2022-04-11
2022-04-11, Monday
Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.
There were three students in the beginning class tonight, but we also had a family come and watch the first half of class, so that’s good news. We spent more time than usual working on balance today - this class really needs it before kicking practice goes much father. Nevertheless, we did some three-count mae-geri keage practice, in place, standing in heisoku-dachi in front of the mirror. 1) Knee up. 2) Kick and snap back. 3) Put your foot down. Then we did the moving version of the same drill, stepping across the floor in zenkutsu-dachi with three-count kicks. They’re all white belts - we’ll get there. We finished up the class getting through the first 8 counts of Taikyoku Shodan - up to the first kiai. As this is a beginning group, we all sat down at the end and went over my “rules” for Taikyoku Shodan:
- You only use one foot at a time.
- You always use both hands.
- Turn in the direction of the punching arm, unless you just kiaied.
- Turn by picking up the front foot, unless you just kiaied.
A pair of black belts showed up for the second class, including a newcomer. (I knew him, but he’d never come to my class before.) We spent our time going over this month’s kata selection: Heian Yondan, Empi, and Tekki Nidan. In Heian Yondan, we discussed making “fast” look faster by going slower when you’re supposed to go slowly. Heian Yondan is the first kata to include deliberately slow motion, so it’s best to be deliberately slow and controlled. In Empi, we talked about the footwork on the first four moves. Suffice it to say there’s no consistency, even among publications from the same source, but we went over both of the “prevailing” methods: Keeping your feet in one line vs. slight steps back on moves 1, 3, and 4. (This may turn into a blog post some day.) For Tekki Nidan, we spent a good deal of time talking over applications of the first four moves, including a wrist lock application of moves 3 and 4. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this, so we may spend more time going through this sort of thing once attendance stabilizes.
