2010 Workout #13: Kangeiko Day Six – The End!

Today marked the end of Kangeiko training.  Things started off a bit differently today, after warmups we headed right into kata training.  Sensei Yaguchi had us come out in groups to do a kata of his choosing backwards.  Yes, backwards.  In the case of the nidans, he selected Heian Yondan which was fairly complicated to try to do backwards.  We did it two times, once medium speed and once full speed and with as many people as there were in there traffic jams were frequent.  After he was satisfied with those, he had us come out and do our own personal kata.  In my case, as always, it was Sochin (pronounced SO-chin!) and it went fairly well.  We had to do the kata again full speed, which was more difficult because most of the group was doing different katas.

After that it was on to sparring, where we did fairly basic kumite, starting with three time sparring using three punchs (one to the face, one to the body, then one to the face) with the other side defending as they desired.  Eventually, things ramped up as we switched groups and eventually Sensei Yaguchi told us nidans it was time for semi-free one time sparring against the 5th to 7th dan instructors.  At this point I was across from Sensei Yaguchi’s most senior student (I believe) and my thought process was this: “Oh crap.  Semi-free sparring with a 7th dan, I guess its GO TIME.” and began my attacks.  About halfway through the combinations, it was time to do side thrust kick.  Well, my first one nailed him and he loudly exclaimed “We don’t follow with attacks in jyu-ippon kumite!  You attack where I was at the beginning of the attack!!  It’s important to KNOW THE RULES!”

I bowed and said “Osu!” but was fairly embarrassed about it since I was directly in front of the rest of the group waiting to spar and I know everyone saw this.  After class, I offered him my apologies and he told me that there was no reason to be concerned.  He explained that he always corrects in that fashion when there is a chance for someone to get hurt and then he praised me on my strong spirit and respect.

But I did not let that encounter dampen my spirits too much!  Kangeiko is finished and Paul and I DID IT!  I’m all energized for more karate this year and I’m excited about getting to the Denver dojo to train with Sensei Yaguchi more often.  I really think that the Pekin dojo should consider getting a Kangeiko together, I was surprised how much value I got out of the extra training and the intentional focus on spirit.

Now, its time for some more ibuprofen and a shower!