11.18.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Drills (Attacking Warrior)
2. Ground Fighting – Kimura Defense & Reversal

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Warming up with Basics
2. Mat Work
3. Techniques

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Warm-ups
We began with our normal warm up and stretching today with some additional drills and exercises targeting the basics, such as kicks, blocks and foot maneuvers. It was rather aerobic today and we worked up a nice light sweat right away.

Immediately following the warm-up drills, we started in with a series of moves that essentially became the Blue belt technique Attacking Warrior. I worked with Marty for this portion of the class. We squared off facing each other in a right neutral bow. Taking turns, we first started by exchanging a simple right handed back fist intended for the right temple of our training partner. We took turns, making sure we had good control and proper range. The next step in the sequence was to have the defensive partner intercept the back fist with a right outward block. Adding to this sequence, the ‘attacker’ follows the back fist with a right replacement roundhouse kick to the lower abdomen. Still adding to this series, the next movement was a lunge punch to the ribs and then a final variation took this lunge punch to the head. For the most part, we focused as a class on the gross movements of this technique. Toward the end of the exercise, Sifu went through some additional fine points with the Blue belts in class.

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Mat Work
The work we did on the mats today was largely review and practice of previous items. Starting out we did forward rolls, first staying down after the roll and then coming back up in a neutral bow to face our would-be assailant. I did relatively well today on the mats but am still a little weak on my left side. I feel that I am improving but it is taking longer than I would like, probably because this one is difficult to practice at home. We wrapped up the mat work with some ‘push drills’, for lack of a better term. We’ve done this before; basically we line up and Sifu attempts to distract us with some sort of engaging conversation while the person behind us pushes us forward at some random interval of timing. Of course, this is only a marginal surprise at best since we all know what is coming but it still allows for a little bit of practice at being pushed while off guard. Besides that, it’s fun.

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Ground Fighting
Marty took us through some exercises in ground fighting today that were a bit different from what we have done in the past. Reflecting back in my mind on what we did, I’m having a hard time thinking of a good way to put it into words. We started off by very quickly reviewing the Kimura as the focus today was to learn a Kimura defense and a counter defense. There were a couple of things that I kept thinking about as we were doing these exercises. Everything on the ground is about leverage but sometimes you can cheat the leverage with strength if you find it impossible to get the correct position. Of course, with your opponent on the ground fighting you every step of the way, this can be quite strenuous and if you come to rely on strength instead of technique, I can see where you would quickly tire and be injured or submitted. Angles and positioning seem to be everything in this game.

The other item we covered today with Marty was reversal using a sort of “scissor kick”. This takes you from your back on the bottom to a better position on top. This one is particularly hard for me to describe, and quite honestly, I don’t know if I could remember how to do it. As with the other items, it is all about leverage and position. As we were practicing, I wasn’t getting it right and Marty offered some corrections. When I finally pulled it off, I realized that it was the subtle moves that I was missing that made the difference. That doesn’t mean that the other movements required weren’t important, just that without everything working together it is very difficult to make it work at all. When all of the pieces come together correctly, it’s like a key turning smoothly in a lock. Otherwise, it’s like using the wrong key – and that is where the experience comes in.

11.11.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Focus Pad Drills

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Warming up with Basics
2. Techniques
3. ¼ Speed Sparring

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Warm-ups
We did a lot of stretching as part of our warm ups today, particularly the arms, shoulders and wrists. Sifu reminded us of the importance of staying limber and properly stretching, especially when practicing some of the Hapkido joint manipulations that we do. If, say, the wrist joints weren’t properly prepared for the strain, the result may be injury to you or your training partner. This was more a reminder than anything as he has gone through this before, but he made sure we were clear on the topic before we got started.

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Focus Pad Drills
Sifu had us all pair up and work some drills with the focus pads today. I was paired up with Phyl. The first thing we did was to do a basic 1-2-3 combination starting with a right cross punch, then coming back across center with a right back-fist, finishing with a left lunge punch. We have done this before and I was relatively comfortable with the drill itself but Phyl and I had an additional challenge today. The focus pads we were using were about 8” square and were a bit unstable if you didn’t hit them right in the middle of the pad where the other’s hand was backing up the pad. A little to the right or the left and there was literally no resistance as the pad twisted and the striker’s fist just rolled off. The first time it happened I was a little surprised but decided it was a good thing because it really forced me to focus on nailing that pad dead center. When Phyl and I switched pads, I know he was dealing with the same thing.

After the basic combination was established, we added to the drill by stepping into range of the targets in order to strike. We were given some wide leeway on how to accomplish this so I used several different methods of closing the gap. First it was just a simple step-drag. Then I was working with a push-drag to see how well that worked. I also did a step-through to advance into the pads. All worked well for the exercise but I’m sure it would depend on the situation as to which would be the best avenue in a real altercation. We worked this a bit more before we moved on to techniques.

