Category Archives: Karate

Another great class was had today, but it was very small at only 6 people including Sensei Juan Molina. Ever since Juan began teaching us this summer we have been shown many varied techniques for training and practice that is tending to move us from a more static “just stand there and practice your basics” format to one that is much more dynamic and is starting to give me a feel for how one actually integrates multiple techniques in practice. It’s hard to explain, and I am sure that students who have been there longer than me are aware of these practice techniques. One of the things Juan has shown us is to do three kicks with the same leg without setting that leg down until you are finished. So we would do a front thrust kick, then a side kick, then a back kick one after the other without … Continue reading →

Again, I really did not feel like going to karate tonight. I felt too tired and worn out from the heat and the lingering heat of Saturday’s brutal 14.3 kilometer trail race. I whined and complained to Marilyn about maybe giving this one a miss and she just said – too bad so sad, suck it up – so I (we) did. I often feel that way just before a class and sometimes even a run but I always feel better after getting into it. I really appreciate these classes lately, Juan Molina is an excellent teacher. He is always teaching us new stuff and challenging us to be the best we can be. In spite of this he does not push us too hard, but his natural love of karate and of teaching us is quite apparent and inspires me, if not all of us, to really shine. Juan … Continue reading →

No weapons today in class but it was still an interesting one. I got quite a workout qhat with all the pushups and situps in their various forms plus a lengthy training session in kicks. Then we did a lot of kata, being continually corrected by Sensei Juan Molina who, because of the small class size was able to devote a lot of personal attention to each one of us. I’ve learned more during these summer classes than ever and I really like it. Next class is Monday.

Today we were introduced to the Sai, which is a three pronged fork or blade. The two outer prongs are short and curved, about 3 inches, while the middle prong extends from your hand to about an inch past your elbow, if it is sized properly for you. It’s amazing how heavy these things are when you start waving them around. They have a great deal of inertia which really puts a strain on your wrists, especially when that inertia is combined with the long lever action of the heavy Sai. In some respects they are used like Tonfa. At first, I was absolutely uninterested in this particular weapon since there is no way these things would be handy for self defense, unlike a stick like the Bo. At least you have some chance of finding a stick-like object on the street if you are attacked, but highly unlikely you … Continue reading →

Tonight is Bo night, which means I have to brush up on my Shiramatsu No Kon. But what I really want to do is sleep. Well I did not sleep but did my duty and went over what I remember about the Bo. Ok, so I just got back from class and it turns out some people had to cancel and there was no Bo training tonight. But during the break I practiced my Shiramatsu No Kon. No sparring tonight but we did get to go over Seru today as well as Pinan Yondan, which is the next new kata for us as blue belts. We still have not been awarded our belts yet so we still wear green. But I was glad to learn a new kata with new moves and techniques I had seen a lot but never tried. Next class is next Monday night. We are going … Continue reading →

Fun fun fun! We had a great class today where I actually learned some pretty cool stuff like take downs using elbow locks. We did some kata and some sparring exercises. But I really liked the up close in your face take downs that we were taught. I really enjoy doing kata and the long and difficult perfection process that I will be forever doing to improve my kata. But I also like knowing how to defend myself with minimal damage to my opponent. Well, I mean if I can cripple or break an attackers elbow, it’s a lot better than other potentially fatal things I could inflict on him. It goes with my philosophy of doing just enough to do the job. Next class will be weapons. We are to bring our Bo to class.

Today’s class was another very good class in which we were shown many refinements to our katas by Sempai Juan Molina. Again it was a small class of about 7 people but this is good since we can focus more on our own individual problems. Sensei Kerri Trotman still is handicapped by severe muscle strain in her ribs cage brought on by a nasty bout with the flu but she is the dedicated head instructor for our dojo and so she still manages to make an appearance in spite of her still being in recovery mode. We did not learn any new kata today but we worked on improving those we already know. Next class will be a lot bigger as some people who work out of town will be back then.