Day 53.5:
Today was the friendly invitational tournament. “Friendly” was a word used to explain that there was no cost to join. The only limitation was that there was no opportunity for testing afterwards. I still need more time to train before I can test again, but anyone else was would have been ready couldn’t test there. The whole point was to bring many different schools together and have fun competing.
Before the tournament started, there was a line to check your shinai to make sure it was safe enough to use. I had splinters that I never knew I had. When I reached into my bag, I found that I had forgot to bring the sandpaper that I planned on bringing. I nearly had to give up my shinai and borrow one from Sensei to compete! That would have really made me disappointed in myself. I was very lucky that someone else had brought along a metal tool to scrape off splinters. I thanked him very much because he did not have to loan it to me. I still had to go back in line multiple times to get all of the splinters out, but I finally got my shinai to pass. They also had these huge stickers with a unique serial code them to tell different kendoka apart. We wrapped them around our side tare flaps. At the end of the day, it felt torn paper and lots of gunk on my tare. I tried using a wet toothbrush and my thumbs to get the gunk off. I only mostly succeeded. I think I’ll need to try over and over to get it all off. I hope I don’t have to resrt to using chemicals to get the gunk off, that might remove the dark-colored dye.
This tournament was a lot of fun. Since there was no testing afterwards, then there was no real pressure. This led to a more relaxed attitude for everyone. What was different in this tournament was that there were two Mudansha divisions. There was a “3-Kyu and Below” division and a separate “1-Kyu to 2-Kyu” division. This is not what happened at the previous tournament, but this new way does seem to make the matches advance much faster.
My first opponent had a skill level equal to my own. He was also very good at hiki-men. He would often wait for me to attack, then he would perform hiki-men very fast and hit me. However, I noticed that he would not hit me with the monouchi, which is the length of the sword from saki-gawa to the naka-yui. Instead, he would hit me with the middle of the shinai, where the bamboo forms the thick knot. That is not a point, so the match would continue. In order to win, I tried using a technique that I did not do very well in class. I would start back from a step before issoku-no-maai and then step a big step forward with my right foot. I raise my shinai up and step fast with my left foot. Then I swing down while stepping with my right foot. Then I follow through with normal Kendo ashi steps while passing by. It took me three times before I landed it well enough for the judges, but when it worked it was what won the match.
My second opponent was much bigger than I was, both in height and build. He was the first opponent I’ve faced that was actually stronger than I was. I tried using the same technique, only it almost was good enough. His Kendo technique was flawless, constantly performing suriage-men and hiki-men perfect every time, except for when I would move just out of his monouchi range unexpectedly. I tried my best, but I was outfought by a much better opponent. It was like sparring with sempai. Later, I learned from his classmates that he had been studying Kumdo for 4 years and entered into this Kendo tournament without a ranking. I do not want to sound like I’m complaining, but it seems to me that he should have been put into a higher bracket, like perhaps the Shodan-Nidan division. However, he did win fair and square. He went on to win the “3-Kyu and Below” division.
Later, the last competition of the day was the Team Division. We had originally planned to have Sensei, myself, and 3 other classmates show up, which would make a full team. However, one of us had a last-minute obligation and another of us had to leave early. This left only 3 of us total for the team match. I took the 2nd position, Sensei took the 5th position of Taisho, and the remaining classmate took the 1st position. This would require us to all win our matches to continue to the next round. However, not all of us won. I won my match. My opponent was shorter and smaller than I was. My opponent’s teammates must have told him to stall for time, because he would do the same thing over and over. He would wait for me to attack, then come to tai-atari. Once I tried to step back, he would follow me everywhere. It took a combination of pushing and stepping back to gain any space. Over and over I stepped back, then charged forward to strike. Over and over my opponent would follow me to tai-atari. I used my technique of charging from long distance to move past his defenses. I eventually scored two points and won, but it was a tough fight anyway. After we lost the team match, I complimented my opponent on his defense, it really was very good.
After the divisions were done, all the schools lined up for the awards ceremony. My classmate that stayed with us took 3rd Place in the “3-Kyu and Below” Division. She got a certificate and a tenugui for a prize. Perhaps it was the size of the gym, but I was not sweating as much as I did at the previous tournament. This gym was twice as big and not quite as many participants.
I think I’m going to take a break from Kendo for a short time. I partially re-sprained my wrists again even though I was pacing myself. I’m going to give them a proper long time to heal before going back to it. I sincerely hope it will be less than 2 weeks. I don’t like missing class, but I don’t like constantly re-spraining myself because I’m in a hurry to improve my form.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
A Beginner's Point of View 52-53
Day 52:
Today we started off without warm-ups. It’s a good thing I warm myself up automatically after putting on doh and tare before class. My wrists were hurting badly and to top it off, my right leg had a twinge of pain occasionally. I had no idea what was wrong and it worried me. However, after stretching and lining up, the pain went away. Maybe the pain was simply my muscles being stiff. If my muscles feel stiff again, I should probably try just doing stretches at home to see if that works relieving the pain.
We started off doing kiri-kaeshi with rotating partners. A good drill to work out the stiff muscles, too. We continued to do kote strikes and men strikes. By the time we were doing kote-men strikes and doh strikes, the pain was completely gone.
After that, we did keiko with rotating partners. My partners were all higher-ranking than me, so they took it easy on me. It can be a little annoying to receive that, but I can see why they do it. If they fought at their best level, they would completely frustrate me and that’s not what they’re there for. After three keiko in a row, I was out of breath. I had to stop and breathe for a few minutes. I look at the others and see how they seem to go on and on without stopping for breath and I remember how they’ve been doing this for more than one year. I’m only at about half a year of experience, so maybe I’ll gain more endurance as I practice.
During another keiko, it looked as if my nakayui was coming undone. I called a halt and inspected it. Sempai happened to be the one I was practicing with, and she inspected it also. She said that as long as it stayed kinda tied and did not overtly unravel, then I could continue. It still made me nervous. What if it unraveled during a strike and bamboo began to flex too much? Well, I decided to just pay attention to it and continue. It did not seem to unravel anymore, so I would re-tie it back home. Sempai also showed me that when I start to get out of breath, I also let my chudan drift off to the side so I am not pointed down the center line vertically like I should. I didn’t even know I was doing it. That was good to know.
We did a drill where Sensei would stand in the center and strike as Sensei declared, pass through, strike as Sensei declared, pass through, then stop. It was a fun drill. I tried to make sure that I would show ‘one Kendo’ and not vary too much. After everyone performed the drill a few times, Sensei said to keep going, but to choose our own strikes and try to succeed as he would defend and counterattack. That was also fun. Then, Sensei would rotate us to be the one in the middle receiving strikes to practice defending and counterattacking. This was the highlight of the practice. I like facing off against several different kendoka in a drill. This is what seems to really make me try to use what I’ve practiced.
There was more keiko again and only after halfway through the next one I was out of breath again. I noticed that this time, I would regain breath much more slowly than earlier. My heart was also pounding very fast. I took this as a sign to stop. I called an end to keiko and bowed out. I spent the rest of class resting and watching the others. This time, there were actually two of them practicing nito style, which is using two swords. Fighting nito is very different than fighting itto style, which is one sword. Nito has you gripping a sword in each hand and forcing you to move them together to fight and block at the same time.
At the end of class, we must all have been exhausted. We did not perform the bow out ceremony, but instead just put the dojo back in order and changed into our street clothes. Too bad, I like the bowing out ceremony.
Day 53:
I’m taking the day off to rest my wrists. They’ve been sore for a while and I want them healed before another tournament.
Today we started off without warm-ups. It’s a good thing I warm myself up automatically after putting on doh and tare before class. My wrists were hurting badly and to top it off, my right leg had a twinge of pain occasionally. I had no idea what was wrong and it worried me. However, after stretching and lining up, the pain went away. Maybe the pain was simply my muscles being stiff. If my muscles feel stiff again, I should probably try just doing stretches at home to see if that works relieving the pain.
We started off doing kiri-kaeshi with rotating partners. A good drill to work out the stiff muscles, too. We continued to do kote strikes and men strikes. By the time we were doing kote-men strikes and doh strikes, the pain was completely gone.
