Shotokanplanet.org

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

Archives for 2010

Shuffle up and kick – 6/10/10 – Thursday Karate class

by Leave a Comment

Sensei Cieplik had us spend some extra time on our kicks again but tonight he had us work on a drill that we haven’t done too often.

Make those kicks better….

We started with our normal kicking warm up doing 20 front snap kicks to the front, then 10 front snap kick and back kick combination, then front snap kick and side thrust kick to the front followed by front kick, back kick, roundhouse kick and front kick.  After that, we did stationary  rear leg knee strike with front snap kick.  Sensei gave me some more advice on my front snap kicks in general, when I am putting my leg back down behind me, I am snapping my foot too far back on the retraction and pointing my toes down at the floor.  I need to keep the bottom of my foot even with the ground and keep my toes up until my foot is down behind me.  I also need to be mindful of this when doing any of my front snap kicks, moving forward or back.

Next, we started in a front stance and did front leg front snap kick followed with a rear leg front snap kick moving forward.  Sensei gave me some really good advice on this kick.  He said, after the front leg kick, step forward and down instead of just down.  If you miss the target with the front leg front snap kick, stepping forward and down allows a follow up attack with a shin strike.  It also helps to make the in-between stance lower and the second kick higher.  After that we did moving forward double front snap kick but paying attention to the shin strike in between the kicking movements.  We followed that up with double roundhouse kick.  Sensei said that if you turn your hip too far sideways the kick can easily be avoided.

Shuffle up and kick…..

For the next drill, Sensei had us shuffle our back foot up to our front foot and throw a front leg roundhouse kick.  This is certainly not my kick but Sensei told me to throw a cutting kick instead.  The idea is to make the back foot drive the front foot when kicking and the front foot drive the back foot when pulling it back.   In order for this move to be effective, it needs to be done quickly.  I can see nothing but improvements in my kicks, I do this drill outside of class too.   I just need to make sure that I don’t sweep myself in the process.

A few more basics and some kata….

We also did moving forward and with downward block, rising block, inward block, outward block and reverse punch.  Next, we did a single Heian Shodan.  We then did backstance with knife hand block, front snap kick and spear hand strike moving forward and back.

The next kata we did was Bassai Dai and after that, everyone else continued doing kata while Sensei asked me to assist one my fellow Karateka on the side.

It was an awesome class!

This article was originally posted on www.shotokanplanet.org. Any reproduction on any other site is prohibited and a violation of copyright laws.

Big news – Shodan at last – 6/08/10

by 2 Comments

On last Sunday, 6/6/10, I took my Karate exam for Shodan.  It was a tough exam but one of those exams that I felt really good about when it was over.

I spent two days going over the test in my mind, reliving the exam over and over again.  Today, in my Tuesday class, Sensei Noia gave us our exam results.  In 5 years and 50 weeks since my wife and I started taking Karate class we are now both Shodan’s.

It’s been an extremely interesting journey.  My wife and I started taking Karate class because we felt that instead of just sitting and watching our son take class, we might as well do it also.  We started out taking one class a week, which turned into two, then three, then four and up to five classes a week at one point.  About three years ago, my wife, son and I started assisting with Karate classes,  I have been a judge at our local tournaments for almost two years and my wife just started judging this year.  My wife, son and I have gone to every club tournament since 2005 and have competed in all but one or two.  We became totally addicted, or maybe obsessed is a better word, with Karate.

Karate for me is not just learning to kick and punch, it has turned into a way of life.  I am a different person than I was just six short years ago.  I have met many people and have made many great friends because of Karate.   I reached the best physical shape of my life and have a better mental outlook and a calmer head than I have ever had before.

I have had a huge support group over the years, including many Sensei’s and friends, who helped me along the way.  I am truly grateful to all of them and appreciate everything they have done to help me reach my goal of becoming a Black Belt.

I am still in a state of shock at this point but if you are wondering what the future of Shotokanplanet.org is, I intend to continue writing about my classes and my experiences in Karate but hopefully on a little more regular basis than I have been recently.

Five and ten second kata – 6/08/10 – Tuesday Karate class

by Leave a Comment

Taking class as a Shodan for the first time felt so much different today.  Sensei Noia is still working on exam drills since there is one more weekend of exams coming up.

Start with some basics….

Moving forward and back with rising block, downward block, inward block, outward block with reverse punch.  Next, we did moving forward with front snap kick, side thrust kick and back kick.  Then the same drill again but with roundhouse kick added to the end.

Kata and hold….

We started with Heian Shodan at full speed and power.  Next, we did Heian Shodan again but after each move, we held our stance for five seconds.  We then did it again but holding each stance for 10 seconds.  This was pretty tough but it gets tougher.

Next, Sensei had us do our own belt kata.  I ended up doing Kanku Dai, all 64 moves of it.  It wasn’t too bad at first and holding the stances for five seconds felt pretty good but when we held the stances for 10 seconds, it got painful.  I am sure I started counting faster in my head as the kata went on.

We finished up with two more katas, our belt katas at full speed and full power.

This article was originally posted on www.shotokanplanet.org. Any reproduction on any other site is prohibited and a violation of copyright laws.