New points to work on

I ended up doing fairly well in the America's Cup, not as well as I did last year, but still well enough to keep my head up.  On the other hand, I still have plenty of space for improvement and many, many pieces to add to my overall game to get me on the podium at EuroCup in November.

Kata

There were two big issues of note with my kata on Sunday.  I performed Sochin and Kanku-sho, two very different kata with differing methods of approaching them, but the fundamentals behind them still remain the same.  I felt great about my performance of Sochin, and nobody had anything bad to say about it, but I'll have to review the video before I can say anything further.  With Kanku-sho, Safar Sensei pointed out to me that I had a tendency to cut some techniques short in an effort to go faster.  This is a major flow in kata competition, you'll see these kinds of short cuts in WKF competition.  It's a big no-no, but somehow competitors in that arena can get away with it.  It just won't fly in the AJKA-I.

So, first major point of improvement is going to be completion of techniques, the second point which will help with the first is longer and better locked stances.  I have a tendency to let my stances get higher as I go through the kata and my quads start to fatigue more.  More than that I have so much momentum but very weak ability to stop my momentum on a dime; and that's where I really need to improve.  My katas are fast and dynamic and very powerful, but they lack the crispness of the men that beat me.  If I can combine all of that together, I'd be unbeatable.

Kumite

One great thing that came out of the competition was the knowledge that I do, in fact, know how to control the mat, and make my opponent move to my body and not vice versa.  The big flaw that I noted, and was also pointed out to me was the fact that I get in there and use my body movement to get my opponent where I want them, but I fail in going in for the kill.  My mental distancing is way off.  My body is in the right distancing, but my eyes and brain don't seem to want to gauge the distances properly.  This leads to the other big problem, not taking full use of my control over my opponent.

My focus in training is going to be long distance technique, so that when my brain feels I'm out of range I'll still be able to go because my body will probably be in the correct range to attack.  I'm going to start three combinations almost exclusively in kumite (all of these, obviously, will incorporate zone blocking as part of the sequence):

1. kizami-zuki, gyaku-zuki, maeshi mawashi-geri - this is a very fast and powerful long range combination if done correctly, and one that I can use effectively...I just need the confidence to use it.

2. gyaku-zuki, step-in gyaku-zuki (ashi barai): another great long distance technique with a powerful follow up for when I get in close.  The ashi barai will be the optional addition, but double gyaku-zuki is the important part.

3. kizami-zuki, maeshi ura-mawashi-geri/mae-geri: this last combination keeps my options open, if the opponent maintains distance then an extra shift in with the lead leg ura-mawashi geri is a great option, but I also like the idea of riding in the hip for a solid mae-geri oi-zuki combination, which can always be changed to just a oi-zuki.

The last point that I need to work on in kumite is get my body to hit my landmarks as Scarano Sensei put it. Toe to toe is an optimal way to fight somebody rather than torso to torso, cut next to the body to only have to deal with two limbs instead of four.