Back again!

Well folks, sorry about the lack of a blog for a few weeks but my life has been a bit full recently….to say the least!

So, what’s been happening at the Buntingford Karate Club? Well we had another grading evening where some excellent performances were turned in. Gradings are always useful for Sensei (or they should be!) as they can often highlight weaknesses in a club. For example if one person who is grading mucks up a side kick then it is probably just down to them, but if most of the students grading are mucking up a side kick then it could be that Sensei has not devoted enough time to this technique.

Thus it was that after the gradings I devoted some lessons in going over the rights and wrongs of side kicks!!

I was also interested in noting how “fluid” in their movements some people are and how some are rather heavy or “stompy”. Often students swop fluidity for stompiness thinking that karate is all about power and aggression, which of course it is not. Good karate is a melding of speed, power, grace, and fluidity of movement. I took the students through a couple of lessons where I outlined the use of both their Abdominal and Glutius muscles – Tums and Bums – to supply power and drive but also to remain relaxed allowing for freedom of movement. No one ever said learning Martial Arts was easy!

I hope you have enjoyed watching “The Steal”. I am particularly proud of it and I think that our film maker has done a fantastic job – if you have not yet viewed it, give it a look.

Sensei Bill.