03.24.07 - Saturday Practice

Reviewed Items:

1. Focus Mit Drills
2. Purple Belt Kicking Drill
3. Mat Work
4. Technique Line
5. Techniques

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Warm Ups and Drills
We had a good warm up today with some additional focus on leg stretching. My lower back was feeling pretty good today and I was moving relatively well overall. Upon conclusion of the warm ups, we did some yes-no drills with the focus mitts. I was paired up with Percheryl today and it was the first time I have worked with her. She hits fast and it seems that she works well with speed. When it was my turn to hit, I was surprised that I was off a bit when we went to a 4-count after our 3-count drills. Before I could really settle in, the drill was over and we moved on.

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Purple Belt Kicking Drill
The class lined up and we got in position for the Purple belt Kicking Drill. We worked our way up the mat repeating the drill twice before turning around and coming back utilizing the drill on the other side. As usual, Sifu called out the kicking order at first and eventually just said “go” and we did the full set of moves on our own up and back. I lost count of how many times I heard “one more time…” but I’m guessing we did at least a couple of hundred kicks. I had a good sweat going by the time we finished the kicking drill.

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Mat Work
We did some light mat work today. I have been a little leery of the mat work since my dizziness a while ago but it hasn’t seemed to come back, at least not in class. We did some forward rolls staying down, and then coming up. After everyone got comfortable, we did some push-drills. For those that are able, they did air rolls – something that I still haven’t been able to do yet. When I attempt it, it’s more like an air crash. At least that’s what it feels like. After 20 minutes or so, we put the mats up and moved on to the next item for the day.

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Technique Line
We did a technique line next and the way we did it was interesting. Instead of one person doing the same technique all the way through the line and then moving to the end, we did a technique against a given attack. Since we have a variety of experience in the class, it was interesting to see the different techniques, particularly from Percheryl who is from another system altogether. We did defenses against straight and round punches from the left and the right. Good stuff. After concluding the technique line, we discussed some of the principles and concepts before finishing up class and bowing out for the day.

03.17.07 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Testing!

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Ball Kicks
2. Stances & Footwork
3. Purple Belt Kicking Drill
4. Mat Work
5. Forms

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Ball Kicks
When I arrived this morning at about 6:50am or so, Walt had already finished his pre-test for Green belt. He must have just finishes as he was still sweating pretty freely at the time. I got dressed and we started class with some basics – ball kicks. After several repetitions, we lined up and did some stance work and maneuvers up and down the mat. We did step drags, step throughs, and covers. This led nicely into our next set of drills.

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Purple Belt Kicking Drill
We again lined up on one end of the mat and practiced the Purple belt kicking drill. We went up twice and then back. I was pretty relaxed doing this drill today because I have been practicing it every night this week as I prepare for my Purple belt test. I did get a little too relaxed at one point and lost my balance, which was just a reminder to keep focused. Sifu was largely focusing on teaching the drill to those in class that were learning it so I just hunkered down and focused on technique and flow.

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Mat Work
Next up was some mat work to practice break falls. We started out with the normal routine, just a forward roll and staying down at the end of the roll – alternating sides each turn. After that we started doing the forward roll coming up into a fighting stance. I started feeling a little dizzy at this point but just tried to shake it off. I often get a little vertigo when we do the mat work so I didn’t think much of it. After a couple of turns Sifu had us come up out of the roll and do a combination of strikes.

I don’t know what happened but I really started to lose focus as I came out of the roll. After the 2nd or 3rd one like this, I came up out of the roll and literally couldn’t see – I just about blacked out. It was near instantaneous and seemed to clear. I got back in line and tried it again. It seemed to get worse the more I pushed. Eventually I just left the mat and sat down. I couldn’t get my focus back and I felt like I was in a fog, my eyes just wouldn’t focus clearly. Sifu asked if I hit my head, and I told him truthfully “no”. He checked me over a little bit and just let me recover there for a few minutes.

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Forms
Phyl took Jeff and I and went through the Orange belt portion of the Master Form. This was the first time that Jeff had been formally shown this form and it was also the first time (that I can recall) that Phyl lead the instruction for this. I thought they both did a great job! Jeff was recently promoted to Orange belt (Woo Hoo! Congrats, Jeff!!) but had the basic directions down by about the fourth time or so through it, which I felt was a testament to both Jeff’s ability to pick up the form and Phyl’s ability to teach it. Very cool. I know this part of the Master Form but I was still a little unsteady and was grateful for the practice as I tried to clear the fog out of my head. Sifu stepped in a couple of times and had first Jeff do the form on his own, and then I did it solo. We took critique from everyone else there. My critiques were to focus on the flow of motion in the form – I seemed a bit tight. Also, be mindful of angles and targets. Finally, Sifu mentioned that the location of the final target for Thunder and Lighting (Ha Gwan) is likely to be lower than where I was striking.

