2008 Workout #2: Sacrificing speed for stability…

Today’s workout was a vast combination of good karate stuff. We started off with basics the length of the gym. We changed at half-court to do the basics with the opposite side of the body, for example we would do rising block with the opposite hand and reverse punch as we moved forward. It was quite a brain teaser, but felt good using the opposite body action to make the techniques strong.

After a quick water break, we moved into Tekki Nidan. There were only four of us there, so we did a combination of strengthening and kata. One person did two katas while the rest of us took turns doing strengthening drills. It was great!

After that, we did four more Tekki Nidan kata focusing on deep, strong stance. We did the last kata while a partner tested our stance and we finished things off with some leg, back, and hip stretching drills.

After class, Erbe-san asked what kata I was thinking about for my next test. took the opportunity to recommend doing a kata that was still fun and enjoyable to you, because you want that to come out in your technique as you do the kata for the exam. That means its Sochin for me. I tried going back to Empi a bit at the end of last year, and it just wasn’t enjoyable for me but I’m always a little happy every time that I get done with Sochin so that will be the one that I do.

Kata Counter: 6 Tekki Nidan