After that, we did keiko with rotating partners. My partners were all higher-ranking than me, so they took it easy on me. It can be a little annoying to receive that, but I can see why they do it. If they fought at their best level, they would completely frustrate me and that’s not what they’re there for. After three keiko in a row, I was out of breath. I had to stop and breathe for a few minutes. I look at the others and see how they seem to go on and on without stopping for breath and I remember how they’ve been doing this for more than one year. I’m only at about half a year of experience, so maybe I’ll gain more endurance as I practice.
During another keiko, it looked as if my nakayui was coming undone. I called a halt and inspected it. Sempai happened to be the one I was practicing with, and she inspected it also. She said that as long as it stayed kinda tied and did not overtly unravel, then I could continue. It still made me nervous. What if it unraveled during a strike and bamboo began to flex too much? Well, I decided to just pay attention to it and continue. It did not seem to unravel anymore, so I would re-tie it back home. Sempai also showed me that when I start to get out of breath, I also let my chudan drift off to the side so I am not pointed down the center line vertically like I should. I didn’t even know I was doing it. That was good to know.
We did a drill where Sensei would stand in the center and strike as Sensei declared, pass through, strike as Sensei declared, pass through, then stop. It was a fun drill. I tried to make sure that I would show ‘one Kendo’ and not vary too much. After everyone performed the drill a few times, Sensei said to keep going, but to choose our own strikes and try to succeed as he would defend and counterattack. That was also fun. Then, Sensei would rotate us to be the one in the middle receiving strikes to practice defending and counterattacking. This was the highlight of the practice. I like facing off against several different kendoka in a drill. This is what seems to really make me try to use what I’ve practiced.
There was more keiko again and only after halfway through the next one I was out of breath again. I noticed that this time, I would regain breath much more slowly than earlier. My heart was also pounding very fast. I took this as a sign to stop. I called an end to keiko and bowed out. I spent the rest of class resting and watching the others. This time, there were actually two of them practicing nito style, which is using two swords. Fighting nito is very different than fighting itto style, which is one sword. Nito has you gripping a sword in each hand and forcing you to move them together to fight and block at the same time.
At the end of class, we must all have been exhausted. We did not perform the bow out ceremony, but instead just put the dojo back in order and changed into our street clothes. Too bad, I like the bowing out ceremony.
Day 53:
I’m taking the day off to rest my wrists. They’ve been sore for a while and I want them healed before another tournament.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A Beginner's Point of View 50-51
Day 50:
Tonight was a lot of work. We started off doing a lot of new things. We learned a new waza that involved parrying your opponent’s shinai off to the side, then striking their men. It was called suriage waza. It’s used to deflect an enemy attack and force a suki open to attack. I did not do well at all. It seemed that every time I parried the shinai, my opponent was even with me and I could not reach out to strike. If I would reach, then I would be too close for a proper strike. Over and over I tried, but I couldn’t even hit one. When it was my turn to allow others to hit me, I did average. I needed to be told to actually try to strike men in order to let the others learn to parry me. We would change partners in accordance to our normal rotation. In rotating, we would normally rotate each position counter-clockwise, except for the sensei, who would keep his position. The one rotating next to him would walk behind Sensei to the next position.
We also added in a simple stepping maneuver to this waza. We would practice simply stepping to the left, right, or even backwards to remove ourselves from our opponent’s strike while counterattacking. I was so confused by the last waza that I kept trying to complete it during the new waza practice. It was after we rotated partners again that I saw that no one was doing the previous one. I felt foolish and changed what I was doing.
There was a drill that was new tonight. The class splits into two groups. Each group stands in a line on opposite sides of the dojo. One member stands in the middle. First one person from one side would semin, then strike men. The person in the middle would try to strike men back, then turn around to face the opposite way. One person from the new line would perform the same drill. The person in the middle would try to strike back and then turn around. Over and over, alternating lines each time, the person in the middle would maintain their composure while fending off the entire class. Both lines would speed up their attacks so the person in the middle would not get a break, thus pushing them to the limits of their endurance. We would all rotate being the one in the middle and fending off the class. When it came my turn, I was struck every time and failed to hit back most every time. My arms were just not fast. I was wondering if it was because I was slow or if I was getting tired.
We then stopped and then began lining up to practice keiko. The dojo was separated into two imaginary ‘courts’ and each one was hosted by a different instructor. My first keiko did not go well at all. I tried to use the new waza we were just practicing, but I could not land a single strike. So, after a couple of minutes, I just decided to go for quick, simple strikes. Even those did not land at all, much less properly. My opponent even lessened his Kendo to try to allow me to feel better about fighting him. Once, he even totally dropped his shinai to his side and said, “Attack me!” Immediately, my brain retorted, “It’s a trap! Don’t attack his men!” So, I tried to attack his kote and missed. At the end of keiko, he came over to tell me to be more assertive in my Kendo. I let him know that I was overanalyzing and hesitating.
My next opponent was much closer to my own level of Kendo. It was fairly even although his strikes were clearly more accurate. This was because I was out of breath while he was pacing himself. Over and over we sparred for minutes until I raised my right hand, calling for a stop. After breathing deeply a couple of times, we returned to keiko. After a couple of more minutes, I raised it again and said I had to stop. My opponent graciously accepted. When we rotated, I stepped out of both courts and just stood as straight as I could and breathed. Sensei was concerned enough to ask if I was all right. I said I was and it was only a few more minutes until the end of keiko. We had a couple of minutes to wait as we got ready for kata practice.
I like kata practice. It’s just as intense as keiko, but not taxing to the body. We practiced kata 1 and 2 over and over. My partner for kata was the same as my partner for my first keiko. He’s a tall guy with power. This time I was shidachi first, then uchidachi. The first time we did kata 1, I led with the wrong foot. When we finished, Sensei asked us how we think we did. When I mentioned my error, he was surprised that he did not see it. He gave us all pointers and then told us to rotate. This time, I did both kata much better. I still think I look awkward doing it, but that comes from being new. I will get better in time.
Sensei also said something profound tonight. He was trying to explain that we should approach tournament, testing, and keiko with the same attitude. We should not save our best Kendo for special occasions and then do something different other times. To paraphrase Sensei, “The Kendo you do at the tournament should not be different than the Kendo that you do at testing or anything else. You do not use big strikes for one and little strikes for the other. You always do the same for everything. Tournament, testing, and keiko are three different activities, but you do the same Kendo for all of them. There is only ‘one Kendo’.”
After class, I was driving back home when it occurred to me that sempai was not present in class. I was thinking about how smoothly class went and whether or not I preferred Sempai to be present in class. I then realized that most of the advice Sempai gives me is criticism while Sensei gives me mostly compliments. I decided that it was foolish to take Sempai’s comments too personally and it would have been better had been present. I need to hear both compliments and criticism or else I miss something. I should know when I do something right so I know to keep doing it that way. I also need to know when I am not doing something right so I know to correct it. I’m not sure if anyone else would understand the reference, but Sensei and Sempai are like my own Euripides and Voltaire. Euripides was a Greek playwright while Voltaire was a French philosopher. Euripides would write sympathetic comedies that attempt to reconcile human flaws. Voltaire was known for sharp criticism about controversial subjects that needed just debate. Without both, something is not said and that is tragedy. So, I will try not to let Sensei’s praise go to my head and I will try to look forward to Sempai’s comments as things that will make me better.
Day 51:
Today was a much better day for instruction. When I arrived, the beginner class was winding up. I changed into my uniform and then stretched out carefully. No sense re-pulling old wounds back open, right? After suiting up in doh and tare, I took my shinai and joined the end of the beginner class. Sensei and Sempai were forming two lines and each was teaching the class in how to strike basic strikes. There were some men and kote done, however the focus was on kote-men and doh strikes. We took turns practicing normal doh strikes and same-side-doh strikes. The proper way to strike doh is to start off exactly like a men strike, raising the shinai straight up. Then you bring the shinai down tracing like a half-heart shape to strike the side of the doh armor kinda diagonally, then holding the shinai horizontal as you pass on through.
After a while doing that, Sensei did a new drill. He stood in the center and took one student at a time. He would call out a target, and the student would strike and pass on through. Then he would turn to the same student and call out another target. The student would strike that target and pass on through. Over and over he would call out targets. Students were expected to semin, strike, pass, zanshin, and start all over with no breaks. Afterwards, Sensei revealed that he wanted to see if we were still acting under ‘one Kendo’. If we were approaching all targets in the exact same technique at the start and then finish with good form, then we had ‘one Kendo’. In other words, a men strike, a kote strike, a doh strike, and a kote-men strike should all start off looking identical.
