2023-11-27
Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.
Last night we spent at least half of our time, in both classes, on kata applications. The first class, which has only white and yellow belts, worked on a cross-side wrist grab release using the “downward block” at the beginning of Taikyoku Shodan and the ever-popular same-side wrist grab release using the “hammerfist strike” in Heian Shodan.
Some students were already familar with these, so I was able to save some time by pairing the “old timers” up with the “noobs”, but it still took a while. It always does. Having students practice techniques that have a chance of failure always takes more time than teaching them to punch air. Nevertheless, I’m scoring it as a win since one of the students said, “I never knew why we did kata before.”
The adult class worked through the same two applications, and then added a three-step application of the first three moves of Heian Nidan that goes something like this:
- The attacker steps forward with a right-handed “haymaker” punch to the head. The defender steps forward with the left leg into back stance, jams the attacking arm just above the elbow with the front arm while executing a roundhouse punch (mawashi-zuki) to the attacker’s face with the “back” hand. It’s important that the defender’s front leg be in contact with the outside of the attacker’s front leg, preferably about knee-to-knee.
- With their right hand neutralized, the attacker then swings for the defender’s head with the left hand. The defender deflects the punch with a left-handed jodan nagashi-uke while simultaneously executing a close punch (ura-zuki) to the attacker’s ribs.
- The defender now uses the left hand to push the attacker to the left, causing him to trip over the attacker’s extended left leg.
The main lesson in this combination is that you need to become comfortable moving into an attack and getting close. The mawashi-zuki on step 1, the ura-zuki on step 2, and the trip in step 3 all depend on being close to the attacker.
