Shihan Sahota Kumite Course - February 2009

On Saturday 14th February, Sensei Sahota (7th Dan) visited us to conduct a Kumite course.

After some warmups we got stuck into some basics, which were combinations based on our basic blocks. This soon the got the mind working, although the Dan grades were put through their paces with even more combinations.

It's always a change to train with different instructors as their combinations are usually different to CFTS technique combinations - it is surprising how often you find your body has learnt our combinations by rote and you then struggle to get your body to pick up the new combinations!

We initially practised two combinations, but we soon then discovered this was because one was for the attacker and one for the defender. So we paired up to test the combinations against our partners. The sheer number of techniques involved made for some sweaty faces...

Throughout the course Sensei Sahota stopped to give us tips on Kumite/Freestyle - this included strategies and useful ways to disguise techniques.

We worked in threes for more freestyle orientated combinations which involved turning quickly on the spot to defend/attack our partners. We focused during the day on getting our hips in the right place depending if we were preparing for an attack (hip out) or executing an attack (hip-in). It was important to get the hip in the correct position before and during an attack to correctly deliver the right amount of power and correct distancing.

Sensei Sahota had us practise a series of freestyle kicks, helping us to make sure our techniques were both effective and safe. We finished sparring against each other to practice our techniques; a few were fortunate to spar with Sensei Sahota and managed to pickup up some useful advice.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the course and it was a good workout! Just what we need in the run up to our CFTS Competition day.