I keep saying that Sensei Noia’s classes keep getting harder and harder but tonight was the hardest yet.  It may have not been that hard for others but I had a partner that pushed me to my limit.

I should have known that the warm up was a taste of what was to come….

We started out with five burpee’s then run to each quarter line and do five more until you end up with around 30 or so.  I couldn’t catch my breath after 11 – 15, I lost count, and ended up standing off to the side.  I hate to do that but I just couldn’t get enough air.  After that, we did low walks all the way across the gym.

Get a partner….

I am very lucky to have some great partners in all the classes I take.  Each and everyone of them makes me better and hopefully, I am making them better too.  Some are great fighters, some are hard workers and others are technical specialists and all of them have helped make my Karate what it is now.

Tonight was different.  I have often partnered up with Sensei Plocharczyk before but tonight was the first time that I pulled out every last ounce of my abilities.  I have never had anyone push me as hard as he did today.  I am just hoping that I was able to return the favor.

Tense those muscles….

Sensei Noia had us start in a ready stance and when he said go, we would tense all of the muscles in our body and squeeze the floor.  He would then walk around to each of us and try to push us out of stances by pushing on our hips or our upper body.  He did these in a similar fashion to intervals where we would tense for 10 to 15 seconds and rest for 5 to 10 seconds for about eight sets or so.

The next drill was in a horse stance, like above.  After that, we did the same drill but our partner would test our stances and make sure that we were squeezing our core by hitting our abs with a good open hand strike.

From this point, the drills became even more interesting.  Sensei had us start in a ready stance but with our toes turned in a little.  From there, we both did double outward blocks.  One of us placed the inside of our forearms against the outside of our partners forearms.  When Sensei said go, we pushed against each other but using our core not our upper body strength until he said rest.  This was intense.

The next drill was similar to above but we did it from a front stance with our arms stretched out in front of us and our palms up.  This a little easier because the lower the stance, the more rooted we were to get and dig in.  It was still intense in its own right though.

We also did some kihon drills.  Moving forward across the dojo we did a sequence of movements from Jion.  We did rising block with reverse punch moving forward, rising block with reverse moving forward again, rising block moving forward and front punch moving forward.  After we did it a few times, Sensei had us do the same drill but before each move he told us to tense and when he said relax, we would move forward as fast as possible and do the movement.

We also did moving forward in back stance with outward block and reverse punch as in Heian Godan and back stance with gedan shuto.

Kata….

We also did two kata’s.  The first one we did was with no power or speed, only perfect form.  The last kata we did was all out, full power and speed at the end of class.

This was an excellent class and one that I am sure I will feel in my muscles for the next few days!

Sensei Brien took us through a tough class today.  Sensei said that someone felt that we do not do enough conditioning in our classes and he made sure that it wasn’t going to be an issue today.

A lot of kihon…

Sensei had us start in a horse stance.  From there we did 10 each of front punch, double punch, triple punch and rising block while holding our stance.  After that we pointed our toes out to the sides at a 45 degree angle, shiko dachi, and did the same movements as above.

Next we did 10 each of moving forward and backward with front punch, then triple punch, then rising block with reverse punch and downward block with reverse punch.  After that came moving forward and backward with knife hand block, front snap kick and spear hand.

Conditioning…

After 10 minutes or so of kihon, Sensei had us start our conditioning drills.  We started with side planks for 30 seconds each side.  After that, we got into a push up position with our hands close together and from there we held up one leg behind us off the floor for 30 seconds.  The next drill we did was on all fours and from there we brought our knee up to our chest and then did a back kick up and behind us for 10 reps on each side.  For the next drill, we were still on all fours and brought one leg up to the side like a roundhouse, then extended our leg out and pulled it back in for 5 reps with each leg.

We did another drill that we similar to short v-up.  We started, seating on the floor with our knees up near our chest and our arm stretched out in front and from there we leaned back and extended our legs out front of us.  The last drill we did had us in a horse stance with one foot on a pad and from there we pulled the pad from outside in.  Sensei also said that this drill would help with flexibility.

Do your kata with escalating intensity…

Sensei had us work on kata but instead of just doing the movements, he explained that we need to do our kata with a buildup of intensity.  For example, in Heian Shodan, we do the first movement, the downward block strong and the second movement, the punch, stronger.  There also should be a rhythm.  For example, when doing the three punches in Heian Shodan, the first one is done, then a little longer pause before the second and third punch.  For example, bang, pause then bang, shorter pause and bang.

We did Heian Shodan twice, Heian Nidan once and then we each went out to do our own kata.  Sensei told me that I need to stop doing my movements from the chest.

It was a tough class but a good one.

If there is one thing that I can say about every class that I have had with Sensei Cieplik, it is that I learn something in each and every class.  I can do a movement that I have done 1000’s of times and he will share one little tip that makes it all clear.  It is as if I had a pair of dirty glasses on and he comes along and cleans the lens so I can see.  Today’s class was certainly no different and I walked away with something that I never understood until now.

Tuck your tailbone under….

For the longest time, I have been told to tuck my tailbone under or push my belt forward in order to move from my hips.  This is something that I have been told from the first couple of Karate classes that I took over five years ago.  The problem is that I could never tuck my tailbone under.  If I tried to do that, I ended up arching my back.  The thing that I never understood is that when the tailbone is not tucked, my hips point toward the floor not forward.  If my stance is taller, I can sit on my legs instead of fighting my balance and leaning forward.

Here is where the breakthrough came.  Sensei Cieplik said that if you have to, make your stance shorter and taller, as short and as tall as you need to tuck your tailbone under.  For all this time, I have been trying to tuck my tailbone under when in a low, long stance and it was impossible for me.  But, making my stance taller and shorter allowed me to tuck the tailbone, move from the hips and kick, punch and block with almost an effortless feelings but with what I felt was perfect timing.  When I would try to tuck my tailbone and move forward with a front punch, my feet and hands never had the correct timing but when I was able to tuck my tailbone, my lower body did the work and my hands moved automatically.

So, how does this help me do this when in a lower stance, you are wondering.  Sensei said to work on getting the body to move and function that way it should then work on making the stances lower and longer.  Since I never did movements in a short, tall stance, I never felt what it was like to do the movement correctly.  Sometimes, the harder the problem, the easier the solution is and that is true for me today.

Sensei Cieplik’s kata…

We all started with Heian Shodan and did it three times.  We then did H2, H3 twice, H4, H5 and Tekki Shodan.  We also did the Jion up to the first kiai.

After that, Sensei had everyone but the black belts go off to the side and he worked on Kanku dai with them.  He had them do the kata with their feet in line.

Next, Sensei had the black belts go off to the side he had us do Heian Shodan with him.  This is his way of doing Heian Shodan where, after every move, we squat down and touch the floor while trying to keep our back straight.  This was really intense and something that I am going to work on outside of class with my kata.

Some extra tips from Sensei:

If your stance is narrower, your hips will normally be more forward.  If you stance is too wide, chances are your hips will point down.

If you are in a narrow stance, gaze to the side but turn the hips and head forward while keeping your gaze to the side and your balance and stability will be very solid.