another fantastic video by sensei Christian Øygarden from Vestby karate (Norway). i like minimalism and here christian very skillfully condenses heian nidan to a space so small it can be practiced virtually anywhere.
the commentary is in norwegian, but watch the video nonetheless. the demonstration is very detailed and karate is an international language. note how christian generates power from his legs and hips. another technical point is that the 90° angles have been reduced to 45°. note how cristian aligns his feet with the angle. this is necessary to generate power in the correct direction and also in order to protect our knees.
also note the modification of morote uke. in his modified form christian executes the technique as a right handed uchi uke block and left handed ura zuki (uppercut) strike. this is something we have discussed in the dojo in the past and is a more contemporary way of interpreting the technique rather than merely as a more solid block.
at any rate, what i like the most about this video is that it’s a single unedited shot. at some point in the demonstration christian gets a bit muddled with the sides, but he just gathers his thoughts and carries on. some people would have perhaps edited it out, or reshot the section, but christian chose to just leave it in. this shows us that mistakes are a natural part of the training and learning process. they are definitely something we should strive to minimise, but they are also an integral part of our training and more generally our life.
oss!
Kanshin Karate club 