It's always nice having a small class of students. Tonight, only two turned up so we got to spend some quality time really breaking down kata, mucking around with bunkai to aid kata understanding, and of course my body conditioning ritual.
In terms of fighting applications, I'm not the biggest fan of things like " you counter-attack with a punch here" or "kick there" and then a tiger uppercut, followed by a hadouken to finish. Mind you there is absolutely nothing wrong with such techniques as they are all valid and have it's place in understanding kata and fighting. But for me personally, being on the end of any technique which I can bear the pain or can fight through, I try to apply something else in it's place. Some injuries (not so nasty) I've sustained during fights have included a permanently dislocated rib, fractured toes, burst eye blood vessels, a popped elbow and the list goes on. The thing with all these injuries though was I could continue fighting as if nothing happened.
So if I can cop all this punishment, where to from here? Look no further than The 3 stooges for inspiration! Yep, that's right. Whenever possible, a surprise factor is my preference of attack. I learnt the hard way through my mother who often slapped me across the face (and deservedly so back in the day) and an evil ex-girlfriend who would often pinch and twist my skin twistier than a twisty (and no, not that kinky kind of thing). And oh, how can I forget that last important lady in my life - my lovely sister who frequently pulled my hair out whenever heated arguments arose.
Every time I was on the receiving end of such brutality, I would literally freeze in shock and stand there like a stunned mullet. In a way, I'll probably be forever grateful for experiencing the countless ringing sounds in my ear from my mother's hand, or the daily bruises from that cursed ex, and let's not forget my whiplashed neck from the countless times of my hair being yanked.
Like many noble karate people say, there are no secrets in karate - All you have to do is simply delve deeper into kata.....and add a slap.....then a poke.... and hair grab.....and include a bonus pinch.......