OSS! This was a great event!
Sempai Cheryl and Julian have done a great job of capturing the essence of this training. It really pointed out that we are only as good as our basics, and our basics are only as good as our understanding of our body and the biomechanics involved in techniques and our ability to apply these in all aspects of our practice.
Sensei Dorfman’s points about dead feet were well taken! It was amazing to see how little each of us used our feet in kata, and for those that did how incorrectly we used them. Slowing down our practice, focusing on how our feet moved and were positioned in each stance, in between each stance, gave us the experience of how much more power we could create with proper form.
Sensei Dorfman also pointed out (very clearly) the importance of contraction and expansion in ALL techniques. We practiced punches and blocks totally relaxed with the mindset of “throwing a ball”. The more we relaxed the quicker our movements. When I looked around it appeared that most of us could throw faster punches than blocks. Sensei pointed out that block has to equal the punch in speed and power to be effective.
In closing I have to admit that I too was sore from the trainings. I think it was the full body clapping push ups that did me in!
Andrea Lore