So far, I’m suffering from serious stance confusion. In Isshinryu point sparring, we stand kind of sideways to each other, kind of like seuchin or an “open” seisan, but not exactly. In this style of fighting, we’re more face on (like normal seisan stance). In karate class, I’ve been beginning to face my opponent too much. In this boxing-grappling-thing, I tend to face too far sideways. I suspect that’s the way things are just going to go. I’m going to morph these two stances into something that’s in between the two.
I’ve also had some issue with punching. Isshinryu uses a vertical fist. It’s one of the distinguishing elements that sets our style apart from others. Today, I threw my first twisting punch. It felt strange. I told myself when I started this I wouldn’t give up the Isshinryu punch. I didn’t know how hard it would be to keep my resolved in the face of blatant peer pressure, though.
I’m also learning stuff that seems transferrable:
- Keeping my hips under me. I tend to lean into punches … a lot. Master Young once said that the power of a punch comes from your hips. I imagine it’s hard to get this power if you are leaning forward with your butt sticking out behind you. Also, recently, when I asked Sense Dwayne Burrell why the punches on one of my kata seemed so weak, he said it was because I was rotating my body so my hips were out of line, turning my punch into a jab. “Jabs are always weaker,” he said.
- Maintaining the correct distance. Apparently, I shuffle in closer every time I throw a technique. By staying further back, my punches and kicks are properly extended, which makes them more effective. What’s interesting is, when I watch black belts point spar at tournaments, they do a kind of charging technique. They go in fast, make the point and skirt back out of range. This is more about staying the same distance. Isshinryu is definitely a close-in-type-of-thing. What I’m getting at, is I’m not sure if this is going to truly be a transferable thing or something else that’s gong to morph.
- Working the angles. Feeling the angles seems more natural when you’re facing your opponent. There, I’ve said it. It’s also easier to get this concept when you are holding onto your opponent and pushing and pulling on them, as opposed to throwing punches and kicks at someone.
- Protecting my face. The thing about point sparring is that, for most of your early karate career, the face is off limits. As a result, you can sometimes fail to see this as a target. This can come as quite a shock when you reach brown belt level and, at about half the tournaments you attend, the face is suddenly open territory. This was something I wanted to work on, immediately, when starting my Saturday sparring sessions.
