October 9 - 15, 2011

I've been trying to cover different timing strategies on top of some basic ones. I hope you're having fun! I'm updating this blog late this time and there will only be 2 more of my classes
(Thursday and Saturday) before the tournament, and I'm hoping to cover some
basic points that are helpful when competing.

Now the kumite rules for this tournaments are set: one-step sparring (attacker will call a technique) for white & yellow belts, offense/defence
(loosely based on Kogo rules but less strict on penalties) for green belts, and free sparring for brown belts. Hopefully we get enough competitors in each division, but if not, we will be
forced to mix 2 divisions and apply the rules of one division or the other.

Kata will be a side-by-side flag system, in which 2 people come up together and perform their kata, and judges will decide which one was better.

In both Kumite and Kata, hopefully everyone in a division can face everyone, instead of a single elimination. After all a tournament is for your training, so we want to give you as much training opportunities as possible.

...I'm talking too much about the tournament, but anyone can certainly benefit from these training.

I already wrote about different Kumite timing strategies that we're learning the other day. Here let me write about basic Kata elements that we should always be thinking when practicing Kata:

1. Body dynamics: how well you demonstrate your "center" action applied to each technique, i.e., hip rotation/vibration, body weight shifting, muscular contraction/expansion.

2. Power: how much force you apply on each technique. Muscular power helps, but karate power comes from the total body engagement focused on the contact area. This can only be achieved by producing strong pressure down to the floor (and directing the reaction force off the floor to the target).

3. Form: not just to look nice, but is each technique with proper intention? - target, contact part, alignment, connection. Includes stance/posture.

4. Transition: smoothness/flow of the entire Kata, connecting one action to the next without
cutting/pausing/breaking. Remember, the ending position of a technique is supposed to be the best starting position for the next technique.