CJ's Kendo Journal

A Beginner's Point of View 341-342

2012-02-05T14:57:00.001-08:00

Day 341:

No class today as I am sick.

Day 342:

No class today as I am sick.

Day 342.5

I had to cancel my trip to the Iaido seminar because I am not well enough for a full day of swinging a steel sword over my head. I get winded just doing it for 2 hours.

A Beginner's Point of View 339-340

2012-01-28T14:39:00.001-08:00

Day 339:

No class today as I am sick.

Day 340:

No class today as I am sick.

Day 340.5

No class today as I am sick.

A Beginner's Point of View 337-338

2012-01-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

Day 337:

In Iaido class, we had free practice for all twelve kata. I really need to try not to swing the sword so hard. It’s hard to stop that steel when it comes down fast. For the first four kata, the saki must be a couple of inches below horizontal. For the standing kata, the saki must be horizontal.

I did not attend Kendo class as I was feeling bad all weekend. I’m going to rest.

Day 338:

In Iaido class, we practiced all twelve kata freely again. The instructor would walk around and give personal comments. I need to slow down and do it better. I get so excited that I often rush. This makes me lean forward too much and be off-balance.

In Kendo, I led the class in warm-ups. I tried hard not to forget anything, but I forgot the neck stretches. Darn it. I keep showing myself to be incompetent. That and it’s embarrassing. We did lots of suri-ashi drills today. We had a new drill where the instructor brought out long stretches of elastic. We would loop it around someone who would fumi-komi and charge as hard as they could for a few paces. Then the person behind would allow themselves to be dragged forward. All the way down we did this and then back, then we switched partners. That was fun and interesting. I had the strongest person in the dojo and I could resist the elastic until I chose to move. Then I had to resist flying into him from behind. We finished the basic class with renzoku-men and somen charges.

Then we put on bogu. Today I was not motodachi because we had an extra sensei show up. That’s okay. I wanted to work harder anyhow. We did kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, koteouchi, and keiko. I had a keiko with our extra sensei, who did a stunning yaku-doh upon me. It shattered my mind when he did it because it looked so wrong and yet struck so true. I complimented him on it afterwards.

At the end of class, I had an extra keiko with my fellow shodan, trying to see if my stamina was better. It was better, but something was wrong.

After class, the instructor showed me video of my feet. They looked bad. No fumi-komi at all, short strides, and my back foot was up almost sixty degrees. This pushes my hips too far forward and puts my weight on my front foot. This requires me to give huge fumi-komi which is wrong. I need to learn to lean my hips back and lower my back foot. Trying out one fumi-komi like that improved my stride greatly. I’ll have to practice that like when I started Kendo.

I really think I’ve been feeling better this week. The only thing different is that I’ve been eating more and resting. Maybe I’ve been overtaxing myself.

Day 338.5

This time I made it to the extra Iaido session. I was sick the last couple of days from work and I was upset that I might miss class today.

We started with some stretching in freeform. I just did some men and kote suburi for warm-ups. Then we did some drills we might see in a seminar, like lunges. That’s where you take chudan, raise up and strike down vertical while leaning forward on one knee. Then you raise up and do the same strike with the other knee. You travel this way all the way down the floor and back.

We also did other exercises where you kinda do the first kata forward, with little chiburi to the side. Then you do it to the right, then you do it to the rear using the left foot, then to the left with the left foot. You do the whole thing again and you wind up back where you started.

We also did matoburi-suburi except when you come up, you rotate the sword horizontal as if using uke to save your life. First pointing the blade to the left and then to the right.

Then we spent most of the time doing all twelve kata one at a time as a class. The instructor would give us pointers to follow and we would do it a couple of times. This took up most of the class.

We finished with a practice test. I felt like I was too slow on rei-hou so I did not breathe between kata. My time was 4:50 or so. I need to breathe between kata to slow down. The instructors also got 5:15 or so, so they need to slow down.

A Beginner's Point of View 335-336

2012-01-14T22:24:00.001-08:00

Day 335:

Iaido, 1-12, going faster, more effort, should slow, but going from swing to swing should be more emphasized, instructor commented that cuts in standing kata should be horizontal, not down

Kendo, new warm-ups, run around circle of bokken, many ashi drills, partners back and forth, men, kote, kote-men, then break into men-nuki-men and kiri-kaeshi, instructor tells me after class that my stamina is not improving, should walk on days not in class, try to incorporate

Day 336:

Iaido, free practice until half-way through class, practice test, nervous, forget to clear right side of hakama for 1st kata, toes down for 2nd kata, ki-saki not high enough for 3rd kata, tsuka too high for 4th kata, cut up too high on 5th kata, final time 6:06, need 1 breath, not two

No kendo, chest still sore from last class

Day 336.5

I missed the extra Iaido class today. It wasn’t at the same time as last week so it was over by the time I remembered it. I went for a walk instead.

A Beginner's Point of View 333-334

2012-01-08T13:37:00.001-08:00

Day 333:

In Iaido, we had free practice. I practiced my full set of kata. During number eleven, I accidentally did zanshin in jodan like I was finishing the seventh kata. It can be awkward to remember. We had a practice test at the end of class. I got 5:30 for a time, very nice. The instructor told me that 5:45 is an ideal time to try for.

In Kendo, I led the class in warm-ups and did not forget any stretches this time. Very good. I should try to remember the sequence to avoid embarrassment like that. For class, we did Kendo bokken waza kata. The drills of men-kote-doh-tsuki, kote-men, harai-kote, and men-keashi-doh were a nice change of pace. Then we put on men for kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, doh-ouchi, and finally kakari-geiko for the students.

At the end of class, the instructor confided in me that the motion I used with my left arm when I rei after a drill is wrong. I was just imitating Sensei when he bows out of a match. I guess I’m not supposed to do that. However, I really would have liked to have known that a lot sooner. Now I’ve got about three years of muscle memory to unlearn.

Day 334:

In Iaido, we started with some free practice, but then went into practice tests. We learned about the set-up and commands for the test. On the first test, I messed up the act of putting the saya in my obi. It just wouldn’t go in. I rushed it and had to speed through my kata. I got a time of 5:45, but it didn’t look good. The instructor commented about how I might be marked down in score even though I got a good time. The second test, I nailed it the first time and slowed down. I got 5:50 without any errors. Much better.

We had a discussion at the end of Iaido practice about the upcoming seminar, so we missed Kendo opening rei-hou. I put on doh and tare and stepped into line at the end of the student line. I did not miss warm-ups or suburi. The instructor went through the exercises at double the pace. If I was a beginner, I would have had to stop and catch my breath. I’m used to the exercises and I’m in better shape than when I had started taking Kendo, I was able to finish. Some of the mudansha were really suffering from lack of breath. One had to stop outright twice to avoid having her breathing stop all together.

Today we had more of the bokken waza. We practiced men-kote-doh-tsuki, kote-men, and men-nuki-men. We kept extra spacing for safety, of course. After practicing those waza with bokken, we switched into full bogu and repeated the drills with shinai and full striking. Very nice way to practice.

Day 334.5

Today we had a special day of Iaido. Normally, we have 45 minutes for a class. We had 2 hours of uninterrupted Iaido. It was like a mini-seminar. We had about a half-hour of free practice and then we went into deep discussion and practice of individual kata. We would practice each kata without interruption, and then we would do them by stopping our motion and posture with each significant sword motion, like a cut, chiburi, or thrust. The instructor would come by each of us and give minor corrections. Then we would repeat the kata with the adjusted motions. We practiced 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. We were supposed to save some time for practice tests, but time ran out. Next week, we’ll finish up the kata and save perhaps half an hour or so for practice tests.

A Beginner's Point of View 331-332

2011-12-28T19:58:00.001-08:00

Day 331:

No class today because of the holiday.

Day 332:

Today was a special day. Last practice of the year. We had an extra-long Iaido practice. We went through our kata under the supervision of the instructor. We then had a structured class where we all practiced each of the first five kata together and had group comments. The instructor was lumping me together with a shodan as the ‘advanced students’. Kinda weird being ‘advanced’ when I don’t have a rank. Apparently, I’m in a gray area because I know all twelve kata where the other rankless students do not. We even had a practice test. We would bow in, do the first five kata, then bow out, all under six minutes. The instructor timed us and my time was 5:30, which is what it should be. I made sure to be extra slow in the beginning, but then sped up by the end. I couldn’t loop the sageo properly at the end, but it did not touch the ground.

Afterwards, we had Kendo class. It was a combined beginner/advanced class. Even though it was late, I stayed for it all. We had warm-ups and suburi by our ikkyu. Then we had free keiko with anyone we wanted for any time we wanted. I had keiko with three people of varying ranks, received kakari-geiko from two others, and had an intense keiko with a sandan. I was holding my own the whole way. It was a lot of fun.

At the end, we took time to practice kata. I was paired with the ikkyu, so we practiced the first three kata. I was encouraged to teach the fourth kata. We didn’t have time for a full lesson, so I showed the shidachi side. One of the instructors was watching and not interrupting, so I think he was judging my ability to teach. I gave some corrections about the ikkyu’s first and third kata, and then we practiced it a couple of times. Running through the fourth kata was harder, but rewarding.

We finished class and had some good pointers from the instructors. They outlined along the year when various tournaments and testings can be expected.

A Beginner's Point of View 328-330

2011-12-21T18:26:00.001-08:00

Day 329:

Today in Iaido, I practiced my kata for a while until the instructor looked for supplies to run the club. Then he called for a class. We went thorugh the steps to rei-hou for over half the class time. I learned to twist the saya when pushing the sword to the right hand to help keep track of the sageo when moving into to-rei.

In Kendo, the instructor led the class in warm-ups. I’m glad, because I still forgot a few exercises. We took pains to learn proper sonkyo and then we put on men. I had to sit out and put on my doh and tare first. There was no break between classes. We moved into lines and I received men, kote, doh, and kiri-kaeshi. Then we had a few keikos. From my recovery over the weekend, I did much better. Not huffing and puffing at all. It was either the rest or no fans running during practice.

Day 330:

In Iaido, I did my kata over and over. The instructor watched me for a while, but did not say anything. Maybe he didn’t have any advice. I’m getting better and throwing my weight on my back foot for chiburi. I just need to slow down and do it deliberately. Also, I’m getting a little better and keeping my heels down after the first and second kata rather than them being high up in the air.

In Kendo, I led the class in reihou while the instructor led the class in warm-ups, suburi, and footwork drills. Then we had a mock shiai. The ones without bogu did a kind of competitive kihon. 2 men, 2 kote, 2 doh. The judges would hantei for a winner. I helped by receiving for one of them.

Then it was time for the students in bogu less then 18 years old. There were four of them. They did a round-robin style tournament like usual. In the end, the girl who was ikkyu won. At the conclusion of her second match, her opponent started crying. At first we thought he was struck in the ear, but that turned out to be not the case. He said that at the end of his match, he just had a mass of anxiety that he could not keep out, so he cried it out for ‘no good reason’. Either that girl’s spirit crushed his, or maybe all of the high-intensity constant drill of kiai-strike-zanshin-kiai-strike-zanshin-etc just got to him. After a few minutes outside to recover, he was fine.

In the adults bracket, I was one of three people. I fought the other shodan and a girl from mudansha. I actually played it smart and baited-counterbaited to trick my opponents off-guard. Sometimes it worked. I struck, passed through, screamed my head off, and turned around, over and over. Occasionally, I saw the opening and struck quickly enough to get a point. I won both my matches 1-0. Afterwards, I led the class in ending rei-hou.

A Beginner's Point of View 327-328

2011-12-14T18:04:00.001-08:00

Day 327:

Today was a bad day all over. Bad day at work and bad day after work. In Iaido, I practiced the kata in order with plenty of room for the tenth and eleventh ones. I tried to modify my fourth kata to sit in iai-heza more like the instructor. I must have done something wrong because I absolutely crunched something on top of my foot. It hurt badly for the rest of Iaido class.

In Kendo, I was having some chest stress and lack of breath. I led the class in rei-hou and warm-ups. At the end of stretches, the instructor led us in more stretches and then commented how I’ve been lax for the past two weeks by missing a few stretches. It’s cold, so we need every stretch to avoid injury. Every time I shouted a repetition for suburi, it felt like I never got back a piece of my breath. By the end of suburi, I could not speak at all.

We did a long set of footwork drills, including one where we cross the floor in two lines weaving in and out of each other to practice timing. We went across the floor in a serpentine manner always facing the same direction, going forwards, left, right, and backwards. We even did it using partners all across the floor. We paired up for striking drills with kote but not men. We struck men, kote, and doh. The instructor was my partner for striking. He commented that I need to stop trying to strike sideways. Instead, I need to start swinging straight downward and then adjust on the way. That’s hard to do, but I did it successfully a few times.

Finally, I got the order to end class. I led the class in ending rei-hou. Finally, this day is over.

Day 328:

Today I have decided not to go to class. My chest has been sore all week and I haven’t recovered my breath from last class. I’m going to rest.

A Beginner's Point of View 325-326

2011-12-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Day 325:

Today was the start of a more structured class. We had a little free time to practice my kata freeform. I even got to practice my two new kata. After that, we had a class where the instructor would command us all to perform a certain kata all together a couple of times. Then he would give comments. We did that for the first three kata and then class was over. I did not skip out early like usual, but I rushed to put on doh and tare for Kendo.

I led the class in rei-hou but our ikkyu candidate led the class in warm-ups. However, I ran the class for footwork drills! I had been passively planning such a thing for months but it happened! I wonder if this is training for being a nidan/sandan who would teach the class. I had the class concentrate on zanshin by making sure everyone turned around and took chudan after the drill. If even one person did not finish properly, then the whole class had to repeat the drill. I had to force them to repeat a couple of times, making sure to say out loud that someone forgot to finish. We did long kiais, shomen, kote, and kote-men strikes. Then the instructor took over and arranged us in a serpentine maze for renzoku-men strikes without anyone wearing men. It was fun but a little dangerous. Everyone was forced to be aware of their partners and who was next and how far away they were.

Day 326:

Today was less structured than the last class. I just worked on my twelve kata over and over. I did get a comment from the instructor. On the tenth kata, I am thrusting to the tsuki while wrapping the blade around my body, which makes it off-target. I need to thrust it straight. It needs to move like in the fourth kata. I also need to show the side of the blade to the attacker in the third kata instead of the back of the blade.

In Kendo, I led the class in rei-hou and warm-ups. The other shodan led the class in footwork. We had more partner drills today, which helped keep our distance. The head instructor even did the sideways footwork drill with me while he was in jodan to see if he could keep the distance. We did menouchi drills without men and then we lined up to put on men. After doing kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, and koteouchi, the head instructor called for a new drill. Anyone not attending the advanced class would do kiri-kaeshi-men-men-men-men-kiri-kaeshi. I had a knot in my abdomen when I started, but I pushed through anyway. I was out of breath, but I kept pushing myself harder to break through. I did well. I only ran out of breath right at the end. I then closed out the class with rei-hou.

A Beginner's Point of View 323-324

2011-11-30T19:16:00.001-08:00

Day 323:

In Iaido, I started out doing my regular routine. I’m refining my second kata to show off the final draw and adjust of the body at the beginning when you spin.

The sensei decided it was time to teach me the tenth kata since we had the room on the floor for it. You start off standing and take two steps forward. Place your hands on the sword. With the third step, you lift up the tsuka still inside the saya and then slam it down on the first opponent’s hands at the position ‘northeast’ of the start. You then draw the saya off the sword and then point it horizontally to the ‘southwest’ with the blunt edge against your body. You slide sideways into the second opponent and thrust to the abdomen. You face the first opponent and step into a shomen cut. You then turn to step into a third opponent to the ‘southeast’ for a shomen strike. Then you bring it down into a stance like waki-game while turning to face the last opponent to the ‘northwest’. You bring the sword up over your head and then step big into the final opponent for a shomen cut. You step back into left jodan, chiburi, and then step back to the start. It’s complicated, but you get into the flow of it with practice.

In Kendo, the instructors decided to give my role to the nikyu who is planning to test for ikkyu. This will give him a bigger sense of responsibility for future ranks and roles. Good for him. He led the class in rei-hou and warm-ups.

We had a guest today. I’m not sure if he’ll be a regular, but he is a Kumdo fighter. He has a different stance and different motions after the strikes, but he is really good and judging distance and keeping his energy up. He also has a very sideways motion when doing kiri-kaeshi.

The class did lots of footwork and shomen drills to work up our spirit. We then did kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, and koteouchi drills. We had a short set of two ji-geiko drills at the end. I had lower-ranking students to encourage, so I let them hit me a couple of times before I tried to hit them.

Day 324:

Today, I started off with my routine, adding the tenth kata to my list. However, the instructor offered to teach me the eleventh kata. I said yes and we started learning it.

You start off taking two steps and grip the sword. You draw forward, but then you step back and raise it upwards in a nuki move. You then strike the right side of the opponent’s head down to the chin. Carve backwards up and then strike the left shoulder down to the sternum. Carve backwards up and then strike the right ribs under the arm down to the hip. Carve back up and then swing around to level with the hips and slash horizontally across the doh, making sure to turn your upper torso to follow the sword. Raise up and then slash downward down the middle. Chiburi to the right and noto. Step back about seven steps (nine of you took big steps) back to the start.

It’s been fourteen months since I started Iaido and now I know all of the kata. Still, I don’t have a rank yet. I’m not frustrated. I’m saying it feels weird to know so much and yet not have had the chance to test. I guess I’ll just be ready to test soon.

In Kendo, I led the class in rei-hou, but the instructor led the warm-ups. After footwork drills, we did a lot of waza. We separated into ordered groups and rotated through after each attack was finished. A couple of people were not doing it safely, so the instructor halted the class to lecture them about safety. Then we started up again. We moved into keiko (or ji-geiko for those not in bogu) and kept going. The same line had an accident. Apparently, someone hooked a keikogi with a ki-saki whoch resulted in the arms being tugged and the opposing shinai bonking the back of the student’s head. I can’t even imagine how that would work but apparently it worked.

After I led the class in ending rei-hou, the instructor gave us a big lecture about taking responsibility for your line if you are highest-ranking. It was a good lecture.

A Beginner's Point of View 321-322

2011-11-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

Day 321:

In Iaido, my toe is better. I am beginning to see how I should keep my weight backwards to stabilize myself. As long as I do this, I should not wobble on my legs coming up. I’m wondering if my posture in the fourth kata is good enough. Others hold their right legs differently. Also, I was hasty is drawing today. The sword rattled in the saya coming out. Darn that misshapen interior.

In Kendo, my breath was shallow and my voice crackled a lot. After warm-ups and suburi, we had a few rounds of suri-ashi and fumi-komi. After adding in menouchi, we put on men. We did seemingly endless rounds of kiri-kaeshi and menouchi.

Day 322:

No class today as there is a holiday tomorrow. I would have preferred to practice.

A Beginner's Point of View 319-320

2011-11-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

Day 319:

Yesterday, I hurt my left big toe to the point where it was bleeding. I hope it won’t bother me today.

In Iaido, I practiced my kata over and over. I’m getting smoother on turning around in the second kata. My toe didn’t hurt me if I moved slowly. I need to practice moving my weight back onto my rear foot to avoid being unstable when standing.

In Kendo, Head Sensei showed up again. I led the class in rei-hou, warm-ups, and suburi. We did lots of footwork drills with kiai and fumi-komi. Then we put on men and I was motodachi for endless kiri-kaeshi and menouchi.

Day 320:

My toe is better, but the skin is stiff. It gives me excuse to slow down and do the leg movements correctly.

In Iaido, I really am putting much emphasis on the sixth and seventh katas.

In Kendo, we did a lot of footwork drills. The endless kiai with every drill left me out of breath. Still, I stayed in line. Kiri-kaeshi and menouchi was the order of the day.

A Beginner's Point of View 317-318

2011-11-09T18:29:00.001-08:00

Day 317:

No class today. I had a prior engagement that I could not get out of.

Day 318:

In Iaido, my iaito was freshly polished and oiled. It slid in and out of the saya nicely. I practiced my kata under the gaze of the instructor. He said nothing, so I guess that means I’m doing well.

In Kendo, who should show up but Head Sensei!!! It’s been forever since I’ve seen him! I decided to do my best. I lead the class in rei-hou and suburi. We did a lot of footwork drills leading up to striking. We did better than usual. I was motodachi with three others as we received kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, and koteouchi from the students. Head Sensei did not have any comments for the class. A few of the students were pulling their arms back after a strike, so I had to correct them.

A Beginner's Point of View 315-316

2011-11-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

Day 315:

In Iaido class, I arrived early to set up the dojo floor. Then I worked on my kata. The second kata is still a little awkward, but at least I’m coming closer to the answer. I’m still having trouble with the sageo. When I asked for some help, the instructor showed me how he uses his sageo. He explained that the beginning to-rei has you letting go of the sageo as you push it into your right hand, and then push it to the ki-saki. Allowing a small loop in the sageo is acceptable as long as you don’t fuss too much.

In Kendo, we did our warm-ups in a circle, like at tournament. After suburi, we got our men and dove right into a lot of kiri-kaeshi, men, and kote drills. Many of the students did not have bogu, but we taught them to receive kiri-kaeshi, men strikes, and kote strikes.

Day 316:

In Iaido, we had a full class. I squeezed in and did my kata without getting too close to the others. I remembered to place my left hand about midpoint on the iaito instead of close to the tsuba. It does make the tsuki motion easier and straighter.

In Kendo, our instructor didn’t show up until about too late. It turns out that he forgot to pack his bogu and uniform. Instead, he took video of the class during waza. I led the class in warm-ups and suburi. The instructor asked me to repeat a few suburi to make sure the class did it right. Then we broke into groups for suri-ashi drills with lots of kiai practice. We gave our loudest kiai, sometimes with our mouths closed to build up our lungs. During kiai and even suburi, I found my voice deepening and being louder. I wonder if I’m improving my kiai. We put on men and did a lot of kiri-kaeshi and menouchi drills. We finished by having a couple of keikos.

A Beginner's Point of View 313-314

2011-10-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Day 313:

In Iaido, I used the time to practice my kata. I’m getting better at turning around in the second kata. I just keep my weight on my right knee and pivot with my left foot. I just gotta remember to draw back my saya a lot just before the cut.

In basic Kendo, we did stretches, suburi, and footwork drills. Then we put on men to receive for menouchi and koteouchi. The final drill was for the motodachi to do kiri-kaeshi on the students for a single time.

In advanced Kendo, I was not feeling well. My heart was racing and my breath was shallow. I don’t understand what was wrong. There were only four of us for advanced Kendo. We did a couple rounds of kiri-kaeshi and then practiced doh-kiri-kaeshi and kote-kiri-kaeshi. Those drills can get dangerous if you move too fast. We did several drills of three waza switching attackers for four sets. That was a single drill. We did a few drills like that. I was out of breath and I had to stop and sit out. I watched the others do three-square before they took a break.

During the break, I learned they were not feeling well also. Maybe it was the weather. We went back in and did three rounds of jigeiko and a full ninety seconds each. I was in good form with nuki waza and debana-kote.

We then broke for kata. I love kata. I actually learned the seventh kata. Both come out three spaces in chudan. The uchidachi steps forward with a tsuki, which the shidachi parries and steps back. The uchidachi swings for oh-men strike while the shidachi strikes doh and steps forward and to the side. The shidachi crosses left over right and then kneels on the right knee. Both look at each other and pass through waki-game into chudan. The uchidachi steps back and the shidachi stand up with a forward step. Then both circle around each other while crossing their feet over each other until they are back to the start. The shidachi takes small steps while the uchidachi takes big steps. This brings both back to start. I got to learn both sides tonight.

Day 314:

In Iaido, I’m beginning to establish a pattern for turning around in the second kata. If I use the turning around to draw back the saya it works. Then the final adjust of the left foot coincides with the actual draw of the sword. Class was very crowded today, so I held off on practicing the seventh and ninth kata mostly unless the way was clear. The air was very humid so the floor was kinda sticky.

In Kendo, I led the class in rei-hou, warm-ups, and suburi. The instructor joined us for the second half of suburi with a few comments. We did several footwork drills involving men, kote, and doh strikes across the floor. I tried to make my fumi-komi smaller but more deliberate. We then put on men and received many, many, men and kote strikes form the students.

In advanced Kendo, we did a lot of waza drills. Menouchi and koteouchi with several ji-geiko inbetween for extra hard work. I almost made it to the end of waza practice without stopping but I did have to stop. There was no hotseat or four-square today, so I stood by and called out ‘yame’ when the time for ji-geiko was over.

We then broke up for kata. I love kata. I spent the time teaching the third kata to my friend who is two ranks lower than me. Eventually, he’ll need the first three kata for his ikkyu test. He kept not getting the footwork right. So, I walked him through both uchidachi and shidachi sides over and over for the rest of class.

A Beginner's Point of View 311-312

2011-10-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Day 311:

I did not go to class because I was buying a new car. I thought I had scheduled plenty of time, but the sales staff kept me at the dealership all afternoon and into the night. Business just does not respect dojo class times.

Day 312:

In Iaido class, I worked on my kata again. A couple of instructors watched me, but did not comment. I noticed the sharp edge of the iaito was turned inward a couple of times when practicing the eighth kata. That didn’t seem quite right, so I asked the instructor. He confirmed that the sharp edge should be outward. I also practiced turning in the second kata. It’s awkward, but getting better. I’m putting my weight on my right knee and using my left toe to provide the leverage. After turning, I’m practicing getting the left leg right with the horizontal cut.

In Kendo class, we had extra sandans show up. Apparently, they’re going to be joining us from now on when they can show up. We did stretches and suburi. We then did footwork drills and men strikes in bogu. At the end of class, a sandan made comments about posture and breathing to the class.

In advanced Kendo, we did lots of kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, and ji-geiko. I had to sit out for a while until they started organizing for three-square. I stepped in for that, getting the same group as the new sandan. Afterwards, he commented on how I was doing well but I should relax my shoulders. Apparently, I have that old problem again. He also complimented the other student with us on his accuracy and balance.

Then we took a water break and split up into groups for shiai. We did it informally, without shinpan, but we did it with the attitude of being tested. The lower-ranking students were rebuked for their lax attitude towards the opening rei-hou. After that, they sharpened up. I had my shiai against a ni-kyu. We pushed each other well. I pushed him to speed up and attack. He pushed me to slow down and take control.

After class, then new sandan commented amongst us dans about how the moksuo for rei-hou was too short. Our instructor explained that we were advised not to moksuo or at least make it short. I told him about how I measure the three breaths with two heartbeats for each part of breath. It’s something that we’ll have to nail down definitively.

A Beginner's Point of View 309-310

2011-10-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Day 309:

I was not feeling very well, so I went to class to fix myself. In Iaido, I did my full set over and over. I tried more to perfect the spin on the second kata. It was difficult. The instructor came over to give me advice, and it sounds like I need to put my weight on my right knee. Use my left toe to provide the spin and when it finishes, slide my left foot aside. Easier said than done. Still, Iaido cured my headache.

In Kendo, we had a lot of students again. The instructor had us put our swords aside. After putting our palms together we went through a series of exercises to feel our range of motion up and down for men, kote, and doh. After that, we did kiri-kaeshi and menouchi. My nausea was half-cured by the end of class.

In advanced Kendo, we started off doing kiri-kaeshi, menouchi, and choice-of-waza drills. Then we went right into hot-seat drill for aiouchi-men, kote-suriage-men, and keiko. Afterwards, we did kata. I love kata. Myself and another student taught the first kata to another student who is not long into wearing his bogu. Over and over, we taught it to him until he seemed to understand the principles involved. My nausea was completely cured by the end of class. I guess this proves that Kendo is good for you.

Day 310:

I was late for Iaido class because of a huge traffic back-up on the roads. Class was half over by the time I arrived. The instructor was busy teaching other students so I didn’t get a lesson on the special Iaido knot. I’ll have to practice at home with those illustrated guides. I practiced a full set and then practiced the second kata over and over to get the spinning part right. I’m coming along. I’ll just keep my weight on my right knee and use my left toe to provide the power to spin.

In Kendo class the normal instructor did not show up until only ten minutes before the end of class. This is because of the bad traffic back-up and it was not his fault. I led the class in warm-ups while another instructor would teach the class in elementary footwork and kihon. The normal instructor showed up by the time we were in bogu.

In advanced Kendo, we started off with a hard practice of lots of kiri-kaeshi, waza, and ji-geiko. The previous Guest Sensei came back. I learned that he is a sandan and he’s thinking of joining the dojo. I had to step out right before the class separated into two groups of three-man-four-square. I did come back in time for keiko. We lined up in two lines and picked our partners. I had three keikos before becoming exhausted. Then we broke for kata. I love kata. I naturally paired up with a lower-ranking student who only knew the first four kata. I helped him smooth over his fourth kata over and over by going through the roles with him. Maybe next time I’ll teach him the fifth kata.

A Beginner's Point of View 307-308

2011-09-28T21:36:00.001-07:00

Day 307:

In Iaido, I started practicing my routine, paying attention to the second kata. I tried not to move my left big toe back like I was taught before the spin. It’s very awkward and my final kneeling stance is narrow and unsteady. I need to pivot on my toes and push my right knee out.

I was taught a new kata today. It’s the eighth one. Similar to the sixth kata, you are surrounded by two opponents kind of off-line. You take two steps forward and then grip the tsuka. With the third step, you thrust the tsuka up into the face of the forward enemy, as of breaking the nose. The saya does not totally come out of the obi. You slide the tsuka down to reveal the sword. Here’s a tricky part. You grip the iaito ‘sideways’ to make the blade ‘horizontal’. You then pivot the left foot and then slide the right foot around to the left and turn around. You thrust to the rear opponent up between the ribs and into the heart. You then grip the iaito properly with two hands and swing up. You pivot on your left foot and step back to the front with the right, cutting downward vertically. Chiburi to the right and noto. Three steps back to the start. I think I can get the hang of this one. The instructor saw me do it a couple of times and said I have the basics down.

In Kendo, we did stretches and suburi like normal. However, the class was packed. Several of the students now have keikogi and hakama. They all chose white keikogi and indigo hakama. Not bad looking at all. There was a new student as well. The head instructor took him aside to teach him walking and holding the shinai.

