Shotokanplanet.org

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

Archives for 2011

Hip rotation and focus – 5/31/11 – Tuesday Karate class

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Sometimes, we need to be reminded of simple things that we should know.  Sensei Noia said when doing kihon (basic) techniques, make sure that you show good basic form.  When punching make sure that you rotate the hips and focus the punch at the end.  These are things that should be automatic for most advanced students but I know that I often forget them and this type of reminder is always welcome. 

Get a partner and focus….

After a quick warm up, we paired up and started out facing each other in a horse stance.  We did 10 punches to the face, 10 punches to the stomach, 10 triple punches and 10 punches from one partner while the other blocks with a rising block.

For our next drill, one partner held a front stance and the other did shuffle up with reverse punch, then shift with jab and shift in reverse punch.  We then did alternating stationary reverse punch.

We had to get our kicks in and those came next.  We started with stationary front leg front snap kick, then stationary front leg roundhouse, then stationary side thrust and stationary front snap kick and roundhouse kick combination.

We finished up this part of the class with some stationary inside out and outside in crescent kicks.  Next we moved forward with inside out crescent kick, put kicking leg  down behind and did a spinning back kick with the back leg.

Stretch it out and then basics….

Sensei had us spend a few minutes stretching out during the middle of class.  This seemed to make a huge different in my flexibility.  I wish I could do this in every class.

We were back in a horse stance and did front punch, double punch, triple punch and rising block.  Next, we moved forward without any hand movements.  We followed this up with 10 each, moving forward and backward with:

  • Rising block and reverse punch
  • Outward block and reverse punch
  • Front stance with inward block, horse stance with elbow strike and backfist
  • Back stance with knife hand block, front snap kick and spear hand
  • Double front snap kick
  • Double roundhouse kick
  • Front snap kick and side thrust kick to the front with reverse punch
  • Front snap kick, side thrust kick to the side, back kick to the rear, roundhouse to the front and reverse punch.

Kata and one step for all….

We did three katas.  I did Jion, Bassai Dai and Kanku Dai.  Next, we did one-step with our partner and class was over.

Sensei was able to fit a lot of work in to a short amount of time and it felt good.

Few drills, many times – 5/27/11 – Friday Karate class

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In this class, Sensei Brien didn’t have us do a lot of different drills today.  Instead, he had us do a few drills many times over. 

Shuffle and shift, forward and back….

For the first set of drills, we did shuffle forward and backward doing rising block with reverse punch.  We did the same drill with downward block, inward block and outward block all with reverse punch.

For the next drill, we did shift forward with a block and then shift backward with reverse punch.  The next drill was similar except we did shift backward with the block and forward with the reverse punch.

Partner kicks and punches….

We started with a front snap kick to the front and a side thrust kick to the side where  our partner was standing holding a focus mitt.  That was followed with a roundhouse kick and hook kick combination and then hook kick and roundhouse kick combination to the pad.  We also worked on stationary crescent kicks, both outside in and inside out.

We spent the rest of the class working on moving focus mitt target drills.  Our partner would shift around, like free sparring and when they stopped, we would attack the focus mitt.  We finished up with a simple, step and punch the focus mitt drill.  The idea was to get the distance and timing correct.

Ready stance without upper body tension – 5/26/11 – Thursday Karate class

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One of my favorite things that I like about Sensei Cieplik’s class is the extra attention to fundamentals every week.  Sensei changes up the order of the techniques and adds some other movements but he always has us focus on doing the correct kihon techniques.    This never gets old and I know that doing these basic movements every week make my movements better.

Good kihon (basics) with the body….

After the warm up, we did moving forward and backward downward block with reverse punch, inward block with reverse punch, rising block with reverse punch, and outward block with reverse punch. Sensei watches these move very closely and makes sure that we have good hip rotation and that we are using our entire body with each technique.

Next, we moved into moving forward and backward in a back stance with knife hand block.  The key to the back stance is to make sure that the front foot stay quiet.  Instead of banging the front foot heel down, the ball of the foot should touch the floor first while being gentle and quiet.   We also did moving forward and backward in back stance with knife hand block, front snap kick and spear hand.

For the next drill, we did shuffle up, front leg roundhouse kick with reverse punch.  Lots of hip rotation in this drill.   We followed that up with some shifting drills.  We did shifting forward with jab, then jab reverse punch, and then double jab with reverse.

We finished up the kihon with moving sideways in a horse stance, then moving sideways again but with side thrust kick.  We did also side snap kick and then, side thrust kick with snap kick.

Last minute kata advice for the students who are testing….

Sensei had many students papers to sign so that they can test and he gave everyone detailed advice about ways to improve their kata.  We did Heian Yondan, Heian Godan, and Tekki Shodan three times.  We also did Jion, Bassai Dai and Kanku Dai twice.  The higher ranked Black belts did their testing kata too.

One of the key points that I remember Sensei saying is when you move to ready stance show loose arms.  Don’t use your biceps to or show tension in the upper body when moving into the ready stance.  Another great tip, related to Hangetsu, was to bring your hands to the side when moving into the ready stance to show that you are bending a steel rod.  The idea is your hands are out to the sides, shoulders back and lower body a bit forward as if you are being a steel rod around your hips.