A Beginner's Point of View 283-284

Day 283:

No class today because it is a holiday.

Day 284:

Against better judgment, I went to class. I’m still stiff and sore from the tournament, but not having the last class had made me antsy for exercise.

In Iaido, there were only myself and an instructor. I did 1-2-4-6-7-9-12 like usual. The instructor approached me and asked if I knew all twelve kata. I said no. He mentioned how he had taught the third kata to the others and would I like to learn it. I very enthusiastically said yes.

The third kata is tricky to learn. You turn to your right and sit in seiza. You imagine your opponent standing to your left. You put hands on the sword and come up on your knees and toes. Bring your left foot up to just behind your right knee and turn the toes outward. Pull the saya up and stand on your right foot, which has toes pointed into the arch of the left foot (very awkward). You draw up over your head and a little in front, blade pointed backwards. You imagine your opponent has over extended a cut downward, hitting your sword. The force swings your sword around up and you grip with two hands. Swing your left foot backwards and cut diagonally. Here’s where it gets weird. Rotate your left hand around to a straight-arm position, which rotates the saki to rest safely on your right knee. Reverse the grip of your right hand and grip the saya. Perform noto ‘backwards” and with blade out. Once it starts to go into the saya, rotate the saya to normal position and finish. Step to the left to end up where you start. I’ll have to practice this a lot. It’s actually harder to do in steps, but it’s necessary.

In Kendo, we did endless suri-ashi and fumi-komi exercises. Not good for my injuries but good for my Kendo. Eh, I’ll heal later. We finished by doing kiri-kaeshi several times. I was motodachi again. I decided not to push myself too hard.

Sensei was back, but he did not suit up. He just came to pick up supplies to loan to another dojo putting on a tournament. I talked to him for a while. He said he’s been to the doctor for lots of tests and to fix the injuries. I reminded him about the Iaito cleaning kit and a spare pair of men himo I’d like to order. He said he’ll put in the order when he gets the chance. He also says he’d like to come back to Kendo and Iaido when it’s possible.