It doesn’t look like a lot of work but looks can be deceiving.  These classes are tough.  Sensei Noia hasn’t been giving us do a lot of different drills but we spend a lot of time on the combination drills that we are doing.  For example, the first drill below has three different stances and techniques that we are doing at least 10 times on each side of the body.

There were three parts to the first kihon drill.  (1) Start in a horse stance with downward block.  From that position, (2) pull the left leg back into back stance with a left arm, high outward block and a right are downward block.  From that position, (3) step into front stance with a front punch.

For the next drill, we were moving forward and back doing downward block with reverse punch.  We did the same movement as above but two times for one count.  Next, we did reverse inward block with inward block.  Then came, reverse outward block, outward block and reverse outward block on one count.

The last combination drill was moving forward and backward, starting in a horse stance with a downward block, move into a back stance with knife hand block and then move into a front stance with a triple punch.

We spent the rest of the class working on kata.  We started with Heian Shodan, then we could pick any Heian kata.  After that we could pick, Jion, Bassai Dai or Kanku Dai, Kanku Dai for me.  We ended class with four more katas of our choice and it was Hangetsu three times and Gojushiho Sho once for me.

Hip action was one of the main focus points of today’s class and Sensei Ceiplik made sure that we understood what he was asking us to accomplish.

Get the kicks done…

We started with stationary rear leg front snap kick.  After that we did front leg front snap kick follows by rear leg front snap kick, step down with triple punch.  The key to moving forward is not to fall into to the stance but collect your balance, put your foot down in a controlled manner and then drive your hips and knee forward for the triple punch.

Hip actions….

We started in a front stance and did stationary reverse punch with draw hand starting out in front and our palm facing up.  Next came front stance with stationary jab.  For the last movement, we did stationary jab with reverse punch.  The idea behind that last drill was to get the hips moving from one extreme to the other.

We finished up kihon with moving forward and in back stance with knife hand block and then knife hand block with front snap kick into front stance with spear hand strike.

We finished up with a single Heian Shodan and then partnered up.

Punch, kick and focus….

For the rest of class, the Shodan’s worked with a lower ranked partner.  We started with a drill where the Shodan would punch at their partner’s face and the lower belt would step into back stance between their partner’s legs and not get hit.  Even though they we stepping into a back stance, they had to drop down into the stance and not move their face forward.

Next, the Shodan’s observed their partners front snap kick looking for proper hip movement and making sure that they were kicking with the ball of the foot among other things.

We worked on a focus drill where the Shodan would hold out a finger and their partner would punch at it both stationary and moving targets.  The idea is to punch fast and hard but still have control and precise aim.

We finished up with the Shodan’s helping their partner with their kata giving corrections and advice on how to improve it.

There’s nothing like some good old fashioned one-step sparring to warm up you for class.

Sensei Noia had us get a partner and warm doing six one-step sparring drills.  We started with step in front punch to the head, front punch to the stomach, front snap kick, side thrust kick, roundhouse kick and spinning back kick.

Mental kihon….

We started with back stance with knife hand block then move backward into a front stance with downward block and reverse punch.  From there, we did front stance with front punch, move into cross leg stance with reverse punch, then cat stance with low knife hand block into a  back stance with double high outward block and  downward  block.  At times, these drills feel more mentally demanding than physically.

Next, we moved into horse stance with downward block and reverse punch, then horse stance with palm heel strike and horse stance with dropping strike, like that from Jion.

We finished up kihon moving forward with front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick and roundhouse kick all in one count.  I lost track of how many times we did that, maybe 25, for a total of 100 kicks in a short time.

Low belt and high belt kata….

For many classes now, Sensei has had us do alternating low belt katas to help those that are testing for Shodan along with a mix of high belt katas for those who are already Shodan.  We started with Heian Yondan, then Hangetsu for me, Heian Godan, Hangetsu, Heian Nidan and then three katas of our choice which was Hangetsu again for me.