2025-02-12
Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.
I threw some new kihon combinations at the students tonight, the most challenging of which were:
- Starting left foot forward with right hand out: Kizami-zuki, then gyaku-zuki, then stepping forward with rear-leg mae-geri keage, before landing with gyaku-zuki.
- Same as above, but with mawashi-geri instead of mae-geri.
In working on these combinations, there were two main issues:
- The final punch was happening after the kicking foot landed (instead of at the same time).
- Students were letting their hands “wander” during the kick instead of leaving them in position from the reverse punch.
The first was easy to identify and easy for most people to fix. Just punch earlier! The second was a bit harder because it’s very natural for people to move their hands when they kick. There’s a primal fear of falling, shared by all mammals, that’s very hard to overcome. So rather than overcome it, it’s best to avoid it. How? By improving your balance. If you don’t feel off balance while kicking, you won’t be afraid of falling. And if you’re not afraid of falling there’s no need to flail your arms for balance. So what’s the solution? I recommend slow kicking practice, emphasizing good balance and muscle
