Day 200:
Today was a lot of work. It was kiri-kaeshi over and over and over and over… Kiri-kaeshi seemed to be a theme tonight. We did endless rotations of kiri-kaeshi. Then we separated into two parts.
The first part was the four unranked students. The other part was the rest of us. At first, the four students would receive kiri-kaeshi over and over from every person rotating through. Each partner would observe them and make suggestions to improve. Then Sensei would call for each student to show they could receive kiri-kaeshi as if being tested. The rest of the class would make suggestions to improve.
We would then do the whole thing over again, only the unranked students would give kiri-kaeshi. We separated into the two groups, in four lines, and rotated while the unranked students gave over and over. We also gave them suggestions on how to better attack. Once that was done, we also did the mock testing, one pair at a time for them giving kiri-kaeshi. These students are doing well. The biggest problem overall was the footwork. They need to just practice more and they’ll do just fine. The switching between matching forward foot with sword and the opposite time where the sword is on the opposite to the forward foot can be disconcerting.
Afterwards, we broke up and did a lot of simple waza. One-step men and oji-waza, such as kote-suriage-men and men-suriage-men. To finish class, we would do a few rounds of keiko. I only had enough breath to do two keiko matches and had to sit out the last two matches. I did it still wearing men and kote because I knew we were almost done with class. It was cooler today so I could reciver my breath faster. Having an odd number of people helped since there was a spot to rotate out.
Day 201:
Today was geared towards testing for promotion. We did a few kiri-kaeshi rounds, but then we concentrated on simple waza. One-step men, one-step kote, and some one-step doh. The shodans and above would sneak in some oji-waza occasionally to keep everyone on their toes. Then we separated into groups to showcase keiko. I was in a group that was mudansha. We would go up when called to do keiko with a declared partner. I made sure to keep good posture and let loose with many big kiais. I stuck to simple attacks, kote and men. I scored several good hits against my partners, who were an unranked student and a newly-promoted sankyu. I dominated and struck cleanly, passing through with good zanshin. At the end of keiko, one of the nidans commented that I would have passed on spirit alone. That made me really happy. I think I’m ready to pass my ikkyu exam.
After our group was done, I was actually called to be the odd man in a group testing for shodan/nidan. That was a surprise, but a big honor. I actually dominated my opponent, who will be testing for nidan. Of course, much of it is the fact that he has recovered from knee surgery and is building up his endurance again, but still it really lifted my spirits. The rest of the group were testing for sandan, including Sensei who will be testing for yandan. Their matches were very smooth and flowing. By pushing themselves, they made the rest of us look blocky and amateurish. Afterwards, there was a few “open matches” of keiko held just so people could get more criticism. I participated in a match against my first keiko opponent. After a couple of hits on him, he suddenly picked up the pace and counterattacked often. He even snuck in a solid kote hit just as I was trying to bait him for kote-suriage-men. I complimented him after class and he was really pleased with himself.
Then we did kata. I love kata. The class broke up into groups testing for similar ranks. However, I was the only one for the ikkyu level. The sankyu became my partner for a few iterations. We did the first three with myself as the uchidachi twice. Then we repeated the third for a few times to get it down pat. Then we did the whole thing over again by switching roles. A nidan switched out with him to help me polish. Another nidan took the other lower-ranking students to teach them the finer points of the footwork in the third kata. The nidan ran through the entire kata sequence with me as the shidachi first, then with me as the uchidachi. Afterwards, he tried to explain to me that I was good, but doing it very awkwardly. I like to think of it as doing the footwork “staccato”. He encouraged me to be smoother. After that, Sensei became my partner and he said we were doing it “for real” this time. We did the first three kata as if I were being tested right there. After he was the uchidachi, he then ran me through the same thing with him being shidachi. After we bowed out, he nodded and gave me a ‘thumb’s-up’, saying that if I did my kata just like that, I would pass. I’m just counting the days until the road trip to the tournament and testing.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 198-199
Day 198:
Today was special. It was all-day kata. Have I mentioned how much I love kata? Even the beginner class was all about kata. Since I didn’t need to suit up in bogu and warm up so thoroughly, I had time to help out. I was a partner for a beginner student who looked like he hadn’t done kata too many times. I was helping him with the second kata. I did the shidachi role over and over with him, getting him used to the motions. Sensei even pointed out to me that I needed to use a bigger swing. It showed that he was watching everyone, not just the beginner students. Having your teacher demonstrate that he’s actively in the class gives you a great feeling that you’re not alone.
Soon the beginner class was over. Sensei announced that the advanced class will have only kata as well, so everyone who was able should stay for the advanced class. Several beginner students stayed and boosted our overall numbers. The class was broken up into three groups: beginners, middle, and advanced. The beginners were the ones from the beginner class and anyone else who is testing for promotion soon that does not need kata. The middle group was anyone testing for ikkyu, shodan, or nidan.
I was in this group since I am testing for ikkyu. My partner was testing for shodan, so he needed to practice the first five kata where I only needed the first three. We did them in order over and over, switching role between uchidachi and shidachi over and over. The time just flew as I was concentrating and enjoying myself. He pointed out that my tsuki on the third kata shidachi role was too high. It should not be pointed at my partner’s throat when I counter the uchidachi’s tsuki. Instead, it should be pointed at the solar plexus (right at the fleshy point under the arch of the sternum). He advised me to imagine pushing down on the bokken after the parry. I tried that and it really helped. He also pointed out something that I was seeing but couldn’t quite correct it. I was pulling the bokken to the left as I dodged the uchidachi’s kote strike in the second kata. My partner told me to rotate my body to point the saki at my opponent, as if tracking him while I dodged. That way I won’t need to correct and keep the blade straight. At length, my partner went to practice with a nidan who helped him with kata four and five. Sensei became my partner and we practiced the first three kata a few times before class was starting to come to a close.
Sensei called for a mock kata promotional test for everyone to watch. The beginners started, doing the first two kata. They didn’t finish quite right, but that’s because they weren’t taught the right way. Then it was my turn. My partner was a nidan who was drafted. I did the shidachi role. I think I did well.
