I must admit I was a little nervous for a Kumite course, thinking I’d be put on the spot and immediately have to start sparring. After each of us received a pair of Sexy Socks from Sensei Bruce, depicting Soke Kimura’s bowman image to help explain how to use the body in an explosive manner, I started to feel more at ease.
I was most surprised, however, that a Kumite course could start in a seated position. In this position, we were encouraged to surrender the upper body to the lower body. It’s not as easy as it sounds. But we persevered and after a few minutes, we got the hang of it. After swaying the upper body left to right while maintaining the same surrendering feeling in the pelvis, we stood up, taking the same feeling into a fighting stance, and then trying to keep it in all the movement patterns throughout the lesson.
In the end, Sensei Bruce turned the lesson into a lot of fun and 3 hours felt like 30 minutes.
As I write this, I’m surrendering my upper body to my lower body. Who says you can’t apply karate principles to everyday life?
I look forward to the next course. Oss!!
ANGELO APPOLLIS | 7th Kyu Orange Belt (top right in the picture above)