We had a healthy turnout of members on a gloriously sunny evening; but no dojo!
The sports hall was undergoing refurbishment of some kind and was out of action; a trifling detail which nobody at Holme Pierrepont thought important enough to tell us about! We had a great session nonetheless. We trained outside on a small but perfectly formed area of grass complete with its own gated entry. It was the perfect alternative dojo.
We started off practising our punching skills. Using the reflection in the windows facing us we were able to monitor our body dynamics to ensure, so far as is possible when punching ‘thin air’, that we were delivering effective blows. We particularly worked on the explosive nature of the movement which requires a violent and sudden rotation of the hips and torso.
We then brought the legs into play with a routine of double kicks; the variation was that we alternated between using the back leg and the front leg to deliver the first kick. Again, form could be monitored using the reflection, but we did have to compromise speed and technique a little due to the uneven terrain.
In partner work we practised a simple reaction drill where the emphasis was on ‘eyeballing’ the opponent and reacting early. Thereafter we applied the kicking routine with a partner to develop the ability to continue a kicking attack having had the first kick thwarted by an alert opponent. Two rounds of jiyu kumite followed which had everyone working at quite a high intensity.
The session concluded with practise of three katas: Heian Sandan; Heian Godan; and Bassai Dai.
19 members trained in the session: Jonathan Osborne; Paul Osborne; Miguel Dennis; Frank Dennis; Becky Cassapi; Steve Cassapi; Oliver Wood; Ryan Skilton; Harry Heather; Alex Heather; Darren Cockburn; Ryan Skilton; Charlotte Bonardi; Caroline Todd; Steve Hull; Kerry Lee; Arthur Hall; Rosemary Hall; Phil Raikes.
SOUTH NOTTS KARATE 