Good job in class Thursday. It was good to see some faces that I haven’t seen in a while. A couple points that I noticed while class was going on. In class IS the time to take a technique and slow it down. On the street it will be faster, but you can only master it at full-speed after you have mastered it at half-speed. I also saw a lot of flailing and just trying to hit the other person without regard to technique, form, power, or precision. It is much better to get that one punch that turns the tide of a fight than to get one-thousand hits that don’t do anything. Everybody GREEN BELT/ ADULT and up, don’t forget the after-class grappling sessions on the next few Thursdays from 20:00-20:30.

 Before coming to class Tuesday, please take some time to think about how you perform your basic punches and blocks (muscles used, amt. of hip rotation, any visualizations you use, etc.) and then think of how you think they should be. Are you close? Being self-critical about your own techniques is very helpful in improving them.

Good class today. Thank you Sensei Sasha for coming to class even though you didn’t feel well. Created our own 10 kick series and did some grappling. Whenever you are grappling and trying to reach the cone, remember to always put yourself in between the cone and the person who you are stopping. Always keep in front of them so that they can’t rush past you. Also, when trying to stop someone, don’t just grab onto their legs and hold on like an anchor, make sure to go after the entire body so that you can lock them up. For people who are trying to get to the cone, try spinning and rolling over the person to get to the cone. Don’t try to take your opponent head on, you make it much harder on yourself, instead when they push you, shift their hands and deflect their body weight off to the sides so that you can throw off their balance. Pushing back and forth like sumo wrestlers is not very effective, spin, roll, and shift your weight in order to throw your opponent off. Make sure to also take advantage of every mistake your opponent makes. See you all Thursday, and remember what Sensei Hope said about your attitude and humility!

Beginners:

Check the post below… On the previous day. Just did a fun night with relays, basics, and mini quiz game.
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Advanced:

Sweep night & take down night.
We worked on a few take downs today. First one was controlling the wrist and hand and guiding it downward.

1) Wrist take down: So if someone comes in and grabs your shirt, take your thumb and place it between the pointer finger and middle finger on the back of the hand which separates the joint. Rotate the wrist over and push the fingers towards the shoulder. Do NOT just rotate the hand and wrist over. Roll it over and push it towards their elbow and shoulder. Continue until they lay face flat on the floor.

2) Outside to inside sweep. If the attacker has a left foot in front take your right foot and go from the outside to the inside sweeping the leg. Additional: If theres too much pressure you can go to the knee to loosen it up. Step or settle your foot down behind theirs with your hips next to each others. Then use your elbows to push them back over your right leg.

3) Tangle the arms: If the attacker comes and swings with the right hand - step to the left and block with the right hand. (HOLD this hand). Then they come swinging with the left hand - duck under a bit palm block with the other hand. Now you have their arms crossed up. Flip your right hands grip over (your grip, not the attackers hand so your palm is facing up). Now rotate the right hand upwards as the left hand is pushed downwards. Try to keep THEIR left elbow straight and put pressure on that elbow with their right hand twisting it over and tangling it more.

4) Bear hug take down: If someone has you in a bear hug start by doing the standard head strike, foot stomp, etc. Then take one of your feet and cross it back and behind your other foot. Keep moving that same foot behind the attackers foot. Stay on the same line as them (facing straight if they are facing straight in front). So now you have a kiba (horse) stance behind your attacker. Drop down a smidgen lower and execute an elbow strike to the midsection and let them go down over your knee. Variation: You can do a counter top circular push from one side to the other to get a flipping, whipping motion if you need more momentum.

5) Fake sweep and reverse sweep: Okay if the attacker has their left foot in front. You do a quick outside to inside sweep with your right foot. They then see it and they lift their foot up. You though continue spinning putting your right knee on the ground, then throw a left sweep with your foot when your on your knees striking the back of their knees. You basically do a 360 degree turn on this technique. Additional: You need to be close to execute this because when you spin around you land farther back. Also you can use your left hand to reinforce the fall.

Beginners:

Today we worked on stepping properly using different methods.

1) The first step was a straight step. Back foot comes to front and then back out. For example if you have your left foot forward. Step up with the right foot to the left foot, then step out with the left foot.

2) Next was using the front leg to lead. If your in a left f

ront stance. Use the left foot and step forward a little then guide the right foot behind it. Remember not to drag your feet on the floor.

3) We also did a cross behind step. Facing side ways to start but eyes and hands to the front, take the foot thats in the back step behind you and then take the other foot and step forward to get back to your original stance.

4) crescent step: Almost like basic step #1 above except the feet do more of a semi-circle (or crescent shape) to come in and out. A little trickier than the others.

We also worked on getting our knee up higher by using objects to help us kick over them.

Finally we did kiba limbo to work on a strong foundation on our kiba (horse) stance and perfect on getting lower in our stances.

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Advanced:

Today we worked the majority of the day with Sai’s remember that in Japanese there is no plural when mentioning Sai’s it is Nichosai for 2 (or a pair). However in English we still say “sai’s”.

Plenty was covered today. The Sai has a long background, it should be the length of your elbow or +1 inch longer once held in your reverse grip.

Zaki or Saki is the tip of the Sai
Mana Uchi - is the Sai shaft
Yoku - is the tymes or the forks
Nagiri or sometimes Suka - Handle
Gashida or Kashida - Butt of the Sai

Stuff we didnt cover in class terms:
Natural grip = Kante Moshi
Yakutae Moshi = Forearm block grip

We worked on a few different holds, strikes, and applications. For safety reasons its best to practice the things we discussed and not get confused with what I write online here. As a review though we worked on:

High block, middle block, and low block with the Sai.

This includes opening the Sai and switching grips to execute the blocks (so two different ways to execute the blocks)

After the block we added a strike to the collar bone followed by two punches with the butt of the Sai.

Final notes: the Sai is the perfect shape to strike and follow up to the throat, groin, grab and sweep the legs.

On your chamber remember to do a half-chamber or else you will either grab your uniform with the Yoku or stab yourself if your in the reverse hold

Don’t forget on your standard grip to keep your thumb in the center, NOT ON THE SIDE!

Sai’s run about $30-$35 for 2 (a pair). This way you are able to practice at home.
Remember to make sure you have the correct measurements before placing your order.

As an advanced student, your goal is to fine tune your techniques. You know almost 95% if not more of the moves that you will ever need to execute. Maybe you don’t know the order of things, but you know how to get into the different stances, various punches, and so forth.

Since you have all the techniques down and know to execute them, it is YOUR goal to make your techniques clean, crisp, fast, strong, without wasting too much energy. Try and play with your position of your hands from your start position, adjust your stance a little bit here or there, move your toes a little in or out. See what works better for YOU!

This is because we all have different bodies, center of gravity, length of our body parts, etc. So your position of perfection might be different from someone else’s. So align and adjust your techniques a little here or there, try things faster or slower, and play with them. You will see what works best for you and then you will truly be amazing!