I didn’t get to practice the uchidachi role for kata three much tonight and that was disappointing. I think I may have figured out the trick to memorizing the footwork after the initial thrust. Just think “reverse polarity”. After the uchidachi thrusts, he begins to think like the bokken is electrically charged and that his right foot must be electrically charged the opposite way. When the shidachi parries, the bokken is on the uachidachi’s right side. When the shidachi steps forward, the uchidachi must parry by moving his bokken under and around the shidachi’s bokken. This puts it on the left side of the uchidachi’s body. The “reverse polarity” means that if the saki is on the left, the right foot must be the one to move. For the shidachi’s second thrust, the uchidachi counters with a parry that circles under and to the right side of his body. This means that “reverse polarity” forces the left foot to be the one to move back. The shidachi does not thrust a third time, instead he presses forward. The uchidachi does not attempt to parry again, he merely backs away. Therefore, the saki stays on the right side of the uchidachi’s body. Since the uchidachi must perform three steps backwards, “reverse polarity” dictates that it must start and finish with the left foot going backwards.
Up next was my partner, who is testing for shodan, and he was going to do kata with the same nidan for his partner. They did the first five kata. The shodan candidate messed up his footwork on the first and fifth kata, putting the wrong foot forward. However, the important thing was that he realized it and corrected quickly while not interrupting the kata. He focused on finishing and thus did better than he perceived himself to have done.
After class, I asked Sensei what he thought of my kata. He tried to explain a flaw he saw, but couldn’t put words to it. I think he meant to work on the shidachi kote attack in the second kata. But he said my over kata “was there”, meaning if I give just as good a performance he feels I would pass. Now is the time to work on polishing the kata to make it shine.
Day 199:
Today was all keiko and waza, not kata. Oh well, can’t have everything, right? I was spoiled last class.
Here the theme of the class was to try as many different waza as possible. I got to try out my new head protector for the first time. It’s very thin so it slips inside the men snugly. Still it makes the men extra snug. It does feel a little more front-heavy, so I need to remember to lean my head back more. During class, I practiced with a nidan who is the ‘lumberjack’ of the group. He has good tenuchi. However, he’s so tall, strong, and vigorous that he always hits the men hard, no matter how gentle he tries to be. In fact, I practically bought this protector just for him. His head strikes would ‘white out’ my vision and make me dizzy. I’m sure this will protect me from future other kenshi like him, but for now I won’t be struck too hard by him any more. I must remember to keep my hair cut short, just to be sure.
We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, followed by one-step men, one-step kote, kote-suriage-men, kote-nuki-men, and a new drill made up by one of our nidans. He said he saw many people in shiai do a men-doh drill. You start off at itto-no-maai, and then make a light attack at your opponent’s men. When your opponent blocks the men, you quickly swing for doh and pass by. It’s a lot harder than it sounds because for the men strike, you must move in closer than proper for doh. You have to move almost 45 degrees away from your opponent to get a good swing. In fact, a lot of us decided that this waza can only be done properly if you pass by on the same side as the doh strike.
It was hot and muggy today. My breath doesn’t seem to return to my lungs when the weather is like this. I had to sit out twice during practice. Still, I managed to have a few good keikos before the end of class.
Today was special. It was all-day kata. Have I mentioned how much I love kata? Even the beginner class was all about kata. Since I didn’t need to suit up in bogu and warm up so thoroughly, I had time to help out. I was a partner for a beginner student who looked like he hadn’t done kata too many times. I was helping him with the second kata. I did the shidachi role over and over with him, getting him used to the motions. Sensei even pointed out to me that I needed to use a bigger swing. It showed that he was watching everyone, not just the beginner students. Having your teacher demonstrate that he’s actively in the class gives you a great feeling that you’re not alone.
Soon the beginner class was over. Sensei announced that the advanced class will have only kata as well, so everyone who was able should stay for the advanced class. Several beginner students stayed and boosted our overall numbers. The class was broken up into three groups: beginners, middle, and advanced. The beginners were the ones from the beginner class and anyone else who is testing for promotion soon that does not need kata. The middle group was anyone testing for ikkyu, shodan, or nidan.
I was in this group since I am testing for ikkyu. My partner was testing for shodan, so he needed to practice the first five kata where I only needed the first three. We did them in order over and over, switching role between uchidachi and shidachi over and over. The time just flew as I was concentrating and enjoying myself. He pointed out that my tsuki on the third kata shidachi role was too high. It should not be pointed at my partner’s throat when I counter the uchidachi’s tsuki. Instead, it should be pointed at the solar plexus (right at the fleshy point under the arch of the sternum). He advised me to imagine pushing down on the bokken after the parry. I tried that and it really helped. He also pointed out something that I was seeing but couldn’t quite correct it. I was pulling the bokken to the left as I dodged the uchidachi’s kote strike in the second kata. My partner told me to rotate my body to point the saki at my opponent, as if tracking him while I dodged. That way I won’t need to correct and keep the blade straight. At length, my partner went to practice with a nidan who helped him with kata four and five. Sensei became my partner and we practiced the first three kata a few times before class was starting to come to a close.
Sensei called for a mock kata promotional test for everyone to watch. The beginners started, doing the first two kata. They didn’t finish quite right, but that’s because they weren’t taught the right way. Then it was my turn. My partner was a nidan who was drafted. I did the shidachi role. I think I did well.
I didn’t get to practice the uchidachi role for kata three much tonight and that was disappointing. I think I may have figured out the trick to memorizing the footwork after the initial thrust. Just think “reverse polarity”. After the uchidachi thrusts, he begins to think like the bokken is electrically charged and that his right foot must be electrically charged the opposite way. When the shidachi parries, the bokken is on the uachidachi’s right side. When the shidachi steps forward, the uchidachi must parry by moving his bokken under and around the shidachi’s bokken. This puts it on the left side of the uchidachi’s body. The “reverse polarity” means that if the saki is on the left, the right foot must be the one to move. For the shidachi’s second thrust, the uchidachi counters with a parry that circles under and to the right side of his body. This means that “reverse polarity” forces the left foot to be the one to move back. The shidachi does not thrust a third time, instead he presses forward. The uchidachi does not attempt to parry again, he merely backs away. Therefore, the saki stays on the right side of the uchidachi’s body. Since the uchidachi must perform three steps backwards, “reverse polarity” dictates that it must start and finish with the left foot going backwards.
