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!