First official practice of new year

Great practice today in the 'old' dojo. The guys from down south came
after most than a month off. One of their friends joined for the first
time; he had shown up at almost every practice but with doctor's
orders to avoid serious physical activity. He was cleared during the
holidays. His addition is good news and will be great for the
atmosphere.

After yesterday's realisation that we needed to focus more on footwork
and tai sabaki in particular, we spent a good part of the class doing
just that.

To start with, get the footwork balance worked on. Also good review
for all, and the new guy.
- suriashi front/back
- 2fr, 2bk, 2rt, 2lf
- box right
- box left
Focus on back foot and body movement.

Men strikes. Review and start the buildup.
- shomen forward/back
- forward men men, back 1-2
- one-handed shomen uchi
Focus first on back foot coord. then relaxed grip (specially during
one-handed). Also, focus on committing the body and let the arms
raise. Avoid boucing off the target. Had them do that for a good 15
mins. They were a bit pooped after that... They didn't find ways to
control their exhaustion but at least I'm quite sure they know what I
meant.

Combine the footwork and the strikes. Introduce Tai sabaki.
- Suriashi across the room
- suriashi forward, then halfway, 180 degrees, then backwards
Comment on importance of planting right foot straight, then pivot and
land on left foot.
- suriashi, men, zanshin 1-2-3, then turn & hiki men
- suriashi, men, zanshin 1-2-3, then turn, 1-2-3 suriashi, men
(forward), 1-2-3, turn 1-2-3 suriashi, men (forward) (3 men in
succession, zanshin and taisabaki between each)
- suriashi, men, zanshin 1-2-3, turn, men right away, zanshin 1-2-3,
turn, men right away
Finally, the result is men attacks right after the pivot. Hopefully
that'll give them a solid basis for attacks without thinking. We'll
keep on practicing this.

1 min. break, Men o tsuke,

Pair up (4 bogu, 2 without)
- kirikaeshi, across dojo
- repeat about 6-7 times
Focus on taiatari, arms up and extended at hit

One by one, for about 5-7 mins each:
- openings for men attacks
- light hitting back
- light kakarigeiko
- pick on some specific problems (taiatari, going straight, taisabaki...)
- kirikaeshi

Overall the guys gave all they had, wasted 20-30 minutes because they
weren't in the shape they should've been but that's hardly a
surprise... Otherwise it was a really good practice. Can't wait for
Friday in our new place!