Sensei Noia started class with some sparring drills but I ended up working on some kata and kihon with my wife on the side of the dojo. My ribs are still sore and I do not want to take any chance in having them hurt again over the next five weeks before my exam. It took six weeks for them to fully heal last time and they are still sore from doing certain movements.
After the sparring drills ended, Sensei had us work on some advanced kihon. We worked on some combination block and punch movements and then moved into the more advanced movements. Not many moves that we haven’t done before but more repetitions than usual.
We spent a lot of time working on our back stance combinations such as, knife hand block, front snap kick and nukite. We then worked on front stance, inward block, move into straddle leg stance, elbow strike and backfist. That movement was always very hard for me in the past but for some reason, it was working tonight.
Next came some kicking drills. We did front snap kick to the front, side thrust kick to the side, back kick the rear, roundhouse kick to the front and reverse punch. We haven’t spent a lot of time adding the reverse punch at the end of the kicking drills but it makes the movement feel more flowing to me. Adding the punch just feels natural for some reason. It also helps me ground my front stance at the end. I just feels good.
We then did some one-step sparring. I feel really good about my one-step compared to the past. I shift out of the way better than ever. I am not sure what changed but I like it. I am also able to finish my counter punches much close and with more control than in the past.
We finished up with some kata. My Jion felt ok but not great. My legs were really tired after all of the basics and while I gave all the effort that I could, it didn’t feel great.
Overall, it was an excellent class.
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