We did lots of waza practice, menouchi, koteouchi, dohouchi, and kote-menouchi. We got a chance to show the class how it is done properly after they all had a chance to drill. Then we had the advanced students do ji-geikos.

In advanced Kendo, we started with kiri-kaeshi and menouchi. We then practiced ojji-waza of our choice and then had a keiko using those techniques. That went for most of the class. Never once did my heart hurt. We also did hotseat for a full rotation of ji-geiko in twenty seconds. We also did shinsa matches under the gaze of the instructors.

After that, we did kata. I love kata. I was paired with a lower-ranking kyu who only knew the first three kata. I practiced with her over and over. She was very…rusty. I went with her step by step correcting the biggest issues and then repeating the katas. We had fixed the first two when we ran out of time.

After class, the instructor and I had a nice chat about how I seem to have “winning mode” and “testing mode”. He thought there was a discrepancy in my Kendo, which is normal for a shodan. He also said he wasn’t quite sure what the difference came from. I told him that it was urgency. Sometimes, I felt pressed for time or having an overabundance of time. He suggested that I spend the next few months trying to find a balance between the two and resolve them into ‘one Kendo’. It was good advice. He said he would give me some reading material to help.

Day 308:

In Iaido, we had a record-breaking crowd of students attending. Even Sensei showed up. We were squashed for space, but we muddled through as best as we could. Several of the low-ranking students are now wearing their keikogi and hakama. A few even have plastic saya to sheathe their bokken. I started doing my full set, trying to turn around smoothly in the second kata without prepping my left toe first. I tried it by putting weight on my left big toe and then by putting weight on my right knee. It seemed smoother on my right knee so I think I’ll try to do it that way from now on.

In Kendo, we had a Guest Sensei show up. I don’t know what rank he is, but he looked like he was between sandan and godan. We did the whole class practicing techniques for kiri-kaeshi. We did a drill where one partner strikes the raised shinai for men and takes three steps. The other partner receives the strike and steps back to reset the pair. Every other turn, the pair switches roles. The next drill would have the partners striking sayu-men. Finally, the motodachi would put on men and give and receive kiri-kaeshi in full.

In advanced Kendo, we did a lot of waza. Kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, doh-ouchi, and kote-men-ouchi. There were a few keikos during the long progression of drills. I had to step out for breath just as they were setting up for four-square drills. Guest Sensei was confused at first about how the square would flow, but after two full rotations, he got it well. After that, there was a break for water. I put on men and jumped back in for free ji-geiko. You could choose your partner and fight however long you wish. There was a long line for keiko with Guest Sensei so I sparred with other students for ten minutes. Then I got in line to spar with Guest Sensei. I was the last one of the night to spar with him, so he was winded. However, he was not slow. He was just as fast as the first ji-geiko. He would beat me at every exchange and push me to swing faster and faster. I would try to vary my timing and distance but he wasn’t fooled by any of them. I did get a few basic strikes in for men but he would bonk me on the head when I would turn around. After a couple of these times, I charged past a full extra step past. He then complimented and said that was a good distance. After class, I thanked him for coming and mentioned that I learned about establishing distance after exchanges. He asked me about the advice I was given. I told him about the contradictory advice and he advised me to take the extra step to be safe. That makes sense.

A Beginner's Point of View 305-306

2011-09-21T23:08:00.001-07:00

Day 305:

In Iaido class I continued my slow draw of the sword. It seems as if all of my kata are improving by the slow draw of the sword. It seems as if I draw the sword halfway and pull back the saya the other half. The flick of the sword it just a finishing move. I wonder if that’s right.

Today there was a packed class, but only two instructors. After warm-ups, had a lot of footwork drills. I had to keep the class organized for the instructor. Once, we did so much fumi-komi that the instructor’s clipboard and papers fall over. Without thinking, I raced over to clean it up. I’m not toadying so much as automatically keeping the class running smooth instead having the instructor to stop and fix it himself.

In advanced Kendo class, we did a lot of basic waza drills, like two oh-men, two sashi-men, two oh-kote, and then two sashi-kote (all as a single drill). We also did a hotseat drill with one of us taking on a whole line of kenshi one at a time, over and over. We would rotate out constantly, performing such things as kote-suriage-men or men-kaeshi-doh. Too bad we had no time for kata.

Day 306:

Sensei was at Iaido class today. He moved a little stiffly, but deliberately. Myself, I tried to incorporate more saya-biki in my first two kata. I did ask the instructor for whether or not the gaze for the third kata would shift from the center. He replied that you always keep your gaze upon your opponent, but after the slice you lower your gaze slightly and then noto.

In Kendo, we did warm-ups and suburi. Then we had the motodachi put on kote and practice kihon kata, which is the menouchi kata and the koteouchi kata with the bokken instead of the shinai.

In advanced Kendo, there were only four of us. So, we had a hard practice of lots of ji-geiko and a full four rounds of four-square. The ceiling fans were running slower than usual, so there was not a cool breeze churning up the humid air like usual. We were sweating a lot.

A Beginner's Point of View 303-304

2011-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Day 303:

In Iaido class, I performed my normal routine. I was getting the hang of the draw for the first kata, but the steps for the fifth were beginning to elude me. When I concentrate on not rattling the sword upon draw, I step too far. If I correct my steps, I rattle upon draw. Class was crowded, so I only performed the seventh kata twice to avoid coming too close to others.

In beginner Kendo, we had a full class. There were new bright lights and ceiling fans to swirl the air, so it was not so hot. Inside the bogu was still very warm and we sweat, but it was much better. We did lots of suburi, including explanations and footwork drills. We then put on men and became motodachi for the students. One explanation at the end of the class was the three ways to kill the opponent. Kill their spirit with kiai, kill their sword by pushing it aside, and kill their techinique by altering the spacing. It was a good lecture.

In advanced Kendo, we did a round of kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, suriage-men, harai-kote, and aiouchi-men. In between each drill, we had a short ji-geiko using the waza we just practiced. There was a short practice test for all of the candidates destined to take the ikkyu exam.

Then we did kata. I love kata. Myself and the other shodan teamed up with the instructor to learn the ins and outs of the sixth Kendo kata. The uchidachi role is to show all bad mistakes. The uchidachi comes out in chudan and feels pressure from the shidachi. The uchidachi steps back into jodan and then steps back into chudan. He then gives a lazy attempt at sashi-kote, which is parried by the shidachi. The uchidachi has his kote cut by the shidachi, who then carves up the shoulder into jodan. The uchidachi steps back, turning the left shoulder away form the shidachi, as if cowering. After the shidachi steps back into line, the uchidachi steps back into line.

Day 304:

In Iaido class, I performed my normal routine, but slowed my draw of the sword. It nearly totally ceased its rattle and it allowed me to draw it smoothly for a more definitive cut. I think I’ll keep doing that.

In beginner Kendo, we did lots of suburi. There were beginners in the class, so the instructor spoke a lot about how to perform the cuts. Afterwards, we did footwork drills. I put on men and performed the role of motodachi for the students to practice their men and kote drills. The ones without bogu or uniform just practiced menouchi.

In advanced Kendo, we did alternating drills of waza and then ji-geiko with the same partner right after using that technique. It was different and interesting. We had lots of ji-geikos. At the end, the instructor picked a student testing for ikkyu. All of us dans would fight a full keiko with that student one after another, pushing him to his limits. The last two matches had him huffing and puffing hard. He took to leaning over out of breath after striking men. We kept yelling at him to stand up straight and push himself. The last instructor had the student do a drill just like Head Sensei. “One more men! One more men! One more men! One more men!” Over and over until the student struck men perfectly. After practice, we wished him well and each dan gave him advice. My advice to him was to stop planning so much. He needed to feel his opportunity and then finish his strike. I also suggested to him not to lean over, no matter how out of breath. That signals that you give up, which is bad.

A Beginner's Point of View 301-302

2011-09-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Day 301:

Today was a holiday but the dojo was open. We gathered for Iaido a little bit late, so we only had twenty real minutes of practice. Still, I did my routine and tried to concentrate on flexing my wrist to increase the range of motion for the chiburi.

In Kendo, we had a merged beginner and advanced class. We had four new students start today. We did warm-ups and footwork practice. We had some basic suri-ashi and some basic men drills.

We broke up into motodachi and received strikes from everyone. The beginner students were awkward, but no more so than I was at the beginning. After more kihon drills, the beginning students stepped aside as the rest of us performed ji-geiko.

Day 302:

Today I spent most of the day at a new job interview, so I have not had much to eat or drink. It was also extremely humid. I was sweating profusely just cleaning the floor.

In Iaido, Sensei came back to class. He was stiff from his time with the doctor healing his joints, but he looked ready to take up the sword again.

We did our kata routine as usual, trying to pay attention to details. It’s difficult to keep your focus on the opponent in the third kata after you cut. I keep drifting my gaze back towards the shomen.

In Kendo, we separated the class after halfway through suburi. I was in the advanced section where we finished suburi and then did footwork drills over short distances. We went forwards solo and sideways with a partner. Then we put on men and were motodachi for the students. The beginners were trying just to do regular oh-men waza without passing through. Some of them were hitting too hard, some were tensing their shoulders, some were not stepping their feet properly. I tried to give good tips to help their strikes. They were grateful for anything I had to offer.

At the end of beginner class, I had to leave. I was not feeling up to advanced class. I was tired, dehydrated, and lacking energy. I decided to just go home and rest up.

A Beginner's Point of View 299-300

2011-09-02T14:31:00.001-07:00

Day 299:

In Iaido class, I did my normal run through. The instructor noticed that my horizontal cut for the first and second kata was too high. I guess I need to swing my shoulder lower to avoid being so high.

In basic Kendo, I led the class for rei-hou and warm-ups. We were in the smaller space of our normal hardwood floor. So, no wind sprints of huge length but back to fumi-komi drills. Win some, lose some. After footwork, we put on men and I was asked to be motodachi. The students did kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, and doh drills. One student is new to bogu, so his strikes are awkward. During the doh drills, he swuing early and wide, striking my elbow right on the bony part twice in a row. My flesh bruised and swelled up right away.

In advanced Kendo, there were only five of us. We started with one round of kiri-kaeshi, and then went into many drills of men, kote, and doh. We spent a lot of time during nidan-waza, such as men-suriage-men and kote-suriage men.

The instructor had invented a drill that I call ‘Four-Square’ drill. Four people stand in a box formation. The one who starts in the position closest to shomen on the dan side will receive kakari-geiko from the one across form him. The other two positions are ‘rest’ positions. Once thirty seconds of kakari-geiko is done, everyone rotates to the right. So, the one who just performed kakari-geko will now receive it for thirty seconds. We rotate constantly every thirty seconds without waiting for bowing before and after a rotation. It’s a hard practice without stopping and those rest positions really come in handy. Without them, I’d have to stop to catch my breath. At the end of class, we practiced kata. I love kata. We did the first five kata for a refresher.

Day 300:

In Iaido, I did my run-through like usual. Sometime, I would rattle the sword in the saya. I need to twist the saya more and draw more slowly. When I slow down and do each step deliberately, I do better.

In basic Kendo, I led rei-hou and warm-ups. We did more footwork drills as a group. There was a time when I was part of a line of six kenshi going across the floor all at once. It was just a touch narrow, so I let the others go a full step before I went to avoid colliding. Also, the instructor advised us to put most of our weight upon our left foot instead of the left. This allows us to stop properly. It also allows us to do fumi-komi in a more controlled way. When we put on men, I was motodachi again. The students did men, kote, and doh drills again. That previous student who was swinging wildly did much better this time.

In advanced Kendo, we did kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, and doh drills. We then went back to having a single student receiving constantly from a line of kenshi one at a time. We practiced suriage drills this way for a while. We included a drill where the receiver would do keiko with each kenshi one at a time for fifteen seconds in a constant stream of fights. We continued until everyone had that chance with everyone else.

A Beginner's Point of View 297-298

2011-08-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

Day 297:

In Iaido, there was only the instructor and two of us. We had the gymnasium again. We had a free practice today. I tried to make the chiburi for the first and second kata into one fluid motion instead of three separate actions. That was harder than it looked. I kept hopping up into standing stance and that made me a little unstable. I need to slow down and make it smoother.

In Kendo, I led the opening ceremony. We did a whole lot of wind sprints. We also did a drill about turning around in tai-atari. A pair of kenshi would match up with one going forward and one going backward. They would go across the floor until they reached a line. They went to tai-atari and use three steps to turn around 180 degrees. Then they repeated until the next line. We did this several times. It was fun and a good lesson.

I stayed for advanced Kendo today. The wind sprints left me tired and exhausted. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi and men strikes. I tried to do the men strikes the way Guest Sensei told us. After several rounds of men strikes, I was out of breath. I drank some water and sat down. I went back in after missing the drills about kote and kote men. I did participate in the drills for kote-suriage-men and men-suriage-men. Men-suriage-men is harder than it looks, especially if you don’t step to the side wide enough. I finally got the rythym by the end. We did a few rounds of ji-geiko. I received a comment from an instructor about how I am ‘forgetting’ that I am a shodan. He meant that I was not trying my full compliment of techniques and relying on a chosen few. He’s right, so I need to remember to try nuki-waza and hiki-waza from time to time.

We finished class by doing kata. I love kata. I spent the class with an ikkyu candidate, teaching him the finer points of the first three kata. We did this over and over until the end of class. I gave a few pointers on how to compose himself so the judges will like him. I hope he passes.

Day 298:

Today was a free day. I practiced my kata alone again. The instructor came over and commented that I’m still cutting too high on the first two kata. Maybe I should aim for ‘chest-level’ when I cut horizontally. I asked about bringing the sword up for the first cut in the fifth kata. The tsuka bumps off my forearm when I stop the blade. The instructor never had that problem, so he conjectured that I was cutting too forcefully and snapping my wrist too hard. He suggested that I cut more gently to avoid it. Makes sense.

In beginner Kendo, we were in the gymnasium again. The workers were not present to certify that the church building was ready for us just yet. We did stretches and suburi normally, and then went right into wind sprints. I helped the instructor demonstrate the proper way to turn around in tai-atari. We also did a nice ‘caterpillar’ footwork drill all across the lines of the gymnasium court. Very good workout for the legs and ankles.

In advanced Kendo, we only did one round of kiri-kaeshi and went into the 5-7-9 sets of drills for men, kote, and doh. I was exhausted halfway through, but stuck in there. I simply slowed down and paced myself and I did not need to stop for a break. There were several lectures, which gave me time to catch my breath. We had a couple of ji-geiko matches at the end. I overdid it a bit, pushing the tendon on my wrist and slamming my left forearm into the men-gane of my partner over and over. I was too close for strike and my opponent was fast.

To end class, we took off our bogu and got our bokkens. We did the kihon drills with the bokken. Men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, doh-ouchi, and tsuki-ouchi were the first drill. Kote-men-ouchi was the second drill. Men-hiki-doh-ouchi was the third drill. Finally, suriage-men was the fourth drill. The suriage is the same-side of the bokken, so no dipping down and bringing it up to the other side.

At the end of class, my wrist and arm were hurting me. All I could say is that it was a great practice and ow-ow-ow-ow.

A Beginner's Point of View 295-296

2011-08-18T12:45:00.001-07:00

Day 295:

Today we were back in the hard-floored gymnasium. I did my routine of kata over and over. The no-slip floor was throwing my steps off-balance. I had some trouble remembering if I was supposed to kneel or stand at the conclusion of the fifth kata. I stayed standing and asked the instructor. He agreed that it was standing.

There was a new student. He wanted to study Iaido and Kendo together. The instructor spent most of his time with him teaching him to stand, walk, and swing.

I felt it was a good time to try Kendo again. My wrist was stiff but not painful. It was also Guest Sensei’s last day here with us. We used bokken for suburi. Guest Sensei didn’t like the way I did shomen strikes. He was saying that I was raising too high and not stretching far enough on the down swing. He showed me how to do it by positioning my arms. It was awkward but it was working and it was faster. I guess he’s right. I need to remember how to do that.

We did kiri-kaeshi and shomen suburi with shinai and then we broke up for matches. We only had time for three matches by the students lower ranking than myself. I’m almost disappointed and almost happy at the same time. I’m so rusty after many weeks of no Kendo I must look terrible. Still, I’m grateful to Guest Sensei for his advice. I’ll have to try to remember it.

Day 296:

Today in Iaido I learned that the ‘sonkyo’ position to finish the fourth kata is not a true sonkyo like in Kendo before and after a match. It’s with the left knee on the floor and tight right foot slid back past the left knee. That’s much easier than what I’ve been trying to do. It may even hurt less. That’s good.

Also, at the tail end of class, the instructor had us practice the second kata all together. He reminded us that we begin to draw as we start to turn around and ‘snap’ the last movement into place when we flick the sword out. It looks like he’s pivoting on his right knee instead of the left foot like I’ve been doing. I need to start doing that.

In Kendo, we did more suburi with lectures along the way about form. I’m trying to do men strike like Guest Sensei instructed. Raise up so the left fist is at the forehead and you just barely see underneath. Then snap your left arm forward on the downstroke. I’ll have to practice that a lot.

After suburi, we did wind sprints. Very good exercises, but left me breathless. Then we put on men and did more men strikes and kote strikes, but only the strike, not passing by. I made the mistake of using full charging speed so I almost keep bumping into my partner. I did correct myself after a bit, though.

A Beginner's Point of View 293-294

2011-08-10T19:32:00.001-07:00

Day 293:

Today there was only myself and the instructor. It was a free class, so I worked on my 1-2-3-4-6-7-9-12 over and over. My sword was rattling again and I tried to remember to draw partway before flicking the saki outward. My left foot was stiff when doing the fourth kata, so the relaxing into the final position was painful.

Halfway through the class, the instructor commented that the reason I seem so awkward in my stances is because moving forward while swinging the iaito causes my momentum to move forward fully and I have to stop myself with effort. In Kendo, this is expected because we wish to charge past our opponent. In Iaido, we wish to stop in our tracks. We do this by not bringing our back foot as far when finishing a strike.

I asked to be taught the fifth kata so I could be ready for any promotional exam. The fifth kata can be awkward. You step forward with the right and then with the left foot. You rotated the saya to almost upside down and make ready for an upward diagonal cut. You partially draw the sword. You step forward with the right foot and draw the sword, bringing up in backhand not quite all the way. You turn the blade right side up, ready for the downstroke back the same path. You grip with both hands and cut down back the same path. You then step back into hasso-no-kamae and chiburi by swinging your right hand around and over your head. Noto and take three steps back with the right foot. This is a lot of awkward steps but it’s an interesting kata.

My left wrist is still aching from the injury even though I’m resting. I’ll go back to Kendo when I’m ready to use that tendon for tenouchi without hurting it. Even the instructors agreed with my decision.

Day 294:

Today was a day of routine. It was only the instructor and two of us beginners. However, today I decided to do my kata with enthusiasm. I slowed down and made each motion a full effort, with the bending of the wrist.

It worked! I’ve never felt so good about my kata as today. I was ‘feeling it’ when I did the motions. I felt the opponent in front of me. I ‘saw’ the cuts. I pulled back the saya to make the cuts smoother and quieter. I tried not to bring my left foot forward so much to stabilize. I flexed my right wrist to make the cuts and chiburi more smooth. The instructor watched me for a while and said nothing. Instead the instructor offered to answer questions I had. I didn’t have any because I was just working things out for myself.

I was not perfect. My finish of the fourth kata was still awkward. My stance after the first and second kata is still a little shaky. My ascent in the third kata is still not smoothed over. Still, I enjoyed class today.

My wrist is still injured. No Kendo just yet. Perhaps not even next week.

A Beginner's Point of View 291-292

2011-08-04T07:01:00.001-07:00

Day 291:

My first day back after trying to take care of my injuries and my left wrist is still very stiff. I made sure to stretch out extra before class and then I went into my routine. I performed 1-2-3-4-6-7-9-12 at half speed to avoid hurting myself. My kata seems to be a little awkward since I’ve been out of class for 2 weeks. Still, I moved slowly and did my best. My wrist did not hurt because I was moving slowly. Also, my drawing of the blade seemed a little smoother, maybe because I concentrated on being accurate rather than being powerful.

I did not go to Kendo class because my wrist was still tender at the end of Iaido class. I’m going to wait until it’s strong again before going back to using it for tenouchi. The instructors let me know that from now on, we are using bokken for suburi rather than shinai. I’ll have to remember that form now on. Maybe it’s time for a bigger sword bag.

Day 292:

Today we had a full Iaido class. There were the two instructors and four of us who were beginners. We had to squash ourselves for space. In fact, once everyone showed up, the lead instructor had to stop practicing to give up his space for everyone else to use. For most of the class, I did my routine of 1-2-3-4-6-7-9-12.

For the last ten minutes of class, the lead instructor took us through the moves of the first kata, showing the key points. I thought I was doing it well, but I guess not. My sword rattles in its saya when I draw because I’m not pulling the sword out enough before the quick flick at the end. Also, I’m concentrating on low enough of a draw but I take it too far. The saki should be in front of the shoulder or knee. When making the vertical cut, the saki should end up just lower than horizontal. Finally, the chiburi should finish by showing myself the back side of the sword, but not the sides. I tend to do that anyway, but it’s good to know it definitively.

Still no Kendo, but my wrist is getting better. Maybe next week.

A Beginner's Point of View 289-290

2011-07-26T21:09:00.001-07:00

Day 289:

No class today since I am injured.

Day 290:

No class today since I am injured.

A Beginner's Point of View 287-288

2011-07-20T20:10:00.001-07:00

Day 287:

No class today since I am injured.

Day 288:

No class today since I am injured.

A Beginner's Point of View 285-286

2011-07-18T11:43:00.001-07:00

Day 285:

Our normal dojo suffered a structural problem and was closed for repairs. We moved our practice into the building next door into a dance hall. It seemed nice with a floating floor, mirrors on the wall, and a line taped into the floor.

In Iaido, I practiced 1-2-3-4-6-7-9-12. The third kata is hard to remember, but it is actually easier if you chain all of the individual motions into a fluid, slow movement from standing to chiburi. I noticed by standing on the line that my footwork for the sixth kata is not right. I’m stepping off the line to the left and ending up there. I should be staying on the line. An instructor corrected me. Secretly, I can’t wait to learn the fifth kata. Then at least I’ll be ready for a seminar when it happens.

In Kendo, we discovered the ceiling was not quite as tall as we would like. If we use a shinai, we are about an inch from striking the light fixtures. That’s not good. Instead, the instructors got the stash of several bokken and loaned them to students. I’ll have to remember to bring my bokken to practice from now on. We pretty much did all suri-ashi, fumi-komi, and suburi for all of class. It was good work and reinforcement of the basics. It was a good choice while the instructors did not know how well it would work with shinai in this ceiling.

We had a Guest Sensei show up. He gave a few comments for the basic class and then participated in the advanced class. My injuries were just finishing healing and I was tempted to stay and participate. However, logic won out and I went home instead. Guest Sensei said he would drop by for about a month or so. I think I’m going to try to stay for advanced practice next time or even next week.

Day 286:

Today I’m stiff from my injuries. I went to Iaido to practice my 1-2-3-4-6-7-9-12 in prep for Kendo. I was stiff on the third and fourth kata. The third is awkward, like all kata are at first. I think I should not draw on the first knee up. Perhaps I should draw on the second knee up as a single, fluid motion. The first knee up should simply torque the sword up, making it ready to draw.

In Kendo, we were in the gymnasium. We were slow to start, since others were late to show up. I was asked to start opening ceremony and warm-ups. As we did warm-ups, the instructors showed up, giving comments. We even did some suburi again the way they wanted. A sandan led the group for haya-suburi. At the end, we were told that we failed. At first I thought someone else must have messed up their stance, but it turns out I screwed up. I was louder than the instructor and ‘took over’ the pace. That’s wrong. The sandan should lead the pace. Man, was I embarrassed. I apologized and we started again. We did it right this time.

For class, we were lead in wind sprints, which reminded me of hockey drills. We charge in kamae and kiai all the way to a line, stop, then back to the start. Then start again and go further to another line, then all the way back. Finally, we do it again all the way down and all the way back. We are supposed to hold a single kiai for as long as we could and then take a breath and kiai again. After several ones over and over, my lungs were hurting. I had to stop and get some water. I participated in another set of wind sprints and then we stopped. We then did a drill I call the ‘tunnel’. Three kenshi lined up, facing the rest of the class one right after the other, holding their shinai out to the side. The first and third held to the right while the second held it towards the left. This meant we would charge through and strike men or kote only a single step apart until we reached the end.

At the end of the line, the last one joined the ‘tunnel’ to make four-kenshi long. Over and over until we had eight kenshi for a tunnel and the instructor giving the opening for doh at the end. It was the most fun in any drill we’ve ever had. Unfortunately, my back and legs were hurting by the time class was over. We did closing ceremony and I left. When I got home, I was in a lot of pain. I decided to skip class for a while until I’m healed. I’m not a teenager anymore so it might take a while to heal. These are the same injuries form the tournament and promotional when I tested for shodan while injured. I guess I never let them heal right.

A Beginner's Point of View 283-284

2011-07-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

Day 283:

No class today because it is a holiday.

Day 284:

Against better judgment, I went to class. I’m still stiff and sore from the tournament, but not having the last class had made me antsy for exercise.

In Iaido, there were only myself and an instructor. I did 1-2-4-6-7-9-12 like usual. The instructor approached me and asked if I knew all twelve kata. I said no. He mentioned how he had taught the third kata to the others and would I like to learn it. I very enthusiastically said yes.

The third kata is tricky to learn. You turn to your right and sit in seiza. You imagine your opponent standing to your left. You put hands on the sword and come up on your knees and toes. Bring your left foot up to just behind your right knee and turn the toes outward. Pull the saya up and stand on your right foot, which has toes pointed into the arch of the left foot (very awkward). You draw up over your head and a little in front, blade pointed backwards. You imagine your opponent has over extended a cut downward, hitting your sword. The force swings your sword around up and you grip with two hands. Swing your left foot backwards and cut diagonally. Here’s where it gets weird. Rotate your left hand around to a straight-arm position, which rotates the saki to rest safely on your right knee. Reverse the grip of your right hand and grip the saya. Perform noto ‘backwards” and with blade out. Once it starts to go into the saya, rotate the saya to normal position and finish. Step to the left to end up where you start. I’ll have to practice this a lot. It’s actually harder to do in steps, but it’s necessary.

In Kendo, we did endless suri-ashi and fumi-komi exercises. Not good for my injuries but good for my Kendo. Eh, I’ll heal later. We finished by doing kiri-kaeshi several times. I was motodachi again. I decided not to push myself too hard.

Sensei was back, but he did not suit up. He just came to pick up supplies to loan to another dojo putting on a tournament. I talked to him for a while. He said he’s been to the doctor for lots of tests and to fix the injuries. I reminded him about the Iaito cleaning kit and a spare pair of men himo I’d like to order. He said he’ll put in the order when he gets the chance. He also says he’d like to come back to Kendo and Iaido when it’s possible.

A Beginner's Point of View 281-282

2011-07-01T12:36:00.001-07:00

Day 281:

In Iaido, I practice my full regimen of 1-2-4-6-7-9-12. The fourth kata was painful for my foot, but I did it slowly and carefully. I’ll have to practice it more. The rest of the kata came naturally to me, even though my body was stiff. A couple of others got a lesson on doing the third kata. It was to round them out because they only knew the first two, or so I’m told. Since I was not asked to be included, I figured the lesson was not for me. So, I practiced my set. I did get some instruction. My tsuki in the sixth kata was too high. After the diagonal cut to the head, you must thrust under the sternum or else have the blade get caught. Imagine pushing downward as if severing the guts. I might ask for lessons on the third kata at a later date, after my sprains heal from the Kendo Tournament and Promotional.

In Basic Kendo class, I was asked to be motodachi again. It’s was kiri-kaeshi all throughout the class. We did it very slow. So slow that our strikes would ‘stick’ to the men before performing the next strike. At first, people didn’t get it, but after several reminders and demonstrations, they did it correctly. In fact, the lesson was a success as their strikes were getting more accurate. I got a correction from one of the instructors that my chudan-no-kamae was held out too far in front, exposing my kote. I never knew I did that. I wound up doing lots of kiri-kaeshi that day.

In Advanced Kendo, I decided to stay for the whole class. I drank some water and lined up. My wrist and ankle felt fine. We did a continuation of the kiri-kaeshi from Basic Class. Over and over, we did slow kiri-kaeshi. We also practiced menouchi and koteouchi. After the slow kiri-kaeshi, we found our strikes to be more accurate. There were several keikos to do. I felt tired and sluggish immediately, but I pushed myself. I wound up practicing my techiniques against jodan users. Dabana-kote (including a pair of really great debana-kote strikes), kaeshi doh, suriage men, and a failed attempt at nuki-men. I’ll work on that. I also did keiko with the beginners who stayed for Advanced Class. I remembered to show good form and loud kiai. I also remembered to allow them to strike openings on me for enthusiasm. On the down side, I think I twisted my wrist again and stressed my ankle. I may have to avoid advanced practice in the future.

Day 282:

In Iaido, I performed 1-2-4-6-7-9-12 again. I got some advice about keeping the tsuka in line with my forearm when thrusting behind myself in the fourth kata. It keeps the sword more stable when doing the thrust.

In Basic Kendo, we did lots of fumi-komi drills. Fumi-komi is my new weakness. We did the drill where two lines move across the floor, intersecting in the middle. You have to stagger when people cross the middle or else you’ll get hit. We worked fumi-komi and men strikes into it. When we finished, we did more of the slow kiri-kaeshi strikes. We started at half speed but worked up to a little faster to keep it flowing.

I did not stay for Advanced Class because of my wrist and ankle beginning to hurt.

A Beginner's Point of View 279-280

2011-06-23T05:37:00.001-07:00

Day 279:

Today was hot and humid. I decided to come back to my old schedule.

In Iaido class, I was fearing my ankle would get injured, so I took it easy. I did 1-2-6-7-9-12. Forget 4 for now, that would kill my ankle and I’m trying to heal. I suppose I should have stayed home, but I just wanted to start Iaido again. I must have been obvious in my rustiness because I got corrected in 9. I was messing up footwork and not squaring my hips before the tsuki. I need to watch the Iaido DVD again to remember those steps.

