Sensei Noia shared a “get ready for exam” class today.  I am not sure how many of each move we did but we spent at least 40 minutes on kihon.  I have to admit, after that many techniques, my kata felt very relaxed.

All from a horse stance:

Front punch.
Double punch.
Triple punch.
Rising block.
Sweeping kick from Tekki Shodan.
Roundhouse kick.
Side thrust kick.

Moving forward with the following kicks:

Front snap kick, side thrust kick and reverse punch.
Front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick and reverse punch.
Front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick, roundhouse kick and reverse punch.
Front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick, roundhouse kick, front snap kick and reverse punch.
Front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick, roundhouse kick, hook kick, front snap kick and reverse punch.

Kata time…

We then crawled, I mean moved, into some kata.  We started with parts of Bassai Dai and then we picked a kata of our choice to do twice.  Those 54 moves in Gojushiho Sho felt like an eternity for me but it was relaxed.

Sensei Cieplik had us spend a lot of time working on our punches and blocks today.

We started moving forward with a double front punch.  Not one punch after the other, instead, we started with our hips forward and as we stepped we threw both fists out in front like a front punch and reverse punch but at the same time.  This really brings the hit with the body into focus when doing this movement.  This is called rokhen tsuki (not sure of the spelling and I cannot find it on Google).

50/50…..

Next, we worked on stationary jab where we started with our reverse punch out and our draw hand palm facing up.  Sensei wanted us to have a 50/50 amount of push and pull between the draw hand and the punching hand.  Next came stationary reverse punch starting with the draw hand palm up again.

In the next drill, we moved forward doing reverse punch.  Moving forward with one step and one punch is not too awkward but doing two and three steps in a fluid motion was very awkward for me.

The next drill was something that I do not recall us doing in the past.  We started in a short back stance or blocking leg stance with a knife hand block.  From there, we did an inward sweeping motion to the front and pulled the foot up to about knee level.  From that position, we followed the sweep with a low side thrust kick and then we finished with a reverse punch.  The idea of pulling someones leg in and stretching them out and then kicking the knee or leg with a side thrust kick would certainly spoil their day.  Also, following them to the ground with the reverse punch after a broken leg or crushed knee really seals the deal.  It’s not nice but it does sound effective.

Next, we did stepping forward with front snap kick and then front snap kick with front punch.  The key was keeping the hips forward for this drill.

Back handed blocks…..

Next, we did Heian Shodan once and then partnered up.  With our partner, we worked on back hand blocks with front hand attack.  For example, our partner punches at our chest, we deflect the punch downward with the hand closest to our body, and then with a rolling type motion use the front hand to counter attack with a back fist.  I have often done this type of drill with the front hand blocking and the back hand counter attacking so this was a little bit hard to execute at first.

We also worked on a sweeping drill much like above without the side thrust kick to the knee.  Sensei said something that really made sense.  Sweep with timing, good timing comes from bad timing.  The point is that bad timing is the best teacher because it does not work.

We finished up class doing Heian Shodan twice but the key was to try and get the 50/50 distribution between the punch or block hand with the draw hand.

This class was what I describe as a roundhouse clinic because more than two thirds of the class was spent doing roundhouse kicks.

And the kicks began….

We warmed up with front snap kick.  Then we did knee strike with front snap kick and knee strike.  Next came front leg front snap kick with rear leg front snap kick.

We moved on the stationary roundhouse kick where we kick to the front and then put the kicking foot back down behind us.  We then did stationary vertical knee strike many times, so many I lost count.  We then partnered up and hit the pad with vertical knee strikes.

Turn on the heals…..

Although we have been told this many times, when doing Heain Shodan, Heina Nidan and Heian Sandan, turn on the heels for the moves with knife hand blocks.

For the rising strike (block) on the third from the last and the last move of Heian Nidan align body for maximum power.  Your back leg and rising arm should almost form a diagonal line.

In Heian Sandan, the crossing arm movements are arm breaks but with zanshin between each move.  First cross arm move breaks the attackers first arm, then pause and wait for possible second attack, then second cross arm move breaks attacker second arm.