Up next was my partner, who is testing for shodan, and he was going to do kata with the same nidan for his partner. They did the first five kata. The shodan candidate messed up his footwork on the first and fifth kata, putting the wrong foot forward. However, the important thing was that he realized it and corrected quickly while not interrupting the kata. He focused on finishing and thus did better than he perceived himself to have done.
After class, I asked Sensei what he thought of my kata. He tried to explain a flaw he saw, but couldn’t put words to it. I think he meant to work on the shidachi kote attack in the second kata. But he said my over kata “was there”, meaning if I give just as good a performance he feels I would pass. Now is the time to work on polishing the kata to make it shine.
Day 199:
Today was all keiko and waza, not kata. Oh well, can’t have everything, right? I was spoiled last class.
Here the theme of the class was to try as many different waza as possible. I got to try out my new head protector for the first time. It’s very thin so it slips inside the men snugly. Still it makes the men extra snug. It does feel a little more front-heavy, so I need to remember to lean my head back more. During class, I practiced with a nidan who is the ‘lumberjack’ of the group. He has good tenuchi. However, he’s so tall, strong, and vigorous that he always hits the men hard, no matter how gentle he tries to be. In fact, I practically bought this protector just for him. His head strikes would ‘white out’ my vision and make me dizzy. I’m sure this will protect me from future other kenshi like him, but for now I won’t be struck too hard by him any more. I must remember to keep my hair cut short, just to be sure.
We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, followed by one-step men, one-step kote, kote-suriage-men, kote-nuki-men, and a new drill made up by one of our nidans. He said he saw many people in shiai do a men-doh drill. You start off at itto-no-maai, and then make a light attack at your opponent’s men. When your opponent blocks the men, you quickly swing for doh and pass by. It’s a lot harder than it sounds because for the men strike, you must move in closer than proper for doh. You have to move almost 45 degrees away from your opponent to get a good swing. In fact, a lot of us decided that this waza can only be done properly if you pass by on the same side as the doh strike.
It was hot and muggy today. My breath doesn’t seem to return to my lungs when the weather is like this. I had to sit out twice during practice. Still, I managed to have a few good keikos before the end of class.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 196-197
Day 196:
Today was a big day for kata. Sensei said that some people’s work prevented them from spending all of this coming month from class, so we would do as much kata when everybody was present as possible. I love kata. Sensei separated us into three groups. The first group were testing for sandan next month. The second group was testing for either shodan or nidan next month. The rest of us were in the last group, including myself. Our group did the first three kata over and over. Sensei was helping the first two groups, so I guided the others in the first three kata. They were nervous because they hadn’t done the katas too many times, but only practice makes that better. I was more nervous than they were when I was first starting. They seemed to remember the steps for the first two kata, but the footwork on the third was tricky. The others kept messing up the footwork because they were thinking about it too much. What they need is to just practice the footwork part over and over until it becomes automatic. If you think about the footwork too much, you will mess it up. Eventually, Sensei came over and gave us all pointers on the footwork for the third kata. I practiced being the partner for each of the others through the first three.
After that was done, Sensei wanted us to showcase what we learned. We cleared the floor and watched each of a single pair go through the motions of a sequence of kata. I was first and showed the first three. I think I did well. After the end, Sensei remarked that if this was a test, I would have passed. He did suggest that during the second kata, if I was the shidachi, to make the cut into an o-kote cut instead of a smaller cut. We watched others do kata and we learned some good pointers. The two lower-ranking people I was practicing with took their turn and it was clear that they did not have the distance correct. Many of their cuts actually missed. They seemed to be disappointed, but Sensei made sure to tell them how difficult it is and not to be disheartened.
We spent so long on kata that there was only 15 minutes left in class. We put on bogu and did simple drills, such as kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and a few rounds of keiko. After class, Sensei, another student, and I talked about our road trip plans for the tournament and testing. We decided to leave early rather than late. I need to set my alarm on that day for 0400 to be on time. No problem since it goes off at 0530 regularly anyway.
Day 197:
This entire month is all going to be about kata. However, Sensei wanted to get in some waza and keiko practice before going to kata. We did a very short class with kiri-kaeshi, one step men, and one step doh. We worked very hard, until the sweat was pouring off of us for about half an hour. I did a keiko with a lower-ranking student for a couple of minutes. I would keep stalling and pressuring him until he would attack. Sometimes he would miss, sometimes he would hit awkwardly. Then I would counterattack. I needed to practice striking accurately. I didn’t try to dominate the fight so he wouldn’t get discouraged. I remember some keiko I had as an unranked student. It would be very frustrating if I didn’t score a single hit and still pushed to be better.
I had another keiko with a higher-ranked student who was ready to test for sandan. I would use my stride and long arms to my advantage. I could step from almost to-ma and strike men if I was fast enough moving forward. I would also strike kote from the crossing of the saki to try to mix it up. I had to catch my breath soon and skip a couple of keiko. I just couldn’t keep breath in my body after a while. I think it has much to do with how much I kiai at once in a single keiko. If I kiai often, it takes longer to catch my breath. At least my voice is no longer injured.
Then it was time for kata. I love kata. I was paired with my first keiko partner since he was unranked. I forget if he’s going to test at the tournament or if he’s going to the seminar further south. Either way, he doesn’t need kata yet, but Sensei wants him to learn. We spent most of the class practicing the first three kata over and over. He needed to step through each kata step-by-step, but that’s okay. Teaching him the kata steps helps me remember how they go. The biggest thing to correct at first was his holding of left jodan. He needed to hold the bokken at a sharper angle, but he caught on quickly.
After a while, Sensei came over and had to correct me. It turns out that I had memorized the footwork for the third kata in the uchidachi role was wrong. Going backwards after the shidachi counters with his own tsuki, I was going left, right, left, right, left. Apparently, that’s wrong even though it feels natural. The proper way according to Sensei is to move right foot backwards first, then left, then a very short stop. You then immediately move left, right, left. It’s that double-left step that really makes it awkward. I need to read the Ozawa book about the third kata again to confirm. Then I need to practice at home. Even though I’ve got low ceilings, I can practice the footwork by itself.
