February Black and Brown Belt Training

The first JKS England Course of 2024 took place in Nottingham on Sunday the 18th of February. Following a heavy night of rain, Alan Campbell Sensei 8th Dan, Head of JKS England welcomed and thanked everyone for their attendance on the course. Alan Sensei also deliberated on what is planned to being another exciting year for JKS karate with courses, gradings, visiting instructors and a variety of competitions hosted; ranging from domestic development tournaments all the way up to the JKS World Championships taking place in Japan in July.

After a warm-up, Matt Price Sensei 7th Dan, JKS England Squad Coach steered the class through some conditioning exercises which benefit stance work, mobility and strength with the goal of priming the body and mind for the class ahead. The bodyweight drills also act to protect the body from injury and benefit the student in helping to identify any aspects where further conditioning may be worthwhile. The exercises chosen consisted of shiko-dachi pulse squats, press-ups (also to a slow count), leg raises, dive-bombers and lunge pulses. Once the muscles were sufficiently activated and thoroughly “warmed” it would be over to Alan Sensei for the main section of the class to begin.

Alan Sensei started by focusing on relaxation, with the help of some punching drills, paying specific attention to elbow position, shoulder action and hikite. Students would then progress to change the direction of the attack to 45 degrees, alternating this with punching to the front. This combination began to concentrate on how the stance and lower body needs to support the strike for maximum speed and power, eliminating any wasted time or energy.

Once the students had repeated the punching combination, and having tackled this to both sides, Alan Sensei would then develop the techniques used. Considering the changing angles and distance needed in the presence of an attacking partner, students first practiced a sequence where blocking and countering would be done to the left, right and then straight ahead on their own. After the students had established knowledge of the sequence, it was then tested in a group of 4, rotating through the exercise and repeating five times each. This approach was maintained throughout as the speed and intensity was raised and as the defensive movements were economised.

Alan Sensei demonstrated how to engage the hip in all directions as more basic block and counters combatted the oncoming jodan, chudan or mae-geri attack. After cycling through, the timing points would be changed and the counter-attack would need to be delivered at the same time as the block. As Alan Sensei fixed the student’s attention on the co-ordination of both arms, a new focus was needed to satisfy the timing points being practiced. The class worked hard to this higher level of understanding where utilising the hip in the correct manner was something Alan Sensei showed students could not be overlooked. The concept of two active forward hand techniques was highlighted as the theme of the lesson and after students had repeated the sequence at full speed, it would become clear why. Before this was done however, Alan Sensei spent time to ensure the class maintained the standard required on both sides of the exchange, providing the intensity needed to pressure the opponent but also staying strict to what was being asked and not something just close enough to this when defending.

The carefully crafted nature of the drill which Alan Sensei had engineered gave the hall a lot to take away for use in their home dojos. With the sequence developing in difficulty (though not necessarily complexity), students could comprehend how the economy of movement had a certain level of intricacy relating to timing and co-ordination which more basic kihon is not always sufficient to address.

Revealing what the class had been building towards, Alan Sensei reminded students how all aspects of karate can crossover as Junro Nidan became the final destination of the lesson. Requiring many instances where both hands are executing often different techniques the kata has this as a dominant theme. The class also underlined the thoughtfulness with which the JKS benefits from the Junro katas and what they can offer in training composition if they are studied closely. Neko-ashi dachi form was something which Alan Sensei gave a great deal of attention to, prior to bringing together other elements of the course where the hand positions were covered explicitly at all times. The translation from the practiced application was then translated into the kata as the absorbed students appreciated just how meticulous the class had been to its goals.

As Alan Sensei had finished his lesson, and with the comprehensive look taken at Junro Nidan, many students had gained a much deeper insight into the methodology which can be used to improve many of karate’s nuances.

After a short break, the class then split into two sections with students either participating in the Open Squad Training or Referee Development sections led by Matt Sensei or Geoff Dixon Sensei 6th Dan respectively.

Matt Sensei began by helping students to recognise the distance within a kumite bout. With focus on the footwork and energy preservation, students would face each other and move back and forwards. One student would “lead” the pair as the other responded to maintain the distance. Controlling the centre of gravity through a stable platform and good balance, Matt Sensei looked at how these fundamentals can build towards success in kumite.

Making smooth, explosive movements, students paired together again, and with their movement triggered by the cue from their partner’s front hand, Matt Sensei had the group develop their reflexes. This also helped students detect openings which may be afforded by the opponents change in guard position or subtle loss of timing or balance with their footwork. Drawing parallels with Alan Sensei’s approach earlier in the course, Matt Sensei was also constructing a pathway to practice the specific skillset being illustrated.

Students would next use kizami-tsuki, moving in and timing the hand correctly before maintaining zanshin and withdrawing to a safer distance. Matt Sensei covered important teaching points with how the punch should be executed, avoiding backwards movement, or dropping the hand. Students then began with a pulsing footwork motion to project the front hand at great speed and give the opponent the bare minimum of time to be able to respond.

Matt Sensei also got students to moderate their front hand position to understand how this can be part of a deliberate strategy to distract or occupy the opponent’s thoughts, leading to a higher rate of success with the attacking combination. This ability to disguise technique by appreciating how footwork or hand movements are perceived is crucial to levelling up kumite ability. Matt Sensei also reminded students why extricating oneself from certain kihon timing points must be done to prevent limitations within an active kumite situation.

Matt Sensei then explored the options for the back foot position, dictated by the requirement on the hip as to whether a planned attack or maybe defensive kick is being contemplated.

Geoff Sensei had meanwhile taken those doing Referee Development through any recent rule changes and continued to educate those present to a greater degree of understanding of the roles, application of the rules and awareness needed to operate effectively in the positions adopted.

Geoff Sensei had started with the mantra of wanting to help foster “confident, capable and consistent” referees, judges, table recorders and coaches and as always answered any questions with detail and clarity.

To the benefit both sides of the hall, Geoff and Matt Sensei brought the students back together to work on the individual aspects but this time a tatami was setup to bring a “reality” to everything that had been covered. As bouts unfolded, Geoff and Matt Sensei, alongside other senior students would offer help at the appropriate time to increase the knowledge of all involved on the areas benefitting their role. After several fights had taken place and much information imparted it was time for the course to come to a close. It was a great effort from all involved and a fantastic was to ready students for the next event, Kagawa Shihan’s annual visit at the end of March.