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Purple Belt Test
At some point while we were practicing, Sifu asked me if I felt like I wanted to pre-test today at the end of class. I told him that I wanted to. We had discussed this briefly earlier in the week and I had been looking forward to it. I still had a head full of fog and was doing my level best to stay focused. I was a little surprised when he pulled us together and asked everyone if it was okay with them that we used some class time to do my pre-test. I really have to thank the guys because everyone was okay with this. While Sifu was setting up the camera, I worked with Jeff a little bit as he agreed to dummy for me. Jeff was originally set to do this but I had changed one of my extensions and it was something that I had to warn him about so he knew to expect it. It was a rising elbow following a hammer-fist to the groin, which means it is largely a ‘hidden’ strike. If I surprised him with this, I could potentially clock him pretty good. As it turned out, we wound up going over all of my extensions briefly just to refresh. Then we got started.

Thinking back now, I recall my Orange belt test – when I ‘forgot’ how to salute! I blame the camera… I just froze. Nothing doing this time as I managed to get through the Formal Salute just fine. I do recall missing one of the first techniques, perhaps it was Beheading the Dragon, but I remember thinking “Ok, there’s your ‘oops’, now it’s out of the way”. I was focusing on the instructions and just trying to keep whatever my problem was at bay. I honestly don’t remember some of the test. As I got toward the end of my techniques, I started to fade again. I did get through it though.

I finished up and when it was clear, I came over to the edge of the mat with the guys and just took a knee for a minute. Sifu gave me a couple of minutes and the guys all had words of encouragement. I have to say I was more than a little shocked when Sifu called me over to the center of the mat – for my new Purple Belt!! Internally, I was thinking I would clear my head and do better on my final test but Sifu says I did better than I think.

We did the ceremonial belt tying and I was so excited that I almost tied the final knot, and would have if Sifu hadn’t stopped me. He finished the knot and asked if I wanted to be kicked in. Of course I did! I was thinking: “OK, this time I’m not moving!” Inhale… Exhale... Kiai... and... I moved!! I couldn’t help it!! A penetrating thrust kick to your center. Rooted or not, I was moving and I could either land on my butt or adjust my feet - I made the adjustment.

My thanks to Sifu and the guys in class. I’ve learned so much from all of you. Also, special thanks to Jeff for being my dummy on the test – great job!

03.10.07 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Ground Fighting: Chokes & Submissions

Reviewed other items:

1. Warm-Ups
2. Crescent Kicks
3. Purple Belt Kicking Drill
4. Techniques

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Warm Ups
Our warm up routine today consisted of a fair amount of leg stretching as well as some additional stretching at the wrists and shoulders. I was happy about this as my shoulder is giving me fits again lately, but I made it through class without dislocating it today.

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Purple Belt Kicking Drill
Once we were good and loose, we worked up and down the mat several times with the Purple belt kicking drill. The mat is a large enough area that we can do the complete drill twice in a row before coming back. I don’t know how many kicks that amounts to but it sure seemed like a lot! I have been doing this kicking drill as part of my daily workout routine so I was feeling pretty comfortable with it. The most challenging thing for me while doing this drill is to stay low. It’s really easy to get straight legged when you start to get tired and usually what happens to me is that my balance starts to go. So… if I start to lose my balance, I just check my form and it usually comes down to bending the knees.

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Groundwork – Chokes & Submissions
Marty has us working chokes today as part of our groundwork training. The primary choke we worked with was the guillotine choke but we applied it a couple of ways. The first method was to use the arm around the attacker’s neck to pinch or squeeze off the carotid artery, thus restricting blood flow and eventually causing a black out. The second method we dealt with was applying pressure directly to the larynx using the ‘blade’ of your arm, which is very painful and can cause a lot of damage. Obviously both of these types of chokes can be dangerous to practice and both Marty and Sifu stated several times to be alert and honor the tap!

