2011 Workout #17: The Most Evil Device Ever

This, friends, is the most terrible device ever to be allowed in a karate dojo.

Tonight’s workout began with sparring basics: jab, reverse punch, jab-reverse punch, reverse punch-jab, front leg front kick/jab/reverse punch and the like.  We did these in a circle until the group was nice and sweaty.  Then we started in on the longest combination I’ve ever heard of, allow me to list it in detail:

Lunge punch, stepping forward.  Step back downward block, rear leg front kick, reverse punch, then slide in jab-reverse punch.  Recover to sparring guard, then front leg front kick, front leg roundhouse kick, reverse punch, rear leg front kick and step back, then rear leg roundhouse kick.  As you land, backfist strike then lunge punch.  After a few times slowly through, Sensei Tarrant explained how that terrible little device works.

You turn it on, and after 10 sections the green light goes on and it counts out a minute and a half.  Then the yellow light goes on for thirty seconds, and then the red light goes on for one minute.  So after we got that combination figured out, the time that the green light was done we just went through the combination slowly and fluidly, one right after another.  When the yellow light went on, it was time to go full speed.  For the red light, we got to stop and catch our breath.

Now, it was about the fifth time through that the writing was on the wall.  This was getting harder, and before long Sensei Tarrant confirmed our assumptions: it was sparring time.  We started off with regular one time sparring with lunge punch (jodan and chudan), front kick, roundhouse kick, and side thrust kick.  Same pattern to the lights: green was medium speed and fluid, with one side doing all the attacks.  When the yellow light went on, it was full speed time.  Red light meant you got to relax and nurse your banged up limbs.

Not satisfied with this, Sensei Tarrant had us switch sides and partners 5 times.  Then it was time for semi-free one time sparring, which was those same attacks but in sparring stance and you were afforded a little movement and tactics.  Same pattern for the lights.  Then, we got the chance to do offensive/defensive drill, where one side just did attacks and the other side was a target, all in sparring stance.  Green light was slower and fluid, yellow light full speed, red light you got to attempt not to die for that minute.

Oh thank God, now it was kata time.  Unfortunately, it was the same story for katas.  Sensei Tarrant assigned me the yellow belt to take him through Heian Nidan, so I did a few times.  Then I got to rotate back to the rest of the class, and another black belt took my spot.  The black belts each got assigned a set of kata: my group got Tekki Nidan, Tekki Sandan, Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion, and Empi.  We did three rounds with the timer, again… green was medium speed and technically correct, yellow was full speed/power from wherever you were at, and then red you got to stop.  Last, but certainly not least, it was twice through the timer cycles with our individual kata (Sochin for me and Hector).  Sochin hurts badly on top of a workout like this, just for the record.

Sensei Hartman, you need to buy one of these devices and subject the Pekin dojo to this type of workout all summer long.  I suspect I will be subjected to the same.  May God have mercy on our souls.