Another Heian Shodan Exercise

Here's another Heian Shodan exercise, but this time perhaps more of a thought exercise rather than a physical one.

How many different jodan (upper level) defences are there in Heian Shodan?

If you ask a kyu grade they may give the answer "one: age-uke". This isn't wrong, but I hope a more advanced student would give a different answer - for instance, I count five.

1. The very first move, the preparation for gedan-barai, can be used as a nagashi-uke before striking with the same arm, gedan tetsui-uchi.
2. The high arc of the tetsui-uchi (the fourth move) can be a deflection against a jodan attack, leading to a strike or an arm lock.
3. The open-handed preparation for age-uke, with the actual age-uke being a follow-up strike.
4. Good old, basic age-uke.
5. The preparation for the shuto-uke, using the palm of the hand to deflect an attack.

There can be more than this, especially if you play around a bit with the level of other techniques, for instance raising the oi-zuki to jodan and imagining it as a single technique block-punch, or using the shuto-uke as a jodan defence.

Even as black belts we shouldn't think of a 'beginners' kata as only for beginners. Every kata can be viewed in a simple what-you-see-is-what-you-get form, but with more practice and knowledge, even the first forms you learnt can become 'advanced kata'.

A Heian Shodan exercise

Here's a kata/combination exercise I sometimes do at our club. First of all, do Heian Shodan. Next, do it again, but this time, before every oi-zuki, put in a mae-geri with the step (eg. gedan-barai, mae-geri, oi-zuki). On the third run-through, as well as the mae-geri, add a gyaku-zuki after each age-uke. Do it again, with all the previous additions, but now turn each oi-zuki into sanbon-zuki. Finally, after each shuto-uke, add a kizami mawashi-geri. It's a great warm-up exercise, and good kihon combination practice.