Thursday, November 26, 2015

A Beginner's Point of View 734-735

Day 734:

In Iaido, I actually finished 3 full sets of kata. I did kinda rush through them. I should slow down.

In Kendo, we did a full day of bokutou kihon kendo kata. We did it for a simple practice and to train beginners for the future. We practiced all nine kata for this. I should remember these in order.

Day 735:

In Iaido, I was in charge as Sensei was out today. I gave advice to a beginner who has not yet received his iaito in the mail. He needs to fix his motion for the second kata turning around. His right leg is crooked. I showed him the technique to snap the body into place ready for horizontal cut.

In kendo my fellow nidan deferred to me today. I started everyone with extra kiri-kaeshi and some kihon. Then we did something fun. We did hotseat for the whole class. After a short break the class requested deam-light. I did give a short lecture about minding the maai during kote-men or else ruin it all. It was a small taste for what it is like to be a sensei. It’s a lot of responsibility.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

A Beginner's Point of View 732-733

Day 732:

Over this past weekend, I somehow partially sprained my Achilles Tendon in my left leg/ankle. It feels really close to a big injury. Still, it’s not bad enough to not go to dojo. I’ll just be careful.

In Iaido, I just did 2 sets of kata, plus a few spare standing kata. I feel okay.

In Kendo, my student did not show up so I joined the class. I did not run or charge, just walk through class. We did kihon drills all day. We even did suburi with shinai so we could strike men-ouchi with partners stepping back and forth. I also took it easy with ji-geiko, paying attention to center and kamae.

Day 733:

Again, my student did not show up. I’m disappointed. However, I know it’s because of his job, not laziness.

In Iaido, I completed 2.25 sets of kata. My leg feels a little better, so I must be okay.

In Kendo, we spent most of the class doing kihon and men-debana-kote. We have two beginners who have gotten their uniforms but not bogu. Sensei gave a lecture about not raising the sword up with the right hand. Push it up and forward with the left hand. I need to do that more.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

A Beginner's Point of View 730-731

Day 730:

I completed 2.75 sets of Iaido. That seems to be a pattern now. My cuts seem wobbly. I guess I need to slow down again.

In Kendo, it was sensei’s turn to teach the beginner. However, he said that he needed a little more training to take his promotion exam again. He asked me to take this month. I said I would. I like teaching the beginners. I gets me to sharpen my technique rather than trying to concentrate on power.

I taught him basic rei-hou, standing, walking, seiza, suri-ashi, and men-ouchi-waza in 2-step. It’s the second week so we need to compress the learning schedule.

Day 731:

No class today as I have a family event to attend.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

A Beginner's Point of View 728-729

Day 728:

Today I completed 2.75 sets of Iaido. It’s slow going remembering all the steps to cut correctly.

In Kendo, we had a guest sensei to help sensei train for his promotion exam. Today was better than I’ve been having. The beginners now stay with us full time. We did suburi and kihon. We did a lot of repetitions of complicated waza. Kote-men, men-kote-kote-men-men, men-kote-kote-doh-men, and kiri-kaeshi multiple times. It was tiring. We finished with the beginners watching us others in ji-geiko.

This time I was feeling better when guest sensei was here. I had much better energy to move fast and strike fast. He was the tired one this time. It’s sometimes weird how the tables turn.

Day 729:

Today I completed 2.75 sets of Iaido.

In Kendo, we had a lot of kenshi show up. We went back to rotating motodachi lines, which is how I like it. I remembered to push my left shoulder forward and it made my strikes better. After several repetitions of kihon, sensei and I stepped out for kata.

We then went through all 10 kata on both uchidachi and shidachi. I made sure to exaggerate the 5th kata for suriage. We did well. Our 9th kata the swords did not clack. That’s bad but the advice is to just continue doing it and finish well. I did forget the rei-hou for uchidachi. I was messed up because I learned a new rule about the cutting edge relative to shomen. I need to practice more and remember the rules.