Sunday, August 15, 2010

It was rather a small class. Today's kids class was bigger (with 6 students)! We're in the process of leasing our own place (...well, it's more like "finding a place" or "trying to find a place" actually), but if we only have 4-5 students in a class, it worries me about taking a risk of $2000 monthly rent...

Class Subjects:

Kata:
Warm-up
Course of action, supported by proper stance
Cool-down, adjusting breathing


Kihon:
Yellow Belt I Basic requirements
Yellow Belt II Basic requirements


Free-style:
Body shifting (Yori-ashi, Tsugi-ashi, Fumi-ashi, Mawashi-ashi, Hiraki-ashi)
Kizami-zuki ~ Kizami Mae-geri
Gyaku-zuki ~ Mawashi-geri


Kumite:
Above combinations against opponent (slides back once)
Single punch
Single punch, followed by a kick if the opponent slides back

Hope to see you ALL (or at least more than 5) this Thursday! Oh, by the way, I'm always taking a request about what you want me to teach in class. I generally try to cover a little bit of everything, but if you have something specific that you want me to focus on, or if you've always wondered about something but never asked, just let me know and I might cover those subjects.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I really enjoy teaching private classes because I get paid... Just kidding. I mean, I'm doing it for my students to improve more efficiently, and that's why I'm keeping the price low. Jon, Chris, PJ and Ron took my private lesson this month. It no way replaces the regular group classes, but it compliments your training by giving you better understanding of specifically what you need to work on. I gave you a lot of pointers to these guys; hopefully they will continue working on them and impress me during the exam! I like a good surprise...

I'm actually thinking about offering a free private lesson once a year during your birth month. I will probably start doing that next year. Now that I'm working my schedule is busier than ever, so if you want to book me for a lesson, contact me asap.

Class Subjects

Kata:
Warm up


Kihon:
Soto-uke ~ Gyaku-zuki (Zenkutsu-dachi)
Shutoh-uke ~ Gyaku-zuki (Kokutsu-dachi)


Free-style:
Yori-ashi
Kizami-zuki
Gyaku-zuki
Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki
Gyaku-zuki ~ Kizami-zuki


Kumite:
One punch
Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki
Gyaku-zuki ~ Kizami-zuki

See you all Sunday!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

I almost forgot to post this (again!)...! I did take a note of the training subjects on Sunday so that I don't forget, though! I just was trying to come up with a nice message to write, but haven't come up with any yet...

Kata:
Your own (warm up / cool down)


Kihon:
Stances (Zenkutsu, Kiba, Kokutsu)
Kokutsu-dachi Shuto-uke
Mae-geri


Free-style:
Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki
Gyaku-zuki ~ Mae-geri
Single attack (reaction training)


Kumite:
Single attack against a target
Combination attack against a target
Kicks against a pad

Keep on training! (Well, that's the best message I could come up with! :-))

Thursday, August 5, 2010

A small class again. Everyone, the hardest part of practicing karate is to come to the class regularly. Once you get to the class, the rest is easy, right? When I was training under Sensei Nishiyama, I was seriously worried about getting hurt or exhausted too much so it was a huge challenge for me not to miss a class. You guys don't have to worry about my class being that intense, so please come and have some fun together!

At least for the first few years, you should be training consistently, perhaps 2-3 times a week. We only have classes twice a week, so try not to miss a class and whenever you have a chance, even for 5 minutes a day, work on a basic or two on your own at home. Or visualize in your head a move you're having difficulty with or perhaps a kata sequence. The more you practice, the more you feel confident or become comfortable. I wish there was a trick, but no, that's the only way to go!

Class Subjects:

Kata:
-Your favorite (Heian Nidan, Bassai Dai, Hangetsu, Jitte)

Kihon:
-Breathing exercise (pressure to floor)
-Breathing with wrist snap
-Age-uke / Gyaku-zuki
-Mae-geri / Oi-zuki

Kumite:
-Combination punches (against a partner, against a wall)
-Kick to punch combinations (against a partner, against a wall)

Hope to see you ALL on Sunday! Yellow-belts, you only have 3 more weeks left before your exam. Only 6 more classes, that is! I don't mean to scare you, but at this point NOT everyone is ready...

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Where were our beloved white belts today?? Come back Thursday and work out together!

Today's Subjects:

Kata:
-Your own

Kihon:
-2nd level Yellow Belt Exam Basics & Basic Sparring

Free-style:
-Shift around
-Shift around with a partner pulling/pushing on your belt
-Kizami Mae-geri
-Kizami Mawashi-geri
-Ashi-barai (sweeping) drills

Kumite:
-Ashi-barai with front leg (in-place)
-Ashi-barai against a shifting-in partner (1, 2, 3=Sweep!)

When we practice regular timing drills or spar, it's often hard to tell if the technique was applied at the right timing or not. But with sweeping, you can physically confirm if it worked by seeing your opponent losing balance. However, don't "force it" to sweep him but rather "ride on it" with a smooth yet snappy action (which is not easy). We won't be spending too much time on this subject at least for now, but I wanted to introduce the idea to you all so that if you like it you can work on it on your own.

Next one month will be a good solid basic training, for both white and yellow belts (as well as brown and black, of course!) to understand fundamental points clearly. Of course I will throw in some free-style drills and perhaps pads hitting here and there. ...Oh, that sounds just like our normal training format. Oh well!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Sorry for not posting this sooner! I'm now working mostly on weekend, so I really need to learn to write this up and post Thursday night, or else it will be after Sunday...

Anyway, we will have a scheduled exam for those yellow belts. I must say some are ready but some are not. It's entirely your decision whether to test or not at this point. Don't worry, the belt color won't change this time, pass or fail...!

Kata:
Your own


Kihon:
Kizami-zuki / Gyaku-zuki
Mae-geri
Yoko-geri Keage


Free-style:
Kizami Mae-geri
Mae-geri
Kizami-zuki
Gyaku-zuki
Mawashi-ashi
Hiraki-ashi
Side shifting ~ Counter attack


Kumite:
Side shifting against Kizami Mae-geri or Kizami Mawashi-geri
Side shifting against Mae-geri or Mawashi-geri
Side shifting against any kick

Keep on training! Let me know here on the blog or in class if you have any questions. And remember, I'm available for private lessons. Now that the class size is growing, you may feel a bit neglected because I'm giving you less personal pointers. Well, you guys are all improving and needing less personal corrections in a lot of the subjects. However, it's always very beneficial to take a private lesson once in awhile (I don't recommend you to do it every week, unless you've missed a lot of classes or you want to focus on a coming-up exam or competition), then keep working on those personal points even during group classes.

See you soon in class!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Welcome new student(s)! We hope you'll stick with us so that we can learn from each other!

Class Subjects:

Kihon:

• Straight punch (~double punch) in natural stance
• Age-uke in natural stance
• Mae-geri (& Mawashi-geri) in closed-feet stance
• Oi-zuki (~Sanbon-zuki) in front stance
• Age-uke (~Gyaku-zuki) in front stance
• Mae-geri (or Mawashi-geri)

Free-style:

• Yori-ashi (sliding) fwd/back
• Kizami-zuki (~Gyaku-zuki)

Kumite:

• Sen with punch
• Sen with kick

Kata:

• Your own

See you all Thursday!