After that, we lined up with partners to practice good basic strikes. Tonight, the advanced class was an extension of the beginner class, which is good for me. We practiced giving and receiving men strikes and kote strikes. After that, we did some keiko. My first keiko was against Sensei. I gave it my all. I tried to establish suki and then take the suki. I tried to control the match. I made sure to keep my energy up by using kiai more often. At the end of the keiko, I was out of breath and had to raise my hand. Each week, I get a little bit better with my breathing and endurance, but I still need to take the occasional break for hard practice, especially keiko. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to buy a treadmill and practice walking and running for long periods of time at home on days when I’m not going to the dojo.
When keiko was finished, it was time for more kata. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Kata is fun. All the intensity of keiko without the lack of oxygen. We practiced kata 1 over and over, trying to perfect it. I learned a few things that I was doing wrong. When you are uchidachi, you must do almost all of the movements first. The shidachi must react to you, except when they are driving you back. I also must learn to be more smooth with my movements. I have a tendency to have staccato, jerky movements. I must also learn to swing down the center all the time. If my partner appears to be too close, I sometimes tend to swing downward off to the side. I look forward to more kata practice. I could use the refining, and it’s just as fun as keiko.
For me, class ends late. So late that I seem to need to go to bed right after walking in the door. However, my body is too awake right after class. I tried something different. I took two different 30-minute naps before class to push back my body’s needed amount of sleep before work. It seems to have worked this time, so maybe I’ll make that a habit before going to class. 05:30 comes really early, you know.
Tonight was a lot of work. We started off doing a lot of new things. We learned a new waza that involved parrying your opponent’s shinai off to the side, then striking their men. It was called suriage waza. It’s used to deflect an enemy attack and force a suki open to attack. I did not do well at all. It seemed that every time I parried the shinai, my opponent was even with me and I could not reach out to strike. If I would reach, then I would be too close for a proper strike. Over and over I tried, but I couldn’t even hit one. When it was my turn to allow others to hit me, I did average. I needed to be told to actually try to strike men in order to let the others learn to parry me. We would change partners in accordance to our normal rotation. In rotating, we would normally rotate each position counter-clockwise, except for the sensei, who would keep his position. The one rotating next to him would walk behind Sensei to the next position.
We also added in a simple stepping maneuver to this waza. We would practice simply stepping to the left, right, or even backwards to remove ourselves from our opponent’s strike while counterattacking. I was so confused by the last waza that I kept trying to complete it during the new waza practice. It was after we rotated partners again that I saw that no one was doing the previous one. I felt foolish and changed what I was doing.
There was a drill that was new tonight. The class splits into two groups. Each group stands in a line on opposite sides of the dojo. One member stands in the middle. First one person from one side would semin, then strike men. The person in the middle would try to strike men back, then turn around to face the opposite way. One person from the new line would perform the same drill. The person in the middle would try to strike back and then turn around. Over and over, alternating lines each time, the person in the middle would maintain their composure while fending off the entire class. Both lines would speed up their attacks so the person in the middle would not get a break, thus pushing them to the limits of their endurance. We would all rotate being the one in the middle and fending off the class. When it came my turn, I was struck every time and failed to hit back most every time. My arms were just not fast. I was wondering if it was because I was slow or if I was getting tired.
We then stopped and then began lining up to practice keiko. The dojo was separated into two imaginary ‘courts’ and each one was hosted by a different instructor. My first keiko did not go well at all. I tried to use the new waza we were just practicing, but I could not land a single strike. So, after a couple of minutes, I just decided to go for quick, simple strikes. Even those did not land at all, much less properly. My opponent even lessened his Kendo to try to allow me to feel better about fighting him. Once, he even totally dropped his shinai to his side and said, “Attack me!” Immediately, my brain retorted, “It’s a trap! Don’t attack his men!” So, I tried to attack his kote and missed. At the end of keiko, he came over to tell me to be more assertive in my Kendo. I let him know that I was overanalyzing and hesitating.
My next opponent was much closer to my own level of Kendo. It was fairly even although his strikes were clearly more accurate. This was because I was out of breath while he was pacing himself. Over and over we sparred for minutes until I raised my right hand, calling for a stop. After breathing deeply a couple of times, we returned to keiko. After a couple of more minutes, I raised it again and said I had to stop. My opponent graciously accepted. When we rotated, I stepped out of both courts and just stood as straight as I could and breathed. Sensei was concerned enough to ask if I was all right. I said I was and it was only a few more minutes until the end of keiko. We had a couple of minutes to wait as we got ready for kata practice.
I like kata practice. It’s just as intense as keiko, but not taxing to the body. We practiced kata 1 and 2 over and over. My partner for kata was the same as my partner for my first keiko. He’s a tall guy with power. This time I was shidachi first, then uchidachi. The first time we did kata 1, I led with the wrong foot. When we finished, Sensei asked us how we think we did. When I mentioned my error, he was surprised that he did not see it. He gave us all pointers and then told us to rotate. This time, I did both kata much better. I still think I look awkward doing it, but that comes from being new. I will get better in time.
Sensei also said something profound tonight. He was trying to explain that we should approach tournament, testing, and keiko with the same attitude. We should not save our best Kendo for special occasions and then do something different other times. To paraphrase Sensei, “The Kendo you do at the tournament should not be different than the Kendo that you do at testing or anything else. You do not use big strikes for one and little strikes for the other. You always do the same for everything. Tournament, testing, and keiko are three different activities, but you do the same Kendo for all of them. There is only ‘one Kendo’.”
After class, I was driving back home when it occurred to me that sempai was not present in class. I was thinking about how smoothly class went and whether or not I preferred Sempai to be present in class. I then realized that most of the advice Sempai gives me is criticism while Sensei gives me mostly compliments. I decided that it was foolish to take Sempai’s comments too personally and it would have been better had been present. I need to hear both compliments and criticism or else I miss something. I should know when I do something right so I know to keep doing it that way. I also need to know when I am not doing something right so I know to correct it. I’m not sure if anyone else would understand the reference, but Sensei and Sempai are like my own Euripides and Voltaire. Euripides was a Greek playwright while Voltaire was a French philosopher. Euripides would write sympathetic comedies that attempt to reconcile human flaws. Voltaire was known for sharp criticism about controversial subjects that needed just debate. Without both, something is not said and that is tragedy. So, I will try not to let Sensei’s praise go to my head and I will try to look forward to Sempai’s comments as things that will make me better.
Day 51:
Today was a much better day for instruction. When I arrived, the beginner class was winding up. I changed into my uniform and then stretched out carefully. No sense re-pulling old wounds back open, right? After suiting up in doh and tare, I took my shinai and joined the end of the beginner class. Sensei and Sempai were forming two lines and each was teaching the class in how to strike basic strikes. There were some men and kote done, however the focus was on kote-men and doh strikes. We took turns practicing normal doh strikes and same-side-doh strikes. The proper way to strike doh is to start off exactly like a men strike, raising the shinai straight up. Then you bring the shinai down tracing like a half-heart shape to strike the side of the doh armor kinda diagonally, then holding the shinai horizontal as you pass on through.
After a while doing that, Sensei did a new drill. He stood in the center and took one student at a time. He would call out a target, and the student would strike and pass on through. Then he would turn to the same student and call out another target. The student would strike that target and pass on through. Over and over he would call out targets. Students were expected to semin, strike, pass, zanshin, and start all over with no breaks. Afterwards, Sensei revealed that he wanted to see if we were still acting under ‘one Kendo’. If we were approaching all targets in the exact same technique at the start and then finish with good form, then we had ‘one Kendo’. In other words, a men strike, a kote strike, a doh strike, and a kote-men strike should all start off looking identical.
After that, we lined up with partners to practice good basic strikes. Tonight, the advanced class was an extension of the beginner class, which is good for me. We practiced giving and receiving men strikes and kote strikes. After that, we did some keiko. My first keiko was against Sensei. I gave it my all. I tried to establish suki and then take the suki. I tried to control the match. I made sure to keep my energy up by using kiai more often. At the end of the keiko, I was out of breath and had to raise my hand. Each week, I get a little bit better with my breathing and endurance, but I still need to take the occasional break for hard practice, especially keiko. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to buy a treadmill and practice walking and running for long periods of time at home on days when I’m not going to the dojo.
