It’s been a little chilly here recently in sunny Brissy. Well, cold enough for some to use heaters in their dojos, locals to actually wear long sleeves, and middle-aged joints to really feel the cold bite. Last night while training, the stress my dodgy right knee was under was at its threshold. A little snap, crackle n pop here and there, it was rather strenuous when performing Sanseru kata. I’ve probably asked myself a few times, but why does this kata only contain kicks on the right side? If it were the left, I’d be good enough to win an Olympic gold medal. Speed skating too, where competitors only compete in an anti-clockwise direction. Why not skate in the opposite direction? How about Suparinpei with the right crescent kick? And again, if it were only on the left side, people would be bowing down to me in awe of my abilities. Anyway, enough speculating.
So last night due to my knee issues, I decided to do Sanseru from the opposite opening direction. That is, moving forward from my left foot resulting in the four kicks utilising only the left. Wow – who would have thought such simple movements done the opposite way would be so mentally challenging. It was a breath of fresh air, to think about something in a different perspective, and for the body to move in directions it doesn’t normally. This may be old practise for some of you, but for those that haven’t tried before, for a bit of fun and balancing the body out, give it a crack regardless of which kata.