My front punch was connected – 11/29/08 – Saturday Karate class
Sensei Gatch gave us a good class today. We started with a long jog around the dojo because it was really cold.
My front punch felt just right…
As part of our warm up, Sensei Gatch told us to step forward and backward with front punch across the length of the gym. For the first time, I felt that all of my punches came from the grond up. I really believe that if someone my own size or larger walked in front of my punches, it would stop them. Moving backward felt even better because I could actually feel that power come up my leg from my heels. It was a great feeling and on that I hope I will have more often than not.
Punch that pad…
Today, we were able to punch the pads for while. We were only doing reverse punch and I didn’t have the same connection that I felt when doing the front punches but it was still good. I hope that we punch the pads more often because I never feel that we do it enough.
Kata from start to finish…
The rest of the class was spent working on kata. We started with Hiean Shodan all the way up to Tekki Shodan on our own with a short break between each one. I really like classes like this because I enjoy doing all of the kata’s. The interesting part is that all of my kata’s until Bassai Dai felt awesome. Even though I was working through oxygen deprivation, the kata’s felt really connected and stronger than ever.
After we finished Tekki Shodan, Sensei had us do Jion to his count. It fellt really good. When doing the front snap kicks with sanbon zuki’s, my punches felt awesome. My timing was better then ever for some reason and those moves were solid. Next, we did Bassai Dai to Sensei’s count again and it felt really good too. I was trying not to think when doing my kata’s and up until the end of this kata, it was working.
Next, Sensei said to do our own kata at our own speed. I started doing Bassai Dai but I was thinking too hard about it and Sensei Gatch stopped me. My moves felt so robotic for some reason. I don’t know how I was able to do all of those other kata’s so well and then get too caught up thinking about my current kata that I have been doing. Sensei Gatch told me that all of my other kata’s were really good so I am pretty satisfied about that but I really wish I could have ended the class with a good Bassai Dai.
Japanese terms you should know…
Before we lined up, Sensei Gatch asked each of us a Japanese Karate term and we had to show what move or stance it was. I had Age Uke, rising block.
It was a really good class.
Hard kata – 11/25/08 – Tuesday Karate class
Sensei Noia had us work on our basics and kata for most of the class.
There but I wasn’t there…
I don’t have classes like this too often but something just wasn’t right for me. I was extremely tense for some reason and my basics were not what they have been. My shoulders were up when punching and I couldn’t seem to get in a good enough stance.
After my poor showing in my Kihon, I was able to redeem myself with my kata. Sensei had all of us start with Jion. We did each move, and then put them together in groups working up from the first move all the way to the first ki-ai. Oddly enough, my Jion felt pretty good and when I was doing the kicks with the triple punches, I felt really connected.
After Jion, we started working on Bassai Dai. We worked on Bassai Dai the same way Jion, working up from one move to groups of many. At this point, my hips were working a little better and I was able to do my kata without a lot of critque from Sensei.
Learning to spar can hurt – 11/21/08 – Friday Karate class
Sensei Noia has us work on sparring drills for most of the class.
Shift in, shift out…
We started with a partner and were shifting in, throwing and attack and shifting out. Sensei felt that we were not shifting well enough so he had us pull out the elastic bands. I was having a really hard time getting my body to shift forward for some reason. It felt as if my feet were stuck to the floor but after a little while, my feet were moving a little better.
Free sparring…
We spent some time free sparring and I ended walking into one of Mike Buss’s punches with my chin. Oddly enough, it hurt like crazy but I didn’t stop. He has been helping me a great deal and it is really working. I didn’t have any anger or adrenaline rush and I was able to continue sparring without loosing my focus like I would have in the past. My jaw really hurt after class but I am sure it will heal up.
I ended up sparring with another friend and for the first time, I was throwing attack after attack. I kept the pressure on him for one minute an never let up. This was a first for me and I really think that sparring with Mike and the advice from Sensei Noia is starting to sink in.
We finished up class with some conditioning movements and then lined up and bowed out.
One-step for real – 11/20/08 – Thursday Karate class
The dojo was really cold today. If it was above 55 degrees, I would be surprised. Because of this, Sensei Cieplik had us do a longer warm up and movements that required less agility than usual.
Time for some one-step sparring…
We worked on some kihon movements but Sensei then had us pair up for some one-step sparring. We spent about 45 minutes working on one-step sparring but this was different than I am used to doing. Sensei Cieplik showed us a move that I saw him do before but it never really stuck until today. When standing in front of your attacker, he had us just pivot our body 90 degrees sideways. When doing this, our opponent steps and punhes but we are totally out of the way.
Sensei also make a point about doing the counter attack. He said that we have to look like we are for real when doing our counter attack. He explained that people throw a counter attack but the person being attacked doesn’t fear it. I think what he was trying to get across is that we need to not only throw a powerful attack but let the person know, from the look in our eyes, that they would not be getting up if we hit them. The needs to be reality in our one-step and most people do not show it.
I worked with my wife from some time and then one of the other students partner had to leave so we had him join our group and we alternated attacks and block with counters. When doing the attacks, he suggested that we do it a little more like real life and follow him as we attacked. Instead of just punching straight ahead like we would for normal one-step sparring, I was able to actually try and hit him. This was really interesting and he did the same for me. It brings whole new dimension to training one-step so try it with caution.
Kata…
Sensei Cieplik has us finish up with some kata. We did a couple of the Heian kata’s and then worked on Jion and Bassai Dai. My kata’s did not feel anywhere near normal because of the cold but I was able to complete them even though my muscles were really stiff and tight.
