Sensei Koyama is busily filling in large gaps in my training.
While he’s teaching me Tekki Sandan, he also started me on Empi this week.
At a given point in the kata, when I had captured my imaginary opponent’s groin and throat in each hand, Sensei Koyama indicated that the next movement of the kata involved jumping up in the air, turning 360 degrees, and landing in a knife-defense/back stance.
Since he told me to do it, I did it.
Now, when I say it did it, I don’t mean I attempted to do it, and then fell down saying “owie, owie, owie”, which is what I personally expected.
I mean that I actually did it.
I don’t know who was more surprised, Sensei Koyama or me.
I think he’d momentarily forgotten that he was teaching a sixty-year old couch potato, and he was just doing what he would have done with anybody else (that is, anybody who doesn’t creak when it rains).
Now, there may be lessons in this experience. One might be that Shotokan Karate, as taught by Sensei Shojiro Koyama, is a pretty effective tool for developing balance, strength and coordination, even in couch potatoes.
Or maybe being an 8th Degree Sensei, JKA, permits you to work miracles in teaching.
I’ll get back to you when I figure it out.