Today was a big day for kata. Sensei said that some people’s work prevented them from spending all of this coming month from class, so we would do as much kata when everybody was present as possible. I love kata. Sensei separated us into three groups. The first group were testing for sandan next month. The second group was testing for either shodan or nidan next month. The rest of us were in the last group, including myself. Our group did the first three kata over and over. Sensei was helping the first two groups, so I guided the others in the first three kata. They were nervous because they hadn’t done the katas too many times, but only practice makes that better. I was more nervous than they were when I was first starting. They seemed to remember the steps for the first two kata, but the footwork on the third was tricky. The others kept messing up the footwork because they were thinking about it too much. What they need is to just practice the footwork part over and over until it becomes automatic. If you think about the footwork too much, you will mess it up. Eventually, Sensei came over and gave us all pointers on the footwork for the third kata. I practiced being the partner for each of the others through the first three.
After that was done, Sensei wanted us to showcase what we learned. We cleared the floor and watched each of a single pair go through the motions of a sequence of kata. I was first and showed the first three. I think I did well. After the end, Sensei remarked that if this was a test, I would have passed. He did suggest that during the second kata, if I was the shidachi, to make the cut into an o-kote cut instead of a smaller cut. We watched others do kata and we learned some good pointers. The two lower-ranking people I was practicing with took their turn and it was clear that they did not have the distance correct. Many of their cuts actually missed. They seemed to be disappointed, but Sensei made sure to tell them how difficult it is and not to be disheartened.
We spent so long on kata that there was only 15 minutes left in class. We put on bogu and did simple drills, such as kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and a few rounds of keiko. After class, Sensei, another student, and I talked about our road trip plans for the tournament and testing. We decided to leave early rather than late. I need to set my alarm on that day for 0400 to be on time. No problem since it goes off at 0530 regularly anyway.
Day 197:
This entire month is all going to be about kata. However, Sensei wanted to get in some waza and keiko practice before going to kata. We did a very short class with kiri-kaeshi, one step men, and one step doh. We worked very hard, until the sweat was pouring off of us for about half an hour. I did a keiko with a lower-ranking student for a couple of minutes. I would keep stalling and pressuring him until he would attack. Sometimes he would miss, sometimes he would hit awkwardly. Then I would counterattack. I needed to practice striking accurately. I didn’t try to dominate the fight so he wouldn’t get discouraged. I remember some keiko I had as an unranked student. It would be very frustrating if I didn’t score a single hit and still pushed to be better.
I had another keiko with a higher-ranked student who was ready to test for sandan. I would use my stride and long arms to my advantage. I could step from almost to-ma and strike men if I was fast enough moving forward. I would also strike kote from the crossing of the saki to try to mix it up. I had to catch my breath soon and skip a couple of keiko. I just couldn’t keep breath in my body after a while. I think it has much to do with how much I kiai at once in a single keiko. If I kiai often, it takes longer to catch my breath. At least my voice is no longer injured.
Then it was time for kata. I love kata. I was paired with my first keiko partner since he was unranked. I forget if he’s going to test at the tournament or if he’s going to the seminar further south. Either way, he doesn’t need kata yet, but Sensei wants him to learn. We spent most of the class practicing the first three kata over and over. He needed to step through each kata step-by-step, but that’s okay. Teaching him the kata steps helps me remember how they go. The biggest thing to correct at first was his holding of left jodan. He needed to hold the bokken at a sharper angle, but he caught on quickly.
After a while, Sensei came over and had to correct me. It turns out that I had memorized the footwork for the third kata in the uchidachi role was wrong. Going backwards after the shidachi counters with his own tsuki, I was going left, right, left, right, left. Apparently, that’s wrong even though it feels natural. The proper way according to Sensei is to move right foot backwards first, then left, then a very short stop. You then immediately move left, right, left. It’s that double-left step that really makes it awkward. I need to read the Ozawa book about the third kata again to confirm. Then I need to practice at home. Even though I’ve got low ceilings, I can practice the footwork by itself.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 194-195
Day 194:
Last class I did so much kiai that I wound up using my vocal chords to augment it. Bad idea. Now my voice is damaged and I can hardly talk, much less kiai. I really can’t contemplate doing Kendo silently, so I decided to take the day off and rest from class. At the end of last week, I nearly lost my voice at work.
Day 195:
Today, my voice feels fine. Still, I sound just the slightest bit funny when I talk, so I’m going to take it easy on the throat. I’m only going to do a half-strength kiai during waza or keiko. We started out doing kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. Today was just as much instruction for the nidans as the lower-ranking students. Whenever we would start a drill, the senior students would counter-attack with anything they wished. They would use aiouchi-men, men-suriage-men, kote-debana-men, or anything else.
The lower-ranking students worked on just one-step men and one-step kote for the most part. Sensei said we should start off doing it the way Guest Sensei showed us. We start at to-ma, which is farther than itto-no-maai. Here we give a big kiai (I did a half-kiai) and step to itto-no-maai. Then we perform one-step waza. It does seem to help us keep good center.
I took a break halfway through class to rest, drink water, and stopped using my voice. Sensei also called for a 5 minute break because it was humid. After a short break, I went back to it. We did some keiko, and I concentrated on keeping center and pushing past my opponent’s defenses. I wasn’t as fast or accurate as I normally am. I think it’s because I wasn’t using my full kiai. I’m not happy with how I did, but there’s nothing for it but to accept that I need to pace my voice or risk damaging it again.
During class, one of the students developed a blood blister on his foot. He expected to lance it at home after class, but it popped during the tail end of class. There were splotches of blood scattered across the floor, including one ‘puddle’ where the skin broke and dumped most of the blood. One of the senior students helped him wash and bandage his foot while another naturally moved to step it and clean the floor. Things happen in the dojo and you gotta deal with it, but it’s nice to see people just automatically try to keep the floor clean. It’s respectful in general and it keeps the floor dry and not slippery.
Last class I did so much kiai that I wound up using my vocal chords to augment it. Bad idea. Now my voice is damaged and I can hardly talk, much less kiai. I really can’t contemplate doing Kendo silently, so I decided to take the day off and rest from class. At the end of last week, I nearly lost my voice at work.
