Dojo Van Rel

Another clip from the SENKA seminar we hosted with Richard Amos Sensei.

The class was doing well with the exercise, but most students were making one fundamental mistake:

They blocked the attack… and then stopped.

In reality, no one leaves their arm hanging there while you calmly counterattack.

The missing ingredient was control.

After the age-uke and counter, you must trap the attacking limb. A simple way is to slip your arm over theirs and lightly squeeze the armpit to create a moment of control. From there, several options begin to appear.

This is one of those simple ideas that completely changes how kata application feels.

Do you consciously trap in your bunkai training, or is this something you’ve had to learn the hard way?

If you are interested in adding speed to your gyaku-zuki (reverse punch), then try this resistance band drill.

Years ago, when I used to train with Geoff Thompson in Coventry, he once told me a story about potato farmers who would throw additional soil on top of a potato as it was growing. He said that the purpose of this was to create **RESISTANCE**, which would help to generate a larger potato and therefore a greater yield.

I do not know if this is true or not, but it is a beautiful metaphor for today’s video, which is all about putting your gyaku-zuki (reverse punch) under pressure using a resistance band in order to help create more acceleration and, as a result, increase the force of the technique.

The one caveat to using resistance bands is to first make sure that you have proper mechanics and are able to do the technique at slow, medium, and then fast speed. If your mechanics are **NOT** sound, then the resistance band will actually do more harm than good by exaggerating your already bad technique.

However, if your mechanics are sound throughout the progression of slow, medium, and fast speeds, then I would add the resistance band to help increase the acceleration, timing, and leg drive of your gyaku-zuki (reverse punch).

Start with 10 seconds **ON**, followed by 10 seconds **OFF**, and see if you can do 4 rounds. It is a simple drill, but it is not easy. Have fun!

Osu

Every black belt starts here.

In this clip, our Tiny Tigers and Karate Kids are practising oizuki, one of the very first techniques a student learns in karate.

Years from now, many of these children will still be practising this same movement.

Refining it.

Improving it.

Understanding it more deeply.

Because karate teaches something important:

Confidence, focus and resilience are not built through shortcuts.

They are built through fundamentals.

To most people, this might just look like children stepping forward and punching.

But they are learning patience, concentration, effort, and perhaps most importantly…

How to learn.

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This clip comes from the Senka seminar we recently hosted alongside Richard Amos Sensei.

Richard taught the kata itself, the body mechanics, and the how of Senka.

Here, in a sense, I’m exploring the why.

This is one sequence from the first half of the kata:

Age uke → Mae geri → Downward uraken

Most people see age uke as “just a block.”

But what if it’s doing much more than that?

➡️ Age uke as simultaneous attack and defence
➡️ A half-step to create forward momentum and maximise impact
➡️ Positioning that naturally opens the door for mae geri (or hiza geri)
➡️ A final downward movement where the pathway of the kata starts to make sense

What I’m really teaching here is how to piece movements together.

How one action naturally creates the next.

Age uke creates the opportunity for mae geri.

Mae geri changes posture and creates the opening for uraken… or elbow.

Kata starts making more sense when we stop seeing techniques in isolation and begin linking movements together.

Sometimes the better question is not:

“What technique is this?”

…but:

“What does this movement make possible?”

Enpi - Kata Application

Here is a moment from a recent class where we break down a sequence of the kata Enpi and apply it to a close range situation. One of the main ideas here is that we are not waiting to be attacked but using the concept of preemption to begin the sequence.

Enjoy.

Osu!

Does karate have a hook punch? Yes, it’s called kagi-zuki.

In this video, I’m showing you how to integrate it into your kumite.

How it flows naturally off the lead hand.
Kizami-zuki… into kagi-zuki.

How to evade an oncoming gyaku-zuki, slip underneath, load the hip, and drive in with kagi-zuki.

And how it appears in Tekki Shodan — gedan barai into kagi-zuki.

Karate has a lot of techniques people overlook.

Kagi-zuki is one of them.

Why this simple karate drill builds real CONFIDENCE in children.

It looks simple.

But under the surface, it’s building something much deeper.

Each child has one task:
block what’s coming… then counter.

Simple, but not easy.

They’re developing timing, awareness, and control.
But more importantly, they’re building courage.

Think of the oncoming punch as a problem.

They can’t look away.
They can’t run.

They have to stay composed, keep their eyes open, and deal with it.

That’s the lesson.

Instead of freezing…
they learn how to respond.

Soto uke into gyaku zuki.
A basic drill.

But over time, it becomes something much bigger.

Because once a child learns to handle pressure here…
they start to handle it everywhere.

That’s where real confidence begins.

The Rule of 3.

In this video I combine...

One kick.
One stance.
One strike.

Starting the sequences from Shizentai, each set follows this same structure

We start from the left side and then the right side. We always reset back to Shizentai.

Similar to the best things in life it's "Simple… but not easy."

There is something challenging here for everyone regardless of grade.

Beginners: learn the sequence and coordination.
Intermediate: clean up your transitions.
Advanced: Apply speed, drive and power and see if you can make all six sets perfect.

Unlike a kata, there are no turns or complex sequences to remember.
It's just you and the quality of your focus and each technique.

It’s basically a mini kata… but in three parts.

Can you name all nine techniques?

Try it.

Osu.

Through KARATE, we teach children to FOCUS.

At the start of this video, these little ones are playing a simple game of focus. It's a moment of pure single minded attention. They have to LISTEN, not just with their ears but with their bodies. They have to stay STILL, not just with their bodies but more importantly with their minds. And when the moment comes, they need to be decisive! Pure action. The great thing about this is that while they are learning they are having a great time doing it.

In the next scenes, these guys are now practicing a step-up mawashi-geri, it's a round kick. Although the technical ex*****on of the kick matters, what really is being learned here is how to take aim at your target. How to focus on the task at hand and hit the same spot over and over. Once again this simple action teaches the children focus because it's the only way they can hit the target. If they get distracted, they miss.

It’s not really about the game or the kick.
It’s about learning to concentrate, to lock onto something, and follow through with intention.

If a child can learn to focus, they can learn anything.

That’s what we’re training at Dojo Van Rel.

📍 Camden, London
🥋 Book your free trial today.