A Beginner's Point of View 238-239

Day 238:

In Iaido, we opened by performing our known kata over and over until Sensei was ready to instruct. I did my 1-2-6-12 like normal. I’m getting better and remembering the chiburi steps without forgetting. I think I may have made a mistake in tying my obi because putting the saya in the loop and tying the sageo was awkward today. I’ll have to think about that. Sensei gave a lecture on the sixth kata. He made sure to tell us about the finer points, like the second step forward has your left hand pulling up on the saya and twisting to help the draw. You are also supposed to pull back the saya instead of pulling the sword forward. This allows you to have power when cutting your opponent. We practiced the draw by doing the kata over and over using emphasis. By the end of class, we were using small kiais each time we did a cut.

In Kendo, we spent the entire class in two lines like advanced class. We did men strikes, kote strikes, and kiri-kaeshi over and over. Good workout. The beginners would block with their shinais while we would strike them slowly and gently.

Day 239:

Class was cancelled due to severe weather.