2022-11-19

Subbing for ISKF Tempe at the Tempe Family YMCA.

The Saturday morning classes at ISKF Tempe are two hours long with the first 30-ish minutes dedicated to the newest students, after which they’re dismissed, and the remaining 90-ish minutes is spent with the more experienced students. There were two new students in the first part of class today (a 5 year-old boy and his father) and they did quite well for their first day. Hopefully they join full-time and I can hand the class back to the regular instructor with a few extra students.

The second half of class was mostly devoted to Heian Godan again - that’s our focus for this month. In particular, we spent time on the very end of the kata - the part after the jump. Every dojo seems to practice the uchi-komi/manji-gamae sequence differently, and in a different number of “counts”. For now, we’re breaking it down into seven counts, figuring we can always combine them later. Starting from the morote-uke in straight-line front stance, facing kata “south”, it goes like this:

1. “Open” - Spread your hands, making what looks like an open-handed rising block with the right hand and an open-handed gedan-barai, parallel to the rear leg, with the left hand. (Very similar to the move in Heian Yondan after the second elbow strike.)
2. “Reach” - Pivot the feet without moving them, changing to north-facing uchi-komi in zenkutsu-dachi.
3. “Pull” - Pivot the feet without moving them, changing to manji gamae in kokutsu-dachi.
4. “Stand up” - Pull the front foot to the back foot, keeping the back knee bent, and then stand up into heisoku-dachi while maintaining manji gamae.
5. “Turn” - Pivot the feet to the north, maintaining heisoku-dachi, while bringing the left hand up as though chambering for soto-uke with the hand open, and making nagashi-uke across the face with the right hand. (i.e. Both hand end up on the left side of your body.)
6. “Reach” - Repeat step 2, but on the opposite side.
7. “Pull” - Repeat step 8, but on the opposite side.