Passed my grading

We had the end of year grading at the Shikina Arakaki dojo last night and party afterwards. I'm very happy to report it went well for all (7 juniors and 3 adults grading this time) with everyone passing their test. I received 2 kyu after managing to demonstrate Fukyukata 1&2, Pinan kata 1,3&5 and Naihanchi shodan without any major errors (I missed a kiai in one kata!). So time to dust off the brown belt and get on with training.

Training log - 031209

I've been training every night this week and really focussing on the kata (Fukyukata 1&2, Pinan 1-5, Naihanchi shodan) required for the 3rd kyu test this Saturday. Sometimes things just click into place and you make a leap forward in ability and understanding and it feels like that this week especially with Naihanchi kata. I have a particular interest in this kata as I can see the bunkai in it instinctively based on my jujitsu training. Its built around dealing with close-quarter attacks, moving inside the opponents guard, breaking their stance by attacking the legs while striking and blocking simultaneously and finishing decisively with throws, locks and neck cranks. All of which will be very familiar to a jujitsu practitioner. I like to think of it as the street fighters kata, and in fact the karate figure who is often associated with it is Motobu Choki who had a reputation for putting himself in the way of a good scrap pretty frequently.
Hopefully Saturday will go well and I'll get a picture or two to post up afterwards.