Basic exercises

Stretching

• Rolling on feet -- (1) side to side; (2) back to front.
• Knees together, push back.
• Knees rolling -- one way, then the other way. And you can also do the charleston, and roll outside in or inside out.
• Neck -- up, down, left, right -- and when you look up, stretch the front part of your neck.
• Neck (turning) -- don't grind your neck all the way back.
• Hand -- (1) pull fingers back, (2) pull wrist back, (3) reach under arm and pull fingers up.
• Arm -- (1) hold upper arm against your body, then (2) put arm behind your back and push down.
• Kiba dachi stretch -- sit in kiba dachi, push against one leg, and turn and look the other direction.
• Calf muscles -- long stance, feet parallel; progressively push yourself more forward with each count.
• Loosen your knees -- (1) balance on one leg with bent knee + heel of other foot, then (2) same position, but sunk lower into a crouch.
• Lunge position stretch.
• Back of the leg stretch -- (1) sitting down, grab the toes with one hand and pull back, then (2) go all the way down, trying to touch your chest to your knee.
• Hamstrings -- (1) bouncing legs to loosen things, then (2) push knees down with your elbows, then (3) pull feet more in with each count.
• Cross right leg over left and look to right, then vice versa.
• Ankles -- rotate ankles.
• Yoga-type thing -- (1) pull ankle into chest, then (2) pull ankle behind head.
• Grab your knees and roll onto your back then forwards again.
• Lying on back, moving legs side to side.
• Hamstrings again -- put knee against chest, then pull your lower leg back from the ankle.
• Sit-ups -- increasing number each week. Military style sit-up is just to rest hands on your thighs, and let them go up your leg as you sit-up, until they're on top of your knees.
• On your stomach, stretching out your abdominal muscles.
• Push-ups -- increasing number each week. For the moment we'll just do straight push ups on the knuckles.
• Kneel, lean back, hands reaching forward, stretch out shoulders.
• On your feet, walking hands backwards between legs.
• Waist rotating.
• Arms spinning, progressively faster.
• Rotate legs from thigh joint outside in and inside out.
• Straight soccer kicks.

Kihon

Hand/arm strikes

• Tsuki (jodan, chudan, gedan) -- just remember all the basic punch stuff. See thoughts on the first page.
• Sandan tsuki -- two main variations, jo-chu-ge and jo-ge-chu.
• 45 degree punch -- practise using your waist. It's a practical punch when you have more than one opponent.
• Age tsuki (chudan, jodan) -- usually more powerful than jodan uraken.
• Taisho tsuki (palm strike) -- aim for nose; can also be used on chin, snapping the head back.
• Shuto -- normal (potential killing strike to temple), downwards (often used to break collar bone), reverse (as in geki sai kata), gedan/chudan (groin, ribs, kidneys). Note that an important use of a chudan shuto is if your opponent blocks an initial punch: you convert the momentum into the shuto.
• Haito -- readjust your finger position before using this strike. This is the only strike comparable to the boxing hook that we practise in class.
• Nukite (to chest, to neck).
• Gouge (two fingers, three fingers, thumb).
• Hiji ate (mawashi, yoko, chudan, and downwards) -- in the kata, yoko hiji ate is usually performed sinking in your stance. Keep your fist close to your body when you execute chudan hiji ate.
• Uraken (jodan, 45 degree, chudan, gedan) -- note that apart from the obvious bunkai (you just hit someone who happens to be in that place), the uraken movements can be used as blocks -- eg someone does a gedan punch at you, so you gedan uraken against their arm, or someones gives you a straight punch, and you jo/chu uraken. The chudan uraken should be performed with waist movement, and can be used to groin-strike an opponent behind you. The jodan uraken move is actually quite useful -- many situations where you haven't had time to pull your hand back for a punch; it's used a lot in the goju kata. Ideally what you're trying to develop with the motion of the backfist is a sort of whiplash movement -- watch Kaicho backfist next time he's here.
• Ipponken tsuki.
• Hizami tsuki.
• Jodan, chudan combo -- lean in on the chudan, putting your body weight behind it, for reach and power.

