Shotokanplanet.org

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

Just add a cat stance

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The time training outside of the dojo has made me start working on some new drills. These aren’t new techniques, just the same techniques done differently.

Class started doing standing, no power punches. The slight hip movement before the punch and the connection to the floor start things out. As the warm-up went on, the punching power went up. After that, it was time to do the same from the horse stance with the same small hip action and connection to the floor, adding some double punches after the single punches.

Next came techniques in a front stance. The normal stepping forward and back with a front punch to get the hips and legs a little warmer, and then the next drill was something that I don’t recall doing in class in the dojo before.

Stepping forward with a front punch, step halfway back into a cat stance with a front hand palm strike, and then step all the way back into a front stance with a downward block. This creates a different feel that I don’t remember from before. The front punch moving forward is standard, but moving into the cat stance in-between front stances adds additional elements to the leg moving backward. I continued doing the same leg movements, but the second drill was a low knife hand block in the cat stance, and then the last drill was a reverse punch while in the cat stance. I haven’t done much cat stance work in the past, but I think I found something that I will continue doing going forward.

After that was moving forward with a front snap kick and stepping back with a downward block. Moving into a back stance was the theme today for most of the moves. It just felt right.

The final kihon drill was moving forward with a front snap kick and front punch, working on timing the hand and foot to end at the same time and still stepping back with a downward block.

The next drill was reverse punch, step forward reverse punch, then step back with downward block. This drill started slow then, when adding speed, the first reverse punch is thrown while stepping, and the second is complete as the step is completed. The next drill starting in a ready stance was to shift left with a left hand inside block and then angle 45 degrees forward to the right with right leg and hand in front. The idea behind this drill is the move around an object in front of you by shifting out of the way and then moving into a fighting stance to either block or execute an attack.

The rest of the class was some Heian kata training to finish up training for today.

Work those stances – 10/27/09 – Tuesday Karate class

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Sensei Noia has been helping us prepare for our upcoming rank examinations and tonight was almost exclusive stance training.  Sensei started class with a long warm up and stretching routine.

Stance, stance, stance….

We started out in a horse stance with front punch, then double punch, then triple punch and rising block.

After the horse stances, we started in a back stance with knife hand block, we then turned and did another knife hand block, then turned again with knife hand block and stepped forward into a back stance with knife hand block.  Sensei wanted to make sure that we were shifting our body as we changed from one direction to the other.

Next we started in a back stance with a knife hand block and moved into a cross leg stance with a low x-block then stepped back into a back stance with knife hand block.

One of the moves that I liked most tonight was starting in a front stance with a downward block, then pivot on both heels to on and angle behind into a front stance with downward block to the front then pivot back facing forward and reverse punch.  The key to block after the pivot is that your body is facing the corner behind you but you are downward blocking an attack from the front with your head facing front.  This is move similar to the one in the kata, Empi.

The next drill was front stance with downward block, move into cross leg stance with downward punch, then step backward into front stance with downward block.

We then worked on back stance with knife hand block, pull back into cat stance with low knife hand block, back to back stance with knife hand block.  The key here is to pull the front leg back from the back stance into the cat stance and to make sure that the back heel turns from 90 degrees in the back stance to 45 degrees in the cat stance.

Next came stationary cat stance with front leg front snap kick.  After that came stationary cat stance with punches.

We finished up with one kata.  The kata that we are going to do at our exam.  Even though my legs were like jelly, my Bassai Dai felt pretty good overall.

Kihon but different, adding a cat stance to the movements – 6/26/08 – Thursday Karate class.

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Sensei Cieplik had us start with the normal warm up but today, my front kicks were on. When I was kicking, my gi pants were actually making a popping sound. Sensei was walking past and said good while I was kicking so that set the tone for me for the rest of the class.

Same kihon combinations with a cat stance inserted.

We started with our normal combinations doing a downward with a reverse punch. We did a few of these and Sensei said to add a cat stance and block from that movement, then step the rest of the way forward and do the reverse punch. We did the same with rising block, inward block and outward block. With the inward block and rising block he had us add a jab with the blocking hand before we did the reverse punch. The reason behind this was to call more attention to our foot movements and take our attention off the the reverse punch.

The next drill was really hard for me. We moved into a front stance but with our feet in-line. We then shuffled up, threw a front leg roundhouse kick, step down back with feet back in-line again and throw a reverse punch. This was a hip breaker. Doing that movement was all about the hips because it took them from one side to the other and caused a huge stretch of the entire hip area.

Next came some hard movements, get a partner!

Two of the hardest parts of learning Karate is “get a partner” and “line up.”

The first drill with our partner was a kicking drill but on the retraction part not the kick itself. I put my foot on my partners hand, in the strike position of a side snap kick, and then had to retract it as fast as possible. Sensei wanted us to snap our leg back and hit the inside of our leg with enough force to make it pop. This sound pretty simple but getting the popping sound was not easy.

For the next drill, our partner held out their arm, straight to the side and I would side snap kick right under the armpit on the cloth of the gi that was hanging down. For some odd reason, I was able to kick higher with my left leg. Normally my right side works better but for side snap kick, my left leg was flying.

Loosen up those hips.

I am not sure about this but I have a feeling that Sensei was thinking of me when we had us do the next two drills. Or it could also be that many of the students in this class are more worldly then other classes that are normally dominated by younger students.

This is hard to explain but I will try; I faced my partner, she then holds both hands, about shoulder width apart or less, out in front with her palms facing each other. I then raise one leg up to the front and hit my partners opposite hand with the inside edge of my foot and keep it at that level then bring it across and hit my partners other hand with the outside edge of my foot.

We then did a similar movement. Our partners held their hands in the same place but this time, we swung out legs, with control, over their hands. Was started the movement swinging the leg from the outside in then from the inside out. If I am not clear describing this movement, please leave me a comment and I will take a video and put up for you too see.

Some self defense drills…

We start with our partner doing a front punch, we then spin around, under the punch, squat down and then throw a back kick. The idea is to get your body under the punch and then impale them with a back kick. It is okay to put your hands on the ground in front of you if you need to get lower before throwing the kick.

The next movement was similar to some of the movements that we have been working on in Saturday class. It starts with our partner throwing a front snap kick, at the same time, I throw a front snap kick on an angle outside of their kicking leg without extending the lower leg. The I bring that same leg down between their legs, hit them with the hip and take them down with a ridge hand to the throat. When doing the move slowly, it seems fairly simple but at full speed, I assume that timing is the key.

Finish up with kata.

We finished class with two Heian shodan’s. Sensie Cieplik told us that we need to do our kata, no matter what kata, with the skills that we have learned. His point is to do Heian Shodan like the rank you are at with the skills that you have learned, even though it is the first kata that we learned a as beginner.

I feel that their is an underlying message here and that, no matter what rank we obtain, we should still do our lower rank kata’s. Some people feel that the lower tank kata’s are just that where as, I feel that those kata’s take on a new meaning as my skills and abilities improve.