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Saturday, July 19th **was out of town for last 10 days**
Carlos, Giovanni, Shelby, and Chris trained separately while advanced training took place in the other part of the dojo.
Sensei Michael Han, Sensei John Yacalis, and myself, Sensei Bob Bolton, started at 10:45 AM for advanced training. Today, we worked on Sanseru and Sepai, kata and bunkai. The emphasis was on the "ju" of Goju Ryu, or the "soft" aspect. Relaxing and breathing are critical. My kicks were somewhat stiff and it was noted to focus on relaxing the leg and kicking with the knee, allowing the foot to snap rather than to power through. Various details of the katas were reviewed and we mainly concentrated on the bunkai. I am placing links to the Excel files for the bunkai below rather than describe them here:
Sanseru Bunkai Sepai Bunkai
Tuesday July 1 2008
Adult class taught by Sensei Bob Bolton started at 7:30 PM
Present were Sensei Bob Bolton, Sensei Randy Reiniger, Kevin -Jyndrix-Brad - Roberto - Justin (1st class)
Opened with good warm ups - lots of abdominal work and pushups - focused on warm ups that can be applied to kata
We worked on Sandan Gi number one through six - I worked with Justin one-on-one for a while - worked on strikes and different areas of the body (jodan-chudan-gedan) and being very loose. Strikes were almost open handed as if holding an egg to get the feel of Goju (hard-soft)
We shifted to the other group on Sandan Gi - number five in particular requires you to be in good shiko dache without bending the back. Roberto needed to see that if you bend your back to do the lift-drop, you will fail. You have to keep the back straight and stand up to leverage your opponent off his feet and do the drop. Also focused on hidari yoko uke on the drop as if performing Sanchin kata. On number six, Juston offered to be the "crash test dummy" and let each of the group do the rollover take down on him. The full description of Sandan Gi one through six can be found on the MS Word link below:
Sandan Gi
Class ended at 9:00 PM
Tuesday June 24, 2008
Adult class taught by Sensei Michael Han
Present were Sensei Bob - Carlos - Kevin - Jyndrix - Roberto
Opened with warm ups about 20 minutes
Gekesai Dai ichi bunkai drill with one man in center, surrounded with four, each person would execute an attack from dai ichi and the center man would defend. Footwork and timing are key points to remember. Each person would go through the bunkai three or four times then would rotate out so everyone went through the bunkai. The advantage of this is it gives you a sense of timing and distance as you have to adjust to each mans size to make it work.
We then moved on to San dan gi numbers one through six. This is a progressive drill which starts with three simple steps and blocks but advances to take downs and much more complex combinations. I will document this process and add a page to this site. This is not done very much in the USA but Sensei Han brought it over from when he trained in the UK and we have added it to our curiculum. It is required for advanced levels.
Saturday June 21, 2008
Advanced Training notes
Present were Sensei Michael Han, Sensei Ed Sierra, Sensei Bob Bolton. And Kevin Reilly. Start time was 10:30 AM
Warm ups 3-man crunches were included details of stretching and how various movements apply to kata. Also, 3-man standing push-ups. It is important to get the correct distance from the middle person, stepping back as he comes toward you, the quickly pushing forward then stand up again. Alternate legs each time and make sure to be in strong zenkutsu dache stance, centered and balanced. Keep elbows in closely making sure not to raise them or you can lose balance and you will definitely lose power.
Shisochin drills
we moved up and down the floor doing haito technique from Shisochin kata.
Key points were keeping ball of the foot as anchor, not the heel. Always keep elbow and knee aligned keep thumb tucked. Not too long a step and remember to keep feet and stance set so good zenkutsu dache stance is achieved at break.
We first went up and down the floor doing only haito, first right then left. After that we did complete movement with haito, hiki uke, and break. It is important to start out doing this very slow, aiming for perfect technique, then gradually speed up, maintaining good technique but adding speed and power.
Next drill was shotei/osai uke drill.
Key points were to raise striking hand along you body before striking. Also, you must let the osai uke hand drop down quickly. Dont try to muscle it down but be very loose. We did this drill first facing forward in haiko dache, then rotating all four directions, as in the kata. This is a good drill to train you to remain loose, relax, and develop speed. It also helps your foot movement as you turn.
Kata training was Shisochin, Sanseru, and Sepai.
We move through each kata slowly with no speed or power, working on form and technique. We did it once slowly with a count, then with speed and a count, and then all the way through, with speed and power. The emphasis is on being loose and relaxing as this is where the speed comes from.
Kevin went to another area and worked on Shisochin kata, while Sensei Ed and Bob worked on Sanseru kata and bunkai, then Sepai kata and bunkai. Finish time was 2:00 PM.
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