When keiko was finished, it was time for more kata. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Kata is fun. All the intensity of keiko without the lack of oxygen. We practiced kata 1 over and over, trying to perfect it. I learned a few things that I was doing wrong. When you are uchidachi, you must do almost all of the movements first. The shidachi must react to you, except when they are driving you back. I also must learn to be more smooth with my movements. I have a tendency to have staccato, jerky movements. I must also learn to swing down the center all the time. If my partner appears to be too close, I sometimes tend to swing downward off to the side. I look forward to more kata practice. I could use the refining, and it’s just as fun as keiko.
For me, class ends late. So late that I seem to need to go to bed right after walking in the door. However, my body is too awake right after class. I tried something different. I took two different 30-minute naps before class to push back my body’s needed amount of sleep before work. It seems to have worked this time, so maybe I’ll make that a habit before going to class. 05:30 comes really early, you know.
Friday, April 3, 2009
A Beginner's Point of View 48-49
Day 48:
I did not go to Kendo practice today because my left wrist and left ankle were still hurting from the tournament and testing. I took the day off to relax and heal.
Day 49:
Today is my first day of advanced class. I’ve seen the advanced classes before and I think I’ll enjoy them. The advanced class deals more with waza and ‘fluidity’ than the basics. Today, the head sensei was here, teaching us about stepping into our opponent to make our waza more fluid. At shodan and above levels, your Kendo is expected to be fluid as well as crisp.
The lesson was to take a single large step with the right foot to instantly bring your body to close range, while striking. Next, your left foot comes forward, followed by your right foot as you pass on through. You then use the typical suri-ashi for the act of passing on through. This is a LOT harder than it sounds. My training has always been to use suri-ashi for the entire time. Using this new footwork does make closing distance much faster, but it can lead to collision or tripping if not done right.
I was not very good at it, but I tried my best. At first, it seemed as if I was heading right for a collision head-on with my partner, only to turn slightly at the last moment. We lined up to practice one at a time, then afterwards the head sensei would have us drill in the same technique with kote-men waza. This was to push us to a higher level. The entire practice I was stumbling and trying to remember the footwork. I don’t think I did very well.
Also, sempai seemed to be either sick or in pain of some kind. She stuck it out because she wanted to learn, but we could all hear in her voice how badly off she was. Head sensei honored her wishes to stay in, but I was afraid of causing her more pain. I think in my caution conflicting with my wish to learn, I may have struck her men too hard. She bopped me on the men with her fist to demonstrate how hard I was hitting. I wasn’t even concerned about how embarrassing it looked for me. I was feeling bad for her and what she has to endure from me when she’s not well. Needless to say, I lightened my strikes for the rest of class.
It was frustrating to try this new waza. Sempai told me after class that I should continue to come to the beginner class in addition to the advanced class. I’ve already told her before that I can only come to one class per day. My job has the highest priority in my life, followed by sleeping so I can do my job. Whatever is left is devoted to Kendo. Kendo is a lot of fun, but it does not pay my mortgage. So, when there are odd days in my working schedule that grant me freedom to attend both classes in a day, I’ll do that. In the meantime, I’ll continue to come to the advanced class. Maybe I do need to sharpen a few basics, but I won’t be pushed to become better overall if I only attend the basic class.
Sensei and I had a nice, long talk after class about planning out the next segment of my Kendo journey. Technically, one is supposed to wait 90 days between testings, but we like to take a little extra time to be sure. He feels that my next testing should be in October and then apply for ni-kyu. Since I would be asking for something less than ik-kyu, the judges would be more flexible. If they felt I was not ni-kyu material, they would still promote me to san-kyu. According to sensei, the panel of judges thought that I was in the grey area between yan-kyu and san-kyu. The day of testing, I was not quite perfect, so they gave me yan-kyu. If this is true, then taking the extra time until October sounds like a good time to ask for ni-kyu. Even if I don’t get that, I should be san-kyu by then.
I’m no stranger to travelling, but the testing in October is to be in Washington D.C. I’m not so comfortable going into the big city and staying there. I’m a nervous sort, so I’m always upset at the news reports of crime. It’s still a long ways off, so I’ll deal with it when it comes. It’s not too far from my house, so maybe I can just drive there and then drive back to sleep at home. As soon as I learn exactly where it is, I’ll make more plans. Sensei says he’s planning his next testing next year, so maybe we’ll all go and cheer him on wherever that is.
I did not go to Kendo practice today because my left wrist and left ankle were still hurting from the tournament and testing. I took the day off to relax and heal.
Day 49:
Today is my first day of advanced class. I’ve seen the advanced classes before and I think I’ll enjoy them. The advanced class deals more with waza and ‘fluidity’ than the basics. Today, the head sensei was here, teaching us about stepping into our opponent to make our waza more fluid. At shodan and above levels, your Kendo is expected to be fluid as well as crisp.
The lesson was to take a single large step with the right foot to instantly bring your body to close range, while striking. Next, your left foot comes forward, followed by your right foot as you pass on through. You then use the typical suri-ashi for the act of passing on through. This is a LOT harder than it sounds. My training has always been to use suri-ashi for the entire time. Using this new footwork does make closing distance much faster, but it can lead to collision or tripping if not done right.
I was not very good at it, but I tried my best. At first, it seemed as if I was heading right for a collision head-on with my partner, only to turn slightly at the last moment. We lined up to practice one at a time, then afterwards the head sensei would have us drill in the same technique with kote-men waza. This was to push us to a higher level. The entire practice I was stumbling and trying to remember the footwork. I don’t think I did very well.
Also, sempai seemed to be either sick or in pain of some kind. She stuck it out because she wanted to learn, but we could all hear in her voice how badly off she was. Head sensei honored her wishes to stay in, but I was afraid of causing her more pain. I think in my caution conflicting with my wish to learn, I may have struck her men too hard. She bopped me on the men with her fist to demonstrate how hard I was hitting. I wasn’t even concerned about how embarrassing it looked for me. I was feeling bad for her and what she has to endure from me when she’s not well. Needless to say, I lightened my strikes for the rest of class.
It was frustrating to try this new waza. Sempai told me after class that I should continue to come to the beginner class in addition to the advanced class. I’ve already told her before that I can only come to one class per day. My job has the highest priority in my life, followed by sleeping so I can do my job. Whatever is left is devoted to Kendo. Kendo is a lot of fun, but it does not pay my mortgage. So, when there are odd days in my working schedule that grant me freedom to attend both classes in a day, I’ll do that. In the meantime, I’ll continue to come to the advanced class. Maybe I do need to sharpen a few basics, but I won’t be pushed to become better overall if I only attend the basic class.
Sensei and I had a nice, long talk after class about planning out the next segment of my Kendo journey. Technically, one is supposed to wait 90 days between testings, but we like to take a little extra time to be sure. He feels that my next testing should be in October and then apply for ni-kyu. Since I would be asking for something less than ik-kyu, the judges would be more flexible. If they felt I was not ni-kyu material, they would still promote me to san-kyu. According to sensei, the panel of judges thought that I was in the grey area between yan-kyu and san-kyu. The day of testing, I was not quite perfect, so they gave me yan-kyu. If this is true, then taking the extra time until October sounds like a good time to ask for ni-kyu. Even if I don’t get that, I should be san-kyu by then.
I’m no stranger to travelling, but the testing in October is to be in Washington D.C. I’m not so comfortable going into the big city and staying there. I’m a nervous sort, so I’m always upset at the news reports of crime. It’s still a long ways off, so I’ll deal with it when it comes. It’s not too far from my house, so maybe I can just drive there and then drive back to sleep at home. As soon as I learn exactly where it is, I’ll make more plans. Sensei says he’s planning his next testing next year, so maybe we’ll all go and cheer him on wherever that is.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Beginner's Point of View 38-47.5
Day 38 - 47:
The next several days were all spent practicing everything we would need for the testing. Sensei said, “Think of the tournament as practice for the testing. The tournament is for fun, the testing is important.” We spent all our time practicing kiri-kaeshi over and over. We practiced it in full bogu. We practiced it without men or kote. We practiced it in only keikogi and hakama.
Obviously, the less protection we wore, the slower we performed the strikes. This was to make us slow down and focus on making good, crisp strikes instead of relying only on fast strikes. Sempai reminded us many times, “It really doesn’t matter how fast you do kiri-kaeshi. The judges want to see you strike accurately.” This really set the tone for how we were to go down to the tournament and testing. We all decided that we wanted to go there and show that we were not going to rush our training just to show off.
