Sunday February 27th, 2011

Good class today!
The numbers are growing. Hopefully as we get closer to the kyu test we'll have a full house.

I like to break up the class in 3 - Kihon, Kata and Kumite - today I did just that!

Kata - everyone focused on the kata they will be testing with. Eiko did all the kata.

Kihon - we did all the basics in repetition - gedan berai, age-uke, sotu-uke - all with gyaku-zuki
Then Shuto-uke in back stance - green belts and up added nukite.
All Kicks - focus on adjusting stance after each kick

Kumite drills
1. sen - using breath/hip/feet reaction
2. adding any one punch
3. double sen - to test zanshin - done 2 ways - 1/2 technique then another 1/2 technique or 1/2 technique then shuffling backwards.

Then we did offense/defense
1. offense but defense can only make proper distance - no block/no running
2. Add block while making proper distance - just for safety
3. Add counter if you can in between offensive moves

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Warm-up:
Yori-ashi bwd/fwd

Kata + Kihon:
4-direction Zenkutsu-dachi - Lead with your eyes/head
Kiba-dachi Choku-zuki
Zenkutsu-dachi 45-degree (R/L) forward Gyaku-zuki - Inner-thigh connection

Kihon:
Kizami Mae-geri ~ Mae-geri (side leverage vs. straight pendulum)
Kizami Mawashi-geri ~ Mawashi-geri (snappy, not heavy)

Kumite:
Kick against stable target
Kick against step-in target
-Catch early
-Apply at the right angle (90 degrees)
-Initiate with the support foot
-Squeeze/snap back the kicking leg

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

It was a small class yet again, but I'm happy I was able to pay a little closer individual attention!


Kihon:
Shizen-tai Choku-zuki
Zenkutsu-dachi Kizami-zuki ~ Gyaku-zuki
Oi-zuki
Heisoku-dachi Mae-geri
Zenkutsu-dachi Mae-geri ~ Oi-zuki
Kizami Mae-geri ~ Mae-geri


Kumite:
Mae-geri (front or back leg) against a target
Mae-geri (front or back leg) against a step-in target
Mae-geri (front or back leg) reacting to a signal


Kata:
Heian Shodan, Nidan, Yondan

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Warm-up:
Kata
4-direction block/attack in Zenkutsu-dachi, Kokutsu-dachi
Kiba-dachi + Nami-gaeshi (leg flipping)


Kihon:
Yoko Keage
Yoko Kekomi
Kizami Mae-geri ~ Mae-geri
Kizami Mawashi-geri ~ Mawashi-geri


Kumite:
Kick against stable target
Kick against step-in target
Kick against move-around ~ step-in target
Kick, followed by a punch

Sunday Feb.20, 2011

A good morning class!! And incredibly quite a few people showed up!

Hopefully more will come especially as we get closer to exam time.

Many kata!

You all got to work on your own kata - then as if you were testing.

A lot of the corrections I gave are simple things - look before you go, straight punch (not rounded), don't go up in between moves...

We did a lot of pad work! Sen, double sen, kicking practice- really using the pads to see if we are hitting properly, reacting, in a good stance when moving slightly.

Basics

More kata

Finally some kumite - but I ran out of time -misjudging due to the new time schedule.

Next time we'll do more kumite - and 3 punch kumite we have during the test.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Warm-up:
4-direction block/attack (Do you like my invention?? ...actually, I just extracted it from a Kata!)

Kihon:
Mae-geri ~ Oi-zuki
Mae-geri ~ Mawashi-geri ~ Gyaku-zuki

Kata:
Stance
Match stance/body action with top action
Speed up and apply momentum to the technique
Top (arms) does not move until bottom (stance) gets activated first
Think and focus on your weakness, rather than blindly repeating

Wednesday FEB 16,2011

Today is my birthday!

This was a good class! Everyone is really showing improvement which is great for a teacher's esteem.

Naturally we cover basics in this class.

Always mentioning posture as the first rule.

Hips are very important.

I like to watch people doing their techniques - give slight correction and then watch it get fixed! Most of the time it is only an inch here or there - makes all the difference in the world.

We always have trouble punching and making square body - give everything.

Everything stops together - stance, pressure, ground, kime, technique

Kata, Sen practice