2024

2024-06-26

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

We spent a lot of time on kata tonight, in both classes.

The youth and family class has a couple of beginners who are having difficulty remembering which way to turn in Taikyoku Shodan, so I broke out the blue painter’s tape and marked out the embusen on the floor. Most people think of this embusen as a capital letter “I”, and that’s mostly right, but it’s a bit lopsided. I also make sure to mark the center of the vertical bar because looking at that point during every turn helps make sure students are turning the right direction.

The adult class had a low-impact night of slow, deliberate kata practice, working on balance and perfecting the course of techniques. Most of our time was spent on:

Heian Shodan: The “long” turn, maintaining balance and completing the turn before stepping forward into the downward block.
Heian Nidan: The side snap kick/backfist and knife-hand block combination, with emphasis on how to maintain balance while pivoting on one foot and landing in a controlled stance (rather than a fall).
Heian Sandan: Keeping the knees togeteher during the preparation for the fumi-komi and making sure the backfist strikes are snapping (as opposed to “thunking”).

2024-06-24

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

An adult student texted me a few hours before class yesterday and asked, “Sensei, how late can I be to class before it’s unacceptable.” My response (which I don’t think he expected) was:

Some might argue that being late is unacceptable, and it’s a matter of respect, but here’s the thing: A student who lacked respect wouldn’t have bothered asking in the first place. He’d have just showed up late, or not at all. This student had enough respect to ask the question out of a desire to attend class, but an understanding that a late arrival might be disruptive.

You see, I would always prefer a student in class to a student at home … always.

Obviously, attending the whole class is better than attending half of it, but by the same logic attending half of class is better than attending none of it. Likewise, I’m not going to judge, or turn away, a student who can only come once a week, or a student who has to be late every night because of their work schedule. As long as they understand that less practice means slower progression, I’m happy to have them in class.

To be clear, I’m not talking about the student who wants to leave early because they hate sparring. I’m talking about the student who has other responsibilities. Whether it’s an adult who has to work late, or a child who has to leave early to get tutoring for school, everyone has priorites and sometimes karate isn’t (and shouldn’t be) at the top of that list. When it comes to priorities, it’s not my place to judge.

However, it is my place to set expectations, and “the talk” generally goes like this:

I understand that things will come up that are more important than class, but you must understand that missing class for any reason will slow your improvement. It’s not my place to judge your reasons for missing class, but it is my job to judge the consequences.

2024-06-19

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

I had a major “win” tonight. We train at a YMCA, in a group fitness room shared by other classes and by the daycare program. Consequently, the floor is often filthy. To be fair, I understand it’s next-to-impossible to keep a daycare floor free of Cheerios and dirt, but we’re barefoot up there so cleanliness is important.

I’ve asked several times about the location of the mops and whatnot, but to no avail. On Monday, there was so much grit on the floor, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I snapped a picture of the bottoms of my feet, sent it to the Executive Director of the YMCA, and asked if I could please get access to a mop and bucket. Sure enough, when I showed up tonight, the front desk staff led me to the janitor’s closet where I found everything I need to keep the floor a little less nasty. I could certainly feel the difference and several students thanked me throughout the night.

In other news, two more students tried out the class tonight and another watched from the sidelines. I couldn’t be more pleased with how classes are growing.

2024-06-17

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

We spent more time on kicks in the adult class tonight, with the most attention being spent on ushiro-geri. Some people call this “spinning back kick”, but I prefer “spin around back kick.” Why? Because I’m a langauge nerd. Saying “spinning back kick” uses “spinning” as an adjective to describe the back kick, but that’s not really what’s happening (or, at least, shouldn’t be), because you should not still be spinning when the kick happens. The spin should already be complete.

Thus “spin around back kick” seems closer to what you really want to have happen. You want to spin around and then back kick. The larger problem isn’t the spin, though, it’s the tendency of students to separate their knees during the kick when spinning, turning it into a spinning hook kick … which is a fine kick, just not the one we want to see when we ask for ushiro-geri.

Instead, I insist that the spin be complete, the supporting heel point at the target, the head turn over the shoulder on the kicking side, and the leg extend straight back, keeping the hips level. The raising of the kicking hip is natural becuase it’s easier to kick high that way, but it also causes the foot to rotate out of its vertical alignment, causing the back kick to turn into more of a 3/4 side thrust kick, which is also a fine kick, but not the one we’re asking for.

To summarize, for “spin around back kick”:

The spin should be done before the kick begins.
The knees should scrape by each other, during the kick.
The kicking foot should be oriented vertically, with the heel up.
The supporting heel should point to the target.

Meanwhile, the Youth & Family class gained another student, may gain yet another on Wednesday, and had three more prospects come to watch. Things sure have come a long way since our humble beginnings with two students back in 2022.

2024-06-12

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

Tonight’s adult class was all about kicking. We went over five kicks: mae-geri keage, yoko-geri keage, yoko-geri kekomi, mawashi-geri, and ushiro-geri. The focus was on the differences between the kicks, so we did a lot of the drills slowly. Since slow kicking drills always present a balance problem, I had each student get a chair out of the supply room and set it next to themselves so they could rest a hand on it for balance. By removing the fear of falling over, students are able to concentrate on the kick, itself. With that out of the way, we moved on to fine tuning the kicks. Mae-geri keage and ushiro-geri should see the knees coming together … zero distance … at the halfway point. By contrast, mawashi-geri should see the knees make maximum distance away from each other. With regard to the side kicks, the differentiator is the vector of approach for the kicking foot. Side snap kick has the foot arcing upwards while side thrust kick has the foot moving in a straight line between the hip and the target.