Feet techniques

• Mae geri keage (back leg) -- the key things to remember are to keep your guard up, to use your waist (and even twist your body slightly if you can), to bend your toes back (usually contact with ball of foot, sometimes heel), to raise your knee first (it's not a soccer kick), to drive into the opponent (rather than spend the momentum bringing your leg up vertically), and not to land on your foot -- draw it back to chamber first, or you're a sweep target. You'll find it's easier to use your waist if you have feet-parallel stance (rather than T or L junction). In practice, kick hard and high, so you build your flexibility; in bunkai, kick solar plexus or below. Don't lean forward or backward; balance comes with practice. One bunkai everyone knows is to: a) kick a mae geri, wanting them to block it; b) raise your knee, draw them into thinking you're going to kick again, then turn the kick into a mae washi geri. Mae geri can be performed with a "stutter" with the balancing leg, in order to gain a little distance, but this also telegraphs.
• Mae geri keage (front leg) -- it's faster, but doesn't have as much power, obviously, though it's still going to hit them hard if they walk into it. Use this as a stopping kick, a prelude to another move. Or use this as a counter to an opponent's mae geri keage -- kick the thigh of the leg they're standing on.
• Mae washi geri -- in practice, kick high and hard; in bunkai, kick ribs or below. Rotate the foot you're balancing on as you kick. Contact is ideally with your shins. You'll find there are actually a lot of openings to use a mae washi, especially if you can grip your opponent's arm. The key way to deflate a mae washi, as with kicks in general, is to move into it. There are various feints people use with mae washi in competition (eg raising the knee to kick high, but instead kicking low; raising the knee into mae washi, but instead doing a slap across the face with the underside of your foot), but these involve high kicks, which we tend to avoid. One feint that is quite effective is to go for a mae washi to the thigh, but cut the action short, land, then mae washi with your other leg.
• Yoko geri -- two ways to perform this, keage (snap) or kekomi (pushing, with a rise into the strike). Usually contact with the outer edge of the foot. Use the knife edge of the foot and strike in such a way that the force travels along the top of your leg.
• Ushiro geri -- differentiate this from yoko geri (uses different muscles: imagine a horse kicking backwards). Usually contact with the heel. Don't lift then strike, but rise into the strike.
• Kensetsu geri -- circular motion: you contact the knee, then stamp downwards dislocating it. It's different from gedan yoko geri. Use the knife edge of the foot.
• Kenzetsu geri four directions (rotating on your leg).
• Hiza geri -- in bunkai, you use your hands to drag them down to your leg (or, if they're bigger than you, drag yourself up to them). Note that a hiza geri variation is to put horizontal force on it: you lift knee up, then, using your waist, you strike hard sideways into their thigh.
• Mae tobi geri -- usually performed jumping off the back leg, kicking with the front. The back leg is often used as a feint.
• Kin geri -- don't like this kick much, but no doubt it has its uses.
• Crescent kick (outside in or inside out) -- I actually hate this kick, for a number of different reasons, but it does occur in the suparumpei kata. The bunkai, though, is not so high -- one just uses the kick to break someone's arm if they grab your wrist.
• Turning, spinning kicks -- generally not performed.

Blocks

• Age uke -- important to block with other hand first, across the body, then use the strength of both hands into the main block. It is a stronger block if the forearm is at 45 or 30 degrees to the elbow joint rather than 90 degrees, and the motion is smoother. I'm skeptical whether, as some people say, their punch will actually slide off after you've blocked, and I think it's true that, if you block a downwards stab with a knife, all the opponent has got to do is drag their hand backwards to cut you. Relax the shoulder as you block. More advanced variations of age uke involve moving into the opponent or moving to the side of them. Can be used as the first move of a takedown technique. Is sometimes used in situations where you really need to put strength behind a block, or when you need to extricate your hand from a hold. Note the movement the blocking hand makes after it blocks -- it relaxes into a chudan soto ude uke, and compare the "block block punch punch" conditioning exercise, which blocks jodan then gedan. Other possibilities for upper blocks if you don't like age uke include uppercut and ko, and chudan uraken or shuto into the punch (though all these require accuracy).
• Ko uke (jodan, and jodan chudan) -- point the fingers downwards as if picking up a 20c coin.
• Ude uke -- said it a hundred times, but it's a deflection, not a hit. Use your wrist to hook in.
• Reverse ude uke, your palm facing outwards as you block -- use it, for instance, when you're blocking with the same arm following a soto ude uke.
• Soto ude uke -- also a deflection, not a hit.
• Hiki uke.
• Open hand basic break technique.
• Chudan shotei uke -- as in ten chi no kata. Strike opponent's elbow to damage.
• Gedan uke -- can be used as a break technique (eg, you actually block chudan with other hand and catch, then step into them and turn around); and can be used to extricate your wrist from a hold (you knock their arm off with your block). This is the basic block for mae geri keage.
• Gedan barai -- it's best to practise this from heiko dachi, dropping down into horse stance when you block. The idea is to get more of your body weight behind the block. Always make sure you use both hands when you block (one hand coming back to chamber hard to balance the other), make sure the blocking arm is bent slightly, and if you're more advanced think about leading with the elbow so you get a whiplash movement.
• Tensho koh techniques (jodan, gedan, chudan) -- can be practised instead with backfist.
• Shin block -- against low kicks.
• Can also practise the lower block from ude tandran number two.
• Mawashi uke.

