A little bit of improvising

I haven't done much paired work during covid, due to the space limitation of often working inside.  My son Brendan, agreed to try out a couple of techniques I had solo proacticed with my own Dojo and with PJ Broomy.  On trying them out, we founf that due to body mechanics, a couple of improvisations seemed to work better for us than the original starting points.

I mentioned these to PJ and was asked to demonstrate, so we did the below video in response.

A couple of grappling teqniques

The first is from lock up, the original interpretation was:

Front leg mawashi geri to opponent's front leg, followed by a stomping kick to the back leg.

Ground the front foot, then Naihanchi leg sweep.

This turned into lock up, trap opponent's front foot with back foot, and deliver front leg knee strike to groint or midriff,

The second is from a guillotine head lock, the original interpretation was:

Pull down grabbing arm, deliver downward elbow to knee then upward elbow.

Head grasp then knee strike.

This turned into poll down grabbing arm, upward elbow and rising headbutt, head grasp and knee strike.

It's fair to say the first tecnique when reviewed, was thought to be genuinely effective, the second not so much, maybe a little too slow.   The suggestions I got to inprove the second one included driving forward and using lateral movement.  We haven't tried this out properly yet, but I'm thinking:

Grom guillotene headlock, pull down grabbing arm and drive forward whilst rotating, using a crashing elbow strike.  Hopefully that should take the opponent's space, destablise and perhaps lead to a drag down with the pulling hand..  I'm hoping I might be able to video that in the near future.

It turned out that the second technique should have actually been used from a reverse headlock, which makes more sense for the downward elbow to the knee, but we had fun and probably learned a way of getting out of a guillotine choke anyway, so by no means a waste. 😊😊😊

!0 weeks and counting ....

This blog is very late due to work and other issues 😟 However, I still want to keep on blogging, so here goes.   Week 10 of lockdown was challenging to say the least, there was a big down after the good ending to the previous week, with the Kata with family call that I did.

Kata with family

Work was starting to ramp up up with preparations for offices I cover region wide making preparations for re-opening, and the tensions within a family of 4 being cooped up together for 10 weeks bubbling along, there was not as much quality time for training.

Monday kata after the lesson

That said, formal training is an absolute lifeline.  With the extra kobudo lesson my dojo are now doing, plus a free lesson on the Sunday by Brian Bates, that I was invited to by my Sensei, I managed over four hours of training that way, best ever ☺☺☺  Because I have been keeping up my training, my physical health hasn't been too bad despite the lockdown, however it has taken a toll mentally.

Practice 1905

The worry for me about what will happen when the lockdown ends is starting to kick in.  I have been lucky enough to get mental health support, unlike some members of my family,  and this has been really helpful for me at least.   If we don't try facing up to our problems, they become even harder to deal with 😟😟

Two things that have become clear to me with time are that:

1) You can only be responsible for your own feelings and behaviour, not those of other people

2) Whatever the mistakes of the past, you can only deal with what is here and now

Going down the route of what if and if only is the route to complete bitterness and confusion 😟

For me, without family, a job and karate, I would be lost.

1805

Kata - Naihanchi Shodan, Nidan (Sandan)

Kicks

Front leg Mai geri, back leg Mai geri, both sides

Front leg Mawashi geri, back leg Mawashi geri both sides

Front leg Yoku geri, back leg Yoku geri both sides

Spinning back kick, both sides

Balancing, knee up, front leg Mai geri, Mawashi geri, Yoku geri, rotate 45 deg then back kick without kicking leg touching the ground, both sides.

Shadow sparring, first practising jab, cross, upper cut,

 and jumping front kick then free form.

Naihanchi Shodan

Naihanchi 2105

2105

Flowing Naihanchi - continuous smooth

Hands only Naihanchmovementsi

Then interpretations of Naihanchi

Pre-emptive strike (2 palm strikes), crash, two knees

Elbow strikes to arm, eyes closed,

Back slap, elbow, pull in, two knees

Front hand hook and forearm strike, back hand hook

Developing into Front hand hook, forearm strike and pull, two back hand hooks

Imagine someone holding clothing.  Back hand strike down (onto holding harm), back fist

(Open hand slap to face) Back hand strike down (onto arm), back fist, strike down (onto arm), front hand punch, back fist

As Drill: Back hand - open palm strike, strike down, backfist, Naihanchi double block (front hand up and outside, back hand down, front hand back fist

Then equivalent kata movements in fighting stance as drill, back hand block, double block, front hand back fist

