Class tonight was a kind of state-of-the-state, with Sensai getting a handle on where everyone is in terms of their karate kata though Ananku. Some of his things I recall:

We performed Fukyugata Ⅰ two moves per count, and he asked how that changed the kata. There were lots of answers, none incorrect, but for my part, the thing I noticed was that it linked blocks and attacks in a more meaningful way. It created an attack/counter attack combination and changed the flow of the kata. He mentioned that something similar could be done with Fukyugata Ⅱ with three moves per count.

Despite all my practice out of class, I managed to mess up parts of both Pinan Nidan and Pinan Godan. I just kind of lost focus while Sensai was making comments to others regarding various techniques. Afterwards, when we were asked to select Pinan kata to work on independently, I chose these two. Later in class, Sensai commented on the transition from jodan-zuki to gedan shuto-uke in Pinan Nidan, saying that it simply flows from high to low. There is no need to chamber or stop in the middle.

Sensai complimented my turn from nukite-zuki to oi-zuki in Pinan Sandan. That’s something I feel like I still need to continue to work on, but it’s definintely nice to know that there is consistency, if not improvement there from someone else’s perspective. In addition to working on that, I need to work on a better jigotai-dachi in the following section of uraken. The reverse-punches should be delivered as a strike with a natural pull-back, which also places the forearm in a blocking position.

Seems I have been practicing Ananku incorrectly, at least by the count. The first count only has the down blocks in jigotai-dachi. These should come down hard. The second count is the front punch in zenkutsu-dachi. Beyond that, for the time being at least, I think my Ananku is coming along alright, just needs continued practice to gain confidence.

I still can’t quite believe that Sensai selected me to perform Pinan Shodan with Zack. To me that’s the highest compliment so far regarding my effort within and without the dojo. It also seems ironic (then again maybe not), since I often watch to learn from his kata. There’s no doubt that my karate has improved immeasurably from things I’ve managed to learn from him. The same holds true for Sempai, Lara and Jessan.
Sensai’s comment was that I need to breathe more. To that, I’d add relax, but then again, that’s something that has been said for the last 2½ years. It has improved though.

In the black-belt class we worked on Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan renzoku, and at our own pace. Performing by the count takes away from these kata in Sensai’s estimation. Later we broke out again into groups and worked on Pinan Shodan bunkai and performed kata of our choice (Naihanchi Sandan).

Finally, I worked on yakusoku kumite Ⅰ-Ⅴ with Sensai Clark. I need to remember to look at the opponents eyes throughout. Ⅳ ends with a kizame-zuki to the opponent’s chest. Ⅴ begins with a right outside uchi-uke while twisting the hips/feet to the left. The footwork does not slide out to naname zenkutsu-dachi however. The second move is to left to kosa-dachi while at the same time turning right to block the attacker’s kick with gedan-uchi. The third move can include a 180° turn or not, however both partners should perform it the same way.