07.16.05 - Saturday Training

New Items Today:

1. Worked with “Bruce” the dummy
2. Block: Downward Block
3. Form: Orange Belt Form
4. Kick: Back KickHeal-Palm Strike

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Kick: Ball Kicks
2. Stance: Neutral Bow
3. Concept: Penetration vs. Dissipation
4. Block: Inward
5. Block: Extended Outward
6. Block: Upward
7. Tan-Jon Ho Hup Breathing exercises

Quote: “A Warrior is a Pacifist with a bloody nose.”
This quote doesn’t necessarily have a lot of deep meaning, I just liked it. Bill said it when we were discussing the point when you commit yourself to action during an altercation.

“Bruce” the Dummy
It was good working with the dummy today. It gives a different kind of feed back and adds much needed dimension to the drills we practice. Compared to striking the heavy bag here at home, the dummy is much better in the sense that it is more anatomically correct and gives you a better feedback on the placement of your strikes. It was the first time I had struck the thing so I didn’t really hit into it very hard not knowing what to expect. I anticipate that the more I work with it, the more comfortable I will become with it. Bill mentioned that the delivered price on the unit was around $300… Perhaps a worthy addition for working out here at home.

Downward Block
This was the last block we learned before learning the Orange Belt form. It really didn’t feel right as I was practicing it. Bill has clarified the specifics of the block for me and it’s better now, but I really just need to practice more. The problem I was having was in the torque and keeping the correct angle in my arm (bend of the elbow). I’ll work on it.

Orange Belt Form
Our first form! It is actually a rather simple set of moves consisting of the four blocks that we have learned thus far. A whopping 15 minutes after being introduced to this new form, Alexandra and I were being critiqued by the purple belts, and they had good feedback for us.