Back fist, front leg stomping heel kick (to knee) forearm strike (to side of neck)

Back foot stomping kick, back hand pulling (arm), front arm chudan uke. (represents pulling opponents arm out straight and rolling over nerve point with other arm then hyper-extending)

Step out with front leg, double arm sweep (represents step behind, back arm clears opponent's arm, front arm pushes opponent over leg)

Flowing Naihanchi - continuous smooth

A bit of a workout

2305

Kata

Kihon gata

Bo lesson

Shushi no kon

2405

Pad work

Palm, elbow, elbow, knee (groin) , drag down, stomp (first four going forward)

Crash, forearm strike, clinch head into shoulder, knee, drag down, stomp

Crash, forearm strike, clinch head into shoulder, elbow, elbow , knee, drag down, stomp

<you are in a clinch> eye gouge, (bite, head butt), elbow, elbow, knee. dragdown, stomp

Lockdown blues

The lock down is beginning to take it's toll mentally now, as we are in to the 7th week for me.  Karate is one of the main mechanisms for me to recharge my batteries and attempt to stay fresh, but it is a challenge to battle the lockdown blues

Short workout based on Monday's lesson

Being able to go outdoors (albeit only into the back garden) to practice and train helps, but with the rain over the last week, that wasn't always possible.  Still we have to keep going.  Thursday was the hardest lesson to make, as some work needed finishing off before I would start, so I missed the first part of the lesson that day.

Still, some training is better than no training and I wasn't going to miss out.  During the week we worked on the usual mix of kata, drills and fundamentals, with some simple pad work, but mixed up so that we do the same things but in different ways and different combinations. This emphasises that outside of kata, it's the substance of what you do that's important.  

Naihanchi hands

Found out the results of the online kata competition I took part in, which was that I came last in my group.  However, my Naihanchi Shodan does look like it's improving so I can't complain.  I have been working on a hands only version of the kata over the last week, to try and improve that side of the kata and hopefully it's having an effect.

Did what I thought was going to be a Synchronised kata event after the Saturday lesson, but looks like I may have been one of the few people who gave it a go.   There was no live stream with it, so didn't know until afterwards, but doing 45 minutes of kata isn't a bad thing anyway ☺☺☺☺☺

Short workout on Sunday based on lessons, etc

The weeks lesson content:

27-04

Warm up
Mokosu
Formal start to lesson
Kata, practice all through to Pinan Shodan, performance of highest kata known properly
Doing blocks in yoi rather than shiko dachi
Jodan uke - reverse punch
Chudan uke - reverse punch
Gidan uke - reverse punch, remember to make both arms work together on Gidan uke

30-04

Missed first part of lesson (warm-up) due to work
Mokosu
Formal start to lesson
After Palm strike (escape)
Multiple palm strikes (escape)
Palm strike, crash (escape)
Palm stike, crash, knees (escape)
Talk through many interpretations of Naihanchi
Padwork - Palm strike, crash, knees, stamp, 

02-05

Warm up
Mokosu
Formal start to lesson
Kicks (Mai geri, Ushiro geri, Yoku geri, Mai geri)
Solo drills, jab cross, hammer fist, stamping kick, elbow. as individual techniques then combinations
Padwork, hooks, elbow and shoulder striking Combinations 3 in 1
Punching from a sit down to upright position and punching to a pad from our knees,
Kata

Competition kata

Three times a week...

The three times a week pattern is starting to fit in now, both with work and home life.  This week to two midweek lessons were quite contrasting, in more ways than one.  The Monday lesson concentrated on the use of a chair to help practice kicking, whilst the Thursday lesson concentrated on being able to put together different sequences of strikes.   Kata is an almost ever present in lessons, but now shadow sparring (or free or solo sparring) is starting to become a regular element too.  
For me though, the importgant thing is being able train three times a week and spend time outdoors.  It gives my weeks a structure to pin things on, along with work, it helps my general fitness levels since I cannot go outside and walk, and helps me cope mentally.  Oh and it also helps by karate (especially kata) to noticably progress.

