Denver Colorado Karate Classes Blog

Monday, September 25, 2006

Tonight we partnered up and practiced on how to discipline the body when street fighting to use the most efficient use of your body when attacking. It was basically using hands and legs to launch off multiple strikes while using your body momentum going in one direction.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Tonight’s adult karate class only had seven students. The Sensei had us break down our forms into very distinct movements. We basically paused before each turn so that we can look first and then proceed to the next fictitious opponent. After that, we did our own chosen form in front of the group so that the Sensei and dissect our techniques. I did Stature. I missed one hop which I corrected immediately. The Sensei liked it and commented that I need to be more overt in turning the head into the direction where I want to go next. He asked the group if there was anything else. A student’s mother stood up and commented, “Balance? Maybe he needed to balance longer?” I said to myself, “What in the heck does she know about Stature of the Crane to critique my form?” The Sensei replied that my balance was very good.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

After warm-ups, we partnered up to do our DM’s that only have a hand strike and we couldn’t do any DM’s that included a foot strike or hand/foot strike combos. Doing the DM’s easy but now I find myself doing part of the DM left handed. It basically happens in the beginning move of the DM. I am sure the mental mix-up will go away when the left-handed DM’s become more ingrained.

After that, we then did block/press/punch combinations. Some combos had 2 blocks, a press and 2 punches. It took some coordination but it wasn’t too hard.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Tonight’s class had the Sensei leading the warm-ups with a little twist added into it. First we did 25 jumping jacks, push-ups as many as you can do, he stopped us when I was at 60 and probably had about 15 more in my arms. Then 25 crunches, right and left side crunches, feet in the air crunches and then some leg lifts keeping the feet 6 inches off the ground. Then we did 25 squats and then 10 deep knee bent right to left and left to right side steps.

After the stretching, we did our defense maneuvers in a random order. I did them really well in the beginning and the DM’s were being eliminated from my mental bank, I started to anticipate the next DM which caught me off guard during DM10.

Then we made up two lines facing each other and one side had a club pad. The club pad person is to strike twice and then the other person blocks twice followed up with an attacking kick, and then followed up again with two more club pad strikes.

It got you in the practice to defend and then strike back with a counter kick and then reset to anticipate another counter attack.

Wednesday, Sept., 6, 2006

Our warm-ups are getting a little short recently and not as challenging as in the past. I hardly break out in a sweat. It’s only been a couple of weeks like this and I am sure the warm-up intensity will go up a notch soon.

After the warm-up, we did our forms and I couldn’t do Kata 4 since I only learned about 50% of the form in 2 weeks and I couldn’t get started in the opening move.

Then we partnered up and did all of DM’s, Kata’s, Stature and concluded the class doing overhead knife techniques. I think I was thrown down on the floor at least 40 times.

Monday, September 4, 2006 — Labor Day Adult Karate Class

Tonight’s class had five people in it. First we started off during suicides starting at 15. This means you do one jumping jack, one push-up and then one sit-up and that counts a one. Then you do the whole cycle all over again 14 more times. Around the 10 cycle, I started feeling fatigued which I never felt before. Probably due to not running for any great length of distance in about two weeks.

Then we paired up and did our Kempos. I did 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8,9,10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30 and 33. I needed a reminder on 16 and 17. I had 19 up my sleeve but just learned it and can’t pull it off too fast.

Then the class picked what type of lesson we wanted to do tonight so the class chose sparring in a Tai-Chi like manner. One person would throw a punch or kick slow and then you had to block and then counter-back. The other person block and then counters. These movements allowed you to throw elbows, knees, kicks and punches.

After that we moved into groups of three’s with two people attacking you and you can block and throw two punches or kicks at your opponents. I worked up a good sweat tonight.