A Beginner's Point of View 449-450

Day 449:

In Iaido, we concentrated on the first and second kata. I tried to incorporate breathing into them, but I wound up just making myself light-headed. Still, coordinating your movements to the breaths did make the movements smoother. The instructor reminded me that my left hand needs to be lower to make the sword more horizontal, even though the ki-saki is a tad down.

My first night back at Kendo class was rough. I tried going through warm-ups, but I couldn’t quite finish exactly. I had to not do sword swings during haya-suburi. After that, I was out of breath for the whole class. I even had to step out twice. I still attended for kiri-kaeshi and menouchi.

Day 450:

In Iaido, I did one and a half sets of kata before the instructor called for formal instruction. We went over the third and fourth katas. I need to cut more sideways and not straight down. The left hand should end up in front of the torso, but the blade is angled sharply. The fourth kata needs to demonstrate the turning of the head for metsuke more pronouncedly.

Kendo class was easier than last time. I missed the first part of warm-ups, but I finished, including sword swings with haya-suburi. We did suri-ashi, menouchi, and koteouchi drills. We then put on men and stepped into line. We did kiri-kaeshi and menouchi drills. I stayed in as long as I could, but eventually had to step out. The rest of the class did kote and doh drills while I got my breathing under control. When the class started doing ji-geiko, I stepped back in. I fought with two students, taking it easy and letting them have some openings. Then I fought against some dans, including a godan that came to practice with us. After class, I asked his advice since I could not stay for advanced class. He said that I raise my shinai up to jodan for zanshin after menouchi. I should keep it lower because jodan opens kote and doh for counter-attack. I think I get that habit from Iaido.

While waiting on the sidelines, I realized that even though the doctor has cleared me for Kendo, I have to take rest breaks for my health. If I’m out of breath, it’s because my blood is saturated with carbon dioxide and my liver can’t clear my blood fast enough to let the carbon dioxide out quickly. This slows my intake of oxygen. Pushing myself would just make it worse. I’m not putting myself in that bad position again.