The 30-03-20 Monday lesson took the form of:

20 minute warm up
Formal opening
Naihanchi Shodan, called then performance, then perform highest kata you bsn
Use of a chair. To support on one side whilst moving between kicks, then swap to other side
Use of a chair, to hold position over and kick over.  For example mawashi geri, lift knee into kicking position of vhair, hold then kick.  Perform Ushiro geri over chair and hold
Lay on floor, jump up on instruction and carry out random combinations of jab, cross, hook, uppercut
Arm conditioning
Shadow sparring
Called kata to end

Kicks were never my strong point, so maybe working with the use of a chair might help ☺

The 02-04-20 Thurday lesson was made up as follows (more or less):

10 minute warm up
Formal opening
Naihanchi Shodan, called then performance
Combinations, intermixed with Shadow sparring
Jab, cross, hook - sparring
Jab, cross, hook, mai geri, hisa geri -sparring etc
Kihon gata 1 to 10
Shadow sparring - burpee to call - continue
Naihanchi Shodan warm down

I videoed my part in the whole lesson other than the warm up to see how it looked, and the results are shown below.  I also took some of the elements to make myself a simple morning exercise routine, as shown in the earlier video.

Karate had already become a fairly large focus in my life before the Covid-19 lockdown, but now with that in place it has become even more so. ☺☺☺

Dojo determination : An old dog trying to learn new tricks

Going into the Dojo on Saturday, I felt better than I have in a while.

Starting with the warm up, I managed the whole of that.  It included doing a backward breakfall and shrimping, followed doing a forward breakfall and cover.  I could never do forward rolls at school, and am not much better now, but this old dog still wants to try to learn new tricks.

To me it looks awful, but judge for yourself: My Sensei says I've made some progress with my forward breakfalls. 

Then came Mokosu and the formal opening.  Next week is grading, so we went into punches, receiving, kicks and other fundamentals.  For the first time in ages I managed to get through almost all of this, though I was struggling for breath a little on the last of the kicks.

Then it was on to Kata; As the next grading is the first at which I will need to perform (Naihanchi Shodan), this was more intensive than usual and included specific group tuition followed by performance.  I was a little disappointed with the performance as it was too rigid, with not enough flow 😐, but I know that is because of nerves and trying too hard.  Hopefully it will be good on the day.

Next came light sparring:  Kicks and punches, kicks, punches, kicks, punches and open hand strikes.  These were all done with different partners, and here I need to make an apology and take stock of my punching. I have instinctively started to hook upwards inside the guard when punching and it resulted in a couple of head shots to my training partner who was shorter than me.  So apologies Shell 😐😐, I need to adjust my techniques accordingly.  On the other hand, I seem to be getting the hang of open hand strikes, so not too bad.

The final part of the lesson Kihon kata on the pads, I need the first four for the next Grading, so I was doing one to five.  My kicks were certainly much better than last week. ☺☺
We also had a quick photo session for the end, for a group photo and kicks.   Plenty of hard work and some fun, a few lessons learnt and for once I felt overall I did myself justice.  Good session, and thank you too to Sensei Graham, as well as our regular Sensei, Ben and Alison 👊👍👍☺☺

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.  ☺☺☺

Immunity (lack of) of the Stubborn

As I have said many times, I am stubborn and don't give in easily, but it doesn't make me immune....  Saturday in the dojo was a struggle.  On Friday, I had to admit that stubbornness alone wont get you through feeling unwell at times and went to see my doctor.  Now, I'm on steroids and antibiotics for a week 😩

With Sensei Ben out, not at all well, Sensei Alison took us through the last Saturday lesson of the year.  Can't say I was anywhere near my best and the lesson was a bit of a blur  We did at least four paired drills:

Hooking hands, 
Hooking hands combined with other elements (this is one I had forgotten)
Block elbow, clear, trap, elbow strike
Naihanchi Sandan opening drill - take punch to stomach, turn into Zenkutsu dachi, trap arm and pull, backhand to ribs, face slap, hammer hand to arm, hammer hand to face ( hitting pressure points)

Then there was  Pad work:

Mai geris {push kick version), 
Mawashi geris, left and right legs
Commbinations:  jab, cross, Mai geri, spinning back heel kick

Then Pad work in circles of 5, each taking it in turns on the pads, I can only remember the spinning heel and Mawashi geri elements of this,
Then some other pad work.

Finally we did some work on throws, including hip and sweeping throws.  

Don'r usually forget that much of a lesson, shows how under the weather I was 😩  Ho hum, but now it's holiday time.  Hopefully will recharge my batteries and come back fitter in the New Year. ☺☺  We rounded things off with a group photo, and all that is left is to wish anyone reading this a Merry Christmas and hopefully a good New Year ☺☺

Frustrations of grading

The grading on Sunday was good, apart from a double set of nerves, as they split the session in two: Firstly my son had to grade, then me.  So I was nervous for him and for me, but had to pop out half way through his grading to get in my gi.

