New Video: Gedan Barai Drill

Now that I've finally fixed the audio problem on my computer here in the office, I've been busy reviewing the video footage taken at my applied karate seminar in Malta in December last year. My intention is to share with you all a selection of short tutorials from the weekend to offer a flavour for some of the topics covered.

The first day of my seminar in Malta focused almost entirely on the four 'uke' (age/soto/uchi/gedan) movements and their subsequent appearance in a number of kata across the styles. The video below shows one of the drills I covered to help participants understand the numerous ways in which the technique of Gedan Barai (lower sweep) may be applied combatively.

The idea of the drill is really to encourage an open-mind to the possibilities of an unbiased analysis of 'motion', without being restricted by technique, label or range. Here, the motion of Gedan Barai is used to control limbs, strike, attack joints, gain positional advantage to the inside and outside reference and affect a predictable response. These principles were then transferred into a number of specific Shotokan kata applications later in the day.

Hope you enjoy!  

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