A Beginner's Point of View 389-390

Day 389:

I went to Iaido again today. My toes still hurt but only slightly so. I’ll just be careful. I was able to complete all 12 kata three times. Sensei showed up late. He wedged himself in a tiny space just to be polite and let us lower-ranking people practice. At the end of class, I traded spaces with him so he could practice his standing kata. I just practiced the first, second, and fourth kata until class was over.

For myself, the instructor said that I was cutting too low. The ki-saki was actually pointing too much downward towards the floor. It’s hard to stop that heavy steel blade, so I guess I should start squeezing in tenouchi earlier. He also told me to use only my left arm for cutting in all cases except for when I draw with the right. Then I have to cut with the right. Doing that will correct any downward wobble.

Day 390:

Today I started by doing my 12 kata like normal. It was a nice day for Iaido. I completed a full set and felt good about it. I completed a second set and felt wobbly on my feet. My sword was pulling me again.

When I completed the third kata in the third set, I caught my toes on my left foot as I slid to the right. Pain shot up my foot and leg, making me gasp. However, I was able to complete the kata uninterrupted. However, after the kata my foot began to throb and cause me hardship. I decided to be smart and quit there before I really hurt myself. I bowed out using the quick method.

I talked to Sensei after class and asked him about how he was doing the third kata. He was actually using a kind of pivot/jump step and stepping back in to cut diagonally down and left. It looked powerful. He explained that he was also studying Muso Shinden-Ryu. He showed me the basics of the kata in question and the idea that you are not just parrying but stepping completely out of the way and then back in as your opponent passes you by. It was very interesting. Maybe someday I would like to study it as well.