Make Training Fun ; Introduce New Techniques and Flip over Old Routines

Punching a Block of Wood with a trainee

Today I had the privilege of taking the entire karate class at Tanglin CC ; there were 10 students including me and we normally would be performing the same old structured routines which are :

a) Warm Up, Stretching and Running
b) Basic Stances, Kicks and Punches
c) Idoshyigi which means stances with movement
d) Kata which means the practice of form 
e) More Physical exercises 
f)  Warm down 

Managing the growing class motivates the trainer as well as the trainees. 

With the assistance of another black belt member Ricky Ng, we did things to add in a little 'fun' element into the training. So, I introduced the Ippon Kumite or One step Sparring.

Since the group of trainees tonight were mainly senior belters, of brown 3 level and above, we practised this Ippon Kumite with several forms of defence utilising the Bunkai or Application of Kata from the Kihon Kata Dai Ichi. 

There were basically many different iterations to the blocks and parries and I can safely say that the trainees enjoyed this controlled session whereby they can use what they had learnt 

on fellow trainees and see for themselves whether their blocks, parries and kicks are effective or not in self defence.

At a recent sparring seminar organized by the Shitoryu Karate Association 

To train everyone must, however, to make the training Fun with the element of self defence as the focus is what all of us come to practice karate for.