A Beginner's Point of View 724-725

Day 724:

In Iaido, I pushed myself to do 3 sets of kata. I wanted to get back in to my rhythm. However, I felt like I kept making the same old mistakes. It does feel natural to cut with the left hand only. My 5th kata looks better.

In Kendo, we started off with suri-ashi for the beginners. We’re getting in the habit of including the beginners with the class in suburi to get them used to it. I think it’s a good idea. Takes some pressure off the instructors and gets them acclimated to the class. We then did kiri-kaeshi, kihon, and then the step-back-step-men-ouchi drill. I don’t like that drill but I see the point. It’s about seme and maai. We finished with ji-geiko. As luck would have it, I sprained my left big toe halfway through class so I could not charge forward as fast or far as I normally do, however I could bring the thunder against Sensei. After class, he confided that he hurt his leg before our ji-geiko.

Day 725:

In Iaido, I slowed down to remember to cut with only the left hand. I got to class later than usual so I only got to complete 2.5 sets of kata. Still, it was good. One of our beginners came back after several months of being away. I hope he stays this time.

In Kendo, we had the beginners in for suburi and then suri-ashi. Sensei is gearing up for his yandan exam. So we focused on kihon and kiri-kaeshi a lot. We also did more of that step-back-step-men-ouchi drill and ji-geiko. My toe felt better so I could move a lot. I really know to push advantages so I can score points.

At the end, we did kata. Sensei asked me to practice kata with him to prepare him and eventually myself. We did well. Our other nidan was asked to practice the bokotou-kihon-kata with the lower-ranking students to prepare them. They’ll need it. I should read up on those more in case I’m asked to instruct. After doing all 10 kata with Sensei, he said it was good, maybe even passing grade. He did remind me about being more deliberate with both sides of the 5th kata’s suriage otherwise it doesn’t work. Also, the uchidachi’s 8th kata needs to be smooth and not hesitate to make the cut.