Page 23 - Sports Energey News - Issue No 99, Cornwall, Mike Piquette

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #99 March 2021 23

1968 Post Marbles

red and they were plastic, not glass! KARATE KOMMENTS
The 1968 Post marbles and game board
remains a well sought-after collectable
today. A full set boasted 15 Canadiens
and 15 Leafs - I don’t think anyone
By Thom Racine ever collected a complete set back then By Jim Riddell,
and not many of us ordered the game Seaway Karate Club
board display rink either. Funny thing
is, we didn’t play with them at school
much either because the girls weren’t
Many of us played with marbles interested in losing their good marbles The 1000 Technique
when we were kids - recess was the best for the chance to win a plastic marble
time. Heel a small hole into the hard- with a hockey player’s face inside. he 1000 Technique Drill is a workout where a single technique is ex-
packed school yard and delicately roll Tecuted one thousand times using several different methods. The benefit
your beauties towards it. Depending on What remains today is a set of players, of this drill is that it helps to commit the technique to muscle memory and
how good you were would also decide a year after the 1967 Stanley Cup Final
on what size of ‘Crown Royal’ bag you and new players like Paul Henderson make it an automated response.
would be carrying. Those purple bags and Wayne Carleton. The marbles Repetition of any movement or combination of movements creates a neural
had a status to marble players! themselves were unique in that they pathway in the brain allowing that movement to become second nature. So…
Kids love to collect things, although were actually three separate pieces. The how many reps does it take to create muscle memory? That seems to depend
I suspect most of today’s kids may not team coloured bottom, a tiny piece of on who you ask. I have seen various numbers on this topic, but 10,000 reps
know what a marble or alley is. A time- paper with an even tinier picture on it, seem to come up frequently.
honoured tradition, still popular today, and the clear magnifying lens that blew Let’s just say that if you practice this drill twice weekly until you read Karate
is beating your brother or sister to the up those little faces. Depending on the Komments in the next issue of Sports Energy, you will be well on your way
cereal box to get the prize. So, imagine condition, $400 is not out of the realm to making the technique a part of your automated arsenal. It is very impor-
during the late sixties, our delight when of possibility for a decent board and all tant that this drill be done using good form, keeping quality over quantity in
pouring out a box of Sugar Crisp and 30 marbles! mind at all times – we don’t want sloppy technique ingrained into your muscle
two marbles rolling out! Post cereal had I know that some of you reading memory.
been one of the leaders with sports cards this are smiling right now because you
decorating their boxes since the early remember these marbles and like me, I am going to use the reverse punch as the technique of choice to illustrate the
part of that decade, but in 1968 we were remember the thrill of finding them drill, as it is one of the most common and important in Karate. The drill sets
introduced to something a little different. way back when. That’s part of the fun outlined here are an example - you can tweak it or change it to suit your prefer-
Those marbles inside the cereal box were of bringing them back to life this week. ences, as long as you end up with 1000 reverse punches at the end of the drill.
not like any we had ever seen. They had Have a look, but don’t trip racing to the 1) Step forward with a reverse punch. You have the option of taking this into
faces in them. Some were blue and some attic to look for yours. a lunge. Complete 50 reps on each side (=100 reps).

Brought to you by Ming & Associates 2) Stepping/sliding back with a reverse punch. Complete 50 reps on each side
(=100 reps).
Athlete of the Month
Athlete of the Month 3) Sitting on a chair/stool, complete 50 reps on each side (=100 reps).

4) On one knee, complete 50 reps on each side (=100 reps).
Haydyn Nelson-Quibell 5) On the stairs (facing up), complete 50 reps on each side (=100 reps).

Age: 11 6) On the stairs (facing down), complete 50 reps on each side (=100 reps).

Grade: 5 7) Lead leg front kick, reverse punch, complete 50 reps on each side (=100
reps).
School: St Mary-St Cecilia
8) Backfist/jab reverse punch combination, complete 50 reps on each side
Hometown: Morrisburg, ON (=100 reps).
This month’s featured athlete is Haydyn 9) Backfist high, hammer fist low, reverse punch combination, complete 50
Nelson-Quibell. Haydyn is 11 years old and reps on each side (=100 reps).
plays football with the Cornwall Wildcats.
10) Lead leg roundhouse kick, reverse punch, complete 50 reps each side
He is in his third season with the team
and plays center. Haydyn seems to have a (=100 reps).
natural talent for the sport, having earned 5 touchdowns, several “Player Total: 1000 reverse punches!
of the Week” awards and the title of Most Valuable Player in his first year. Repetitions are important but common sense must be used when determining

He really enjoys playing football, and loves everything about the sport, the amount of speed and power that should be used in this type of drill. If high
especially that it allows him to spend time with his friends. repetitions are not part of your regular routine, it would be wise to dial the
intensity level back to prevent injury.
Haydyn hopes to one day play college or university level football, or to be

a police officer like his dad. Punches are much more commonly used in the 1000 Technique Drill as they
are easier on the body and don’t consume nearly as much time. Kicks use
considerably more energy than punches and take longer to execute. Imagine
trying to cram a 1000-kick drill into a 30-minute workout - that’s 1 kick every
2 seconds for the full duration.
Bonus drill: Environmental drill/spatial awareness - practice your footwork by
shadow boxing in a small room or around furniture. Try it in a garage, base-
Max Ming, P. Eng ment, attic, or anywhere that may be a bit cluttered and offers a challenge.
Things are different once you are no longer in a wide-open space and it can
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be a fun challenge to have to alter or adapt strikes to make them work in this
613-932-7526 • Max@mingassociates.com context.