Video dojo and feedback

Online training can't replace proper dojo sessions totally, because of the interactive part of karate that is needed to try out and improve actual combative techniques.  However, I have always been prepared to learn online where necessary and now is absolutely the right time to do this.

I can now attend three classes a week rather than one, as I am working from home, so there is a big plus for a start.   The live classes are then supplemented by doing kata and videoing it, and sharing with our Sensei.  They then provide feedback on how to improve your techniques.

Here is a short summary of the two midweek lessons for this week, plus links to a couple of videos of kata and kihon pracitce, as samples of what I do.  

The first midweek lesson was on Monday, 23/03.

After an extended warm up, Mokuso and formal greetings, we started off working on some aspects of fundamental techinques:

Uke - jodan uke, chudan uke, gidan uke
Uke on the pads, with potential uses as strikes
Kihon gata 1 - 4

Then closed out with 10 minutes of kata. 

It was a good work out, interesting working out the space for two working indoors.  Using zoom completely drained the iPad.  Took three days to recover it.

Rough kihon gata practice

The second midweek lesson was on Thursday 26/03

After an extended warm up, Mokuso and formal greetings, we started off working on the Quadrant drill, padwork first: Jab on pad, Cross on pad,Hook on pad, followed by practicing the whole in combination:

Jab, cross, hook

After that we looked at the defending moves:

Right hand parry, move head to right on jab
Left hand deflect, flow through into open hand strike to cross
Step in triangular parry and strike to hook

Followed by working on the parry, deflect / strike, triangle combination.

This was folowed bt looking at the second set of attacking moves, firstly on a solo pad and then in combination:

Hammerfist, looping left and hook

This was followed by kata warm down

MFirst phone ran out of charge after 40 minutes, lost five minutes in swapping phone over to back up,  Beginning to realise i=using zoom comes at a price.

 Another session today ro off to bed.  Please stay safe :!

Morning kata

Depression and the dojo

Due to the exigencies of work, for the first time in almost two years I missed training last week.  Work and home life has for various reasons led to me being on Citalopram and soon so undergo depression counselling 😩😩  So possibly the worst of times to miss a training session, given the break it represents from outside events.

The Citalopram has played havoc with my sleep, appetite and stomach, so I gave it up just before this weekend's training,  However, the two weeks I was on it took their toll 😩😩.  My stamina was as low as it has been for a long while😩😩.

There is a grading planned for next month, so a lot of the lesson was based on the fundamentals.  I managed most of the warm ups, including sprinting but my heart rate went through the roof.   I tried to work through it, but once we got to the kicks I had to miss out on a fair few, including the increasing sequence of Mawashi geri kicks that forms a part of our drills now (1 then 2, 3 up to 10 on pads).  I rejoined for the most of the rest of the session, but did 3/5 of each of the remaining techniques (kihon kata pad work), so that I got to practice them all.

We also did Kata, and as ever that is a favourite part of the sessions for me.  I now regularly practice Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan as known kata, which is something at least I can take away as a positve, plus my unwillingness to give up.  ☺☺☺

Another Saturday in the dojo

Saturday was a mix in the dojo, the familiar, something not so familiar, and something new ☺  The warm up contained sprints, so was a bit challenging, then there was Mokuso and the formalities, followed by Kata. this time Naihanchi Shodan only.  

Following that was something different:  Dealing with multiple attackers, deflecting the first person into the path of the second and third,  then dealing with them in turn.  We rotated through the set of four, with the three attackers wearing mitts, and the defender hand pads, to practice punching the attackers.

The third part of the lesson constisted of paired drills - step by step build up of a series of different drills.  Over leg take downs and hip throws featured as ending techniques, amongst others.  Then in the same pairs, we did hooking hands drills and conditioning.

The final part of the lesson featured kobudo, working on two or three of the more advanced Bo kihon kata.  Still struggling a bit with the breathing and recovery, but enjoyable as ever ☺☺☺

Sit up, Stand up....

Saturday's lesson was up to the usual high standard, with new things to learn ☺☺.  This time there was a Naihanchi drill starting from sitting, followed by a short Pinan Godan drill, which could also be taken as a Passai drill.

The warm up consisted of break falls, kami rolls, runs with press ups and situps, followed by stretches. Then after the formal opening, we did Kata practice.  My part of the class work on the Naihanchi katas, whilst the intermediate grades went on to the Pinans and the high grades went up to Passai (I think).

