A Beginner's Point of View 144-145

Day 144:

This time I was at the advanced class and there was a full complement of people there. We had a normal class where we divided up into two lines and worked hard. Most of the class was the same kind of drill over and over. One side would do five times kote strike while the other side would react any way they wished. This would push the one striking only kote to develop timing and an unreadable stance to sneak in and take the kote. We would also mix in aiouchi-men and kote-men for variety.

I had taken my shinai apart for maintenance to find another cracked staff. It had to be destroyed for safety, but I had a few spares that fit. So my shinai is ready to be used. However, I chose to use the thinner, new shinai I had bought. Wow!!! It flew in my hands so fast! I’m actually swinging as fast as I’m thinking now. I like this much better than the thicker shinai. I think I’ll try to buy these kind from now on. I even appear more smooth and swift when I shiai.

Afterwards, we did kata. I love kata. We practiced the first three kata over and over, trying to refine it. My partner was not experienced with kata so I wound up teaching as much as I was learning. I would walk him through his steps while doing mine. I don’t mind. I know I had trouble with my first kata. I think I still confuse the footwork on the third kata. We also practiced the fifth kata. That’s the one where uchidachi moves into left jodan and the shidachi simply adjust chudan to threaten the uchidachi’s left kote. Three steps forward and the uchidachi attacks. The shidachi performs men-suriage-men and traces down the uchidachi’s face. The shidachi immediately moves backwards into left jodan and then relaxes into chudan. The pair walk three small steps towards the uchidachi. It’s a tricky one if you don’t remember to move your right foot as you move backwards into left jodan.

Day 145:

Last class I must have done something wrong because when I went to bed that night, my left knee was filled with pain. The next day it was as stiff as an oak tree. Still, nothing felt broken or out of place, just stiff and sore. So I slowly stretched it out over the course of the entire next day. It just felt as if all the connections surrounding my knee were stiffened for some reason.

Today at class, my knee felt better. I went to beginner class in order to ‘break in’ my knee. After warm-ups, the senior students would put on their men and kote and the others would practice strikes on them. It was the type of drill where the class would line up in a single line in the corner of the dojo while one student in bogu stood in the center. Each student would strike men and pass through, then turn around and strike men and pass through. Finally, the attacking student would get back in line at the end. This would continue until all of the students had done the men drill. Then the students would repeat with kote strikes. Finally, the students would repeat with doh strikes. Occasionally, we would rotate who is receiving strikes.

The next drill was the one where there would be two lines, one at each opposite end of the dojo. The one student in the middle would defend himself against a student from one of the lines and counter-attack. Then they would turn around and defend himself from a student from the other line and counter-attack. Constantly alternating each line gives the middle student no rest as they constantly defend, counter-attack, and then turn around. It’s a fun drill.

Finally, we did a drill where each student in no bogu would pair with a student in bogu in a line at one end of the dojo. The student with no bogu would attack men several times while the student in bogu constantly retreated to the opposite end of the dojo. Then we would do the drill with the student in bogu advancing and the student with no bogu retreating and still attacking until we went back to our starting position. We did this drill a couple of times until the class ended.