Day 195:
Today, my voice feels fine. Still, I sound just the slightest bit funny when I talk, so I’m going to take it easy on the throat. I’m only going to do a half-strength kiai during waza or keiko. We started out doing kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. Today was just as much instruction for the nidans as the lower-ranking students. Whenever we would start a drill, the senior students would counter-attack with anything they wished. They would use aiouchi-men, men-suriage-men, kote-debana-men, or anything else.
The lower-ranking students worked on just one-step men and one-step kote for the most part. Sensei said we should start off doing it the way Guest Sensei showed us. We start at to-ma, which is farther than itto-no-maai. Here we give a big kiai (I did a half-kiai) and step to itto-no-maai. Then we perform one-step waza. It does seem to help us keep good center.
I took a break halfway through class to rest, drink water, and stopped using my voice. Sensei also called for a 5 minute break because it was humid. After a short break, I went back to it. We did some keiko, and I concentrated on keeping center and pushing past my opponent’s defenses. I wasn’t as fast or accurate as I normally am. I think it’s because I wasn’t using my full kiai. I’m not happy with how I did, but there’s nothing for it but to accept that I need to pace my voice or risk damaging it again.
During class, one of the students developed a blood blister on his foot. He expected to lance it at home after class, but it popped during the tail end of class. There were splotches of blood scattered across the floor, including one ‘puddle’ where the skin broke and dumped most of the blood. One of the senior students helped him wash and bandage his foot while another naturally moved to step it and clean the floor. Things happen in the dojo and you gotta deal with it, but it’s nice to see people just automatically try to keep the floor clean. It’s respectful in general and it keeps the floor dry and not slippery.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 191.5-193
Day 191.5:
I got up early this morning to be there when the doors opened. I’m part of the club putting on the tournament, so I have to be present. Many of our students were either here for their first or second tournament. I just told them to relax and know when and where they were fighting. The rest should fall into place. They took it to heart. When I was not fighting, I was at the second court (where I would spend all of my matches), being the timekeeper and occasional caller. Our unranked students gave a good show of effort in their mudansha brackets. They got eliminated, but they had a lot of fun.
When it was time for my bracket, I got lucky drawing an unranked person and a yan-kyu. I brought forth my best Kendo and won both of my matches 2-0. It’s not the first time I’ve ever advanced to the second round, but this is better than I’ve ever done. I went to the next match and it was single elimination against someone who was my equal in skill. The two of us chased each other around the court, striking and blocking furiously. Each of us was trying desperately to strike anything to break the stalemate. I’m not sure what his rank was, but he and I were equal today. When time expired, the shinpan gave a hantei. The result was 2-1 against me. Darn it. Still, I have no bad feelings about losing to someone clearly my equal. I think that if I had advanced one more time, I would have been in the semi-finals and qualified for a medal. Oh well.
After a good lunch, we came back to witness a demonstration of german longsword fighting. It reminded me of my days as a foil fencer. Coming back to the tournament, I helped to run our table for sandan and above. Our head Sensei was fighting in that bracket. He was his usual confident self, constantly getting an opponent to attack while he would parry and counter-attack. Then it was time for teams. Our team consisted of 2 unranked, a yan-kyu, myself, and Sensei who is sandan. We went up against a powerhouse team for 3 sandans, a yandan, and a godan. Needless to say, we lost. The results were 4-0 against us. That was the shortest match of my life. Still, I’m not upset, just amazed at how fast my opponent could move. After my match, my opponent came to compliment me. He said that I have all of the basics down well. I just need more practice. After the tournament finished, our A team took second place in the finals. Head Sensei even got the award for best spirit in sandan and above division. It was a good tournament.
After the tournament was over, I helped clean up and take down some of the preparations. I did get a break in to do some godo-geiko. I stood in the shortest line since everyone was in huge lines for high-ranking sensei. Suddenly, one of the sensei had an open line and no one was stepping in. after a couple of minutes of waiting, my line was not moving. So, I stepped into the open line. This was a ni-to sensei. I wanted to practice finding the openings on a ni-to player. It was easy to see the openings, but hard to hit them. Curving the shinai around a shinai to hit the kote or slide it between for men strike is harder than it looks. I did get a good men strike in on him. He complimented me on a good men.
After that match, I was out of breath from exerting myself so much. I went back to packing up supplies from the tournament. Next door we had the plethora of drinks. I took a large stack of green tea drinks with citrus flavors as a favor to Sensei. Otherwise, he would have to haul it back himself. I think I’ll drink them all one bottle per day for a long time.
Day 192:
Today Guest Sensei showed up again. This is his last time to practice before returning to Japan. We started off by performing a drill that was being done in the beginner class. We would form two lines and then separate into two groups. The first group would spread out to take space and then perform a certain drill. They would do five good men strikes, taking their time to line up and strike properly. Then the opposite side would attack. The second group would take the space and do the same drill. The first group would return to the space and then do a different drill. They would strike a single men and then strike a single doh. They would repeat this set four more times. Then the second group would take the space and do the drill. We did all of this without men or kote to be able to see perfectly to judge distance. We also did it because of how hot it was. The point of the drill was to semin well and practice good footwork.
At this point, we put on men and kote. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi. When I did kiri-kaeshi with Guest Sensei, we stopped me and told me to stop swinging so wildly. He showed me that my left fist was being tugged along with my right fist, making the shinai unwieldly. After I kept my right fist under control and kept my left fist steady, my strikes were more crisp.
We then did men strikes, including the men-kote-kote/men-doh-men drill. I was doing what Sensei told us to do. I was using a beat to open the way before starting the drill. Guest Sensei said that was a ‘habit’ of mine. He said it was excellent for shiai, but in class it was not necessary. So, I stopped doing it and focused on keeping a strong center. We did a few one-step kote drills and then there were several lectures about good from Guest Sensei, especially about itto-no-maai. We all enjoyed having him over to our dojo. Hopefully next year he can visit again.
Day 193:
Today was a very good day in the dojo for me. I was well-rested, hydrated, and eager.
We started off by doing several rounds of kiri-kaeshi. I used the technique that Guest Sensei suggested and it made my kiri-kaeshi look much better. I could go even faster than when I was trying to be flashy. Guest Sensei really knew what he was talking about. We also did several standard drills of one-step men, one-step kote, and a couple of rounds of one-step doh. Sensei had the high-ranking people on one side of the dojo giving retaliation occasionally during drills. They would use suriage and debana on us to try to beat us, so we had to line up and be faster.