From there we were onto the drills.  The Naihanchi drill starts with both partners sitting side by side.  One takes the role of aggressor and the other of the defender, taking it in turns to alternate.  The drill was built up in segments with the same partner and once the whole drill was practiced, we did a pad work version so that the strikes could be tried with  something akin to full force.  The drill in its entirety opens with a backhand slab from the aggressor. The defender traps and extends the arm and applies an arm bar, followed by a hammer first just behind the ear.  The defender then rises and turns towards the attacker, controlling the head and applying two elbow strikes.  The head still being controlled, the defender applies two knee strikes then pushes away and runs to safety.

From a theoretical point of view it was explained how started how we started off as the reactors at the start of the drill, but end up as the actors by the end.  This needs repeating regularly at home, to ingrain the skills needed.  The next to last part of the lesson consisted of the Pinan Godan drill.  Starting off from a bridge, the aggressor traps and extends the left arm to clear for the next attack. This is a forearm strike to the side of the neck, and is followed by a cross choke.Then leads to a hip throw, hammer fist to side of head, stamp then push away, getting to safety.

The final 10 minutes, we did some kobudo, practicing the Bo Shodan and Nidan kihon Kata ☺☺

Practical note, for the hip throw after the cross choke.  The thrower keeps choking the opponent and the arms act as a lever.  The right foot of the thrower goes in between the opponent;s feet to act as a pivot.  Turning the body anti-clockwise, the left heel goes in front of the opponent;s left foot.   The right foot of the thrower goes to the outside of the opponent's right foot, and the thrower drops into the opponent and executes the technique over the right hip / thigh. ☺☺

Regards, 
Robert Y 13/12/2019                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Attention, Senior Sensei onboard!

Monday night was interesting, due to home and transport issues was running late, and had to make a call on whether to stay at home or go.  But with my regular Sensei away on holiday, it was their Sensei, Craig, leading the session, I was a bit apprehensive as to his reaction.   

I needn't have worried. As it was a 90 minute lesson, and I arrived before the first 30 minutes were up. I was allowed to train after warming up with stretches.  Sensei Craig is a good teacher and as we are coming up to grading, we were going through many of the basics.

Kicks - I missed a big chunk of this, as this was the first part of the lesson that I saw.  I joined as the stage the class were looking at Yoko Geri.  The explanation and demonstration of the technique to be used was really helpful .

Kehon Kata - After kicks we worked on Kihon Kata.  I stayed looking at Shodan and Nidan, the two I need for my next grading, whilst the more advanced went on to look at what they needed.  Our Senpai, Elisha, went through them with me one on one, including pad work versions.

Then we went onto Kata, this bit was fun.  Not only we have slow step throughs of the Naihanchi kata, we also went through some of the Pinans, and I think its the first time I have had a step through of Passai Sho 😊

Sensei Craig then did some one on one work with one of our class, whilst the rest of us did some Pad work.  I got to try out a tweek I had seen to my Mawashi Geri kick to kick through the target properly which seemed to make a noticable difference, on my best leg at least 😊

Kata warmdown - it was a hot and sweaty lesson, so was time to do a Kata to warm down with.  All in all an enjoyable lesson, thank you 😊😊

Karate Online Style

Because I do this blog about my journey in karate and share via Facebook, I had a person enquire whether I could teach them online by sharing videos of what I had learnt. I explained that as I beginner, I wasn't in any way qualified, and that they would be better served by finding a Dojo in their area. The response I got was that there weren't any actually near to where they lived.

This set me to thinking what merit there is in online training. I have used videos shared with me online to help me improve my Kata, but only in conjunction with working on them in the Dojo.  I have also worked on ideas shared by my mentor online for Cardio-Vascular exercise .  So one one of the Facebook groups I am a member of, I posed that question.  I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that, since I was using an online forum, only one response out of 20 was totally negative.

A few thought it would be of limited use for more advanced students to learn some new techniques, or as an aide-memoire, and would need to be accompanied by Dojo time.  Another variant of this was it could be used to a degree for distance learning by sharing videos of what needed to be done, then the pupil sending videos back to be critiqued.

A more dynamic version of working online at distance was the use of videos and instructions, then accompanied by one-to-one Skype of other Video media sessions to reinforce the training material.

The most positive responses emphasised that the internet is a treasure trove of material and communication tools, whose use is limited only by the imagination of the user.  This of course comes with a very big caveat that there is a lot of dross as well as gems out there, which might be difficult for the beginner to distinguish between.

I think the majority opinion though is that face to face is best, but there is also good support for, that if nothing else is available it should be possible to do something online with the right help 😊