Friday, August 29, 2014

A Beginner's Point of View 604-605

Day 604:

Today Iaido class went quickly. I made sure to push the blade forward and rotate slowly to make ready to strike.

In kendo class, our normal sensei was on vacation. So, I had to lead stretches and suburi. After men-tsuke, we practiced various men strikes. Men-ouchi, ai-ouchi-men, kote-ouchi, kote-men-ouchi, and then ji-geiko.

Day 605:

I showed up late from traffic but still had enough time for three full sets of Iaido kata. Simply pivoting my wrist seems to make the cut in the third kata even easier. I should practice that.

In Kendo, today was the same as previous day. Various men-ouchi-waza were done today.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

A Beginner's Point of View 602-603

Day 602:

Today I arrived late but still had enough time for three full sets. I tried pushing the sword forward as much as up and it seems to make to the swinging around into strike position much easier.

In kendo we had a hard day of practice. We stepped into practice right after suburi. Several round of men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, doh-ouchi. then we started to work on advanced concepts of kote-men, ai-ouchi-men, and then step-step-men. We’re trying to teach to see and strike the men upon sight of target. Finishing with kakari-geiko and ji-geiko was satisfying.

Day 603:

Iaido class went quickly. After three sets, I practiced the third kata by pushing the blade forward again. It does make the swivel easier. My foot felt mildly sprained after last class but it feels fine now.

In Kendo class, I tried to take it easy, especially with the fumi-komi. After suburi, we went back to okuri-ashi practice. I like okuri-ashi, it fixes my footwork well.

We did a series of drills to work up towards small men strikes. We apparently don’t call it sashi-men anymore because ‘sashi’ means ‘stab’. Calling it stab must be rude or too sensitive or something. I don’t care.

Kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, and ai-men-ouchi were the drills for the day.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

A Beginner's Point of View 600-601

Day 600:

Another day of fast kata, three sets long. The third kata is getting awkward. I nearly clip my head as I swing my sword around. I asked Sensei and he demonstrated the swing. I think I’m not pushing the blade forward as I push it up.

Kendo class was hard work today. After surburi, we went right into men-tsuke. We did multiple iterations of men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, and doh-ouchi. We practiced kote-men and then went into a series of ai-men-ouchi and ai-men-kote-kote-men-ouchi to teach us to always try to strike kote-men rather than just men. We finished with ji-geiko.

Day 601:

Iaido class is getting fast. Fast to practice and fast time ticking by. As a class, we did half of the set together after the new student was taught the tenth kata.

Today was a repeat of last class with men-ouchgi, kote-ouchi, kote-men-ouchi, and then into ai-kote-men-ouchi drills. We finished with ji-geiko.

We’re getting close to the time when we are supposed to cut our hours. I wonder if we’re going to include a mandatory kata lesson at the end to cool down. That would help me. I need to learn the three shoto kata for sandan test.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

A Beginner's Point of View 598-599

Day 598:

No class today as I am not well.

Day 599:

Iaido class went fast today. It was cooler and less humid than usual. I completed my three sets and did a few spare random kata to keep sharp. Today the lesson was “drop your right hand before moving back”.

In Kendo, we again skipped okuri-ashi after suburi. I’m thinking I’d like to go back to it. My fumi-komi just isn’t synchronized well. Still, we had a lot of people show up, so I was rotating with the receivers again.

Drills for the day went right into kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, and doh-ouchi. I even got to go through ji-geiko with many students and a couple of instructors without needing to sit out. That went well.

I decided not to tell the dojo that it was my birthday tomorrow. Going 40 seconds per person consecutively with no break doesn’t sound good for me.

We had a couple of visitors from years ago when they were members of our dojo. Something was wrong because they each took turns stepping out for different reasons. Maybe they’ve been out of practice for a while or maybe they pushed an injury. Either way it was nice to see them.