This time we’re looking at gyakute-tsuki. The element to focus on is between the thrust and the strike.
1. Begin in normal honte-no-kamae posture.
2. Pushing with the bottom (in this case, left) hand, raise the stick over your head. It is important to be directly in line with your head.
3. Make a thrusting action with the back (in this case, right) hand, stepping with the opposite foot. Again, keep the stick in your center line.
4. Draw the stick back, bringing your feet even. It is common to allow the stick to float outside the normal line because we are going to execute honte-uchi next.
The lesson of the week is this: We want to look exactly like we did in step 2, with the stick over our head and our feet even. This gives us the chance to poke again or to strike. Our feet should be even at this point, as this allows us to step forward and attack or backward and defend.
5. Try not to let the stick come out of line in preparation for the strike. This provides far too much information to a skilled opponent.
6. We could strike again….
7. And assume the same posture as in step 2 & 4
8. Then finish with honte-uchi
One of the neat things Nick has us do is to sometimes execute two or more “poking” actions (steps 3 & 6) then honte-uchi. This is a great way to tell if your feet are lining up correctly.
Also play with changing from forward to backward actions within the same series. For example, steps 1-7 are forward, but #8 is stepping back. This is a great way to tell if you are over-committing your weight.