Shotokanplanet.org

This is a log of my journey to Shotokan Karate Shodan and beyond.

Archives for October 2008

Scary Karate class – 10/31/08 – Friday Karate class

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Sensei Noia gave us another one of the those really hard classes again.  It was very appropriate on Halloween and scary enough to make me wonder if I could finish it.

Sensei had us start with a very quick warm up.  We ran back and forth across the gym five times and shuffled back and forth twice.

Kata warm up…

Sensei had us start with Heian Shodan which we did a couple times.  Next came Heian Nidan twice, then Heian Sandan three times, Heian Yondan four times, Heian Godan five times and Tekki Shodan six times.  After we were totally tired and had done 20 kata about 30 minutes, Sensei had us do our own belt kata (Bassai Dai for me) as if we were at our test.  Just when I thought we were done, Sensei had us go through one-step sparring without a partner.  We then got a quick drink.

One-step sparring…

After a little water and some quick breathes we got a partner and worked on one-step sparring.  Sensei Noia had us do it with a little twist.  Instead of using punches and kicks to counter with, we had to use moves that we normally do not use.  For example, I used a knife hand to counter or a back fist.  There were a couple of times I used an elbow and at one point, after taking my partner down to the floor, I dropped my knee on him.  I always wondered why my son never wants to partner up with me for some reason.

Hip stretches and strengthening…

For the rest of class, Sensei had us lay on the floor with our upper body elevated by our arm and bent elbow.  From that position, Sensei told us to pick up our leg, slowly and bring it back down.  Next, we kept our leg up, in what was like a roundhouse position and kicked.  After that, we did a side thrust kick and back.  The next move was a hook kick.  The final move was for us to put our foot from our top leg on the floor and picked the other leg.  Again, all of these movements were done while lying on the floor.  They were very hard and I was limping after class but I need to find a way to do this drill at home.

It was a very hard class and even somewhat scary but excellent.

Exceptional class – 10/30/08 – Thursday Karate class

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Exceptional is the only word to use to describe this class.

So many little things to help make our Karate better…

Sensei Cieplik gave us so many bits of good information, I am hoping that I can list all of them here;

  • Higher belts need to apply their knowledge to the lower belt kata’s.
  • At the end of the black belt kata’s, Shodan and above stand up into the ready stance and do not hold the last position like the lower ranks have to do.
  • If the draw hand fist is tilted down the shoulder is not working and the elbow cannot be pulled back.
  • Do not use the chest or rollover the knee when doing blocks.
  • When in a back stance, tension should be behind you with the elbows.
  • Punch from the eye in the back of your elbow.
  • The harder and faster you pull the draw hand back, the harder and faster the punch will come out.
  • Use calm assertiveness.
  • There is a difference between knowing the technique and doing the technique.
  • Take two moves from any kata and create a kihon drill from them.

Kata…

Sensei had us do our kata’s from Heian Shodan all the way to Kanku Dai.

The difference between higher and lower belts is the higher belt do their kata because they know it and the lower belts think about their kata.

In Bassai Dai, after we do the punch with block and punch with block, we pivot on the ball of the left foot, to point the toes to the left and move into the back stance instead of just stepping into that stance.

This class felt really good!

Did you see the truck that hit me? – 10/28/08 – Tuesday Karate class

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Sensei Noia is trying to help us prepare for our upcoming tests and I believe that workouts like these will certainly help but I hope I can live to tell about it.  This class was one of the harder ones that I remember and it was one of the first times in a long while where I felt my mind giving out.  I had a hard time keeping my focus but I did make it through the entire hour.

Kata and run….

Sensei Noia had us do Heian Shodan and then run a lap around the gym.  Then we did Heian Nidan and two laps around the gym, Heian Sandan and three laps around the gym, Heian Yondan and four laps around the gym, Heian Godan and five laps around the gym, Tekki Shodan and six laps aroung the gym.

After all of that, we had to do our own kata, three or four times with full power and speed.  I was having a horrible time getting my hips moving tonight.

One-step sparring on our own…

Next, Sensei had us do one-step sparring without a partner.  We had to do six attacks, front punch to the head, front punch to the stomach, front snap kick to the stomach, side thrust kick to the stomach, roundhouse kick to the stomach and spinning back kick to the stomach.  We then had to do the block and counter for each of those movements.

More kata and more work…

At this point I thought that class was almost over but we still had over 30 minutes to go.  After a quick water break, Sensei had us do another kata.

Next came some kicking drills.  We stood in a ready stance and then did front snap kick, roundhouse kick and back kick with one leg and then the other.  Doing the kicks from the upright, ready stance feels much different than when start them from a front stance.

We then all lined up and did squat kicks.  A squat kick is a low walk with a kick when we stand up, except this time, Sensei Noia had us do a front snap kick with three kicks.  We did a front snap kick, roundhouse kick and back kick across the gym.

Time for some kihon…

Next came some kihon.  We started, moving forward with combinations.  The moves were as follows; Rising block with reverse punch, inward block with reverse punch, downward block with reverse punch, outward block with reverse punch, outward block with jab and reverse punch, front stance with inward block, horse stance with elbow strike and back fist.

I still cannot believe how much work and so many moves were fit into one hour but somehow Sensei Noia did it tonight.  Either way, I think I am going to have to add running to my workouts outside the dojo.