A trinity of training

This has been more of a doing rather than a blogging week: for both my physical and mental health , I have thrown myself a little more into the practical side, trying to do my own workouts, incorporating refreshers of the previous lesson(s) where possible,  I think to start with I will leave Sunday as a day off and concentrate on actually doing two 20 to 25 minute sessions on the Tuesdays and Thursdays (as I did this week), gradually building them up to 30 minutes OR adding another session on the Sunday.  

This all depends on circumstances of course.  However, I think having some plan, any plan to focus on, is a major must have in trying to cope with the isolation and frustrations of been cooped up, that I am sure everyone is feeling right now.  I have been luck to find online mentors in Robey Jenkins, Noah Legel and Les Bubka, who have helped me develop my own cardio, breathing and relaxation routine to complement the wonderful work that Ben and Alison do with us and our families, so to all five a massive thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇✊✊✊✊✊

The dojo diary this week is as given below. All were enjoyable lessons, and although I struggle in places (out at midday today was one of them lol), in general I'm getting through them with only the odd hiccup:

0604

Warm up
Mokosu and formal opening
punches, kicks and receiving techniques
Solo pad work, building up jab, cross, elbow knee combinations
Drilling the combination worked out on the pads
Shadow sparring
Kata - Naihanchi Shodan only.

0904

Warm up
Mokosu and formal opening
Quadrant drill
Jab, cross. hook
Hammerfist, looping left, hook
Backhand slap, elbow, step back left knee, step back, right knee
Headbutt, break grasp, shoulder barge.
Right mawashi-geri, land behind, swap stance,, left mawashi geri, land behind, swap stance, right mawashi geri, hold on kick, land behind, right mawashi geri, spin through, land in fighting stance, ashe uke
Mai geri, ball of foot to solar plexus, mai geri, ball of foot to solar plexus, mai geri, top of foot to groin
Left back fist, cross, jab, cross, jab
Right lower punch to organs, left lower punch to organs, right lower punch, bob and weave, step back open hand
Kata - Naihanchi Shodan only

1104

Warm up 
Mokosu and formal opening
Kicks, slow to knee, hold, extend, hold.  5 slow, then 5 fast:
Mai geri, right then left.
Ushiro geri, right then left
Yoku geri, right then left
Mawashi geri, right then left
Reminded to use chair to practice for balance, as per one of last week's lessons
Pad work, both sides working up to three strike combination.
Cross, Elbow, Cross then elbow, Knee, Cross, Elbow, knee
Finally 10 times through combination each side

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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.

In the dojo: me and my son, Naihanchi Yondan

For some good personal reasons was off work today, so had one of those rare chances to do an extra session at the dojo.  What made it rarer was that it was the first time I actually got the chance to do a session in the dojo with my son 😁😁

After the warm up it was kata then pad work, then back to kata (Thursday is only a one hour mixed session).  Another first, I managed to perform Naihanchi Nidan all the way through in the dojo for the first time, so now I formally get asked to push myself and practice that as well as Shodan 😁😁

The third "first" for me of the day was to actually manage a spinning heel lick for the first time in pad work.  I think I've been kinda avoiding it sub consciously but today I saw my son land one, and it was maybe the spur I needed.  If my own flesh and blood can do it, maybe  can too.  It wasn't high, but it certainly had the spin in it 😁😁  Nowhere near as good as it needs to be, but it's another thing started!

After that we dipped into the Kihon Katas (punch kick combinations) for a while, then came "Naihanchi Yondan", our Sensei asked us to do that Kata; a few puzzled looks.  But my son got it, maybe I did too, we were asked to do as much of the Naihanchi kata combined as we could.  Well we both do that at home, he does Shodan through to Sandan and I do Shodan to Nidan as my CV exercise Kata 😁😁

So now I have a name for my exercise Kata, got on three firsts and have a son who is happy to train with this dad, even though he's the higher grade 😁😁  All in all, couldn't ask for a much better day in the dojo.  Thank you Sensei Alison 🙏

Pushed: In the dojo

I have to admit I didn't feel at my best today, but wasn't a day for shirking.  After the warm up, it was trying to keep each leg in turn up at kicking height for 10-15 seconds.  Given I am no the best, needless to say I ended up with two lots of forfeit pressups. 

Then it was on to stepping drills, keeping moving in fighting stance without crossing legs.   This was folowed by the same drill with punches, then with each foot in turn on a fixed spot, turning in stance to the position called by our Sensei. 

After that was padwork on punches, stressing punching through and spending time on the target; Naihanchi drills then kicks onto pads.  The one that pushed me the most was the pyramid, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 mawasha-geris with one leg then the same with the other leg.

It certainly pushed me as hard, if not harder than, I've been pushed before and got my heart rate up enough that I had to take a few breaks.  The last half hour was fun though; bo kihon kata 😊😊😊  Naihanchi Shoda to wind down then finished: An excellent lesson 😊 

After dinner, I had to go and do a bo kihon kata in the garden to work off a little too much food.  Thought it wouldn't do too much harm to video, but please excuse the state of the garden.  It's been badly neglected whilst wasn't I too clever and then with other things going on, so will be one of this summer's projects  😊

Adding to my home practice

For myself,  noticed that my kicks haven't improved as much as some other aspects of my Karate.  Mostly it seems to be working my upper and lower body together thats the issue, my arms and my feet don't seem to want to work as one.

As a result, there is nowhere near as much accuracy in my kicks as there needs to be. So I went looking online for some ideas.  What I came up with was to hold my hands on my hips whilst kicking low.   This doesn't help with the Mawasha Geri kick, but should help with the Yoko and Ushiro Geri kicks.

I've been trying this for a few weeks now and I think its made a difference.  I've added a video here for reference:

In addition to this, my mentor has noticed that my punching posture is sloppy as a result of my elbows throwing out sideways as I punch.  So both as Cardio-Vascular exercise and to improve my punches, he has suggested doing slow Choko Tsuki punches, concentrating on keeping my arms by my side whilst punching.  He had earlier suggested added an extra stretch into my routine (bending at the waist, hands down by ankles), so I have added another video to show my attempts at both:

Finally, I have enough confidence to practice my slow Kata outside now, and on the day my son recorded the below video with me, he went through all the Naihanchi Kata, plus we did flow drills.  Both the specific one we use in our dojo and the Naihanchi drill as I believe is taught by Sensei Abernethy.  No videos of those though, we were a little involved at the time 😊😊

A Nerd post, low kick combinations

Being of the more senior age range for Karate with not the most flexible of bodies, there are limits to what I can achieve.  On the advice of my Senseis, I keep my kicks low, but aim to improve my technique.

This doesn't mean that I can't be effective, just not spectacular 😊  Even youngsters employ low kicks to good effect.  At my first tournament, watching the Cadet's Jissen Kumite competition, the most successful kick I saw employed was the Mawashi Geri to the back of the knee.

Probably not very good against veteran Karateka, but certainly effective against not so experienced practicioners.  It put me in mind of one of my favourite videos by Jesse Enkamp, and gives me a nice in to sharing:

10 Karate Low Kick Combinations - Something for me to aspire to 😊 😊 😊 

Jesse's 10 Low kick combos

There are still definitely some elements I will struggle with, but there are a good few that I might eventually be able to make work as well 😊 😊