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.