In Kendo, the normal instructor did not show up. Someone who’s been out a long time led the opening ceremony, and I led warm-ups. It’s been a long time since I did that, but I fell right into line.

I was asked to be one of the motodachi for the class. We would do kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, and doh strikes. We would receive and then give back. The humidity was not kind to me so I gave the students extra attacks and I only gave a few in return. To do otherwise would stress my heart too much. I made it through class without a break and I decided to go home.

Day 280:

No class today as I am healing my injuries from the tournament.

A Beginner's Point of View 277-278.75

2011-06-20T19:45:00.001-07:00

Day 277:

Today went by fast. We had a guest sensei today. He was incredibly fast with his strikes. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi, men, and kote strikes. Then we had endless keiko. Keiko after keiko after keiko. I had to bow out and rest for a short time. Suddenly, a piece of the ceiling fell down and struck one of the furniture against the wall. Immediately, we wondered if we did something wrong. It turns out the ceiling must have been damaged in the big storm last night. I volunteered to get the maintenance guy. He was really grateful that we told him right away. He said another piece of the ceiling fell down last week during someone else’s activity, but they never reported it to him. Once that was done, the instructor allowed me to sneak in one last keiko with him for practice. I was exhausted and dehydrated, but I pushed myself harder to strike against him. Even if he struck me, I kept my focus and counter-attacked.

Then it was time for kata. Not much time for it, but I did go through the first three kata with someone testing for ikkyu this coming weekend. I kept my focus and just maintained spacing. I think I did well. The instructor gave the ikkyu candidate some pointers and we did the third kata again. The footwork can be confusing. I’m glad I figured out the ‘negatively polarized’ trick to help me remember.

Guest sensei gave me some advice after class. He said to always be mindful of my strikes. If it’s a good men strike, always pass through. If it’s not a good strike do not pass through as it is a waste of zanshin. The instructor for tonight also said that in the fifth kata to have a more deliberate kamae for shidachi.

Day 278:

Today was a huge class. We had Kendoka come in form three other dojos to practice with us. We advanced class bowed in, we had two full lines on the kyu side. It’s been a long time since that happened.

We conducted the advanced class like the beginner class. Most advanced were motodachi and the rest made lines. Students stayed in their lines and motodachi rotated. We did some kiri-kaeshi and a lot of men and kote. Then we did kakari-geiko and then keiko. The first person in the student line also became the motodachi for the motodachi, which was me. I got extra practice against a nidan using nito. Then the class broke up into four teams of four Kendoka. We put on a kind of mock team match, except all keiko instead of official tournament rules. It was fun. I faced a shodan that had not been at the dojo in months because of injuries. I had been facing him over and over in my early Kendo career, but then he had to stop. It was like old times. After the matches, the instructors told me that they could not see any real differences between his Kendo and mine. That was a compliment to say I was acting and fighting like a shodan. I feel really confident now. I’m going to take that test for shodan this weekend.

Day 278.5 (Tournament):

Today should be the last time I fight in Mudansha. I should give it my best. I fought another ikkyu who was my equal. I snuck in a kote and won the fight 1-0. My next opponent was form a Korean Kumdo club. He was tired, but he had lots of energy. We exchanged blows back and forth. Leaping and jumping over each other and past each other. Striking for kote, men, and once even for doh. Closing distance to rob the other of zanshin. In the end, I lost by hantei. I don’t mind. He was a good fighter.

I was on my feet and running around tying ribbons all day. I also kept score for a pair of divisions. In team matches, I was on the “B” team, first position. We went up against people higher ranked than ourselves. The matches were close in points. I fought someone who was either shodan or nidan, someone I had fought against before. I let him fail an attack and then I counter-attacked with a simple men strike and pushed my way through for zanshin. I won 2-1. Everyone else lost, but we had a good time.

I stayed at the end to help clean up and participate in godo-geiko. I fought a 7th-Dan and a 5th-Dan for practice. I pushed myself to fight and win so hard that I wound up partially spraining myself in the left wrist and ankle. That was stupid. I stopped and relaxed until the 7th-Dan was receiving students for advice. He told me to not be in such a hurry to strike and make sure each strike was a good one. That’s good advice.

Day 278.75 (Promotional):

I showed up early and slowly stretched my wrists and ankles. They were stiff and sore from trying to heal last night. I lightly warmed up and simply made ready to start. We started right away, but the other shodan candidate didn’t arrive until after we were seated in line. At first, I was in the third line in the back, but we were pushed up against the wall so I was asked to unevenly fill out the second line. It was at this point that my testing partner showed up. We had no time to practice kata beforehand.

I knew we would be last to test, but the waiting was brutal. I could not get comfortable, no matter what position I was in. After a while, the numbness gave way to racing pains all up and down my feet and legs.

Finally, we were called up to test. The two shodan candidates and an ikkyu candidate. We all did keiko with each other. I remembered to slow down and control my partner through seme, which I did. The other shodan candidate responded to me and I seemed to control the whole fight at my whim. I did allow her openings when she took the initiative. We were trying to help each other pass, after all. The ikkyu candidate did not seem to respond at all to seme. She just attacked and attacked. I had to score a few points and let her score points.

The judges took a break before kata. My partner and I practiced the first five kata with her as uchidachi. She took such small steps and she was even shorter than me by a third of my height. I did not need to step back to avoid the uchidachi strike. That was bad. We were also not touching bokken on the third kata, losing contact.

The judges returned and the kata started. My partner was uchidachi, so I remembered to account for the distance. The first three kata went well. Then on the fourth kata, our spacing was wrong. We were a little too close so our bokken clacked too high and too close. The victory strike was with the midpoint of the sword instead of the monouchi.

We were asked to repeat the fourth kata and a cold feeling came over me. I felt I had failed. We came out to get our distance and I tried to account again. We were too close again. It was a repeat of the previous attempt. At the end, we bowed out.

As I was packing up my bogu, the ikkyu candidate came over after reading the results. I figured she passed ad I wondered if there would be a promotional close enough to now for a kata-only portion for me. She told me I had passed. I was blown away! I ran over to read the results. I passed!!!

The rest of the day was a blur. I was thanking and congratulating everyone over and over too much to pay attention. I made sure to go home and call my best friend. I also bought some dessert for me over the next week. I am a shodan now!!!

A Beginner's Point of View 275-276

2011-06-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

Day 275:

Today was possibly the hardest day of Kendo that did not involve Head Sensei. We started off with invigorating rounds of kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, and kote-ouchi. We then did a drill of kiri-kae-doh, where you strike oh-men, push the motodachi back, the alternate left and right doh strike, starting with left (proper) side. The motodachi holds the sword in right jodan while being struck in doh.

We had a few rounds of keiko also. Since there were an odd number of us, there was a space in rotation to rest. After a rest from hearing a lecture, I did two keikos and then got another chance to rest.

Then, right away, the instructor called me to stand on one side of the dojo. Everyone else stood on the opposite side. One after another, I fought a keiko in formal fashion gauntlet-style (one after another). After three hard keikos, I got the chance to rest. I was taught to hold the shinai over my head with two hands sideways to show I needed to breathe. I did so, not wasting my time doing anything else. My guts were twisting painfully, even though I drank water before practice.

I fought another three keikos, getting slower with each one from fatigue. I had to use more strategy than speed by now. I used more nuki-men and hiki-kote. One more rest and I fought the instructor. A hard match, but I stuck in there to the end.

Afterwards, we broke up for kata. I love kata again. I’m starting to get the hang of the spacing. A nidan helped me go through the first five kata again. He advised me to show more forward motion every time I would be shidachi and move into left jodan. That shows zanshin. The instructor also came by and mentioned that how I learned the fifth kata was wrong. For uchidachi, I’ve been using right jodan like I was taught. He told me it’s left jodan. That was embarrassing. I consulted the book written by Ozawa-sensei and the book agrees. Uchidachi moves into left jodan. I’ll have to remember that.

Day 276:

Today was a fairly normal practice. After kiri-kaeshi, we focused one various types of men strikes. Oh-men, sashi-men, and nuki-men. I’m beginning to like nuki-men a lot. It seems to agree with the way my mind works. Offer an opening for men, and then leap back and forward to strike their exposed men. I really have to be in the mood for it, or else I don’t pull it off right. We did several rounds of keiko afterwards to build up stamina.

Then it was time for kata again. I love kata. I think after the promotional exam, I will make time for Iaido class again. I practiced the first five kata with Sensei in both uchidachi and shidachi roles. He told me that if I keep the spacing in mind always, then I should be ready to test. I really need to focus on my spacing. With someone as tall as myself, I need to move forward in normal steps and backwards in bigger-than-small steps. Otherwise, I push my partner back too much and we do not approach center as well.

A Beginner's Point of View 273-274

2011-06-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

Day 273:

Today was a special practice because the next regularly scheduled practice would be on a holiday. We worked a lot on kiri-kaeshi, and kihon. Over and over we did men strikes and kote strikes. We did several rounds of keiko.

At the end of practice, we did practice shiai matches with the objective in teaching the newer students how to run a shiai. Timekeeping, scorekeeping, yelling, and ribbon-tying were all taught and demonstrated.

I was in the first group. I had two matches, one win 2-0 and one draw. My draw was against a shodan that I’ve been pairing with in practice often to raise my kendo higher. I helped to timekeep after my matches.

Afterwards, we had a practice promotional exam for the kyus and one for shodan. I was told by several people that I did very well on my keiko. However, during my kata exam I think I failed. I could easily see that I was once again pushing my partner backwards and not stepping backwards enough myself. We finished too far forward and not on center. I’m not happy with that. I got some advice, mainly due to spacing and stepping. I NEED to work on more kata to get the spacing down or else I’m afraid I’ll fail for real. That will hurt more than any injury.

Day 274:

Today was a hard day of practice. It was over 90 degrees temperature and humid. There were six other Kendokda at practice today bedsides myself.

We started off with the normal rounds of kiri-kaeshi, men strike, and kote strike. We did a few rounds of practicing kote-nuki-men. The attacker would try to strike kote, and the receiver would step back and raise to clear the center. The receiver would then bring down for men strike.

The instructor decided to center the rest of practice around me and my quest for shodan. He ordered that everyone rotate to have a keiko with me with no breaks in between. I fought all six of the others one after the other. My guts were twisting after the fifth keiko, but I kept pressing. I was in abdominal pain after the sixth keiko, but I kept it up.

The last keiko was against an unranked opponent. I was reminded to fight down to not overwhelm her, but still try to win. In the beginning, I alternated between trying to win and letting her strike. Soon, I heard encouragement to be ‘more aggressive’, so I then pushed to win. A halt was called for ippon-shobu. I used my best techiniques, still keeping good tenouchi and judgement, and I scored a very quick men to finish.

We finished class with kata. I’m no longer confident in my kata. I keep pushing too far forward and not recovering. If I can’t fix it, I might not pass the promotional. During my rehearsal of the first five kata, we were stopped. A nidan pointed out that the reason we were off center was because we were in a shorter space than normal. That was throwing off our distances. With that in mind, we shortened our forward steps and lengthened our backwards steps. That seemed to do the trick. I will have to measure the strides for the full court on promotion day. More practice would help, too.

A Beginner's Point of View 271-272

2011-05-26T08:34:00.001-07:00

Day 271:

Before advanced class, I was stretching off to the side when one of the others offered to do kata with me. I jumped at the chance. He walked me through the first five kata. I spent this time memorizing the steps for the fourth and fifth katas.

In advanced class, it was a very tiring class. There were multiple rounds each of kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, kote-ouchi, and doh-ouchi. Then we worked on hiki-waza. We practiced men-hiki-men, men-hiki-kote, and men-hiki-doh. We then strung them all together for uchikomi-geiko. After that, I was totally out of breath. I had to sit out for a while.

When I recovered, I went back in for keiko. I had several keikos, including a nidan who loves to practice jodan. That’s good, I love to practice anti-jodan techniques. We had several good exchanges, including a great nuki-men done by me. Even the sandan teaching the class called it ‘perfect’.

We then broke up into kata. I did the first five kata as if testing. I received much criticism for my spacing. The first, fourth, and fifth kata especially I was pressing too far forward and not backing off enough to keep spacing. I was told I would fail if I did not correct my spacing. I need to concentrate on keeping myself in check.

Day 272:

Today, we started off with a few rounds each of kiri-kaeshi and men-ouchi. We tried doing suriage-men drills at full speed. That was hard. I kept blocking but not landing a good strike. Well, at least that was done. We moved to kote drills. I did well at kote, especially quick-kote. Small movements to just clear the shinai or circle around the tsuba. I got a compliment for my small kote strikes from a nidan. We then practiced debana waza. Men-debana-kote was the drill and we all did well at it. We then strung a drill for sanbon-kote-ouchi-sanbon-men-ouchi-gohon-men-debana-kote. That was tiring. We did a few keikos before I had to rest.

We did more kata practice. I need more kata practice before I’m ready for testing. I did the first five kata with a nidan. He liked my kata, especially seeing as I controlled my spacing.

We learned a new kata. The sixth kata. The uchidachi starts in chudan while the shidachi moves to gedan. Three steps forward. Shidachi slowly raises up, then tries to slice upwards on the kote. The uchidachi jumps backwards into jodan and then slides back into chudan. The uchidachi tries for kote. The shidachi performs suriage-kote and then moves forward diagonally to the left into jodan for zanshin. The uchidachi steps backwards and the shidachi steps sideways into line to finish. That was hard to remember, but it’s very interesting.

A Beginner's Point of View 269-270

2011-05-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

Day 268:

Today, a godan came to practice with us. He’s from the instructor’s old dojo in the Midwest. He’s here on his own business, but decided to come practice with us for fun.

We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, men strike, and kote strike for warm-ups. The instructor also started doing something new. The first time he wanted us to do a drill, each side did it three times. After we rotated, we would do the drill five times. Rotate and do it seven times. Rotate and do it nine times. This pace of ramping up really takes a toll on your endurance. I found myself wheezing and huffing more quickly. Our normal way of doing in five times every time was much easier. Perhaps that’s the point.

We also did lots of ji-geiko, including with Guest Sensei. Each time, he would stop his ji-geiko to teach something. For me, he taught me to not step backwards from tsuba-zeriai. Instead, I should leap back to avoid sneaky counterattacks.

Day 270:

Today, Guest Sensei was back for the last time. We trained extra-hard just for him. It was more kiri-kaeshi, men, and kote. We threw in extra kote-men, too.

During my ji-geiko with him, he commented about how I am raising my shinai too soon, revealing my plans. I should step in first, then raise up more quickly to avoid telling where my target is.

We had lots of free practice with any partner we wished. I fought with Guest Sensei twice tonight, and three others to test my lessons. I was doing well with Kendoka close to my rank. There was no kata tonight. I need to work on some more kata. It’s only about a month until the tournament and promotional.

A Beginner's Point of View 267-268

2011-05-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Day 267:

Today was the subject of baiting. We started with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi, and then started baiting. Baiting means you give a little opening in hopes that your opponent will attempt to strike the opening. When they attack the way you want them to attack, you use an oji-waza to counter and then attack their exposed targets. We used mostly kote-suriage-men. I think I did well when I was expecting the attack. I made sure to slow down make more deliberate motions. We did this many times.

We also did keiko. My first keiko was with Sensei. I made sure to remember not to come in for tai-atari because I might reinjure his knee. I used oji-waza to try to make openings and vary my attacks. He used several extremely fast hiki-waza to show me how much I still have to learn.

After a few rounds of keiko, we broke up into kata. One of the instructors dedicated this time to teach me. We went through the first four kata using each role. He made a few comments such as making sure that the distance in the fourth kata was just right or else I would be too close for the spinning block and counterattack.

We then practiced the fifth kata. It’s fairly straightforward. The uchidachi moves into right jodan while the shidachi just adjusts chudan to threaten the uchidachi’s left kote. Three steps forward. The uchidachi attacks men. The shidachi takes a half-step backward while performing suriage-men. The shidachi then takes a full step forward to strike men. Dragging the blade down and backwards, the shidachi slowly starts to move backwards. For zanshin, the shidachi moves backwards into left jodan. Then the shidachi moves backwards into chudan. The pair than take three small steps back to center.

I need to remember to keep my left foot straight. If my left foot feels comfortable, then I’m probably not straight. That’ll be tough to keep in my thoughts.

Day 268:

Today Head Sensei was here. At the start of practice, he asked ‘do you want a hard practice or a soft practice’? Not really knowing the difference, we said, ‘hard practice’. We then set up to do hard practice, which means once we are assigned our stations and drills, we do the drill, then rush to the next station without being told to rotate. This is supposed to have a continuous flow for a near-constant practice without much rest. We tried to do our best, but some of us caused bottlenecks in the drills. Eventually, we moved to a soft practice approach. We did kiri-kaeshi for a bit.

Today’s best drill was something Head Sensei was trying to teach us. He wanted us to do a very quick and very small kote strike with charging in to tai-atari immediately. The drill seems simple enough, but the catch is that you only need to lift the shinai just enough to clear the opponent’s shinai. It’s trickier than it sounds, however I was really into the drill. I like doing a small kote and charging in. After a few tries, I seemed to have the drill down pat. Head Sensei even had me demonstrate for the call about how to do it correctly. I never felt so proud! We did that drill a lot.

We also did a drill where the attacker hits men five times. The receiver would receive men, hit aiouchi-men, receive men, hit debana-kote, receive men. We also moved to having the attacker attack kote while the receiver did the same responses. We rounded out class with a men-hiki-men-men-hiki-kote-men-hiki-doh-men drill.

Head Sensei seemed to be in pain for all of class, but he never sat down. He never halted class. He did need to have his foot taped up or the tape taken off. He did stop a moment to stretch his back, but it took less than a minute. Then he got right back in. That guy must be made of iron.

The final drill was pushing the proper way. We would strike men and collapse into tai-atari. You are supposed to then push your opponent to arm’s length, raise your shinai, and bring it down for a follow-up men strike. You could call it a men-push-men drill. It’s difficult because you really need to push far enough but not too hard. If your opponent falls because you shoved him down, that’s a foul for you.

A Beginner's Point of View 265-266

2011-05-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Day 265:

Today was a hard practice all about harai-men. We had kiri-kaeshi, men, and kote drills, but they were leading up to a special drill where we would make openings in preparation for striking men. I was encouraged to make my movements small to keep center as much as possible.

In fact, the secret seems to be using less shoulders and more hands to make openings. This keeps you on target for men. At the end of class, I made the request to add lots of kata from now until the promotional. I need to get back into practicing the first three as well as learning the fourth and fifth katas.

Day 266:

I had the day off from work today, so I decided to go to both basic and advanced Kendo class. Instead of being a motodachi, practically the whole class was in bogu, so we rotated like normal, except for anyone less than 17 years old, who would be in the instructor’s line. We practiced kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, and doh strikes.

Class was running late and by the end of it, the instructor made up big drills with multiple iterations of kihon strung in a long chain to test our endurance. We did a men-kote-doh combination and then a huge men-kote-doh-men-kiri-kaeshi drill. That last one stressed my lungs as I tend to scream my kiai a lot. About ¼ of the way into the kiri-kaeshi, it felt like my lungs had shut down. I’m sure they didn’t really shut down, but my kiai suddenly became really hard to do, quiet, and my body felt like it was shutting down. I nearly collapsed. Fortunately, that was the end of class.

In advanced class, we started with kiri-kaeshi for a few rounds. There were only four of us, so we got to ask each other what we would like to work on. After a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi, my lungs felt like they were shutting down again. I stepped out of practice and took off men. I stayed out for a long time. My body gives me ‘false positives’ for signals when it’s recovering from anything. I’ll feel good enough to practice when I’m not really ready. This is true for injury as well as fatigue. Instead, I listened to an instructor who was teaching a beginner student all about how to take apart and maintain a shinai.

After a while and a few drinks of water, I really did feel better. So, I watched the others practice a debana drill, focusing on how to read your opponent and try to know when to start. I put on men and stepped in to practice a nuki-men drill. We would pair up and perform four aiouchi-men. On the fifth exchange, the ‘attacker’ would use a nuki-men to avoid the attack and win. We quickly practiced a drill using men-men for the purposes to defeat a nuki-men. It’s not very good at scoring, but it is good for disrupting nuki-men.

We then broke up for kata. It was getting late, so we just cut to the chase. Another student and I practiced the first three kata and took comments. I still seem to have the same problems of ‘pressing’ my partner backwards and not backing up to the starting point. Also, I was told I was getting lazy with bowing by doing it from the neck instead of the waist.

We then learned about the motions of the fourth kata. I learned I can still move into waki-no-kamae fairly well as long as I pay attention to the feeling in my right wrist in order to hide the blade behind me. We practiced both sides of the fourth kata several times before it was time to end practice for the night.

It was later than usual, but I was moving slowly from body pain. That’s the signal for ‘great workout’. The instructor and I were the last to leave, so he took that opportunity to give me a full in-depth analysis of my Kendo and what I’m lacking for shodan. I didn’t take it personally. He was trying to help me. I stayed standing on my incredibly aching feet the whole time.

He told me in great detail about how I was a ‘strong ikkyu’ and that wasn’t enough anymore. I need to start being a shodan. I need to stop relying on my speed and strength. I need to control the match and use more strategy. I need to practice more of my ‘other tools’ that I’ve been learning. He also suggested I ask other dans what they think I need to work on for the shodan exam. I think that’s a good idea.

A Beginner's Point of View 263-264

2011-04-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Day 263:

Today I went back to advanced practice. I need to keep coming to advanced practice to get ready for the promotional in a couple of months. Today was very hot. The instructor warned us to be careful of our health and to take breaks when we need to. We started off with a couple of rounds of kiri-kaeshi and men strikes. We even learned something called ai-kiri-kaeshi. Each side attempts to strike men using the same 4-5 pattern after the attacker strikes the first men. This way, both shinai crash together at the uke, forming a block. It’s really energy-draining, but a nice change of pace.

The focus today was on taking and keeping center. We did a neat little drill where each partner takes chudan and then holds it firm. Both step in and try to touch tsuki gently. Only one can do it if they hold center. By experimenting, we found the best way is to have loose hands for the first half of the distance, then squeeze the hands the rest of the way. We added a single sideways step to the drill to try to open up the angle. Finally, we did the drill in the center of the room around the center of the court. Sparsed around the drills we had the occasional ji-geiko focusing on using the center drills we were learning.

Today I thought I would have to take multiple breaks, but I did not need a single break. After the energy of the early class, I recovered on my own.

Day 264:

We started off class with a long lecture about how keeping shushin, or center of your spirit, powerful through your sword can make you near-invincible. When you have a strong spirit, your sword takes the center and your opponent cannot strike men, tsuki, or kote. We then did some ai-kiri-kaeshi and men strikes.

We then worked on a new drill. The attacker tries to strike kote. The defender strikes aiouchi-kote to nullify the point. Later, we enhanced the drill by having the defender follow up with a men strike to teach reactionary strikes to win. We then had a series of exchanges where we pressure the other into striking while we use oji-waza, such as harai-men.

A Beginner's Point of View 259-262.5

2011-04-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Day 259-262:

These classes have sped by fast. We are in preparation for the Kendo tournament this weekend.

In Iaido, I have been trying to kneel down in iai-heza like it has been suggested to me. That is painful. You need to curl your toes up on your left foot and then keep them up, including when you lean back after noto. That’s when it gets really painful. I need to shift my weight onto my knee to take the burden off my toes.

In Kendo, we have been working up to keiko and practice shiai. Men strikes, kote strikes, and doh strikes over and over, trying to get each perfect. In one of my practice matches, I went up against a nidan using nito. I used alternate kamae and speed to strike men twice. I tried using the “sticky doh” method to try to score a point, but the judges did not award it. I stuck with the quick men strike to win. The nito player seemed afraid whenever I would threaten tsuki. I would also try to use oji-waza to let him try to attack and then parry and counter-attack. I think I did well. However, our nidan is still learning nito. It will be much harder against an experienced nito player.

Day 262.5 Tournament:

I’ve never been to this part of the country before. My directions weren’t quite accurate on the last part, so I had to turn around a couple of times. Combine that with traffic from road construction and I wasn’t there when the doors opened. Good thing I made it in time for opening ceremonies and to check-in to inspect my shinais.

In mudansha division, I did my usual effort. I passed the first round as the winner. I got a by-in for the first match because of scheduling and I fought against an older woman for my first real match. It was an ikkyu-nikyu division, so I’m guessing she must have been nikyu. I decided to use my speed to defeat her and I was right. I scored two quick men strikes and advanced. My next opponent was all that was standing in my way to a third place medal. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of being “too nice”. My opponent came to tsuba-zeriai often and then would half-back away, then rapidly attack my men. After several strikes, the judges decided he had enough zanshin and gave him two points. I was disappointed. I should have gone after him more and with more energy.

In team matches, they put me on the A team this time, in second place. We faced a team I’ve never fought before. Watching the first match, I saw them stick like glue to tsuba-zeriai and stay there for the whole match, trying to ruffle their opponents into making mistakes of anger. I figured out to break the glue is to run into them and then propel them backwards. Too bad I wasn’t quite accurate enough to land a good strike or else I would have won my match. Nevertheless, our team lost because their captain did not do that tactic, instead he fought normally and edged out a victory.

The drive back was long and I was hungry when I got back. I think I should rest and recover.

A Beginner's Point of View 257-258

2011-04-07T14:44:00.001-07:00

Day 257:

In Iaido, I practiced 1-2-4-6-7-9-12 again. The first few times I did them, I did well. My body was flowing smoothly. After that, I started to become sluggish and miss steps. I think it was the heat and humidity. They were very high today. When I was doing the fourth kata, the instructor told me to bring my toes up for the movements. I can’t see where to bring them up smoothly, so I think I need to watch the DVD again. I should look at the twelfth kata again also. Do I pull my right leg back for chiburi or should it already be back there in preparation? I was sweating and my heart was beating hard by the end of class. I should pace myself for Kendo class.

In Kendo, our instructor was late so we did a normal set of suburi today. When he did show up, we did a continuation of the last class. We worked on all of the components of the perfect men strike. We started with suri-ashi, both solo and with partners. We went all the way down and back with big kiai and not stopping for extra breath. Our breath is our endurance. We did not put on men or kote, we would just block with the shinai. We received with a partner for all of the pieces of the perfect men strike. Proper distance, stab the ceiling, not pausing between motions, over and over. At the end we were doing eight haya-suburi with a single breath. My partner was doing wrong footwork the entire time. I tried to gently point it out. He wasn’t even aware he was doing it. I also tried to check my own footwork to do it right. Closing remarks form the instructor said that we should be doing kiri-kaeshi with two breaths and maybe a third one for the final oh-men. That’s a tall order, but it is in the direction I should push myself. I guess I should do it that way when I get the chance.

Day 258:

In Iaido, I started doing my normal 1-2-4-6-7-9-12. I tried to remember to insert moving my toes up in prep for the fourth kata and sliding my right leg back for the twelfth kata. However, one of the instructors came over to correct me. Apparently, you are not supposed to slide your left foot backwards to sit in iai-heza. You are supposed to come down like you are going to seiza and then modify it, with your toes still flat at the start. You rise up and bring your toes up. This was logical as it helps with the forward motion of striking with the tsuka. However, when finishing you must keep your toes up and slide back onto your left knee and slide your right leg back during noto. That was painful. I’ll have to ask Sensei what he thinks. He did not teach it to me that way, but apparently a high-ranking sensei taught the instructor like her way. I’ll have to try to do both until I get a clear answer. Later in the day, I got an e-mail from Sensei saying that he supports the high-ranking Sensei’s way of doing it. He taught me the other way as a beginner’s way to start learning the kata and because his Sensei started teaching him that way.

In Kendo, we had a different instructor. He wanted to spread out the lessons to cover much of everything we could rather than focus exclusively on one thing. We did suburi and then put on men right away. Class started earlier than usual so I was late coming in. I missed the stretches but arrived for suburi, so I was not on the dan side of the dojo for waza. We did kiri-kaeshi, men strikes, kote strikes, doh strikes, kote-men strikes, and more kiri-kaeshi. We worked up with advanced waza such as seme to make the opponent flinch and then strike their kote. We then lined up for keiko and sparred with a partner for a few minutes. I had two opponents who were lower-ranking than myself, so I had to fight with them but leave openings for them to strike. I tried hard not to show off but to encourage. Afterwards, we were separated into six-person teams. I had a team match against someone who was unranked. I tried to win, but leave room for counterattacks. It went well. I won 2-1, and felt like the other person was encouraged by their attacks. I also learned that I need to focus on sharpening my form and distance even if I’m leaving openings.

A Beginner's Point of View 255-256

2011-03-31T14:44:00.001-07:00

Day 255:

In Iaido, I felt stiff form the Kendo tournament, so my kata was a little stiff. I gave my paperwork for the next Kendo tournament to our officer. Now I can concentrate. I’m still not quite turning well in the second kata, it’s the final slide of the foot when you draw the sword. It’s still awkward doing the final adjustment. Also, the ninth kata is awkward when you draw and then tsuki. I always feel like I am leaning too far forward when I do the tsuki. I can’t wait to learn the third and fifth kata so I can feel rounded out enough for a seminar and promotional.

In Kendo, it was a day full of fundamentals. The panel of sensei at the promotional exam last weekend expressed their desire to see more fundamentals practiced instead of raw tournament energy. We did many rounds of suri-ashi, followed by inserting men strikes over and over. Eventually, I was asked to be motodachi for the students, teaching them kirikaeshi, men strikes, and kote strikes. In the end we gave some of our students one of their first keikos. In my line was one student instead of two students, so the same student got two keikos with me. I made sure to follow instructions and tone down my assertiveness and level of pressure to encourage the student instead of dominating them. I would gently attack and let myself be attacked to show the student not to be afraid and to look for openings. Just once, I took jodan to give an opening for doh. The student recognized it and went for doh strike, only to hit me in the bony part of my right elbow. Ouch. Well, I guess that’s what I gave my instructors when I was starting to learn.

