Lost in space – 9/30/08 – Tuesday Karate class
I am having a hard time even describing this class. I was lost in space and even though I could move fairly well, my head was somewhere in the clouds.
It was all downhill from the start…
Sensei Noia has us spend most of the class working on sparring distance drills. We got a partner and started to work on simple movements like shift in, attack and shift out when our partner gets the right distance away from us.
We have done this drill many times in the past but for some reason, most of the class couldn’t get it. We were starting too close and even doing simple things like spreading apart, so that we did not run into each other, was hard to do for most of us.
Kata with and without movement…
Kata went better than sparring, at least for me. Sensei Noia had us do our kata without using our legs meaning we did only the hand movements. That was kind of neat but we have done that before.
Next, Sensei had us close our eyes and we did the kata in our head without moving our bodies. Even though we didn’t move, we had to breath as if we were doing our with moves.
The last kata drill was done sitting on the floor. We were able to the hand movements but with no legs.
I am glad that the kata part of class went better than the sparring drills.
Sparring drills – 9/29/08 – Monday Karate class
Sensei Brien gave us a little different class. We normally work on kihon and kata but tonight he had us working on some sparring drills.
It’s all in the angles…
For this drill, we got a partner. We both stood in a front stance, we then shifted straight in with reverse punch then shifted out, we then shifted in again but shifted out on the left angle, and then we shifted in again and out on the right angle. Our parter had to counter the first and second attack with a back leg roundhouse kick and then the third attack with a front leg roundhouse kick based on the direction we shifted out on.
We then did the same move but our partner could add a single or double counter attack.
Keep that hand up and use it…
Next, we stood in a ready stance but with our left hand up in front of our face. Our partner then shifted in and threw a jodan or chudan punch and we had to shift back and block it. This was a really cool drill and almost any hand attack that our partners threw was easily blocked or at least redirected away.
Kihon, the same but different – 9/27/08 – Saturday Karate class
Sensei Plocharczyk had us working on some different but similar kihon drills.
Kihon, the same but different…
The reason I said the same but different is because we have done these moves many times before but not in this order.
The first drill was right leg front snap kick to front, right leg side thrust kick to right corner, step back with right leg, throw a left hand back fist and right hand reverse punch. Then wash, rinse and repeat, I mean, we did the same but started with the left leg.
Next, we did right leg front snap kick, right leg side thrust kick to corner, step backward with the right leg into front stance with and inward block, then move toward the left corner into a horse stance with and elbow strike and back fist then step into front stance with a reverse punch. We alternated between left and right foot in front.
One-step sparring…
For this drill, Sensei Plocharczyk had us get a partner and work on one-step sparring but instead of doing the standard block and counter attacks, he had us other movements. These could be movements from out kata or kihon moves that we normally do not do when doing one-step. For example, when my partner would throw a front snap kick, I would shift out to the side and catch his leg with my arm and then lift up, like the move in Bassai Dai, and then sweep his stationary leg. I didn’t complete the movement on my partner since we didn’t want to hurt each other but that movement in particular works just like it looks.
Do your push ups…
During class, Sensei had us do five sets of 10 push ups between our various drills. At the end of class, Sensei had us do five more sets of 10 push ups but within a few minutes. We did one set and then he had us rest for maybe 15 seconds and then we did 10 more until we did a total of 50.
It was a really good class.
Elastic band kumite – 9/26/08 – Friday Karate class
This class was intense.
Sensei Noia had us warm up with a jog back and fourth across the gym five times.
It’s all about the band…
Next, Sensei Noia had us get a partner and one of us took an elastic band. Our partner held the band around our hips and we shifted across the gym. Shifting with the bands around our hips really stresses the calf muscles in a different when shifting without resistance.
Next, one partner took one handle of the elastic band and I took the other. We stood back to back and my partner had the handle in his left hand and my handle was in my right hand. One of us would shift in and reverse punch, then our partner would do the same.
Next, my partner put the band through the back of my belt and I then had to double shift forward and throw a jab and reverse punch while he pulled against me. My calves were screaming at this point and were just short of cramping.
Free sparring…
Next came a few mintues of free sparring. After not having the band around my waist or hooked to my belt, I was able to shift in and out with more distance and spring than before. I need to find some way to incorporate this training into my home training.
Rebound roundhouse kick – 9/25/08 – Thursday Karate class
Sensei Cieplik gave some really good tips in class. Sometimes it is the simple things that enlighten me.
Kicking…
We started with our normal kicking warm up. After Sensei saw us do some back kicks, he gave us some advice. We normally do a front snap kick, side thrust kick, back kick and roundhouse kick. He told us to use the rebound from the back to throw the roundhouse kick.
The next advice came is for moving from front snap kick into the side thrust kick to the front. It is a little hard to describe in text but when after the front snap kick finished, he said to drop the knee the pull it back up to the started of the side thrust kick while turned on the foot on the ground. Moving the knee in that way will help turn the body 90 degrees on the stationary foot and allow the side thrust kick to thrown.
Lots of kata…
Sensei Cieplik gave us a lot of good tips about kata too.
We spent a lot of time working on Heian Shodan. The first time through, Sensei had us do it as his count. The second time, he told us to do it on our own but count 1-1000 between each move to show zanshin. For one of the first times, I has an “it” moment while doing my kata. It was as if I did it outside of my body and was watching it from the side. It was an interesting experience and one that I hope I can have more often.
Next we did Heian Shodan again but we did the knift hand blocks a gedan level. It was really hard doing the blocks down low like that since I have done it the other way for such a long time.
Next, Sensei explained a little different stance that we never really practice since it is not part of Shotokan. The stance is call uke ashi dachi, front leg blocking stance. It is like a cat stance but the front foot is farther away. Sensei had us do the last four moves of Heian Shodan with uke ashi dachi at the end instead of back stance.
The next kata we worked on was Heian Nidan. We did the kata but at the end we added the uke ashi dachi stance to each of the moves at the end. The idea was to add a stance in between. Doing the last moves like this forces our leg and hips forward as opposed to just stepping into the moves like we often do.
Next can Heian Yondan. The one part of this kata that Sensei had us really pay attention to was the moving from the side snap kick, into the front stance with elbow smash. The idea was to do the side snap kick with back fist, very gently touch the floor with the kicking foot, (pet the mouse as Sensei Cieplik calls it) and then move into the front stance with elbow smash. Having the lightness on the front leg really allows the hips to get under the movement. It made the movement feel extremely powerful.
Get a partner…
Sensei had us get a partner. I paired up with a really nice Shodan and we worked on some self defense drills. The idea was for us to push our attackers front hand to the opposite shoulder, punch across the chest, move in and knee them in the tender area on the back of the hamstring area and then sweep the far leg. Punching across the chest was to allow us to position ourselves to sweep them while pushing them over from up top near the chest. The movement would send them down to the ground in the back of their neck so we stopped short in this drill. I was having a little trouble getting the idea and Sensei came over and said, do the move “with the body”. He often says “with the body” but letting the body do the move quickly, without fighting it, made the move much easier to understand for me.
It was an excellent class.
