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!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Warm-up:

Lunges (fwd, fwd with punch, side)

Kihon:

Kokutsu-dachi Shuto-uke fwd/bwd

Kata:

Your own - stance, posture, form, intention, body dynamics, transition, floor connection, floor pressure, among many other points...!

Free-style:

Yori-ashi

Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki (1-2 punch combination)

Kumite:

Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki against opponent moving back

Same, or any combination attack, trying to catch before the opponent is ready to move again

Cool-down:

Kata

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Kihon:

Soto-uke ~ Gyaku-zuki

Mae-geri, Mawashi-geri

Zenkutsu-dachi Fumi-ashi (step) against resistance

Zenkutsu-dachi Mae-geri (knee raise) against resistance

Oi-zuki

Age-uke

Mae-geri

Mawashi-geri

Free-style:

Yori-ashi bwd/fwd

Kumite:

Go-no-Sen, counter attack with Gyaku-zuki

Quick counter attack, beat the rhythm with feet

Cool-down:

Heian Shodan

Sunday 4/17/11

Very small class today! 4 people!!
Isn't there a kyu test in less than 2 weeks?

I've decided to keep big room "A" through May. After that if classes don't have better attendance I can't see the reason to pay for the big room. We'll have to move into B or E depending on availability. This is your decision!

Today we had 2 white belts who are taking their 1st test, one yellow belt taking her 2nd test and 1 yellow belt taking his 3rd test. We went over all the basics for all three kyu levels.
Kata - Heian Shodan, Nidan and Sandan
Kumite - both 1 step and 3 step kumite.

We then did some footwork.
Sen practice - farther distance with kicks
Close distance with koroshi.