This is a log of my journey to Shotokan Karate Shodan and beyond.
My Karate training outside of class is getting better. My kata is more focused and powerful since I have been training with an opponent in my mind.
I did one each of:
I also did two Tekki Shodan since that is the kata for my current rank.
After a whole days of yard work and manual labor, I felt that I needed to do some kata. I wanted to try to do the katas while I was very tired, much like it is at my examinations, to see if I could use full power and speed.
I did one each of:
I also did one additional Heian Shodan but instead of using full speed, I held each stance for a three count before moving in to the next move. I did notice that being tired made me slow down when I got to Heian Yondan but I still tried to move as fast as I could and I always used full power.
One interesting note, since my Sensei mentioned that I should be imagining a real opponent when doing my kata, I tired it tonight and I could really feel the moves. It brought my focus to a whole different level.
Good classes!
The first class started with some kihon drills. We put one foot on a line on the gym floor, stood upright with our knees slightly bent and moved in to a front stance while turning only on our heel of the back leg. We then did the same thing but instead of a front stance, we moved in to a back stance.
After that, we moved in to a horse stance and went from facing one direction to the opposite direction back in to a horse stance. We then moved in to a front stance, pivoted on the balls of our feet and then threw a back kick. The idea of these drills was to prepare us for spinning hammer fists and spinning back kicks.
Now on to the fun stuff. We then had a Sensei stand in front of us, we moved in to a horse stance and then turned around and threw a hammer fist in to a focus mit. This was a lot of fun and I was able to generate a lot of power. Next, we moved on to spinning back kicks. This was a lot harder for me. I was able to turn fairly well but throwing the kick and keeping my balance at the end of the turn was touch. It was also hard for me to hit the target and I ended up kicking one of my Senseis’ arms.
In the second class, we spent more time on some kihon drills but we also worked on the application of some of the moves. We spent some time working on some moves from Heian Nidan. In the first few moves of Heian Nidan there are some blocks and strikes and as my partner threw a punch, I would block the punch and then take their punching arm and put them in what was equivalent to an armbar. The move had us bring our hands together and push against both the tricep area and forearm area. It brought back memories of my Aikido days in the past.
We also worked on another move where our partner grabbed at our gi and we would step back, pull them off balance and lock their arm. This also brought back memories of Aikido but after locking their arm, we could bring a knee up in to their core area or throw a nice back fist to the face.
All of my classes are so much more enjoyable now. I am not sure if I am getting better but I feel like I am learning and understanding more than ever before.