Because of my recent memory lapses when doing Jion, long story, this class is just what I needed. Sensei Noia drilled Jion in to all of our heads tonight. Even though I would like to the think I am special and we were doing Jion just for me, we were doing it because of the upcoming exams for the third kyu’s in our class.
We did Jion in the following ways:
1. Each move counted out very slowly with no power or speed. Â This was just a warm up.
2. Each move counted out with very fast moves but no power.
3. No counting with no rhythm but fast moves and full power.
4. All moves slow except for turning movements done very fast.
5. Full kata, three times with full power and full speed.
These types of drills help improve the kata on many levels. Â The slow motion movements require us to have perfect form. Â The full speed and power drill forces us to explode from a stationary position in to the next movement. Â The fast turns are useful for many of us since the turns and direction changes are some of the hardest parts of the kata. Â The last part, doing the entire kata with full speed, power and rhythm allows us to put together everything we worked on.
We also did Kanku Dai in a similar way:
1. No counting with slow and perfect moves.
2 .No counting but fast moves with no rhythm
3. No counting, all moves slow except for turns which were very fast.
4. Full kata, two times slow and two times with full power, speed and rhythm.
Technique, speed and then power…..
I really believe that this type of kata training makes kata much better.  The idea of technique first, speed second and power third is something that I have heard many Sensei’s talk about over the years when it come to doing and learning kata.
Great class, very hard, good training!
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