A Beginner's Point of View 309-310

Day 309:

I was not feeling very well, so I went to class to fix myself. In Iaido, I did my full set over and over. I tried more to perfect the spin on the second kata. It was difficult. The instructor came over to give me advice, and it sounds like I need to put my weight on my right knee. Use my left toe to provide the spin and when it finishes, slide my left foot aside. Easier said than done. Still, Iaido cured my headache.

In Kendo, we had a lot of students again. The instructor had us put our swords aside. After putting our palms together we went through a series of exercises to feel our range of motion up and down for men, kote, and doh. After that, we did kiri-kaeshi and menouchi. My nausea was half-cured by the end of class.

In advanced Kendo, we started off doing kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, and choice-of-waza drills. Then we went right into hot-seat drill for aiouchi-men, kote-suriage-men, and keiko. Afterwards, we did kata. I love kata. Myself and another student taught the first kata to another student who is not long into wearing his bogu. Over and over, we taught it to him until he seemed to understand the principles involved. My nausea was completely cured by the end of class. I guess this proves that Kendo is good for you.

Day 310:

I was late for Iaido class because of a huge traffic back-up on the roads. Class was half over by the time I arrived. The instructor was busy teaching other students so I didn’t get a lesson on the special Iaido knot. I’ll have to practice at home with those illustrated guides. I practiced a full set and then practiced the second kata over and over to get the spinning part right. I’m coming along. I’ll just keep my weight on my right knee and use my left toe to provide the power to spin.

In Kendo class the normal instructor did not show up until only ten minutes before the end of class. This is because of the bad traffic back-up and it was not his fault. I led the class in warm-ups while another instructor would teach the class in elementary footwork and kihon. The normal instructor showed up by the time we were in bogu.

In advanced Kendo, we started off with a hard practice of lots of kiri-kaeshi, waza, and ji-geiko. The previous Guest Sensei came back. I learned that he is a sandan and he’s thinking of joining the dojo. I had to step out right before the class separated into two groups of three-man-four-square. I did come back in time for keiko. We lined up in two lines and picked our partners. I had three keikos before becoming exhausted. Then we broke for kata. I love kata. I naturally paired up with a lower-ranking student who only knew the first four kata. I helped him smooth over his fourth kata over and over by going through the roles with him. Maybe next time I’ll teach him the fifth kata.