When I was done, he was on to his Kata, and I know he knows his Kata 😊😊😊  He got a good pass and his green belt, then it was my turn.  I did ok and got a good pass, but my frustration is still with my kicks, especially Yoko Geri and Ushiro Geri.  Have practiced them, but they are still ropy.

So today I decided to try to slow them right down and hold them for about 5 seconds each in knee raise and extended positions (only on my better side) for each kick.  Here are the results:

Yoko Geri

Ushiro Geri

Both have wobble, but the Yoko Geri is better, as I managed a better extension.  Long way to go, but I think I can do better than I actually did in the grading, so just got to keep trying 😊😊.

Aching All Over 😊

After today's session, I'm aching in places I haven't ached for ages.  From my shoulders down to my elbows, and my upper thighs, I ache most of all.  I warmed up outside the Dojo, during the Cadet class, with Kata.

Once in the Dojo, was running, rolls, jumps, squatageri's and stretches.  I can't forward roll well and landed on my shoulder in one attempt,so that's a part of the aches.

It's grading next week, so it was fundamentals day, going through the grading syllabus.  First up tsukis and ukes.  This is probably the source of the upper leg aches.  We do these in Shiko Dachi stance, and Sensei Ben got me to go a lot deeper than I have been (photo above shows lack of stretch).   We were doing these for about 20 minutes, so my muscles got some stretching.

Then it was kicks, followed by Kilhon Kata, I need the first two for grading, but did the first four.  Then it was Kata, and I need Naihanchi Shodan for the grading after next.  I lost count of the repetitions there, but it was over 10.  

This was followed by hardening exercises and then a pad circuit of punch combinations, kicks and knee strikes.  All in all, I seemed to need a few less breaks than I would have expected and the aches are good ones, so I'm happy 😊😊😊 Plus, I've been told I'm ready to grade, along with my son 😊😊😊 Happy days 😊😊😊

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 😊😊

Nerd at work - Yoko Geri

Coming up to the next grading for my Dojo, I know one of the weakest test elements for me is my Yoko Geri.  In my first grading, being able to perform a side kick was the most important thing.  Now the style in which it is done has become more important.

Because I can only comfortably kick low, my inclination is to "stomp" or push with the heel.  Formally, my style requires a flick kick with the side of the foot, and I have been struggling to get any kind of mastery over that.  

This set me to thinking about what other people's takes were on this, so I posted this question in a couple of Facebook forums: A question if I may? Yoko geri is considered to be a fundamental kick I believe, however I am told it has many forms which can all be considered to be correct in the proper context. My style of Karate currently describes it as a flicking kick, hitting the target with the outside edge of the foot, but am aware that hitting with whole of the foot (push kick) was once acceptable. What are other people's thoughts / experiences?

The first thing that come back is that indeed there are two basic types, the flick hitting with the side and the push, but that should be hit more with the heel than the whole of the foot.   My favoured variant, the stomping low kick, was considered to be one of the most effective variants.   However, there is a rich and varied range of interpretations of the kick.  Some styles limit themselves solely to one form (eg. Shinkyokushin  - side of foot), whilst in Tang Soo Do,  (Korean style of Karate) there are thrusting, snapping, pushing and stomping versions of the kick, using the knife edge, the heel, the whole flat of the foot, and the ball of the foot.

Generally though all versions of the kick fall into the snapping or thrusting / stomping varieties.  The snap kick or Keage Yoko Geri,  seems to be considered the swifter kick to deliver, hitting with the side of the foot.  Specific targets suggested for this seem to be to softer targets such as the leg, vital organs, stomach or floating ribs.

Yoko Geri 

The thrusting / stomping kick or Kekomi Yoko Geri seems to be considered the more power kick to deliver, hitting with the underside of the heel.  Specific targets suggested for this seem to be harder targets such as joints (eg, knee, ankle) or bones (leg or ribs)

A number of videos were given as examples which are also presented below:

Shotokan side kicks

Yoko Geri Keage

Yoko Geri as a throw

Yoko Geri using knee lift to disrupt

The last two show applications which go beyond that of a kick, using the leg as part of a throw, or the knee lift to disrupt (e.g. Hisa Geri followed by stomping Yoko Geri Kakato.

Many thanks to all who contributed, but particularly to Les Bubka for two of the videos, John Rees and Andrew Perpich for the other two, along with my Sensei Ben D. J Snear, for putting up with me.