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Techniques
Jeff and I worked together on techniques again, basically picking up where we left off last week with Purple belt techniques. I went through Captured Wing, Clapping Tiger and Raking Hammer, which were the only techniques I didn’t get to last week. I had a question with Raking Hammer and borrowed Phyl for advice. The final leg buckle that occurs simultaneously with the rising elbow was the area of my question – I wasn't sure what direction I should be shooting my leg for that buckle. As I did the technique with Jeff, I tried it several ways and it seemed to work with each one. When I asked Phyl we determined that my right leg should be going out to about 3:00 o’clock when I do that leg buckle to the inside of his leg. This opens him up the best and the angle is good for the accompanying elbow. (Thanks, Phyl!)

After we finished up with that, Jeff and I started going through his techniques again from the beginning. Just as we were getting started, Sifu came over and instructed us to take Alfredo through some techniques that Sifu had just taught him: Thunder and Lightning, Escaping Ram, and Thrusting Release. We started with Thunder and Lighting and just did the technique in the air several times. After that we did sort of a ‘mini technique line’ with the three of us doing just Thunder and Lighting. It worked out pretty good because we all went through the line twice and then we lined up and started the process over with the next technique.

It was interesting to watch Alfredo as he was going through the techniques after just learning them 10 minutes prior. First off, he has a lot of positive energy about him and seems genuinely excited to be learning what we do at TKI. That in itself makes working with him fun but perhaps the more interesting thing was that in watching him and his interpretations of what he had been taught just moments ago it brought back so many memories of myself when I was going though that at White belt and again when I was learning the techniques at Orange belt. I can only assume this will continue as I progress but it was still interesting watching him assimilate everything. I can’t say how much working with Walt, Alex, & Phyl also helped me to develop understanding as they all approach things from slightly different perspectives. I only hope that I’ll be able to assist Alfredo as much as they have helped me.

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¼ Speed Sparring
The last thing we did today was to get in some sparring. We all paired up and rotated out every few minutes. I think we all were able to spar with everyone else, although we were running a little late and the rounds started getting short toward the end of class.

It was a good sparring session for me today. I purposely left my hands open and loose as instructed by Sifu a couple of weeks ago and it seemed to help me from tightening up. I moved a bit more freely and that always helps. I don’t know why but I was a little more loose today anyway so it just felt good to move around. I did try one thing in particular that I have been thinking about for some time. Lately when I spar with Alex he has been working to get to my back. Although I didn’t let him get there today, he still managed to get my back but this time I did something a little different. As soon as I realized our relative positions, I maneuvered such that his head was basically over my right shoulder. I reached up and laced my fingers around his head at his neck and then went down to a knee. The effect was a little bit unexpected but part of that was me being timid about the takedown. I wasn’t sure what it was going to do so I hesitated a little bit in the beginning. Ultimately I went to my knee and Alex essentially rolled over me to the mat. He was looking to take a piece of me with him the whole way but I managed to stay clear of him. He was up as fast as he went down, smoothly rolling up to his feet. I didn’t follow up with anything but it was good to experiment with something new and get some sort of positive result.

Another interesting round was with Alfredo. His background seems to be strong with wrestling and grappling and I tried to take that into account when we got started. Alfredo has a heavier build that me and can probably muscle me around pretty good if he wants too. I think he was a little surprised though the first time he attempted to do that. I’m not sure what it was he was attempting to do but he pretty much just reached straight out to me and pulled me into him. His guard was such that I couldn’t lead with a punch so I just folded my arm and let the point of my elbow drive into his chest. As soon as my elbow made contact I unhinged my arm for a back-fist to the nose (no contact of course) and then retreated back out with a scoop kick on departure. He seemed stunned. I thought I might have accidentally caught him with something and asked if he was ok. He just got a big smile on his face and said that nobody had ever countered like that before. I don’t know if my maneuver was strictly Kenpo or not but I do know that the concepts and principles I used were straight up knowledge passed down from Sifu. I can’t remember how many times I have sparred with him and he has told me (shown me) to use the borrowed force of the attacker against them. After mentally reviewing that little maneuver, I’m glad to see that some of his training is sinking in!!

My round with Sifu was also interesting today. He actually took me down to the mat today! I maintained control of his right arm as we went down and after we hit the mat, and basically was able to stalemate him long enough to stand up but when I turned around to face him again he was already up too. Some times I feel like an escape artist instead of a martial artist when it comes to take downs and ground fighting. I’m feeling more comfortable if I go to the ground but I don’t have much of an arsenal there yet so as a rule I just escape and get to my feet as soon as possible. I definitely need to work on this a little more.

Unfortunately my rounds with Phyl and Walt were short. Hopefully I’ll be able to make that up another time. Jeff, as always, has those long range kicks. At ¼ speed it’s hard to throw a high kick and it’s also pretty easy to catch one. The thing is, I know that Jeff can kick hard and fast and at full speed, I don’t know that I would be as willing or tempted to step into one of his kicks. That thought always goes through my mind when we are doing slower speed sparring because I’m wondering “okay, if I wouldn’t really do this in a fight, why am I rushing in now?” and I usually try to alter my movements. This usually looks and feels awkward and very unsmooth because of the hesitation. I’ll have to think about how to overcome that little hurdle for next time.

