I am really enjoying some the drills we are doing in class with Sensei Cieplik.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy everything but there are some drills that I enjoy more than others.

More hip…

From a front stance, do a rear leg knee strike, after the knee strike turn the body 90 degrees and then step back with the knee strike leg into a front stance.  We did this with both the left leg in front and the right leg in front.  We did the same drill as above but Sensei added a front snap kick after the knee strike.

Some combination blocks and punches…

We stated with moving forward and back with downward block, rising block,  and inward block with reverse punch.  Next, moving forward with outward block, job and reverse punch.  Then, moving forward and back with inward block, elbow strike and backfist which is my favorite (sarcasm) move.  Even after all these years, that move is still ugly when I do it.

The last group movements was knife hand block with kicking and striking combination’s.  We started with moving forward and back with knife hand block , then with front snap kick,  and then we added spear hand at the end.  Sensei made an awesome point about the spear hand strike.  He said, do not pull the draw hand back to the hip before the strike, just do the move from WHERE your draw hand is!  This makes the spear hand so much sharper and faster and it just feels right.

Hold on the floor or you will get pushed over….

We started with moving sideways in horse stance.  The idea is move with intent and keep the feet in contact with the floor at all times.  Next, we got a partner and moved across, in a horse stance while our partner pushed against us from the side.  The idea is to keep the intention of moving forward while moving in a horse stance.

The next drill was really neat.  We stood with our back to our partner, our partner would point at any of three spots, the back of our neck, the middle of our low back and the back of our legs.  The idea behind this is that you have what are similar to radar disk like receptors in those three areas and if someone points at those areas with intent, you should be able to feel it.  Out of five tries, I was correct on four.  There is a lot more to this than meets the eye and I hope to explain it in more detail sometime in the future.

Finish with some kata…..

We did Heian Shodan through Heian Godan, Tekki Shodan, Jion and Bassai Dai to finish up the class.

This article was originally posted on www.shotokanplanet.org. Any reproduction on any other site is prohibited and a violation of copyright laws.

Sensei Brien spent a lot of time on different sparring drills today but one in particular stuck out.

This is a really simple but effective drill to help develop explosive power.  We started out in a very low, lunging front stance, from there we throw a reverse punch and then spring forward and throw another reverse punch as fast as possible.  This is a double reverse punch movement but loading up in the low lunging stance helps build the legs and explosion forward.  When starting in the low stance, your back heel can be off the floor but be sure to keep the knee of the back leg pointing forward and not to the side.   Give this one a try, I think you will like it.

This article was originally posted on www.shotokanplanet.org. Any reproduction on any other site is prohibited and a violation of copyright laws.

Sensei Cieplik has mentioned about the importance of fighting for center in past classes but now, it is starting to make sense to me.

Make those hips work…..

After our warm up, Sensei had us work on some hip and kicking drills.  We started in a front stance, we then did a rear leg front snap kick and held our front leg up after the kick.  From there we turned 90 degrees to the side, using our hips (with the body) to turn, not our shoulders.  From there, we stepped back hard and then did a reverse punch.  This is a movement from the kata, Unsu.  This drill really makes use of the core muscles if done correctly.

Use their energy against them….

Sensei explained the idea of loose tension.  When someone grabs your arm, do not tense against them, instead us their energy against them.  If your arm is loose when they grab it and they are pulling, it will take them off balance and give you time to react.

To work on this concept, we did a push and pull drill with a partner.  The idea was for them to pull you in and you hit them with a reverse punch.  A they pull you in, your pull your front foot back to protect your groin and then step in with the other leg and reverse punch.  Using your partners energy to fuel your punch makes the move extremely strong.

Fight for center….

This is a huge concept that seems to always work.  If you block your opponents attack and take them off center, they will either miss or their attack with be weakened.  For example, if your partner punches at your stomach and you block and push your attack to either side, their energy will no longer be directed at you and they must adjust and try to get back to your center before they can do an effective attack.  This also allows you to take advantage of them being off center and give you the ability to attack then as they and their energy goes past you.  This is one of those concepts that is easy to understand but very hard to master.

Kata is hard work….

We started with Heian shodan but Sensei had us add a squat in between each move.  For example, downward block to the left, squat down and touch the floor, then step forward front punch and squat down and touch the floor and so.  21 moves and 21 squats!

We then worked on Heian 1 through Heian 5, Tekki Shodan, Jion and Bassai Dai.

Extra credit….

When doing kata, especially Tekki Shodan, you must have Kensei with means – stall or stop  them with your sight and kill them with your vision.

For the ladies in class, if your hamstrings are not connected to your abs, your kata will not be as good as it can be.

As always, it was an awesome class packed with lots of great information!

This article was originally posted on www.shotokanplanet.org. Any reproduction on any other site is prohibited and a violation of copyright laws.