Day 256:

In Iaido, I started off doing my normal rei-hou and 1-2-4-6-7-9-12. Partway through call, our new student was looking lost with what he was doing and had questions about the leg movements of the first kata. Normally, the instructor would answer those questions, but at the time no instructor showed up. So, I showed him how I do the first kata and emphasized the leg movements involved. About halfway through the second run-through, the instructor showed up and took over. I hope he’s not upset with me for just answering a question. Sensei eventually showed up and talked to us about cleaning the blade. He mentioned about how aluminum-zinc blades do not need so much care but steel blades do. I have a steel blade, so when Sensei offered to order a cleaning kit at the same time he would order clothing for himself, I eagerly agreed.

In Kendo, we did a vigorous set of suburi, with extra emphasis on men and kote strikes. We did lots of suri-ashi across the floor with men strikes trying to sharpen our fundamentals. We also did a drill of learning to strike quick, firm, continuous men with tenouchi. I learned to not hesitate so much between raising up the shinai and bringing it down firmly. I also learned that tenouchi was more squeezing with the left hand than the right. I may have to ask the instructor about that in future classes. I was asked to be motodachi along with three others and Head Sensei. Head Sensei and our instructor reserved being motodachi for the younger students. We rotated through the lines receiving kiri-kaeshi, men strikes, kote strikes, and doh strikes. Some of the newer students did not quite strike kote well because they were afraid of hurting me. I appreciate the sentiment but the need to actually hit in order to learn. So, I encouraged them to hit harder.

A Beginner's Point of View 253-254

2011-03-27T15:33:00.001-07:00

Day 253:

In Iaido, Sensei was back and he spent some time teaching the new student. He also taught me a new kata, the ninth kata. The premise is that you are walking along with another kenshi to your left. He tries to draw, so you draw first. You step with the right, then step with the left and grip the sword. Step with the left and twist the saya up and out like in the sixth kata. You pivot on your right foot and slide your left foot back while turning to the left. Draw and cut your opponent from neck to hip. You then place your hand on top of the sword to brace it and then step forward with the left for a tsuki. Draw the sword back with your right hand while holding the left steady. As you pull it back, twist your right wrist to bring the tsuka up to your right pectoral muscle height. Adjust your right foot to be in line with your body and place your left hand on the saya. Chiburi diagonally downward and to the right while sliding your left foot back. Noto and slide the left foot up to be even. Step backwards and to the left, twisting your body back to its original position. Then step backwards two more steps and bring your feet together. This kata is a lot harder than it sounds, but it’s worth doing.

In Kendo, the whole class practiced putting on men together. We waited as a younger student fumbled with his men himo and tried to put them right. He must have been embarrassed. I was embarrassed when I was learning to put the men on at first and I was always last. The instructor gave a speech about learning to tie on your men quickly and properly. Then we broke up into lines and I helped the students with kiri-kaeshi, men strikes, kote strikes, and then kiri-kaeshi again. I was part of the motodachi rotation. It is more efficient this way. Afterwards, we had practice promotional tests for all the testing students. We saw several candidates rotate in and out of the places and fight. I had a practice keiko against the instructor, a nidan. I think I did fairly well, but I did block out of reflex. Maybe I shouldn’t do that for promotional tests. Still, I struck doh and kote fairly well, and even snuck in a doh (but just one as to not try to show off). I always made sure to give a big kiai.

Day 254:

Today was the last practice before tournament. Class was supposedly ‘light’ but we still worked hard. This class was all about how to compose yourself during shiai and promotional. We practiced our kiai and composure by practicing suri-ashi.

Then we gathered our men and stood in line. We did a quick bow in again (no shomen) and then put on men. An instructor walked in front of us and gave comments about how to wear our men and how to sit. It was good stuff to remember.

We then broke up in to a circle of people. Two of the instructors joined Sensei in practicing being shinpan. We were picked at random based on our rank to have a practice match while the shinpan practiced being shinpan. I had a match against a visitor whose zekken showed a university over the border up north. He was really fast. I matched him for speed and there were several times when either of us could have been scored for points. I struck doh on him unevenly and pulled my arm again. It didn’t feel like an injury. More like it was pulling the old one. I think this will be a long-term injury, like my abdominal muscles used to be. I’ll have to be careful. I won my match 2-1 by striking men and going through fast, pushing myself to my fastest charge and screaming a loud kiai. It was a lot closer then it looked. After a few more matches, we broke up for the evening.

I could not stay for practice since I had to go to work early, but Sensei asked me to help shinpan for a little while. I agreed since it was not going to aggravate my arm. I was a shinpan for a full team match. It was hard keeping up with all of the action, but I did my best. A few of my calls differed from Sensei, but that is what I saw. A couple of times we discussed in gogi and the final call was against me. No worries. I understand how the shinpan judge and the method suits me fine.

Day 254.5 (tournament):

The tournament has arrived! I drove down to the normal place and set up at the hotel. When it came time for the tournament, there were several of us who had never been to a tournament. I gave them some advice about helping out at tables, especially since most were testing the next day. I was not. I was planning to leave the next day early in the morning.

The tournament was the same type of tournament that goes on this time of year. I participated in the Mudansha and Teams divisions. In Mudansha, my first opponent did not show up, so I was given a default victory of a win and a point. My next opponent was a very low-ranking kyu. I took it slow and lined up good men strikes. I won 2-0 against that person. At first, the table was going to advance someone else! The only other winner in my bracket had a no-show and a win with a single point. I pointed out the error in the guise of a question, and the sensei at the table found the error and corrected it. Whew. My next match was against someone closer to my rank. We attacked and defended against each other back and forth over and over. Close to the end of the match, he snuck in a very slight debana-kote. It was a good point, so I lost. Well, I did give a great performance. I helped out for a long time. The tournament went over time by hours.

In team matches, our dojo had two teams. Sensei chose not to compete with us. We recruited someone from another school to fill out our roster. I was chosen to be the captain for our second team. I was ikkyu and the highest-ranking on the team. So, I organized us into shape and tried to make us ready on time. We faced a team from a powerful school. That school fielded five team and this was their second place people! Not one person was beneath shodan! Two of my people were without rank. Everyone expected a ten-point shutout. My team did very well. We lost twice and forced a tie for three matches. Everyone was very impressed with us. In my match, I fought against a nidan who seemed nearly ready to test for sandan. We went at each other aggressively, trading blow for blow. Back and forth we raged, trying to crisp, clean points. Eventually, the shinpan-cho called an end of time. I can tell this team was impressed with us. Our youngest fighter went against a shodan who seemed ready to test for nidan and lasted a full minute against that person!

After the tournament, we all went out for food and to share stories. Head Sensei asked me if I learned anything. I told him that I learned that when I think my kote is closed off, I still have one inch open. He seemed pleased that I could learn that on my own.

A Beginner's Point of View 251-252

2011-03-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Day 251:

In Iaido, Sensei did not stay to teach. Instead he dropped off some paperwork and then had to leave. I continued to practice my rei-hou and my 1-2-4-6-7-12 over and over. I’m starting to put more force into the movements. I need to show confidence in my kata.

I had to leave after Iaido to work my job, so no Kendo.

Day 252:

In Iaido, it was only myself and another. So, we practiced our kata. I read a newsletter by our club and saw that Sensei was not planning to come as often, maybe even stop coming for a while. I hope that it not the case. Who would teach me kata with such personal attention? Obviously, the others could teach me new kata, but they aren’t comfortable teaching. I can hear it in their voices that they aren’t confident teaching others. They think of themselves as students and not teachers. Sensei always thought of himself as both teacher and student.

In another note, I’ve tried to add more of pulling back on the saya before drawing the sword. It makes for a smoother cut. Also, if I twist my wrist before chiburi downward, it makes a wooshing sound. I think it’s because the blade comes down straight instead of kinda-sideways.

In Kendo, we were working hard today. We were doing kiri-kaeshi, men-strike, kote-strike, and doh-strike over and over until I thought I would be totally out of breath. I was told that I was ‘cheating’ on doh. I need to raise up before coming down and not curving immediately.

A Beginner's Point of View 249-250

2011-03-10T16:55:00.001-08:00

Day 249:

My first day back from my mild sprain. I hope I don’t re-injure myself again.

In Iaido class, I took it easy by moving at half speed for my kata. I practiced rei-hou, and then 1-2-4-6-7-12. My fourth kata was very awkward since I haven’t been practicing. Sensei gave me advice about the second and fourth katas. He thought I was moving awkward. He told me to pivot on my left toe in the second kata and finish the turn by drawing the sword. In the fourth kata, always turn the head first, then move the body. That will keep movements in order. His advice did make things a little smoother. I also made sure to tie my sageo closer to the end than before. Tying it too close to the saya end doesn’t allow you to sayabiki properly. I have to practice tying it without looking.

In Kendo, I did my suburi carefully so not to push my wrists. I hope they’ll be unhurt tomorrow morning. I chose not to put on my bogu tonight so the motodachi would take it easy on me. Of course, ‘taking it easy’ means not striking me back or making me bump kote against kote in kiri-kaeshi. That might re-sprain myself. They still would push me to exert myself to the limit otherwise. We did kiri-kaeshi over and over. We did men strike over and over. We did uchi-komi over and over and over and over until we were out of breath. I was totally out of breath a few times, but happy to be so because I could show everyone how not to quit. I found myself striking harder and harder as the night went on. Taking head-sensei’s lesson to heart, I started mixing power and tenuchi to make a firmer strike.

At the end of class, after rei-hou, a few of us finally received our menjos from the tournament and testing last autumn. Apparently, this is how long it takes to get a dan certificate. Man, that’s a long wait for a piece of paper, but it was worth it.

Day 250:

In Iaido class, a new prospective student showed up. He said he had dabbled in Taekwondo and Aikido when he was younger. Since I was the only Iaido student in the dojo at that time, I explained a few principles of Iaido and Kendo and told him to watch a demonstration of the class doing kata. I did my rei-hou, and then proceeded to practice 1-2-4-6-7-12 over and over. Sensei did not arrive today, so I decided to practice turning around like he showed me. When I applied more force and rolled my left toe, my turning around in the second kata was much better. Also, I seem to be finding a semi-comfortable spot in the fourth kata to sit down and relax for a few seconds. The senior student eventually showed up and gave the prospective student a few drills in vertical cut and horizontal cut.

In Kendo class, I still chose not to wear bogu so I could take it a little easy. There were a near-record number of students today, so space was tight during suburi. The instructors divided up the class into people with no bogu and people with. I went to the no-bogu class to practice. I found myself striking harder and harder, but still using tenuchi. I think my wrists are getting better. Gently pushing myself more each time did not hurt them. We practiced our suri-ashi, men strike, and kote strike. It all led up to a long round of uchi-komi. I tried to incorporate fumi-komi with my drills and make my strikes and passing through smooth. I sharpened them well, hoping the younger students would see how they should be making their own strikes smoother.

A Beginner's Point of View 248-249

2011-03-03T17:37:00.001-08:00

Day 248:

A few of us were asked to do a Kendo demonstration for the fourth grade of a nearby elementary school. I took a half-day off of work to participate. My wrists have been sore and sprained all last week so I’m hoping not to hurt them again. I showed up early and first. We were asked if we could move the demonstration to the stage of the cafeteria instead of the gymnasium. The teachers mistakenly scheduled a class during our time. When the others showed up, I showed them the stage and it was hard tile. Very bad for footwork. We instead decided to move three of the tables and used the soft tile floor instead.

One of us took over as the leader and began talking to the students about the history of Japanese swordfighting, the creations of wooden and bamboo swords, creation of modern armor, and the ceremonies of respect to each other. Another of us talked about the pieces of armor as he put them on as well as the uniform. We lined up for a short suburi session of shomen, kote, and haya-suburi. We put on men and did a few waza with three of us in line rotating to show how efficient we were training. Speeches on kiai and rei-hou were explained. We then got four volunteers from the kids to take turns hitting men and running through.

We then did some keiko. I got to have two keikos, one against a nidan using itto and the other against a nidan using nito. I did surprisingly well this time. Against nito, neither of us could score very good points. However, when we declared ippon shobu, I hit opposite-side doh averagely well and he gave me the point. Three student volunteers tried to be shinpan, but they were overwhelmed.

Two of us took off men, kote, and doh for kata. We did the first two kata with myself as the shidachi. We did the first just fine and the students gasped at the closeness and sudden stopping of the bokken before it hit the uchidachi’s head. The second kata I messed up. Instead of dropping down and stepping to the left, I did a nuki-kote. His bokken was only three-eighths of an inch from my nose as it came down, but I managed to stop in time for kote. He did not react, but we finished rei-hou well. Clearly, I need to practice Kendo kata some more. It’s been months since we all practiced it as a class and the introduction of Iaido kata has messed me up. Fortunately, I’m not testing at the next tournament so it’s not a big issue for me now. Perhaps I’ll be asked to help others train in kata until then. I should probably rest my wrists instead of going to class tonight also. Better to go to tournament whole than injured.

Day 249:

No class today as I am recovering from injury.

A Beginner's Point of View 246-247

2011-02-23T15:15:00.001-08:00

Day 246:

I started off with 1-2-6-7-12 like usual. Today Sensei taught me a new kata. He decided to teach me the fourth kata before moving to the third. The fourth kata is a kneeling one, like the first, only you sit in an alternate position. Your left leg sits as normal, but your right leg is up on the foot, tilted sideways to the right. You sit somewhere in the vicinity of your left foot. I haven’t found a good position to sit in because it hurts when you put your weight on the ankle. Your hands are fists near the places to grip the sword at about even height with each other. When you sense your opponent moving, you grip your sword and saya, and thrust forward with it into the solar plexus, on top of the opponent’s tsuka. You use a fumi-komi for power and use the momentum to push your opponent with your tsuka, drawing your saya backwards. Look behind you to see your opponent behind you and rotate your left leg to beat ninety degrees to its original position, your foot sliding to your right. Place the blunt edge of the sword across your chest and slide it to tsuki into your opponent behind you while pushing the saya forward. You bring the tsuka of your sword above your head and look forward, turning your left leg to its original position. Raise your right hand up to grip with two hands and cut downward vertically down low. To finish, you bring your hands up a tad to above your right knee and perform chiburi to the right. Noto and slide your right foot forward a tad and stand up. Take one step back.

In Kendo class, the class was smaller. We learned mostly about etiquette. When to bring the sword to the hip, when not to lower the sword, when to draw, reminders of sonkyo and bowing. We did a few men and kote strikes while doing the manners. Sensei even gave a demonstration of the sixth Iaido kata to show why we do the motions with the shinai. After putting on bogu, I gave strikes and then received rei-hou and uchi-komi.

Day 247:

No class today because I’m expecting to work late and my wrist is a little sprained.

A Beginner's Point of View 244-245

2011-02-17T14:37:00.001-08:00

Day 244:

Today is a holiday and most people are home. Still, there are a few of us here. I am the only Iaido student present. So I took the floor and bowed in. Then I performed 1-2-6-7-12 over and over, repeating a kata as necessary to sharpen my technique.

In Kendo, we had a big class. So suburi was confined. We started with more suri-ashi drills such as men, men-men, and constant men going down. We then broke up into a serpentine striking men along five senior students. After I put on my bogu, I helped receive kiri-kaeshi, men strike, and kote strike.

Tonight was a rare night. I worked over the weekend, so I could stay late tonight because I’ll be going into work late tomorrow. We worked on a lot of different waza tonight. We started off doing kiri-kaeshi, men, kote, and kote-men. We then moved into more advanced waza such as kote-suriage-men, kote-suriage-doh, kote-nuki-men, and men-debana-kote. I had to stop for thirst. At first, I thought I could keep men on, but I realized that I had to dry out my men and forehead or else keep having it slip on my sweat. So, after a short break of water and breathing, I put men back on. The others were taking a break and were discussing techniques.

When we started up again, I started doing a round of kiri-kaeshi, and then moved into three keikos. My first keiko was against a nidan to pushed me to improve my speed. My second keiko was against a nidan who loved using alternate kamae such as jodan. I practiced my kamae-defeating techniques against him. Sometimes I won, sometimes he won. My third keiko was against a shodan. However, I was so tired and dehydrated, that I was slow and clumsy. I pushed myself and pushed myself, but he was still faster and more accurate than I was. Finally, I couldn’t keep breath in me, so I had to stop.

Day 245:

In Iaido, I started practicing my routine. Sensei was back from a trip to a tournament and promotional. He promised to teach me a new kata when I felt ready. Today I wanted to ask about the seventh kata and second kata. He said to keep my hands off the saya for the seventh to start, also to slide my left foot to the left when drawing the sword to help stabilize me.

In Kendo, we all congratulated of our own who had passed his sandan. We had a large class, so we spaced out wide for warm-ups and suburi. After practicing men strike a few times while charging, I put on my bogu and helped to receive. I learned that my fumi-komi works better if I imagine charging up steps instead of straight forward. If I imagine straight forward, my toes curl up and that shows the bottom of my foot. It's not only unstable, but apparently rude, too.

Sensei talked to me about testing for shodan. Before he wanted me to not think about it and enjoy my time as an ikkyu. Now he says he may pull enough yandans together to form a panel to test for shodan during our own tournament. I’d really like that since the other time this year will be very far away. Last fall the place to test for ikkyu was an all-day trip and it made me sick. This time it would be even farther.

A Beginner's Point of View 242-243

2011-02-10T14:31:00.001-08:00

Day 242-243:

In Iaido class, we spent the time practicing anything we wanted. I went through my usual 1-2-6-7-12 formation. I repeated number six and number twelve several times, trying to get the motions just right. I keep seeming to rub my iaito up against my saya for the twelth kata and I can’t seem to get a consistent initial draw for the sixth kata. I need to remember to pull the saya up and twist the upper surface outward to draw correctly. Sensei said he’d teach me a new kata next week.

In Kendo class, we got a lot of instruction on how to do rei-hou well. Apparently, I don’t do it as well as I thought I was doing. You must wait for ‘taito’ before bringing the sword to the hip. When going down into seiza for Kendo, you do not do the parting of the hakama like in Iaido. You put the leather-bound saki on the floor with your left knee and then slide it backwards silently to put the shinai on the floor quietly. Mokuso is not performed by putting your hands in your lap and resting them. You keep then raised in front of your navel and hold them there.

There were a lot of people in class, so suburi was very crowded. We did more charging drills, including one where you charge and strike men half way through, repeating it backward and then do it forwards again. That was a very good drill. Afterwards, I put on men and did men strikes and kote strikes against senior students. Later, I stood in the receiving line to receive men and kiri-kaeshi. Finally, we did uchikomi-geiko. I would make openings for students for about four strikes while they hit me. We had a visitor from a university in another state. I had no idea what rank he is, but he seems confident enough to be at least my rank.

A Beginner's Point of View 240-241

2011-02-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

Day 240:

In Iaido class, we did some refinement of the sixth kata. For the thrust to tsuki, Sensei said I was aiming too high. From Kendo class, I am taught to thrust to the throat for tsuki. In Iaido, I am taught to thrust for the sternum or just below in the fleshy part. Another thing I was doing wrong was in the turning around parts, I was dipping my sword down, twisting it, then raising it up. The sword should never come down after it has already cut. I need to practice only raising up instead of any other motions.

In Kendo class, we had a new person. He is a yandan who says he is joining the dojo. Well, we’ll see. Others have joined before and then not come back. In any case, he participated in warm-ups with us as well as suburi. Today’s lesson was about simple men strikes, including making them smoother. I helped receive men from the unranked students for a while until one of them came over with bogu. She rotated me out while I put on bogu, then got into line to practice. I noticed guest sensei watching me a lot during waza. At first, I thought he was scrutinizing me for advice on making shodan. We did some kiri-kaeshi as well for more shomen practice. At first I received, but then I gave as well. At the end of class, I introduced myself to the guest sensei. He gave me a lot of advice. He was mentioning that I was using sashi-men for kiri-kaeshi and that was not correct. I was also using too big of a fumi-kommi to the point where I was partially showing my foot-bottom as I go forward. Not only is that dangerous for myself, it’s also somewhat rude. I need to fix that, but I can’t seem to find a proper way to move in a keiko situation where I am excited and not thinking too deeply. Maybe if I just imagine charging up stairs that will work. I’m also certain I must be twisting my left foot still as I walk.

Day 241:

I opened Iaido class by practicing rei-hou and then 1-2-6-12 over and over. Sensei offered to teach a new kata and I accepted. He taught me the seventh kata, which demonstrates the act of stepping through a gate into an ambush. You take three normal steps forward. On the fourth step, you put your right hand upon the sword. The fifth step you slide your right foot forward and to the right, turning your foot diagonally to the right, ready to swing. You draw the sword and cut vertically to the right. Then you turn on your feet where they are and cut vertically to the left. Then you use your right foot to step to the original forward direction and cut vertically. You step backwards into left jodan. You do chiburi while sliding your left foot backwards into normal stance and then noto. You step backwards to your original starting point. I was a little awkward at first, getting the footwork right is key. By the end of class, I was doing it smoothly and quickly. I’m not saying it was perfect, I’m just saying that I got the steps down. Now I just need to refine it. The seventh kata is really fun. It’s my favorite so far.

In Kendo class, I led the opening ceremony. After warm-ups and suburi, we started class by putting on bogu and doing suri-ashi and fumi-komi drills. I tried to pay attention to my fumi-komi to make sure my foot did not curl up while doing it. We divided into two lines and faced each other. We did men strikes, kote-strikes, kote-men strikes, and kiri-kaeshi. The students without bogu had to block with their shinais, so those of us in bogu slowed down for them. While doing men strikes and kiri-kaeshi, I tried to remember to always do oh-men strike and not sashi-men like guest sensei said to do. He didn’t show up today, but I expect him back another time.

A Beginner's Point of View 238-239

2011-01-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Day 238:

In Iaido, we opened by performing our known kata over and over until Sensei was ready to instruct. I did my 1-2-6-12 like normal. I’m getting better and remembering the chiburi steps without forgetting. I think I may have made a mistake in tying my obi because putting the saya in the loop and tying the sageo was awkward today. I’ll have to think about that. Sensei gave a lecture on the sixth kata. He made sure to tell us about the finer points, like the second step forward has your left hand pulling up on the saya and twisting to help the draw. You are also supposed to pull back the saya instead of pulling the sword forward. This allows you to have power when cutting your opponent. We practiced the draw by doing the kata over and over using emphasis. By the end of class, we were using small kiais each time we did a cut.

In Kendo, we spent the entire class in two lines like advanced class. We did men strikes, kote strikes, and kiri-kaeshi over and over. Good workout. The beginners would block with their shinais while we would strike them slowly and gently.

Day 239:

Class was cancelled due to severe weather.

A Beginner's Point of View 236-237

2011-01-20T17:08:00.001-08:00

Day 236:

In Iaido, I did the same routine over and over to hone my technique. First I did rei-hou to bow in, then I would perform 1-2-12 in that order over and over. Sensei commented on how my arm in the first kata was too high. I seem to keep cutting at my own eye height rather than an imaginary opponent’s eye height if they were in seiza. Sensei knelt in seiza in front of me to give me a target. I need to practice that. He promised to teach me a new kata, but he didn’t get to it today. I told him he owes me a new kata next class and he just smiled and agreed.

In Kendo, we were spinning the lessons of fumi-komi and men strike together. We would practice kiai all the way down the floor, then men strike all the way down the floor, then fumi-komi all the way down the floor. We added in a few drills to have two partners cross the saki and hold the shinais like that all the way down the floor. I helped receive men strikes for a short time while others were putting on their men and kote. I didn’t bring my men since my kote were in the shop for repair. I could have brought it, but I wanted to practice with the students this time. The end of class was practicing a half-round of kiri-kaeshi using very slow strikes and being perfect with each one.

Day 237:

In Iaido, I started off same as usual. Bow in, 1-2-12, bow out. However, Sensei taught me a new kata. It is the sixth kata, using tsuki. You start off standing with both hands on the hakama. You step forward with the right foot, then the left foot and put your hands on the sword. Then you step forward with the right foot and draw, threatening the chin of your opponent. You bring the left foot up into chudan while moving the left hand up to the sword. Then you step forward to attack tsuki. You use the special turning around step where you move around the sword. You attack vertically behind you, and then do it again to face front. You perform small chiburi to the right side and then noto. There’s a lot of steps involved, but it looks impressive when you do it. We had another competition for students going to test at the seminar. I timed the first group, and participated in the second group. The others had a random combination but I did 1-2-6-12-6 for mine. My first time was 5:53, which is good. We squeezed a last set in before the end of class and my time was 6:03, which I believe is not good. I had several seconds where I just could not get my saya into the obi. I think that was what made my time bad.

In Kendo, we did a new drill where we kiai all the way down, then all the way back. Also, we did all the way down, all the way back going backwards, and then all the way down. That was a new one. We added men strike to the drill to make it interesting. Then the instructor asked us to put men on and receive. I received men strike and half-round of kiri-kaeshi from the unranked students. Then the advanced students paired up to do kiri-kaeshi, men strike, and then a very short ji-geiko.

A Beginner's Point of View 234-235

2011-01-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

Day 234:

Today in Iaido, Sensei was preparing the others for a trip to a seminar and promotional testing. We did the full set of bowing in, kata, and bowing out over and over. My classmate did the first five kata, while I just did the first and twelfth. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done the twelfth so I should review my notes. Another student who is shodan got to pick her kata from the whole set of twelve that she knew. At the end of class, Sensei timed my classmates on their whole performance. He even set up chairs and designated a line to adhere to. It was interesting to see.

In Kendo, the drills on fumi-komi and men strike continued. It seems as if Sensei is rotating nidans to get them to practice teaching students. I wonder if that is part of becoming a “sensei”. The end of class was interesting. We lined up in two lines facing each other across the dojo floor. One side would hold up their shinais to block men while the other side would strike men with fumi-komi. It seems as if I don’t have a lot of time for advanced class anymore since my job is so early, so advanced class seems to be for special occasions. I guess I’ll save them up for preparation for promotional testing and just lose sleep then.

Day 235:

In Iaido, Sensei was getting ready to take the others to a seminar for testing. We went through a practice exam. You stand at the ready with your sword out of your belt but held up to it. You wait for the judges to say “meijo” and then you approach. You stop at the line, ready to go and wait. Once the judges say “hajime”, then you begin by bowing to shomen and then bowing to the sword. You perform your routine of kata as previously decided and then finish by bowing to the sword and then to the shomen. You put the sword to your belt but not in and hold still. Once the judges say “eijo”, you do the special walk away. I learned a new kata, which is the second one to increase my routine. The second kata is like the first one, only reverse. You start off by facing the shomen, then turning away and moving to seiza. When you are ready, you grip the saya and tsuka like usual, bringing your toes up. Then you move your left big toe behind the right big toe. Using the left big toe as a pivot, you spin around to face the shomen, then draw and cut horizontally. You then bring your right leg up and cut vertically while bringing your left foot forward. Your legs are reversed in position from the first kata. Then you perform chiburi with reversed legs. My combination to do for the practice test was 1-2-12-1-12. Apparently, six minutes is the ideal time to try for, so you must get as close to six minutes without going too long. My time was five minutes and thirty seconds. Not bad.

In Kendo, we continued with men strike with fumi-komi. Most of us put on men to give and receive strikes. My schedule is becoming unfriendly to Kendo now. I usually skip advanced practice because it’s too late in the evening. By the time I would get home, my adrenaline would keep me awake until an hour after midnight. My alarm sounds only a few hours later for my job, so I need my sleep. The time that I normally spent napping before Kendo is now spent in Iaido. Well, I’ll just have to save it for special occasions like holidays or preparation for promotional, especially Kendo kata.

A Beginner's Point of View 232-233

2011-01-06T13:52:00.001-08:00

Day 232:

In Iaido, Sensei was getting a couple of students ready for a seminar up north. In class, we concentrated on rei-hou mostly. Sensei would show us how to bow in and out properly. We would follow along as best as we could. I obviously needed a lot of practice. I would bow in, perform the first kata, then bow out. I had to remember to seiza the right way and all of the sageo steps in my checklist. I think it’s time to smooth over the checklist to a more refined form. I did the whole routine twice by the end of class. I’m getting smoother, but I still only know the first kata (and twelfth, but that’s for later).

In Kendo, there were a lot of people present. We had to have three lines for warm-ups and suburi. Then we all put on men and did one-step men and one-step doh drills. I would take turns receiving men and doh as well as giving men and doh.

Day 233:

In Iaido, Sensei was getting some of us ready to go to a seminar and promotional exam. We would do the bow-in, kata, and bow out. I only knew the first kata, so I did that one. I did all right bowing in and out, although I’m still feeling out the line. I should be closer but I don’t want to have my knees on the line just yet. For the first kata, doing the sword movements was easy, but I seem to forget to switch forward feet exactly half of the time. It seems that every other time I try to noto with the right foot forward and left foot back. Also tonight the saya did not seem to swing to the back for sayabiki like it should. I’ll have to ask Sensei some questions about the tightness of the obi and placement of the saya. On top of that, every third time I did the first kata I would forget to bring my knee down to the floor in the second half of the noto. It’s not hard to do, it’s just that doing the kata in stages like Sensei teaches ingrains patterns which are hard to break.

In Kendo, Head Sensei showed up today. After warm-ups, he taught the class like everybody was going to test for promotion soon. The spring tournament is coming in a couple of months, so I should expect this. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step doh. As I went through the lines, one of the instructors asked me to take his place. So, I received for a large portion of the class. Once, Head Sensei told me that when receiving for a shorter student that I should lean my head forward a little to let them strike the top. It gave me a slight headache to do so, but not bad.

In Advanced Kendo, Head Sensei continued to drill everyone as if they were going to test. Lots more of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. Many, many drills of that. Eventually, I had to step out and rest. I just couldn’t get my breath back. After a while, I got back into it. Head Sensei was setting up impromptu matches and saying that they were the promotional keiko matches. The nidans were competing for the sandan victory. The mudansha were competing for the ikkyu victory. I stepped onto the floor at the end of it, so I didn’t get a match. Head Sensei wanted everyone to do kakari-geiko with enthusiasm. In our dojo, the phrase ‘with enthusiasm’ means ‘scream like a maniac’, so people love to do it. When we did kakari-geiko, the nidans received and would make opening like we’ve been drilling for weeks. Kakari-geiko with Head Sensei was very taxing, but I hung in there. To finish class, we did long keiko with partners. I had a short one with Head Sensei and then two longer ones with other students. I left openings for a lower-ranking student and pushed myself to win against a higher-ranking student.

