What did I teach today?

[JusticeZero]

Paired drills down the room - one attack (advancing) from the back, one defense and retreating role on the other. The point was to 1: stay in synch with the opponent and 2: don't rush the defense - defend when the defense is called for, not when the attack starts to sprout.

Walked around the room for over half an hour trying to fine-tune a serious posture issue on my young student; had her sticking her chest and hips forward to an excessive degree to try to offset a bad habit of tilting her hips forward, then arching her back back to compensate, ending with a slouch. Apparently someone in her family walks like that, and has a number of back problems and the like blooming from it. Lots of discussion of how posture grants the ability to control one's balance.

Falling and tumbling practice; getting used to going over the inverted position; posture upside down.

Zugzwang is a myth: Importance of, when you don't know what to do, doing SOMETHING. Keep things changing so that you can keep opportunity churn, rather than just letting the other person advance their agenda.

[cathal]

That sounds like a great tool to use, cathal. I'd love to see it in action.

I'll see about getting a clip.

[JusticeZero]

Thursday:

Basic stuff, though I spent more time on paired drills. These are chained strings of attacks and defences, which mesh at a specific tempo. I instructed Vidro and kid to, if they saw the other defend before the kick was actually launched, turn around and use a different attack; if the drill called for a (reverse crescent) kick to the right, if they loaded up the kick and saw the defence already in place, they should quickly switch to a spinning kick to the left. It is important not to telegraph defences! Telegraphing ATTACKS can sometimes be very useful, however, if it gets the other person to commit to a defence while the attacker can still change up their attack.

Worked on increasing the body awareness of the kid, who still needs a nickname (Vidro suggested 'monkey', but she doesn't move in a monkey sort of way..) after discovering that she had to stop to look at her arm before being able to tell us if it was straight or bent. This was done by blindfolding her and having her move around, telling her to freeze at various points, then quizzing her on her body positioning. I'm sure there is a better way, but i'm low on ideas.

[bushido_man96]

I like the blindfolded drill. Very creative.

I also find the telegraphing defenses interesting, and using telegraphed attacks to set up others.

[bushido_man96]

9-2-09

I have finally got a class scheduled to teach again. Its a basics/forms class, so no sparring, but I do get to take the time to break down and focus on techniques.

Tonight, I did review the first 4 forms of our syllabus. In doing basics, I took the time to breakdown footwork from back stance, moving both forward and backward while striking/blocking, focusing on keeping the weight over the feet, and not swinging the legs out when moving, but "walking" naturally from stance to stance.

I also broke down the cross-over side kick, focusing on getting the chamber position, and not bending over as a precursor to kick high. Instead, the body will tilt back naturally as the kick gets higher. A few of the students where leaning at the chamber, and after getting past this, there were noticible improvements in the kicking technique.

[JusticeZero]

Started with theory.

To have crime, you need Opportunity, intent, and Capacity. Try to neutralize all as best you can. Don't glare at bad guys and threaten them; they're not out to get you yet, and if you're aware, staying away from places where you're vulnerable, and look decently confident, they're not likely to register you as a target. Puffing yourself up, though, might.

Levels of response was covered - particularly 'don't be there'.

Structure of esquiva.

Break, during which some of the disaster response experiences from Katrina were noted, particularly how people don't fall to anarchy but rather look to people who are confident and have a plan, and congregate around entertainers like musicians.

On return, au was covered, specifically the way balance shifts into and through it rather than diving through it. Had to end class early due to student schedule issue.

[bushido_man96]

Very nice, spending time on other things like theory. I'm sure it was enjoyable for students, as well.

[JusticeZero]

Esquiva is at it's heart an extreme step. Form: in unison, 1: turn both toes to face the direction, 2: launch off with the back clf, 3: extend your lead knee in the direction of travel, gliding the foot, 4: suck the center behind the sternum into the knee and foot in the lead, 5: lead with the elbow in order to ensure good defensive cover. Spent two hours just drilling that.

Each point was done with specific drilling of the movement, connected with stepping practice, and an admonition to concentrate on that aspect of the movement. This was followed by a round table discussion of how the exercises felt kinesthetically to perform compared to before; the consensus was that it was "more solid", among other comments.

[bushido_man96]

9-9-09

This was the first class for 2 white belts, so I spent significant time drilling basics, and most everything was done at my count. The slow down was good for the higher ranks, too, and I also noticed considerable improvement on the green belt's side kicks after the class I had the week before; I also took the time to let them know that I was seeing improvement...praise is a great motivator. It also feels good as an instructor to see that someone is listening. I also gave some pointers pivoting the foot for kicking, and making sure that they pivot for the kick, and don't let their base foot twist and follow the kick. That's a good way to tear up the knees.

[cathal]

Taught some bunkai today, for Heian Shodan and Nidan. Went through "text book" interpretations and let them practice. After a water break I had them work on their own interpretations and then, for fun...movie time. Had them take Heian Shodan and Nidan as a "final battle fight scene" between the good guy and the bad guy in a movie.

That was fun, creative, and they got to get a taste of practical applications.