Thursday, May 26, 2011

Earlier I couldn't even post this; I clicked "publish post" button but nothing happened. As I wrote on a comment below, it may be some kind of computer/OS/browser compatibility issue. Remember that I was complaining about not being able to format a post? I have no problem with that when I use Google Chrome; it makes sense since this blog site is a service of Google...!

Warm-up:

Kata (floor/stance & hip position)

Kihon:

Oi-zuki / Shuto-uke (hip position)

Mae-geri ~ Ushiro-geri (rock that pelvis! ...wait, that doesn't sound right)

Nami-gaeshi (foot flippin') in Kiba-dachi

Free-style:

Gyaku-zuki ~ Mawashi-geri ~ Gyaku-zuki

Gyaku-zuki ~ Ashi-barai ~ Gyaku-zuki

Kizami-zuki (fake) ~ Ashi-barai ~ Gyaku-zuki

Kumite:

Ashi-barai (sweep) with back leg

Ashi-barai with front leg

Wednesday May 25

I guess we have an issue with this site and nobody can comment anymore...
So - I'll write and tell you most of what you missed.
However tonight we did some things that you simply had to be there to know about them!

Sometimes a small class can be a good one.
It is scary though to have such a small class when we are embarking on a bigger, more expensive dojo! When I see 3-4 people in class my insides shutter. But - nonetheless we push forward!


Heian Godan, Sandan and Nidan tonight. A nice blend of the beginner katas!

We also took some time to stretch tonight - something we often forget to do.

Basics - a blend of 3 levels. This was more challenging for people just learning.

**Secret techniques and secret practice - this took up quite a bit of time in the class!**

Kogo-kumite.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Our long time search may finally come to an end this Thursday. Fingers still crossed...

Warm-up:

Kata

Kihon:

Mae-geri

Mawashi-geri

Mae-geri & Mawashi-geri against pad

Free-style:

Mae-geri ~ Mawashi-geri ~ Gyaku-zuki

Kizami Mae-geri ~ Mawashi-geri ~ Gyaku-zuki

Reacting with kicks to a signal

Kumite:

Kicks against target

Sen timing using kicks

Cool-down:

Kata

Thursday, May 19, 2011

So apparently there is only a "self help" function on this blog site (that's why it's free...) and I haven't been able to figure out how to make the "comments" work. I mean, we didn't change any settings, so it doesn't make sense that all of a sudden you can't post a comment on it. But I changed the design, hoping this may reset the settings. Can anyone try to post a comment now, please?

Warm-up:

Kata

Kihon:

Kokutsu-dachi Morote-uke (augmented/double arm block) / Shuto-uke

Gyaku-Hanmi (reverse hip position) Uchi-uke ~ Mae-geri ~ Gyaku-zuki

Free-style:

Step-back ~ Mae-geri ~ Step-back ~ Tsugi-ashi Kizami Mae-geri

Step-back ~ Mawashi-geri ~ Step-back ~ Tsugi-ashi Kizami Mawashi-geri

Kumite:

Back leg Mae-geri or Mawashi-geri against step-in target

Front leg Mae-geri or Mawashi-geri against slide-in target

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Warm-up:

Kata

Kihon:

Oi-zuki

Age-uke

Shuto-uke

Mae-geri

Yoko Keage

Mawashi-geri

Free-style:

Mae-geri ~ Mawashi-geri ~ Gyaku-zuki

Cool-down:

Kata

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Kata:

Heian Shodan

Heian Nidan

Heidan Godan

Free-style:

Yori-ashi

Tsugi-ashi

Kizami-zuki

Kizami Mae-geri

Combination: Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki ~ Tsugi-ashi Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki

Thursday, May 12, 2011

What?? I lost a post! I did post this a few days ago but now I checked it and it was gone. Very strange...

So I forgot what I taught / what I wrote. Sorry. I'm sure we did some Kata and kicks, as those are the current topics that we're working on.

And I'm trying to fix this blog so that you can post a comment again. Since this is a free service, there really is no technical support and I'm struggling. I hate technology! ...Not really, but I hate technology that does not work well!!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Beginners Class. Not many showed up.

Warm-up:

Heian Shodan

Kata:

Heian Shodan, Nidan, Godan

Kihon:

Mae-geri

Mawashi-geri

Kizami Mae-geri ~ Mae-geri

Kizami Mawashi-geri ~ Mawashi-geri

Kumite:

Sen drill using Kizami-geri

Cool-down:

Kata

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Kihon:

Uchi-uke ~ Gyaku-zuki

Gyaku-zuki isometric wall push

Mae-geri in Heisoku-dachi

Mae-geri isometric wall push

Step-in Mae-geri

Kizami Mae-geri

Kizami Mawashi-geri

Kumite:

Keri against a target

Kizami-geri against move-in target

Ashi-barai (foot sweep) with front leg

Cool-down (?):

Nami-gaeshi (snapping foot sweep motion) in Kiba-dachi

Foot sweep is something I rarely use and am not very good at, but is very effective when done correctly. It's not about "power" or "causing pain" but about proper angle/leverage and timing. Since we are working on kickings, we will continue incorporating some sweeps for the next couple of weeks whenever time allows.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

I'm sorry that I have not posted the lesson records for over a week... I was simply lazy. For some reason it was a tiring week and did not have energy to do a small thing like this. My room is a mess, too. :-) But I did not miss to teach a class (of course!), and I did take a note about what we did after each class, so here it is for Cinco de Mayo:

Warm-up:

Kata

Heian Nidan

Kihon:

Mae-geri

Yoko Keage

Mawashi-geri

Kumite:

Keri to the target

Since we just had an exam and many of you are learning a new Kata, I'm spending as much time on each Kata as possible, going over the general forms and the sequence. If you are training regularly, by the end of this month you should be able to perform your new Kata decently, maybe even blind-folded...!?

