2023-11-29

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

Tonight we reviewed what we did on Monday, primarily escapes for wrist grabs coming out of Taikyoku Shodan and Heian Shodan. Then I spent a bit of time going over some vocabulary and concepts that aren’t tested per se, but that I still expect students of certain ranks to know. We spend most of our time sweating on the floor, and rightly so, but I believe it’s important for students to know, and be able to articulate, concepts like:

• What style of karate do we practice?
• What’s the difference between jodan, chudan, and gedan?
• How are the hips generally positioned while attacking? What about while blocking?
• What’s the difference between kihon, kata, and kumite?
• Can you count to ten in Japanese and tie your belt correctly?

Knowing these things may not be the difference between life and death “on the street”, but I believe there’s more to karate than just the physical skills, and I’d be doing my students a disservice if I didn’t give them the skills and knowledge they need to walk into any Shotokan dojo, anywhere in the world, and be able to participate.