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Shihan Lewis - Brown and black belt course

1/12/2014

2 Comments

 
It is always special when you are taught under Shihan and a privilege when you get to go to one of his high grade courses, you feel like you soaked a huge wealth of martial knowledge that will take you months or years to fully digest and to integrate with your own martial art journey.

The courses focus was seiunchin and focus is the key word. We practiced the kata several times aiming to get everyone in sync with one another. We worked on where our focus should be, thinking about application whilst doing kata, looking before we strike, playing a little with the katas tempo exaggerating key moments to focus the mind.

We made it more snapper at one instance and at another far more Sanchin and gentle and Ju like but equally as dangerous.

Shihan has an amazing way of bringing the kata to life, not just a string of techniques, principles or a series of movements, but a living breathing organism that just makes the kata so much better, you could feel electricity in the room when everyone’s seiunchin evolved, it made you think oh my god this is how kata should feel like all the time.

We then looked at a section of seiunchin that a lot of people have a weakness in the kata, where you drive the hip at an angle to deliver a powerful uppercut. We focused a lot of time on this sequence with Shihan explaining about short range shock power. It was at this moment that a light ball clicked in my head, he was describing the short range power that I learnt in China through White Crane, the only difference was that my leg starts of in the air.

The way I like to think of it is like a gunshot as if you pulled a trigger (I never have but I have a very powerful imagination.) it’s not about speed it’s about the right muscles firing the right body structure at the right time, it’s a state of mind, BANG and you explode into it. Too much thinking and you can’t achieve it.

After we worked on this then we practiced this section of the kata in randory, then we use the gun principle to hit pads, reacting before you think, focusing less on chambering but always having your hands in guard and just react.

After this we went through the main kata and for the last section of the course he wanted us to practice principles of tensho. To do this he had to teach the lower grades tensho. I will deviate slightly off topic this was like the best Christmas present, I’ve always wanted to learn tensho ever since I first saw it when I started Goju ryu, when I first really appreciated the karate kid films, when I went to china and saw Tensho like movements within the second and third forms of white crane, when you watch Wing Chun form. I’m surprised I didn’t bounce off the walls! It’s like learning Sanchin all over again, I understand the principles and can only do the basic form but my mind-body connection doesn’t understand the deeper seated principles of  tensho, that will takes many years.

Well back to the topic, after this Shihan showed us how the principles of tensho were useful in sudden confrontation and he ended up looking like a kung fu master from the movies, with hardly any effort of stepping to the side and using tensho’s relaxed movements to get his attacker into a vulnerable position. We tried it with multiplies which was very fun, it was very aikido like and surprising how effective the moves could be. Sometimes I would get stuck because this is a new form of defending and it will take years to master, but when it worked it felt freaking awesome.


By Dan Solomon
Shodan - Ho
2 Comments

Winter School 2013

10/21/2013

1 Comment

 
DKK winter school, 
we'll all agree is pretty cool,
The whiskey, the beer, the laughs and cheer,
Is what we remember in each passing year.

Summer school though, for those who grade,
Is filled with dread of being kicked in the head.
But for each test passed, the lessons 'r learned fast,
And we each find the weekend, too soon is passed.

But how better to be tested, than pushed beyond limits, then rested?
How better to find friends, than to find those with common goals, or ends?
How better to grow, to become more than the seeds originally sowed?
I'll tell you how... to push yourself to become one of DKK's own!

Osu!
Picture
Danny Williams, DKK Bristol Shodan-Ho
1 Comment

Summer School 2013

6/23/2013

0 Comments

 
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SS is a roller coaster of emotions that by the time we leave we are all pretty drained, obviously some more so than others. It's not just those that graded but that was a fantastic show of spirit, strength, fortitude and determination...4 more Nidans: Andy, Ragi, Si and Ben, a plethora of Shodan-Hos, browns and everyone from new red belts up. Though as we know its not just the gradings that makes SS so special, it's those that attend and take part, giving all they've got, from Caroline icing everyone with a limp and more, to Si C and Matt driving Cassandra to hospital and Rob driving her to London, to smiley doing the daunting night shift rota and Dazzer running errands for me, the Yudansha for helping in the grading to Si M quenching our thirst with home made cider! Thank you for taking part from the 1st timers to the old hands. If I've missed anyone out or not thanked anyone then thank you for making this weekend special. To Sensei Gav for drinking whiskey with me and for the hours of utter nonsense that we gibber together and to our Godan Goran. To Senseis Dave Morris and Alan Vokes for their session on Saifa. To Senseis Roger and Tony of Shinseido Shorin Ryu for a fun and informative guest instructor session on the Bo. To Roger for his kind words and true understanding of who we are in DKK.

Remember this training doesn't stop here. We saw smiley and Siobhan start their Sandan Grading, during the summer Caroline and Tim Clark will continue their grading with their Sandan course in London, make sure you are part of that.
Congratulations to Dave U finalising his Sandan grade.

A selection of photographs from Summer School 2013 can be found in the Summer School gallery.

Dates for your diary:
Winter School: 18/19/20th October 2013
Summer School: 14/15th June 2014

Sensei Dan Lewis

0 Comments

Sempai Goran Powell promoted to Godan

4/28/2013

0 Comments

 
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Fantastic support at Sempai Goran's 5th Dan seminar today. It was good to see so many there from all DKK clubs at a really interesting and thought out seminar with some intelligent Q&A after. As shown you never stop learning. Sempai Goran shows he is definitely on the correct martial road. I want to thank all those that were there to support, train and learn and to Sempai Goran for opening minds.

The course covered Yin – the hidden aspects of karate-do. Yin and Yang are complementary opposites that form Tao – the whole (‘do’ in Japanese). Our art of Goju Ryu is founded on principles of Yin and Yang. Yang is easy to appreciate, it is hard, solid, positive. Yin is more difficult to grasp. Rather than being the exact opposite – ‘soft’ or ‘negative’ – it is the other side of the coin that enables Yang. The course looked at at how Yin can enable power and deepen our understanding of kihon, kata, kumite and bunkai.

Sensei Dan Lewis

0 Comments

Karate Ramblings - A "beginner's" perspective of DKK Goju

3/3/2013

1 Comment

 
John has recently started training at the Portishead club. He is new to Goju having tried many different martial arts in the past. He is documenting his DKK journey in his blog...........

"Why Goju? Because the local Krav Maga school never got back to me about a free taster session, and a good friend (one of aforementioned black belts) offered to pick me up on the way through to training. Since then the class has proven to be a) fascinating – I feel like I’ve learned more in these four weeks than I did in my last full year and a half of training b) extremely supportive and generous in nature c) led by a Sensei who is both astonishingly good and engagingly demented d) bloody hard work e) bloody good fun. Full of win therefore."
To read more follow this link; Karate Ramblings, Get Off My Lawn.........
1 Comment

Group training

2/12/2013

2 Comments

 
We can all train on our own or say we're training at home and not go to the club, which is fine from time to time, but what you get from training with a group is so much more, you feed off each other, keep each other focused, motivated through the last seconds of press ups or dips...you all grunt, shout and expel that last bit of air to do that final squat. As you know it's more than that. You train with a core group, how ever large or small, but you start to trust them, they are your second family. It is only when you have trained within such a group you'll understand.

Sensei Dan Lewis
2 Comments

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