We spent the first 20 minutes of class doing slow motion sparring.  For this drill, we execute perfect techniques while constantly moving.  The idea is to get a good warm up along and keep our egos in check.  No matter what, you are going to get hit while doing this drill and as long as you can deal with it, you can learn a lot of from it.  Sensei Noia could not stress the point enough, so I will say it again, no ego should be used when doing this drill.

Three step sparring….

For the next part of class we worked on three step sparring with a partner.  We started with both partners in a horse stance while one side punched at the face, stomach and just below the belt while the other partner did a rising block, inward block and downward block respectively.

We followed that up with the same type of drill but instead of a stationary horse stance, one partner moved forward in a front stance and attacked while the other moved backward and blocked.

Many kicks to follow….

Going back to a previous post where I talked about there being an interest in kicks for the upcoming exams, today was no different.  We did a lot of kicks.

We started in a front stance across from our partner doing alternating front snap kicks to just above knot of our belts.  After what felt like an eternity we left our partner and did moving forward with front snap kick.  Then, we did both front snap kick and side thrust kick to the front.  After that came front snap kick to the front and side thrust kick to the side.  We then added back kick to the same drill.  We finished up class with front snap kick to the front, side thrust kick to the side, back kick to the back, roundhouse kick to the front and step down with reverse punch.

I know that I had said this in the past but walking after class is often a challenge and today was one of those challenging days.

For the last few months, every few classes, after our warm up, Sensei Cieplik will ask us if we want the drill to be hard or easy.

Of course, the person he asks always says hard, this is Karate class so that seems appropriate, and normally that brings out some interesting drills.

Get your hips working….

After the normal warmup we started out doing front snap kick, knee strike, front snap kick and knee strike.  This is a drill that Sensei has shared with us for some time now to ensure that we are using our hips correctly while kicking.  The reset between each movement causes the hip to extend and retract if done correctly.

The next movement is not my favorite or anywhere near my favorite.  It is front leg roundhouse kick followed by rear leg roundhouse kick.  For this drill, we shuffle up and kick with the front leg, set is down and shuffle back, then kick with the rear leg and then repeat with the other side.  I would guess, if I could round kick, I might like the drill but for now it is pretty ugly when I do it.

Adding to the above drill, we did front leg roundhouse then step down with reverse punch.  Same as above for me but some others do it very well.

Hard or easy, you pick….

For our next drills, we started moving forward in a back stance doing knife hand blocks.  The entire key to this drill is to not have the front foot make any noise when moving forward.  The front foot should be very light, the toes should reach out and then the heel goes down.  There should be no stomping sounds when moving forward in this drill.  Next was moving forward with knife hand block, front leg front snap kick and then step down with knife hand block.  We finished up by adding front stance with spear hand to the drill before this one.

Here comes the hard or easy part.  The next drill was moving from a back stance to a front stance with a front punch.  This drill requires you to cover a lot of ground and hip action.  This might not sound like a hard drill but staying low and moving from the hips instead of the upper is much easier to type than it is to execute on the floor.

Get a partner and kick them….

For our partner drills, we did a movement where we start in a front stance, pull the front leg back using the hips, switch feet and kick with the opposite leg.  The idea is to move just out of reach of your partners attack and then get the power of the hip to return your counter attack.

We finished up class with one of each kata, Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan, Heian Sandan, Jion and Kanku Dai for all of those who are getting ready for exams.

Today, Sensei Noia had us work on a lot of basics. Testing is starting and basics need to be good.  We did a lot of kicks again and I have feeling that the theme for exams this time around is, you guessed it, kicks.

Lots of basics…

We started moving forward across the dojo in a front stance with the following blocks, downward, inward and rising block all with reverse punch.  We then moved backward across the dojo doing the same blocks with reverse punches.

The next drill had us moving forward in a different stance (front stance, back stance, horse stance, cat stance, cross leg stance) with each step. Next, we moved forward in a back stance with downward block, assisted outward block and then the upward and downward double block from Heian Godan and many of the black belt katas.

Next came, moving forward with front leg front snap kick, step down with downward block and then reverse punch.  We then did the same drill as above but we did roundhouse kick instead of front snap kick.

The next drill was moving forward with front leg sweep and reverse punch.  Then we moved forward with front leg front snap kick and spinning back kick.

Partner up and get a pad….

We started across from our partner in a horse stance and did a single punch, then a double punch and a triple punch.

We then did a front stance with rear leg front snap kick, then a front stance with a rear leg front snap kick to the front and side thrust kick to the side and then the same but we added a back kick.  Next came, a front snap kick to the front, side thrust kick to the front and back kick to the rear.  We finished up class with a front snap kick, side thrust kick, front snap kick, back kick, roundhouse kick, front snap kick.

Just to clarify, not all of the the kicks above were to the pad because our partner stayed in the same position even when we kicked to the side or back.