A Beginner's Point of View 230-231

2010-12-31T13:58:00.001-08:00

Day 230:

Sensei didn’t show up today. I guess he got delayed at work. So, the class was the three of us Iaido students just practicing what we wish to practice. I’ve been studying my checklist of opening and closing rei steps and I think I’ve mostly got it down. All that’s left is the little touches to smooth it out, like the smoothing of the sageo at various points. By practice, it seems that sliding the saya in the ‘outer loop’ of the obi makes things easier than close to the body. I practiced the opening rei and torei once. Then, I practiced the first kata over and over more than a dozen times. I could tell what major mistakes I was making, so I would do the kata over and over to correct them. Like not bringing the toes up on my left foot soon enough and doing chiburi before switching which foot is forward. At the end of class, I practiced bowing out. I felt rushed, so I left my obi on for Kendo class. I think that may have been a mistake. I get conflicting information about whether or not to wear it, so I’ll keep wearing it. Besides, if I took it off, I’d have to re-tie the hakama.

One of the higher-ranking students took over teaching the class. I offered to warm up the class for him, and did so. I pulled a sneaky trick by doing twenty haya-suburi, and then breathing. Once the warm-ups were over, I asked if anyone was out of breath. When everyone said no, I commanded us to do thirty more haya-suburi. Sempai asked what was being done in previous classes. I told him about footwork, fumi-komi, and kiri-kaeshi. He invented drills to test our footwork and keeping of spacing. At one point, he had everybody starting to do kiri-kaeshi without men on. That made me nervous. After the first drill, I called him aside and made the suggestion. I made sure not to challenge him, but I really wasn’t comfortable letting many unranked people strike and be struck by the head without protection. Sempai thought it was a good idea. We put men on and the higher-ranking people, including myself, formed a line on one side. The others rotated through the other side while doing kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote.

In advanced class, I decided to stay even though I had skipped dinner previously and might lose some sleep. We did a lot of one-step men strikes at first. Sempai asked what was done for advanced class, so I told him about what we were doing, which was uchi-komi. So, he started us on one-step men drills, one-step kote drills, and one-step kote-men to set us up. Then we did uchi-komi over and over. There were only four of us, so we did each drill four times. It started with me opposite Sempai and finished with me opposite Sempai. Then he would not rotate at first but introduce the next drill. I helped demonstrate each new drill before we did it. After uchi-komi, I felt really run down. The obi was causing me discomfort. I stepped out and took off men. I very slowly got my breath back, but still felt badly. I stayed out of class for the remainder while Sempai was teaching the steps to lead up to nuki-men. He was clearly not comfortable teaching the class. So, I made sure to keep track of the time for him. At the end of class, I stayed to help close up. He thanked me for helping him and watching after the students on a personal level.

Day 231:

Sensei was back today. He taught me the next step in the first kata for Iaido. He also taught me a secret tip for preparation. When rising up on my knees before the horizontal strike, I should curl up my toes on both feet. After making both cuts, I swing the iaito around to my right as if pointing towards an opponent behind me, then curl my elbow towards my temple. When doing noto, when the sword is halfway inside I lower down onto my right knee to touch the floor at the same time.

In beginner Kendo, I warmed up the class again and then put on bogu. I received for the class during kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote drills.

In advanced Kendo, we had a surprise. Guest Sensei from Japan showed up! I didn’t expect him until next year. We did kiri-kaeshi and one-step men drills primarily. Guest Sensei didn’t make any comments when I did waza with him, so I guess I was doing it properly.

When it came to uchi-komi, Guest Sensei was giving out lots of advice, such as making sure to strike doh with enthusiasm instead of being timid. He also told me to hold my arms so that the inside edges of my elbows would point upwards instead of outwards. He explained that by doing this, I shall ‘make BIG universe’ and my strikes will be more natural. I tried it and it does seem to be more natural. It’s another way to say to hold your arms so that you could balance a beach ball while in chudan-no-kamae.

I had to step out for breath for a bit. Then people were lining up for keiko and eager to keiko with Guest Sensei. I put on men again and did keiko with an unranked student to warm up, then got in line with Guest Sensei. He made a comment that he was out of breath and I almost made a joke about planning it that way to be sneaky. I decided not to say it just to be safe. Still, even though he was out of breath, he was still better than me at keiko. I would try to make openings and make lightning strikes, but he would beat me at every opportunity. He was just so fast. He could circle his shinai around mine and strike kote before I could finish raising up for men strike. It’s hard to believe anyone could be that fast.

A Beginner's Point of View 228-229

2010-12-24T14:35:00.000-08:00

Day 228:

In Iaido, we practiced the proper way to bow in and out. There are a LOT of steps to bowing in and out. A lot of them involve the proper movement of the sageo, which apparently has a specific length for just such movements. Sensei demonstrated and the other students knew the procedure. However, I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of steps. Gently parting the hakama, sliding the left hand along the saya to grip the sageo at the proper distance at the end of the saya, pulling the sageo around the right thumb, putting the saya on the floor in front of the right knee, laying the sword down, left then right hand down to bow, bow to sword but head ‘up’ as to not show the neck, right then left hand to get up, sit up, then perform the steps in reverse for the ending bow, including a confusing transition to the off-hand to bow to the judges. I really did not know what I was doing, but I did my best.

Sensei asked us as a group to perform the bowing in and out with the first kata in between. Technically, I do not know the first kata. I have seen others do it so I know what he is talking about, but he has not trained me in it yet. I was so busy concentrating on rei-hou that I counted all of the skipped steps that I forgot and even forgot to do the first kata! I chose not to be upset and just finished as best as I could. Sensei admitted it was unfair to test me like that while the beginner Kendo class was watching, but he liked that I did not panic. He told me that he has some movies of Seitei-Gata to loan me. I think I’ll make a list of steps to perform and memorize. Unlike Kendo, I can practice at least some of Iaido at home, like opening and ending rei-hou.

In beginner Kendo, I led the class in warm-ups. The instructor for the day asked me to warm-up the class slower than usual to let them stretch out better. So, I did mostly my usual regimen and included a couple of seconds between each exercise. At the end of warm-ups, Sensei decided to do an extra round of the balloon Kendo for youth that some of the students missed. I helped by receiving strikes while wearing a balloon on my men. It’s feels just as silly this year as last year. We finished beginner class with some more fumi-komi drills. The instructor would call out 1-2-3. On 1, we move into yoi. On 2, we did a men strike with fumi-komi, and held that posture. On 3, we pulled our left foot up into Kendo stance. Very awkward, but good for us.

In advanced class, we did kiri-kaeshi and men strike. We did drills which paid attention to using fumi-komi in ji-geiko. After a while, I had to step out and catch my breath. I watched the others do more fumi-komi, and then some uchi-komi. I tried to put my men back on in time for at least one turn of uchi-komi, but I was too late. We did some men strikes with many repetitions to build up endurance and then some keiko. I just naturally would make slight openings and use oji-waza during keiko. I felt I was getting smoother doing it, much more fluid. I even did a nuki-men and practiced some of my anti-jodan techniques against a nidan. He was impressed that I would be eager to face jodan. We finished with a new drill. It’s kinda like ‘kenshi-in-the-middle’, but with only three people. The outside people always initiate attacks, but the inside person always tries to win. We started off with only men strikes, then moved into kote, and then eventually into either men or kote.

Day 229:

Today was concentrating on rei-hou. Opening rei to both shomen and the sword, followed by closing rei to the sword and then to shomen. I practiced as best as I could. I’m getting better. I remembered more steps this time, but I still get confused with all of the sageo movements. I do see a pattern. When you open, you bow to the shomen first, and then to the sword. When you close, you do it in reverse. When bowing to the sword, you keep the sword horizontal and push the sageo close to the saya. You bow left hand first, then right, then bow down, keeping the head kinda ‘up’ to avoid showing the neck. When you bow to shomen, you transfer the sword from your left hand to your right, turning the blade upside down so it points to the floor, then do it in reverse. I practiced it a few times, then Sensei asked a senior student to show me the first kata. I’ve seen this done lots of times when I started Kendo because Iaido class is right before beginner Kendo. Still, I did learn new things, like exactly how to do the chiburi in totality instead of the small flick of the wrist. You bring the sword around to your right widely, holding the sword at a right angle to your arm, then bend your elbow, bringing your fist to your head, then swing the blade in an arc above your head down to your right knee. The senior student did it twice, then I tried it. I did it, but forgot to curl my toes before I swung vertically. After I finished, the senior student commented, ‘Well, if you do it like that, you’ll get shodan’. I’m pretty sure he’s not literal, but it’s a nice compliment. There’s a lot more kata to know for shodan, but I need the encouragement. We bowed out to finish class. I’m shaping up my checklist with information I researched. It’ll take a bit to finish shaping up, but it’ll be helpful.

I got my obi in the mail today. Sensei told me off-handedly how to tie it under the hakama. It felt weird and awkward, not to mention it didn’t make sense. The hakama’s back plate still gets in the way of the saya when you pull it to the side. I thought the obi would be on the outside to allow more freedom of swing, but I guess not. Sensei said the obi is to make sure the saya stays firm against the body, not to increase range of movement. I’ll have to practice tying it more.

I really didn’t feel up to a full day of Kendo today. My hips are sore for some reason and my arm still has that soreness from striking doh too hard for the old injury. I stayed for beginner class only. Today was all about kiai coupled with footwork. We did fumi-komi and suri-ashi, both forwards/backwards and sideways with a partner. Long kiai makes the pressure in my head skyrocket and I got a wicked headache quickly. I was also short of breath for over half of the class. When class was over, I just left to go home and recover.

A Beginner's Point of View 226-227

2010-12-17T19:38:00.001-08:00

Day 226:

In Iaido, I practiced the same movement over and over all class. Left foot, draw horizontal, swing up and around to over the head, cut vertical, right leg back, sheathe sword, stand up, step forward. Sensei was not there as he was on travel. However, one of his students is a nidan so he instructed. There was another student who is also unranked, so the instructor split his time between the two of us. He gave me the advice to remember to keep pulling the saya backwards to correct the shoulder stopping point, although he admitted that since I do not have a proper obi it will be difficult. I put in an order for a proper obi through Sensei. When he gets back from travel he will give me the club price.

In Kendo, it was more footwork practice. I’m glad to see the footwork practice. Everyone, including me, could use more suri-ashi polishing. We did more suri-ashi, including a strange fumi-komi drill. You stay standing, swing up, then you swing down and follow the shinai into fumi-komi. You hold for a moment, then bring your left foot up to meet the right. This goes against every footwork drill with a shinai that I’ve ever done. I did not do so well with this. We also paired with a partner and forced them backwards holding chudan, then allowed them to drive us the other way. We finished with a group serpentine to tie it all together.

In advanced class, we had a guest student. He was a former classmate from one of the instructor’s college. I think they said he was ikkyu, but I’m not sure. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote. The lecture today was about momentum. Striking kote and then moving the saki aside to pass by. Bumping your opponent back to take his space. Making sure to pass by and the turn around and take chudan immediately.

I had to step out because of my lack of breath. They did a full rotation of ichi-komi while I rested. I sat out for a long time, until the group itself called for a rest. I came back in for some keiko. I did fairly well, all the time trying to remember ‘eggshells’. I’m starting to think if I use my left hand to move the shinai while using the right hand only to guide it downwards, maybe I’ll do better. I even did a keiko with the new student. I think I did much better than he did because of spirit and momentum. He was no slouch for counter-attacks, but it seemed to me that he was doing the same things over and over by rote rather than improvising. He would rarely try different things, although he did trick me with a quick doh strike once. Then again, maybe I’m wrong. I’m only ikkyu after all.

Day 227:

Today was our annual Balloon Kendo tournament and potluck dinner. There was only a very abbreviated Iaido class, which I skipped. Instead, I suited up in bogu and made ready for the tournament. Both Sensei and Head Sensei were present for the occasion. Also my old Sempai and another of our former students arrived. They never miss the Balloon Tournament and potluck. We did rei-hou and then Head Sensei wanted us to put on men right away with no stretching. I was one of the first out in full bogu, so Sensei asked me to receive kiri-kaeshi from beginner students. I did this for more than half a dozen people before Sensei replaced me and told me to get in line with Head Sensei. After waiting in line, Head Sensei did keiko with me. He did not tone it down much. I was thinking and striking and passing through and baiting and trying oji-waza just to hit him. Practically nothing worked but they were close. I get the feeling that he saw it all coming but did not discourage me. Eventually, he declared ippon and we went at it. I tried fast, simple strikes, but all I could accomplish was aiouchi-men or aiouchi-kote. After a few strikes, he left himself open and I struck shomen and passed through with enthusiasm. I did a couple of kiri-kaeshi, including one with Sempai. She was saying something as I would finish each section, but there was so much noise in the dojo I couldn’t head her.

Then we did the tournament. Instead of a mock shiai, we did competitions such as having the nidans wear a balloon on their men and having students in a line try to be the first one to pop the balloon. The youth division went swiftly. The first three of the four got a prize. There were two brackets of mudansha. I was in the first. I was the second to pop the balloon so myself and another advanced. The same happened in the second bracket. The finals were four of us and I was the second done. The first mudansha popped his balloon a split second before me. We got some kind of brainteaser puzzle as a prize. Not bad. The nidans resident in the dojo had a best-of-three points shiai between the two of them. They chose not to have balloons. So, the four remaining fighters had two keikos simultaneously. It was wonderful to see. After the keikos, which lasted for two minutes, we changed out of uniform and had dinner together. I brought an entrée and a dessert. Apparently, people liked the entrée but not the dessert. Oh well.

A Beginner's Point of View 224-225

2010-12-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

Day 224:

In Iaido, Sensei demonstrated for us the proper horizontal cut. We practiced the cut several times. Sensei said that the cut is for a kata where you start kneeling. If you stand, then you must slide your left foot forward first, apparently to stabilize yourself. After the cut, you swing the sword wide right and then up over your head. Grip with both hands as you bring your left foot up to your right into Kendo stance. Then cut downward to the waist while stepping forward. Sensei showed with my help that the cutting choices were based in logic. If you were kneeling with someone and needed to defend yourself, you would cut across the temples and eyes. If you missed, then you cut overhead and split the head. Also, there is a ‘path’ the blade takes when being drawn. You start by drawing the blade while it is horizontal. Half-way through, you twist the sword so it is horizontal by the time it is drawn. Sensei tells me that I am ready for an iaito instead of a bokken. Normally you wait until you are ready, but my time with Kendo gives me a boost. He has graciously offered to loan me an iaito to get used to it.

I was asked to warm up the beginner Kendo class again. I followed through with my normal routine, but at the end when we finished the breathing cooldown, I ordered the class to sonkyo. Instead of osame-to, I ordered ten more shomen suburi while in sonkyo, just like it was done back when sempai was at our dojo. When she pulled that surprise for the first time, I wondered if she was crazy. However, after getting used to it, I realized that it was a good tool for maintaining good posture in any situation. I was complimented on the choice by the head instructor.

I didn’t have time to get into bogu before class, so I participated in class without it. Today we put our shinais away and did footwork. The head instructor had us practice suri-ashi as well as fumi-komi-ashi. You lean a little more forward and stomp your right foot down onto the floor. You use your right foot to pull your left foot up, kinda like a reverse step. We did a few of these drills and then added the shinai to make the fumi-komi the same timing as a men strike. We finished beginner class with making a long, serpentine line that went through three students holding their shinais for us to hit men and pass through.

I was going to stop for the night and go home, but Head Sensei showed up! It’s a rare night he has time to show up, so I stayed. We started off doing kiri-kaeshi over and over. Head Sensei loves to lecture and demonstrate. He showed us that it was incorrect to strike the initial men, then stop and push with the hands. He said, “That’s not Kendo, that’s hockey!” Well, no wonder it seemed natural for me. Still, we learned to use our bodies to correctly push our opponents back by slamming our bodies into them, then giving the gentle push with the hands for spacing. We must make sure not to stop ourselves too close to them, or our feet will collide. It takes one small step after a men strike. After a kote strike, you angle our sword off to the left to avoid spearing your opponent. Not only is it rude because it might injure them, but you are also trapped and unable to further respond. I stayed in as long as I could. My heart was racing and my breath was getting shorter and shorter. I drilled with Head Sensei a few times, then I had to stop. I went back in and learned a new drill.

He called it ichi-komi, meaning a pre-coordinated series of drills to execute in sequence with enthusiasm. The one he chose is a popular one. It is men-hiki-men-men-hiki-kote-men-hiki-doh-oh-men. It seems like a lot to remember, but if you break it up into pieces, then it’s simple to remember. The men-men part, the men-kote part, the men-doh part, and then big finish. I did this several times with others after Head Sensei, then I had to stop again. While I was resting, I missed on a chance to keiko with Head Sensei, but I wasn’t upset. I wouldn’t last ten seconds without any breath at all. After a few minutes, I noticed an unranked student missing out on keiko because he was in the rotator position. I had recovered some of my breath, so I put on men and did keiko with him. I toned down my level just a little to leave him openings and he took the ones he was confident in taking. I returned the favor by attacking him some, but not to dominate. It went on a long time, longer than a usual keiko. At the end, we tried doing ippon. After four or five aiouchi strikes, I called an end to it. We finished by doing rei-hou and I thanked Head Sensei for making the time to come.

Day 225:

Today Sensei showed up with his iaito that he talked about. It was different from the one he let me borrow previously. This one was made of steel instead of zinc-aluminum and it had a brown-colored wrap to the handle. It was noticeably heavier than the other one. The cord around the saya, called the sageo, was also much longer. Sensei says that different iaito are different lengths and weights. It’s important to train with all of them so you will not be too dependent on any one style of iaito. I practiced tying the knot on my hakama and had a little trouble. I should buy a real obi soon.

I practiced the same motions over and over for this class. It was the standing drill where I draw horizontally, then raise up over my head and cut down vertically. Sensei and another student who is a nidan in Iaido. They both advised me to stop being so timid when drawing. I need to pull the saya back farther and pull it around my back to draw properly. In fact, if I look over my right shoulder, I should see the end of the saya in my field of vision. This act really does make things easier. It allows me to draw sooner and it balances my shoulders when extending the swing. It also helps stop the motion of the sword so the saki is in line with my right shoulder.

Now I just need to practice keeping the saki pointed even, maybe just a little bit down. I’m getting more practiced at putting the sword back into the saya. Still need some practice to find the ‘sweet spot’ of approach, but I’ll get there. Also, I need to start getting used to the idea of rotating the saya as I draw to make it horizontal to help in drawing.

In beginner Kendo, we did more suri-ashi practice. We would hold the shinai behind our back and slide across the floor, screaming ‘MEEEEEEEEEEN’ I none long breath as far as we could go. We also did more fumi-komi, only this time I finally got an explanation of what it is. It’s actually not an intentional stomp. It’s leaping over a distance and you bring your weight down de facto. There was a square in the middle of the floor and the instructor showed us the idea of ‘leaping over a puddle’. That made sense. I did it much better this time. There were three lines of students doing this and everyone wanted to go at once. I had to organize people into fixed lines so there wouldn’t be too many people crossing at once and bumping into one another.

We even did a drill where we would hold itto-no-maai with a partner and take turns driving them back and forth across the floor. I think I held my kiai for too long throughout class. I developed a headache from all the pressure built up in my head from shouting.

A Beginner's Point of View 222-223

2010-12-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

Today Sensei brought one of his spare iaito for me to use. He said it was the one he took to a championship and won third place. I felt very honored. It was heavier than a bokken since it was made of metal. We did the brief rei-hou to start, where you hold the sword in the saya at eye-level with the cutting edge facing you. You give a full bow to the sword to respect your sword. Sensei showed me how to tie the special knot with the cord on the saya. The saya goes on the left side of the body, but the chord is wrapped around the right side of the belt. You start with the chord under the belt, then push a loop up through the top. You put the trailing end of the chordlike a loop into the first loop and pull the first loop tight. This way, you can pull the trailing end and undo the entire knot one-handed. Eventually, I’ll gain a real obi to make it easier. The saya really slides a lot when you just tuck it into your hakama without an obi. I practiced kata 12 for the entire class. Drawing the sword vertically can get challenging with a real saya. Still, Sensei made sure to remind me that my right hand should be over the center of my face, not to either side. He also gave a tip that after the cut, not to raise the saki up when performing chiburi, simply cut downward and to the side. It also helps to move your right foot first, and then the sword afterwards. Putting the sword back in the saya is very challenging. The sword seems very long to me and that makes it awkward to slide back into place. Sensei says that when you slide the blunt edge across your hand, it will just fall into the saya. You simply need to make sure to pull the saya back with your left hand to give you the last inches necessary to clear the opening of the saya. The sword I used was considered 2.35 units of length, called shaku. 1 shaku is approximately 11.9 inches of blade length. I saw some charts where a person who is six feet tall should use a blade of 2.45 shaku. That seems long to me. I think I will take Sensei’s advice and use a shorter blade for practice. Perhaps in the future I might get a longer sword, but for now I need to practice getting my form down and a shorter blade will help.

In Kendo class, we did stretches and suburi before dedicating an entire class to just kiri-kaeshi. I was asked to receive and did so for the entire class. I made sure to keep my comments short and quick to keep the students moving to the next line. They are improving, but they need to kiai louder. They are just scared of sounding too impolite. The instructor made a demonstration that a 10-year old boy in the class was the loudest one and that everyone else should be even louder than him. The boy was very proud because he was praised. My chest felt better this time. Maybe next week I should stay for advanced class if I feel better. I should keep up with my exercise. My arm is still a little stiff, but getting better.

A Beginner's Point of View 220-221

2010-11-26T06:21:00.001-08:00

Day 220:

Another day of stretching my injury back into shape. It’s almost fully healed but it still bothers me if I raise my arms high enough. Today there were not so many advanced students, so I was drafted to help the beginners learn again. We started out with stretches and suburi. We did thirty of each of okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, katate-suburi, and haya-suburi. Afterwards, we put on men and began the drills.

The point of practice today was kiri-kaeshi. Most of the students did not understand how to do kiri-kaeshi. It was not that they did it awkwardly; they just did not know all the steps. I found myself spending a lot of time explaining how to do it. Eventually, I found that just counting out loud the four steps forward, and then the five steps backwards seemed to help the most. Then the drill switched to one-step men strike and then one-step kote. Finally, the instructor wanted to move back to kiri-kaeshi practice. The students seemed to do better this time.

At the end of practice, the instructors mentioned to the class that the purpose is to keep the students moving from line to line quickly and not to spend too much time talking to them. I can see what they are saying. They also said that if a student is not doing the drill properly, then they should be correcting them. It seems to make sense. They are higher-ranking than me, so they have a keener eye for errors. Still, it is hard not to give advice when the cause is so obvious. I’ll have to remember just to give a word or two of encouragement and be done at that.

Day 221:

Today was the day before a holiday so not many students overall were present. I was asked to warm up the beginner class. We started out with stretches and suburi. We did thirty of each of okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, katate-suburi, and haya-suburi. Afterwards, we put on men and began the drills.

We broke up into four lines and put on men. The main focus of today was more kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. The beginner students were getting better at kir-kaeshi. I hardly had to count out loud for them. They still need to polish, especially with starting distance. However, that will come with time.

We did a kind of toned-down drill I like to call ‘Kenshi in the Middle’. There were two of us surrounded by other students. Each of the outside students would take turns attacking on a specified drill, such as kote-debana-men. After one student completes the drill, the kenshi in the middle turns around to face the other student right away. It’s fun, but better when there are two long lines of many students. After class, I led us in ending rei-hou. My arm was feeling better, so I stayed for advanced class.

There were only four of us for advanced class, but two of the beginner students stayed as well. We started off with several rounds of kiri-kaeshi and then aiouchi-men with many repetitions. I found myself losing my breath very fast. I guess I might be out of shape from all the rest from my arm injury. I’ll have to start coming to just advanced class from now on to build up stamina.

A short rest and I put man back on to practice. More shomen-waza and harai-kote drills. The harai-kote drills seemed easier and smoother than other drills. Maybe I just have talent for it or maybe I just simply do harai-kote naturally more often than other waza.

I had to stop again because the tightness in my chest was coming back again along with the lack of breath. I had to miss out on keiko but that was fine. No sense harming myself over practice.

The instructor decided to spend some time doing kata. I love kata. The two beginner students did not have bokken, so one of the instructors loaned one of them a bokken. The other student had to use a shinai, but I volunteered to use a shinai to match them. We reviewed kata number two, which he did fairly well. We then moved on and I taught him the shidachi role for kata number one. We did not have the time for me to teach him the uchidachi role, but that will be for another time.

A Beginner's Point of View 218-219

2010-11-19T15:42:00.000-08:00

Day 218:

My arm is mostly healed and I can move it without injury. It is still stiff, but it’s the kind of stiffness that can be worked out. Like my usual routine, I recover from injuries by going to beginner class. Sensei was glad to see me and asked me to lead the class in warm-ups. It’s been forever since I led the class, but I was not nervous. I just did what I was supposed to do and was glad for it. During the rei-hou for opening I made a mistake. I called out for ‘rei’ when I should have called out for ‘seiza’. I quickly corrected myself and Sensei made a comment that was familiar. He reminded people that in the future they would be taking turns to lead the class so they should be learning the rei-hou.

He separated the class into two lines and we began. I led the class in stretches. Even though I stretched before class, I did it again. I just made sure not to hurt myself. I made sure to call out the counting loudly, to show the class should also. They did not disappoint. Sensei asked that we do a lot of suburi. I decided that we would do three full counts of eight repetitions, with people taking turns counting out loud. We did okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, squat cuts, shomen-suburi again, haya-suburi, and breathing-suburi.

Afterwards, Sensei asked a few of us, including myself, to put on men and receive strike from students. I spent the rest of class receiving one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step kote-men. Each time a new student would present themselves, I would watch their waza and comment on how to improve. At the beginning of class, I was giving out a lot of changes, such as louder kiai and raising the shinai higher. Similar mistakes to what I made at their level. By the end of class, I was shouting more comments like ‘good’ and ‘do it again’, showing that they were improving. It was very heartening.

At the end of class, Sensei had a surprise. I sat next to him on the Dan side for the ending rei-hou. Normally,I would expect to be on the Kyu side, leading the closing rei-hou, but Sensei said that whoever opens the class sits next to him. I wonder if that’s an actual rule or if it was just a one-time reward.

Day 219:

Here I am at beginner class again. My arm is a little stiff and sore, but not a problem. Sensei didn’t show up today, but the senior students took right over to teach the class. We did a lot of stretches before suburi. The stretches where you cross your arm over your chest and behind the back hurt a little. I guess my arm isn’t quite recovered.

We did lots of suburi over and over with very little breaks in between. We did okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, kote-suburi, and doh-suburi. I was aware of those cuts but never did them before in warm-ups. Then we did a new one. It is like doh-suburi, but instead of stopping at the waist level, we finish the cut much lower, almost to the ankles. We also would not cut directly in front of us. We would cut right while turning left, then cut left while turning right. Since we were standing very close to each other, it was tricky not to bump into each other. We did squat cuts and then haya-suburi.

We put on men and then a few of us were drafted into receiving for the class. At first I was part of the receivers, but then the senior student decided to only need four receivers. I went over to the student side. We started off by doing one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step doh. The doh strikes made my arm hurt.

It seems I’m not as healed as I thought. It didn’t feel reinjured, so I think maybe it’ll be wise to stay with the beginner class until it doesn’t hurt anymore. We then did what we were leading up to. It was a combination drill of two times men, then two times kote, and then two times doh. It was fun, but the doh strikes would tug on my arm and make it feel not right.

A Beginner's Point of View 216-217

2010-11-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

Day 216:

No practice since my arm is still injured.

Day 217:

No practice since my arm is still injured.

A Beginner's Point of View 214-215

2010-11-03T15:50:00.001-07:00

Day 214:

At the end of the beginner class, Sensei put on a kind of haya-suburi contest to see groups of students compete to see who would finish first. Some of the students are coming along very nicely. In later groups, I filled in to finish a group of three. The final contest showed a senior student to be the winner. At the start of advanced class, we repeated the haya-suburi contest with advanced class. It was much faster and much closer a contest. Even Sensei participated. One of the nidans won. It was a lot of fun.

Today’s topic was all about pressuring your opponent. Every waza Sensei wanted us to pressure and force the opening. We did several drills of one-step men and one-step kote. Then we moved into men-kaeshi-doh. Each side took turns pressuring with men strike and the other side would do their best with kaeshi-doh. Kaeshi-doh is hard to do. You must block and then make enough space to step aside and move through. The striking makes it awkward, especially if your opponent is fast enough to close distance before you finish swinging.

We had another two mock shiais. In my first match I won 2-0 against a shodan, but in my second match I lost 2-0 against a nidan. It was very intense. Sensei asked me to keep score after each individual match and my team was constantly behind in points. We had a couple of keikos after shiai. My first keiko was against a jodan player. Without fear I stepped up and used different alternate kamae to get him to attack first. I would parry and strike men or kote. I did better striking men and an almost-good kaeshi-doh. I seem to like using the kamae where you make your shinai parallel to the jodan’s shinai. That one is easier to parry and open them up for men strike. The kamae where you cross shinais is good for kaeshi-doh.

My second keiko was intense. My opponent was trying to teach me and strike me at the same time. There was an exchange where I tried to strike doh while he struck men. We both missed, but in trying to pass by, he passed by my right side and his shinai hooked my shinai. We are both two of the faster chargers so my right arm got yanked a little too far backwards. Pain shot up my arm from the elbow to the shoulder. It was not the type of bending where the ‘inside surface’ was down, letting the elbow help. It was the opposite way where my arm seemed upside down and yank backwards so the elbow was twisted. It’s not bad, but it is sore. So, I stepped out of practice and let it rest. This feels like something that a couple of days of rest should fix.

Day 215:

No practice since my arm is still injured.

