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.
Ohhh….I love the evil side of this workout 🙂 These workouts are the kind you curse yourself for showing up for class, that you body is starting to fail during the exercises and in your mind the instructor for the evil torture they are creating for you (“no human can every do what he is asking”). Then after the workout is over, you smile about how great a workout it was and that you survived. It truly is a love/hate workout.
I agree 100%. Classes like these make me really feel that what I am doing is working. The class is so hard that just making it through it without passing out means something is going well.