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.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 224-225
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.
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.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 222-223
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.
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.
Friday, November 26, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 220-221
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.
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.
Friday, November 19, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 218-219
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.
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.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 216-217
Day 216:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Day 217:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Day 217:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 214-215
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.
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.
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