There’s nothing like some good old fashioned one-step sparring to warm up you for class.

Sensei Noia had us get a partner and warm doing six one-step sparring drills.  We started with step in front punch to the head, front punch to the stomach, front snap kick, side thrust kick, roundhouse kick and spinning back kick.

Mental kihon….

We started with back stance with knife hand block then move backward into a front stance with downward block and reverse punch.  From there, we did front stance with front punch, move into cross leg stance with reverse punch, then cat stance with low knife hand block into a  back stance with double high outward block and  downward  block.  At times, these drills feel more mentally demanding than physically.

Next, we moved into horse stance with downward block and reverse punch, then horse stance with palm heel strike and horse stance with dropping strike, like that from Jion.

We finished up kihon moving forward with front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick and roundhouse kick all in one count.  I lost track of how many times we did that, maybe 25, for a total of 100 kicks in a short time.

Low belt and high belt kata….

For many classes now, Sensei has had us do alternating low belt katas to help those that are testing for Shodan along with a mix of high belt katas for those who are already Shodan.  We started with Heian Yondan, then Hangetsu for me, Heian Godan, Hangetsu, Heian Nidan and then three katas of our choice which was Hangetsu again for me.

Class today was filled with basics and kata, just the way I like it.

Sensei Noia had us start in a horse stance, doing front punch, double punch and triple punch.  The next movements were done with a specific rhythm.  Next was back stance with knife hand block on one count and then move into front stance with spear hand strike on another count.  The next drill was the same as above but both moves were done on one count.

We did a similar drill but this time we did front stance with inward block one the first count and then horse stance with elbow strike and backfist on the second count.  Next, we put them together on one count and then added a front reverse punch from horse stance after the backfist.

The rest of the kihon was kicks.  We did slow motion front snap kick, side thrust kick and back kick.  We followed those with the same drill but full speed and full power.

One step and six attacks…

We then found a partner and did one step sparring which consisted of front punch to the head, front punch to stomach, front snap kick, side thrust kick, roundhouse kick and spinning back to whatever level we could kick.

Kata conditioning…

After a quick water break with did kata with conditioning.  Sensei split us up into three groups.  Shodan and above, first and second Kyu and third kyu and below.  While one group was doing kata, the other two groups we doing jumping jacks, squat jumps or pushups.  Note to self: Squat jumps are something that I need to stay away if I want to walk after class.

We finished up with a stretching cool down and I hobbled home.

Our kicks have been the main focus for much of the kihon in our classes.  Sensei Cieplik is trying to make our kicks better and we are going to get better one way of the other.

Do those kicks the correct way….

Sensei has us warm up with kicks in every class and it’s that time where he can see if we doing them or if we need some extra drills to help us improve.  Today was another day where the extra help was needed.

We started in a left leg forward front stance and put our left hand in front of our right shoulder, from there, we brought our right knee up to our hand.  If we can bring our knee up to our hand, we should also be able to bring our knee up that high when kicking.  For the next drill, we put one hand in front of the opposite hip, brought our knee up once, twice and then on the third time we kicked.

The next drill started from standing, when then, very slowly, brought one leg up to front, while keeping it up and straight  moved it to the side and then to the back while trying to keep it at the same height.

The last kicking drill started with our knee up to the front, we grabbed our leg under the back of our knee and did a slow motion side thrust kick.  This drill will either make your kick better or give you huge biceps from fighting to keep your knee up.

We continued with some basics.  Moving forward and back with rising, inward and downward block with reverse punch.  Then moving forward and back with front snap kick and front punch.  Next, for each step we took, we did front leg front snap kick, rear leg front snap kick and step down triple punch.

8 point roundhouse kicks….

For the next drill, we needed a partner, acting as a target.  We did what Sensei calls 8 point roundhouse kicks.  We start in a front stance and bring our knee up 45 degrees to the back, we then pivot around to front, then kick with ball of the foot, pull the leg back, then pivot to the starting position, shake it out, then pivot back to the front, kick again and pull it back behind us and put it down.

Kata…

We finished up with some kata.  We did Bassai Dai four times, Jion four times, Heian Shodan once, Heian Nidan twice, Heian Sandan twice, Heian Godan twice and Tekki Shodan three times.