We went through several partners as we practiced the moves. We started out in a position where we applied the choke while standing, with one partner essentially volunteering to be choked. We did this to get the feeling of the choke. One thing I picked up right away is the position of the arm can make a big difference. As the ‘attacker’ manages to get his head in the V of your arm, you use your other arm to grab your own hand and pull, creating the leverage for the choke. However, at first my choking arm was basically palm-side up, and when I pulled for leverage, it took more than I expected to get the tap. I varied this a little bit by rotating my fist to a position where the thumb was pointing upwards, which rotated the bone in my arm toward the choke point. The strength required to get the desired effect was probably 50% or less than my original attempt. Definitely worth noting.

After we were comfortable with the position of the choke, we did some other items related to getting in position for the choke. We brought the attacker to the ground and into various positions. We also discussed briefly some defenses against the choke, one of which was more effective than I would have imagined. I think it is instinctive, at least for me, to buy your chin when someone attempts to choke you. It’s also pretty instinctive to pull down on the arm of the person choking you. If you are able to do these things, you have a few more choices at hand than you might have thought. I happened to be paired up with Brandon at this point in the class and we tested this. I had my chin tucked and one arm pulling his choke arm away, nullifying the choke. He was at my back and had his hooks in (his feet were wrapped around me and tucked in near my groin). What we discovered is that I was able to avoid the choke, but it was very difficult, if not impossible, to escape. I take into account that we were not striking and that may make the difference as I did have one arm free. However, the strikes would hardly be optimal as they would be largely elbow strikes and hammer fists to whatever targets I could get to. Ultimately, it was a stalemate.

The other item to note here was that it takes a lot of energy to try to work yourself out of a ground attack, especially fending off a choke. Although I am feeling more comfortable on the ground and can probably escape some of the typical ground fighters attacks, I think my game is still stand up. I have found stability and rooting on my feet that I haven’t been able to ‘feel’ on the ground yet and I would rather put the energy into a flurry of strikes than rolling around on the ground. However, I can definitely see the benefit of learning the ground game, if for no other reason than to know what to expect and how to get out of it.

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Techniques
Sifu took part of the class and I joined Phyl, Marty and Elliot to work technique. For the most part we just did a technique line with Phyl and I rotating out at the head of the line working our own stuff. I worked through my Orange belt techniques and then went through and worked my Orange belt extensions. I’m not sure which techniques Phyl was doing but I assume he was doing something similar to what I was doing. Thanks to Marty and Elliot to lending their bodies for Phyl and I to work with.

As always, there were a couple of techniques that we wound up in conversation about as we worked through them. There was one in particular that Elliot and Phyl do slightly different involving a leg sweep. Apparently the biggest difference is the attacker – does he step through with the punch or is it more of a lunge punch? As we worked through it, we could definitely see the differences in the technique as adjustments have to be made for it to work properly.

I got to my Returning Serpent technique and extension and had another good discussion regarding body reaction and position. My extension is an addition to the base technique where I move up the circle and deliver a hammer fist to the groin, then a rear scoop kick and finally a rear heal kick. I think Phyl and Elliot were both looking at this and thinking the same thing – add an additional rising elbow to the chin after the hammer fist to the groin. I was resistant at first, mainly because I have been practicing for the last two weeks the other way!! Phyl took on the roll of attacker and I went through the technique slowly as Phyl provided appropriate body reactions to each strike. After watching carefully, I think he and Elliot are exactly right. The initial hammer fist to the groin will likely drop his body or bring it slightly forward, which lines up the rising elbow perfectly, which in turn sends his head back and presents the groin again for the scoop kick. Once again, the body will either drop slightly or come forward slightly which lends perfectly to the final rear heel kick to the solar plexus. In watching Phyl as I worked through the strikes, there was a sort of ‘see-saw’ motion of the body that I was working with. Even though I was resistant to adding the additional strike at first, I can see now that it just fits nicely and probably should have been there from the beginning.

Another item that Phyl and I discussed was timing for body reaction. It came up on my extension for Deflecting Thunder where I have a downward palm heel followed by an eye rake. I was sort of blurring the two motions together, not pausing for the appropriate body reaction for the strikes. Phyl stated that Larry Lauer had taken he, Walt and Alex aside at the last Kenpo in the Carolinas Seminar and had mentioned this to them as he watched them work through their techniques. In my extension, Phyl suggested that I put the appropriate ‘pause’ for the body reaction of the downward palm heel to the bridge of the nose (in don) before a fully committed eye rake (more on the eye rake in a minute). He also mentioned that I should utilize marriage of gravity when coming down for the palm heel strike – it’s not all arm.

