Got a little bit of everything done tonight… I started off the night with ten Sochin before class. After warmups, we quickly broke into groups.
I started my group (the colored belts between yellow and brown) off with some simple basic combinations. I selected elements that they knew, but could be related to Sochin kata. Everyone was having a pretty good time with that, so I decided to introduce (re-introduce for some of them) Sochin-dachi.
Surprisingly, with a little coaching they all picked it up pretty quickly. I could tell some of them were getting that burned in feeling that we all do the first time we do Sochin stance. Its good for them!
I explained that we were going to use the basic concepts that we covered through the class to work on Sochin kata for a bit. We kept things VERY slow, which didn’t help their leg discomfort, but EVERYONE (including the yellow belts) made it through Sochin kata three times by the end of the class.
They even asked intellgent questions, such as “why is Sochin stance bent with both knees like that” and “what’s this combination doing at the end”. I crafted a quick and easy partner drill out of the last section of techniques starting with the double outward blocks. Everyone got the idea very quickly and did a great job with it.
I got to smile a little after class when I overheard one of the kids in the group saying “that was really fun, but boy do my legs hurt!” Truer words were never spoken.
The second class was a sparring bonanza. I needed this badly, especially considering the week that I’ve had. I felt “on” during sparring tonight… I got a couple of good shots in and some of the new elements that I’ve been mulling over since Saint Louis are starting to pay off. McCabe and I are still doing that weird shining thing where we can tell what the other is doing and pre-emptively halt our combinations before we throw them, but it is still a load of fun to spar with him. I missed that during the last week.
If this is what Spring is going to bring to the dojo, I’ve never been happier to see Spring. 🙂
Sochin Counter
Accomplished / Goal == Percent Complete
527 / 2000 == 26.35%
Average Kata per Workout: 15.97
Estimated Completion Workout: 126
Workouts that gained more than 1%: 13
Related Articles
No user responded in this post