Last Monday class for June

Made a rare (for me) Monday class led by Sempai.

At least for tonight I was the lowest rank in class.

Worked on ido kihon. Few things to remember:

In chudan-uke relax and keep elbows in this will provide natural tension for the block. The elbow should also be about a fist width from the body.

Jodan, chudan, and gedan-uke should all have a pulling motion across the body.

In kazami-zuki mai-geri, the kick should be forward, inline with the body. Be sure to bring the kick back before planting forward.

At this level the rear hand in chudan shuto-uki can come forward quickly. The scoop doesn’t need to be exaggerated or deep.

Matsubayashi-Ryu is a close-in fighting style, so for most techniques, work on rotating at the hip (center). This generates power and improves timing.

Worked on Yakusoku kumite Ⅰ-Ⅳ with Lara. I need to work on the attacking part more as I messed up the footwork on the first three.
The part in Ⅲ where the defender blocks the opponents chambered fist, is not only to prevent a punch, but also to upset his balance and make the tate-hiji-ate more effective.

Developed a couple of practical applications of Ⅲ as well.

In one, the attacker tries to choke with both hands. The defender comes inside the attackers arms with both hands clearing them from his throat and follows with the elbow attack. In another, the attacker grabs the defenders wrist. The defender pulls back with inside uchi-uke and freeing the hand, immediately attacks with uraken or shuto-uke.

In the kata any punch could also be delivered as a kick.

6/24

Worked at length on basics.  Sensai pointed out that I was leaving my (esp. left) arm bent on gedan-uke. Should be fully extended. I also need to remember to step up and into jodan-uke.

I feel a lot more confident in my technique, which also means I’m more relaxed and breathing better. Nonetheless, by the end I was winded and my technique was noticeably weaker.

Worked on Fyukugata Ⅱ bunkai. We broke the  attacking part down into three sections:

The opening part starts with chudan gyaku-zuki using the opposite arm of the defender (Since you’re facing each other , it ends up being same side – just the opposite of Fyukugata Ⅰ). Then step back  and throw another chudan gyaku-zuki. Finally, kick mai-geri from the front foot landing forward end ending in kumite-dachi.

In the middle part, the attacker steps forward left and punches kizame-zuki, then steps back left again punching kizame-zuki. Steps back right into nekoashi-dachi and blocks the right side kick by covering with the left hand. After the defender throws the tate-hiji-ate, the attacker kicks mai-geri from the front foot, lands forward and punches kizame-zuki.

For the final part (the very end of the kata), the defender starts in gyaku-zuki zenkutsu-dachi right side forward and back to the opponent. The attacker steps forward left and punches kizame-zuki, then steps forward right again punching kizame-zuki. Changes feet using footwork Ⅱ and punches right.

In the black belt class, we went through all sai kata twice (once by the count and once renzoku) and ended class by performing our highest kata (ananku) for Sensai. He had no real comments other than we need to continue to practice.

I also reviewed Yakusoku kumite Ⅴ with Jessan. The opening part of the defense doesn’t require much movement, rather just pivot the feet into naname zenkutsu-dachi and block chudan-uke.

6/21

Worked on moving basics including footwork Ⅰ-Ⅲ

hands for Ⅰ comprise an uchi-uke followed by gyaku-zuki

Ⅱ starts with a covering downblock using the hand opposite the pulling foot

hands for Ⅲ are a circular block starting in the opposite direction to that of the feet

Most of class was spent working on timing in various partner drills with Tom including one using sayu-barai-uke to block a front kick.

Practiced yakusoku kumite Ⅰ-Ⅶ (except Ⅴ) All attacks in pre-arranged sparring start from the right.

Class was unusually light on kata, with just a single renzoku performance of Pinan Shodan.

6/17

Performed all kata

Worked on bunkai for Fukyugata Ⅰ through Pinan Nidan with Dave and Jessan.

Sensai is starting to comment more about the upcoming trip to Canada.  Wants us to practice kata

Worked on sai kata and kihon bo. The opening three moves of Hanagushiku No Sai should include a pulling motion with the leading (blocking) hand. Could be seen as hooking a bo for example.

6/10

Was supposed to be a longer training session getting ready for the seminar in Canada, but Sensai was unable to attend and class was led by Zack instead.

Performed all kata through Pinan Yondan. Paired off with Simon to work on Pinan Sandan before breaking into groups to work on short weapon of choice. Picked kama and worked on that along with Olivia.

Worked on Fukyugata Ⅰ/Ⅱ and Pinan Shodan bunkai in groups of 4-5 rotating through the attacking parts.

Worked through Hanagushiku No Sai a couple of times at the end of class along with Dave, Noah and Jessan.