2024-06-10

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

Tonight’s youth class had only two attendees. It’s summertime and many of my students’ families are on vacation … it happens. The good news is that I got to spend the entire class working on kata with the two students who did attend. Both started at the same time and are working on Taikyoku Shodan. As usual, I broke out my roll of blue painter’s tape and marked out the embusen on the floor. Then we went through it again, and again, and again. At first, I counted out loud for them. Then I had them count out loud. Then I had one of them count the even numbers and the other count the odd numbers. Then I had them count to themselves in their heads. By then, they had it.

Of course, who was counting and how wasn’t really the point. The point was to vary things slightly each time so it didn’t become boring and monotonous for the students. Karate training tends to be very repetitious, and it’s that way by design. Adults generally understand this and can cope with “the grind” of doing things over and over and over again. With children, it helps to make sure something changes every time, even if it’s just who’s counting.

2024-06-05

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

Both classes spent most of their time on kumite drills tonight, but in slightly different ways. The youth and family class worked on simple yakusoku sanbon kumite with jodan and chudan oi-zuki. It’d been a while since we’d gone over it, but every did really, really well. All that remains is just putting in the repetition required to know how sharply to cut the footwork angle on the final block to deal with partners of different sizes. In the adult class, we worked on a basic kizami-zuki/gyaku-zuki combination, moving forward with yori-ashi each time, while a partner moves backward with similiar footwork executing jodan nagashi-uke and gedan-barai.

2024-06-03

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

It’s good to be back after two weeks off and I want to extend a huge thank you to Sensei Dave Bracklow from ISKF Tempe who taught my classes during my absence. In other news, I had one student return to class after taking a few months off, and bring two new students with him, so classes continue to grow.

Most of tonight’s practice was dedicated to just getting a feel for where students are at, overall. I’ve scheduled our next rank evaluation for August 14 - a bit more than two months away - so I want to be sure I know where each student needs to improve before then. We also had a chat about having the courage to ask for help. I told my students I’m happy to come a bit early, or stay a bit late, if they need extra help, but they need to make the effort to ask for help and put in the “homework” time to make the lessons stick.

2024-05-15

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

Much of tonight’s class was spent discussing the importance of hitting the “halfway” mark in any motion. For example, suppose we’re starting with the left foot forward in zenkutsu-dachi and we’re going to execute gedan-barai. The halfway position of that technique would be with your feet together, having pulled your right foot forward to your left, with your left hand extended and you right fist next to your left ear. Now here’s the thing … many students find turning in the middle of a technique to be challenging, but as long as you hit the halfway point having already pivoted into the direction you intend to move the second half of the technique is the same every time. In other words, complete your pivot by the time you reach the halfway point and then the second half of the technique is always just stepping forward.

On another note, I’ll be on vacation until June 2. During that time, my friend and colleage Sensei Dave Bracklow from ISKF Tempe will be covering my classes for me.

2024-05-13

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

We talk a lot about driving with the back leg in Shotokan, but it turns out there’s a lot more going on with the legs than beginners may realize, and it’s important for instructors to remember how complicated it really is. Nowhere is this more evident than in the “simple” drill of standing in zenkutsu-dachi and practicing gyaku-zuki. The hip moves forward when you punch and back when you draw. The front knee doesn’t move at all. Simple, right? Wrong!

You see, the hip can’t really move on its own. The legs are really doing the work. Think of it like this: If there’s a ball in your hand and I say “move that ball”, the ball may move, but not under its own power. You have to use your arm muscles to move the ball. It’s the same with your hips. They can’t move anywhere without the legs, whether that be pushing or pulling.

So when you drive your hip forward with gyaku-zuki, what you’re really doing is using your rear leg to push the rear hip forward. Likewise, when you pull your hip back on the draw, what you’re really doing is using your rear leg to pull that hip back. And because the leg is the one doing the work, this underscores the importance of your connection to the floor.

Similarly, beginners tend to let the front knee buckle or sway back and forth during this drill, and we instructors keep telling them “don’t let that knee move.” Of course not moving seems like it’d be easy, so why is this so hard? It’s hard because you do have to move the knee after all. It just doesn’t appear to move because of proper timing. You see, when you pull your hip back on the draw, your front knee is going to come along for the ride unless you use your abductors to open your legs just a bit. The trick is to open your legs at exactly the same speed, and for exactly the same distance that the rear hip travels, making it appear as though it’s not moving. To say that another way, your front knee doesn’t move in space because you’re moving it relative to your own body.

2024-05-08

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

Heian Nidan is a challenge for a lot of students because it’s the first time they need to balance on one leg and the first time they’re introduced to executing techniques with the “back” hand. Tonight we spent quite a while on the balance issue. To be clear, I’m talking about the side-kick into knife-hand block that happenns on moves 7 & 8. Just in case you count it differently:

Move 7 starts from the right-side bottom-fist in back stance and ends after the side kick, balanced on the left leg, having brought the kicking leg back, but having left the right hand still extended after the back-fist strike.
Move 8 is simply dropping backward into knife-hand block in back stance with the left foot forward. (I say “simply” but we all know it’s not. 😉)

In my experience, the best way to teach this is to add a really long pause between counts 7 and 8. It may seem cruel to expect students to just hang there, balanced on one foot, but (like anything else) balance is improved with practice. Most students will compensate for lack of balance by executing a weak kick, but the trick is to be able to throw the kick and uraken at full strength and still be able to maintain balance afterwards. I tell students they should be able to come down when they’re ready, not when gravity comes knocking.

