Worked on open hand kata with Sempai Wands

Pinan Godan

• Kaku-zuki should have follow-through and not be stopped. Your anatomy pulls it back.

• The Chudan Hasami-uke block should be about nose height, fingers should be straight.

• Otoshi-uke is both a block and a strike.

Naihanchi Shodan

• The morote-zuki strike should be lower than shoulder, almost a chudan-zuki. Allows you to use your torso and hips for power and not just your shoulder.

• The uraken-uchi in all Naihanchi kata should have a snap at the wrist.

Naihanchi Nidan

• In kosa-dachi, the back leg braces the front providing strength and balance.

Naihanchi Sandan

• The punch after the uraken-uchi is immediately followed by a chest block.

I’m not entirely clear on the count in either Naihanchi Nidan or Sandan. Some counts have multiple techniques. Need to check with Sensai.

Sai Dai Ichi

• stance changes in first sequence:

3x shizentai-dachi (strikes) to jigotai-dachi (down block) back to shizentai-dachi (punch)

zenkutsu-dachi (clearing) to nekoashi-dachi (settling) back to zenkutsu-dachi (double strike)

Turn is back to jigotai-dachi (down block) then again to shizentai-dachi (punch)

• stance for both flip and strike (stab) near the end is also nekoashi-dachi