Parts of kata equal good kihon drills

Sensei Noia had us work on blocking combination moves like those found found in some of the higher belt katas.

Blocking combination based on kata…..

For a little mind warm up, we started in a front stance, moving forward with rising block and reverse punch.  We followed that with inward block and reverse punch.

We worked on combination movements for almost the entire class doing the following:

Moving forward in front stance with rising block and reverse rising block.
Moving forward with downward block and reverse downward block
Moving forward with inward and reverse inward block.
Moving forward with outward block and reverse outward block.

For the next drill, all from a front stance, we did inward block, reverse punch and outward block.  Next, we did outward block, inward block and outward block.

We did the next drills from a back stance, moving forward with knife hand block, move into a front stance with spear hand.  We followed that with back stance and low knife hand.

We moved into a front stance with outward block and ridge hand and then outward block with shuto to the neck.  Still in a front stance, we did outward block, back fist and reverse punch.

Then came, what seemed like 10 minutes in a horse stance, side thrust kick and reverse punch.  For example, we stood in a horse stance looking to the left, trying not to rise up, we did a side thrust kick to the left and a reverse punch to the left.  After many kicks on the left, we worked the right side.  This is a drill for the kata, Nijushiho.

For the final drill, we moved into a back stance with a knife hand block, then into a front stance with a low groin strike, and then back into a back stance with the upward and downward block that we do in Heian Godan and other katas.

I am sure that I left out some drills that we did but a full hour of kihon not only exhausts the body, it exhausts the mind too.