Exams are coming to an end and today was one of the last chances for get in some cramming before them.  Sensei Noia made sure that anyone who is taking exams are as ready as possible with what we did today.

Warm up by punching your partner….

Partner moves forward with a front face (jodan) punch, other partner steps back with rising block, then steps in with punch, first partner moved back with rising block.  Next, same punches and foot movements with stomach (chudan) punch and inward block.

Basically, it was all basics….

Starting in a horse stance we did 10 punches, then five double punches, then five triple punches and five rising blocks.

After that, we were moving forward and backward doing rising block with reverse punch, then downward block with reverse punch, then outward block with reverse punch and outward block, jab with reverse punch.

Next came, moving forward with front snap kick and triple punch.  Then moving forward with double front snap kick, then double roundhouse kick, then front snap kick with roundhouse kick and reverse punch, then roundhouse kick with side thrust kick and reverse punch.

We followed those, from a horse stance, stepping across with side thrust kick and side snap kick.  Always a crowd pleaser.

After that from a front stance, moving forward with front snap kick to the front, side thrust kick to the side and back kick to the rear.  Same as above but add roundhouse kick.  Front snap kick to the front, side thrust kick to the front then step down with reverse punch ended the kicking drills.

One-step at a time….

One step with a Kyu rank.  Front punch to the head, front punch to the stomach, front snap kick the stomach, side thrust kick to the stomach, roundhouse kick to the head and back kick the stomach are the attacks.  Any block and counter is acceptable but for those testing for Shodan, keep it simple for your exam..

Kata for all….

We started with Jion, then Bassai Dai, then either our choice of Hangetsu or Empi, then Tekki Shodan and one last kata for cool down.

Exams are nearing the end and Sensei Cieplik is making sure that those who are testing are fully prepared.  We spent a lot of time working on kihon today which I always enjoy.

Warm up because it’s cold…

I don’t know if it is because I am getting older but it takes me a long time to get warm.  Being that the dojo is above an ice rink with a concrete floor could have a little something to do with it but my body is taking longer to warm up than I remember.  Luckily for me and a few others who have this problem, Sensei makes sure that we get in enough kicks to warm up.  Although my kicks are not my best techniques, getting those big legs moving does warm the body up fairly fast.

We started with the following kicks:

• Rear leg front snap kick 20 times each leg.
• Front snap kick to the front and back kick to the rear 5 times each leg.
• Front leg front snap kick followed with rear leg front snap kick 5 times each leg.
• Front snap kick to front with side thrust kick to side 5 times each leg.
• Knee strike with front snap kick and knee strike 5 times each leg.
• Start in front stance with reverse punch out, rear leg front snap kick, switch hands, step back and reverse punch. (This is one of my favorite drills)
• One count, front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick, roundhouse kick, hook and front snap kick 3 times each leg.
• Front leg roundhouse kick followed with rear leg roundhouse kick 5 times each leg.
• Front snap kick and side thrust kick to front 4 times each leg.
• Knee strike, front snap kick and knee strike step forward.

Not cold any more….

After all those kicks, being cold wasn’t really an issue but being tired was another story.  We moved into our exam kihon drills doing anywhere from 4 to 12 movements depending upon the technique:

• Moving forward front snap kick with front punch.
• Moving forward with front leg front snap kick followed by rear leg front snap kick with triple punch.
• Stationary, reverse hand out, move weight into a back stance then move, like a salad bowl, forward and throw a front punch.  The idea behind this drill is to load up your body weight on the back leg and then push forward and letting the punch go at the end. The hips have to be in good working order (not mine yet) for this technique to work as planned.
• Moving forward and backward in a front stance with rising block and reverse punch.
• Moving forward and backward with Inward block and reverse punch.
• Moving forward and backward with downward block and reverse punch.
• Moving forward and backward with outward block and reverse punch.
• Moving forward and backward with outward block, jab and reverse punch.
• Moving forward and backward in a back stance with knife block and front snap kick.
• Moving forward and backward in a back stance with knife block, front snap kick and front stance spear hand.
• Moving sideways, horse stance, step across with side thrust kick.
• Moving sideways, horse stance, step across with side snap kick.
• Moving sideways, horse stance, step across with side snap kick and side thrust kick.

Get off the track, the train is coming….

Sensei had us split up with with a Kyu rank for each Shodan or above to work on three step or one step sparring.

A quick refresher: three step sparring is two separate drills.  The attacking partner announces what attack they are doing where it is going to be placed.  One partner steps forward three times with a front punch to the face, the other partner steps back with a rising block for each punch and on the last, they counter with a reverse punch.  They do the same three steps but with front punch to the stomach for attacks and inward blocks for the blocks.

For one step sparring, there are four to six attacks.

1. Step in with front punch to the face.
2. Step in with front punch to the stomach.
3. Step in with front snap kick to the stomach.
4. Step in with side thrust kick to the stomach.
5. Step in with roundhouse kick to the stomach or head.
6. Step in with spinning back kick.

The other partner has to block and counterattack with whatever works.  The idea is to move out of the way of the attack and if you move to the outside make sure that your entire body, including your feet, are out of the path of your attacker.

The key to both three step and one step sparring is to make the techniques look like they would actually work.  You cannot just place your hand out in front, the punches needs to look and move like they would finish your opponent but you must have precise control so that you do not hurt your partner.

The examiners expect the higher ranks doing one step sparring to look that much more powerful and controlled than the lower ranks.

Only time for a quick kata…

We worked on Jion and Sensei gave some excellent advice.  When doing the kata, every time there is a downward block take a pause to count one one-thousand, two one-thousand before doing the next move.  This short pause breaks the timing, slows the kata down overall and gives you a short rest so you can continue on with good speed and power.

We have been working on a lot of foot switching in class with Sensei Noia lately.  These are a bunch of great Karate drills that allow you to do some solid kihon in small spaces.  I don’t know how many times I have heard someone say, “I don’t have space to do Karate at home” but because of drills like these there are no excuses.

We started out with a warm up doing all five Heian katas with 5 burpees in between kata.  I don’t mind doing the burpees but I cannot do them until I am really warmed up, otherwise I will either limp home or worse, so I did nice and easy slow squats instead.

After the warm up, we started in a horse stance doing single front punches and double punches.  Next, while still in a horse stance, we did a punch to the front, pivoted to left and punched, pivoted back to horse stance with double punch, then pivoted to right with a punch.  As I mentioned above, this is a great drill

Technique, switch feet, technique,repeat……

These drills started out with our left foot forward in a front stance, from there, bring the back leg (foot) to front (knees together), then step back with left foot and front punch.

For the next drill, we started in a left foot forward back stance with knife hand block, we then bring the right foot up to the left foot, step back with the left foot into a back with knife hand block.

The next drill was in a left foot forward front stance with a reverse outward block, bring the right leg to the front, step back with the left leg with and outward block and a reverse outward block combination.

Another similar drill started in a left foot forward front stance, bring the right leg to front, step back with a downward block and reverse punch.

The last drill was in a horse stance to the front, switch feet and then palm heel strike to the front.

Finish up with some kata….

We started Heian Sandan, then Jion,  then Bassai Dai and Empi three times.