2024-05-06

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

Barely a night goes by that my classes don’t end up in at least one unplanned discussion. Tonight’s unintentional topic was keeping the back heel down when moving backwards in zenkutsu-dachi. This is a very common problem. It’s not that lifting the heel, in and of itself, is bad. Rather, it’s that lifting the heel shifts your weight forward, which is exactly the opposite of what you want to be doing when you’re trying to move backward. So how do you fix it? It’s easy. The best way to keep your heel from coming off the ground is to put enough weight on it that you can’t lift it in the first place. To do this, just shift your hip backwards, almost as though you’re changing from zenkutsu-dachi to kokutsu-dachi. The trick is shifting the hip backwards immediately, almost as though you’re trying to load the rear leg. This isn’t some fancy trick that depends on flexibility or skill, it’s just a timing thing. Move the hip first and the heel stays down. It’s that simple.

2024-05-01

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

If you’re reading this, you probably know that we tend to start left foot forward for most things. Telling left from right is tough for some people, particularly children, so I try not to use them too much when I teach. Instead, I tend to give instructions in terms of “front” and “back”, but we still have to start somewhere and that takes us full circle needing to be able to tell left from right. Since we’re barefoot, I’ve occasionally taken a marker and written a big letter “L” on the top of a student’s left foot when they really need a bit of extra help … which brings me to today’s story.

A couple of months ago, one of my directionally challenged students was having some trouble, so I grabbed a pen and wrote the big, capital letter “L” on the top of his foot, oriented so that it was right side up if he just looked down at it. But no … instead he turned his foot 90° to the right, turned his head 90° to the left and asked, “What does ‘7’ mean?” 🤦 I laughed for a solid minute.

Then, last night, I had another one. This student had started since the last incident, so he wasn’t familiar with that story. He, too, was having trouble telling left from right, so I wrote a big, capital letter “L” on his foot and asked, “You know what that’s for, right?” He answered, “Loser?” 🤦🤦 I looked over at the “#7” kid and we both burst out laughing.

2024-04-29

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

I’ve got several students in my youth & family class who’ve been with me for a while and are starting to be “held back” by the constant influx of new students. Getting new students is a good problem to have, of course, but having to “rewind” everyone back to the very basic basics can understandably get a bit old for the students who’ve been with you for a while. So how do you deal with that?

One idea is to have a sort of beginner-beginner’s class, where you only go over the very basics necessary to survive in the “regular” class, but that means adding another class, with another time slot, which may or may not have anyone attending from week to week. If you run your own place, that might be a workable option, but when you operate out of a health club, with schedules and payroll and whatnot, maybe not so much. Another idea is to split the class and have an experienced student take the brand new students aside to bring them up to speed, but that requires having experienced students capable of teaching others.

My current solution is to simply “graduate” the younger students into the adult class, even though they’re not technically old enough yet. At the point this becomes an issue for any particular student, they’ll have been with me long enough that I’ll have a good idea of whether they can handle it or not. Granted, that means I’ll sometimes have a tiny 10-year-old paired up with a large adult for partner drills, but it’s always something isn’t it?

For those who teach classes, how do you deal with “advanced” child students?

2024-04-24

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

In tonight’s class, I continued introducing the new 8th kyu students to Heian Nidan, and we made it all the way through the kata. We spent quite a bit more time on the side kick/backfist combination I discussed last time, and it’s looking better. Then we moved on to Heian Sandan and worked our way slowly through to the end. It’s coming along. Across all katas, we talked a lot about proper foot orientation, particularly the orientation of the back foot (which I feel often gets ignored). I rounded out the night with a brief talk about kata history, where the Heian and Taikyoku katas come from, who developed them and when, and why they’re in the order they are.

2024-04-22

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

This past Saturday was “Healthy Kids Day” at my YMCA, so they asked me to staff a table to see if I could recruit any new students. I went a step farther and brought in my little furry “markting specialist” Penny. I can guarantee that many more people stopped by the table to talk than would have if it had just been me.

In class tonight, I introduced the new 8th kyu students to Heian Nidan and spent a good deal of time getting about halfway through the kata. The most time, of course, was spent on moves 7 and 8, the side-snap kick/backfist strike leading into the northward-facing knife-hand block. It requires more balance and coordination than any move in kata these students have seen so far, so it took many, many repetitions to make it look reasonably good. Later, we added a piece to our kumite drills. We’ve worked up to the point where partners can push each other back and forth across the floor, with one as the “attacker” and one as the “target.” Tonight, I asked the “target” side to start touching every inbound attack with their front hand - not “blocking”, just “touching.” Baby steps.

2024-04-17

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

With the exitement of rank exams behind us and everyone sporting a shiny new belt, it was time to get back to training. The new attendance cards appear to be working out nicely, and I’ve reminded everyone of appropriate rank to remember to bring their sparring gear to every class. We spent a bit of time on each kata that’s “new” for someone following exams, though we didn’t have time to get all the way through all of them. We also moved on to a new sparring drill, moving ever close to jiyu kumite.

This coming Saturday, I’ll be staffing a table at “Healthy Kids Day” and trying to drum up business. Wish me luck.

