2022-12-17

Subbing for ISKF Tempe at the Tempe Family YMCA.

Today’s class was lightly attended (only two beginner-beginners and no mudansha) but we were joined by a visiting black belt from Tucson, so the second class was a treat. We ran the gamut of advanced kihon before starting to work our way though kata, comparing and contrasting methods of instruction and execution the whole time. Do you pivot the supporting foot for yoko-geri kekomi? Why or why not? Do you “re-chamber” the foot to the knee after yoko-geri keage? Why or why not?

The great thing about working with people who’ve learned differently is that you’re sometimes unaware there was a different way to learn in the first place. It exposes all of the assumptions you’ve been making for your entire karate career. Questions like “Is it this way or that way?” sometimes cause you to realize that you never knew there was another way to do something. To be sure, mudansha need to be taught “the way.” Barring physical limitations, each dojo has its own “right” and “wrong”, but as an experienced black belt you start to create your own way of doing things, and it’s good to keep a beginner’s mind, able to consider and incorporate new ideas if they make sense.