07.23.05 - Saturday Training

New Items Today:

1. Elbow Strikes (with the Dummy)
2. Cross Stance and Back Kick (with the Dummy)
3. Kick: Thrust Kick (with the Dummy)
4. ¼ Speed Sparring

Reviewed other items:

1. Kick: Ball Kicks
2. Kick: Roundhouse Kicks
3. Form: Orange Belt Form
4. Lunge Punch

Dummy Work
We worked with “Bruce”, the dummy again today, reviewing the ball kick, roundhouse kick and the lunge punch but we also learned some other items today as well. We learned two ways of striking with the elbow, a back kick from a cross stance, and the thrust kick. It is interesting watching the purple belts and the reactions that come from the dummy when they strike it. Walt is the power hitter, Alex has excellent focus on technique and develops power from that technique, and Phyl has less power but focuses on technique and precision. Of course, Alexandra and I are still trying to learn the basics but it will be interesting to see if we wind up following one of their styles or if we develop our own.

¼ Speed Sparring
This was the first introduction to Kenpo sparring for Alexandra and me in class. Phyl, Walt, Alex and Bill rotated through and we all basically wound up sparring each other twice. The concept of sparring at this speed is to recognize basic body positions, movements, reactions and openings. Bill said that we should visualize ‘snapshots’ in our minds of body position for future reference. He went on to say that at this speed, every strike should be blocked, and every block should be effective. He also stressed to maintain ¼ speed, which got a chuckle from the purple belts, but after we were sparring for a while, I could see how easy it is to unintentionally pick up the pace.

The sparring was a lot of fun. I was fighting Taekwondo tendencies in the beginning and focusing too hard in trying to restrict myself to using only the strikes and blocks we had learned thus far in class. After being frustrated for the first several minutes, I abandoned that and just did what felt natural to me, using what I have learned from anywhere. The result was interesting. I found that the Kenpo blocks felt natural, I tend to throw knees, kicks and elbows often, Walt and Alex tie me up good, and I have an ability to get inside on my opponent but often don’t know what to do when I get there. It was productive on many levels and look forward to doing it again.

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.

07.09.05 - Saturday Training

New items today:

1. Block: Upward Block
2. Salute: Full Formal Salute

Reviewed other items:

1. Foot Maneuver: Step-drag
2. Kick: Roundhouse
3. Block: Extended Outward

Largely reviewed and practiced items that we have already gone over. There were a few items specific to those we reviewed that I need to work on:

Foot Maneuver: Step-Drag
I have a tendency to lift the trailing foot instead of maintaining contact with the floor/ground. Bill stated that it is important that both feet maintain contact with the floor/ground at all times unless you intentionally bring them up (ie.: to kick). He has been bringing in ‘real world’ factors as he describes the drills we are doing and explained that the floor we are practicing on is predictably flat, but the surface we may find ourselves on (should the need arise to defend ourselves) could be anything. With this maneuver, always maintain contact with the floor and literally drag the trailing foot during the exercise.

Kick: Roundhouse
Bill went through some of the specific technical aspects of the roundhouse kick today, specifically ‘rolling’ or ‘pointing’ the hip of the kicking leg in the direction of the kick. Doing so almost forces the leg into the correct position for executing a proper kick. If you don’t get the hip into position, it is almost impossible for your foot to kick in the horizontal plane.

I have practiced this and find that I am weak kicking with my left leg. My hip feels like I need to stretch it out more. I’ll work on it.

Final notes at the end of class:

• Bill stated that he is going to start bringing “Bruce”, the striking dummy, to class more consistently and that we may want to bring tennis shoes to class to work out in while kicking the dummy.

07.07.05 - T.K.I Welcomes Larry Lauer

Larry is a 4th degree black belt in Chinese Kenpo through the IKCA. He recently moved from Canada to Connecticut and was in our area visiting family. Bill and Larry frequently communicate over an internet message board on the topic of Kenpo.

Larry started out with us by teaching us a drill, or part of a drill, that comes from the Arnis system. He called it “hubud” and it is a focus drill that teaches speed and proper technique. He stressed that it was not a power drill, and Alexandra and I (the two white belts) were told to practice the exercise in a slower motion for accuracy and the speed would come through repetition. The movements themselves are relatively simple and repeat back and forth between two partners in a sort of circular motion. After we did this for several minutes, Larry added another step to the exercise; a sort of take down or arm drag coming out of the block and parry motions. While Alexandra and I were doing this, he taught a more advanced version of the same thing for Bill and the purple belts.

The purple belts were doing the exercise and one side would randomly decide when to do a the take down. After the take down, they resumed the hubud drill and the other side chose when to do the take down. We did this for several minutes more before Larry stopped the drills.

In reviewing the hubud drill, he stressed the importance of the 45 deg angles of the arms and hands and explained why it was important. He also reiterated that this was a speed drill – not a power drill - and it takes some people many years to master the exercise.

At this point of the class, Alexandra and I stood to the side and watched Bill and the purple belts go through several techniques. Larry watched them all go through a line and then gave his opinion and pointers from his perspective. There were a few times that he quickly determined that he simply teaches a given technique slightly different than Bill does, and that is fine. It was clear that he likes several of the concepts that Kenpo uses such as “marriage of gravity” and “opposing forces”. During several of the techniques he gave examples of how these concepts are applied.

While Alexandra and I were observing, I took several pictures of Bill, Larry, and the purple belts. At the end of the seminar, we all thanked Larry and there were some more pictures taken of the class, as well as Bill and Larry posing together.

Bill Parsons & Larry Lauer