2024-04-15

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

Rank exam results were announced today and … I messed up. I was short one belt. Fortunately I had an adult student who only comes on Mondays and was willing to wait until next week to get his belt. Whew. Lesson learned … triple check belt inventory before rank exams. Nevertheless, I managed to turn this into a lesson: Sensei makes mistakes too. Truth be told, I beat myself up about this much more than my students would have. They were all completely understanding.

In other news, the announcement of results occurred as usual. I call each student to the front, read their exam feedback out loud for all to hear, then present them with their feedback and (assuming they pass) their rank certificate and a new belt. I give each student personalized, written feedback so they know what they did well and what they need to do to improve. This also allows me to look back at previous exam feedback to see if there are any ongoing issues.

2024-04-10

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

Tonight’s rank exam went very well. A total of 12 students tested across both classes, for ranks ranging up to 6th kyu. As usual, I take the weekend to write up individual feedback for each examinee. This gives them a record of what they’re doing well and what they need to improve. It also allows me to look back at previous feedback to recognize ongoing trends. (e.g. If I noted a problem with “x” on a student’s last exam feedback, and they still have a problem with “x” on this test, then we have an ongoing problem that really needs to be addressed.)

I also introduced the new attendance cards this evening, and they were generally well-received. We’ll start using them next week. As a reminder, I’ll be having each student pull an individual attendance card at the beginning of each class to indicate that they’re present (very much like pulling a timecard at a job). I’ll them mark them and put them back for next time. This method puts the accountability on the student to indicate their presence and, at a glance, allows me to see how many lessons each student has attended since their last test.

2024-04-08

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

With a rank exam coming up in just two days, we had a lot going on in class tonight.

The youth and family class was all about test preparation. I ran everyone through what they could expect to see on their test and I think everyone is capable of positive results. Our two newest students, having joined only a couple of weeks ago, couldn’t keep up with much of the practice exam, but they got a good look at what’s going to be expected of them in a few months, so they still got something out of it.

The adult class was a bit different as we had three guests in class, all of whom are black belts from other dojos: One local, one from South Dakota, and one from Germany. Several of the mudansha in this class will be taking a kyu grading on Wednesday as well but, for the most part, I just ran a “normal” class. I ran everyone through kihon for about 40 minutes before breaking the group apart to work on kata. Our German guest had expressed an interest in helping to teach, so I let her run my 7th kyu student through kata for the remainder of class. Meanwhile I took the rest of the class and worked on everyone’s kata, with a focus on the importance of completing turns before executing techniques.

2024-04-03

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

Everyone seemed to be dragging a bit during kata training this evening, and seemed resistant to my requests to “go faster” or use “more power”, so I hauled out the rebreakable boards to make a point. Say what you will about the relevance of board breaking, but it does provide an objective measure of impact. They either break, or they don’t. I explained that it’s easy to get complacent during kata training, because there’s nobody there to hit. And since you’re not really hitting anything in kata, it’s hard to get a feeling for how hard you would be hitting if you were hitting something.

I gave everyone a go at breaking a board. Some succeeded in breaking one, and some didn’t, but everyone got a sense for actually hitting something, and that’s all I was really after. Once we were done with the boards, I related this back to kata training. I explained that those who were able to break the board needed to maintain at least that level of power when practicing kata, and those who weren’t able to break the board needed to use more power. Sure enough, now that they had a “yardstick” against which to compare the level of power they needed to produce, the level of engergy during kata performance went way up for the rest of the night.

2024-04-01

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

Now that I have a reasonable number of students, I’m considering moving to an attendance-based exam eligibility system. Presently I have no system. I schedule rank exams approximately every four months and anyone who’s been with me since the previous exam (give or take a bit) is allowed to test. That’s been working fine so far, but now I’m starting to get students who take a few weeks off here, or students who only attend once a week. At the same time, I’ve got students who show up to every single class. Understandably, those groups are progressing at different rates. As of now, I’m planning to implement attendance cards after this next kyu exam, to track attendance and eligibility consistently, and help teach students responsibility by marking themselves as present for the day.

In other news, I had three new students in the youth and family class tonight, which made for record attendance. That meant “rewinding” a bit to go over things like how to make a front stance, how to make a fist, etc., but I think they all enjoyed themselves and may stick with it.

2024-03-End

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

My day job was really busy for the last half of the month and I just didn’t take the time to write my normal journal entries. That’s an excuse, of course. I have the same 24 hours in every day that everyone else does. I just prioritized other things. As I recall, most of our time has been spent preparing for our upcoming kyu grading on April 11. The youth and family class is doing quite well. The adult class is also doing well, but in this case everyone has their own special something they need to improve. One student just needs to put in more time practicing kata at home. Another needs to work on bringing the legs together while moving. Several need to ratchet up their spirit a notch or two.

2024-03-13

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

It’s Spring break week for most local schools, so the youth & family class had only one student tonight. That’s okay - he’s a new student, and he’s been having trouble with his kata, so we spent almost the entire hour going over it. In situations like this, I find blue painter’s tape to be a great tool.

Using painter’s tape, I’ll mark off the kata embusen on the floor, including step markers and even a few dotted lines to indicate turn direction. Since there was only one student, I could measure it out precisely to his stride length. At that point, it’s all a question of repetition:

Do the kata on the tape, with me explaining every move.
Do the kata on the tape, with me just counting.
Do the kata on the tape, with the student counting out loud.
Do the kata on the tape, with the student counting in his head.
Do the kata on the tape, but not looking at the tape.
Move over and do the kata elsewhere on the floor, with no tape.