Sunday - Happy Mother's Day!!!

Only a few came today...but that seems to be how Sundays go.
Today was Mother's Day and even though nobody got my joke the theme of the whole exercise was "MAA" or distance.
It seems that a lot of people don't understand what proper distance is.

We did a few exercises to try and feel the proper distance using sen.
We also did a "double Maa" for kicks. Double Maa is very hard to feel...which is good if you don't feel it. There is no threat making a double maa - this is one of the points.

Catching sen using kicks is very challenging. Kicks are slower than a 1/2 punch. Finding the timing for kicks is very difficult.

Combinations - tricky ones. If you can master tricky ones then the simple ones are easier to navigate. Also - sometimes tricky movements really throw off your opponent. It is good for our brains too.

Kogo -Kumite. We all had a few matches. Judging is the most complex part of a match. A lot of times we miss or are not sure if someone caught a point. It is good practice to judge a match because then you know what to look for.

Wednesday 5/3/11

Little Ron had a private lesson to go over Heian Yodan.

Class started promptly at 8pm and we had 3 warriors show up!!
Tiffany, Karla and Shali.

I have to say Tiffany and Karla just got new belts and they already are remembering their entire new kata!! Very impressive.

Shali is close to having Heian Shodan memorized as well.

This class was basically a kata class.
I used my student teach student method again...Tiffany showed Karla Heian Nidan and I worked with Shali on Heain Shodan. Then we switched around a few times.

We then did some basics. Tiffany learned nukite in front stance switching from back stance. Karla started adding gyaku-zuki after her blocks and Shali is starting to find her KIAI!!! I think she's a little shy about it but slowly it was coming out.

Karla also got to try roundhouse kick! Which I'll say was very good! I think she has done it before. I brought the kicking bag out and each one got stronger and stronger the more they did it.

We have to hit things! Punching and kicking the air does not show us if we are connected. When you hit a heavy bag especially then you know how grounded your kick or punch is. When I punch a heavy bag I immediately feel the impact. It tests my shoulder, wrist, elbow and feet.
Hit something! Not someone :)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Warm-up:

Yori-ashi bwd/fwd

Kihon:

Kizami-zuki / Gyaku-zuki

Uchi-uke / Gyaku-zuki

Shuto-uke / Gyaku-zuki (Kokutsu-dachi)

Free-style:

Shift around

Shift around ~ Attack (Sen reaction)

Kumite:

Shift around / Follow around

Shift around ~ Stationary target / Smooth attack

Kata:

Heian Godan

Kyu Level Tournament & Regional Championships (April 30, 2011)

We all did GREAT! Congratulations, Team VTK!

We all won medals but that's not important. I think it was a great display of what and how we train. I can confidently say that we are the best dojo in this region, if not in the whole country. I hope you learned something and can use this experience to further enhance your training. Was I a good roll-model as a competitor? I don't know since I hit a couple of brown belts...! But I sure enjoyed competing in front of my students.

Let me know if any of you want to go to the Nationals in Atlanta in June. I'm going. Eiko is probably going, and if so, Jon B. probably has to go (?). I don't think there will be a Kyu level tournament, but there will be a 2-day seminar taught by some of the most knowledgable instructors in the nation. It will be an exciting and memorable event for sure!

Heian Godan

Again, I don't have a perfect video that I can wholeheartedly recommend, but if you can preform just like any one of them below, I promise you'll pass your 3rd green belt!

Toru (smooth...):

http://youtu.be/K9ULdNyRPOM

Valdesi (too stylized):

http://youtu.be/Tuz_G--s1E4

Seto (typical Japanese style):

http://youtu.be/DCaggPuYuJc

April 26 & 27, 2011 ...and KYU TEST! (April 28)

I kind of forgot to write about last week's training, but also there wasn't much to write about since we mainly trained for the test. Not too many Kata since the room was small, but we did enough Kihon to make you sweat and get your legs pumped. Everybody looked pretty good, just as I expect them to be right before the exam...! :-)

Then we had the exam on Thursday. We missed Jon B., but since you all did very well, perhaps we will not need him on the future exams? Just kidding, Jon! Congratulations, everyone! Let's work on what Ron pointed out, which were:

Kicks: knee to the target

Weapon: firm contact part

Body dynamics: exaggerate it

Next exam will be sometime in August; it's less than 4 months away. Let's surprise Ron again with our great performance!

Sunday 5/1/11

The first class after a kyu test!!
Since everyone who tested had new kata to learn this was quite a difficult class to navigate.
Teaching is a challenge all on its own...so...I decided to use YOU as the teachers.

We had Makoto teach Shali Heian Shodan then
Makoto practiced Heian Nidan on his own
John Olson showed Karla Heian Nidan
Ron showed Tiffany Heian Sandan then
Vonzell showed Ron Heian Yodan
Me and Eiko showed PJ and Vonzell Heian Godan!!!

You all got a taste for your new kata...most getting through at least 1/2 of it.

From there we did some basics. A lot of emphasis on ground reaction, center initiation, hip rotation, snap. Gyaku-zuki, oi-zuki, kicks, stoke/nukite in kokuso dachi.

I think I have been concentrating on ground reaction and attacking from the center a lot because these are the things I am focusing on for my test. I know if you develop good habits from the start it will help tremendously in the long run. Vice versa if you choose to develop bad habits or were taught incorrectly.

We then did Sen with 1/2 attack.
Big concentration on Ma - distance. Did you feel the other persons' ma? Was it harder against a taller or faster person?

Very good class!