Notes on Kata from Today

In Kobo Sandan:

• The secret is in the pull. Think of the body movement on the blocks as a wave. The pull is a vital part of that wave.
  
• On the double block portion, pause slightly for the "Kodak Moment." Speed it up only after you get the hands correct doing it slowly.

In Saifa:

• The double block at the end not only protects from a simultaneous punch and kick, but also turns the attacker upside-down.
• On the knee-then-kick, turn your head to the right, then the left

In Seiyunchin:

• There doesn't appear to be an obvious answer to slapping the hand on the elbow.
• On the "bend over" grab defense try to make front and rear hands straight lines, and extend them out as far as you can.

We have really, really got to practice to be ready for the Brown Belt exam. Wish us luck!

Link for today:

This is where the sensei trained in Guadalajara, Mexico, as well as their website and some pictures.

More Detail on Seiyunchin

Overview

1. A set of three shiko daches, with grab defenses.
2. Bend down and lift opponents leg while stepping back with front foot into something like Renoji dachi (The letter L stance). Right hand will be in a fist, left hand in a prayer.
3. Punch with right, and step forward with both feet.
4. Use left hand to strip right arm while stepping back.
5. Right elbow up, left hand to right elbow.
6. Two handed block to the right, feet in check stance with right foot NE.
7. Shiko with gedan, toward NE and back.
8. Left foot slides into "check stance," left foot NE
9. Two handed block and shiko combo towards the NW.
10. Archer stance with the front of the body facing west. Need to keep low on the transition to archer stance. Left arm covers head, right arm covers body. Pull left arm across face while flipping hand over.
11. Archer stance with the front of the body facing East, so the back arm is right. Keep the right elbow in tight while pulling it back. Left hand covers along lower level.
12. Foot sweep with right foot, followed by two uraken with right hand.
13. Left arm down, with the fist covering the knot. Right elbow down, but right hand up.
14. Turn, and tighten body while blocking up with left, and down with right.
15. Uppercut-Shiko combo to the SW: left hand covers head, palm out. Step into zenkutsu dachi with right leg forward. Short uppercut (make sure not to scoop it) as you drop into shiko. Uraken forward, then shiko backwards with defensive uraken.
16. Facing N, double grab sequence of stepping back and stripping off arm.
    
17. Same sequence as 13-16, but with the shikos to the SE, and hands reversed.
18. Strip hand and uraken.
19. Grab defense with hands ending in Mt. Fuji position.
20. End and bow.
    
    

Other Notes

• Turn and pop, then cover your head as you step into zenkutsu. Lock in zenkutsu, pausing briefly. Then, shiko and uppercut while dropping the hand covering the head to the solar plexus. After another brief pause, do uraken forward then back.
• Breathing on the first three shikos:
1. Breath in while up.
2. Breath out while going down.
3. The palms are up on all but the last hand movement.
4. Pause between grabbing the hands and jabbing the ribs.
• The two-handed blocks require moving the hips.
• On all shiko movements, and transitions from one shiko to another, keep low.

Here are a couple of good references for terminology:
http://www.lyon-karate.com/karate_terms_glossary.php
http://www.cope.co.za/karate/terms.htm

Here is a good reference on stances with pictures.
http://www.geocities.com/sadenoo2/stances.html

Kata: Seiyunchin

This is a classic black-belt kata, used to defend against grabs.

1. Set of three shigo dache stances with various hand movements. Motion is north-east, north-west, north-east.
2. Big block with both hands facing the front, than shiko dache north-east and back.
3. Same as 2, but with the shiko north-west.
4. Two archers stances while stepping backwards. On first archers stance body is open to the west, on the second the east.
5. Foot sweep, two oraken punches going forward.
6. Rotate from N to SW and double block (left up, right down).
   
7. Step into shiko dache, protecting the head with back (left) hand, oraken, lower level defense/hit.
8. Back foot steps back (S), arms come up through the bear hug and leverage off the body.
9. Front foot back (S), bear hug defense with arms.
   
10. Rotate SE with another up-down mid-level double block.
11. Same shiko and bearhug defense as 7-9.
12. Mt. fuji bear hug defense.
13. Step forward into a bow.

Last Practice of the Year

Dojo Note:

• The class is not meeting for the rest of December. Class will resume the first Saturday of January

Beginners Section:

1. Basic Warmup.
2. Sanchin dache (Three Level Stance): The first level is the feet gripping the floor. The second is the tightening of the legs and glutes. The third level is the tightening of lats and straightening of posture.
3. Sanchin dache stepping and turning: Practiced with both arms forward, using the tightening of the lats to pull them in. When turning, the foot sliding parallel to the body should have it's entire outer edge on the floor to insure stability. Flex the knees to keep the body low and stable.
4. Kobo shodan: Basic kata to get the yellow belt, uses Sanchin dache.
   

Green Belts:

1. Worked on basic katas: Kobo nidan, Kobo sandan, Saifa, Ichsae Shodan

Advanced Belts:

1. Kobo shodan: The first kata, practiced multiple times, both individual and group.
2. Kata for Christmas - Seiyunchin: Practiced it both with and without shiko dache.
3. Kata for Christmas - Kobo Yondan: I think of it as the "twisted Neko" kata. Also, instead of opening with a lapel grab, it has a two-handed kick block.

Merry Christmas!

Website of the week:
Video of Seiyunchin, though Rissyoukai has subtle differences.
http://www.spokanekarate.com/kata/index.php