The three junior beginners who trained in this session continued to show a significant improvement in co-ordination and basic technique. Notably they also handled the initial exercise very competently. We practised a static kick punch/ block punch routine utilising the four basic blocks. This challenged everyone from white belt through to black belt! The class then got moving with the white belts practising the stepping punch to jodan and chudan, the coloured belts practising sanbon tsuki, and the black belts fine tuning the familiar kizame tsuki, oi tsuki, gyaku tsuki combination.
Kicking practice then followed: white belts worked on mae geri; coloured belts worked on mae geri and yoko geri kekome; black belts worked on chudan and jodan maewashi geris. One crucial aspect of the exercise was delivering the kicks from the correct distance; this required correct positioning prior to firing the kick. This fundamental principle fed into the kumite drill the black belts subsequently practised where appropriate footwork was required to counter kick four different attacks. Coloured belts worked on ippon kumite where the challenge was being able to deal competently with attacks mounted from right stance – specifically the kicks. White belts continued to develop their understanding of basic gohon kumite using a jodan attack.
The class then divided into small training groups for kata. The five black belts present worked with the lower grades on the detail of their grading katas. At the end of this phase of the session the whole class regrouped to conclude with one final kata performance: the lower grades performed their grading kata; the black belts performed an impressive rendition of Empi.
12 members trained in the session: Harry Brown; Luke Cobb; Jonathan Cobb; George Coates; Jonathan Osborne; Paul Osborne; Bob Dainty; Tom Ludlow; Rachel Tyler; Steve Hull; Rory Cave; Alan Lea.
SOUTH NOTTS KARATE 