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More fun with kids (sparring)
(A follow up to a topic I posted earlier this year...)
My MMA class has a early session for kids. Seeing I was in the neighborhood, I thought I'd pop my head in and say hello. Invariably that never ends well for me, and I always wind up on the mat ;-)
Anyhow, being a kids class, there were a lot of fun games. One game involved using padded batons (swimming noodles - think Nerf material). The object was to attack your partner while they checked the attack / duck / slip etc.
Well, the kids *annihilated* me! Tenakan and irimi is *really* difficult against hyperactive 8 yr old making multiple attacks. Remembering all your responses from last time, I though I'd try a few tricks in rounds 2....
Using tenkan with distraction, I'd move in and try to disarm the bat. I was still unimpressed with the result - kids move unpredictably, and I didn't go all out hitting them. I estimate I succeeded with 2 / 10 times.
Round 3 saw both partners armed with bats. I'm happy to report the Aikido bokken training came in handy. The diagonal deflection / absorption, irimi, cut works a treat. Though I looked like a fool holding my Nerf paddle like a ninja ;-)
Moral of the story : Hit first, throw later?
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