A Beginner's Point of View 132-133

Day 132:

Today was a short class for me. I was feeling a little sluggish, so I went to the beginner class to start working off some of the holiday weight. I was huffing and puffing in no time. We put on men and began doing kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote with the beginner students.

It must be some of the first classes with full bogu for the beginner students because two of them were panicking during kiri-kaeshi. They would stay far away from me while receiving head strikes, making it hard for me to connect. Still, with some practice, they’ll do just fine.

Day 133:

Today was an extra-hard day of practice. We lined up and then just did drills over and over and over again to sharpen our skills. Kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, one-step kote, kote-men, and one-step doh. I had to stop and rest after that. After a few minutes, I went back in for more of the same.

One drill we did that was difficult was harai-men. You step in for men strike, but instead of just taking center you actually strike the opponent’s shinai diagonally upwards, making an opening. My first opponent was striking downward, which is a different tactic, so I did it. My next partner had to correct me so that I could do the drill properly.

A few more men and kote drills and then I was done for the night. My keiko-gi felt like it had 3 pounds of sweat in it. I should probably wash it this week. In fact, I was not out of breath so much that I was out of energy and sweat trickling into my eyes and burning. If I had the energy to continue, I would have just let them burn but I stopped.