Thursday, July 1, 2010

Tonight's subjects:

Kata:

• Heian Shodan
• Your Own (clear target, hop position & stance to support the technique)

Kihon:

• Kicks (Mae-geri, Yoko-geri Keage, Mawashi-geri)

Kumite:

• Back leg kicks (Mae-geri & Mawashi-geri) against target

I had a chance to discuss about teaching with Ron and Robert the other night, and we agreed that we all TALK TOO MUCH when we teach! We all tend to over-explain things and slow down the "flow" of the sweating process. I still want you to understand the points rather than mindlessly do things, but I will try to balance them so that you can break a sweat even in that air-conditioned room. Especially the 1-hour class is too short for me to talk and talk...!

As I explained in class (oh, did I still talk too much??), kicking is not easy. But you should always focus on the same principles as punching, such as the body-center initiation, the floor use, and the stance support (alignment). At least for me, a kick does not come out naturally unless I plan it, but when you do plan it and apply it in a proper chance, it really works! A lot of us still have trouble connecting the kick, so keep working on it to get that "clean hit" image. We'll kick some pads next time.

Monday June 28, 2010

Hmm, I guess Monday night doesn't work for many of you. But it was a good "Men Only" training tonight! :-)

Subjects:

Kata

• Heian Shodan (eyes leading, body weight/momentum applied, mention Hikite)
• Heian Nidan

Kihon

• In-place Kizami-zuki / Gyaku-zuki in Zenlutsu-dachi (stance alignment, hip rotation)
• In-place Shutoh-uke / Gyaku-zuki in Kokutsu-dachi (same as above)

Kumite

• Move around (forearm direction)
• Move around + Punch (center initiation, front foot move in)
• Slide back ~ Slide in Gyaku-zuki
• Same as above, against opponent's full attack (=Go-no-sen Amashi-waza) HALF BEAT

I had 12 full days of break from Karate until yesterday, but I guess I didn't forget much. My movements may be a bit rusty (and I may have muscle sores tomorrow), but I'm sure I'll get back in shape soon. The only thing I did in Japan related to Karate was to buy a new Gi. You can buy 4 Mugen Gis for the same price, but this definitely is worth it; this may be the best I've ever owned! I hope it will stay the same even after many washes.

Western Region Seminar @ Temple City (Sunday June 27)

It was great to see many from our dojo participating in the regional seminar! It's my responsibility as an instructor to give my students as much learning opportunities as possible. I personally don't understand why other dojos don't do the same??

It was a great fundamental training led by Ron and Avi. Sorry for those who didn't hear/understand Avi speaking. I will try to cover the points he mentioned when I teach, so that you can have better understanding later. Actually even without saying, I'm covering a lot of same points that Avi teaches (I was his student for a few years before going to Nishiyama's classes.) but from a different angle. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the subjects he taught!

2010 National Championships

So a few of us were in Seattle, participating in mini-camp or the tournaments. The results are as follows:

Jon M.: 1st in Kumite, 2nd in Kata (wait, was it the other way around?), Kyu level competition
Eiko: 3rd in Kogo Kumite, national championship
Taichiro: 1st in Kata, 2nd in Fukugo, national championship
Amy: participated in 2-day camp
jon B. cheered for us, advertised our dojo to everybody there!

It was great, and I'm saying that NOT because I won but because we all had good time. Karate is not about winning or losing (though I admit winning feels good! ;-)) but it's about continuing to learn from the experiences. I'm so happy that I can share with my students what I learned!

It is expensive to go to a seminar, travel and compete, etc., but I think it's worth it. It's much more productive way of spending $$ than sitting by the resort beach sipping margarita...! Well, maybe I'll do them both when I go to compete in the World Championship in Brazil this year!

I really thank all my students for your support. You motivate me to get better at karate, because I don't want to feel like I'm stalled while you guys train hard and are getting better!

jon, Eiko, Amy and Jon, let me know what you thought about this tournament; how you liked it, the difference compared to the regionals, etc.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

It was a smaller class than usual, and as always, those who missed a class will never find out what "secret" I've taught today...!

Today's Subjects (except the special secret points):

Kata:

• Warm-up
• Explanation of basic 4 elements (form, body dynamics, power, transition)
• Focusing on form and body dynamics
• Form corrections (Nijushiho, Bassai Dai, Heian Nidan)

Kihon:

• Kicks (Mae-geri, Yoko Keage, Yoko Kekomi, Mawashi-geri)
• Kick-to-Punch Combos (Mae-geri~Oi-zuki, Mawashi-geri~Gyaku-zuki, Kizami-geri~Gyaku-zuki)

Kumite:

• Free-style move around
• Same, with one punch~ZANSHIN
• Same, with one kick~ZANSHIN
• Punch or Kick reacting to a signal~ZANSHIN
• Single attack (punch or kick) against a stationery target: Your body needs to remember how it feels when you achieve a perfect technique!
• Criticizing your "best shot"

As announced previously, I'll be out of town for the next 2 weeks. I'll be back to teach on Monday the 28th at 8pm (we're canceling a Sunday 27th class because we have a seminar in Temple City: everyone should participate! I'll be there!). Have fun training and see you then! Make sure to give jon (the black belt) a hard time and ask him lots of questions; that way, he will think and learn how to teach! ;-)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Our Student Handbook is finally available! Ask me for one if you haven't received it yet. I hope it helps you and that you learn something from it, and as always, I welcome any comments or constructive criticisms! I forgot to distribute our cool bumper sticker; I'll give one to you for free only if you're going to put it on your car! jon has one on his car. I haven't put one yet, just because I'm waiting to wash my car first (but I do it only once a year or so...).






So we began to learn roundhouse kick (mawashi-geri). It's hard to connect those techniques that have a path away from the body center (i.e., Soto-uke, Mawashi-geri, etc.), so be extra careful about the center initiation rather than the leg swinging feeling.


Today we covered:

Kihon:

• In-place Kizami-zuki, Gyaku-zuki (center initiation, hip rotation, elbow connection)
• In-place Mae-geri (center initiation, floor use, pelvic tilt)
• In-place Mawashi-geri
• Step-in Mawashi-geri
• Pads: Back leg Mae-geri or Mawashi-geri

Kumite:

• Free-style move around
• Slide-in Kizami-zuki
• Slide-in Gyaku-zuki
• Slide-in Gyaku-zuki with Sweeping block
• Catch "Sen" with Gyaku-zuki + Sweeping block (against Kizami-zuki)

Kata:

• Heian Nidan

We'll continue practicing Mawashi-geri and Heian Nidan. Let us know if you guys have any request as to what you want to do more (pads, Kata application, timing drills, advanced timing strategy, etc., etc...). I won't be teaching much this month, but I'll leave jon some cheat sheets about what to go over, who to watch out, etc.!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Since I didn't teach Thursday (sorry but I had a stomach flu and didn't want my students to experience a "Code Brown" accident that happens often at hospitals...!), I'm quoting jon here:

"Last night went well.
They warmed up with Heian Shodan
I introduced roundhouse kick but left a lot of the details up to you. They got just a taste.
We went over Heian Nidan - they all get confused at the last half - after 4 stoke
I showed them how to use an elbow strike - close distance on a bag, lots of hip rotation
We did all the basics - a lot actually
Timing drill with 1/2 attack and moving each other trying to keep proper ma.
The focus during the entirety of the class was "Posture!!" - I yelled that a lot."

Hope you enjoyed Sensei Budd's class!