This class was a lot of fun. We got to work with the foam pads, which we haven’t done for some time now.

We stared out doing shifting job and reverse punch drills across the floor both forward and backward. This got me warmed up really quick and I felt pretty good.

Next, we got a partner and did jab and reverse punch drills with the pads. Our parnter would hold the pad, we would shift in and punch and then shift out for some repititons. After that, we did a drills where one group would hold the pad and the other group would shift in and punch, then shift to the right, to a different partner and do the same. This allows us to adjust our shifting and punches based on the size of our partner. We have adults who are six feet tall to kids who are sometimes four feet or less. We then switched and my group got to hold the pads for the other group to attack the same way.

After that, one Sensei would hold a pad and slowly shift backward and the rest of us were able to follow them, shift in and attack them with punches only for 10 seconds. This was really fun for me since I was able put some power behind my punches. I do need to work on my shifting punches a bit because I was pushing instead of snapping them every once in a while.

We finished with some partner blocking drills. We stood in a circle, each of us got a number, that the Sensei would call out and the person in the center of the circle would have to block the pad attacks. Our goup has all adults so it was more fun than ever because we could hit a little harder and all laugh about it when we were done.

That was our last Tuesday class until the new year but really fun.

Now that almost all who were able to tested have done so, we are starting to work on our sparring drills again.

I need a lot of work on my sparring skills but oddly enough, it seems easier than before. I am not sure if the time away from sparring is what helped but I feel much lighter on my feet and I am able to shift much easier than before. I have also lost about 10 pounds so that might be helping too.

We started out working with a partner on basic jabs and reverse punch drills. Sensei Noia had us focus on distance or keeping the right distance between our partner and ourselves. I am trying to focus harder on keeping my upper upright when shifting back and forth and also when I am doing my reverse punches. In the past, I was leaning far forward and punching with my head looking down at the floor. I want to make sure that I fix all of the little problems that I have developed over the last few years.

We also worked on some kick drills where we would shuffle up and roundhouse kick our partner. I have a very hard time when I lead with my left foot. My left hip was very tight, maybe because the gym was very cold, but I was having a very hard time kicking and recovering from my left leg kicks.

We spent most of the class working on those basic movements but near the end, we had some time for free sparring. The free sparring felt much better and I was able to move in and out better than before. I am also focusing on the retraction of my punches because, in the past, I had a bad habit of leaving my jab extended and wasn’t pulling it back fast like I should be.

I have a good amount of things to work on but I do feel that I am getting better and identifying and understanding what I need to fix now.

Today was the last Friday class until next year.

Sensei Noia had us work on kata and kihon for those that still need to test this weekend.

We started out with some kihon.  Moving forward with front punch is always a good warm up.  I lined up next to my friend Robert.  Whenever we are side by side, we push each other father then if we are next to someone else.  We have to try and do lower stances or move faster then each other and we really pull out all the stops.  We are pretty evenly matched when doing punch and blocking movements but he is much faster at kicks than I am.  We did many movements and spent a lot of time on kicks.  Side thrust kick, side snap kick, roundhouse, double front snap kick, double roundhouse kick and combinations of those kicks took a good amount of the class.  We also did shifting forward with jabs and reverse punches since those moves can show up on the exams.

Next we worked on our kata.  Sensei almost always has us start out with Heian Shodan to get us warmed up and I think to help get our minds on the task at hand.  We normally do one kata at half speed and another at full speed and full power.  I always try to pay special attention to me feet and hand movements when I do the lower belt katas.  With Heian Shodan, I pay special attention to turning on my heel and keeping my heels from popping up before I move.  We then moved on to our own kata and I was still having some issues with my ribs.  They are better then they were but doing the front snap kick with the three punches was painful.

After that, Sensei had those that we testing go out for some one-step sparring and then we lined up and class ended.