Sensei Tarrant provided a rare dan test preparation class on Tuesday night, with six black belts in attendance. We went through the test combinations that he wrote down from an exam three years ago. My Pekin dojomates may be interested to know that several of our old classics made an appearance: sanbon-zuki (three punches), jab then sanbon-zuki, all manner of lin-geri (two kick combinations). Inward block, elbow strike, backfist strike, reverse punch. For the nidan exam, they do step back rising block, roundhouse kick, backfist strike, lunge punch. If memory serves, that’s nearly the same as back in IL only we do reverse punch instead of lunge punch.
It seems they still do combinations for their sandan exam, so I have a new combination to share: jab, step back downward block, with the same hand inward block, with the same hand rising block, then step in lunge punch. Very strange combination to do crisply, the point being body vibration and speed to hear Sensei Tarrant tell it.
We did some one-time sparring, then semi-freestyle one time sparring. I got across from Sensei Tarrant and did OK, and I pegged one of the sandans in the stomach with my front kick which stopped him cold. Paul and I even got to spar for awhile, mixing it up with him was really fun. A few bumps and bruises later, it was kata time. Sensei Tarrant had us to Tekki Sandan (woo, rusty) and Heian Godan. Then he picked out Bassai Dai, and after that was done we were all called out for our individual kata. I did Sochin alongside the two sandans in the class, and he had corrections for them and none for me. That could be because they might be closer to an exam than I am, but I’ll take a lack of criticism as a success.
It was a good, sweaty workout and I’m looking forward to another one on Friday.
Related Articles
No user responded in this post