We practiced kiri-kaeshi so many times, Sensei said, “You’ll be doing it in your sleep”. I didn’t dream about it, but I have caught myself doing it as I walk down the halls at my job and in my home. At first it was embarrassing, but I just decided to take the opportunity to just go through the motions and not only memorize it, but to ingrain the motions into my nerves so I may do it without thinking.
We also got out some athletic tape and marked off what a typical court would look like. We practiced the ceremony of bowing in and out of a court. The senior students got out the Shinpan flags and would practice regulating matches. The bowing in ceremony is not so difficult to remember. Both fighters stand at the appropriate edges of the court, facing each other. They take a single step in, then bow. They taito, then Kendo-walk up to their respective lines. They draw their shinais and then sonkyo. The lines will be taped out at such a position so that the shinais will be too far for issen-no-maai. The fighters rise and kamae. The Shinpan will declare “Hajime” and the match begins. We would also perform geiko (practice match) in order to tell if our waza was good enough. More often than not, the senior students would wind up telling us about our mistakes. But then, that’s the way it should be since we’re so inexperienced.
Day 47.5: (tournament and testing)
The Kendo club sponsoring the event made arrangements for the local hotel to have discounts for us as we would stay the night. Travelling to the location of the tournament and testing was a real pain. It took hours to drive there. I was smart and took the day off work the day before the tournament just so I could focus only on making arrangements.
After checking into the hotel, I went over to get a parking permit on the campus where the gymnasium was located. The directions I received were incorrect about where to go. I spent a couple of hours driving around the city and following the wrong road signs to the wrong places before I figured it out. Asking a couple of the locals helped also. I was very glad that I took the day off. One of our students could not take that day off and decided to drive extra early to arrive on time, only to have her alarm clock suffer from a power outage. She arrived late and missed taking part in the Mudansha division.
I could only take part in Mudansha and hopefully in team division. This will be the way it is for a long time, so I may as well get used to it. I can fill the time in between by helping out at scoring tables. My first match wasn’t even first at all. There were so many of us that we had to be split into two courts, each court having eight brackets, each bracket having three or four Kendoka. I was in the first court, eighth bracket. This meant I had a lot of time since the first round went round-robin. The winner, determined by the judges by wins and points, advanced to the single-elimination rounds. I was in a four-person bracket, and had to fight two other people. As the fights progressed, one of my classmates gave me his camera to take pictures of him during his matches. I took a few pictures of him as he walked in and as he struck targets.
When it came time for my match, I was nervous. I systematically went through every waza in my mind as a refresher. It took less time then I thought. Before I could get more nervous, I instead tried to study my opponent. He seemed very confident. I stepped in with as much dignity as I could and then performed the bowing in ceremony. When the match began, he immediately lauched into a flurry of attacks and action. I knew that my opponent was a hothead. His kiais were loud and aggressive. He was also smaller than me. I decided to use his aggression to my advantage. I let him attack me, then when his attack failed, I forced him into tai-atari. I let him scream at me, then I pushed him backwards. I stepped in to take his space and attacked his men forcefully. Over and over I did this, making him angrier and angrier. Soon, the Shinpan called yame. As we resumed our initial marks, the Shinpan gave him a warning for stepping out of bounds. I smiled and did it again. I would attack him, striking him over and over, circling around him, letting him attack me. I would turn my back to the edge of the court and let him push me close. Then I would circle around and push him out of bounds. I used lots of kiai and energy and men strikes without passing through. Soon, the judges were giving him another warning, which resulted in a penalty point for him. A penalty point for him in reality means a good point for me. The score was 1-0 in my favor. I knew he would not allow such a thing to happen again, so I deduced that he would not give ground. Instead I focused on men strikes and trying to trick him into giving me a kote strike. He got more and more desperate as time ran out. His defenses were getting sloppy and I knew I only had to wait for the right time. Suddenly, after I gave a kiai, I saw an opening for his men. I thought to myself, “I will strike his men”. Suddenly, I saw my shinai strike him on the men in a near-perfect strike. I actually do not remember going throught he motion of stepping in and swinging the shinai over my head. I passed on through and heard the judge call men-ari (point striking men). I knew I had won. I was completely ecstatic, but I was even more winded than that. My classmates congratulated me as I got ready for my next match. I had one match to rest before going out again. I couldn’t wait!
My next match was tougher. I studied my opponent and saw that he was giving nothing away. He probably saw me fight and decided not to let me push him. I decided to just attack head on and pass through. The entire match was attacking men and occasionally attacking kote. I would parry him and he would parry me. I knew it would end with no points scored, so I decided to make an impression on the judges. I would kiai louder and show more zanshin than my opponent. After we passed each other, I took three quick strides and turned around in chudan-no-kamae. I advanced on my opponent, who was taking many more strides more slowly. I waited for him to turn around and then launched another attack. In the end, the hantei (judge’s decision) was that the other fighter had won. I believe it was because his waza was more crisp than mine. If that is the case, I do not mind losing to that. It means I squared off against a superior opponent and held him off. Sensei calls it, “Losing without dying, which is almost as good”. After that, I was eliminated form the division. It’s too bad there are too many kendoka to keep track of. I would have preferred a double-elimination style, but the judges have too much to keep track of as it is.
The day of the tournament was very busy. There were over one hundred kendoka participating over all of the divisions. The few of us beginners were in the Mudansha division, which means all ranks below Shodan. The senior students entered the Shodan-Nidan division. The girls also entered the Women’s division as well. After that, Sensei entered the Sandan-and-above division. Halfway through Sandan-and-above, we broke for lunch. Bento boxes were distributed out to everyone, including a soda. Lunch was a combination of salad, sushi, teriyaki chicken and a few seafood items I could not identify. I’m normally a very fussy eater, but I was so hungry after just fighting in my own matches and then helping out with the scoring for Shodan-Nidan that I just started eating and nearly ate everything. It was very good.
Sandan-and-above division finished afterwards. Sensei did not win a single one of his matches, yet he was smiling the whole time. He said he was just glad to fight against others closer to his rank. It was fun for him and a great learning experience. I think he was trying to teach us not to focus on anything negative at all and instead just approach defeat with dignity and grace.
Then it was time for the team matches. Our dojo had enough students entering to form two teams. Sensei personally led the group of us four newcomers in our own team. He arranged us in a specific pattern to counter what he felt was the other team’s strategy. It turns out that in a team match, five kendoka line up. The number one position stands farthest away from the scorekeeper’s table. Normally, the first position is given to the fastest person and the fifth position is given to the strongest (or at least some kind of variation on those ideas). I requested the fifth position and Sensei asked me if I was sure. I told him that I was sure and I wanted it. This would be the only real time I could fight against a much higher-ranked opponent. Sensei let me have it and took the fourth position for himself. Our first two matches were fairly evenly matched, and no points were scored, so the Shinpan declared Hiki-wake (a draw with no winner). The third match had both fighters scoring a clear point each. We cheered for our teammate when he scored. The end result was another Hiki-wake. Sensei took his time and chose to attack his opponent intelligently instead of wasting energy. The result was him winning his match! The team score was 1-0 in favor of us. Then it was my turn to fight. We had the advantage. The team match was ‘mine to lose’ if I let my opponent win. I decided to curb my enthusiasm and fight intelligently, without taking foolish risks. My opponent was much smaller than me, which means I could have pushed her around a lot if I wanted to. Perhaps she would be expecting that. I decided to just try for crisp men strikes instead. Over and over, we struck and circled each other. The Shinpan decided that none of our strikes were good enough for a point. Finally, I saw a suki (opening)! She was leaving her kote open while hoping to attack my men. I let her attack, only to parry her strike. As she retreated, I saw her give me the kote suki, and I charged forward! Bringing the shinai up, I aimed for her kote. “YAME!” The Shinpan called for the end of the match because of time. On reflex, I finished the strike and passed on through. I heard the pleasant slap of the bamboo to leather and knew that if I only had half of a second more, I would have gotten the kote point. However, I had succeeded! My match ended in a Hiki-wake, making the final score 1-0 in our favor. We had won the first round of the team match! After shaking hands with our opponents, we had a short break until our next team match.
This time, we came up against a much better team. Their first opponents had not shown up so they were more rested than we were. We lost every match, making the final score 5-0 in their favor. However, no one was disappointed. We were all smiling because we had fought against high-ranked people and gave a good effort. They really did work for their victory.