Then we had a few rounds of keiko. Today I was really fast! Remember I was telling about seemingly jumping out of my body to become faster? It nearly happened again, except that instead of going ahead of my body, my body actually kept up with my spirit. I was sweating more than usual, but I did not take off men even once today. Instead, I was lucky enough that I had several small breaks in between. Still, I was striking faster than shodans, nidans, and even Sensei all night. There were the occasional strikes when I lost the rhythm and they beat me, but overall, I was quicker and more accurate than usual. I was even very tired! I keep trying to figure out what I was doing that was so good to myself for health but I keep coming up blank. I’ll have to figure it out later.
I got up early this morning to be there when the doors opened. I’m part of the club putting on the tournament, so I have to be present. Many of our students were either here for their first or second tournament. I just told them to relax and know when and where they were fighting. The rest should fall into place. They took it to heart. When I was not fighting, I was at the second court (where I would spend all of my matches), being the timekeeper and occasional caller. Our unranked students gave a good show of effort in their mudansha brackets. They got eliminated, but they had a lot of fun.
When it was time for my bracket, I got lucky drawing an unranked person and a yan-kyu. I brought forth my best Kendo and won both of my matches 2-0. It’s not the first time I’ve ever advanced to the second round, but this is better than I’ve ever done. I went to the next match and it was single elimination against someone who was my equal in skill. The two of us chased each other around the court, striking and blocking furiously. Each of us was trying desperately to strike anything to break the stalemate. I’m not sure what his rank was, but he and I were equal today. When time expired, the shinpan gave a hantei. The result was 2-1 against me. Darn it. Still, I have no bad feelings about losing to someone clearly my equal. I think that if I had advanced one more time, I would have been in the semi-finals and qualified for a medal. Oh well.
After a good lunch, we came back to witness a demonstration of german longsword fighting. It reminded me of my days as a foil fencer. Coming back to the tournament, I helped to run our table for sandan and above. Our head Sensei was fighting in that bracket. He was his usual confident self, constantly getting an opponent to attack while he would parry and counter-attack. Then it was time for teams. Our team consisted of 2 unranked, a yan-kyu, myself, and Sensei who is sandan. We went up against a powerhouse team for 3 sandans, a yandan, and a godan. Needless to say, we lost. The results were 4-0 against us. That was the shortest match of my life. Still, I’m not upset, just amazed at how fast my opponent could move. After my match, my opponent came to compliment me. He said that I have all of the basics down well. I just need more practice. After the tournament finished, our A team took second place in the finals. Head Sensei even got the award for best spirit in sandan and above division. It was a good tournament.
After the tournament was over, I helped clean up and take down some of the preparations. I did get a break in to do some godo-geiko. I stood in the shortest line since everyone was in huge lines for high-ranking sensei. Suddenly, one of the sensei had an open line and no one was stepping in. after a couple of minutes of waiting, my line was not moving. So, I stepped into the open line. This was a ni-to sensei. I wanted to practice finding the openings on a ni-to player. It was easy to see the openings, but hard to hit them. Curving the shinai around a shinai to hit the kote or slide it between for men strike is harder than it looks. I did get a good men strike in on him. He complimented me on a good men.
After that match, I was out of breath from exerting myself so much. I went back to packing up supplies from the tournament. Next door we had the plethora of drinks. I took a large stack of green tea drinks with citrus flavors as a favor to Sensei. Otherwise, he would have to haul it back himself. I think I’ll drink them all one bottle per day for a long time.
Day 192:
Today Guest Sensei showed up again. This is his last time to practice before returning to Japan. We started off by performing a drill that was being done in the beginner class. We would form two lines and then separate into two groups. The first group would spread out to take space and then perform a certain drill. They would do five good men strikes, taking their time to line up and strike properly. Then the opposite side would attack. The second group would take the space and do the same drill. The first group would return to the space and then do a different drill. They would strike a single men and then strike a single doh. They would repeat this set four more times. Then the second group would take the space and do the drill. We did all of this without men or kote to be able to see perfectly to judge distance. We also did it because of how hot it was. The point of the drill was to semin well and practice good footwork.
At this point, we put on men and kote. We did several rounds of kiri-kaeshi. When I did kiri-kaeshi with Guest Sensei, we stopped me and told me to stop swinging so wildly. He showed me that my left fist was being tugged along with my right fist, making the shinai unwieldly. After I kept my right fist under control and kept my left fist steady, my strikes were more crisp.
We then did men strikes, including the men-kote-kote/men-doh-men drill. I was doing what Sensei told us to do. I was using a beat to open the way before starting the drill. Guest Sensei said that was a ‘habit’ of mine. He said it was excellent for shiai, but in class it was not necessary. So, I stopped doing it and focused on keeping a strong center. We did a few one-step kote drills and then there were several lectures about good from Guest Sensei, especially about itto-no-maai. We all enjoyed having him over to our dojo. Hopefully next year he can visit again.
Day 193:
Today was a very good day in the dojo for me. I was well-rested, hydrated, and eager.
We started off by doing several rounds of kiri-kaeshi. I used the technique that Guest Sensei suggested and it made my kiri-kaeshi look much better. I could go even faster than when I was trying to be flashy. Guest Sensei really knew what he was talking about. We also did several standard drills of one-step men, one-step kote, and a couple of rounds of one-step doh. Sensei had the high-ranking people on one side of the dojo giving retaliation occasionally during drills. They would use suriage and debana on us to try to beat us, so we had to line up and be faster.
Then we had a few rounds of keiko. Today I was really fast! Remember I was telling about seemingly jumping out of my body to become faster? It nearly happened again, except that instead of going ahead of my body, my body actually kept up with my spirit. I was sweating more than usual, but I did not take off men even once today. Instead, I was lucky enough that I had several small breaks in between. Still, I was striking faster than shodans, nidans, and even Sensei all night. There were the occasional strikes when I lost the rhythm and they beat me, but overall, I was quicker and more accurate than usual. I was even very tired! I keep trying to figure out what I was doing that was so good to myself for health but I keep coming up blank. I’ll have to figure it out later.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 190-191
Day 190:
My job was very taxing on the spirit and body today. I am going to rest and not go to class.
