A lot of work in a what seemed like a short time.  Sensei Cieplik kept us moving with kicks, kihon, partner drills and kata.  We also spent time working on sen no sen and sen sen no sen.

If you aren’t warm after this, you just aren’t kicking…

Rear leg front snap kick for 20 times each leg
Front leg front snap kick with rear leg step back for 10 times each leg
Front snap kick to front with back kick to rear for 5 times each leg
Front snap kick to front and side thrust kick to the side for 5 times each leg
Front snap kick to front, side thrust kick to side, back kick to the rear, roundhouse kick to the front, hook kick to the front and front snap kick to the front for 3 times each leg
Start in front stance with reverse hand out in front, pull front hand back and front snap kick with rear leg then step back down and punch for 5 times each side

Kihon in front stance…..

We started our kihon drills with knee strike, front snap kick, pivot 90 degrees and set it down.  Next came front leg front snap kick, step down with triple punch.  After that, Sensei felt that our kicks needed some help so he had us hug our front leg, move forward and step down.  The next drill was front leg front snap kick, move forward with triple punch.  We finished off front leg stances with front leg front snap kick, drop into a low lunge then step forward with a triple punch.

Kihon in a horse stance….

We started in a straddle leg stance with our toes out at 90 45 degrees, and squatted all the way down then rocking side to side.  After that, from the same stance, we moved right to left trying to move our feet as little as possible but still moving our bodies.

After our hips were torched, I mean warm up, for horse stance we did step across from horse stance to horse stance.  Next, we did step across with side thrust kick, then side snap kick, then both side snap kick with side thrust kick.

The next horse stance drill was different.  For this, we stepped across and did a side snap kick, then a low hook kick to sweep the leg and then a side thrust kick to the knee to take them down to the ground.

Straddle leg stance side snap hook sweep side thrust both legs

Kata and sen no sen and sen sen no sen….

We started working on kata by doing Heian Shodan very slowly.  After that, we worked on some techniques from the article that I posted on Shotokanmaster.com.

Sen no sen is where one partner reverse punches and the other partner blocks and punches at the same time.  The other drill we worked on was Sen sen no sen where one partner attacks and the other partner attacks and counters that attack at the same time.

We finished up kata doing H1 – H3 twice, H4, H5 and Tekki Shodan and then we finished up with Jion up to the first kiai twice.

Another excellent kata class today.

We started out doing each kata, Heian 1 through Heian 5, Tekki Shodan, Jion and Bassai Dai, once and then doing the same katas but this time in mirror image.  Mirror image katas are always interesting but if you do not do them often, it can really slow things down.  It was a good warm up and a good wake up telling me that mirror image katas might be something that I need to spend more time on outside of the dojo.

Full and chunks of kata….

Sensei Noia started out by counting each move of Bassai Dai and then he had us done a full kata on our own.  After Bassai Dai, we split up the Kyu ranks and the Shodans for their respective katas..

We spent a lot of time working on Kanku Dai.  Sensei had use work on parts of the kata, then he broke it up into thirds and then we did the entire kata on our own.  We spent at least 20 minutes or longer just working on Kanku Dai.  We did Kanku Dai at least three times before we moved on. I really feel that breaking the katas down into bite size pieces or chunks makes a big difference.

Apply your kata….

After that, Sensei had us choose the kata of our choice, I picked Gojushiho Sho, and then get a partner, my partner did Bassai Dai, and work on an application (bunkai) of a movement or group of moves from our kata.

For example, in Gojushiho Sho, my attacker moves in with a front punch and reverse punch, I deflect both of them and then use a spear hand strike to his throat.  There are many different applications for each move but this just one that I thought of while doing this drill.

Over the years, I always have my best classes when we work on kata and kihon.  It’s in those classes that I really find my Karate.  There is something about doing a kata and knowing that each  move you are doing would stop someone in their tracks.  Today, Sensei Noia had us do enough kata to make it one of those excellent days.

Partner up to warm up….

We stood across from our partner with both of us in a horse stance.  From there, one partner punched to the face and other other to the stomach.  After that we switched targets.  From there, we moved into a front stance and did inward block, outward block and downward block with our partner.

From there, we ditched our partners and moved on to some basics.  From front stance, we moved our back foot forward into a cross leg stance with reverse punch then back.  After those, we did back stance with knife hand block, front snap kick and move into front stance with spear hand strike.  The foot shuffle and switching motions really allow you to train in small space and still get good results.

Doing kata is good….

Wwe spent the rest of the class working on kata.  We started with parts of Bassai Dai.  We did the first move a few times, then the first, second and third and so on.  After working on various parts we did the entire kata to put everything back together.

I have found that breaking the kata into chunks or parts really helps me improve sticking points, in my kata faster, than if I work the entire kata from start to end.

We moved to Jion next and then the Shodan and Kyu ranks split up.

We then worked on Kanku Dai the same way we did Bassai Dai.  Parts at first then the entire kata after working on the parts.

We ended class with three different katas of our choice.  My choice today was Empi, Sochin and Hangetsu. Doing kata is good!