Roughly 30 minutes later, he was able to get through the kata without assistance.

2024-03-11

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

We’ve got kyu gradings coming up in about a month, so I took the evening to run everyone through a practice test. I do this for two reasons. First, gradings can be harrowing, particularly for beginners who’ve never taken one before. Giving them a practice exam lets them know what they’re getting into, so any remaining fears should be “Can I do it?” not “What’s on the test?” Second, I want my students to succeed, so I give them a practice test, and then give them feedback on what needs to improve over the next month. I feel like I give plenty of feedback during class, but giving feedback after a mock exam underscores the message.

2024-02-28

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

I had two insights while teaching tonight, and I share them here in the hope that other instructors will find them useful in their own teaching.

First, the gedan-uke/uchi-uke combination in Heain Sandan: It’s hard for students to “dial in” because it generates power by lifting the hips, unlike anything they’ve done in prior kata, and it requires breaking the habit of having the “other” hand come back to hike-te. My first instructor taught me to pretend I had a piece of chewing gum stuck to the crook of my downward-blocking arm, and to scrape it off as my inside-blocking arm passed by on its way to downward block. That’s a fine way to address the path of the technique, but what about the cadence? Tonight I had the idea to liken this technique to snapping ones fingers. When snapping your fingers, there’s a buildup of pressure, but the “snap” doesn’t happen until that pressure is suddenly released. This block is the same way. You build up pressure between your arms and then “snap” them past each other to create the blocking force.

Second, the jodan haiwan nagashi-uke from Tekki Shodan: This is also unlike anything students have done before. The “textbook” rising block in Shotokan presses the inbound attack up and away from your head, while this block draws the attack up, aside, and past your head, almost pulling it past. We stood in front of the mirror with students mimicking my motion for a few minutes before I noticed one student doing this block with their hand open instead of closed. It looked like he was saluting me and that gave me an epiphany. The position of this block at the moment of contact with the attack is virtually identicaly to a military hand salute, but with the hand in a fist instead of open. Once I explained it that way, everyone got it, so I’ll be adding that to my arsenal of analogies.

2024-02-27

Subbing for ISKF Tempe at the Tempe Family YMCA.

Tonight was my last night subbing at ISKF Tempe. I’ll still attend on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but the regular instructor will be back from vacation, so I’ll get to work out again. Reflecting back on the last couple of weeks, I’m very happy to have been able to share my love of kata applications with these students, as it’s something they don’t get very often in their normal classes. That’s not a critisizm - every instructor has strengths and weaknesses. I, for one, am awful at competition-style free sparring. I don’t compete, never did, and never saw much value in it, so it’s not something I’m able to hone in my own students. Nevertheless, understanding the kata beyond just making them aesthetically beautiful is something I’m passionate about, and I spent a good deal of time sharing that passion with these students … and look forward to doing so again in the future.

2024-02-26

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

Tonight’s adult class added another option onto what they already knew about applications of the hammer-fist strike from Heian Shodan. Having previously discussed this as an escape from a wrist grab (on either side), tonight we applied it as a throw somewhat similar to Aikido’s “kokyu nage.”

Assuming your right foot is forward and the attacker has grabbed your right wrist with his left hand:

Grab and pin his left wrist with your left hand, then strip your right wrist out of his grasp by rotating your right elbow forward as you pull. At the same time, step your rear foot up to your front foot (in anticipation of tsugi-ashi footwork).
Extend your newly-freed right hand up and over the attacker, dropping your “bottom-fist strike” past the attacker’s head, so your elbow falls on the top of his chest, just below the neck. At the same time, extend your right leg so that your foot is directly between the attacker’s feet, then make front stance, disrupting his stance a bit forward as your dropping arm pitches him backward over your leg.

Notably this same application can come at the very beginning of Tekki Shodan except that:

Step into kiba-dachi instead of zenkutsu-dachi.
Your right hand is open, facing upward, instead of closed like a bottom-fist strike (but the elbow must still point down).
As a bonus, the attacker’s left arm will now be stretched across your own chest, ready to be hyperextended if you choose to flex your chest forward while pulling your left hand back.

2024-02-24

Subbing for ISKF Tempe at the Tempe Family YMCA.

Much of our time today was spent improving the “look and feel” of the signature flowing-block-into-face-strike combination from the Tekki kata, specifically Tekki Shodan. This is a great example of how the same technique can be described by different “authoritative” sources. For example, for the first occurrence in Tekki Shodan:

Best Karate describes this as “haiwan jodan nagashi-uke” and then “_jodan ura-zuki.”
The JKA’s “Karate-Do Kata” vol 1 calls it “haiwan jodan uchi nagashi-uke” and then “urakken jodan uchi.”
Sugiyama’s “25 Shotokan kata says it’s “jodan outward nagashi-uke” then “ura-zuki … to his chin.”
Hassell’s “Karate Training Guide” vol says “upper-level wrist sweeping block” then “upper-level close punch.”
Kanazawa’s “Complete Kata” descrbies it as an upper-level sweeping block then upper-level back-fist strike.

