Shotokanplanet.org

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

Some new kihon drills – 9/22/08 – Monday Karate class

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Hips forward and step…

Sensei Brien had us start in a front stance with our hips forward and stepped forward across the gym.  Sensei wanted to make sure that we were bringing our knees together when stepping.

Sensei had us do a drill that I have never done before.  We started with our hips forward in a front stance.  We tried to stay low while bringing our knee together with our legs bent.  From there, we stepped forward and put both hands out in front like a double punch.  We then pulled back and into the position with our knees bent and together and then we put our other foot forward into the front stance with both hands out.

New combination drill…

We started in a front stance, then step and punch, turn 180 degrees around into a front stance and downward block, then step punch, turn around into a back stance with knife hand block, step punch, turn around front stance with outward block.  This movement really opens up the hips.

Back stances…

Next came moving forward and backward with back stance knife hand block.  Then a little different drill, moving forward and backward, stationary knife hand block, step forward and knife hand block again.  Before we moved, we did the knife hand block and then after we moved we did again.

Horse stances related to kata…

When doing the horse stance moves in both Jion and Hiean Sanda, Sensei said we need to bring our knee up to sternum before doing the movements.  For example, when doing downward block with horse stance in jion we bring the knee up high and then twist our hip right at the end before the foot touches the floor.

Kata…

We spent the rest of the class working on kata.  We did Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan and Heian Sandan trying to apply what we learned in the drills above.  I really like doing kata right after we learn something new because it gives me more ideas and possibilites on how to execute the moves based on my body.

Some advanced kata – 9/18/08 – Thursday Karate class

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Something on my mind other than Karate…

We started class with the normal kicking warm up and Sensei Cieplik immediately knew that I was off.  He walked past me and squeezed my right hand and said that I was thinking about something else since my hands were clenched.  As soon as he did that, I was as if a light switch was flipped and my focus change to class instead of whatever else I was I thinking of.

A little different kihon…

Sensei had us work on something new.  We did an inward block, outward block with jab and reverse punch.  The idea was to get the hips warmed up and to make us use our minds in a different way.

Next, we did the standard back stance with knife hand block, front snap kick and nukite.

Partner up…

Sensei Cieplik had us work on some partner drills.

We did a drill with inward block, elbow strike and backfist.  The idea was to block our partners punch,  step about halfway behind them, elbow strike them in the ribs while grabbing their front hand and then backfist them in the head from under their arm pit.  From that point, you could turn their arm over, push the back of their leg and take them down on to the back of their neck.  We didn’t go through with the takedown but the it movement was easy enough to do with very little effort.

Advanced kata time…

Sensei had us finish class with some kata.  This was really interesting and I really enjoyed it.  Sensei had us start with Jion and he counted out each move and gave specific instructions on how we should do the more difficult moves in the kata.  After that, we moved on to Bassai Dai, then Kanku Dai and Hangetsu.  It felt excellent doing the the advanced kata and I hope we this more often.  It is hard to describe but it just felt really good.

As always, it was an excellent class.

Kihon, Kata and Kumite – 9/13/08 – Saturday Karate class.

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A little different kihon…

Sensei Gatch has us start off with some Kihon.  Sensei had us do some odd combinations.  We were doing movements like side thrust kick to the front and roundhouse kick to the front.  In order to do the roundhouse we had to bring the hips back around after doing the side thrust kick.

Kata…

Next came kata.  We started with Jion as Sensei Gatch called out each move.  He walked around to make sure that our stances were where they should be and that we were executing the moves properly.  Next came Bassai Dai, the same way.

Sparring basics…

Sensei Plocharczyk took us through sparring basics for the rest of the class.  We got a partner and worked on simple drills like shifting in and out with reverse punch.  The idea was to work on distance and making our partner do what we want them to do.  The idea was to make them put their hands where we want them by throwing a fake or combination attack.  If we threw a punch at the face, they raise their hands to block and then we would attack the stomach.  We spent a lot of time on this drills doing down the line with different partners.  For the last few moments of class, we did some anchorman sparring.