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. 😆