09.24.05 - Saturday Training

New items today:

1. Kick: Rear Leg Roundhouse
2. Kick: Replacement Side Kick
3. Maneuvering Drills

Reviewed other items:

1. Maneuvering Drills
2. Technique: Thunder & Lightning
3. Technique: Escaping Ram
4. Technique: Thrusting Release
5. Form: Orange Belt Form

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Kick: Rear Leg Roundhouse
This kick is pretty much exactly how it sounds as you are executing a roundhouse kick with the back leg of your stance. However, I was finding some interesting things going on with my legs as I tried to resemble what Bill was doing. The same kick in TKD is different and I found myself immediately going into TKD habits because they were comfortable. I have found that since I kick with the ball of the foot in Kenpo, the initial alignment of the leg and foot are critical to making it work. In TKD I kick with the instep of the foot and it seems to afford more room for error.

This kick in Kenpo requires the same core aspects as the replacement roundhouse kick in that you are centered over the leg and maintain that control. There is a roll in the hip and a snap at the knee, as well as striking with the ball of the foot. More details are in the technical side of my notes.

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Kick: Replacement Side Kick
This kick was completely new to class in Kenpo but still has many familiar aspects as the other kicks. Still centering over the main support leg, but this time the knee comes up and the leg extends out with about the back third of the outside ridge of the foot being the primary striking surface. The three key points that were emphasized in class were to flex the toes up, roll the hip, and bring that knee up. Bill also suggested visualizing or actually practicing in a narrow hallway as this kick is linear and compact in nature. The back third of the outer edge of the foot is used because you have the strength and mass of the entire leg behind it – penetration and effectiveness are the result. Bill did warn not to get lazy about flexing the tows up when kicking. Failure to do so can possibly result in injury to your foot.

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Maneuvering Drills
We worked on some pretty basic maneuvering drills this morning. I call them basic because they consisted entirely of footwork that we have used and practiced with to this point. However, I was surprised at how easily confused I was in moving in these new patterns. If nothing else, it shows that I’m still not ultimately comfortable with the footwork and need to continue to practice until I can flow from position to position without so much concentration. Some of the drill combinations were as follows:
- Step-drag, ball kick, step through
- Step-drag, back fist, ball kick.

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Form: Orange Belt Form
Alexandra and I reviewed the form again together this week. We didn’t spend a lot of time on it but we did it a couple of times and received critique from Bill and the Purple Belts. The main item that came up the most in the critiques was that the blocks need to be accurate and they need to ‘snap’ into place. On several occasions now, Bill has mentioned how the torque used in the blocks starts out in the arms but eventually you will be comfortable enough that you will ultimately have your whole body involved in the motion. I can see it when they do it, but I’m still working on it myself.

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Techniques: Thunder & Lightning, Escaping Ram, Thrusting Release
Alexandra and I went through Thunder & Lightning as well as Escaping Ram relatively quickly for purposes of review today. However, most of our time was spent focusing on Thrusting Release. This was one of the techniques that I was exposed to out in California when I went to the WCKC with Bill and Walt. Shawn Monday and Jerry Brooksher went through this with us and I immediately had questions for Bill when we returned. Because of this, I felt a little more comfortable with the general mechanical movements and spent our practice time trying to tune them in. There is a certain flow of movement and energy that just works good when you do it correctly. I’ve had it a few times but it isn’t consistent yet.

Alexandra was less comfortable with it as this is only the second time we have actually worked with it in class. The first time was at least a couple sessions ago and it wasn’t an in-depth study of the technique. Working with her reminded me that I need to watch my hands as they come forward… they should come up to the floating ribs at a 45 degree angle from their points of origin at my sides (since my arms are presumably pinned). I had originally been bringing my arms up my sides and thrusting forward with them. It actually took some time and practice for me to break that habit and I don’t know why. I couldn’t think of anything else that I currently practice that would conflict with this type of movement. Regardless, I’m better at it now and still improving.

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Final Notes at the End of Class:
- Lasagna dinner at Bill’s place set for Saturday, October 1st at 5:00pm
- There will be no practice on Saturday, October 8th as Bill and I have to work
- Kenpo practice in Vass, NC on Saturday, October 22.