2023-11-06

Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.

We had another night of high attendance with a total of twelve students across both classes, including another new student, the father of an existing student who’s been with me almost from the beginning.

The youth and family class spent most of the evening working on tai sabaki, specifically yori ashi. The “secret”, as I explain it, is to use the foot that’s closest to where you want to go. If you want to move forward, start with the front foot. If you want to move left, start with the left foot. Etc. After isolating our footwork for a while, we started adding hand techniques. When moving forward, we added jodan kizami-zuki on count #1 and chudan gyaku-zuki on count #2. While moving backward, we practiced jodan nagashi-uke on count #1 and gedan barai on count #2. Finally, we put them together with a partner drill. The partner moving forward would jab to the face while the partner moving backward would block, etc.

The adult class went back to basic basics, as we had a new student. After I dismissed class I kept the “old timers” around for a few extra minutes of practice, and worked on an advanced version of the tai sabaki drill I described above. In this version, the attacker shifts forward with kizami-zuki, then again with gyaku-zuki, and then steps forward with mae-geri keage. Meanwhile the defender shifts back and blocks the face, then shifts back again and blocks the body, and then moves off the line to avoid the front kick before countering with a reverse punch to the body.