Submarine Slider

Well, by the amount of skin ripped off my toes and feet last night I can certainly say I gave it the good old college try- what I call the submarine slider, which more exactly I suppose is ji-yu-ippon kumite from a static ji-yu kamae from which you are expected to slide into your opponent from a range of about, well, an intermediate range ballistic missile, or about 4 meters, whichever you can do.

However, unlike an IRBM, you are not supposed to follow an up-and-over ballistic parabola, you are actually supposed to slide in and under and up into your opponent, submarine style. When you opponent is somelike Pieter, who is about the size of a stretched Norman cathedral, this is fine. When you are facing someone the size of Makita, this is ....interesssssting.

This is what Ibusuki Sensei said to me when I did my first competition, which I think was the 2004 KWF Nationals, as a 3rd Kyu. I was facing some 4th dan (thank you, KS ;-)) who immediately clobbered me with an oi-zuki and knocked me down. This meant I faced the rest of the shiai on automatic- I couldn't see out of my right eye very well and things were extremely hazy, but I did my best to attack. Afterwards Ibusuki Sensei came up to me and congratulated me on my spirit (spirit, mind you, not my Karate!) and I will never forget what he told me: "Paul san, you must learn to slide into your opponent, slide in like a submarine!"

Me? Still where there is a will, there is a way.

Submarine Slider

The main points of Tuesday were as follows:

Kihon:

a) Remember to focus on pushing off back leg, explosive thrust from hips rather than handspeed in gyaku-zuki

b) Always move from hips in maegeri

c) Distance and thrust more important than height

d) Age-uke hanmi should be to the limit just as with gendan barai, even when doing age-uke-> gyakuzuki

f) Draw hand up well beyond face, imagine wrapping round the back of your head before thrusting out for shuto, that way the hips will follow...

Jion:

a) Make sure that that the maegeri is long and then powerful and decisive oi-zuki after landing

b) Hikite and extremely long and powerful punches for the followup punches

c) Must make sure of strong age-uke and then off the hip for gyakuzuki- go from genkai-made hanmi to gyaku-hanmi gyaku-zuki

d) Double blocks are off the hips

Kumite:

a) Always go down and into opponent

b) Despite 4-meter distance, you must have perfect kime and stance in oi-zuki: can you really do this with your hips 50 cm off the deck!

c) Slide in and up!

d) Don't worry about your skin shredding off- it grows back ;-)

Sadig told me that in his dojo in Sudan, as well as knuckle press-ups, they actually bounce on the kuckles up and down the dojo. The floor is made of concrete. I forgot tiny bits of caked blood on one of my toes.

Yoroshiku ;-)

Paul.