A Beginner's Point of View 212-213

2010-10-27T07:18:00.001-07:00

Day 212:

Well, I’m back from taking it easy because of the head impact. I feel better from it. Today was a day all about the finesse of strikes. We started off not by doing kiri-kaeshi but instead with one-step men. We practiced several techniques quickly, such as one-step men, kote-nuki-men, men-nuki-men, and a fun drill where we charge in for men, then our opponent blocks us with his body, and then we strike hiki-men going backwards. Always keep the mind flexible and you’ll keep your opponent harried.

We did some doh strikes, which were hard. We started off doing one-step doh and then branched into men-kaeshi-doh and doh-debana-men. Doh-debana-men seems impossible at first. However, the secret is to already decide that you’re going to do it and then move as soon as your opponent raises for men strike. Sensei taught us a secret. It makes everything easier if you do not step forward directly, but diagonally off to the right while swinging. This way you give yourself more room to connect with the doh when you strike.

Day 213:

No class today because I am working late at my job.

A Beginner's Point of View 210-211

2010-10-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Day 210:

The broken callous on my left foot is old enough and dry enough that I was able to tear most of it off. It’s a little sensitive now, but I’ve been keeping it under a bandage and ointment. It’s okay now, just a little sensitive. I should get back to Kendo but not work it too hard. As long as I keep it clean, there should be no problems.

We had a new person wear their bogu for the first time today. I stepped out of line to help him put on his men for the first time. I showed him about how the himo on top of the men need to be flat and close to each other. I stepped back into line and quickly did a short rei-hou and put on men and kote. When he tied them up, it looked okay, but soon into practice it was obvious that he needed to tie it tighter. He stepped out and got some more help from one of our club officers.

For class, we started off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi. It seems that I’m finding that limit to hold much I can recover breath. I wonder if it will ever increase. We did some more one-step men, concentrating on getting each one perfect. Sensei wanted us to pay attention to our footwork and posture. Some of us (e.g. myself), were leaning forward too much when moving forward. This leaves the men wide open for counter-attack. Sometimes we would receive openly, sometimes we would respond with oji-waza.

We would also practice one-step kote and one-step doh to keep our minds moving. We did a drill where we would learn the other’s timing with a men vs doh drill.

We also did a more obscure drill called kiri-kae-doh. The attacker would strike doh left, right, left, right, etc… while going forwards across the room. The receiver would strike shomen over and over in time with the doh. When you both reach one side of the room, you stop and then continue going the other way. It was a fun drill, although the one moving forward needs to warn their partner of the closeness of the wall to avoid bumping into it.

We did a couple of long keikos which robbed me of breath. My final keiko was against a nidan. I was trying to bait and provoke him, but he wasn’t falling for it. As a result, I could charge and strike with little resistance. However, once I baited him incorrectly, leaving too wide of an opening. He merely stepped half a step forward, pressuring me. I stepped back to regain maai, but he charged and swung for sayu-men. Too much sayu, not enough men. THWACK! Right to the right side of my skull. I wasn’t injured, but it was a shock. I had to take a moment to recover. I pressed on to finish the keiko and then stepped out. Good thing I bought one of those thin leather inserts for the men to protect me from too-hard strikes. I figure it absorbed half the strike. I was good enough to drive home, so I didn’t need to leave early and miss out on rei-hou.

Day 211:

My head still does not feel quite right. I feel a little ‘off’ if you understand. So, I’m going to just go to beginner class and exercise to keep in shape. If I start feeling dizzy, I’ll stop. We started by doing a series of stretches. These stretches are way different than the ones I’m used to when I was habitually in beginner class. Have I been out so long that they evolved without me? Possibly. During suburi, Sensei’s been adamant about showing how powerful people were. He had them doing 100 haya-suburi with no breaks! I could keep up, but the newcomers were not that far behind me. I guess I have proof that my endurance has been increasing all this time if I can just jump into 100 haya suburi without needing to stop. It’s a long ways away from the days when 30 haya-suburi would make my heart hurt.

While some others were putting on men and kote, Sensei had a group of us watching the beginners as they demonstrated their footwork walking across the floor and swinging for shomen. Most of the students were doing well for their rank. I only needed to correct a few students about turning their back foot out to the side or bringing their back foot too far forward when they walk. Nothing major, but I did tell them about it. I also made sure to give them encouragement that they were doing well, which they were. We did this for the duration of class and then bowed out.

At the end, Sensei arranged for newer students in bogu to receive men strikes from the entire class to get them used to it. I scored a few very good men and screamed my kiai to show the unranked students what a kiai is supposed to sound like. I hope my head heals soon. I want to get back to advanced class, but not too soon.

A Beginner's Point of View 208-209

2010-10-14T16:40:00.001-07:00

Day 208:

Today I come back to class from being sick. I want to pace myself so I don’t overburden my body, but I do need to get back into the routine. I did my kiri-kaeshi slowly and deliberately to save energy. My partners would always speed up the pace to get me moving again on the backwards direction.

We did a series of drills where there would be a total of four exchanges. Each side would attempt a single attack, either men or kote. There was a beginner student there. Whenever we would practice with him, he would always be the attacker. We would use oji-waza in the drill to our advantage if we could. Kote-suriage-men and men-suriage-men were most commonly used. We did a couple of keikos to mix it up. I had a lot of energy, so I used it to charge quickly past my opponent. I got a powerful hit to my right index knuckle. That really hurt. After the keiko, I looked at it and there was an instant bruise. I continued for a second keiko and that one went much better. I stopped for a rest and some water.

I had another keiko against a ni-to fighter. That was the guy who passed his nidan when the judges forgot that he could not sonkyo. He was not experienced with ni-to so he was slower than other ni-to players. I enjoyed lining up the off-side kote and sneaking in a men strike up the center. I did a keiko against someone practicing jodan-no-kamae. I used everything I could think of. I used alternate kamae on the right to block his sword and strike doh. I used alternate kamae on the left to perform suriage and open up his men. I charged forward first to strike debana-kote. I seemed to be successful about half of the time. My adrenaline was racing. Then he struck my right thumb knuckle hard. I tried to keep going for a couple more strikes, but I had to raise my hand and call a stop. When I stepped off again for water and rest, I noticed my right thumb was instantly bruised also. Sheesh, what a night. Maybe I should stop before I break something.

However, after resting and chatting with Sensei for a minute or two, he returned my CD. I put it in my bag and saw the beginner practicing a suriage waza drill. I decided that it was okay to help him and put men back on. I rotated in and helped him learn suriage. He was doing it wrong by dragging my sword along back into line. I showed him from both sides how it looks when it’s done right. We then did endless suriage while the others would push themselves with their combination drills and keikos.

Day 209:

I’m still working my way back into health so I started off my kiri-kaeshi slowly and deliberately. However, I did get excited enough to speed it up by the end. We did one-step men and nuki-men drills to warm up, including a round of Sensei’s new favorite. It’s a total of 4 exchanges between partners where each is trying to win by striking the other and not letting the other strike back. I went up against a nidan and lost 2-1-1, which is not bad.

Today’s focus was on jodan-no-kamae. Sensei wanted us to practice using it and defeating it. We would pay attention to using the right thumb to launch the attack and bringing the right kote to the doh to counter-balance the movement. It’s harder to do than it looks, but jodan-no-kamae can be useful to cover distance and surprise your opponent. Defeating jodan-no-kamae can be daunting but if you have a calm mind, you can see all of the targets available: kote, off-kote, doh, and tsuki. It can be hard to step out of the way and remember to pass through went fighting against jodan-no-kamae. You have a natural urge to stop in your tracks to verify the strike.

Afterwards, I got a lot of one-on-one instruction from a nidan and from Sensei about sharpening my chudan-no-kamae stance. They were tweaking the position of my hands so it would be more perfect. They revealed to me that I was twisting my left hand’s grip on the tsuka when I get tired. They were beginning to groom me for shodan now.

There was also a discussion about how long should I wait before I test for shodan. I distinctly remember Sensei telling me on the trip back from the tournament and testing for ikkyu that he felt it was six months. Today he said 1 year. I don’t mind either one being the answer, but the two contradictory answers confuse me. After lots of discussion from everybody there was no clear answer. They said to enjoy being an ikkyu while I can as long as I can and not to rush it.

Finally, after class I got the ice cream I earned weeks ago by striking Sensei when he had his men off. I plan to eat it this weekend when I don’t have to be at work.

A Beginner's Point of View 206-207

2010-10-09T09:18:00.001-07:00

Day 206:

No class as I am still sick from my trip to the tournament and promotional. Maybe next time.

Day 207:

No class as I am still sick from my trip to the tournament and promotional. Maybe next time.

A Beginner's Point of View 205.3-205.6

2010-10-09T09:17:00.002-07:00

Day 205.3:

We got to the tournament gymnasium early, just after the doors opened. It was crowded already and not a lot of space to put your bogu bags. We found a space and set up. After changing into our uniforms, we lined up for opening ceremonies. There seemed to be a lot of kendoka there from many schools.

After opening ceremonies, we split up and look in the programs. I was scheduled to fight in court D after the youth divisions. Several of us showed up at the table to help. The people running the table were grateful we were offering to help. I started off tying all the ribbons. Soon, it became obvious that the people running the tournament made a spontaneous change. We started mudansha before the youth division. Needless to say, it was weird. However, we fell right into step.

After the first few matches ended in hiki-wake we all started looking at each other. Why were the shinpan not calling points? There were a few good men and kote but not a single flag for any of them. It was my turn and I retrieved my bogu. After suiting up, I stepped into my place. Suddenly, the table called me back. They wound up changing the color of my ribbon 4 more times before I stepped in. There must have been lots of changes made. Soon, I started my first match. My opponent was much slower than I was and I struck a good kote. No flags. I struck a clean men, but no flags. I slowed down and became more precise. I hit a good kote and nothing came of it. That match ended in hiki-wake. My next match ended in hiki-wake also. I was given a third match to my surprise. I had an opponent actually half my size. She was fierce and unafraid. I liked that about her. However, I was clearly much faster than her, so I used that to my advantage. I struck men on her a half dozen times and kote a few times. Nothing. She appeared to be going to try to time out. I circled and waited until she stumbled, and then landed a crisp men strike on top of her head. Finally, I got a point! The match ended with a 1-0 victory for me. I went back to the table and helped run the court again.

Soon, the court finished and sent its winner along. Next was the youth division. That seemed to be just as large. Most of the matches ended in hiki-wake because the judges were so strict about what they wanted to see. After youth division, it was the shodan-nidan-sandan division. Why they lumped sandans in with the shodans I’ll never figure out. It’s such a gap in skill. Nevertheless, that’s what we put on. My partner at the table had to put on bogu so I wound up not only tying ribbons but also calling out the matches. I was very busy. Afterwards, it turns out that we had to repeat three of our brackets because they all ended up in hiki-wake. I’ve never seen an entire tournament end with hiki-wake. Hantei and encho were the ways I’m familiar with except for the first bracket of mudansha and youth. We ran very late and wound up not putting on our yandan-and-above division. It was moved elsewhere.

Lunch was served right away before the higher-ranking members fought. Sensei asked me to hold onto his lunchbox until later. He didn’t want to eat and then fight. He’d get sick. Unfortunately, there was a rule about no food in the gym. I had to leave the lunch outside. After Sensei fought, I told him about the lunch and he was disappointed. However, he did not blame me. I did bring him a bottle of cold water for him.

Team match was better. Sensei chose not to fight in team matches because he hurt his ankle. Our extra stepped up and filled his space. He had no rank but was eager. We won the first team match 5-0. We were ecstatic! It may have been against a weaker team, but it was a confidence booster. My opponent afterwards confided in me that he was a 7-kyu. I didn’t think they went as low as 7-kyu.

The second match was much harder. We went up against a group of dans then. My match was against a guy ready to test for nidan. I learned his pattern and shut him down every time. He pretty much only did his special combo of fake-fake-men. I would struck a quick debana-kote and charged into tsuba-zeriai to make him angry. I snuck in a good men strike and a kote, winning the match. We won in a sweep again, not losing a single match.

The third match was hard. Very hard. I went out and was totally outclassed. Like I did to my opponent before, my new opponent shut me down and struck me crisply, winning 2-0. His last strike hit me in the arm instead of squarely on the kote. The shinpan called it good, even if I disagreed. The second match was just the same. The third match ended in hiki-wake, no points. Our forth match we won 2-0, so by points we were still in the game. However, their last match they blew us away. Still, even though we were disappointed we were happier than ever coming so far.

At closing ceremonies, my classmate who stepped up to participate in team matches got a medal for 3rd place in mudansha. We were all very proud of him.

Day 205.6:

On promotional day, we got there super-early. We were waiting outside in the chilly air before the doors were unlocked. It was a bit of a wait but we didn’t mind. Inside, I put on my brand-new uniform purchased just for promotional. I made sure to fuss over appearance very closely. Someone even pointed out to tuck in my built-in obi much flatter to help. That was very nice of them.

I made sure to warm up slowly, as to not hurt myself or tire out. I did a few suburi by myself but then we did a bunch as a group. We even invented a suburi where two people face each other at close distance and do haya-suburi, but in alternating rhythm. That was fun to do. Of course, my partner was a nidan and had to speed up fast for the last 10 reps. I struggled to keep up. My classmate who was testing for shodan helped me practice kata by walking through the first three. In the initial exchange, my voice squeaked when I called out ‘toh’. Geesh, that was embarrassing. I coughed to clear my voice and I was fine. I made sure not to overexert myself and save it for the test.

The judges made a massive call for EVERYONE testing to line up in two groups by an exact plan they wrote up. After we stood in line, they wrapped big stickers on the side flaps of our tare to display our numbers. At first I didn’t know why they used the number scheme that they did. People in front that would go early were in the 400’s and 300’s for numbers. People closer to me had 200’s. I was in the 100’s category, while standing in the back. I had #109. Later I would find out that they grouped by expected rank if they passed. (i.e. 400’s were requesting 4-kyu, etc…)

We all went over to the other side of the gym and sat in formation, getting all of our equipment. I seemed to be the only 100’s person who brought their bokken. I kept it and put it on the right side of my place. The earlier groups of kyu would go through kiri-kaeshi and keiko. We were told those going for ikkyu would only do keiko and kata. We watched as the students were called in groups of three to demonstrate their prowess. The kiri-kaeshi was ranging back and forth to the extreme edges of the testing courts. It must have been hard for the judges to see them strike.

I watched my classmate (who got the 3rd place medal) do his kendo singing during kiri-kaeshi. His form looked really good as he bellowed out MEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!! The whole time seemed to drag on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on while the blood flow was getting cut off in my legs. I must have shifted over a dozen times trying to get comfortable.

When it was time for me to men-tsuke, I was grateful. I made sure to keep a dignified posture while doing my rei-hou and posture. For my keiko, I made sure to kiai loud, take center and strike men squarely. I also mixed in some solid kote and jockeyed for position to show I was thinking. After 4 hits, I was thinking of trying for a kote-men, but the judges called for a halt. They saw what they wanted to see. We were dismissed and then told to take off doh and bring our bokken. I was glad I had brought it already. Everyone else had to go to their bags to get it. We came together in a group near where we waited for keiko.

As a group, we decided to line up by number. It took a couple of moments, but we did it. I’m not sure if the judges were impressed, but we were lined up to help them. The judges decided to spilt us up by even/odd numbers. I was initially paired with a girl nearly half my height, but then they switched her out for a guy about my height. That made it easier. Suddenly, they stopped and did nothing. We all waited for about 20 seconds before they declared who the uchidachi/shidachi was.

Then they told us to begin. Immediately, everyone just half-bowed to each other and drew their bokken. I was the only one who seemed to know to turn to shomen and deeply bow first! I just did it right and my partner followed me. I was glad to be given the role of uchidachi. Being a little behind the others, I saw how hesitant and quiet they were. It was like they had only done it half a dozen times before today! Was I the only one who studied it seriously? Well, I decided that we were going to be the best pair out there. I deliberately and confidently strode out. My partner sensed this and matched me. When I initiated the attack I would call out boldly, “YAH!” Thankfully, he would replay, “TOH!” I made sure to keep the spacing proper and we finished with no problem. Even the awkward footwork on the third kata was no problem for my ‘negatively polarized bokken’ method. The judges asked one of the other pairs to repeat the first kata. The uchidachi drew her bokken upside down and held it like that. The judges had to tell her to turn it right-side up, as if she couldn’t tell! At the end of it, we were all dismissed. After several minutes, the results were posted. I passed! Also, my classmate got 3-kyu!

I made sure to turn in my menjo fee and written exam answer early to make sure it was collected. I stayed to watch some of the higher-ranking students do their kata. We saw one of our classmates try for nidan. He was very awkward in his kata, and the 7th kata wasn’t quite good. He was asked to repeat it. He did so better. Still, he did not kneel after the doh strike because of his knee surgery. Afterwards, we discovered that he failed only because he did not kneel. It was written in his applications that he could not kneel or sonkyo or seiza! Why would they hold it against him? On his own initiative, he went around asking every judge about this discrepancy. One high-ranking judge was unsympathetic, but most were. Eventually, after much polite persuasion, the judges pulled his application and saw it was not only written by him, but by Sensei as well. So, they granted him his nidan. Way to go!

It was a very, very long trip back home, but eventually we made it. I started feeling really sick after crossing back into my state and decided not to do anything other than get well. Still, I left one of my favorite CDs in Sensei’s car. Darn it.

A Beginner's Point of View 202-205

2010-10-09T09:17:00.001-07:00

Day 202-205:

These days have been a blur of training and refinement. One-step men, kata 1, one-step kote, kata 2, one-step doh, kata 3, keiko, kiri-kaeshi, oji-waza… The list goes on and on. I have been critiqued by everyone in class of all ranks and I have learned some higher-ranking techniques to step up my kata.

I notice that I still do not counter-attack properly as the shidachi in the second kata. I still pull the bokken to the left a little as I step to the left. As the shidachi in the third kata, I need to remember not to extend my arms all the way. It should look like I am pushing with the hips rather than the arms. Still, the saki should rest at the opponent’s eyes. Soon, we drive out for the tournament and test.

I remember that Sensei made a compliment about me in class. My partners did not know kata as well as I did. They kept messing up the footwork for kata three. So, I stopped my training to help them step through it properly. Sensei said that I was doing what ikkyus do, help train the lower ranks. He described me as acting like a Gunnery Sergeant. I liked the compliment. I suppose soon I will be acting like my old Sempai.

A Beginner's Point of View 200-201

2010-09-16T18:03:00.001-07:00

Day 200:

Today was a lot of work. It was kiri-kaeshi over and over and over and over… Kiri-kaeshi seemed to be a theme tonight. We did endless rotations of kiri-kaeshi. Then we separated into two parts.

The first part was the four unranked students. The other part was the rest of us. At first, the four students would receive kiri-kaeshi over and over from every person rotating through. Each partner would observe them and make suggestions to improve. Then Sensei would call for each student to show they could receive kiri-kaeshi as if being tested. The rest of the class would make suggestions to improve.

We would then do the whole thing over again, only the unranked students would give kiri-kaeshi. We separated into the two groups, in four lines, and rotated while the unranked students gave over and over. We also gave them suggestions on how to better attack. Once that was done, we also did the mock testing, one pair at a time for them giving kiri-kaeshi. These students are doing well. The biggest problem overall was the footwork. They need to just practice more and they’ll do just fine. The switching between matching forward foot with sword and the opposite time where the sword is on the opposite to the forward foot can be disconcerting.

Afterwards, we broke up and did a lot of simple waza. One-step men and oji-waza, such as kote-suriage-men and men-suriage-men. To finish class, we would do a few rounds of keiko. I only had enough breath to do two keiko matches and had to sit out the last two matches. I did it still wearing men and kote because I knew we were almost done with class. It was cooler today so I could reciver my breath faster. Having an odd number of people helped since there was a spot to rotate out.

Day 201:

Today was geared towards testing for promotion. We did a few kiri-kaeshi rounds, but then we concentrated on simple waza. One-step men, one-step kote, and some one-step doh. The shodans and above would sneak in some oji-waza occasionally to keep everyone on their toes. Then we separated into groups to showcase keiko. I was in a group that was mudansha. We would go up when called to do keiko with a declared partner. I made sure to keep good posture and let loose with many big kiais. I stuck to simple attacks, kote and men. I scored several good hits against my partners, who were an unranked student and a newly-promoted sankyu. I dominated and struck cleanly, passing through with good zanshin. At the end of keiko, one of the nidans commented that I would have passed on spirit alone. That made me really happy. I think I’m ready to pass my ikkyu exam.

After our group was done, I was actually called to be the odd man in a group testing for shodan/nidan. That was a surprise, but a big honor. I actually dominated my opponent, who will be testing for nidan. Of course, much of it is the fact that he has recovered from knee surgery and is building up his endurance again, but still it really lifted my spirits. The rest of the group were testing for sandan, including Sensei who will be testing for yandan. Their matches were very smooth and flowing. By pushing themselves, they made the rest of us look blocky and amateurish. Afterwards, there was a few “open matches” of keiko held just so people could get more criticism. I participated in a match against my first keiko opponent. After a couple of hits on him, he suddenly picked up the pace and counterattacked often. He even snuck in a solid kote hit just as I was trying to bait him for kote-suriage-men. I complimented him after class and he was really pleased with himself.

Then we did kata. I love kata. The class broke up into groups testing for similar ranks. However, I was the only one for the ikkyu level. The sankyu became my partner for a few iterations. We did the first three with myself as the uchidachi twice. Then we repeated the third for a few times to get it down pat. Then we did the whole thing over again by switching roles. A nidan switched out with him to help me polish. Another nidan took the other lower-ranking students to teach them the finer points of the footwork in the third kata. The nidan ran through the entire kata sequence with me as the shidachi first, then with me as the uchidachi. Afterwards, he tried to explain to me that I was good, but doing it very awkwardly. I like to think of it as doing the footwork “staccato”. He encouraged me to be smoother. After that, Sensei became my partner and he said we were doing it “for real” this time. We did the first three kata as if I were being tested right there. After he was the uchidachi, he then ran me through the same thing with him being shidachi. After we bowed out, he nodded and gave me a ‘thumb’s-up’, saying that if I did my kata just like that, I would pass. I’m just counting the days until the road trip to the tournament and testing.

A Beginner's Point of View 198-199

2010-09-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

Day 198:

Today was special. It was all-day kata. Have I mentioned how much I love kata? Even the beginner class was all about kata. Since I didn’t need to suit up in bogu and warm up so thoroughly, I had time to help out. I was a partner for a beginner student who looked like he hadn’t done kata too many times. I was helping him with the second kata. I did the shidachi role over and over with him, getting him used to the motions. Sensei even pointed out to me that I needed to use a bigger swing. It showed that he was watching everyone, not just the beginner students. Having your teacher demonstrate that he’s actively in the class gives you a great feeling that you’re not alone.

Soon the beginner class was over. Sensei announced that the advanced class will have only kata as well, so everyone who was able should stay for the advanced class. Several beginner students stayed and boosted our overall numbers. The class was broken up into three groups: beginners, middle, and advanced. The beginners were the ones from the beginner class and anyone else who is testing for promotion soon that does not need kata. The middle group was anyone testing for ikkyu, shodan, or nidan.

I was in this group since I am testing for ikkyu. My partner was testing for shodan, so he needed to practice the first five kata where I only needed the first three. We did them in order over and over, switching role between uchidachi and shidachi over and over. The time just flew as I was concentrating and enjoying myself. He pointed out that my tsuki on the third kata shidachi role was too high. It should not be pointed at my partner’s throat when I counter the uchidachi’s tsuki. Instead, it should be pointed at the solar plexus (right at the fleshy point under the arch of the sternum). He advised me to imagine pushing down on the bokken after the parry. I tried that and it really helped. He also pointed out something that I was seeing but couldn’t quite correct it. I was pulling the bokken to the left as I dodged the uchidachi’s kote strike in the second kata. My partner told me to rotate my body to point the saki at my opponent, as if tracking him while I dodged. That way I won’t need to correct and keep the blade straight. At length, my partner went to practice with a nidan who helped him with kata four and five. Sensei became my partner and we practiced the first three kata a few times before class was starting to come to a close.

Sensei called for a mock kata promotional test for everyone to watch. The beginners started, doing the first two kata. They didn’t finish quite right, but that’s because they weren’t taught the right way. Then it was my turn. My partner was a nidan who was drafted. I did the shidachi role. I think I did well.

I didn’t get to practice the uchidachi role for kata three much tonight and that was disappointing. I think I may have figured out the trick to memorizing the footwork after the initial thrust. Just think “reverse polarity”. After the uchidachi thrusts, he begins to think like the bokken is electrically charged and that his right foot must be electrically charged the opposite way. When the shidachi parries, the bokken is on the uachidachi’s right side. When the shidachi steps forward, the uchidachi must parry by moving his bokken under and around the shidachi’s bokken. This puts it on the left side of the uchidachi’s body. The “reverse polarity” means that if the saki is on the left, the right foot must be the one to move. For the shidachi’s second thrust, the uchidachi counters with a parry that circles under and to the right side of his body. This means that “reverse polarity” forces the left foot to be the one to move back. The shidachi does not thrust a third time, instead he presses forward. The uchidachi does not attempt to parry again, he merely backs away. Therefore, the saki stays on the right side of the uchidachi’s body. Since the uchidachi must perform three steps backwards, “reverse polarity” dictates that it must start and finish with the left foot going backwards.

Up next was my partner, who is testing for shodan, and he was going to do kata with the same nidan for his partner. They did the first five kata. The shodan candidate messed up his footwork on the first and fifth kata, putting the wrong foot forward. However, the important thing was that he realized it and corrected quickly while not interrupting the kata. He focused on finishing and thus did better than he perceived himself to have done.

After class, I asked Sensei what he thought of my kata. He tried to explain a flaw he saw, but couldn’t put words to it. I think he meant to work on the shidachi kote attack in the second kata. But he said my over kata “was there”, meaning if I give just as good a performance he feels I would pass. Now is the time to work on polishing the kata to make it shine.

Day 199:

Today was all keiko and waza, not kata. Oh well, can’t have everything, right? I was spoiled last class.

Here the theme of the class was to try as many different waza as possible. I got to try out my new head protector for the first time. It’s very thin so it slips inside the men snugly. Still it makes the men extra snug. It does feel a little more front-heavy, so I need to remember to lean my head back more. During class, I practiced with a nidan who is the ‘lumberjack’ of the group. He has good tenuchi. However, he’s so tall, strong, and vigorous that he always hits the men hard, no matter how gentle he tries to be. In fact, I practically bought this protector just for him. His head strikes would ‘white out’ my vision and make me dizzy. I’m sure this will protect me from future other kenshi like him, but for now I won’t be struck too hard by him any more. I must remember to keep my hair cut short, just to be sure.

We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, followed by one-step men, one-step kote, kote-suriage-men, kote-nuki-men, and a new drill made up by one of our nidans. He said he saw many people in shiai do a men-doh drill. You start off at itto-no-maai, and then make a light attack at your opponent’s men. When your opponent blocks the men, you quickly swing for doh and pass by. It’s a lot harder than it sounds because for the men strike, you must move in closer than proper for doh. You have to move almost 45 degrees away from your opponent to get a good swing. In fact, a lot of us decided that this waza can only be done properly if you pass by on the same side as the doh strike.

It was hot and muggy today. My breath doesn’t seem to return to my lungs when the weather is like this. I had to sit out twice during practice. Still, I managed to have a few good keikos before the end of class.

A Beginner's Point of View 196-197

2010-09-02T14:33:00.001-07:00

Day 196:

Today was a big day for kata. Sensei said that some people’s work prevented them from spending all of this coming month from class, so we would do as much kata when everybody was present as possible. I love kata. Sensei separated us into three groups. The first group were testing for sandan next month. The second group was testing for either shodan or nidan next month. The rest of us were in the last group, including myself. Our group did the first three kata over and over. Sensei was helping the first two groups, so I guided the others in the first three kata. They were nervous because they hadn’t done the katas too many times, but only practice makes that better. I was more nervous than they were when I was first starting. They seemed to remember the steps for the first two kata, but the footwork on the third was tricky. The others kept messing up the footwork because they were thinking about it too much. What they need is to just practice the footwork part over and over until it becomes automatic. If you think about the footwork too much, you will mess it up. Eventually, Sensei came over and gave us all pointers on the footwork for the third kata. I practiced being the partner for each of the others through the first three.

After that was done, Sensei wanted us to showcase what we learned. We cleared the floor and watched each of a single pair go through the motions of a sequence of kata. I was first and showed the first three. I think I did well. After the end, Sensei remarked that if this was a test, I would have passed. He did suggest that during the second kata, if I was the shidachi, to make the cut into an o-kote cut instead of a smaller cut. We watched others do kata and we learned some good pointers. The two lower-ranking people I was practicing with took their turn and it was clear that they did not have the distance correct. Many of their cuts actually missed. They seemed to be disappointed, but Sensei made sure to tell them how difficult it is and not to be disheartened.

We spent so long on kata that there was only 15 minutes left in class. We put on bogu and did simple drills, such as kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and a few rounds of keiko. After class, Sensei, another student, and I talked about our road trip plans for the tournament and testing. We decided to leave early rather than late. I need to set my alarm on that day for 0400 to be on time. No problem since it goes off at 0530 regularly anyway.

Day 197:

This entire month is all going to be about kata. However, Sensei wanted to get in some waza and keiko practice before going to kata. We did a very short class with kiri-kaeshi, one step men, and one step doh. We worked very hard, until the sweat was pouring off of us for about half an hour. I did a keiko with a lower-ranking student for a couple of minutes. I would keep stalling and pressuring him until he would attack. Sometimes he would miss, sometimes he would hit awkwardly. Then I would counterattack. I needed to practice striking accurately. I didn’t try to dominate the fight so he wouldn’t get discouraged. I remember some keiko I had as an unranked student. It would be very frustrating if I didn’t score a single hit and still pushed to be better.

I had another keiko with a higher-ranked student who was ready to test for sandan. I would use my stride and long arms to my advantage. I could step from almost to-ma and strike men if I was fast enough moving forward. I would also strike kote from the crossing of the saki to try to mix it up. I had to catch my breath soon and skip a couple of keiko. I just couldn’t keep breath in my body after a while. I think it has much to do with how much I kiai at once in a single keiko. If I kiai often, it takes longer to catch my breath. At least my voice is no longer injured.

