2005 Workout #77: Willy Wonka’s Inertia Factory…

Tonight’s workout was interesting. We started out the class by having warmups truncated by Sensei Brewer in order to shotgun us through everyone’s kata twice. That was pretty rough, but there was a fun caramel center at the end of the workout because we got to work on Wankan (or Wanton, if you’re ). I recall this kata vaguely from the last time Sensei Brewer had us do it, surprisingly most of it came back without much prompting.

I still have several of the movements down wrong… including the exact path of the hands during the “grab leg, break knee” part. In researching the proper spelling of this kata I found this interesting Australian Shotokan site that detailed some of the origins of the katas that we know and love.

The second class started out with Jitte and Bassai Sho… I’m growing to like Jitte, but Bassai Sho makes me feel like a first class gotard. Dunno what that is about, but I know its not a fun feeling. We moved on to some 3-5 and slow sparring… I felt pretty on tonight. I tried to sprinkle a few sweeps in there, I think I caught McCabe-san with his feet together at one point but yame came shortly thereafter so I didn’t get to exploit it.

And, so my duty is complete: if you want to hit , hit him right before he kicks. His front hand drops down. Also, when he’s getting ready to punch sometimes his rear guard hand drops down below his belt level. Round kicks fit there nicely. , Sensei Brewer wanted me to post these things for your consumption. I am to be held harmless for any death, maiming, or renal failure that this information breeds.

End Communication.