I've recently seen a video of my net friend with yellow belt doing kata Heian Nidan. For yellow belt kokutsu-dachi is a new stuff and as I watch many advanced karatekas, also a very hard to perform even for advanced. I tried to remind myself having a yellow belt but it was so long time ago that my memory reconstructs only my belt

But to the point.

I had decided to work on my kokutsu dachi, then in the evening I was training Kanku Dai at home: the part with mae geri and manji uke. Kokutsu dachi wasn't the main part of my training but my attention naturally was focused a bit on it because of the earlier decision.

On 20-22 November we played host to Sensei Dario Marchini (6 dan) and Sensei Christina Restelli (6 dan).

Sensei Dario Marchini is famous for his excellent technique, he was also the only person who's got championship in both world karate federation: WUKO (now WKF) and ITKF. Also the coach of italian national team to 2009.
His wife, Sensei Christina Restelli is also a wonderful competitor with many important medals.

First Sensei Dario led training for black belts only and they did Sochin (Friday evening). On Saturday we had all together two training sessions, 2 hours each. First part of training was always conducted by Sensei Marchini and we train together with lower grades. It was special Taikyoku form on Saturday - with changed block and punches (I had a fever so I was absent on the first training, especially I've passed with this fever my exam the day earlier). Then the advanced group did some kumite exercises.

This is my training plan based on Sensei Nishiyama's book and also on Sensei Nakayama's. Maybe it would be useful for somebody else.

First 16 weeks are just basics (without kumite, cause it's an individual plan but you can add kihon ippon here and 30 minutes more). I added here my katas but you can of course modify it.

So here goes the beginners and intermediate block for 6 days a week for 1.5 hour (or 2 hours with kihon ippon kumite). It's rather for 8 kyu and more but lower grades can also modify it for themselves.

1st week
BASICS
1. zuki -> in shizen-tai, in kiba-dachi; focus on lower part of the body, don't hit from your shoulders

There was the 30th jubilee seminar with Master Hiroshi Shirai (9 dan) in Belgium last weekend (30.10-01.11). It was dedicated to the memory of Sensei Taiji Kase. There were about 150 people from Belgium, Netherlands, Luxeburg, France, Portugal, Poland, Italy and Scottland.

We trained on four training sessions, 1.5 hour each. Sensei has taught us Kanku dai and its bunkai and Unsu with a bunkai. There was also kihon for Shodan trained in many ways and also as a kumite, with partner.

This seminar was really inspiring, although I had some problems in grasping Unsu, so I trained only kata and left the bunkai for my boyfriend, who is Sandan and was also my karate partner during the seminar. I trained attacks and he trained bunkai. I think it was fair enough. Anyway, it seems that Unsu sorted out in my head after the seminar by itself.

Shotokan specializes in long stances and in fight in a long distance. It seems obvious that in the real life, a fight in a long distance is a pipe dream.
Long zugi-ashi and regular zenkutsu-dachi motion are natural for Shotokan. In such movements, gyaku-zuki can be classical and powerful. I think that yori-ashi came to Shotokan later – as the response for a need of a fight in a short distance. And the classical gyaku-zuki doesn't fit in the yori-ashi so perfectly - mainly because of back leg's heel up.

When you watch the cross punch in Jeet Kune Do, you can see its advantage over classical gyaku-zuki. For JKD, yori-ashi and short distance fight are natural. Their keep their heel up but also the path of the punch is different.