Take em down – 8/19/10 – Thursday Karate class

Sensei Cieplik is really giving us a lot of kicking drills. I really need them and am more than happy to get as much kicking in as possible.

Kicks….

We started with stationary knee strike and front snap kick. Then double front snap kick. then front snap kick with front punch.

Next, we did shuffle up, front leg roundhouse, then shuffle back and do a rear leg roundhouse kick.

Kihon….

We moved forward and did a rising block, inward block, downward block and then reverse punch all with only one step forward. We did the same moving backward.

Next, we did back stance, knife hand block and then did the same with the added front snap kick and finally we added the reverse spear hand strike.

Next came, Sensei’s favorite move to watch, inward block, horse stance with elbow strike and back fist. Sensei said to make sure that each stance looks like it should, being that the horse stance needs to be a horse stance and the front stance needs to be a front stance. Also, Sensei suggested that we insert a cat stance between the different stances.

Take em down….

Next, we worked on some partner drills. We started with inward block, elbow strike and back fist but we stepped behind and threw our partner, over our knee and down to the ground. When in the horse stance behind them, use the hand that did the back fist to throw them over your leg behind them.

We finished up class with kata. Heian 1 through Heian 5, Tekki Shodan, Jion and Bassai Dai.

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Spin and hit – 8/17/10 – Tuesday Karate class

I really enjoyed this class. Sensei Noia had us work on a lot of spinning movements and some interesting self defense drills.

Partner up and kick him across the dojo…

For the first drill we got our focus mitts. One partner had a mitt on each hand, put them out as a target and the other partner did kicks or punches depending upon where the other put the mitt. For example, if they put the mitt on the side of their head, you would throw a roundhouse or hook kick. If the pad was on their stomach, you would throw a reverse punch or front snap kick.

For the next drill, we could only using spinning techniques. For example, if our partner put the mitt on their stomach, we could do a spinning back kick. If it was next to their head, we could throw a spinning back fist.

Kata bunkai….

For the next drill, Sensei had us do all of the Heian kata. After each kata, we had to do bunkai from each place there was a kiai in the kata. It was a challenging drill but good.

Tie him up…

For the next drill, we took a belt and used to stop our opponents attack and tie them up. For example, we wrapped the belts around our wrists and when our partner attacked, we tied up their hand and put them into a position where they could not longer attack. For example, if they punched, we could catch their hand, tie it up and do a wrist lock to keep them from throwing another attack. It was easier than you would think it would be but also very effective.

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Sloppy reverse punch – 8/12/10 – Thursday Karate class

Sensei Cieplik shared many things with us today. I wish that I could remember everything he said but I would need a tape recorder.

Sloppy reverse punch….

This was an interesting drill and one that I hope to get good enough at to use when sparring. We started out in a high front fighting stance, from there we pull the front foot back, reverse punch, then step forward and reverse punch. This is one of those things were pictures would be worth many words. The key is to moving the front foot back and then stepping forward. This allows you to cover extra ground when attacking your partner.

Partner kicks…

For this drill, we stood very close, in front of our partner, and put our knee up to our chest or as far as it will go. From there, we kicked at our partners abs using the action of the knee to kick and retract the foot like a front snap kick. This drill was extremely hard for me but once Sensei came over to correct me, I was able to do it with some confidence.

For the next drill, Sensei wanted us to do a roundhouse kick and use the hips to pull our leg back. The idea of this drill was to use the action of the hips to turn our body and allow us to set of foot back down behind us. The final kicking drill was a roundhouse and hook kick combination but again using the action of the hips to retract the kick.

Kata,,,,

Sensei counted out the moves for Heian 2 through Heian 5, Tekki Shodan, Jion and Bassai Dai. I always like when kata is counted. It helps me focus on each move instead of just trying to rush the kata and get it done.

Important note, in Heian Godan, after first outward block, turn the upper body and punch but also drop the hips as the punch is thrown. It makes the movement fell much different and I even got a “Doug, you finally got it” from Sensei.

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Make those kicks better – 8/5/10 – Thursday Karate class

Sensei has been having us do some intensive work on our kicks lately and today we worked on them again.

We did our normal warm up and then did stationary, same leg, knee strike with front snap kick. Then moving forward with the same.

Get into groups of four….

For this partner drill, we moved into groups of four.  One partner stood between two others and another partner stood in front.  The middle partner picked up one leg and kept the knee high, threw three kicks, then stepped down into a front stance, did a knee/shin clash and then stood up and presented themselves as the partner in front stood up and moved backward.   The idea was to use the hips to push the kick forward, come down into a stance and make sure to drive the front leg forward for the shin clash and then stand up and stare down the partner in front of you.  The last part is looking  at them with the intention of taking them out for good.

For the next drill, we moved into groups of two and did bent leg front kicks front the ground. The key to this drill is the keep the rear leg bent through out the entire kick. From the floor to the target, the leg stays bent and there is no snap!

Sensei showed us something when doing kicks, related more to side snap kick. the idea is to let the dangle and hang loose and then it will act like a whip when throwing the kick. It’s similar to when you whip a towel at someone.

Kata….

We finished up class with some kata. Sensei had the brown and black belts do Rohai and all the Heian kata’s and Tekki Shodan for the lower belts. Then the higher belts finished up with Bassai Dai and Empi.

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Kanku Dai – 7/30/10 – Friday Karate class

This was one of my favorite Sensei Brien classes!  I really enjoy doing kata in his class.

Warm up with some kihon…

We started out in horse stance doing front punches and double punches.  Next, we moved into a front stance and did jab with reverse punch but making sure that we use our hips to snap between movements.

Next, we shuffled up in front stance did a jab, then a stepped and reverse punched then stepped again and reverse punched.  For the next drill, we did front stance, shuffle up and punch, then front snap kick with the front leg, then step back with reverse punch.  I know that sounds confusing but it really was confusing.

Next, came the kicking drills.  We shuffled up and a side thrust kick, stepped back and reverse punched followed up with another side thrust kick.  We did the same drill but with roundhouse kick and then side snap kick.

Kanku Dai…

Sensei counted out Kanku Dai for us.  He let the entire class do it and the lower belts  followed along.  We did it five times and then moved on to Heian Nidan, then Heian Yondan and then we finished up with Heian Godan.

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