Phyl also took the time to explain the eye rake a bit more in detail. The way I was doing it, the rake was more or a less a flat vertical rake that was essentially ‘all arm’ in movement and power. We stepped over to the B.O.B.s and he showed me how to do the eye rake with more power. When coming down with the eye rake, the elbow moves to an anchored position at the ribs, which allows for a downward arcing motion of the claw hand. This change is dramatic in comparison when you think about it. Instead of just raking the surface of the attacker’s face in a vertical plane, by anchoring the elbow and “digging in”, so to speak, the effectiveness of the rake goes up exponentially.

I learned much today and I thank everyone in class that I worked with. You guys make the difference and I appreciate your help very much. Thanks.

A Special Invitation

Don't miss out on

KENPO in the CAROLINAS 2007

Sponsored by:

Triangle Kenpo Institute

and

Health Dynamics Integrated Wellness

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Featured Instructor:

International Karate Connection Association

KENPO GRANDMASTER VIC LEROUX

Kenpo Takedowns and Parker Knife Technique

Additional Instructors:

LARRY LAUER - Lauer's Kenpo Karate

Relative Body Positioning

JERRY BROOKSHER - Brooksher's Kenpo Karate

Developing Spontaneity in Kenpo

BILL PARSONS - Triangle Kenpo Institute

Joint Manipulation 101

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Saturday - April 21, 2007

Open Door Baptist Church

9801 Durant Road - Raleigh, North Carolina

For a registration packet or for more information,

contact Bill Parsons at:

bill.parsons@trianglekenpo.com

03.03.07 - Saturday Practice

New Items Today:

1. Guest and New Student
2. BKF Punching DrillCountering a Throw

Reviewed Other Items:

1. Warm-Ups
2. Focus Mitts
3. Lunge Punches
4. Mat Work
5. Technique Line¼ Speed Sparring

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Guest and New Student to TKI
A gentleman from Ireland by the name of Donal has decided to work out with us while he is here working on assignment in Raleigh. He is a second degree Black belt in the Ed Parker American Kenpo system. He seems sharp and attentive and it was great to have him in class today.

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BKF Punching Drill
Sifu had us doing a drill that I vaguely remember doing in California during the West Coast Kenpo Confederation. I’m not sure what to call it but it came from Steve Mohammed and the BKF so I’m just going to call it the BKF Punching Drill. It’s interesting in how it opens up the attacker. It starts by stepping forward with the right foot while punching with the left, then is immediately followed by stepping forward with the left and punching with the right. It sounds simple but seems to run contrary to the way we have been wired.

When I first saw this, the drill was identical, but the targets were specific; the first punch with the left hand went to the patch on the gi which turned the body slightly, allowing for the perfect follow-up with the right straight in on his center. I’m not sure if the instructions Sifu gave us today were that specific, but that is the way Walt and I did the drill just the same. After getting past the feeling of “crossing yourself up”, it seems like this could work really well utilized correctly in the appropriate application.

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Focus Mitt Drills
We worked a bit with the pads again today, first with a combination that was really awkward for me, and then some “Yes-No-Yes” drills. The combination we did was reminiscent of the BKF drill but with a twist. The series started with the left foot forward and you throw a right straight punch to the left pad, then a right back knuckle to the right pad, then step forward with the right foot while throwing a left straight punch, and finishing with an elbow to the left pad. This felt so unnatural. With sincere focus, I could do the combination as described, but as soon as I ‘let go’ and tried to flow with it, my body just didn’t want to do this! I felt all crossed up and my timing felt way off, especially with that last elbow. We didn’t do this drill long and then moved on.
The other focus mitt drills we did were the “yes-no” drills. We did combinations of 3 and 4 with Sifu calling them out. I was partnered with Walt for this and he never holds back. When it was my turn, Walt reminded me to get more body torque involved in the punch, which improved the power of the strike. My accuracy was fine but my form needed that tweak from Walt. I did notice something today that I need to watch though, and I wonder if it comes from the heavy bag work I have been doing. The last thing I need is to be picking up bad habits there. What I noticed was that my punches seem to have increased their “hang time” a bit. One of the things I focused on very intently when I first started drilling Kenpo is the principle that the strike should return as fast as it goes out (or faster!). This holds true with both kicks and punches. It seemed today that my punching was hanging out there longer than I remember. I’ll have to watch and work on that.