Day 191:
Today was a big surprise. It’s the last practice before our tournament this weekend. This is our time to cool down and work on form rather than work too hard so that we are exhausted. However, just as we were getting ready to start, one of our previous Guest Sensei showed up with his son for some Kendo. We were thrilled to have them both, especially since we didn’t know they were coming. Guest Sensei is a roku-dan and I think his son is either a ni-dan or san-dan.
We started off doing a lot of kiri-kaeshi. I guess Sensei wanted to show all of us off to Guest Sensei for his advice. Guest Sensei is a humble man, which means he did not just walk in and take over the class even though he could have done so. Instead, he asked permission to give advice from time to time. Guest Sensei really carries himself with a lot of class. After kiri-kaeshi, we did a few rounds of one-step men. Guest Sensei tried to teach us a technique where we would not bother to knock aside our opponent’s shinai. Instead, we hold center of chudan very hard and push forward, keeping our shinai low until the last moment. Then we quickly strike sashi-men. This is a lot harder than it sounds and we didn’t do a very good job. Still, we tried hard. After that we did a few rounds of kote-men. Guest Sensei was walking around, giving more advice to individual people. He watched me do kote-men and told me that when it came time for the men strike, to lift my arms higher and then flew my wrists. My finishing strike was too close and bouncing off the front of the men-gane. His advice worked.
We divided up into two groups, beginners and advanced. Each group rotated amongst themselves for a few rounds of keiko. I was in the beginner group. I did a few rounds of keiko, trying to pick up speed like in previous weeks of pushing myself to fly faster and faster. It didn’t quite work, although I remember how to do it. I really needed a rest after that. Guest Sensei and his son opened themselves up for keiko with anyone who wanted it. I got in line. First, it would be keiko with Sensei, then Guest Sensei’s son, then Guest Sensei. After keiko with Sensei, I waited patiently, but then time ran out and we bowed out. After rei-hou, we gathered around Guest Sensei for his advice. He remembered me and complimented me on my kiai. He said kiai is very important and can overcome an opponent’s muscles and even skill. He said my kiai was very good and to keep improving it. When I asked Guest Sensei’s son for his advice, he said the same thing. I had a good, strong kiai and keeping it up will help a lot.
My job was very taxing on the spirit and body today. I am going to rest and not go to class.
Day 191:
Today was a big surprise. It’s the last practice before our tournament this weekend. This is our time to cool down and work on form rather than work too hard so that we are exhausted. However, just as we were getting ready to start, one of our previous Guest Sensei showed up with his son for some Kendo. We were thrilled to have them both, especially since we didn’t know they were coming. Guest Sensei is a roku-dan and I think his son is either a ni-dan or san-dan.
We started off doing a lot of kiri-kaeshi. I guess Sensei wanted to show all of us off to Guest Sensei for his advice. Guest Sensei is a humble man, which means he did not just walk in and take over the class even though he could have done so. Instead, he asked permission to give advice from time to time. Guest Sensei really carries himself with a lot of class. After kiri-kaeshi, we did a few rounds of one-step men. Guest Sensei tried to teach us a technique where we would not bother to knock aside our opponent’s shinai. Instead, we hold center of chudan very hard and push forward, keeping our shinai low until the last moment. Then we quickly strike sashi-men. This is a lot harder than it sounds and we didn’t do a very good job. Still, we tried hard. After that we did a few rounds of kote-men. Guest Sensei was walking around, giving more advice to individual people. He watched me do kote-men and told me that when it came time for the men strike, to lift my arms higher and then flew my wrists. My finishing strike was too close and bouncing off the front of the men-gane. His advice worked.
We divided up into two groups, beginners and advanced. Each group rotated amongst themselves for a few rounds of keiko. I was in the beginner group. I did a few rounds of keiko, trying to pick up speed like in previous weeks of pushing myself to fly faster and faster. It didn’t quite work, although I remember how to do it. I really needed a rest after that. Guest Sensei and his son opened themselves up for keiko with anyone who wanted it. I got in line. First, it would be keiko with Sensei, then Guest Sensei’s son, then Guest Sensei. After keiko with Sensei, I waited patiently, but then time ran out and we bowed out. After rei-hou, we gathered around Guest Sensei for his advice. He remembered me and complimented me on my kiai. He said kiai is very important and can overcome an opponent’s muscles and even skill. He said my kiai was very good and to keep improving it. When I asked Guest Sensei’s son for his advice, he said the same thing. I had a good, strong kiai and keeping it up will help a lot.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 188-189
Day 188:
Today was more of a normal day of class. We’re getting ready for tournament, so we’re starting to work extra hard to get ready. We started off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. I am beginning to do my kiri-kaeshi much faster now. I must concentrate on being accurate now as to not become sloppy.
We then moved into instruction to one-step kote and one-step kote-men. This time, our partners were not going to just stand there. We would ‘negotiate’ for position and not move until we had maai. It was interesting to say the least.
Since there were so many of us, Sensei had to break up the class in halves. The first half did a round of keiko while the rest watched. Then the other half of class rotated in to do keiko.
Afterwards, Sensei divided up the class into teams again. Our team won its first round 4-1. We were on fire! Even the one who lost had a score of 2-1. I was flying on the floor. I won my match 2-1 also. I went up against a shodan and he struck men right away. I was upset that I might lose, so I pushed myself to move faster and angle off to the side as to not collide so often. It worked! I was striking men and kote a lot tonight. Our second round went much like the first, except that I faced off against someone closer to my rank. I lost 2-1 by a very close margin.
Sensei broke up the shiai and we lined up for waza again. We did some more kote-men drills and then we did the ever popular men-kote-kote/men-doh-men drill. That’s an interesting one to do. You really have to pay attention to what step you’re doing to avoid getting lost.