After the tournament was over, Sensei let me know that the fifth position on the team that defeated us was a 2nd Dan who was displaying the skill of a 3rd Dan that day. Overall, I think I performed very well. Twice I nearly got a strike in against him.
The next day was the day of the testing and promotionals. I wasn’t very nervous for the sole reason that I had fought in front of and sometimes with everyone who might be judging me. So, it was not as if I were to be testing in front of strangers, instead it was like a formality in front of an extended family. I kept my focus on behaving in a proper manner and chose to let my Kendo happen naturally. I did decide beforehand that I would step up my energy and kiai more. I have a habit of being too quiet sometimes.
Since we rehearsed the actual testing part at the dojo over and over, that was no big surprise. There were forty-five of us testing for various ranks. I made sure to remove my zekken before warmups. At some point, the director told us to line up. We lined up single-file and gave our names one at a time. The director would tell us what number we had to remember. I was number twelve. There didn’t seem to be a real system to the numbers except that people testing for lower ranks had lower numbers. Afterwards, we were told exactly where to sit. They arranged us into a grid-like formation twelve people wide, so I had the position in the front left corner. Then, they grouped us into four Kendoka together. We would put on men as a group, last-minute warmups as a group, approach the court as a group, and test in sequence as a group.
The panel of judges seemed to think that the first eight Kendoka were taking too long through the intricate ceremony of bowing in and out. Although we had all day, I think they were trying to speed things up to be fair to the ones who had higher numbers. Each and every Kendoka for the first twenty or so did the same things. They did kiri-kaeshi and ji-geiko (free-form sparring) against two different opponents. However, I did not receive kiri-kaeshi that day, only gave it. Others gave and received it. I think I was passed over by mistake. After that, we sat back down in formation again. Then, I realized that my ordeal was over for the whole day.
I felt more relaxed and decided to just watch and observe the good and bad that others were doing. However, I soon realized that the most difficult thing that day was all the waiting. I knelt in seiza as much as I could because I thought it was required. After a while, one of the coordinators came by and told us to “relax”. This meant “sit as you would like”. I immediately moved into the cross-legged position gratefully. However, the gymnasium floor was very, very rigid. After several minutes, even sitting cross-legged was painful. I had to fidget and re-align my legs over and over, still not being comfortable. I realized that only half of the Kendoka had been tested. It was a long day indeed.
After all of the testing happened, I thought we were done. Not quite. There was a break as we got up to stretch our aching legs. The 1-Kyu and 1-Dan candidates pulled out their bokkens and began to practice kata in the back of the gym. I knew kata 1 and 2 from practice, but I also got to see kata 3, 4, and 5. I liked kata 4, when you block with the bokken, then spin it around to attack the head form the opposite angle and shout, you can see how Sensei says, “This kata shows the fire coming out of your eyes”. The kata test was actually over very quickly, as they would test four pairs of Kendoka simultaneously. After that was done, then we were dismissed.
It took the better part of an hour to post the results. All my classmates got 3rd Kyu for their initial ranking. I got 4th Kyu. I was so disappointed. I had applied for 4th Kyu on my registration at first. After a couple of weeks Sensei asked if I wanted to change my request to 3rd Kyu, but I said no. I didn’t want to seem arrogant. However, I was secretly hoping they would give me 3rd Kyu anyway. I tried to hide my disappointment, because I didn’t want anyone feeling bad for me. After some time, I began to realize that the panel of judges most likely gave me 4th Kyu because my waza was sloppy. It was within their power to give me an even lower rank, so I should just accept it and plan for the next test. I should also work on my basic waza.
My body was in pain as I drove back home. Most of the pain subsided, but there stayed a persistence shooting pain in both my left arm and my left ankle. I knew I had sprained both. I had probably stretched both too far at the tournament, but then exaggerated them at the testing. A fellow student told me the arm sprain was from gripping the shinai too tightly. I know the ankle comes from trying to put all my weight on my heels during seiza for long periods of time.
The next several days were all spent practicing everything we would need for the testing. Sensei said, “Think of the tournament as practice for the testing. The tournament is for fun, the testing is important.” We spent all our time practicing kiri-kaeshi over and over. We practiced it in full bogu. We practiced it without men or kote. We practiced it in only keikogi and hakama.
Obviously, the less protection we wore, the slower we performed the strikes. This was to make us slow down and focus on making good, crisp strikes instead of relying only on fast strikes. Sempai reminded us many times, “It really doesn’t matter how fast you do kiri-kaeshi. The judges want to see you strike accurately.” This really set the tone for how we were to go down to the tournament and testing. We all decided that we wanted to go there and show that we were not going to rush our training just to show off.
We practiced kiri-kaeshi so many times, Sensei said, “You’ll be doing it in your sleep”. I didn’t dream about it, but I have caught myself doing it as I walk down the halls at my job and in my home. At first it was embarrassing, but I just decided to take the opportunity to just go through the motions and not only memorize it, but to ingrain the motions into my nerves so I may do it without thinking.
We also got out some athletic tape and marked off what a typical court would look like. We practiced the ceremony of bowing in and out of a court. The senior students got out the Shinpan flags and would practice regulating matches. The bowing in ceremony is not so difficult to remember. Both fighters stand at the appropriate edges of the court, facing each other. They take a single step in, then bow. They taito, then Kendo-walk up to their respective lines. They draw their shinais and then sonkyo. The lines will be taped out at such a position so that the shinais will be too far for issen-no-maai. The fighters rise and kamae. The Shinpan will declare “Hajime” and the match begins. We would also perform geiko (practice match) in order to tell if our waza was good enough. More often than not, the senior students would wind up telling us about our mistakes. But then, that’s the way it should be since we’re so inexperienced.
Day 47.5: (tournament and testing)
The Kendo club sponsoring the event made arrangements for the local hotel to have discounts for us as we would stay the night. Travelling to the location of the tournament and testing was a real pain. It took hours to drive there. I was smart and took the day off work the day before the tournament just so I could focus only on making arrangements.
After checking into the hotel, I went over to get a parking permit on the campus where the gymnasium was located. The directions I received were incorrect about where to go. I spent a couple of hours driving around the city and following the wrong road signs to the wrong places before I figured it out. Asking a couple of the locals helped also. I was very glad that I took the day off. One of our students could not take that day off and decided to drive extra early to arrive on time, only to have her alarm clock suffer from a power outage. She arrived late and missed taking part in the Mudansha division.
I could only take part in Mudansha and hopefully in team division. This will be the way it is for a long time, so I may as well get used to it. I can fill the time in between by helping out at scoring tables. My first match wasn’t even first at all. There were so many of us that we had to be split into two courts, each court having eight brackets, each bracket having three or four Kendoka. I was in the first court, eighth bracket. This meant I had a lot of time since the first round went round-robin. The winner, determined by the judges by wins and points, advanced to the single-elimination rounds. I was in a four-person bracket, and had to fight two other people. As the fights progressed, one of my classmates gave me his camera to take pictures of him during his matches. I took a few pictures of him as he walked in and as he struck targets.
When it came time for my match, I was nervous. I systematically went through every waza in my mind as a refresher. It took less time then I thought. Before I could get more nervous, I instead tried to study my opponent. He seemed very confident. I stepped in with as much dignity as I could and then performed the bowing in ceremony. When the match began, he immediately lauched into a flurry of attacks and action. I knew that my opponent was a hothead. His kiais were loud and aggressive. He was also smaller than me. I decided to use his aggression to my advantage. I let him attack me, then when his attack failed, I forced him into tai-atari. I let him scream at me, then I pushed him backwards. I stepped in to take his space and attacked his men forcefully. Over and over I did this, making him angrier and angrier. Soon, the Shinpan called yame. As we resumed our initial marks, the Shinpan gave him a warning for stepping out of bounds. I smiled and did it again. I would attack him, striking him over and over, circling around him, letting him attack me. I would turn my back to the edge of the court and let him push me close. Then I would circle around and push him out of bounds. I used lots of kiai and energy and men strikes without passing through. Soon, the judges were giving him another warning, which resulted in a penalty point for him. A penalty point for him in reality means a good point for me. The score was 1-0 in my favor. I knew he would not allow such a thing to happen again, so I deduced that he would not give ground. Instead I focused on men strikes and trying to trick him into giving me a kote strike. He got more and more desperate as time ran out. His defenses were getting sloppy and I knew I only had to wait for the right time. Suddenly, after I gave a kiai, I saw an opening for his men. I thought to myself, “I will strike his men”. Suddenly, I saw my shinai strike him on the men in a near-perfect strike. I actually do not remember going throught he motion of stepping in and swinging the shinai over my head. I passed on through and heard the judge call men-ari (point striking men). I knew I had won. I was completely ecstatic, but I was even more winded than that. My classmates congratulated me as I got ready for my next match. I had one match to rest before going out again. I couldn’t wait!
