For many classes now, Sensei Noia has us working on what I am going to call combination kihon.  We start with two techniques and then do it in four directions or on angles..  This covers a lot of techniques without having us march up and down the dojo.

Combination kihon…

We started doing downward block with reverse punch, then pivot to the left with downward block and reverse punch, then pivot to the right with downward block and reverse punch.  We then did the same pivot movements again but instead of downward block with reverse punch we did outward block with reverse outward block.  Then we did the same but with inward blocks.

Back stances came next.  We did  back stance with knife hand block, then squeeze back into cat stance with low knife hand block and then move into a  front stance with knife hand strike to neck level..

We then did outward block and reverse outward block, then step back on an angle to the left with inward block and reverse outward block, back to center again and then repeat stepping back on an angle to the right.

Now for some kicks…

We started moving forward with front snap kick front and side thrust kick to the side.  We then added back kick for a few and then finally roundhouse kick so that we were moving forward doing four kicks for each step.

We did not have much time left but we were able to get in five katas before class ended.  We  a Heian Sandan and Heian Godan and then the kata of our choice (I did Gojushiho sho) and class was over all too fast.

The dojo floor was a little (lot) slippery today.  There is not a lot of air movement and with 40 people doing kihon and kata, it was a little wet to say the least.

Sensei Cieplik had us work on a lot of kicks again. We did the normal kicking warmup and then came the following:

• Front snap kick 20 times
• Knee strike with front snap kick 20 times
• Front leg front snap kick with rear leg front snap kicks 10 times
• Roundhouse kick 10 times
• Front leg roundhouse kick with rear leg roundhouse kicks 5 times

We followed those up with moving forward and backward with reverse punch.  We then did moving forward and backward with double reverse punch.

Next came stepping across in a horse stance,.  Then we did side thrust kick and side snap kick from a horse stance and then a combination of both kicks from a horse stance.partner, wrist

Break away…

We paired up and did a drill where our partner grabs our wrist and we break away by relaxing our body.  The idea is, if we tighten up our body, our attacker is using our own strength against us but if we relax, we can easily slip out of their grip/

Slippery kata….

We spent the rest of our class working on kata and trying not to end up on the floor.  We did Heian 1 to Heian 5, then Tekki Shodan, Jion, and bassai Dai.  We also did Kanku Dai three times trying to keep our stances in a straight line.

The wet floor brings our Karate movements to a whole different level, sometimes at floor level.

Sensei Noia had us work on blocking combination moves like those found found in some of the higher belt katas.

Blocking combination based on kata…..

For a little mind warm up, we started in a front stance, moving forward with rising block and reverse punch.  We followed that with inward block and reverse punch.

We worked on combination movements for almost the entire class doing the following:

Moving forward in front stance with rising block and reverse rising block.
Moving forward with downward block and reverse downward block
Moving forward with inward and reverse inward block.
Moving forward with outward block and reverse outward block.

For the next drill, all from a front stance, we did inward block, reverse punch and outward block.  Next, we did outward block, inward block and outward block.

We did the next drills from a back stance, moving forward with knife hand block, move into a front stance with spear hand.  We followed that with back stance and low knife hand.

We moved into a front stance with outward block and ridge hand and then outward block with shuto to the neck.  Still in a front stance, we did outward block, back fist and reverse punch.

Then came, what seemed like 10 minutes in a horse stance, side thrust kick and reverse punch.  For example, we stood in a horse stance looking to the left, trying not to rise up, we did a side thrust kick to the left and a reverse punch to the left.  After many kicks on the left, we worked the right side.  This is a drill for the kata, Nijushiho.

For the final drill, we moved into a back stance with a knife hand block, then into a front stance with a low groin strike, and then back into a back stance with the upward and downward block that we do in Heian Godan and other katas.

I am sure that I left out some drills that we did but a full hour of kihon not only exhausts the body, it exhausts the mind too.