Hip action

Hip action was one of the main focus points of today’s class and Sensei Ceiplik made sure that we understood what he was asking us to accomplish.

Get the kicks done…

We started with stationary rear leg front snap kick.  After that we did front leg front snap kick follows by rear leg front snap kick, step down with triple punch.  The key to moving forward is not to fall into to the stance but collect your balance, put your foot down in a controlled manner and then drive your hips and knee forward for the triple punch.

Hip actions….

We started in a front stance and did stationary reverse punch with draw hand starting out in front and our palm facing up.  Next came front stance with stationary jab.  For the last movement, we did stationary jab with reverse punch.  The idea behind that last drill was to get the hips moving from one extreme to the other.

We finished up kihon with moving forward and in back stance with knife hand block and then knife hand block with front snap kick into front stance with spear hand strike.

We finished up with a single Heian Shodan and then partnered up.

Punch, kick and focus….

For the rest of class, the Shodan’s worked with a lower ranked partner.  We started with a drill where the Shodan would punch at their partner’s face and the lower belt would step into back stance between their partner’s legs and not get hit.  Even though they we stepping into a back stance, they had to drop down into the stance and not move their face forward.

Next, the Shodan’s observed their partners front snap kick looking for proper hip movement and making sure that they were kicking with the ball of the foot among other things.

We worked on a focus drill where the Shodan would hold out a finger and their partner would punch at it both stationary and moving targets.  The idea is to punch fast and hard but still have control and precise aim.

We finished up with the Shodan’s helping their partner with their kata giving corrections and advice on how to improve it.