Sunday June 5th!

Wow!
A refreshing Sunday class - good attendance and I didn't even have to say "there will be a camera there." We had a new person - Cesar - come to class today. He said he enjoyed it so I hope he decides to join us.

We all did our own kata and a light stretch
We did some very basic drills to start

Then you all know how much I like to partner people up!
We did sen practice. Then to practice our zanshin I had the 1/2 attackers attack twice - mixing up the rhythms.

We then broke out the pads and did our best to hit the targets.

offense/defense

Finishing with kata and stretching

Thursday, June 2, 2011

We decided to announce "Video shoot tonight; everybody must come!" for every class so that many will show up! ;-)

Warm-up:

Kata

Heian Sandan

Kihon:

Choku-zuki

Uchi-uke ~ Gyaku-zuki

Shuto-uke

Kumite:

Uke-waza Jo-dan

Uke-waza Chu-dan

Uke-waza against a kick

Free-style:

Uke-waza ~ counter attack, reacting to a signal

Cool-down:

Kata

As requested, we are working on Uke-waza (blocking), but the person who requested has not been in class... Oh well, you're missing it!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

It's June already. Less than 3 months till the next exam! Many of you are slacking off a bit (or are simply busy). I don't blame you for whatever the reasons may be, but try to get your training time in before it gets too hot or you take off for a summer vacation! We don't know how cool/hot the new dojo will be (...well, we don't even know if we will have a new dojo or not yet, sadly...).

A lucky winner got his long private lesson today. Yes, there was only one person. This is making Jon very nervous. I'm worried, too, because I really don't want to teach just one person in that huge new dojo. I really hope the attendance will pick up again.

He and I worked on his Kata (Heian 5) a lot, and some pads drills, timing (Sen, Go-no-sen, Combinations) and free sparring.

I have not been training much lately (look who's talking? :-)), and the national championship is only about 2 weeks away. I should get my engine going!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Warm-up:

• Kata

Kihon:

• Mae-geri ~ Ushiro-geri
• Mae-geri ~ Ushiro-geri ~ Mawashi-geri
• Gedan-barai ~ Gyaku-zuki
• Soto-uke ~ Gyaku-zuki

Kumite:

• Uke-waza against a stationary target (“body snap”)
• Uke-waza ~ counter punch
• Uke-waza ~ counter punch against a punch
• Uke-waza ~ counter punch against a Mae-geri

Free-style:

• Uke-waza ~ counter punch, responding to a signal

Cool-down:

• Kata

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