Archives for 2011

Sensei Noia took us to school on kicking today.   It was a tough class and full of many, did I say many, kicks.

Warm up with some laps and kata….

Sensei had us start class with a lap and kata.  We did this for a total of eight katas and eight laps.  I was pretty much done at that point but class didn’t even begin yet.

Kick and then kick some more….

After all the kata and laps, we took a break and stood next to the wall.  From there, we stood with one side near the wall, put our hand on it and did side thrust kicks as Sensei counted.  We did get a little rest and were able to put our kicking foot down between each kick.  We did the same drill but this time, after holding the kick we pulled the leg back and then kicked immediately again.  For the next drill, we did a low side thrust kick each time Sensei counted.

Next, in to a front stance we did moving forward with rear leg front snap kick.  Then came, stationary rear leg front snap kick, putting the kicking foot back down behind us and then step forward.  The next drill was the same but added a side snap kick after the front snap kick.

Sensei said rest and do stationary slow back kick for a 10 count with each leg.  We started moving forward again and did front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick and roundhouse kick.  This was the end to the kicking part of class.

Finish with some more kata….

We ended class with three katas.  The first kata was all out, 100% speed and power.  The second kata was just stances and the last kata was slow but it had to be done with perfect form.  I don’t know that I was thinking but I did Gojushiho Sho and those 54 moves time three wasn’t the smartest choice I made that day.

Today was stance training day.  Sensei Noia gives us some of the hardest stance training classes and walking afterward is not easy.  Needless to say today was no different than before.

The start was the only easy part…

We started standing upright doing straight punches.  Next, we moved into a horse stance and did straight punches again.  While holding the horse stance we did rising blocks and double punches.  For the next drill, we stood upright and did the punch and outward block combination from Bassai Dai many times.  Using the hips and pivoting on the heels  is the key to drill.

Then came the kicks.  We stated with alternating front snap kicks, then alternating back kicks, then alternating front and back kicks and finally, alternating side thrust kicks.

Cross your legs and get a partner….

For this drill, we did a cross leg stance with punches.  Next, we did a front stance, then moved into a cross leg stance with a punch, then step back to in to a front stance with a downward block, then reverse punch and front punch.

After getting a partner, one of us held a pad and other punched the pad while both of us stood in cross leg stances.  I think this drill was equally hard for both of us.  The partner punching had to squeeze the core or get pushed back when punching and the partner getting hit had to squeeze or fall over.

Up to the kiai….

We finished up doing our belt kata up to the first kiai, over and over, for five minutes.  I lost count after 20 kiai’s and am not sure how many I ended up doing.  The last thing we did was our entire belt kata at full speed and full power.

I have mentioned this in many of my posts lately that Sensei Cieplik has been sharing many little details with us in every class and today was no different.  There is a big difference between doing the move and “doing” the moves in Karate.  Anyone can memorize at a kata or a where to place your hands and feet when doing basics but if you aren’t paying attention to the details when training, chances are your Karate won’t work if you ever need it in the real world.

Get your basics done….

After the warm up we did moving forward and back, two times with downward block, inward  block, rising block, outward block all followed with a reverse punch.  The details with these simple moves that we do every week are sometimes so small, we forget all about then.  Sensei had us focus extra attention our draw hand when doing these movements.  Simple things like keeping the draw hand arm close to the body when pulling it back, rub the gi and move it at the same speed as the opposite hand.

For the next drill, we stated in a horse stance, stepped across sideways and did side snap kicks, then front side snap kicks and side thrust kicks.  The details here are to keep your moving foot in contact with the floor and make sure that the little toes touch when stepping across.

Also, staying low and moving in a straight line are things that we were but often forget about.
Next came a little Karate with a Tai Chi twist.  We started in a back with both hands out to the side and too a deep breath in.  We then moved into a front stance while pushing our hands forward and breathing out. No only do you get some stance training, you get some breath exercise in too.

Pads and partners…..

We paired up and hit the pads for a while using the hook punch.  The idea here is punch forward and then curve it in to the hit the pad.  A detail that Sensei told me a long time ago was to drop down in the horse stance or back stance when doing the hook punch to make  more power.

We also worked on some knife hand blocks.  Sensei had us hit the pad with the three out middle, fourth and pinky fingers tight and the thumb and index finger loose.  This gives the movement a different feel that cannot be easily described in text, at least me.  It makes the impact feel faster and have more of a whipping type motion instead of a cutting motion.  The intention here is to put the energy through the pad instead of just on the pad at the point of impact.

Kata…

We finished up class with some kata.  We did Heian Shodan three times, Tekki Shodan a few times and Bassai Dai.  One training tip that Sensei gave us was to just hold a horse and do Tekki Shodan without moving the legs.  This will help train the legs for better horse stances since the better the horse stance is in  Tekki Shodan, the better the kata will be.