We went back into shiai again, rotating a couple of the players. I won my next match 2-0 by striking openings in the men. My opponent was a shodan who was shorter than me. He knew that I would be tempted into striking men. Normally, he would put up lots of men defense. However, he wanted to strike my kote. So in his judgment, he would balance his men defense and maai for kote so strike quickly. Still, I saw that little window of space that was not covered, so I waited until he was in the middle of shifting the weight on his feet and then POP! I did that twice. I forget what the team score was but it was close. My last match was against a nidan. I really wanted to see how fast I could go. I flew and flew more, as much as I could. I actually lived in the moment instead of thinking too much. I would fly past him, striking kote well, and then displaying good zanshin. The shinpan disagreed, though. I’m not going to argue with them, but I was disappointed. They were some of my best kote ever. My opponent was striking men a lot, and once made the tiniest of glancing blows to my men. The shinpan gave him the point. After the match, we both agreed on our way of scoring and congratulated each other. Never make the mistake of arguing with the shinpan. Our team lost the round 2-1, but we did not care. We did one round of kiri-kaeshi afterwards in celebration.
Day 189:
Today we worked extra hard. Sensei couldn’t make it, but he left instructions as to what to work on. We started off doing many, many rounds of kiri-kaeshi. This was to build up stamina. By the end of it, I was really out of breath, but I kept going. Sensei wanted us to work on one-step men into tsuba-zeriai. This is just as valid a strike as passing by our opponent for zanshin. You use this when your opponent won’t allow you to pass by. You use this to strike and then cut off your opponent’s ability to counterattack. We did that for several rounds until we broke into a few rounds of simple keiko.
Once that was done, I was totally out of breath, ready to fall over. I stepped out to rest and recover. I drank some water and stayed standing to avoid slipping into fatigue. Once I had recovered, it was time for informal shiai-geiko. I fought a match against someone slightly higher rank than myself. I was moving slower than I was last class, but still at a good pace. I tried to concentrate more on accurate strikes than speed. I got in a few good men hits, but I still lost 2-1. I had tried to use closing distance to take away points from my opponent to frustrate him. I underestimated my opponent and lost for it.
After my match, I volunteered to be a shinpan to practice. Being a shinpan is hard. You have to keep track of accuracy, location, and zanshin of both fighters at all times. You just have to vote the way you see it. After a few matches where I was shinpan, I had a second match. It went like the first match, only with a much higher-ranked opponent. I tried to do some kote strikes to compensate, but they didn’t land squarely. My opponent learned my patterns and timing and used them to his advantage. He won 2-0. I helped shinpan a few matches and then we did one keiko afterwards. My partner was my second opponent and he was constantly trying to give me openings to strike. This was his way to get me to take advantage and strike well.
Today was more of a normal day of class. We’re getting ready for tournament, so we’re starting to work extra hard to get ready. We started off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. I am beginning to do my kiri-kaeshi much faster now. I must concentrate on being accurate now as to not become sloppy.
We then moved into instruction to one-step kote and one-step kote-men. This time, our partners were not going to just stand there. We would ‘negotiate’ for position and not move until we had maai. It was interesting to say the least.
Since there were so many of us, Sensei had to break up the class in halves. The first half did a round of keiko while the rest watched. Then the other half of class rotated in to do keiko.
Afterwards, Sensei divided up the class into teams again. Our team won its first round 4-1. We were on fire! Even the one who lost had a score of 2-1. I was flying on the floor. I won my match 2-1 also. I went up against a shodan and he struck men right away. I was upset that I might lose, so I pushed myself to move faster and angle off to the side as to not collide so often. It worked! I was striking men and kote a lot tonight. Our second round went much like the first, except that I faced off against someone closer to my rank. I lost 2-1 by a very close margin.
Sensei broke up the shiai and we lined up for waza again. We did some more kote-men drills and then we did the ever popular men-kote-kote/men-doh-men drill. That’s an interesting one to do. You really have to pay attention to what step you’re doing to avoid getting lost.
We went back into shiai again, rotating a couple of the players. I won my next match 2-0 by striking openings in the men. My opponent was a shodan who was shorter than me. He knew that I would be tempted into striking men. Normally, he would put up lots of men defense. However, he wanted to strike my kote. So in his judgment, he would balance his men defense and maai for kote so strike quickly. Still, I saw that little window of space that was not covered, so I waited until he was in the middle of shifting the weight on his feet and then POP! I did that twice. I forget what the team score was but it was close. My last match was against a nidan. I really wanted to see how fast I could go. I flew and flew more, as much as I could. I actually lived in the moment instead of thinking too much. I would fly past him, striking kote well, and then displaying good zanshin. The shinpan disagreed, though. I’m not going to argue with them, but I was disappointed. They were some of my best kote ever. My opponent was striking men a lot, and once made the tiniest of glancing blows to my men. The shinpan gave him the point. After the match, we both agreed on our way of scoring and congratulated each other. Never make the mistake of arguing with the shinpan. Our team lost the round 2-1, but we did not care. We did one round of kiri-kaeshi afterwards in celebration.
Day 189:
Today we worked extra hard. Sensei couldn’t make it, but he left instructions as to what to work on. We started off doing many, many rounds of kiri-kaeshi. This was to build up stamina. By the end of it, I was really out of breath, but I kept going. Sensei wanted us to work on one-step men into tsuba-zeriai. This is just as valid a strike as passing by our opponent for zanshin. You use this when your opponent won’t allow you to pass by. You use this to strike and then cut off your opponent’s ability to counterattack. We did that for several rounds until we broke into a few rounds of simple keiko.
Once that was done, I was totally out of breath, ready to fall over. I stepped out to rest and recover. I drank some water and stayed standing to avoid slipping into fatigue. Once I had recovered, it was time for informal shiai-geiko. I fought a match against someone slightly higher rank than myself. I was moving slower than I was last class, but still at a good pace. I tried to concentrate more on accurate strikes than speed. I got in a few good men hits, but I still lost 2-1. I had tried to use closing distance to take away points from my opponent to frustrate him. I underestimated my opponent and lost for it.
After my match, I volunteered to be a shinpan to practice. Being a shinpan is hard. You have to keep track of accuracy, location, and zanshin of both fighters at all times. You just have to vote the way you see it. After a few matches where I was shinpan, I had a second match. It went like the first match, only with a much higher-ranked opponent. I tried to do some kote strikes to compensate, but they didn’t land squarely. My opponent learned my patterns and timing and used them to his advantage. He won 2-0. I helped shinpan a few matches and then we did one keiko afterwards. My partner was my second opponent and he was constantly trying to give me openings to strike. This was his way to get me to take advantage and strike well.
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