hikari

apologies for the double posting : / Bri! xxxxxxx

are we talking in tournaments?.... then reverse punch is always a favourite... especially anticipating with it.

urgh... I meant HEEL of your foot *smacks head* Bri! xxxxxxx

ah yeah... that's what I meant... point the hell of your foot to where you're kicking.. been sick the last week or so ... sorry Bri! xxxxxxx

greyhouse - greyhound

the speed coming back relies on the strength in your legs. to get flexible hips in a round house kick: hold onto a window ledge, point your back foot to where your kicking, lift the kicking leg up making sure the knee is always the highest point and pointing to where you want to kick. Then practice keeping your knee, hips, shoulder and head in one line and push the leg out slowly and then pull it back in line with everything else, looking over the shoulder as you kick. Can build up the speed as you go. I find that is a really helpful exercise to get flexibility in the hips and it also feels like a greyhouse biting at your butt, quads and other muscles you find you have; so you develop your muscles and strength so when you do the kick you can feel where it all should be and have a bit more strength each time you do a kick... and goddamn after doing that exercise without putting the leg down for awhile REALLY kills your butt, and legs and hips if they're not flexible after awhile!! lol Bri! xxxxxxx

ummm I don't know the shureido brand.. I wear tenki... and we sell 'golden tora' and 'sportsmaster' at our club... I find the thicker suits are better because they do allow breathing :/... if you have thinner suits and sweat it sticks to you... and the thicker suits in winter are also warmer lol sorry.. not much help Bri! xxxxxxx

I agree with the speed part that it takes practice to get it back. However, the practice I think needs to be a little specific. If it's in kicking then zone in on what makes a kick (knee lift, kicking and snapping back and putting it down)... what makes a punch (the pulling arm, pushing the arm out and rotating at the end)... stepping (pushing off the back foot, making sure you don't turn the front foot out as you step, letting your front knee go forward as you step, and run into the step)... I'm not entirely sure how the strength work should make your speed any slower... I'm not sure about how the body works in that way.. but I didn't think that strength training would decrease your speed unless concentrating on strength work at the expense of trying to get your speed up. However, they do work together a lot. Say for example you are doing shiko dachi in a kata and you need to steep forward into shiko dachi... actually I suppose because you do Shotokan you do kiba dachi more?... (I'm in shito ryu and we do shiko).. anywho... you need a fair bit of strength work in your legs so when you land you have balance etc (and okay.. a bit of flexibility)... and by building your strength in your legs you can balance more.. then test the balance.. that is.. each time you land.. maybe try getting someone to lightly tap you to see if you'd stumble a bit... but the exploding at the start and the ending starts with twitch fibres and specific practicing on a move and strength to ground yourself... I'm not sure if I'm making sense to anyone... I know what I'm talking about Hip rotation (as part of speed) and all the other components of karate that involve speed (a lot of them) also rely on the fact of whether you have fast twitch fibres, slow twitch fibres or something in between. Some people are blessed with fast twitch fibres and when they move they explode and are so damn fast. What specifically is the hip rotation in? moving from one stance to another? punching? if it's stances then as I said about blah blah blah.. if it's punching.. then it's a lot of practice.. if you're in Zenkutsu dachi (front stance) then keep the front knee still and the front hip still... what moves is the back hip in... to come in line with the front hip (well this is what we teach)... for this .. maybe laying on the ground... with your legs bent... and practice pushing off one leg and thrusting one hip into the hair... developing a bit of strength in your leg and learning to push off the leg... and try and explode off each push... push the hip out as fast as you can... Well I'll end my thesis here ... hope I helped a bit Bri! xxxxxxx

ah thank you Kind regards, Bri! xxxxxxx

From what I know... if you say a name of a kata in a tournament... well in state tournaments here in Australia... and from what I know in world championships.. and proceed with another kata.. you get disqualified. I've done karate for 13 years... haven't yet stuffed up a name of a kata, said a kata and done another one... but I have paused in a middle of a kata momentarily... but performing has become second nature to me... as a teacher I see it all happen alllll the time. Kind regards, Bri! xxxxxxx

Shito-Ryu here )

Where abouts is your target? Chudan (stomach area) or Jodan (head)?... usually the front leg is used without moving the back leg in close distances... where you shouldn't move your back leg because it's too time consuming... and if you do move your back leg then it means the distance is longer... (usually in long distance where if you need to step in to punch etc)... when I kick with the front foot... (with my stance 50/50 weight distribution)... I swivel my back foot so my heel is pointing as close to my opponent as possible the same time as I lift my knee and throw the kick out... with flexibility it's easier to kick to the head... or even using the ball of the foot and going to the groin ... (remembering that kicking with the toes to the groin is pretty dangerous when the groin is rarely going to be an open target with the reflexes of their legs .. and kicking knees etc with the toes doesn't feel too good)... but we always teach students regardless of what type of roundhouse kick... to swivel the back foot so the hell faces the opponent... it means you can reach longer distances... you are helping your hips a little more so everything is turning in the same direction etc... just takes some strength to pull your leg back after you've kicked.. and it can be time consuming ... so it involves a lot of practice and strength/flexibility work... and remember to always keep your kamae/guard up while kicking (flying chickens with their guards all over the place don't have much balance)... *stops the essay* Kind regards, Bri! xxxxxxx

I learnt the three of them in Melbourne (Australia) a week and a half ago... and performed Chatanyara Kusanku and Matsumura Bassai in the Qld Championships (along with Bassai Dai and Seienchin) I came 2nd out of 16 or so girls... and while I don't really know what specific questions to ask.. I decided if I found out people who were learning the three kata, we could have a talk on what they learn about the three. I specifically like Nipaipo.. but learnt that a week ago.. and didn't think I knew it well enough to perform in the state championships... hrmm.. no idea how others will respond to that.. lol but anyway.. I'm interested in the videos Kind regards, Bri xxxxxxx

hi, I was wondering if anyone knew the following kata that I could have a chat with you about: * Chatanyara Kusanku * Nipaipo * Matsumura Bassai Kind regards, Bri! xxxxxxx

I have one little tattoo on the outside of my left ankle of 'hikari'.. means ummm light, brilliance, illumination, shine, radiance and so forth ... just POSITIVITY all round I got it for its meaning, the looks of it (sorta looks like a spider from a distance).. and at the age of 18 it was pretty 'cool' to get a tattoo.. I don't regret it what so ever : D