My next match was tougher. I studied my opponent and saw that he was giving nothing away. He probably saw me fight and decided not to let me push him. I decided to just attack head on and pass through. The entire match was attacking men and occasionally attacking kote. I would parry him and he would parry me. I knew it would end with no points scored, so I decided to make an impression on the judges. I would kiai louder and show more zanshin than my opponent. After we passed each other, I took three quick strides and turned around in chudan-no-kamae. I advanced on my opponent, who was taking many more strides more slowly. I waited for him to turn around and then launched another attack. In the end, the hantei (judge’s decision) was that the other fighter had won. I believe it was because his waza was more crisp than mine. If that is the case, I do not mind losing to that. It means I squared off against a superior opponent and held him off. Sensei calls it, “Losing without dying, which is almost as good”. After that, I was eliminated form the division. It’s too bad there are too many kendoka to keep track of. I would have preferred a double-elimination style, but the judges have too much to keep track of as it is.
The day of the tournament was very busy. There were over one hundred kendoka participating over all of the divisions. The few of us beginners were in the Mudansha division, which means all ranks below Shodan. The senior students entered the Shodan-Nidan division. The girls also entered the Women’s division as well. After that, Sensei entered the Sandan-and-above division. Halfway through Sandan-and-above, we broke for lunch. Bento boxes were distributed out to everyone, including a soda. Lunch was a combination of salad, sushi, teriyaki chicken and a few seafood items I could not identify. I’m normally a very fussy eater, but I was so hungry after just fighting in my own matches and then helping out with the scoring for Shodan-Nidan that I just started eating and nearly ate everything. It was very good.
Sandan-and-above division finished afterwards. Sensei did not win a single one of his matches, yet he was smiling the whole time. He said he was just glad to fight against others closer to his rank. It was fun for him and a great learning experience. I think he was trying to teach us not to focus on anything negative at all and instead just approach defeat with dignity and grace.
Then it was time for the team matches. Our dojo had enough students entering to form two teams. Sensei personally led the group of us four newcomers in our own team. He arranged us in a specific pattern to counter what he felt was the other team’s strategy. It turns out that in a team match, five kendoka line up. The number one position stands farthest away from the scorekeeper’s table. Normally, the first position is given to the fastest person and the fifth position is given to the strongest (or at least some kind of variation on those ideas). I requested the fifth position and Sensei asked me if I was sure. I told him that I was sure and I wanted it. This would be the only real time I could fight against a much higher-ranked opponent. Sensei let me have it and took the fourth position for himself. Our first two matches were fairly evenly matched, and no points were scored, so the Shinpan declared Hiki-wake (a draw with no winner). The third match had both fighters scoring a clear point each. We cheered for our teammate when he scored. The end result was another Hiki-wake. Sensei took his time and chose to attack his opponent intelligently instead of wasting energy. The result was him winning his match! The team score was 1-0 in favor of us. Then it was my turn to fight. We had the advantage. The team match was ‘mine to lose’ if I let my opponent win. I decided to curb my enthusiasm and fight intelligently, without taking foolish risks. My opponent was much smaller than me, which means I could have pushed her around a lot if I wanted to. Perhaps she would be expecting that. I decided to just try for crisp men strikes instead. Over and over, we struck and circled each other. The Shinpan decided that none of our strikes were good enough for a point. Finally, I saw a suki (opening)! She was leaving her kote open while hoping to attack my men. I let her attack, only to parry her strike. As she retreated, I saw her give me the kote suki, and I charged forward! Bringing the shinai up, I aimed for her kote. “YAME!” The Shinpan called for the end of the match because of time. On reflex, I finished the strike and passed on through. I heard the pleasant slap of the bamboo to leather and knew that if I only had half of a second more, I would have gotten the kote point. However, I had succeeded! My match ended in a Hiki-wake, making the final score 1-0 in our favor. We had won the first round of the team match! After shaking hands with our opponents, we had a short break until our next team match.
This time, we came up against a much better team. Their first opponents had not shown up so they were more rested than we were. We lost every match, making the final score 5-0 in their favor. However, no one was disappointed. We were all smiling because we had fought against high-ranked people and gave a good effort. They really did work for their victory.
After the tournament was over, Sensei let me know that the fifth position on the team that defeated us was a 2nd Dan who was displaying the skill of a 3rd Dan that day. Overall, I think I performed very well. Twice I nearly got a strike in against him.
The next day was the day of the testing and promotionals. I wasn’t very nervous for the sole reason that I had fought in front of and sometimes with everyone who might be judging me. So, it was not as if I were to be testing in front of strangers, instead it was like a formality in front of an extended family. I kept my focus on behaving in a proper manner and chose to let my Kendo happen naturally. I did decide beforehand that I would step up my energy and kiai more. I have a habit of being too quiet sometimes.
Since we rehearsed the actual testing part at the dojo over and over, that was no big surprise. There were forty-five of us testing for various ranks. I made sure to remove my zekken before warmups. At some point, the director told us to line up. We lined up single-file and gave our names one at a time. The director would tell us what number we had to remember. I was number twelve. There didn’t seem to be a real system to the numbers except that people testing for lower ranks had lower numbers. Afterwards, we were told exactly where to sit. They arranged us into a grid-like formation twelve people wide, so I had the position in the front left corner. Then, they grouped us into four Kendoka together. We would put on men as a group, last-minute warmups as a group, approach the court as a group, and test in sequence as a group.
The panel of judges seemed to think that the first eight Kendoka were taking too long through the intricate ceremony of bowing in and out. Although we had all day, I think they were trying to speed things up to be fair to the ones who had higher numbers. Each and every Kendoka for the first twenty or so did the same things. They did kiri-kaeshi and ji-geiko (free-form sparring) against two different opponents. However, I did not receive kiri-kaeshi that day, only gave it. Others gave and received it. I think I was passed over by mistake. After that, we sat back down in formation again. Then, I realized that my ordeal was over for the whole day.
I felt more relaxed and decided to just watch and observe the good and bad that others were doing. However, I soon realized that the most difficult thing that day was all the waiting. I knelt in seiza as much as I could because I thought it was required. After a while, one of the coordinators came by and told us to “relax”. This meant “sit as you would like”. I immediately moved into the cross-legged position gratefully. However, the gymnasium floor was very, very rigid. After several minutes, even sitting cross-legged was painful. I had to fidget and re-align my legs over and over, still not being comfortable. I realized that only half of the Kendoka had been tested. It was a long day indeed.
After all of the testing happened, I thought we were done. Not quite. There was a break as we got up to stretch our aching legs. The 1-Kyu and 1-Dan candidates pulled out their bokkens and began to practice kata in the back of the gym. I knew kata 1 and 2 from practice, but I also got to see kata 3, 4, and 5. I liked kata 4, when you block with the bokken, then spin it around to attack the head form the opposite angle and shout, you can see how Sensei says, “This kata shows the fire coming out of your eyes”. The kata test was actually over very quickly, as they would test four pairs of Kendoka simultaneously. After that was done, then we were dismissed.
It took the better part of an hour to post the results. All my classmates got 3rd Kyu for their initial ranking. I got 4th Kyu. I was so disappointed. I had applied for 4th Kyu on my registration at first. After a couple of weeks Sensei asked if I wanted to change my request to 3rd Kyu, but I said no. I didn’t want to seem arrogant. However, I was secretly hoping they would give me 3rd Kyu anyway. I tried to hide my disappointment, because I didn’t want anyone feeling bad for me. After some time, I began to realize that the panel of judges most likely gave me 4th Kyu because my waza was sloppy. It was within their power to give me an even lower rank, so I should just accept it and plan for the next test. I should also work on my basic waza.
My body was in pain as I drove back home. Most of the pain subsided, but there stayed a persistence shooting pain in both my left arm and my left ankle. I knew I had sprained both. I had probably stretched both too far at the tournament, but then exaggerated them at the testing. A fellow student told me the arm sprain was from gripping the shinai too tightly. I know the ankle comes from trying to put all my weight on my heels during seiza for long periods of time.
