Test for Purple Belt 1st Stripe

Renshi Bennati tested me for the first stripe on the purple belt tonight. We did the exam after Mr. Coke's sparring half of his exam for Sankyu. I felt better prepared with this kata than I have with any other.

Open vs Closed Stance

I tend to use an "opened" stance because I do jujitsu and use both hands and knees to enter in on an opponent. Last night one of the black belts in Karate spoke about getting a sparring partner to open up their stance so that you have more options to attack.

A closed stance is turning one side toward the partner so that they don't have an open shot to your midline.

Work on ways to use your opponent to open up. As they open the door draft of the energy and attack.

Another black belt suggested I jump to the side and then do my mae gari attacks. This will cause uki to move and limit their options for a second.