2025-07-30

Jul 30, 2025

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

We began tonight’s adult class with a walk through the combination that we learned from JD Swanson at the HDKI Summer Camp last weekend. It’s lengthy, but it’s pretty neat in that it goes through almost all of the basic kihon in a way that leaves you ready to repeat it on the other side. I wouldn’t call it a kata, per se. It’s more like ten no kata, which Nakayama recognized not as kata, but rather a training exercise. I don’t have a video I can share, and writing it out in words makes it look much more complicated than it is, but a written breakdown would look something like this:

From shizen-tai:

  1. Step forward with the left foot and do left rising block.
  2. In place, drop the left arm into a dropping backfist.
  3. In place, do right reverse punch.
  4. In place, do right front snap kick, then step down with feet together while chambering the right hand at the left hip.
  5. Step back with the left foot and do right inside block.
  6. In place, do right jab.
  7. Step forward and do left lunge punch.
  8. Step the right foot forward and together with the left foot, and chamber a right outside block.
  9. Step back with the left foot and do the right outside block you just chambered.
  10. Shift the right foot over in front of the left and change to _kiba-dachi_ while doing a right elbow strike to the side.
  11. Step the left foot together with the right, then do a right side snap kick/backfist combination.
  12. Step back down with your feet _together_, reverse direction, and do a left knife hand block in back stance.
  13. Change to a straight-line front stance while doing a vertical knife-hand strike with the left hand and chambering the right hand beside your head for a horizontal knife hand strike.
  14. Twist the hips counterclockwise and do the head-height, right, horizontal knife hand strike you just chambered.
  15. Do a right roundhouse kick, stepping forward, and land with a left ridge-hand strike to the head.
  16. Step the left foot forward parallel with the right, then pivot clockwise on the left foot to bring your back around to the front.

Then begin again using the opposite side.

Yes, that’s a lot, and there’s a lot of nuance that my words probably don’t capture, but that’s it. For those of you who are fans of ten no kata and other similar drills, this is a great way to practice most of the kihon without needing more room than it takes for one step forward and one step back.

Ed Chandler
Ed Chandler
Chief Instructor