Then it was time for kata. I love kata. I was paired with my first keiko partner since he was unranked. I forget if he’s going to test at the tournament or if he’s going to the seminar further south. Either way, he doesn’t need kata yet, but Sensei wants him to learn. We spent most of the class practicing the first three kata over and over. He needed to step through each kata step-by-step, but that’s okay. Teaching him the kata steps helps me remember how they go. The biggest thing to correct at first was his holding of left jodan. He needed to hold the bokken at a sharper angle, but he caught on quickly.

After a while, Sensei came over and had to correct me. It turns out that I had memorized the footwork for the third kata in the uchidachi role was wrong. Going backwards after the shidachi counters with his own tsuki, I was going left, right, left, right, left. Apparently, that’s wrong even though it feels natural. The proper way according to Sensei is to move right foot backwards first, then left, then a very short stop. You then immediately move left, right, left. It’s that double-left step that really makes it awkward. I need to read the Ozawa book about the third kata again to confirm. Then I need to practice at home. Even though I’ve got low ceilings, I can practice the footwork by itself.

A Beginner's Point of View 194-195

2010-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Day 194:

Last class I did so much kiai that I wound up using my vocal chords to augment it. Bad idea. Now my voice is damaged and I can hardly talk, much less kiai. I really can’t contemplate doing Kendo silently, so I decided to take the day off and rest from class. At the end of last week, I nearly lost my voice at work.

Day 195:

Today, my voice feels fine. Still, I sound just the slightest bit funny when I talk, so I’m going to take it easy on the throat. I’m only going to do a half-strength kiai during waza or keiko. We started out doing kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. Today was just as much instruction for the nidans as the lower-ranking students. Whenever we would start a drill, the senior students would counter-attack with anything they wished. They would use aiouchi-men, men-suriage-men, kote-debana-men, or anything else.

The lower-ranking students worked on just one-step men and one-step kote for the most part. Sensei said we should start off doing it the way Guest Sensei showed us. We start at to-ma, which is farther than itto-no-maai. Here we give a big kiai (I did a half-kiai) and step to itto-no-maai. Then we perform one-step waza. It does seem to help us keep good center.

I took a break halfway through class to rest, drink water, and stopped using my voice. Sensei also called for a 5 minute break because it was humid. After a short break, I went back to it. We did some keiko, and I concentrated on keeping center and pushing past my opponent’s defenses. I wasn’t as fast or accurate as I normally am. I think it’s because I wasn’t using my full kiai. I’m not happy with how I did, but there’s nothing for it but to accept that I need to pace my voice or risk damaging it again.

During class, one of the students developed a blood blister on his foot. He expected to lance it at home after class, but it popped during the tail end of class. There were splotches of blood scattered across the floor, including one ‘puddle’ where the skin broke and dumped most of the blood. One of the senior students helped him wash and bandage his foot while another naturally moved to step it and clean the floor. Things happen in the dojo and you gotta deal with it, but it’s nice to see people just automatically try to keep the floor clean. It’s respectful in general and it keeps the floor dry and not slippery.

A Beginner's Point of View 191.5-193

2010-08-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

Day 191.5:

I got up early this morning to be there when the doors opened. I’m part of the club putting on the tournament, so I have to be present. Many of our students were either here for their first or second tournament. I just told them to relax and know when and where they were fighting. The rest should fall into place. They took it to heart. When I was not fighting, I was at the second court (where I would spend all of my matches), being the timekeeper and occasional caller. Our unranked students gave a good show of effort in their mudansha brackets. They got eliminated, but they had a lot of fun.

When it was time for my bracket, I got lucky drawing an unranked person and a yan-kyu. I brought forth my best Kendo and won both of my matches 2-0. It’s not the first time I’ve ever advanced to the second round, but this is better than I’ve ever done. I went to the next match and it was single elimination against someone who was my equal in skill. The two of us chased each other around the court, striking and blocking furiously. Each of us was trying desperately to strike anything to break the stalemate. I’m not sure what his rank was, but he and I were equal today. When time expired, the shinpan gave a hantei. The result was 2-1 against me. Darn it. Still, I have no bad feelings about losing to someone clearly my equal. I think that if I had advanced one more time, I would have been in the semi-finals and qualified for a medal. Oh well.

After a good lunch, we came back to witness a demonstration of german longsword fighting. It reminded me of my days as a foil fencer. Coming back to the tournament, I helped to run our table for sandan and above. Our head Sensei was fighting in that bracket. He was his usual confident self, constantly getting an opponent to attack while he would parry and counter-attack. Then it was time for teams. Our team consisted of 2 unranked, a yan-kyu, myself, and Sensei who is sandan. We went up against a powerhouse team for 3 sandans, a yandan, and a godan. Needless to say, we lost. The results were 4-0 against us. That was the shortest match of my life. Still, I’m not upset, just amazed at how fast my opponent could move. After my match, my opponent came to compliment me. He said that I have all of the basics down well. I just need more practice. After the tournament finished, our A team took second place in the finals. Head Sensei even got the award for best spirit in sandan and above division. It was a good tournament.

After the tournament was over, I helped clean up and take down some of the preparations. I did get a break in to do some godo-geiko. I stood in the shortest line since everyone was in huge lines for high-ranking sensei. Suddenly, one of the sensei had an open line and no one was stepping in. after a couple of minutes of waiting, my line was not moving. So, I stepped into the open line. This was a ni-to sensei. I wanted to practice finding the openings on a ni-to player. It was easy to see the openings, but hard to hit them. Curving the shinai around a shinai to hit the kote or slide it between for men strike is harder than it looks. I did get a good men strike in on him. He complimented me on a good men.

After that match, I was out of breath from exerting myself so much. I went back to packing up supplies from the tournament. Next door we had the plethora of drinks. I took a large stack of green tea drinks with citrus flavors as a favor to Sensei. Otherwise, he would have to haul it back himself. I think I’ll drink them all one bottle per day for a long time.

Day 192:

Today Guest Sensei showed up again. This is his last time to practice before returning to Japan. We started off by performing a drill that was being done in the beginner class. We would form two lines and then separate into two groups. The first group would spread out to take space and then perform a certain drill. They would do five good men strikes, taking their time to line up and strike properly. Then the opposite side would attack. The second group would take the space and do the same drill. The first group would return to the space and then do a different drill. They would strike a single men and then strike a single doh. They would repeat this set four more times. Then the second group would take the space and do the drill. We did all of this without men or kote to be able to see perfectly to judge distance. We also did it because of how hot it was. The point of the drill was to semin well and practice good footwork.

At this point, we put on men and kote. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi. When I did kiri-kaeshi with Guest Sensei, we stopped me and told me to stop swinging so wildly. He showed me that my left fist was being tugged along with my right fist, making the shinai unwieldly. After I kept my right fist under control and kept my left fist steady, my strikes were more crisp.

We then did men strikes, including the men-kote-kote/men-doh-men drill. I was doing what Sensei told us to do. I was using a beat to open the way before starting the drill. Guest Sensei said that was a ‘habit’ of mine. He said it was excellent for shiai, but in class it was not necessary. So, I stopped doing it and focused on keeping a strong center. We did a few one-step kote drills and then there were several lectures about good from Guest Sensei, especially about itto-no-maai. We all enjoyed having him over to our dojo. Hopefully next year he can visit again.

Day 193:

Today was a very good day in the dojo for me. I was well-rested, hydrated, and eager.

We started off by doing several rounds of kiri-kaeshi. I used the technique that Guest Sensei suggested and it made my kiri-kaeshi look much better. I could go even faster than when I was trying to be flashy. Guest Sensei really knew what he was talking about. We also did several standard drills of one-step men, one-step kote, and a couple of rounds of one-step doh. Sensei had the high-ranking people on one side of the dojo giving retaliation occasionally during drills. They would use suriage and debana on us to try to beat us, so we had to line up and be faster.

Then we had a few rounds of keiko. Today I was really fast! Remember I was telling about seemingly jumping out of my body to become faster? It nearly happened again, except that instead of going ahead of my body, my body actually kept up with my spirit. I was sweating more than usual, but I did not take off men even once today. Instead, I was lucky enough that I had several small breaks in between. Still, I was striking faster than shodans, nidans, and even Sensei all night. There were the occasional strikes when I lost the rhythm and they beat me, but overall, I was quicker and more accurate than usual. I was even very tired! I keep trying to figure out what I was doing that was so good to myself for health but I keep coming up blank. I’ll have to figure it out later.

A Beginner's Point of View 190-191

2010-08-12T11:22:00.001-07:00

Day 190:

My job was very taxing on the spirit and body today. I am going to rest and not go to class.

Day 191:

Today was a big surprise. It’s the last practice before our tournament this weekend. This is our time to cool down and work on form rather than work too hard so that we are exhausted. However, just as we were getting ready to start, one of our previous Guest Sensei showed up with his son for some Kendo. We were thrilled to have them both, especially since we didn’t know they were coming. Guest Sensei is a roku-dan and I think his son is either a ni-dan or san-dan.

We started off doing a lot of kiri-kaeshi. I guess Sensei wanted to show all of us off to Guest Sensei for his advice. Guest Sensei is a humble man, which means he did not just walk in and take over the class even though he could have done so. Instead, he asked permission to give advice from time to time. Guest Sensei really carries himself with a lot of class. After kiri-kaeshi, we did a few rounds of one-step men. Guest Sensei tried to teach us a technique where we would not bother to knock aside our opponent’s shinai. Instead, we hold center of chudan very hard and push forward, keeping our shinai low until the last moment. Then we quickly strike sashi-men. This is a lot harder than it sounds and we didn’t do a very good job. Still, we tried hard. After that we did a few rounds of kote-men. Guest Sensei was walking around, giving more advice to individual people. He watched me do kote-men and told me that when it came time for the men strike, to lift my arms higher and then flew my wrists. My finishing strike was too close and bouncing off the front of the men-gane. His advice worked.

We divided up into two groups, beginners and advanced. Each group rotated amongst themselves for a few rounds of keiko. I was in the beginner group. I did a few rounds of keiko, trying to pick up speed like in previous weeks of pushing myself to fly faster and faster. It didn’t quite work, although I remember how to do it. I really needed a rest after that. Guest Sensei and his son opened themselves up for keiko with anyone who wanted it. I got in line. First, it would be keiko with Sensei, then Guest Sensei’s son, then Guest Sensei. After keiko with Sensei, I waited patiently, but then time ran out and we bowed out. After rei-hou, we gathered around Guest Sensei for his advice. He remembered me and complimented me on my kiai. He said kiai is very important and can overcome an opponent’s muscles and even skill. He said my kiai was very good and to keep improving it. When I asked Guest Sensei’s son for his advice, he said the same thing. I had a good, strong kiai and keeping it up will help a lot.

A Beginner's Point of View 188-189

2010-08-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

Day 188:

Today was more of a normal day of class. We’re getting ready for tournament, so we’re starting to work extra hard to get ready. We started off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. I am beginning to do my kiri-kaeshi much faster now. I must concentrate on being accurate now as to not become sloppy.

We then moved into instruction to one-step kote and one-step kote-men. This time, our partners were not going to just stand there. We would ‘negotiate’ for position and not move until we had maai. It was interesting to say the least.

Since there were so many of us, Sensei had to break up the class in halves. The first half did a round of keiko while the rest watched. Then the other half of class rotated in to do keiko.

Afterwards, Sensei divided up the class into teams again. Our team won its first round 4-1. We were on fire! Even the one who lost had a score of 2-1. I was flying on the floor. I won my match 2-1 also. I went up against a shodan and he struck men right away. I was upset that I might lose, so I pushed myself to move faster and angle off to the side as to not collide so often. It worked! I was striking men and kote a lot tonight. Our second round went much like the first, except that I faced off against someone closer to my rank. I lost 2-1 by a very close margin.

Sensei broke up the shiai and we lined up for waza again. We did some more kote-men drills and then we did the ever popular men-kote-kote/men-doh-men drill. That’s an interesting one to do. You really have to pay attention to what step you’re doing to avoid getting lost.

We went back into shiai again, rotating a couple of the players. I won my next match 2-0 by striking openings in the men. My opponent was a shodan who was shorter than me. He knew that I would be tempted into striking men. Normally, he would put up lots of men defense. However, he wanted to strike my kote. So in his judgment, he would balance his men defense and maai for kote so strike quickly. Still, I saw that little window of space that was not covered, so I waited until he was in the middle of shifting the weight on his feet and then POP! I did that twice. I forget what the team score was but it was close. My last match was against a nidan. I really wanted to see how fast I could go. I flew and flew more, as much as I could. I actually lived in the moment instead of thinking too much. I would fly past him, striking kote well, and then displaying good zanshin. The shinpan disagreed, though. I’m not going to argue with them, but I was disappointed. They were some of my best kote ever. My opponent was striking men a lot, and once made the tiniest of glancing blows to my men. The shinpan gave him the point. After the match, we both agreed on our way of scoring and congratulated each other. Never make the mistake of arguing with the shinpan. Our team lost the round 2-1, but we did not care. We did one round of kiri-kaeshi afterwards in celebration.

Day 189:

Today we worked extra hard. Sensei couldn’t make it, but he left instructions as to what to work on. We started off doing many, many rounds of kiri-kaeshi. This was to build up stamina. By the end of it, I was really out of breath, but I kept going. Sensei wanted us to work on one-step men into tsuba-zeriai. This is just as valid a strike as passing by our opponent for zanshin. You use this when your opponent won’t allow you to pass by. You use this to strike and then cut off your opponent’s ability to counterattack. We did that for several rounds until we broke into a few rounds of simple keiko.

Once that was done, I was totally out of breath, ready to fall over. I stepped out to rest and recover. I drank some water and stayed standing to avoid slipping into fatigue. Once I had recovered, it was time for informal shiai-geiko. I fought a match against someone slightly higher rank than myself. I was moving slower than I was last class, but still at a good pace. I tried to concentrate more on accurate strikes than speed. I got in a few good men hits, but I still lost 2-1. I had tried to use closing distance to take away points from my opponent to frustrate him. I underestimated my opponent and lost for it.

After my match, I volunteered to be a shinpan to practice. Being a shinpan is hard. You have to keep track of accuracy, location, and zanshin of both fighters at all times. You just have to vote the way you see it. After a few matches where I was shinpan, I had a second match. It went like the first match, only with a much higher-ranked opponent. I tried to do some kote strikes to compensate, but they didn’t land squarely. My opponent learned my patterns and timing and used them to his advantage. He won 2-0. I helped shinpan a few matches and then we did one keiko afterwards. My partner was my second opponent and he was constantly trying to give me openings to strike. This was his way to get me to take advantage and strike well.

A Beginner's Point of View 186-187

2010-07-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Day 186:

Today was a fun day. Sensei wanted us to get some more practice in for shiai. We started off doing kiri-kaeshi only a few times, and then a one-step men drill. Once that was done, we separated into two teams, one with white ribbons and the other with red ribbons.

We went full-tilt with each other for three full team matches. It was a lot of fun! I’m also happy to say that I worked hard without losing my breath. I lost my first match 2-0 against a ni-dan. I nearly scored a kote, but the judges must have thought that I didn’t demonstrate enough forward momentum. I really need to learn to stop charging into people. You get more points if you angle around them and present zanshin after the hit. After that was over, our team lost by a win and appoint, very close.

The second round of team matches began and I fought against someone closer to my rank, an ikkyu. I won 2-0 in that match. Still, our team lost by 2 wins and 3 points. The final set of matches happened after Sensei declared that the first two people from each team switch teams.

Then we fought again. I lost my last match 2-1. I didn’t think I scored the men, but the judges seemed to think so. During the fight, I tried to strike kote, but my opponent charged faster than I thought he would. The result was that I accidentally speared him in the side of the neck. He gasped and fell down in pain. I felt so guilty even though it was an accident. After class he showed me where my saki ripped a patch of skin off his neck. After apologizing profusely we waved it off like a trooper.

Before I left for home, Sensei came to me and told me that he felt I was ready to test for ikkyu. We discussing the trip to another state hours away as a carpool. I think I’d like to do that. Sensei is really a good guy. He doesn’t just collect money and lecture. He looks after his student like he feels responsible for them. I’m told by most kendoka that this is the normal way of things. I think that’s great.

Day 187:

Today was different than a normal day. It was almost like we did things backwards. Sensei really wanted our lower-ranking students to get a lot of practice being in shiai. We went immediately into shiai, breaking up into teams. I lost my first match 2-1. It was really close, I scored a men and nearly a kote. My opponent and I were really battling with our minds against each other. He got me with a quick kote and the match was over. Our team lost 3-2 matches, but we were in good spirits.

We swapped order so that instead of in the middle, I was later. This time, I won my match 2-0. Men-ari and men-ari quickly. My opponent was playing a hiki game. He would come in close to tsuba-zeriai and stay there for a moment. He could chase me in tsuba-zeriai until I either tried to break away or stop in place. If I stopped, he would fire off a hiki-men. If I tried to back away, he would strike men. I defeated this by standing still and raising uke to block and let him go backwards. Then I would line up and go after him. I felt really good about it. Still, our team lost 3-2.

At this time, Sensei saw us all constantly crashing into each other. He didn’t like that so he ordered us all into 2 lines. We did waza drills then. A couple of kiri-kaeshi and some men strikes. During the men strike waza, we concentrated nearly exclusively on passing by our opponent without hitting them.

We went back to the team matches and mixed up the order. I went first this time. I was flying and striking well. I thought I had a good men strike, but apparently, the shinpan trainees disagreed. When the match was over, I lost 2-1. My opponent stepped up his game and snuck in a couple of good men strikes on me.

Then I volunteered to practice being a shinpan. It’s a lot harder than it looks. I would try to balance the sound of the strike with the accuracy of it visually and throw in whether or not the kendoka would pass by with zanshin. I thought I did well. I’m sure I must have made a lot of mistakes.

A Beginner's Point of View 184-185

2010-07-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

Day 184:

Today was hot again, very humid. We did many rounds of kiri-kaeshi, over and over. After all of that, I was completely out of breath. I could not get it back at all. We did ten times men strike a couple of times, and I was ready to fall over. I bowed out and took off men and kote. One of the higher-ranking people also bowed out because of the heat. I stayed out for many minutes, trying to get my heart rate down. I took an informal 6-second test on my neck pulse and got 130-140 beats per minute. I didn’t feel bad, but I couldn’t catch my breath. I drank some water and rested on my feet.

When I felt better, I drank some more water and then put on men. I ran back into line and did a five times kote-men drill. Then Sensei called for a water break. What timing, huh? After that, the rest of class was shiai practice. We split the class up into two teams and would take turns while Sensei would shinpan. I fought against a shodan and did well. I scored a good men strike, but he got two points off my kote.

The second round of shiai I found against a nidan who was ready to take his sandan exam. He was fast, but I flew just as fast as he did. The match went on for what seemed like a couple of full minutes. I even scored a strike against his men. He was hard pressed to keep up and outmaneuver me. Class ran longer than usual and I got home late, but happy.

Day 185:

Today we all remembered that we’re getting closer to our tournament. We need to pick up the pace and train, but we also need to teach our newer members about tournaments. We did several round of kiri-kaeshi. I had to pace my breathing to avoid getting so tired that I would have to sit down.

We also did a few rounds of one-step men before Sensei noticed that a lot of us were hitting each other in the body as we passed by. He gave us a few drills to sharpen our ability to pass through without bumping into our opponent. We also did a nice little drill where we would strike targets in sequence while passing by and not bumping. Our opponent would stand perfectly still and not move out of our way. We would strike, men, kote, kote-men, doh, and men. The end of class was something new.

Since we had exactly ten students doing drills, Sensei and a helper would tie ribbons on us. Half the class was red while the other was white. Sensei and a couple of helpers would be shinpan. We had an impromptu team match.

We used a standard configuration of weakest to strongest for first through fifth position. I was chosen to be third. In my match, I came across someone as skilled as me. Our team was down by two matches, so there was pressure riding on my shoulders. I decided to play a crisp match to get ahead and run out the clock. It worked! I scored a good kote and then made my opponent chase me around the court until time ran out. We wound up losing the match after the fifth fight resulted in a third win for the other team.

Suddenly, Sensei declared that we had a short break and then to start again. We had the option to re-arrange our configuration of fighters. Our team was pondering all the different possibilities and trying to guess the other team’s ideas. I proposed the idea that we keep the same configuration while the other team would change to outguess us. That would make them not match up the same way. It worked! By the time my match came up, we had one win and one loss. I fight against a weaker student who did not yet have a rank. I scored two sharp men strikes and won the match by two points. That put us in the lead. We kept the lead until the end when we won the last match. Sensei wanted us to experience a sudden-death overtime match, so one of us fought in a match against a much higher-ranked person. The fight actually lasted for a couple of minutes before the other person scored a clean hit.

A Beginner's Point of View 182-183

2010-07-16T20:52:00.001-07:00

Day 182:

Sensei didn’t show up to practice today. Maybe he got held up at work. One of the senior students was teaching the beginner class and getting everyone to practice their footwork. When it was time for advanced class, he took over as the one calling out drills and giving the occasional inspiration from a seminar he recently attended. We did mostly kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote today. When it was time for one-step men, the senior student told us to practice oji-waza for men, such as debana-kote, men-suriage-men, and debana-men. For one-step kote it was debana-men and kote-suriage-men.

After several drills, I was out of breath and had to stop. I wonder if I’ve been sleeping too much over the weekend. I stopped and watched the others drill for a bit. Once they moved into keiko, I put on men and went onto the floor. At first, once of the free students had me drill on kote. He felt my strikes were constantly hitting on tsuba because they were too straight. I think he’s right. After that, he had a short keiko.

Then it was time for kata. I love kata. It was a free period, so to speak, so you worked on whatever you wanted to work on. My partner and I chose to practice the first three kata a couple of times for each role. Then we had one of the senior students help us with the fourth kata. I couldn’t recall which side went into hasso. It turns out it is the uchidachi, while the shidachi moves into waki. You need to stay far apart or else the uchidachi needs to smoothly take a step back to fix it. It helps if the shidachi breaks up his avoidance step into two parts: the backing away and the stepping forward. This helps get the rhythm down.

Day 183:

Today was all about tournaments. Fitting, seeing as how we’re about to put on our own tournament in about four weeks. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. After that, it was a series of lectures about tournaments for the benefit of those who have not yet participated. Much stress was places upon performing rei-hou properly. The sequence of step-in, bow, taito, three sliding steps, sonkyo, and obeying the shinpan-cho was required. After the match, you sonkyo, osame-to, stand, five small steps backwards, heels together, lower sword, bow, step backwards out. This is very critical for any kendoka as the inability to do good rei-hou reflects bad upon the dojo who sponsors them. Always keep good manners and upright posture, even if you lose. Whining and slamming your shinai upon the ground is very rude.

We fought several practice matches. My first was against a student with no rank. I tried to leave him openings to attack but it just made us both look clumsy. Maybe I shouldn’t do that anymore. My last match of the evening was against a ni-dan, one of our best. I decided to just ‘bring it’! For whatever reason, I was flying on the court! Men, kote, debana-kote, men-suriage-men, oh-men, and other strikes just came naturally while I threw my spirit forward and let my body catch up. My opponent still won 2-0, but it was a very hard-fought match. It was my best effort yet! After that match, I volunteered to practice being a shinpan. It’s a lot harder than it looks because you have to watch all targets on both kendoka and listen to everything. It can get confusing really quick.

A Beginner's Point of View 180-181

2010-07-07T19:03:00.001-07:00

Day 180:

Another hot day. The heat index is over one hundred degrees again. Sensei cautioned us to keep hydrated and the class will take a short break in the middle of the day. Today’s theme was all about timing. We would work on drills to practice our timing and the reading of our partner’s timing. We did a lot of one-step men, one-step doh, and kote-suriage-men. All the time, the defender was expected to perform oji-waza.

During class, I rotated to have a partner that has been working his way back from an injured knee. I wanted to make sure I did not step on his toes and crash our knees together. So when it was time for kote-suriage-men, I tried to pass by around him. Unfortunately, if you are striking men and your partner is striking kote, you both pass on the same side. Very often, you will bump each other. We were both trying not to collide too hard when BAM! I knocked squarely into his doh with my doh and his face went slack. His jaw opened and he fell backwards like a statue. He lay on the floor for a minute until he slowly got back up. I helped him up and he walked off the floor. He said his back spasmed and hurt so much it overloaded his brain. It was a pure accident but I still felt guilty. Sensei stepped out of line to sit with him until the end of class while the rest of us finished class.

After a short break, we did kata. I love kata. We practiced the sixth kata this time. The shidachi moves into the gedon kamae. When both come out with three sliding steps, the shidachi swings up and if to cut the kote. The uchidachi steps back into left jodan to defend and then goes back into chudan. The uchidachi tries for a small kote, which the shidachi counters with suriage-kote. The shidachi moves forward into left jodan to threaten and then back into chudan. It’s a difficult one to master since there’s a lot going on, but I’ll have time to get it right.

Day 181:

My foot seems to be somewhat sore. I decided to rest it.

A Beginner's Point of View 178-179

2010-07-01T13:30:00.001-07:00

Day 178:

We had a simple class today. We did a lot of kiri-kaeshi drills, one-step men, and oji-waza discussions. The unique thing about class today was that Sensei gave us a long lecture on establishing good maai. We also did a long string of our new favorite drill. One student stands in the center of class and then defends themselves against every other student who makes one attack against them. Once the entire class has attacked, we rotate who is in the middle.

Day 179:

Today is great for two occasions. First, it’s Sensei’s birthday. He celebrated by making everybody strike his men over and over. He would counter-attack against senior students in bogu, but not against beginner students. The second great thing is that Head Sensei was here today. Many students have never seen him before. In fact, lots of students from other dojos came by, packing the practice area. We had to have two full lines of students for rei-hou. I have never seen so many people in our dojo at once.

Since we had so many people, we could not form two full lines like normal. Instead we had a few dans on the teacher side and the rest would queue up to form waiting lines on the other and try to rotate as best as we could. We did a few round of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step doh.

Head Sensei likes to give lectures about how to do perfect strikes. He always says the perfect strike happens when you launch your attack. If you start right, you finish right. If you don’t finish right, pass by and then turn around and do it again. You have to be at the right maai and see the tsuki. Once you see them, go. We also had several rounds of keiko. Unfortunately, we had to limit ourselves to a simple forward/backward strip of floor for keiko, so there was no real jockeying for position.

I waited extra-long to keiko with Head Sensei. He was just as fast as I remember, even though he had lots of students before me. Still, I gave it my all. I hit properly, good kiai, and charged past when I could. If he struck me with a dazzling move, I did not flinch. Twice, Head Sensei backed off and gave me a ‘thumb’s up’ for a very good strike. I could tell he was getting tired, but he did not complain or let up. Except one time. I struck a great men strike and he backed off, saying “good!” He turned away for a moment and lowered his shinai. I went into chudan and established maai. He rolled his shoulders and breathed. Since he was not putting up a defense, I charged forward, struck men, and charged past. He always said to take advantage of your opponent’s lack of focus, so I did. He did as I expected and just laughed it off. He said, “Good! Very good! Yame!” I bowed out and thanked him.

After a few more keikos all around, Head Sensei gave a final full-dojo match with one of our better senior students (ni-dan). Just when I thought he was too tired and too sire, Head Sensei launched into an assertive fluury and gave it his all. The student was hard-pressed just to keep up with him. Head really is surprising. After class I thanked him again for coming.

A Beginner's Guide to Kendo 176-177

2010-06-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

Day 176:

Today was ever hotter than usual. Sensei decided that everyone sweating their brains out wasn’t a good idea. So, for the first half of class we wore our bogu without men. He asked a couple of the ni-dan students to wear men to receive and then we did endless bouts of kiri-kaeshi. It was really good. I felt as if I was smoother and faster this way. It got hot but not unbearable. Then Sensei said to put men on. We did a few rounds of one-step men and one-step doh. A couple of rounds of keiko rounded out the practice and then it was time for kata.

I love kata. There was a group of three of us for lower-ranking to practice the first three kata. The third of us had not really practiced kata much, so the two of us taught him the steps for the first three kata. My partner and I would demonstrate the steps and then the other student would rotate in to practice the uchidachi and shidachi roles. We did this over and over until the end of class.

Day 177:

Today was another very hot day. The heat index makes the effective temperature almost one hundred degrees. Technically, the dojo is supposed to be “air-conditioned”, but in reality only standing next to the vents is affected. Sensei gave us a long lecture about not harming our health while maintaining proper spirit towards Kendo. He encouraged us to drink lots of water during the week and feel free to practice with men off. You may not notice how dehydrated you are becoming until you get dizzy. Sensei did not want us to become dizzy and fall.

We did lots of kiri-kaeshi. At first, I did it without men to preserve body water. After it was over, I felt exercised enough to sweat. No sense in trying to avoid it now. I put on men and then joined the class again. We did more one-step men and one-step kote. We did a couple of one-step doh drills to try to loosen ourselves up.

Then we did a new drill. We had done this once before, but I never had a name to it. It’s called katsugi-men. Instead of raising the shinai above your head in the center, you life it backwards to above your left shoulder, then launch yourself forward to the side. Then you strike men and pass through. At first, I kept raising it above the wrong shoulder until Sensei corrected me.

We did a few times of the man-in-the-middle drill, where one person fends of the entire class, one at a time. We occasionally rotate the person in the middle. We did a few keiko matches at the end to finish class.

A Beginner's Point of View 174-175

2010-06-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Day 174:

Sensei was back from Iaido camp in high spirits. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi, followed by several rounds of one-step men and one-step kote. Occasionally, we would perform oji-waza as our partner did one-step drills on us, sometimes we let them hit. After we were all exhausted, he asked if anyone was still ‘strong’. When no one spoke up, he picked a person and then placed him in the center of the dojo. The rest of us would form a line and continuously attack him using a single attack. He would counter-attack after we started our attack. Once the line ended, he turned around and we immediately attacked again, giving him no rest. This happened for a few full lines and then the next person would rotate into the middle. We did this until everyone had been in the middle. Sensei even took a few turns being in the middle to sharpen his skills.

