A Beginner's Point of View 307-308

Day 307:

In Iaido, I started practicing my routine, paying attention to the second kata. I tried not to move my left big toe back like I was taught before the spin. It’s very awkward and my final kneeling stance is narrow and unsteady. I need to pivot on my toes and push my right knee out.

I was taught a new kata today. It’s the eighth one. Similar to the sixth kata, you are surrounded by two opponents kind of off-line. You take two steps forward and then grip the tsuka. With the third step, you thrust the tsuka up into the face of the forward enemy, as of breaking the nose. The saya does not totally come out of the obi. You slide the tsuka down to reveal the sword. Here’s a tricky part. You grip the iaito ‘sideways’ to make the blade ‘horizontal’. You then pivot the left foot and then slide the right foot around to the left and turn around. You thrust to the rear opponent up between the ribs and into the heart. You then grip the iaito properly with two hands and swing up. You pivot on your left foot and step back to the front with the right, cutting downward vertically. Chiburi to the right and noto. Three steps back to the start. I think I can get the hang of this one. The instructor saw me do it a couple of times and said I have the basics down.

In Kendo, we did stretches and suburi like normal. However, the class was packed. Several of the students now have keikogi and hakama. They all chose white keikogi and indigo hakama. Not bad looking at all. There was a new student as well. The head instructor took him aside to teach him walking and holding the shinai.

We did lots of waza practice, menouchi, koteouchi, dohouchi, and kote-menouchi. We got a chance to show the class how it is done properly after they all had a chance to drill. Then we had the advanced students do ji-geikos.

In advanced Kendo, we started with kiri-kaeshi and menouchi. We then practiced ojji-waza of our choice and then had a keiko using those techniques. That went for most of the class. Never once did my heart hurt. We also did hotseat for a full rotation of ji-geiko in twenty seconds. We also did shinsa matches under the gaze of the instructors.

After that, we did kata. I love kata. I was paired with a lower-ranking kyu who only knew the first three kata. I practiced with her over and over. She was very…rusty. I went with her step by step correcting the biggest issues and then repeating the katas. We had fixed the first two when we ran out of time.

After class, the instructor and I had a nice chat about how I seem to have “winning mode” and “testing mode”. He thought there was a discrepancy in my Kendo, which is normal for a shodan. He also said he wasn’t quite sure what the difference came from. I told him that it was urgency. Sometimes, I felt pressed for time or having an overabundance of time. He suggested that I spend the next few months trying to find a balance between the two and resolve them into ‘one Kendo’. It was good advice. He said he would give me some reading material to help.

Day 308:

In Iaido, we had a record-breaking crowd of students attending. Even Sensei showed up. We were squashed for space, but we muddled through as best as we could. Several of the low-ranking students are now wearing their keikogi and hakama. A few even have plastic saya to sheathe their bokken. I started doing my full set, trying to turn around smoothly in the second kata without prepping my left toe first. I tried it by putting weight on my left big toe and then by putting weight on my right knee. It seemed smoother on my right knee so I think I’ll try to do it that way from now on.

In Kendo, we had a Guest Sensei show up. I don’t know what rank he is, but he looked like he was between sandan and godan. We did the whole class practicing techniques for kiri-kaeshi. We did a drill where one partner strikes the raised shinai for men and takes three steps. The other partner receives the strike and steps back to reset the pair. Every other turn, the pair switches roles. The next drill would have the partners striking sayu-men. Finally, the motodachi would put on men and give and receive kiri-kaeshi in full.

In advanced Kendo, we did a lot of waza. Kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, doh-ouchi, and kote-men-ouchi. There were a few keikos during the long progression of drills. I had to step out for breath just as they were setting up for four-square drills. Guest Sensei was confused at first about how the square would flow, but after two full rotations, he got it well. After that, there was a break for water. I put on men and jumped back in for free ji-geiko. You could choose your partner and fight however long you wish. There was a long line for keiko with Guest Sensei so I sparred with other students for ten minutes. Then I got in line to spar with Guest Sensei. I was the last one of the night to spar with him, so he was winded. However, he was not slow. He was just as fast as the first ji-geiko. He would beat me at every exchange and push me to swing faster and faster. I would try to vary my timing and distance but he wasn’t fooled by any of them. I did get a few basic strikes in for men but he would bonk me on the head when I would turn around. After a couple of these times, I charged past a full extra step past. He then complimented and said that was a good distance. After class, I thanked him for coming and mentioned that I learned about establishing distance after exchanges. He asked me about the advice I was given. I told him about the contradictory advice and he advised me to take the extra step to be safe. That makes sense.