Tora Shotokan Seminar with Ana Xepapas Sensei Pt. II

Day two of the seminar.

I arrived with a boken tucked under my arm and initially felt awesome. Of course, it was a borrowed boken, and I was returning it to its owner, but that didn't stop the fact that I was carrying a wooden sword like a boss to, and carrying it to karate.

I had the same problems as I did the previous day. I still struggled with hand/feet coordination, not so much with punches and kicks this time as with blocks. I realised that the hand that is blocking should end up on the same side is the front leg, but start on the opposite. It's like one is covering the area in which is not protected by virtue of the other hand punching.

I identified another weakness of mine: I have the flexibility of a dead branch that has been left for a day. Dead branches that have just been cut are a little bit like dead animals: They still have a lot of fluid in them and are therefore relatively flexible. I am still alive, of course, but my flexibility is atrocious.

My left arm was feeling like death from playing Twister the previous night with the other karateka. supporting my whole body weight on the left arm while outmanoeuvring my friends on the floor had been fun, but the sore shoulder and arm not so much.

It was a hot day. We started off with 5 sets of running on the spot, high jumps, star clap jumps and mountain climbers, and before we knew it we were all dripping with sweat.

The seminar was still awesome. I especially enjoyed doing Heian Shoudan in different ways and increasing my knowledge of Heian Nidan and Sandan. When we formed into groups and did the katas in sync, I was forced to recognise that even though I do need to work on my timing, I am capable of ending the kata in the same position I started. When we had the brown belts use punching pads against us as we did our katas, we got to see the practical applications of the movements.

Practical application of Heian Shoudan

• Begin in the position of holding two katanas diagonally across one another, as though ready to fend off attacks from both sides.
• View attacker from the side, face them.
• Imagining that one's feet are on tracks shoulder-width apart, lunge the forward leg and let the back knee bend a little, with the back foot at a 35° angle, while...
• Swinging the attacking arm diagonally down, across and over the body, allowing range of motion over the largest possible area; twisting the edge of the arm in case contact is made and a small pushing away motion can be made. Congratulations: Gedan berai completed.
• Lunge forward again while...
• Moving the hikite hand into a punch, hip into square and knee strait (all at the same time). The Senseis always tell us to use the earth, and I take that to mean that I need to kick the ground with my foot before I can kick my opponent with it.
• There are now attackers behind you. So bend the knees, perform a 180°pivot while doing gedan berai again.
• The approaching enemy was too far for gedan berai to be effective and has grabbed your striking arm. Oh no! Instead of panicking and pulling your hand away the same way you blocked it, roll your arm out of the attacker's grip, lift it above your head as though you were about to bonk them in the face with a boken, and hit.
• Punch.
• 90 ° turn, reach, 3x ageuke, first kiai.
• 270 ° turn to gedan berai.
• Forward middle punch (Chuudan zuki).
• 180 ° turn into gedan berai.
• Chuudan zuki.
• 90° turn into gedan berai. Imagine that this is Fight Club.
• 3x chuudan zuki and second kiai.
• 90° turn into back stance block.
• 45° turn into the same.
• 45° turn into the same, but in the opposite direction.
• 45° turn into the same.

The pattern should look like this:

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