Shotokanplanet.org

This is a log of my journey to Shotokan Karate Shodan and beyond.

Kumite and body conditioning drills – 7/5/08 – Saturday Karate class.

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Sparring basics…

Sensei Plocharczyk started us out with some very basic moves.  We paired up and started off shuffling in and throwing a jab.  Next we shuffled in and threw a reverse punch.  This was a good warm up for all of us.

Time for more advanced kumite drills…

The next moves built upon the warm up drills that we just finished.  Sensei had us work on making our partner create an opening for us to attack.  For example, we would throw a jab to their head and when they would go to block it, we would change the attack, midstream, and throw the jab or reverse punch to the stomach.  I know this sounds really basic but getting the timing correct isn’t very easy and switching from one attack to another in a split second is not simple by any means.

We spent 90% of class working on those drills and using different fakes and attacks to create openings to trick our partner and open them up to attack.  I also realize that I still have a lot of work to do on my kumite skills.

Stronger body equals better Karate…

Sensei Plocharczyk setup a conditioning circuit course for us to finish up with.  The circuit consisted of 8 exercises which included;

  • Push ups with our feet up on the bleachers and our hands on pads raised up about a foot off the floor.
  • One leg squats where we squat down and touch our butts to bleachers and stand back up then do the other leg.  This counts as two stations.
  • A sideways shuffle sprint with a forward  and backward sprint.
  • Moving in and out between eight groups of pads doing a shift in with reverse punch both to the left and right.
  • Squats
  • Doing the plank and holding for 30 seconds.
  • An open space to do one kata.

Sensei had us spend 30 seconds at each exercise station.  For example, when doing the pushups we had 30 seconds to complete as many as possible.  I was able to do 20 and was pretty happy with that since most people didn’t make it over 10.

We didn’t have enough time for everyone to make it through all eight of the stations but it was a real challenge just getting through six of them.

One thing that I always find interesting about Sensei Plocharczyk and my other Sensei’s is that they don’t just make up these drills for the students, they actually do them or even harder drills themselves.  It is certainly nice to know that my Sensei’s work themselves just as hard or harder than they work us.

Thursday 5/22/08 – No class for me but I did workout.

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I am having a problem with my neck or shoulder and didn’t feel well enough to take class. Both my wife and son were under the weather too so we all stayed home.

I ended up doing a simple workout that I started on Monday since I felt a little better as the night went on. It consists of a few simple exercises that I hope will help my hips and my core. The movements are as follows:

  • Lying side leg raises – 25 reps
  • Lying front leg raises – 15 reps
  • Glute / hamstring raises – 15 reps
  • Crunches – 15 reps
  • Dumbbell Side bends – 15 reps each side

I have been doing one set of each movement but I might add another or more reps depending upon how I feel. I also plan on adding reverse crunches to my workout above since those help loosen up the hips and work the lower abdominals a little better.

I am still lifting weights but I have cut back on the amount of weight that I am using and the volume until after I take my Karate exam in a few weeks.

Thursday Karate class – 2/14/08 – Some new drills and Kanku Dai.

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Lot of good stuff again.

We started with our kicking warm up.  Sensei Cieplik had us do two sets of 10 front snap kicks on each leg.  We then did the normal front snap kick followed with back kick.  Next came a different warm up.  We did front snap kick, side thrust kick to the side, back kick, roundhouse to the front, side thrust kick to the front snap kick again for a total of six kicks.  Sensei wanted to see our balance and control especially on the last three kicks.

Next came another different drill.  Sensei had us put our reverse hand out and turn our palm up.  We then had to focus on brining the draw hand back to our side while throwing a front punch.  He then had us focus on pushing our front knee forward, just an inch, each time we punched.  That made the movement feel much different and it really brought the hips into the movement.  This is a movement that I want to work on outside the dojo since I could really feel it in my hips.

Next came pad work and a lot of it.

We started working on front snap kicks.  Sensei had us put on pad on the floor and then our partner held another pad.  We then threw front snap kicks but Sensei had us work on extending our kicks out farther.  Instead of just kicking the length of our leg, we had to push forward with the hips.  This seems to bring a whole different and more powerful feel the movement.

Next, Sensei had us hold our knee up in front and keep our lower leg extended about 3/4 of the way.  We then kicked from the position so that we had to really use our hips and extend our legs out.

We then worked on some punching movements.  We stood with our front hand about an inch from the pad, we then pushed forward and up from the hips and then when our partner started to loose balance, we extended the front hand.  The hips did all the work and very little power was needed to extend the hand.

After that, we worked on back fist from a horse stance.  Our partner stood just a little behind us and we would throw as close, about one to three inches away, back fist while dropping our hips for power.  When dropping the hips, the power really comes out.

Next came a very powerful movement.  We started with the reverse punch out on the pad and then we threw a jab using a reverse hip movement.  This is one of the most powerful movements that I remember doing in a long time.  Using the hips to push that jab out felt so powerful, I don’t have a good way to describe it.  I want to work on that movement on my makiwara once the weather warms up here.We finished up class with some kata.

First came Heian Nidan, then Heian Yondan, then Tekki shodan and Jion all at Sensei Cieplik’s count.  He was counting faster than usual be slow enough for everyone to finish each movement.  It felt really good to do the kata at that pace.

We finished up the class doing Kanku Dai.  The best part was that we did it slow and Sensei did it along with us.  His movements are so precise and powerful, it is a sight to behold.  Sensei was doing many moves during class including a some jumping front snap kicks that were incredible to see.

I really pushed things a little too hard because walking after class was not easy.  My right hip was very sore from all the kicks and hip movements and getting out of the car was no easy task.  I have to admit, it was one of the all time best classes that I have had and worth every bit of pain that I felt.  I would the same class again and not change a thing!