Tag: online training

the corona chronicles

the corona chronicles – day 14

we had our first #homedojo online session today and it was AMAZING! obviously going cold turkey for two weeks had something to do with how good it felt to train again, but still it was a great session. sensei neil delivered a lesson that was basic due to the space constraints, but at the same time challenging and insightful.

we used zoom which is very affordable and easy to use. chances are you are already familiar with the technology, but just in case – zoom is a video conferencing service over the internet. you pay a very reasonable monthly fee to be able to host sessions and the app for the users is free meaning that running costs are minimal. it’s an absolute godsend for the particular predicament we find ourselves in. i only wish i has some shares in a company that is undoubtedly doing very well at the moment.

when using zoom you have two views: gallery and speaker. in gallery mode you see all the feeds from all the participants tiled on your screen, whereas in speaker mode you get one main feed (the speaker’s) on most of the screen at the expense of the other feeds which are made smaller. normally the instructor would use “gallery” view, so they can observe all the students, and students would use “speaker” view, so they can see the instructor in more details.

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i started the lesson in “speaker” mode so i could follow neil, but then half way through switched to “gallery” because i’ll be teaching myself the day after tomorrow and i wanted to observe the other students. after a little while i discovered that i preferred that view because it felt more like training in a group rather than a 1-2-1. i had my laptop plugged into a 40″ tv, so even in a smaller tile i could still see neil well to follow him. at the same time i benefited from the energy of all the other people participating in the session. definitely something i would recommend.

another aspect of training online is that you can train from wherever with whomever. we had 15 participants of various grades all the way from 7th kyu up to 4th dan, and from 4 different countries: the UK, Norway, Iceland and Israel.

so, i want to thank zoom for making a fantastic and affordable tool that made this possible, neil for a very enjoyable lesson, and also everybody who participated and made it a success. oss!

the corona chronicles

the corona chronicles – day 8

over the last few days the corona crisis has deepened with many new restrictions imposed. it is a difficult situation for most if not all with some challenges up ahead. still, the only thing to do is to remain positive and make the most out of the situation.

the positives are that everyone is at home and technology is on hand to help. many dojos have already taken to the internet and i was convinced to do the same. we’ll be launching next week with three weekly sessions every monday, wednesday and friday 6pm-7pm.

the situation has also presented a unique opportunity to include instructors (and students) who would otherwise not be able to attend a real dojo. i am very pleased that we will be joined by sensei Neil Jerome, 5th dan, and sensei Rosie Lau, 4th dan.

training in a virtual dojo isn’t ideal, but at the moment it’s the only option. for me it is actually more of a necessity, not just in order to keep our karate form, but also to maintain our mental fortitude, which will be tested no doubt and the weeks and months to come.