To summarize:

Everyone describes the block as some kind of upper-level sweeping block and both JKA resources specify that the block is with the back of the forearm (as opposed to the radial or ulnar side).
Roughly half describe the subsequent attack as a backfist while the other half call it a close punch.
Though not mentioned above, roughly half describe the activity of other arm as a downward block, while Kanazawa describes it as a “blocking punch.”

So how do I teach it?

The right hand comes across with its own open-handed jodan nagashi-uke, if only to tap the incoming attack towards the left side a bit.
At that point, the left hand picks up the attack with a closed-handed jodan nagashi-uke, catching the attack on the radial side of the wrist. Contact transitions to the back of the forearm (haiwan) as the arm is pulled back beside the head, but at no point is the ulnar edge of the arm oriented upward as it would be with age-uke.
As the left hand’s nagashi-uke is happening, the right hand, drops to execute either tetsui uchi or a straight punch to the attacker’s abdomen. Then, importantly, it grabs ahold of the attacker’s clothing, preventing his escape before the next bit.
The left hand, having finished its block, circles back around and attacks the face, generally with ura-zuki, but possibly with urakken-uchi if the attacker is shorter.
As all of this is happening, the hips rotate clockwise during the block and abdomen strike, then counterclockwise for the strike to the face.

2024-02-21

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

Attendance in the youth & family class was light again today, but we spent the majority of our time in the adult class going over Heian Sandan applicaitons, particularly those of the furi-empi uke and both of the 180° turns.

The furi-empi uke has to be executed with the elbows pointing directly sideways. Many students don’t have the flexibility to do this and end up with their elbows pointing slightly backwards, but this doesn’t allow the block to do its job.
The first 180° turn can be expressed as an escape from a bear hug, dropping your center of gravity and then using your hands-on-hips as a wedge to open the bear hug. If needed, you can also drive the hips back and/or smash the back of your head into the attacker’s nose to create space.
The second 180° turn is an extention of the “linear” elbow blocks. This time, instead of stepping foward into the block, you block and spin, landing the elbow in the attacker’s abdomen and the close punch over your shoulder to his face.

2024-02-19

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

It was President’s Day today, and none of my youth students came to class. Many of them asked if there would be class, and I gave them the standard answer:

“If the building is open, karate is available to you. Whether or not you choose to take advantage of it is up to you.”

People have different priorities - that’s cool - but it was a bit surprising that nobody came. 🤷

On the other hand, the adult class was surprisingly well attended, so I rewarded them with something a bit different. After our “compulsory” round of warm-up and kihon exercises, we spent the balance of the night going through additional applications from Taikyoku Shodan, Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan, and Heian Sandan.

In Taikyoku Shodan, we went over the standard cross-side wrist escape and punch we normally do for moves #1 and #2. For move #3 we practiced a neck-cranking takedown where, after punching to the head on #2, you grab the chin with the right hand, turn around and use the “downward block” to throw the attacker to the floor.
In Heian Shodan, we worked the same combinations, followed by the hammerfist strike after the takedown. But we also worked on the application of the hammerfist, itself, against both same-side and cross-side wrist grabs. Then we worked on using the turn after the first kiai as a bit of a hip toss, throwing the attacker counter-clockwise with the “rising block” hooked under the attacker’s left arm.
In Heian Nidan, we worked the first three techniques as a defense against a right-handed “haymaker” to the head followed by a left-handed jab. Our left hand blocks both the haymaker and the jab while the right hand strikes the face and then the ribs. Finally, we use the bottom-fist strike to pitch the attacker over our left leg, conveniently located to trip the attacker by virtue of being in kokutsu-dachi. Then we worked on using the “cup-and-saucer” into side kick/backfist to escape a lapel grab.
In Heian Sandan, we only had time to pracice the furi-empi uke and backfist strike against a lunge punch. Next time we’ll go into how to transition into the spinning elbow/close punch combinations at the end of the kata.

2024-02-17

Subbing for ISKF Tempe at the Tempe Family YMCA.

I’m covering Tuesday and Saturday classes for Sensei Dave Bracklow while he’s on a well-deserved vacation. I often have trouble getting going in the morning, so I gave the class the “gift” of a good cardio warmup. We moved on to a pretty standard set of kihon before moving on to a bit of yakusoku kumite. Then we wrapped up class with some applications from Taikyoku Shodan and Heian Shodan. It’d been a while since I’ve worked with these students, so we went back over the “basic” wrist-grab escapes from both katas.

2024-02-14

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

Tonight’s adult class had a record 10 people in attendance! That meant we had to talk a bit about performing kata on a crowded floor. In order to avoid having people looking around to avoid collisions during kata, I tell them this: It’s your repsonsibility to look where you’re going and not run into anyone. If everyone does this, then no one will ever get hit from behind and there’s no reason to look around.

Despite the class size, some students were having trouble bringing some enthusiasm to the table, so we talked about that a bit after class. I told them that enthusiasm is a practiced skill, just like punching, kicking, and blocking. If you practice poor punches you’ll have poor punches when it comes time to use them. Likewise, if you practice poor enthusiasm, that’s what you’ll project outside the dojo too. Walking down the street with purpose, head up, and ready, you’re far less likely to be chosen for assault than if you’re walking with head hung low and not paying attention. Karate isn’t just about physical skills, it’s about overall self-protection.

2024-02-12

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

The battle to differentiate between side thrust kick and side snap kick continues. Tonight we worked on both kicks while moving across the floor in kiba-dachi, but my rule was that everyone was only allowed to kick as high as their own knee. I find that many people tend to trade form for altitude when it comes to kicks, so I ask them to kick low on purpose, just to work on form. This tends to have a much better chance of keeping the foot angle and leg orientation correct.