I had to take a break to catch my breath. We did a couple rounds of keiko and a few more oji-waza drills, including an interesting drill Sensei invented. He would stand still and claim his spot. We would then strike men, slam doh to take his spot and then hiki-men or hiki-kote. We would repeat this over and over until Sensei was satisfied.

I was almost ready to stop for the evening and rest when Sensei called for kata. I love kata. My partner and I were told to practice the first kata over and over and receive specific instruction to make it more perfect. We must have performed each role a couple of dozen times for each of us, but still it was valuable advice. I learned that when I am motivated to do kata, I grip my bokken too tightly, resulting in bulging forearms, which makes the movement too stiff.

Day 175:

Today was a day more for technique that hard work. We did start off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote. However, we spent time on one-step doh and oji-waza for the same. We also spent time practicing tsuki and the oji-waza associated with it.

We stopped earlier than usual in order to spend a lot of time on practicing kata number one. I love kata. However, I learned today that my kata isn’t nearly as nice as it should be. I take too big steps going forward, thus putting myself right in the path of my opponent’s bokken. I also do not perform the shidachi’s counter properly. I keep swinging the bokken backwards instead of stabbing it straight up. I take too big a step going forward after the winning cut into left jodan. This keeps us too close when we finish. This probably also makes us off-center for each kata. I need to work on those things.

A Beginner's Point of View 172-173

2010-06-11T16:35:00.001-07:00

Day 172:

I’m back to class after being sick all last week. It’s great to be back in uniform. As Sensei was dismissing the beginner class, he called myself and another student up before the class. He had received our certificates from the Kendo Federation declaring both of us at the rank of Ni-Kyu (2-Kyu). Sensei made it a point to relate to the class about our accomplishments during our testing. My classmate had successfully performed a pair of doh strikes, including a men-kaeshi-doh strike that was perfect. I had performed several perfect men strikes and nearly accomplished a perfect kote-men. The class all clapped for us.

Class started out the same way we’ve been doing it for a while. We did kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. This led into more drills about oji-waza. We practiced men-suriage-men and kote-suriage-men. We also practiced tsuki and tsuki-suriage-men. I’m still very nervous about performing tsuki, I tend only to touch rather than tap. We finished class by having two rounds of keiko and then kata.

I love kata. I got paired with someone I’ve never practiced kata with before. He’s very experienced at it, but hasn’t done kata in a long time. We practiced the first five kata in sequence. I needed a refresher on the fourth and fifth kata. In the fourth kata, the uchidachi moves into hasso with left foot forward. The shidachi moves into waki with left foot forward. This is the opening setup which keeps me confused. I mix up roles. In the fifth kata, the uchidachi moves into left jodan while the the shidachi simply alters his chudan kamae to threaten the kote. After the counter strike, the shidachi traces the bokken down the nose of the uchidachi and then moves backwards into left jodan and then backwards into chudan. Then the pair moves three steps towards the uchidachi.

Day 173:

Today Sensei was at an Iaido seminar and couldn’t teach the class. One of his colleagues took over the basic and advanced classes. He had a more free-form approach to Kendo. He asked us what we would like to learn. We were at a loss to decide what to learn, so we just asked for some kata at the end of class. We started off with kiri-kaeshi and one-step men drills.

Soon, our guest instructor began to notice things about us. He asked if we had ever trained in sashi-waza. We said we had not learned it formally, just informally. So he taught us slowly about sashi-men and sashi-kote. It means a smaller swing, not bringing the shinai over our heads. For sashi-men, we do not rotate our shoulders. Instead we bend our elbows until the shinai taps our men-gane, then step forward and swing down. This is not the correct final form, but it teaches us not to swing our arms up. Then we refine it to lift our arms just barely and bring them down quickly. It is a much faster waza than oh-men, but harder to score points alone. You must be very decisive. We did the same for sashi-kote.

We also reinforced the idea with a drill where a student would receive oh-men from the class one at a time and respond with sashi-men. Once the class had taken their turn, the next person would rotate in the receiving position. We did this for much of the class. Then we had three keiko matches at the end.

Then came kata. I love kata. I paired off with a partner close to my rank and we practiced the first three kata under the watch of our guest instructor. He told us that for the ik-kyu and ni-kyu ranks, it is more important that we learn to bow in properly than our overall form. It is looked for that we place our hands in front of our tare as flat as we can without touching it in front, not off to the side. Also, when we bow to shomen and each other, we must bow slowly, not in a hurry. I remember that uchidachi must keep the spacing between the two partners, but I learned that stepping to keep spacing is bad. You must twist your wrists up or down to keep the bokken tips touching, rather than your feet.

A Beginner's Point of View 170-171

2010-06-02T12:53:00.001-07:00

Day 170:

No class today as I am sick from travel.

Day 171:

No class today as I am sick from travel.

A Beginner's Point of View 168-169

2010-05-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Day 168:

Tonight, Sensei gave the class over to the most senior student. Himself, he was not in bogu. He claimed not to want to further a small injury and was content to let others strike him and he would move the shinai to block whatever target. I frankly don’t like that idea. A couple of times I would clip him and feel badly. He would just smile and laugh. He said he learned not to underestimate students again. We worked extra hard again.

We did kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, one-step kote-one step doh. Over and over and over again. I felt my breath leave me. I felt my heart pound hard. I was tired, but I kept going. I know my limits. We practiced men-hiki-men several times to build up endurance. At the end of it all, I felt as if I were going to drop to the ground.

However, as luck would have it, we switched to tsuki practice. I do not like tsuki at all, however, it was a good chance to work on something that wouldn’t push my endurance. So I worked on tsuki while I recovered my breath and calmed my heart. My first tsuki I received was too hard and I felt like I was choking. After a moment, I was all right. My partner apologized and finished the drill softly. When I did the drill, he complimented me on how accurately I did tsuki.

After recovering, we did a few rounds of keiko. I felt as if I had no energy or water in my body. However, I knew that to be an illusion. I instead commanded my body to move faster and it obeyed. There was a kind of calmness and serenity as I moved and struck. My limbs seemed numb, but fluid. I actually hit several very good debana-kote over and over as well as hiki-men during keiko. We did one last round of kiri-kaeshi to finish class.

Day 169:

No class today as I am getting ready to fly out on vacation. I need to go to bed early to wake up on time.

A Beginner's Point of View 166-167

2010-05-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Day 166:

Today I was the highest ranking person in the class, so I led the entire class, not just in warm-ups. I did lead us in stretches and suburi. We did a ton of shomen-suburi because Sensei would go around to all of the newer students and give them a target to strike and practice on.

At the end of warm-ups, everyone in bogu would dress up and be targets for the class, except me. While the others would put on their bogu, I led the others in performing shomen strike across the floor, turn around and across the floor. We did this over and over. When the senior students put on their bogu, they allowed the newer students to strike them on the men as they advanced and once on the other side of the room, while they backed up.

We did this over and over until Sensei called for me to demonstrate a good men strike and pass through. I did this for the benefit of the others and then assigned everyone into lines for rotation. I watched the students as they went through drills, looking for anyone doing it completely wrongly. They seemed to slightly improve as I watched so I kept quiet. Once the class was over, I led the class in the bowing out ceremony.

I did not stick around for advanced class today because I worked all last weekend on midnight shifts and got very little sleep. I’m exhausted and need to rest. Maybe next time I’ll come for advanced class.

Day 167:

Today Sensei was content to work us to death. We did a near-endless routine of kiri-kaeshi. After that, we would work up to a complicated sequence again.

We would practice one-step men. Then we would practice hiki-kote. Then we strung them together into a men-hiki-kote-men drill. Sensei is a big fan of one-step drills. We kept doing one-step men and one-step kote over and over.

The new thing today was all of the tsuki practice. We drilled to try out two-handed tsuki and even one-handed tsuki. I really did not like performing tsuki, because so much can go wrong that would injure your partner. Still, I did the drill carefully. Doing one-handed tuski is like striking men from left jodan. You let go with your right hand and pull your right hand to your waist, covering doh target. This act makes the one-handed tsuki more accurate by rotating your shoulders in the counter-direction that they roll when you thrust your left arm forward. We finished class by having three rounds of keiko.

A Beginner's Point of View 164-165

2010-05-13T05:00:00.001-07:00

Day 164:

Today was another day dedicated to hiki-waza. We did a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi slowly, concentrating on accuracy rather than speed. Then we did more hiki-waza drills.

We started off at tsuba-zeriai and performed hiki-men. Then after that we increased the drill to hiki-men-men. Then we switched to hiki-kote-men. This one was hard. The shifting balance on our feet kept throwing us off going from backwards to forwards. Occasionally, we would counterattack to keep our partners fresh and fluid.

At the end of class, we did kata. I love kata. My partner and I practiced the first three kata over and over, switching roles between uchidachi and shidachi. We walked through all of the steps over and over, getting better at the movements. This was another in hopefully a long series of kata practices to prepare us for our next promotional testing.

Day 165:

We kept practicing various hiki-waza. A visitor from Michigan was here. He says he’s moved to the area and wants to find a dojo to belong to. We did extra rounds of kiri-kaeshi and then moved into working up to an advanced waza.

First we would start in tsuba-zeriai and then strike hiki-men or hiki-kote. The next step to the drill is to do one-step men and then continue with hiki-kote. Finally, we would practice men-hiki-kote-men over and over. This lends itself to teaching us to keep attacking continuously rather than attack-stop-attack-stop-attack-stop.

By the end of class, my heart was pounding hard again. After a couple of keiko and drills of haya-suburi, I had to stop. I watched the others finish with more drills. I was exhausted.

A Beginner's Point of View 162-163

2010-05-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

Day 162:

Today was a day of good, solid work. We did many round of kiri-kaeshi to get in shape. One of our students borrowed a set of bogu owned by the club. He was frustrated because he felt very clumsy. It was hard not to laugh because we all felt the same way when we first wore our bogu.

After kiri-kaeshi, Sensei gave us many lectures during the class. He would explain the proper technique for striking a target with the shinai. He explained the motions of raising and lowering the shinai for men, kote, and doh strike. We would then use two lines to practice various waza on each other. We included waza start from tsuba-zeriai, such as hiki-men and hiki-doh.

We also practiced harai-men and also a more subtle way to open up kote. Instead of striking the opponent’s shinai, you slide into it and nudge it aside. It sounds a lot easier than it is to do. Sensei encouraged us to experiment and try different techniques to open up our opponents.

We also had a short keiko where I faced off against a shodan. I got in a few good strikes against him. I just need to remember to keep taking center and not just look like I’m taking center.

At the end of class, that very shodan was part of a new drill. He pulled out his nito swords and gave us lessons on how nito players would strike us. It was just like fighting one of my old sempai before he moved away. Sensei also instructed us on how to strike a nito player on the kote. Left kote is a target in nito since it is a stance other than chudan-no-kamae. We also learned that yoko-men would be the best way to strike the men on a nito player.

Day 163:

The focus of today’s class was hiki strikes. We started off with a slightly different kiri-kaeshi drill. Sensei wanted us to do the strikes slowly, but snap our wrists at the end of the swing. This would give us the popping sound and flex our wrists to get our bodies to feel a good strike.

We did all sorts of different hiki drills today. We started with regular hiki strikes. From tsuba-zeriai, we practiced performing hiki-men, then hiki-kote, and then hiki-doh. Then we added an introduction step to the drill by striking men, and then performing the drill. We did men-hiki-men, then men-kiki-kote, and then men-hiki-doh. Then we added a finishing step to the basic drill. We did hiki-men-men, then kiki-kote-men, and then hiki-doh-men.

Sensei gave us lectures about not stopping our bodies or minds. Our minds have to keep moving no matter what. Then, finally we added all the steps together into an interesting combination. It was kote-hiki-doh-men. This drill is a lot harder than it sounds.

When doing hiki-doh, you tend to want to move back quickly, but when you need to strike men afterwards your balance is awkward. Every other time I performed the kote-hiki-doh-men drill, my feet were slipping on the floor. I need to find a balance between speed and control.

A Beginner's Point of View 160-161

2010-04-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Day 160:

There were only five of us in class today, so the size was small. After a quick round of kiri-kaeshi, we got an instruction on proper distance and taking center. Then Sensei had us separate into two lines and did repeated variations of one-step men and one-step kote.

Over and over, each side would do five men or five kote, taking care to line up our opponents, take center, and then strike from the proper distance. We spent just about the entire class performing these two drills. After a few more lectures and demonstrations, we did a couple rounds of one-step doh and a final round of kiri-kaeshi.

Day 161:

Today the focus was on big swings. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi drills, and then lots of one-step men. Sensei gave a lecture on making sure swings were big, like bringing the saki to just behind your head.

We also performed a new drill. We would start in tsuba-zeriai, then strike men going backwards (nuki-men). Once we did that a lot of times, we would practice tsuba-zeriai and then nuki-doh. After a few times of this, we enhanced the drill more. We would start at tsuba-zeriai, then strike nuki-men, and then once we are at one-step distance, we strike men and pass through. It teaches us to not “give up” or feel like “it’s time to stop”. We keep going. We keep fighting until the shinpan tells us to stop.

We even did a drill that was not our usual go-hon and then switch partner roles. I did five nuki-men strikes, then five nuki-doh strikes, then five nuki-men-men strikes, and then finished with five nuki-doh-men strikes. We finished class with several more rounds of kiri-kaeshi.

A Beginner's Point of View 158-159

2010-04-23T19:19:00.001-07:00

Day 158:

Today is two practices before a tournament. This means Sensei wanted us to work extra hard (i.e. work to death). We had lots of students here today. We were actually full to capacity or so with very little side-to-side movement available.

We had a visitor who was from Ottawa. He walked on one of those metal canes in each hand because he had only one leg. It turns out that he was a sandan! He must be very dedicated.

We did endless rotations of kiri-kaeshi, over and over. Sensei wanted us to get lots of practice in since we would be expected to be able to show it in any promotional. I cannot go to the tournament because of my job. I have had many odd-hours shifts and I have missed lots of sleep. I need to rest and relax this weekend.

After kiri-kaeshi, we would do a lot of one-step men and one-step kote strikes. It was not one-sided, though. Any student who was shodan or above was expected to perform oji-waza on some of the strikes to practice counterattacks. We also did a few one-step kote-men.

After that, we vacated the middle of the floor and paired off for a lot of practice matches. It was only for one point and Sensei was the only shinpan. However, the beginner students who were going to their first tournament were given a lot of matches.

After that was done, we separated into two lines again slowly practiced one-step doh. One we had done this with every other student, we did more kiri-kaeshi drills.

Our visitor stayed with us the entire class, including a couple of practice matches where his opponent would only receive. It was a good lesson in seeing his very crisp, accurate strikes. He could not move very fast while hopping on his one foot, but he made up for it with his striking.

Day 159:

Today was more hard work. Sensei doesn’t believe in working us to death on the practice before tournament, but today we did not coast at all. We had a much smaller class, so we had room. Our one-legged visitor returned again.

We did a structured class of one-step men and one-step kote. We did not work on speed today, we worked on accuracy. Taking center before attacking is vital. Without it, you will miss. The dans again practiced oji-waza to sharpen their defenses.

Our beginner students also got in several practices matches to prepare them for tournament. At the end of class, Sensei asked our visitor to take turns striking all of us in kote, men, and kote-men. It was really interesting to see his crisp strikes from the receiving end.

A Beginner's Point of View 156-157

2010-04-18T11:17:00.001-07:00

Day 156:

No class today since I am working at my job.

Day 157:

Today I came to the beginner class to get some practice in. My schedule at work has been chaotic and I need to keep practicing my Kendo. I showed up for the beginner class so I could be on time for work later.

When I showed up, Sensei asked me to lead the class in warm-ups. He especially wanted the class to perform the squat cuts. I led the class through some basic stretches and then some suburi. It was okii-suburi, shomen suburi, and haya-suburi. Sensei was giving some instruction to a student who would be taking his test for ni-dan this coming weekend. They were practicing a lot of kata while we were warming up.

After a short set of breathing, the students lined up and knelt in seiza. Then Sensei called for attention so that he and the student could demonstrate kata for the class. It was enjoyable to watch the kata done. Even though the student made a big, obvious mistake on the fourth kata, he kept going and finished. Then Sensei put on bogu so the class could hit him. During that, I lead the class in lots of sets of squat cuts. We did ten of them for practice, then rested for a moment. Then we did another ten and then I told them a tip about tenouchi at the end of the cut. Then as Sensei finished, we did a set of twenty fast squat cuts. Sensei joked that I was too soft with not going fast enough and too many breaks.

Then we separated into two lines and rotated through both Sensei and the student to be tested. We practiced our one-step men, one-step kote, and then kote-men.

We had a new student who had never been to a Kendo class before. I would have preferred to take him aside to teach him suri-ashi first, but Sensei wanted him in with the other students. I think that eventually someone should take him off to the side and teach him from the start soon so he can learn proper kamae right away.

A Beginner's Point of View 154-155

2010-04-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Day 154:

No class today since I am working at my job.

Day 155:

Today was a day to work hard. The weather is warming up a lot, so we have to be careful not to dehydrate. We did endless drills of one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step doh. We did this to increase our speed while keeping our accuracy. We also did this to increase our endurance.

Two of the senior students are recent promotions to shodan, so Sensei was taking them off one by one to give them private one-on-one instruction. The three of us who were in a group did an endless rotation as we alternated between sharpening our skills and helping the junior student learn the proper height of men strike. We did that trick where the odd one out held their shinai above the student’s head so their backswing would strike the shinai and show them the right place to stop the backswing. It went well.

We took a break as a group to rest and hydrate about two-thirds of the way through class. The dojo felt hot, but it was just us exercising a lot.

A Beginner's Point of View 152-153

2010-04-01T14:45:00.001-07:00

Day 152:

No class today since I am working at my job.

Day 153:

Today was all about tenouchi. We started off practicing a 4-step men strike back and forth across the room. Then we narrowed it down to a 2-step men strike. Then we paired off and began using tenouchi to augment our one-step men and one-step kote strikes.

We would repeat this drill for each of our classmates before moving on to the next drill. Then we had two rounds of keiko using tenouchi.

A Beginner's Point of View 150-151.75

2010-03-30T14:37:00.001-07:00

Day 150:

Today Sensei was trying to work us to death. It was the second to last class before tournament and he wanted us to work extra hard to prepare.

We did endless kiri-kaeshi drills. We did endless one-step men and one-step kote. We would slip in the idea that the one receiving would attempt oji-waza halfway through the drill to get the attacker to practice changing up the timing of the strike. We had several matches of keiko to work on our endurance.

Finally, we had lots of practice performing rei-hou, sometimes with keiko and sometimes just rei-hou by itself. We all left practice very tired, very sore, and very happy to have worked so hard in preparation for the tournament and testing.

Day 151:

Today was the last class before tournament, so Sensei decided we would take it easy. He wanted us to recover and have lots of energy, so we had a more instructional class. The entire class was centered around what to do at the promotional testing.

We would put on keiko with matches between all students, being judged on the rules that would govern the promotional test. We would practice etiquette and poise when entering and exiting the court. We would practice coming back to chudan-no-kamae while passing through an opponent’s space. We would practice passing through at an angle so we don’t clip our opponent.

This class had more lecture and example than hard work, but we did work. Now we feel ready for the test.

Day 151.5:

The tournament was familiar to me as I had been here exactly a year ago doing the same thing. I walked around to the tables to see that some of the students from the college were volunteering to work the tables. Since I wasn’t needed, I just started to read the program, stretch out, and perform some suburi.

There was no separate youth division, so we launched right into the Mudansha. I was starting off the sixth bracket of eight for my court, so I had time to watch the others fight. Some of them were very basic, others very more advanced than me. The matches went quickly, and I went to get ready. Somebody had stolen my program from my bag so that made me angry. I forgot to get another one to remember the day.

My first match was against a girl much shorter than me. I decided not to underestimate her. So, when the match started, I studied her and then decided to take the initiative. She gave a weak kiai and then slowly went for doh. I was confused why she would do this, so I took it as a real attack. I perform suriage-men, passed through, showed zanshin. The shinpan-cho did not award a point, so I repeated the action, as did she. Over and over the same pattern. I would kiai, she would slowly attack doh, I would perform some basic oji-waza and struck men firmly but gently, I would pass through, and then show zanshin. Soon, I was award two points and won the match. I felt sorry for the girl as this might have been her first ever tournament match, but I showed dignity and did not celebrate.

I was the first in a bracket of four kendoka, so I did not change ribbons. Apparently, they match up the fighters like this: A-B, C-D, A-D, C-B. This way, each fighter gets to fight two people and no-one needs to change ribbons.

My second match was against someone more my equal. He was just as fast as me, and just as tricky. We would size each other up carefully, launch into an attack, and the other would try either debana or suriage to defeat the other. Over and over would strike men or kote, trying to get that first point. One exchange I broke up by forcing a tsuba-zariei. My opponent tried to shove me down by throwing his arms in my face, but I did not fall. It got more intense with the exchanges. I decided that the match would end in a hantei, so I needed an edge. I allowed my opponent to chase me to the edge of the court. When he tried to charge me, I spun out of the way, letting him step on the boundary. I pushed him so he stepped out of the court. The shinpan called a yame and then a gogi. They conferred, and then decided not to call a hansoku. I was disappointed. The match ended when time ran out, and a hantei was called. The shinpan voted 2-1 against me. Maybe they thought my opponent had better spirit. This eliminated me from the bracket.

My opponent was also eliminated by points, so this is the first time I was not bested by the champion. The day passed quickly, lunch was served after the women’s division. After ‘shodan/nidan’ and the ‘sandan and above’ group, it was time for teams. We had a good chance this year. Our team had strong members, including our two sensei in the top slots. We fought a basic team and won 5-0. Our first two matches won 2-0 in each match against a less-experienced team. We just stuck to meat-and-potatoes Kendo and won cleanly.

If we won the next match, we would place for a medal and attempt to advance to the finals. Unfortunately, we went up against a powerhouse team. Each of our matches ended in a 2-0 loss so the team lost 5-0. It turns out that my opponent in the 2nd position was a nidan! I’m glad I lasted so long against him as I did.

After that, I put my bogu away and resigned to just watch the rest of the matches. One of the coordinators for the tournament addressed me by name and requested that I tie ribbons. For the rest of the tournament, I helped tie ribbons to keep things running smoothly. I thought that the team that eliminated us would win the championship, but that did not happen. I guess my lucky/unlucky streak is broken.

Day 151.75:

Today was testing day. I was number 31 this time. Well in the middle. We all put on doh and tare without zekken and sat in a 12-person wide, 4-person deep formation. They told us to relax and do not consider us required to sit in seiza the entire time. Good thing, because that hard gymnasium floor was cutting off circulation in my legs no matter which position I sat in.

After what seemed an endless wait, it was my turn. The panel of Sensei actually had us perform a full promotional testing this time. Each of us had two partners, one we would perform drills on and one we would receive drills from. We first did kihon, which was two men strikes, two kote strikes, and two doh strikes. Then we did a single pass of kiri-kaeshi. This time, I would shout ‘men’ with each strike and then held a very long ‘meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen’ after the ninth strike and keep holding it until after I pass through and show zanshin. I was completely out of breath by the time it was over. Finally, we did a short keiko. I remembered to trade off times with my partner so that sometimes we would complete, sometimes I would let him strike me, and he would let me strike him. I think our cooperation made us look good. Between my first and second partners, I switched around to the other side of the court, making sure to pass behind everyone and not in front.

At the end of the day, we watched the candidates for ikkyu and shodan perform just keiko and then kata. Finally, just before I left for the day, the panel of Sensei posted the results. I passed! I am now a ni-kyu! Time for some big dessert.

A Beginner's Point of View 148-149

2010-03-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Day 148:

Today sensei was not here again. One of the senior students taught the class. We spent extra time doing warm-ups. He was stressing about tenouchi and stopping the sword at the end of the strike. We skipped doing haya-suburi as a warm-up because it was the focus of the class.

We would line up in two lines across from each other and practice doing haya-suburi in counts of twenty paying attention to different things. First we concentrated on footwork while doing it slowly. Then we would concentrate on swinging arc by doing it quickly. By the time the class was over halfway through we were all doing it very well.

We filled out the class by doing basic strikes with a partner. Without putting on full bogu, we would hold our shinai for a strike five times, then repeat for kote, and then for doh. We would then switch roles for partners. After a full set, we would rotate partners and do it over again. By the time we did this three full times class was over.

Day 149:

A Beginner's Point of View 146-147

2010-03-10T12:23:00.001-08:00

Day 146:

No class today as I am working at my job.

Day 147:

No class today as I am working at my job.

A Beginner's Point of View 144-145

2010-03-05T15:51:00.001-08:00

Day 144:

This time I was at the advanced class and there was a full complement of people there. We had a normal class where we divided up into two lines and worked hard. Most of the class was the same kind of drill over and over. One side would do five times kote strike while the other side would react any way they wished. This would push the one striking only kote to develop timing and an unreadable stance to sneak in and take the kote. We would also mix in aiouchi-men and kote-men for variety.

I had taken my shinai apart for maintenance to find another cracked staff. It had to be destroyed for safety, but I had a few spares that fit. So my shinai is ready to be used. However, I chose to use the thinner, new shinai I had bought. Wow!!! It flew in my hands so fast! I’m actually swinging as fast as I’m thinking now. I like this much better than the thicker shinai. I think I’ll try to buy these kind from now on. I even appear more smooth and swift when I shiai.

Afterwards, we did kata. I love kata. We practiced the first three kata over and over, trying to refine it. My partner was not experienced with kata so I wound up teaching as much as I was learning. I would walk him through his steps while doing mine. I don’t mind. I know I had trouble with my first kata. I think I still confuse the footwork on the third kata. We also practiced the fifth kata. That’s the one where uchidachi moves into left jodan and the shidachi simply adjust chudan to threaten the uchidachi’s left kote. Three steps forward and the uchidachi attacks. The shidachi performs men-suriage-men and traces down the uchidachi’s face. The shidachi immediately moves backwards into left jodan and then relaxes into chudan. The pair walk three small steps towards the uchidachi. It’s a tricky one if you don’t remember to move your right foot as you move backwards into left jodan.

Day 145:

Last class I must have done something wrong because when I went to bed that night, my left knee was filled with pain. The next day it was as stiff as an oak tree. Still, nothing felt broken or out of place, just stiff and sore. So I slowly stretched it out over the course of the entire next day. It just felt as if all the connections surrounding my knee were stiffened for some reason.

Today at class, my knee felt better. I went to beginner class in order to ‘break in’ my knee. After warm-ups, the senior students would put on their men and kote and the others would practice strikes on them. It was the type of drill where the class would line up in a single line in the corner of the dojo while one student in bogu stood in the center. Each student would strike men and pass through, then turn around and strike men and pass through. Finally, the attacking student would get back in line at the end. This would continue until all of the students had done the men drill. Then the students would repeat with kote strikes. Finally, the students would repeat with doh strikes. Occasionally, we would rotate who is receiving strikes.

The next drill was the one where there would be two lines, one at each opposite end of the dojo. The one student in the middle would defend himself against a student from one of the lines and counter-attack. Then they would turn around and defend himself from a student from the other line and counter-attack. Constantly alternating each line gives the middle student no rest as they constantly defend, counter-attack, and then turn around. It’s a fun drill.

Finally, we did a drill where each student in no bogu would pair with a student in bogu in a line at one end of the dojo. The student with no bogu would attack men several times while the student in bogu constantly retreated to the opposite end of the dojo. Then we would do the drill with the student in bogu advancing and the student with no bogu retreating and still attacking until we went back to our starting position. We did this drill a couple of times until the class ended.

A Beginner's Point of View 142-143

2010-03-02T13:05:00.001-08:00

Day 142:

Today my job is interfering with my ability to be in the advanced class, so I showed up for the beginner class. Sensei didn’t show up again. I hear he is working extra hours at his job. So, I led the class in warm-ups. I went through the basic set: okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, and katate-suburi. To finish it off, I decided to teach the class something new for them. I showed them how to do kiri-kae-suburi. I like doing that one, it’s fun. The others were a little clumsy, but no more than I was when I first started. We then did the breathing exercise and bowed out.

The most senior student decided to take over the class and instructed anyone who had bogu to put it on right away. Regardless of rank, all of the students who had bogu were on the ‘dan’ side while everyone else was on the ‘kyu’ side. The people on the kyu side would do the instructed drill and then rotate, while the ones on the dan side would stay in place. I spent the whole class helping others by letting them strike my men and kote while reminding them to keep center. It reminds me of how my old sempai used to train me.

I bought a new shinai because my old one had broken enough staves to not have four full staves anymore, even with trying to fit in replacements form the previous shinai. However, at first I thought the shinai were the wrong size or meant for the other gender because they were so much thinner and felt lighter than all my previous shinai. However, it was stamped ‘39’ like it should. All of the shinai in the bulk set were this way so it was not a fluke. I’m going to ask sensei about it next class.

Day 143:

Today I attended both beginner and advanced classes. The beginner class was much of the same as Monday, except Sensei was present. I was in full bogu all class and allowed the students to strike me. There was a lot more kiri-kaeshi today. Letting all those students strike my men was giving me a headache.

Sensei gave the beginner class (and by extension the advanced class) a lecture on the two different types of shinai. He pointed out that a thicker and thinner shinai are both legal because of length and weight class, because weight class is a range rather than a target number. The thicker shinai have a different center of mass than the thinner shinai so you may torque it quickly to circumvent your opponent’s kamae quicker. The thinner one’s center of mass allows it to swing forward faster for distance strikes.

Afterwards in advanced class, there was only myself, one other student, and Sensei. Sensei decided to have a ‘lab’ day where instead of working hard, we practice more precisely and work on our finesse. We spent a lot of time listening to him lecture on not just how to do a strike or hold a kamae, but why you do it the way you do it. He would demonstrate the proper way as being the one where you may attack or defend efficiently. We worked on kote strike, kote-debana-kote, and kote-suriage-men. Afterwards, we did kata. I love kata. We quickly went through the first three kata and then practiced kata number eight and ten. Sensei brought both of his bokken to class, the smaller one and the larger one. We took turns practicing the uchidachi side of kata eight and ten while Sensei would perform the shidachi side. Sensei says he loves katas eight through ten because using the shorter bokken means you have to get closer to your opponent. It’s a much more intense match.