Anyway, if I end up finding a place to train, I’ll definitely post about it, otherwise I’ll have to wait until summer before I can really train again (which who knows how that will go after my surgery in May).

We went over one sequence from Heian Shodan, and then I let them figure out the bunkai for themselves. Then later we did the same with the opening for Tekki Shodan. Now this is something we do with our brown belts all the time at home, but there was just something special about seeing what a group of white belts can come up with for a kata they don’t know. I also think they enjoyed it for being something different than we normally do, and it gave them a chance to think about how everything is connected. With that and the kumite we did on Tuesday, I think these kids are starting to see what karate is all about and why it really is such an art in the way that street fighting or MMA isn’t. Because I really think that bunkai is where karate shines--being able to take these katas that are entirely hypothetical and figure out the magnitude of ways in which they can be applied is like solving a puzzle or cracking a code. I love bunkai and I love karate and I think these kids are all gonna be great.