I often say that I don’t remember having classes this hard in the past and I am not really sure if my mind is forcing me to forget how hard some of the classes are or these classes are getting harder.  I may never know the answer but tonight Sensei Noia gave us a really hard class.

Stances anyone….

After running five laps around the dojo we started working on our stances.  The first drill was move forward to the half court line in blocking stance then move to the far end with closed stance.  We dd the same but moving backward.

Next, from a front stance, we moved forward with 6 each of the following;  rising block, inward block, outward block and downward block all with reverse punch and then the same but moving backward.   From a back stance, we moved forward  with 6 each of the following: knife hand block, then knife hand block with spear hand, then knife hand block with front snap kick and spear hand then backward.

Next, my most favorite Karate moves, NOT.  Moving forward with inward block and elbow strike, then inward block, elbow strike and back fast, then the same but add reverse punch.

We moved on to kicks next with moving forward double front snap kick, then double roundhouse kick.

Then we did shifting forward with jab, then double shift and double jab.  Then shift with reverse punch, then double shift with reverse punch.  Next, double shift with jab and reverse punch.  We finished up our basics with shuffle up, roundhouse kick with reverse punch.

We did one kata, for our belt rank at full speed and power, then one-step sparring with a partner for 6 attacks and 6 block and counter moves and we were able to take a short break and drink some water.  At this point, class was only about half over.

Kata…..

We spent the other half of class working on kata.  We started with slow motion Jion up to the first kiai and then we finished it up with full speed and power to the end.  Jion again but this time, we did the kata without rhythm but did the turns as fast as possible.

Full out, 100% Bassai Dai came next.  We then did it again slowly but with fast turns. We finished up kata time with our own belt kata (Kanku Dai) at full speed and power.

Class ended with a kicking drill that felt like it went on forever.  We started in a wide horse stance did a squat, then a side thrust kick for maybe a minute.  Next we did the same but with back kick and the same again with front snap kick.

That’s what I call a Karate class!!!  Walking will be another story tomorrow but that’s okay with me.

 

I haven’t done much in the way of sparring drills for a long while and it felt good to get in some sparring strategy drills with Sensei Plocharczyk teaching today.

Use your core or fall over….

We started in a front stance, then shuffled up in to a cross leg stance, then did a rising block and shuffled back with reverse punch.  Next we did the same as above but with inward block, outward block and downward block.  Timing for downward block is important and should finish when the feet stop.  Putting foot back behind fast and solid is key.

For the next drill, we stood upright  with our toes turned in.  Each time we punched we had to squeeze our legs and butt to make the power since we weren’t using our hips.  We had to make our stance strong by using our core.

For both of the drills above, you need to have your upper and lower body connected otherwise you end up falling backward when you get hit.

Hide your kick with your jab….

We spent the rest of the class working on some sparring drills.  We stood in a front stance, shuffled up and jabbed, then as the jab was ending we threw a front leg roundhouse kick, put kicking  leg down and reverse punched.  It takes some coordination to execute but it really creates a lot of power with all the hip motion taking place.

Next, We partnered up and did the same drill as above.  After we did that for a while, our partner could counter with rp and you blocked with the jab hand and then reverse punched them back.

Sensei Noia took us to school on kicking today.   It was a tough class and full of many, did I say many, kicks.

Warm up with some laps and kata….

Sensei had us start class with a lap and kata.  We did this for a total of eight katas and eight laps.  I was pretty much done at that point but class didn’t even begin yet.

Kick and then kick some more….

After all the kata and laps, we took a break and stood next to the wall.  From there, we stood with one side near the wall, put our hand on it and did side thrust kicks as Sensei counted.  We did get a little rest and were able to put our kicking foot down between each kick.  We did the same drill but this time, after holding the kick we pulled the leg back and then kicked immediately again.  For the next drill, we did a low side thrust kick each time Sensei counted.

Next, in to a front stance we did moving forward with rear leg front snap kick.  Then came, stationary rear leg front snap kick, putting the kicking foot back down behind us and then step forward.  The next drill was the same but added a side snap kick after the front snap kick.

Sensei said rest and do stationary slow back kick for a 10 count with each leg.  We started moving forward again and did front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick and roundhouse kick.  This was the end to the kicking part of class.

Finish with some more kata….

We ended class with three katas.  The first kata was all out, 100% speed and power.  The second kata was just stances and the last kata was slow but it had to be done with perfect form.  I don’t know that I was thinking but I did Gojushiho Sho and those 54 moves time three wasn’t the smartest choice I made that day.