Karate-Do Keiko

Here is my latest training regime, for those of you, requesting an update.

Kihon: Since the beginning of April my kihon-keiko is very much focused on a natural hanmi as opposed to an extreme one. That is ‘hip snap’ instead of a large scale rotation. This is essential for advanced karateka, for short distance, and spontaneous reaction. In addition to this, I’ve been paying much attention to Asai Sensei’s “First legs, second waist, third striking limb, and last, karada no buki”. To practice these very broad targets I’ve been using the grading syllabus as the basis of my weekly routine. Monday’s, I’m doing the 9th, 8th & 7th kyu kihon; Tuesday’s, the 6th, 5th & 4th kyu kihon; Wednesday’s, the 3rd, 2nd & 1st kyu kihon; Thursday’s, the shodan kihon; and Friday’s, the nidan kihon. On Saturday’s, my kihon training can be anything, but usually high repetitions of jodan kiz

ami-zuki kara chudan gyaku-zuki, and chudan mae ashi mae-geri kara jodan mae-geri (stationary on both

right and left sides). It goes without saying, when I do my Saturday evening training, under Tachibana Shihan (8th Dan), I’m always very tired.

Kata: The following four kata dominate my kata training at present: (1) Jion; (2) Enpi; (3) Unsu; and (4) Kakuyoku {Kakuyoku-nidan}. In addition to these, I’m ‘loosely practicing’ the following kata: the five Heian; the five Junro, Tekki-shodan, Bassai-dai and Kanku-dai. Really speaking, I’m utilizing these ‘additional kata’ to further reinforce my current kihon targets. The main kata, as I’ve mentioned in past posts, are a means to develop my own karate (based on what Asai Sensei told me to do, just before he passed away). Presently I’m doing kata-keiko everyday of the week.

Kumite: My current training schedule, whilst perhaps sounding

robotic, has been very productive: On Monday’s I focus on Sanbon kumite; Tuesday’s, Gohon kumite; Wednesday’s, Kihon ippon kumite; Thursday’s, Jiyu ippon kumite; Friday’s, Kaeshi ippon kumite; and Saturday’s Jiyu kumite. My present targets are twofold [regardless of the 'type of kumite' I'm training]: (1) Optimal maai; and (2) High level technique.

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Osu!

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© André Bertel, Japan 2009