Basic combinations

• Moves combined with footwork, long stance, horse stance, cat stance, etc. Moves executed moving forward and moving backwards. People often do walk into punches. An important note for strikes combined with footwork, and this is actually one of the things Bruce Lee emphasises: the strike should land just before the footwork does, because then your force flows into your opponent, whereas if your foot lands first, your body weight flows into the ground.
• Jab punch, chudan tsuki -- in practice, lean forward on the chudan tsuki, using waist, reach for it; bring the other hand back to chamber when you punch; and make sure the feet are aligned properly, the back foot as straight as possible in goju, not turned, so that you can use waist.
• Chudan uke, jodan tsuki -- the chudan block can be pushing down as per ippon kumite chudan ich, or can be an open hand block.
• Punch, punch, kick.
• Soto ude uke + jodan hizami tsuki.
• Soto ude uke + chudan age tsuki + jodan tsuki.
• Simultaneous chudan ude uke + chudan tsuki, sometimes preceded by gedan uke.
• Simultaneous age uke or jodan ko + chudan tsuki.
• Etc.

Miscellaneous

• Gripping -- important for strengthening fingers.
• Straight kiba dachi practice.
• Forward rolls and break fall -- sorry guys, can't teach you much about this, can only teach you what I know.
• Breathing technique -- can be performed with hard breathing like sanchin, or in order to relax. Close your eyes, move slowly, reach out as far as you can, and when you go up, reach behind your head.

Partner exercises

• Sit-ups.
• Sit-ups with stomach strengthening -- partner punches your stomach as you sit up.
• Stretching out stomach -- partner holds ankles down, then you lift up from your stomach as high as you can. You get more out of this one if you do it slowly.
• Stretching leg against wall.
• Stretching hamstrings -- partner stands on your legs.
• The splits -- partner wedges their legs against yours, and gradually pulls you forward. The problem with this one is that it can put strain on the back, so ideally you do it with three people, one person supporting the stretching person's lower back. Alternatively, instead of wedging your feet against the person's legs, just push them down from their lower back.
• In horse stance, grip partners hands, and rapidly move back and forth. This is meant to practise the balancing, two-hand movement of the punch, and to build awareness of opponent's strength.

Partner body-conditioning and drills

• Ude tandran -- keep elbow close to body as you hit; don't do a fast hit -- do a solid hit into the other person's arm; when you take a step with your right foot, take a small extra step before you turn and strike.
• Ude tandran 2 -- first four hits as per normal, then two shuto, then two gedan uchi barai. Note that while gedan uchi barai might seem like a beginner's block, it can develop into a more complex move that's the equivalent of a "bind" in fencing: see Morio Higaonna's demonstration for the bunkai of saifa.
• Ude tandran 3 -- as per ude tandran 2, but shin kicks instead of gedan uchi barai.
• Upper block, then lower block, then punch punch combo.
• Kakie -- keep elbow tucked in, and push down rather than just across.
• Ducking -- just ducking as opponent uses shuto or haito; just builds awareness of opponent's body movement.
• Mawashi geri against shins -- this and the following three exercises can be performed in a more free-flowing manner, just walking, and mixing up the kicks.
• Mawashi geri against upper arm.
• Mae geri keage blocking them so they turn.
• Mae geri keage catch.
• Practise shin blocks against mae geri keage.
• Mae geri keage counter -- as opponent kicks, return a mae geri keage kick with your front leg into the leg they're balancing on.
• Stomach punch.
• Blocking ude uke and soto ude uke.
• Person jumps forward with two punches against resistance: partner pulls them back via the belt as they move.
• Takedowns, including the one from geki sai ich, with the leg sweep, and the leg catch.
• Combinations executed against a partner for distance and control training.

Limited sparring

• Ippon kumite.
• The renshu for taikyoku, kihon geri, shuto ge, ko chu ge.
• One person initiates contact with a hook grab. Continue until light contact hit or pulled punch.
• Sparring more than one person, or with obstacle (eg wall to one side).