Sochin Notes: Movements 5 – 14…

I would like to reiterate, these are just my thoughts. I am no expert, but I have been through this kata quite a bit this year.

A few of my dojomates and I had a bit of a difference of opinion regarding the turn into the Heian Godan style high low blocks. I spent part of tonight watching some of the videos that I have of people Higher Ranked Than I doing this kata and it appears that there is no “bringing together” of the feet before stepping out into back stance for the high low blocks. Sensei Brewer made an important observation on the high-low motion here: the upper block is a smash, not a block. It should be strong, and not an afterthought. It is also important to take the time to fully stop this motion before moving back into sochin-dachi, or else it is very difficult to maintain ones center.

The next four techniques are the same as the first four techniques, with one noteworthy difference. Movement 6, which is similar to the opening movement of the kata, should be done sharply and quickly. This is where the dichotomy of speed and power is really shown. Being able to demonstrate building power in the first movement and power generated from speed in movement six is a very important notion in this kata. Just the same as the explosive power of the two punches in movements three and four, movements six and eleven should both be dynamic.

Movements 7, 8, 9 and 10 are the same as movements 2,3,4 and 5. Please see the other post for my thoughts on these four techniques.

Turning into the second Heian Godan style high low block, it is important to really reach across ones body and get the full range of motion. Failure to do this will result in short, weak looking technique and will make it even more difficult to maintain tension in the center of the body that is required to get back to sochin-dachi for the next four movements.

Again, like movement six, movement eleven should be done with sharp tension and a solid connected finish. Time should be taken not to “flow” these techniques together too much, they should each stand on their own. Care should be taken to ensure that the increased speed does not compromise the sochin-dachi, I fought (and still fight) the urge to let that rear knee sink in to generate a little more snap to the hand movements. Because this movement is sharp, it is important to take the time to show the differences in speed moving into the next vertical knifehand block. Again I come back to taking the time to let this technique unfold and really grow the tension, then release it again with the two punches in movements 13 and 14.

That’s all for installment two!