2023-03-06
Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.
Tonight’s beginner class had a lesson in not “anchoring” yourself to landmarks in the room when it comes to performing kata. Students tend to do this without realizing it - for example, growing accustomed to “turning towards the mirror.” It tends to happen less often with students who practice regularly at home, but that’s another issue. For now, I was determined to point it out, and work on fixing it, in class. To accomplish this, and after arranging them to avoid collisions, I had each student face in a different direction and go through Taikyoku Shodan. As expected, it was a bit of a train wreck, but my point was made. So then we discussed how simply going back to the “rules” would help. Forget about where you are and what direction you’re facing and, instead, focus on what you’re supposed to do and where the imaginary “bad guy” is. With that in mind, the second attempt was much better.
In the advanced class, we spent a lot of time on pivoting, using the turns in Heian Shodan as a model. We stepped forward with gedan-barai five times, then turned 180° and did a downward block, then four more, then another 180° turn, and so on. Then we switched feet and did the same pattern on the other side. Next we stepped forward doing downward block until we had the left foot forward, and then turned 90° to the left with gedan-barai, then four more downward blocks, then another 90° turn, and so on. Then we repeated that pattern on the other side. Finally, we stepped forward doing gedan-barai until we had the right foot forward, then did a 270° turn into downward block, then four more, then another 270° turn, and so on … and then we switched to the other side. Unsurprisingly, the 270° turn was the hardest. Even though none of those turns come up with the other foot forward in Heian Shodan, the 270° turn was the hardest to learn the “right” way, so it made sense that it would give students more difficulty on the “wrong” side. The lesson here was that you need to practice techniques and turns on both sides, even if that’s not how they appear in the kata.
