2025-10-06

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

I’m back from my trip to Illinois and, although it was a work trip, I still found time to train (and teach) with my friends at the Central Illinois Shotokan Karate Association. Thanks again to Sensei Barry O’Brien for covering my classes during my absence.

Tonight’s classes were sparsely attended, but that’s okay. As I often say:

The good thing about small classes? Personal attention.
The bad thing about small classes? Personal attention. 😈

Both classes spent a lot of time on what I like to call “infinite yakusoku kumite.” It’s just like the prearranged 3-time attack/defense drills we normally do, but we go all the way across the floor instead of stopping after three repetitions. What we try to learn from this is how to step off the line and make the proper combination of distance and angle to be able to counterattack effectively.

This sort of practical reaction to a live opponent isn’t something that can be taught - it can only be learned through experience. It’s part of the “art” of the martial art. I like to compare it to batting in baseball. You can read all the books you want about how to hit the ball, but “theory” doesn’t hit home runs. The only way to learn how to adapt to different pitches is to spend hours in a batting cage and to practice with “live” pitchers.