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:

1. Heian Shodan: The “long” turn, maintaining balance and completing the turn before stepping forward into the downward block.
2. 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).
3. 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”).