Today was another interesting class. Sensei Cieplik had us work on basics first and then came some loose power punches along with some dirty roundhouse kicks.

Get your basics on…

After the warm up, we moved in to some punch and kicking combination drills.  We started with front snap kick and front punch moving forward.  Next we worked on front leg front snap, rear leg front snap kick and triple punch.  The front leg kick is often a toe tap as Sensei calls it but if you engage your core muscles, the front leg can get up much higher. If you do not, your foot will only leave the ground a little and you will lean back when doing it.

Next came horse stance.  We started by steeping across from horse stance to horse stance.  We then added side thrust kick only, then side snap kick only and we finished with one step with two kicks doing side snap and side thrust kick.

We did moving forward and back in back stance with knife hand block, front snap kick and front stance spear hand.  Then we did front stance inward block, horse stance elbow strike with back fist.

Dirty roundhouse kick…

The next drills required a partner and pad.  We started with punches to the pad but the idea was to squeeze the bottom three fingers on our hand very right while leaving the index and thumb loose.  This creates a very strong punch with loose power.  It’s somewhat hard to describe in text but the punch is almost a whipping motion when the fingers are squeezed that way. Sensei often uses the term “rock on a rope” and this is the closest feeling that I think describes it.

The next drill was we called dirty roundhouse kicks.  For this drill, we threw the roundhouse kick but we did not snap it back.  We set the leg down in front after the kick so that we could move easily.  This was harder for me than most drills because I kept snapping the kick back.  Go figure.

Lots of hip and move them fast….

We did one kata, Heian Shodan, as a group and then the Shodan’s split up for some Kanku Dai Training.  Sensei Wail took us on the side and had us specifically work on using our hips and turning fast throughout the entire kata.  The fast hip motions were torture and Sensei kept pushing us harder until we ran out of time. I was never so happy to run out of time to be honest.

This was an all kata class!  Sensei Noia must have been reading my mind.  I enjoy doing kata more than ever before and today was like being in kata heaven.

Fast turns, even if you fall over….

After the warm we worked we did Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan, Heian Sandan, Heian Yondan and Heian Godan twice but we did the turns super fast.  We could do all the of the punching and striking moves slowly but whenever there was a block or turn we had to do it as fast as possible.  Fast to the point of almost falling over.

Next, we did Jion three times, again doing super fast turns as Sensei counted the moves for us.  You guessed it, Bassai Dai came next but we only worked on the moves up to the first Kiai.  And then Kanku Dai, three times also with the same high speed turns.  At that point, I was lucky to still be standing.  My legs and hips were calling me names that I haven’t been called since kindergarten.

We finished up a kata of our choice where I did Gojushiho Sho.  Those 60 minutes passed faster than I remember but one thing that sticks in my mind was the walk or me trying to walk to the car after class.

This class was a little different today.  Sensei Cieplik had us spend a lot of time working on sparring drills with and without a partner.  I have a feeling that the upcoming Jennifer Malloy tournament might have something to do with it but either way, it is some good stuff.

Heel first….

After the warm up, we started in front stance, then brought our knee up to the front, like a knee strike.  From there, we put the same foot back down behind being sure to put our heel down on the floor first.  In order to drive from the heel when doing a movement such as moving backward with front leg front snap kick and front punch, the heel needs to be planted in order to make power for the front punch.

The second part of the drill was to keep our foot flat when bringing the knee up.  Many of us, me included, have a tendency to point our toes at the floor when doing this move.  This does require some good ankle flexibility, at least for me.

Get ready to rumble….

Next came some sparring drills.  We started with shifting forward and jab.  This was a little different because Sensei wanted us to jab late.  The idea was to shift in and settle and then jab.  This is to make the jab come from the hip and lower body action instead of the shoulders and upper body.  We did the same but this time we did two shifts and two jabs.  We then did two shifts with two jabs and then a long lunging reverse punch.  The last drill was to get the hips working.

Jab, reverse punch and kick but do not kick their knee…

The next drill was a very fast and powerful sparring drill.  From a left foot forward fighting stance we did a a left hand jab, from there, the right foot moves parallel with the left and we reverse punch and as the punch is moving, we front snap kick with the right leg.  This is an extremely fast and powerful combination because the hips are fully engaged when doing the movement.  You are also hiding the kick from your opponent with the hand that is doing the reverse punch.  Just be sure to shuffle or step back when moving away from this attack otherwise the front knee might be

Kanku dai in detail….

Sensei separated us into groups for kata and my group worked on Kanku Dai with Sensei Wail.  We started out working sections or groups of movements.  We did the first few moves and then the next few and so on until we went through the entire kata.  One of the key points that Sensei Wail stressed today was for us to make extremely fast turns and use the hips, not the upper body, to make those turns.