Shotokanplanet.org

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

Karate exam – 12/14/08

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Today was exam day for both my wife and I.

We got the exam very early so that we would have time to warm up and work relax.  We did some basics, all of the kata’s from Heian Shodan to Bassai Dai and one-step.

The test started about an hour late but it moved really fast.  There was little or no rest between the eight or ten different movements and combination’s.  I felt pretty good up until about the second from the last movement where I was running on almost no oxygen.  I was able to push through and finish all of them with was I thought was good power and a lot of spirit.

Next came the Japanese test.  Sensei said a movement in Japanese and we had to do it.  I had kizame zuki (jab) and uchi uke (outward block).  Some of you might think that uchi uke is inward block but in our club, it is outward block.

We went out for kata next and my Bassai Dai felt really good.  I did the kata in my own world and didn’t notice anyone around me.  I had good focus and I my moves felt automatic.

We finished up the test with one-step sparring.  The same four moves that we often do in class.  Front punch to head and stomach along with front snap kick and side thrust kick.

After that, we had the control test.  I had a lot of power but because of my hips, I was unable to push off my back leg and Sensei DiPasquale gave a me lesson on how my hips and back should engage.  Up until that point, I felt that I did really well but I am not sure what will come from my control test issues.

Special visitor – 12/13/08 – Saturday Karate class

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My wife and I hadn’t planned on taking class today because of our upcoming exam tomorrow but we had a special visitor, Dr. Kathy Bailey.  With her being there, there was no way that we could sit out.

Our special guest…

Sensei Bailey is very high ranking Karate referee, a very successful doctor, a Sandan in our Karate club and a great person to train with or under.  Having her in class today brought up the entire level of spirit that I have not seen in some time.

Pop quiz…

Sensei Gatch had a great idea.  He brought many pens and a bunch of paper and gave one to each of us.  He then said various punches, blocks, kicks and stances in English and told us to write them down.  He also asked a few questions and said that our homework is to research all of these moves and questions.

Basics….

Sensei Gatch started class out with some simple kihon.  He had us step forward and back across the gym doing front punch.  I really like this movement, especially when moving backward.  It feels just right.   Sensei told me to take it easy because of my test but that is just one thing I cannot do in any class.

We did a few more basics and then moved on.

Hit the pad…

Sensei Gatch had us hit the pad.  Now that I think of it, he had me hold the pad and let everyone else hit the pad.  I don’t think I even hit the pad once.  I always like holding the pad to see how hard some of my fellow students can punch.  It gives me a good idea of how hard of a punch I can take the abdominals if the pad wasn’t there.

Control…

We spent the rest of the class working on the control test.  We had a coupe of Sensei’s hold a pen and we had to punch at it with full power but extremely accurate control.  They would then move the pen and we had change target while keeping the same power and contral as when it was stationary.

It was a great class and I hope that Dr. Bailey visits us more often.

Learn something new all the time – 12/11/08 – Thursday Karate class

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Sensei Cieplik shared some very helpful tips tonight

Kick lower but make it correct…

We started with the normal warm up of kicks but he made a comment that stuck.  He said, if you have to kick lower, make the kick more compact but do the full movement.  Instead of kicking higher and only doing half a kick, he wanted us to kick lower but really put something behind it and extend the kick all the way.

Exam kihon drills…

Sensei wanted to give us some tips for our upcoming exam and one movement that he had us work on was different than I remember.  He had us move into a normal front stance and then put our front leg out n front of us and pull it back behind us like the end of a roundhouse kick and set it down behind us.  It is a really touch movement for me.

When doing a roundhouse kick, if the hand on the kicking leg is in front of the knee, the roundhouse is no good.  From what I can feel and after talking to Dr. Bailey about this, the back is not engaged and because of this, the kick is no good.

Move forward and not side to side…

The next drill had to do with moving forward.  Sensei had us stand with both feet together, then move one foot forward without our body moving to the side.  In order to do this, the weight needs to be on the back leg while the front foot slides forward, barely touching the floor.  The ides of “pet the mouse” is the basis of this drill.  The front foot big toe had almost no pressure on it while moving forward.

Kata…

We worked on kata for some time and lot of it was spent with the third Kyu’s that were testing soon.  We spent a lot of time on Jion and the thing that I got from it was, when doing the three stomp and strike movements, turn the striking wrist down as if we were blocking or punching.  It brings a whole new level of power to those movements for me.  Even though I have been that kata for well over a year, I never thought to turn my wrist and those movements.

Use your senses…

Sensei Cieplik has mentioned this before but it alwasys helps to get a review.  He made the comment that we have three “radar dishes” on the back of our bodies.  One is located at the back of the neck, another at the lower back and the third on the back of the leg near or above the knee joints.  The reason that he talked about this today is because if you posture is bad one or more of those radar dishes will not work.  For those of you who haven’t heard of these, they are what allows us to see behind us without turning around.  Sensei said that 95% of the time, if someone is standing with good posture and facing away from another person, the person behind them can point to one of the three dishes and the person they are pointing at will know where they are pointing.  Have you ever noticed, when your in class, if you back up near a wall, you can feel it even though you do not see it?  It almost feels like static electricity or a pressure change to me and I notice this a lot when I am in the dojo walking backward when help out with some of the classes.  I can count and walk backward and feel a wall or even a student behind me without looking.

It was a great class even though the dojo was freezing cold.