wow!!!!!!!!!

i just relearnt first kata...

nice time to learn it. on my last leg to BB...

explanation to follow when ive allowed the full lesson to really sink in...

HI Susan,

I have just got the video for 1st & 2nd kata and after watching it several times realise my first kata ( which I thought was pretty good ) is actually pretty average.

Back to the drawing board!.

Cheers

*waits as patiently as possible*





Hurry up! I wanna know!

...You relearnt first kata? Did you forget it or something?

well....

it hasn't had time to completely sink in but during the class it made some real impact on every person in the room including the nidans...

We were taken through 1st second and bassai dai for 45 minutes byt an ex instructor come to visit

we spent most of that time on 1st kata being taught how to use the hips to increase speed, and reduce leg wear and tear...

once the concept sinks in, and you attempt first kata with this technique being used you get shocked at first as you dont realise how fast you can actually go.

i heard at least 6 senseis (as well as myself) say "Oh My GOD!!!" the first time.

We were taught not to move from the legs (i know mick, shaddup) but to push through from the hips. hips first, legs catch up and last of all shoulders.
it sounds awkward and it's hard to explain, but that's pretty much it.
scott explained it better. where is scott when you need to explain something in words only...

anyway... for those of you attending my class on the saturday 26th march, i will go through it with everyone then and you can see for youselves...

I used to think of it sorta like that...

See? Never said a word!

Seriously though, I would explain it a bit differently now but it is quite important in a number of ways. The other trick is expanding it to not just those kata but through everything as a fundamental concept.


Mick

yes...

we then did the same through second and bassai dai... with the intention to show that this was an all round thing...

Any more info you could post would be great (learning not copying) as there is the small matter of 12,000 miles stopping me attending your class on the 26th!!

thanks fangorn...

im still trying to grasp the concept myself but will let you know anything i pick up on the subject...

the main point i got from it was that by using the hips properly you take the pressure off the legs. so not only do you make the move faster and 'snappier' but you dont get sore or tired legs. big plus for when you're going for your black belt.

Maybe if you trained your legs more, they wouldn't get tired so easily.

I think it's more about moving naturally reduces the stress on the legs compared to the unnatural ways of moving that many are taught in many karate dojo...


Mick

I want to know too!!!

I had a really tough class tonight, and by the time we'd gone through 1st kata a few times, I was pretty stuffed. My legs REALLY dont like me at the moment.

Anyone attending your class susan on the 26th who also wants to try and explain is more than welcome...

I think I'm a bit busy that day with a wedding, but if it wan't for that....

I have actually seen (and had) some instances where developments and improvements in technique such as this have been discovered or semi-taught. But personal experience has shown that without some hands-on guidance the individual is unlikely to cross the threshold to the next level of the technique.

As I said earlier, what Susan describes sounds to me like what I came to think of as "moving through the hips", which was mostly borne of self-discovery rather than having been taught. What I later found is that I was very close to another technique but without any conception of what was missing I doubt I would ever have found it without being told of it.


Mick

I know I tell my class "to move with the hips, not with the legs" which makes very little sense to many of them, and to keep the trunk of the body strong.

The we can do 1st kata with our hands on our heads, or tucked into our belts behind our backs. When the students move with their legs, they often also exaggerate their shoulders and trunk too. We've all seen them try to take the next step by inhaling loudly, pulling back the shoulders and head, then making a horrible step forward.

It is the same with moving in shiko dachi or kokutsu dachi, where control of the upper body and moving with with hips allows much better balance, greater speed, less leg soreness, and much better execution.