11.04.06 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Pursuit Drills

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Warming up with Basics
2. Foot Maneuvers
3. Techniques

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Warm-ups
Our warm up today focused on the basics. We did the usual stretches and then went into stances, specifically the neutral bow. Sifu told us to focus intently on form and not necessarily speed today as we were warming up. From the neutral bow we did step drags, step throughs, switches & covers, and more. We eventually went into some other foot maneuvers…

We did a crossover drill that reminded me of something from football practice, except specific to crossovers. We did crossovers up and down the mat several times. We also did some kick advances with the crossovers and just sort of mixed things up a bit. I think the point today was to be able to move correctly into and out of these different maneuvers and stances. Correctly? Yes, as in sticking to the basics like staying over your supporting leg, keeping your knees bent properly, not bobbing up and down, keeping control of your center of gravity, and no dead legging. Sifu also quizzed us as we were doing these things asking why we do them this way. It has been a while since we have done this type of drilling so it was kind of fun to do it again.

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Pursuit Drills
After we were good and warmed up, Sifu paired us up and we did something new, or at least new for me. I started out with Phyl and we went back and forth up the mat. The first exercise we did had Phyl advancing toward me with a series of kicks as defined by Sifu. I did a rear step-through to retreat as he advanced, simply supplying a frame of reference for targeting. Once we reached the end of the mat, it was my turn and Phyl retreated for me as we traversed back to the original starting point.

The next part of the drill involved a little more spontaneity. Instead of set movements, the ‘aggressor’ used whatever kicks he wanted and the other ‘defender’ retreated in the same fashion. Again, we took turns going up and down the mat.

The next part was fun. The ‘aggressor’ did the same thing but the ‘defender’ (really the guy getting kicked, because we weren’t defending at all) would give a body reaction for the given kick. In other words, if the kick was to the groin, then the dummy would react as though he were kicked in the groin, and so on. There was no contact (well, not really) and it turned out to be as much of an exercise for me to figure out what my particular body reaction should be to a given strike as it was for the kicker to kick at available targets. It was also interesting to see what Phyl considered a target versus the targets I was pursuing. Great exercise.

There was a completely different pursuit drill following this one. This time Sifu essentially divided the mat in half and assigned one half to each pair of people. This time I was paired up with Walt. Sifu put the ‘defender’ in about the middle of the mat and told the ‘attacker’ to try to get past the defender to the back panel of the mat. If the defender kicked you in a viable target, you were to reset and try again. The main purpose of this was to use footwork and maneuvers to move around and control the movement of the ‘attacker’ with kicks alone.

We started. I don’t remember who was attacking and defending first but I remember defending against Walt. As he would move in, he would fake and try to juke in the opposite direction, like in football. For the most part, I would maintain an appropriate distance and when he would try to get by I would kick to a vital target. At first this didn’t seem terribly difficult but we were just sort of testing the waters. Then Walt picked it up a notch. At one point he just flat sprinted past me. Point for Walt. On another attempt, he dove into a roll low to one side and almost got by me. Still another time he did the same thing but dove high to the opposite side, and probably got by me on that one as well. Then we switched sides.

As Walt defended, he took a different approach. He was much more aggressive and tried to box me into a corner to prevent me from moving freely. This was relatively effective. He was right up on me and I just so badly wanted to bring a knee up to the groin and then bolt for the point! Alas, that was against the rules so I just went back to maneuvers. The only way I had any luck with Walt was to get him to commit to a kick on the edge of his range and then go around him as he was trying to adjust. This was only marginally successful but I did manage to make it work at least once. This was an interesting exercise and one of the things that makes it interesting is that I don’t know yet what I would do next time to be more successful at getting past the defender. Need to ponder that.

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Techniques
The last thing we did today was work technique. This time, Jeff and I were teamed up and we started with the Orange belt techniques. Led by Sifu, we started off doing the technique slowly and then faster. We went through them in the order of the Master form beginning with Beheading the Dragon. We focused largely on accuracy of the technique but we also went over covering out – both single and double cross out.

Upon completion of the Orange belt techniques we went right into the Purple. I was working the techniques on Jeff and, quite honestly, I haven’t worked technique much on a body and it was showing. It was good to work them as I was having some issues. On Circling Serpent, I was stepping forward on the initial movement, sort of at a 10:30 angle. Upon seeing how crowded I was coming back in, Sifu corrected me and had me step out more to 9:00 on the first step. What a difference! Air Kenpo is great for practice but it is just different working on a body. Another item that Sifu went over with me on this technique was the grab at the shoulder. He didn’t feel that I had a firm enough grasp of the gi. He showed how the grasp needs to be tight in order to maintain control during and after the take down.

We worked through several more techniques as Sifu worked with the Blue belts. It was great to work technique again… it seemed like it has been a while. I certainly need the practice!