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Lunge Punches
After the focus mitt drills, we did some quick lunge punching. We did 10 on each side at a moderate speed, and then did 10 more on each side at a faster pace as dictated by Sifu. The first set I focused primarily on form, making sure that I was turning the hips/torso correctly and bringing the foot up as close to 90 degrees as possible – and just as importantly, returning to the neutral bow position between punches. It’s really easy to let yourself cheat on this one and just keep the feet in place after the 3rd or 4th punch. When we sped up the form is supposed to be the same, of course, but things can get away from you a little bit if you try to rush too fast.

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Mat Work
We spent a fair amount of time on the mats today. We started out with just a regular forward roll staying down and breaking the fall. It seems like it had been a while since I had done this and the first couple were a little weak. After that, I was fine. Next was the forward roll coming up into a fighting stance or neutral bow. By this time I was warmed up and did fine on both the left and right sides. Then came the biggy. Sifu said: “For those who can, go ahead and do air rolls.” I know the technical items involved in an air roll, and have come really close to doing them, but today I seemed to just be crashing to the mat. I got to the point that it was beating me up worse than sparring and I decided to go back to forward rolls for a few turns. One of these days I’ll get that one down.

After a good warm up on the mats, we lined up facing away from the mirrors and did some push drills. At first it was just the idea of being pushed forward unexpectedly. I think everyone in class was familiar with this except possibly Brandon, and of course, Donal, who just joined us today. After a couple of turns, Sifu stepped in and started pushing us, except he didn’t push the way we typically do. Generally when we push the guy ahead of us we push from the shoulders or area of the upper back. Sifu was pushing us forward from our hips. Obviously, along with being unexpected, this forces you to adjust and get your body aligned properly for the fall, if indeed you are going to roll forward. It was an interesting twist but he used this as a pre-curser to another item…

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Countering A Throw
The push drills we did where Sifu pushed us from the hips led into defense against a throw. He first used me to demonstrate how if I was going to do a seoi-nage (overhead throw) that it can be quickly neutralized by pushing forward on my hips or small of the back from behind. This does a couple of things – it forces me to correct for balance, but it also takes away one of the three points necessary for executing the throw: the “hip bump” to initiate the movement. Sifu also used Phyl to demonstrate another throw by doing the same thing. For something so simple, this is incredibly effective.

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Technique Line
We did a technique line today that allowed everyone to practice their own techniques for a few different strikes. It also allowed us to watch Donal as he executed his American Kenpo techniques for the same strikes. The first one we did was defense against a straight left. I was able to do Beheading the Dragon based on the techniques I have learned so far. It was cool to go through the line today because there were so many different ‘body types’ and levels of experience to adapt to. It was also interesting to see the American Kenpo moves that Donal was doing.

The next strike was a defense against a straight right. For this one, I had three techniques I could draw from: Returning Serpent, Stopping the Storm, and Circling Serpent. It was interesting for me to note that I had tendencies to do different techniques with different people depending on how they moved in. For instance, I found it easier to do Returning Serpent on those with longer reach. Of course, only going through the line once hardly gives me enough to get a really good idea, but it did stick out in my mind.

The last strike we did in the technique line was a defense against a left hooking punch. For this one I executed Thunder and Lightning as well as Raking Hammer. I was fine with Thunder and Lighting but was hit and miss with Raking Hammer. I found myself trying to go too fast with it and I would try to move everything at once. For instance, I dropped into the initial block okay, but for some reason I was moving in on the downward hammer fist instead of finishing that move an then doing the appropriate foot replacement and leg buckle. Of course, I was corrected by Sifu because I didn’t execute the technique correctly, but after we broke off for a water break I did the exact same technique in the air like I have practiced a million times and did it fine. It shows how much I need to practice this on a body to really pull it into my mental arsenal.

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¼ Speed Sparring
We had plenty of time so each of us was able to spar everyone else in turn today. I started off with Sifu and was promptly tagged about 3 times before I got into the right frame of mind. After that I still got tagged but at least it wasn’t for being sloppy. I think if there was a theme to my sparring today, it was that I kept opening myself up for straight in shots. Sifu wasn’t the only one to capitalize on this. I didn’t realize what the reason was until I had gotten through most of the guys in class. By the time I got to Walt and he charged in square with arms high a couple of times I realized what I was doing and attempted to angle off more. Sparring with Donal was fun of course because we are still new to each other. He made an observation that we all have a tendency to use orbits and did a lot of flowing with the hands and arms. He sort of seemed to be more of linear puncher, or at least that is what he was showing me. As a second degree, I’m sure he has a much greater arsenal than that. Anyway, it was a good workout today and it pretty much wiped me out.