A Beginner's Point of View 323-324

Day 323:

In Iaido, I started out doing my regular routine. I’m refining my second kata to show off the final draw and adjust of the body at the beginning when you spin.

The sensei decided it was time to teach me the tenth kata since we had the room on the floor for it. You start off standing and take two steps forward. Place your hands on the sword. With the third step, you lift up the tsuka still inside the saya and then slam it down on the first opponent’s hands at the position ‘northeast’ of the start. You then draw the saya off the sword and then point it horizontally to the ‘southwest’ with the blunt edge against your body. You slide sideways into the second opponent and thrust to the abdomen. You face the first opponent and step into a shomen cut. You then turn to step into a third opponent to the ‘southeast’ for a shomen strike. Then you bring it down into a stance like waki-game while turning to face the last opponent to the ‘northwest’. You bring the sword up over your head and then step big into the final opponent for a shomen cut. You step back into left jodan, chiburi, and then step back to the start. It’s complicated, but you get into the flow of it with practice.

In Kendo, the instructors decided to give my role to the nikyu who is planning to test for ikkyu. This will give him a bigger sense of responsibility for future ranks and roles. Good for him. He led the class in rei-hou and warm-ups.

We had a guest today. I’m not sure if he’ll be a regular, but he is a Kumdo fighter. He has a different stance and different motions after the strikes, but he is really good and judging distance and keeping his energy up. He also has a very sideways motion when doing kiri-kaeshi.

The class did lots of footwork and shomen drills to work up our spirit. We then did kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, and koteouchi drills. We had a short set of two ji-geiko drills at the end. I had lower-ranking students to encourage, so I let them hit me a couple of times before I tried to hit them.

Day 324:

Today, I started off with my routine, adding the tenth kata to my list. However, the instructor offered to teach me the eleventh kata. I said yes and we started learning it.

You start off taking two steps and grip the sword. You draw forward, but then you step back and raise it upwards in a nuki move. You then strike the right side of the opponent’s head down to the chin. Carve backwards up and then strike the left shoulder down to the sternum. Carve backwards up and then strike the right ribs under the arm down to the hip. Carve back up and then swing around to level with the hips and slash horizontally across the doh, making sure to turn your upper torso to follow the sword. Raise up and then slash downward down the middle. Chiburi to the right and noto. Step back about seven steps (nine of you took big steps) back to the start.

It’s been fourteen months since I started Iaido and now I know all of the kata. Still, I don’t have a rank yet. I’m not frustrated. I’m saying it feels weird to know so much and yet not have had the chance to test. I guess I’ll just be ready to test soon.

In Kendo, I led the class in rei-hou, but the instructor led the warm-ups. After footwork drills, we did a lot of waza. We separated into ordered groups and rotated through after each attack was finished. A couple of people were not doing it safely, so the instructor halted the class to lecture them about safety. Then we started up again. We moved into keiko (or ji-geiko for those not in bogu) and kept going. The same line had an accident. Apparently, someone hooked a keikogi with a ki-saki whoch resulted in the arms being tugged and the opposing shinai bonking the back of the student’s head. I can’t even imagine how that would work but apparently it worked.

After I led the class in ending rei-hou, the instructor gave us a big lecture about taking responsibility for your line if you are highest-ranking. It was a good lecture.