THANK YOU in advance!)
In deep respect of your and my precious life time I publish a newsletter, that only comes to you, when there is really something to report about. So when your find this website interesting, you can subscribe without any risk.
So do you want to receive informations about this course, special offers and changes, which are reduced to the necessary informations? Then please subscribe here:
Training for yourself: Some thoughts that keep you on track before getting started. Please watch this video first!
“If you´re waiting for someone who isn´t you, to come along and motivate you, you ´re waiting on the wrong person.”
(Mike Gillette)
Have a plan!
The corona crises brings a lot of difficulties, but for karate practitioners it is also a chance to investigate and explore your own training, self motivation, values, outer and inner posture and much more. If you always needed your sensei to be pushed out of your comfort zone so far, this is the time to mature and become more responsible for your own progress (without quitting the teachings of your Sensei!). Watch out for blind spots in your training routines! With this free content I would like to support your ambition to stay in good condition and improve on your own!
Expect regular uploads to support your personal, self responsible karate-way!
1.) Become the “boss of your own house”: train your mind! You find a 5-minute mini-meditation below, that can easily be included into a busy day. I recommend to do it for 5 minutes in the morning, 5 minutes before you go to bed and during the day three times for just15 seconds. This is the very first step to an enduring awareness of your state of mind and your surrounding, that martial artists need in terms of self defence. What we are doing here is a slightly modified variation of the Tibetan practice of “inner refuge”. You are getting guided through the stillness of your body, silence of speech and spaciousness of your mind. Enjoy!
In the membership-area of karate-selfdefence.com you can find -between much, much more content- a 9-week-course about working on your spirit in terms of contemplation, awareness etc. It is mainly made for internal preparation for self defence szenarios, but the side effects are for sure that you are entering a more mindful life with these practices.
However, if you want to engage deeper into your internal work and follow a spiritual purpose, there are two teachers, I want to recommend (both offer online classes):
1. Sensei Sydney Leijenhorst, 6th dan IOGKF and chiefinstructor of the Netherlands, offers White Crane Qigong (very related moving principles to White Crane Kung Fu, which Goju-Ryu is strongly influenced by), meditation, Karate and much more. His teachings, inspirations and function as a role model have a very big impact on my development since over 20 years.
2. Tiana Tefy is also a very skilled qigong- and meditation teacher. She offers many different forms of retreats and online-retreats, regular classes and so on. When you contact her, you know you are in very good hands. We shared our path for a while, already then she was a very skilled and highly progressed on the internal way.
2.) Your daily mini-warrior-challenge that fits in between most of your tasks! I added a chart to the training protocoll, track your progress there. Beat your results from last week!
Introduction: this is not just a physical fitness training, we are targetting much more.
1.Plank: Shoulders packed, tailbone in, hollow body posture.
2. Shiko dachi: feet under knees, knees point into the same direction as your feet (45°), tanden drops forward, upright spine.
3. L-Hang: hang at the pullup-bar or something different (with a towel at a tree…), keep your legs horizontal using your core muscels (not hip flexors!). Hollow body posture!
4. Table lift: Fingers point to your feet, knees stay together and don´t drop to the outside, press your hips upwards.
5. Reverse plank: legs and shoulders in the air, lower back completely on the floo, rips closed!
6. Static pushup hold: tailbone in, shoulders packed, elbows are touching your sides, closed rips/hollow body.
7. Kururunfa half drop hold: go into the half way position to koshi dachi, hold there. Hold balance and upright posture while your legs are getting tired.
Congratulations, you mastered the week! Now the battle begins! Become better in each exercise, every week!
3.) A karate-supplementing, 30-minute-bodyweight-workout with guided breathing for building will-power and stress resilience (it´s also keeping you fit in terms of strength, condition, balance and mobility):
Instructions for the tabata workout exercises:
Tabata workout follow along video:
4.) This morning I just put my camera outside and filmed my personal mobility routine. Take it as an inspiration and later you may want to adapt it to your special needs:
Well, decades of intense training, and also -in the early years- wrong training left their traces and injuries behind. I give my best to inspire you to make it better! Take this video as a suggestion, watch out for your own problematic areas and work on them with focus!
I am very thankful, that you spent your time on my website! If you found something helpful, please share it with others! If you dislike something, please write me an email (scroll downward for the contact form). I want to stick with constant improvement.
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