A Beginner's Point of View 36-37
Day 36:
Today we focused on the men strike and giving kiri-kaeshi. Senior students put on full bogu and received kiri-kaeshi, each choosing to stand still or step back after the initial men strike. This forces us to adapt to the choice of whether or not to perform the tai-atari, which is to push someone back using your kote against their kote.
We also practiced the sayu-men drill going backwards and forwards, which reinforces the striking principle of raising the shinai straight up and then bringing it down a little bit sideways to strike migi-men and hidari-men. We were promised that we would work on kiri-kaeshi until we were more than qualified for testing.
My endurance is getting a little bit better. I did not have to stop once tonight for water or breathing, but still it showed I was tired. Hopefully, I won't show so much fatigue during testing.
Day 37:
Today was practicing the tai-atari (body check) for kiri-kaeshi. This is correctly done when you first semin, then strike men, then step into your opponent's space. If your opponent does not move, then you bring your fists down to in front of you while holding the shinai vertically. You then lock your elbows in place and then forcefully step forward. Your body, not your arms, will push your opponent backwards. You then step into his space, claiming it as your own. This is supposed to throw your opponent into disarray, which will create openings for you to strike.
Head sensei was here today as well as sempai. Both did not say anything to me directly, so I must be doing well. In Kendo, if your instructor speaks to you directly, it is because you have made a mistake and they wish to correct you. This advice is not to be taken badly, it is simply them trying to help you perfect your Kendo one class at a time. By saying nothing, they actually declare that your form and technique are good enough for your level of training.
Today we focused on the men strike and giving kiri-kaeshi. Senior students put on full bogu and received kiri-kaeshi, each choosing to stand still or step back after the initial men strike. This forces us to adapt to the choice of whether or not to perform the tai-atari, which is to push someone back using your kote against their kote.
We also practiced the sayu-men drill going backwards and forwards, which reinforces the striking principle of raising the shinai straight up and then bringing it down a little bit sideways to strike migi-men and hidari-men. We were promised that we would work on kiri-kaeshi until we were more than qualified for testing.
My endurance is getting a little bit better. I did not have to stop once tonight for water or breathing, but still it showed I was tired. Hopefully, I won't show so much fatigue during testing.
Day 37:
Today was practicing the tai-atari (body check) for kiri-kaeshi. This is correctly done when you first semin, then strike men, then step into your opponent's space. If your opponent does not move, then you bring your fists down to in front of you while holding the shinai vertically. You then lock your elbows in place and then forcefully step forward. Your body, not your arms, will push your opponent backwards. You then step into his space, claiming it as your own. This is supposed to throw your opponent into disarray, which will create openings for you to strike.
Head sensei was here today as well as sempai. Both did not say anything to me directly, so I must be doing well. In Kendo, if your instructor speaks to you directly, it is because you have made a mistake and they wish to correct you. This advice is not to be taken badly, it is simply them trying to help you perfect your Kendo one class at a time. By saying nothing, they actually declare that your form and technique are good enough for your level of training.
A Beginner's Point of View 34-35
Day 34:
Today was more kiri-kaeshi. Even though last week sensei said we would work on receiving, today we gave again. Over and over, giving kiri-kaeshi to him and some senior students. Each time we would complete a full drill, we would receive advice on how to improve our technique.
Myself, I seem to be "out of alignment". I was told that my posture was not bad, but not perfect. It appeared like I was leaning forward, but was not really leaning forward. It was described to me as my upper half was forward of my lower half. My shoulders and spine were straight, but they were ahead of my hips. It was not easy to understand or even correct, but I seem to be improving my posture simply by trying to keep my whole body in line vertically.
We did kiri-kaeshi so much, that the time just flew by. I gave the closing ceremony again. I did better, but still not perfect. It seems that the list of commands I've been studying from wasn't perfect. At least this time I waited for everyone seated on the Dan side of the dojo to finish taking off their men and kote before continuing. I should also learn to cover my feet completely if I need to move out of seiza and just sit.
Day 35:
Today, we suited up in full bogu to practice giving kiri-kaeshi. It was a good exercise, since we would be expected to do the same for testing. A couple of the senior students put on their bogu so we may practice giving kiri-kaehsi to multiple different people. Some would not step back until we pushed them back, others stepped back automatically. Sometimes they would block our strikes, sometimes not. As long as I did not hurry, I successfully performed kiri-kaeshi each time. Sensei reminded us that kiri-kaeshi does not have to be lightning fast. It instead must be 'decisive'. Each strike must function independently, as if it were the last strike we will ever make. This broke up the exercise into smaller segments that were more manageable.
Our head sensei was actually present during the entire practice this time. He split his attention between our group and watching the other group, which was comprised of students who needed a refresher on basic strikes and footwork. The head sensei gave me some advice about men strikes. He said I was lifting the shinai too high. It was a waste of energy the way I was doing it. He counseled that I should raise the shinai just enough that my left fist would be even with my eyes. This goes slightly against what I was taught by sempai. Sempai said to raise the shinai so that both fists were above my eyes, so I may see the target. I'll try doing it the way the head sensei says. Maybe it will conserve energy.
There are so many things to remember during kiri-kaeshi, it can sometimes be overwhelming: footwork, striking, rhythm, pushing, counting, kiai, and spacing, which is called maai. Still, sensei promises that we will practice kiri-kaeshi so much, we will be able to do it in our sleep.
Today, I almost finished practice without needing to stop. At the very end, I was feeling light-headed and off-balance. I decided to move off to the side and sit in seiza for a short time. After a minute of just breathing, I felt better and it was time to perform an abbreviated bowing out. I hope my endurance increases some more. It's embarrassing to have to stop and breathe while everyone else keeps going.
Today was more kiri-kaeshi. Even though last week sensei said we would work on receiving, today we gave again. Over and over, giving kiri-kaeshi to him and some senior students. Each time we would complete a full drill, we would receive advice on how to improve our technique.
Myself, I seem to be "out of alignment". I was told that my posture was not bad, but not perfect. It appeared like I was leaning forward, but was not really leaning forward. It was described to me as my upper half was forward of my lower half. My shoulders and spine were straight, but they were ahead of my hips. It was not easy to understand or even correct, but I seem to be improving my posture simply by trying to keep my whole body in line vertically.
We did kiri-kaeshi so much, that the time just flew by. I gave the closing ceremony again. I did better, but still not perfect. It seems that the list of commands I've been studying from wasn't perfect. At least this time I waited for everyone seated on the Dan side of the dojo to finish taking off their men and kote before continuing. I should also learn to cover my feet completely if I need to move out of seiza and just sit.
Day 35:
Today, we suited up in full bogu to practice giving kiri-kaeshi. It was a good exercise, since we would be expected to do the same for testing. A couple of the senior students put on their bogu so we may practice giving kiri-kaehsi to multiple different people. Some would not step back until we pushed them back, others stepped back automatically. Sometimes they would block our strikes, sometimes not. As long as I did not hurry, I successfully performed kiri-kaeshi each time. Sensei reminded us that kiri-kaeshi does not have to be lightning fast. It instead must be 'decisive'. Each strike must function independently, as if it were the last strike we will ever make. This broke up the exercise into smaller segments that were more manageable.
Our head sensei was actually present during the entire practice this time. He split his attention between our group and watching the other group, which was comprised of students who needed a refresher on basic strikes and footwork. The head sensei gave me some advice about men strikes. He said I was lifting the shinai too high. It was a waste of energy the way I was doing it. He counseled that I should raise the shinai just enough that my left fist would be even with my eyes. This goes slightly against what I was taught by sempai. Sempai said to raise the shinai so that both fists were above my eyes, so I may see the target. I'll try doing it the way the head sensei says. Maybe it will conserve energy.
There are so many things to remember during kiri-kaeshi, it can sometimes be overwhelming: footwork, striking, rhythm, pushing, counting, kiai, and spacing, which is called maai. Still, sensei promises that we will practice kiri-kaeshi so much, we will be able to do it in our sleep.
Today, I almost finished practice without needing to stop. At the very end, I was feeling light-headed and off-balance. I decided to move off to the side and sit in seiza for a short time. After a minute of just breathing, I felt better and it was time to perform an abbreviated bowing out. I hope my endurance increases some more. It's embarrassing to have to stop and breathe while everyone else keeps going.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)