2024-02-07

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

In the adult class, we spent time on our usual kihon, but then I decided to work towards a better furi-empi uke for our practice of Heian Sandan, so this is how I worked up to it: We started by simply stepping across the floor in kiba-dachi. Then we added a downward block (to the side) as we stepped. Finally, we went hands-on-hips and practiced the furi-empi uke, making sure everyone rotated the lead elbow “pops” just a bit forward of their center line. This is important for two reasons: First, if the elbow stops on the center line it’s still possible for an attack to strike your ribs. Second, if you just intercept the attack without “popping” it forward, then the following uraken-uchi doens’t have a clear path to the attacker’s head.

2024-02-05

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

Both classes spent time on our standard wrist-grab escape techniques from Heian Shodan last night. Most Shotokan people have seen the “same-side” wrist-grab escape application of the tetsui-uchi on move #4, but I also teach a “cross-side” escape using the gedan-barai on move #1 (and then teach how both escapes actually work for either type of grab, so you really don’t have to remember which is which). We spent time with partners going through each grab and each escape before turning partners loose and telling them to grab each others’ wrists however they like, challenging their partners to get out however they liked.

The adult class also spent time discussing applications from Heian Sandan, including the furi-empi uke (followed by the back-fist) during the southward run. We looked at the “standard” application of blocking a punch with the elbow. One of the students has some traditional jiu-jitsu experience and asked me if you might block a punch with mawashi-empi uchi. I agreed that you certainly could, but that an elbow strike has a fairly low vertical profile, which would make it very easy to miss the block when compared to the bent elbow that the kata describes. (i.e. Furi-empi uke has a fairly wide margin for error while mawashi-empi uchi does not.)

This started a cascade of tangents that resulted in more talking than I’d like, but it was pretty close to the end of class, so I indulged it.

The conversation about blocking with an elbow strike led to a discussion of the elbow strike in Tekki Nidan and how it can be applied as an escape from a same-side wrist grab followed by a hyperextension of the attacker’s elbow.
That led the jiu-jitsu student to discuss the possibility of countering a straight punch with kote-gaeshi.
And that led to a longer conversation about the applicability of pain compliance techniques on self-defense.

My thoughts on the matter go something like this: Pain compliance techniques work on the basis of an implied agreement. That agreement is, “You quit effing around, and I’ll make it stop hurting.” The unfortunate assumption here is that the person on the other end of the technique is in a mental state that allows them to understand that unspoken agreement. Against aggressors who are either naturally or chemically resistant to pain, that may not be the case. Those types of aggressors don’t react to implied agreements, or pain, but physics still demands that they respond to structural damage. In other words, if you break the attacker’s leg, it doesn’t matter if he can feel it or not, he’s not going to be chasing you down after that. I’m not knocking pain compliance - it has its place - but Shotokan generally prefers inflicting structural damage.

2024-01-31

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

The two new students in the Youth & Family class are coming along well. Both of them picked up gedan-barai relatively quickly, which is typically the hardest “basic” for brand new students to learn. We’ve started working through Taikyoku Shodan, and we’ve made it up to the first kiai.

I had a feel-good moment after class tonight when one of my white-belt students asked me for “homework.” He’s going to be traveling out of town for business next week and won’t be able to attend class. Since he’s a beginner, it can’t be too complicated, and since he’s going to be a in a hotel room, it can’t require a lot of space, so I sent him a few exercises to improve his ankle flexibility.

2024-01-29

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

We had two new students in the youth and family class tonight. Classes continue to grow! The adult class spent a good deal of time on side kicks. We all grabbed chairs and used them for balance while we focused on the differences between side thrust kick and side snap kick. I teach side snap kick in three steps: Up, out and back (same count), down. Likewise side thrust kick is four steps: Up, out, back, down. Next we continued our deep dive on Heian Sandan. We spent quite a bit of time on the spin into the hammerfist strike in kiba-dachi just before the first kiai. It’s important to complete the turn before stepping out into stance or your angular momentum will end up throwing you “off course” to the right of embusen. Fortunately, we’d been talking about exactly the same thing while working on Taikyoku Shodan. It’s not a “turning step.” It’s “turn and then step.”

2024-01-24

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

Tonight, in the adult class, we took a step back and introduced everyone to blocking a front snap kick as part of yakusoku kumite. Everyone was already familar with blocking punches to the face, and to the body. Indeed, we’ve even been blocking front kicks to the body as part of our tai-sabaki practice. We’d just skipped right over the step where we do it as part of yakusoku kumite. Since everyone was already familiar with the backward-angled yori-ashi footwork we use to move out of the way of the kick (while adding a block as “insurance”), this didn’t take very long.

Next, we moved on to some impact drills. I always say that the best way to learn how to hit things is to hit things, but we also need to be safe in class. We don’t have a makiwara, or even a heavy bag, so we make do with what we can find in the supply closet of the group fitness studio. In this case, we used tightly rolled yoga mats, held vertically against our chest, while a partner practiced gyaku-zuki, mae-geri keage, and uraken uchi. Even using the padding, I’m still always amused by the astonished looks on students’ faces the first time they get hit with a decent reverse punch to the chest. There’s this moment of clarity, as if they suddenly realize, “If it feels like that through six inches of foam, I probably ought to learn to block.”

