A Beginner's Point of View 196-197

Day 196:

Today was a big day for kata. Sensei said that some people’s work prevented them from spending all of this coming month from class, so we would do as much kata when everybody was present as possible. I love kata. Sensei separated us into three groups. The first group were testing for sandan next month. The second group was testing for either shodan or nidan next month. The rest of us were in the last group, including myself. Our group did the first three kata over and over. Sensei was helping the first two groups, so I guided the others in the first three kata. They were nervous because they hadn’t done the katas too many times, but only practice makes that better. I was more nervous than they were when I was first starting. They seemed to remember the steps for the first two kata, but the footwork on the third was tricky. The others kept messing up the footwork because they were thinking about it too much. What they need is to just practice the footwork part over and over until it becomes automatic. If you think about the footwork too much, you will mess it up. Eventually, Sensei came over and gave us all pointers on the footwork for the third kata. I practiced being the partner for each of the others through the first three.

After that was done, Sensei wanted us to showcase what we learned. We cleared the floor and watched each of a single pair go through the motions of a sequence of kata. I was first and showed the first three. I think I did well. After the end, Sensei remarked that if this was a test, I would have passed. He did suggest that during the second kata, if I was the shidachi, to make the cut into an o-kote cut instead of a smaller cut. We watched others do kata and we learned some good pointers. The two lower-ranking people I was practicing with took their turn and it was clear that they did not have the distance correct. Many of their cuts actually missed. They seemed to be disappointed, but Sensei made sure to tell them how difficult it is and not to be disheartened.

We spent so long on kata that there was only 15 minutes left in class. We put on bogu and did simple drills, such as kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and a few rounds of keiko. After class, Sensei, another student, and I talked about our road trip plans for the tournament and testing. We decided to leave early rather than late. I need to set my alarm on that day for 0400 to be on time. No problem since it goes off at 0530 regularly anyway.

Day 197:

This entire month is all going to be about kata. However, Sensei wanted to get in some waza and keiko practice before going to kata. We did a very short class with kiri-kaeshi, one step men, and one step doh. We worked very hard, until the sweat was pouring off of us for about half an hour. I did a keiko with a lower-ranking student for a couple of minutes. I would keep stalling and pressuring him until he would attack. Sometimes he would miss, sometimes he would hit awkwardly. Then I would counterattack. I needed to practice striking accurately. I didn’t try to dominate the fight so he wouldn’t get discouraged. I remember some keiko I had as an unranked student. It would be very frustrating if I didn’t score a single hit and still pushed to be better.

I had another keiko with a higher-ranked student who was ready to test for sandan. I would use my stride and long arms to my advantage. I could step from almost to-ma and strike men if I was fast enough moving forward. I would also strike kote from the crossing of the saki to try to mix it up. I had to catch my breath soon and skip a couple of keiko. I just couldn’t keep breath in my body after a while. I think it has much to do with how much I kiai at once in a single keiko. If I kiai often, it takes longer to catch my breath. At least my voice is no longer injured.

Then it was time for kata. I love kata. I was paired with my first keiko partner since he was unranked. I forget if he’s going to test at the tournament or if he’s going to the seminar further south. Either way, he doesn’t need kata yet, but Sensei wants him to learn. We spent most of the class practicing the first three kata over and over. He needed to step through each kata step-by-step, but that’s okay. Teaching him the kata steps helps me remember how they go. The biggest thing to correct at first was his holding of left jodan. He needed to hold the bokken at a sharper angle, but he caught on quickly.

After a while, Sensei came over and had to correct me. It turns out that I had memorized the footwork for the third kata in the uchidachi role was wrong. Going backwards after the shidachi counters with his own tsuki, I was going left, right, left, right, left. Apparently, that’s wrong even though it feels natural. The proper way according to Sensei is to move right foot backwards first, then left, then a very short stop. You then immediately move left, right, left. It’s that double-left step that really makes it awkward. I need to read the Ozawa book about the third kata again to confirm. Then I need to practice at home. Even though I’ve got low ceilings, I can practice the footwork by itself.