2025-06-18

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

We spent a good deal more time on the switch hands/face punch thing I discussed in the last entry (above), and the punch to the face version seems to work much better. Given the choice between switching hands or punching someone in the face, everyone seems to prefer the latter. 😂

The middle portion of class was all kata. We started with Heian Shodan and worked our way through Tekki Shodan with everyone, before having the advanced students work through Bassai Dai. There were plenty of good quesitons and everyone got more individual attention than they probably wanted.

The final portion of class was kumite. We did partner drills, working through our eight basic attacks, and their defenses, on both the left and right sides. I let them know the next step is to cut them loose doing them in any order they like, and on whichever foot happens to be forward at the time.

Finally, a pre-emptive thanks to Sensei Barry O’Brien, who will be covering my classes for me as I return to Illionis for some family obligations next week.