Yep. 😆

2024-01-22

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

The youth class spent some time working on yoko-geri kekomi tonight. We have the benefit of working out in a group exercise studio with a ballet barre on one wall. That makes it easy to form a line with everyone holding the barre for balance while practicing a kick with the opposite leg. For side-thrust kick, we began with four counts:

Chamber the leg with the knee up, in front, just like chambering for a front kick.
From there, push the leg out to the side, heel out and heel higher than toes, and hold.
Return to position #1.
Put the foot down.

We repeated this several times, and then transitioned to a two-step drill by combining steps from the four-step drill. Counts 1 and 2 became a single count, as did steps 3 and 4. After several repititions, we moved to a single count, performing the entire kick.

In the adult class we did something similar with mawashi-geri, using a chair for balance. Facing the mirror, with a chair placed to our left side, and our left hand on the back of the chair for support, we practiced a right-legged roundhouse kick in several counts:

Still facing the mirror, lift the right leg off the floor, making sure that the lower leg was held parallel to the floor.
Pivot 90° on the supporting foot, towards the chair.
Snap the kicking leg out and back.
Pivot 90° on the supporting foot, back to where you starated.
Put the kicking foot back on the floor.

Lots of people wanted to pivot on the supporting foot too early, while lifing the kicking leg as part of count #1, so I had to encourage them to wait for count #2 (for now).

After we had the five-step drill working, we reduced it to three steps.

Same as #1 above. (Lift the leg.)
Combine #2 and #3 above. (Pivot and kick.)
Combine #4 and #5 above. (Pivot back and put your foot down.)

The worst thing you can do is try to kick too high before your flexibility and strength will allow it. Start low - knee height if necessary - and get the mechanics down. Then, and only then, add height. Once your toes rise above your heel, stop again and work on flexibility, then start over.

None of us is this guy …

2024-01-10

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

The adult class was well-attended tonight, so we took a picture. Is that a scary looking bunch of miscreants or what? 😉 Notice how the students on the right side of the picture don’t appear to be sitting nearly as comfortably as those to my left? We talked about that after class (while sitting in seiza of course). 😈

Sitting seiza (正座) is one of the bits of Japanese culture we frequently see in martial arts classes. Seiza translates as “correct sitting” and, has been the “polite” way of sitting on the floor in Japan since the beginning of the Edo period. It’s used less frequently in modern Japan than in previous generations, but it’s still seen when the situation calls for sitting on the floor “politely.”

But there’s more: It’s also an effective hip and ankle stretch. Since karate requires good hip and ankle flexibility, sitting seiza is a “two-fer” - an effective hip/ankle stretch that incorporates a bit of Japanese culture. In my classes, we sit seiza at the beginning and end of class. Then, while stretching, we alternate between sitting seiza and sitting kiza while doing other stretches … that’s it.

Yes, sitting seiza is bad for your knees, but sitting in chairs is bad for your back. At the end of the day, it’s all about balance. If a student has a genuine health concern that makes sitting seiza harmful, they’re excused, and we try to find something different to achieve the same result.

To be fair, sitting seiza for extended periods is uncomfortable, but what constitutes an “extended period” is a question of experience. I can’t sit seiza for hours, but I can get through most situations where it’s expected of me.

2024-01-08

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

I had another new student in the youth and family class tonight, and I think he’ll be back, but otherwise the first class was largely uneventful. The adult class was a bit different though. My “adult” class is technically ages 13 and up, but none of the younger “adults” came to class, so we were able to go a bit harder, and with a bit more montotony, than we can if we have younger students in the class. A recurring issue with this group has been getting the hips to turn all the way forward and all the way back. We tried the standard “in place, age-uke/gyaku-zuki” drill, but that wasn’t getting it done, so we improvised. We used some freeweight bars, held them behind our backs, and used those to guage the position of our upper torso. (i.e. Using a bar made it easier to see the angle of our hips.) This really did the trick.

2024-01-03

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

Today was the first class of the new year and attendance was pretty good in the youth and family class, so we took a picture. Next month will be two years since classes began, and classes have been steadily growning.

The youth and family class spent a lot of time working on the path and application of inside block vs. outside block (uchi-uke vs. soto-uke). We worked on the path of the technique in the mirror for a while before pairing up with partners. Standing across from each other in natural stance, one side would punch and the other side would block. We practiced just about all possible permutations of inside and outside blocks against same-side and opposite-side straight punches. The goal was to get students comfortable with intercepting a punch with either block, using either arm.

The adult class wasn’t as well-attended, so we’ll wait and take a picture when everyone returns from their vacations and illnesses. Nevertheless, we got right into it, returning to our tai-sabaki drill of shifting forward with a jab, shifting forward with a reverse punch, and stepping forward with a front kick. Meanwhile the other side shifts back with jodan nagashi-uke, shifts back with gedan-barai, and then shifts back at an angle with another gedan-barai to avoid the front kick before countering with a reverse punch and switching feet, ready to begin again. Everyone is making good progress with this, and I think we may be able to move on to a few variations in a week or so.

We also had a talk about being comfortable getting into other people’s space. Of course we don’t want to be the one instigating things, but if the threat is severe enough to warrant using what we’ve learned, then we have to be decisive about it. By definition, hitting someone requires entering their space. I recommended thinking of it like this: You’re not invading their space. It’s your space. It’s all your space. You’re just taking it back.

Last updated on Jan 1, 2024