Day 220:
Another day of stretching my injury back into shape. It’s almost fully healed but it still bothers me if I raise my arms high enough. Today there were not so many advanced students, so I was drafted to help the beginners learn again. We started out with stretches and suburi. We did thirty of each of okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, katate-suburi, and haya-suburi. Afterwards, we put on men and began the drills.
The point of practice today was kiri-kaeshi. Most of the students did not understand how to do kiri-kaeshi. It was not that they did it awkwardly; they just did not know all the steps. I found myself spending a lot of time explaining how to do it. Eventually, I found that just counting out loud the four steps forward, and then the five steps backwards seemed to help the most. Then the drill switched to one-step men strike and then one-step kote. Finally, the instructor wanted to move back to kiri-kaeshi practice. The students seemed to do better this time.
At the end of practice, the instructors mentioned to the class that the purpose is to keep the students moving from line to line quickly and not to spend too much time talking to them. I can see what they are saying. They also said that if a student is not doing the drill properly, then they should be correcting them. It seems to make sense. They are higher-ranking than me, so they have a keener eye for errors. Still, it is hard not to give advice when the cause is so obvious. I’ll have to remember just to give a word or two of encouragement and be done at that.
Day 221:
Today was the day before a holiday so not many students overall were present. I was asked to warm up the beginner class. We started out with stretches and suburi. We did thirty of each of okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, katate-suburi, and haya-suburi. Afterwards, we put on men and began the drills.
We broke up into four lines and put on men. The main focus of today was more kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. The beginner students were getting better at kir-kaeshi. I hardly had to count out loud for them. They still need to polish, especially with starting distance. However, that will come with time.
We did a kind of toned-down drill I like to call ‘Kenshi in the Middle’. There were two of us surrounded by other students. Each of the outside students would take turns attacking on a specified drill, such as kote-debana-men. After one student completes the drill, the kenshi in the middle turns around to face the other student right away. It’s fun, but better when there are two long lines of many students. After class, I led us in ending rei-hou. My arm was feeling better, so I stayed for advanced class.
There were only four of us for advanced class, but two of the beginner students stayed as well. We started off with several rounds of kiri-kaeshi and then aiouchi-men with many repetitions. I found myself losing my breath very fast. I guess I might be out of shape from all the rest from my arm injury. I’ll have to start coming to just advanced class from now on to build up stamina.
A short rest and I put man back on to practice. More shomen-waza and harai-kote drills. The harai-kote drills seemed easier and smoother than other drills. Maybe I just have talent for it or maybe I just simply do harai-kote naturally more often than other waza.
I had to stop again because the tightness in my chest was coming back again along with the lack of breath. I had to miss out on keiko but that was fine. No sense harming myself over practice.
The instructor decided to spend some time doing kata. I love kata. The two beginner students did not have bokken, so one of the instructors loaned one of them a bokken. The other student had to use a shinai, but I volunteered to use a shinai to match them. We reviewed kata number two, which he did fairly well. We then moved on and I taught him the shidachi role for kata number one. We did not have the time for me to teach him the uchidachi role, but that will be for another time.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 218-219
Day 218:
My arm is mostly healed and I can move it without injury. It is still stiff, but it’s the kind of stiffness that can be worked out. Like my usual routine, I recover from injuries by going to beginner class. Sensei was glad to see me and asked me to lead the class in warm-ups. It’s been forever since I led the class, but I was not nervous. I just did what I was supposed to do and was glad for it. During the rei-hou for opening I made a mistake. I called out for ‘rei’ when I should have called out for ‘seiza’. I quickly corrected myself and Sensei made a comment that was familiar. He reminded people that in the future they would be taking turns to lead the class so they should be learning the rei-hou.
He separated the class into two lines and we began. I led the class in stretches. Even though I stretched before class, I did it again. I just made sure not to hurt myself. I made sure to call out the counting loudly, to show the class should also. They did not disappoint. Sensei asked that we do a lot of suburi. I decided that we would do three full counts of eight repetitions, with people taking turns counting out loud. We did okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, squat cuts, shomen-suburi again, haya-suburi, and breathing-suburi.
Afterwards, Sensei asked a few of us, including myself, to put on men and receive strike from students. I spent the rest of class receiving one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step kote-men. Each time a new student would present themselves, I would watch their waza and comment on how to improve. At the beginning of class, I was giving out a lot of changes, such as louder kiai and raising the shinai higher. Similar mistakes to what I made at their level. By the end of class, I was shouting more comments like ‘good’ and ‘do it again’, showing that they were improving. It was very heartening.
At the end of class, Sensei had a surprise. I sat next to him on the Dan side for the ending rei-hou. Normally,I would expect to be on the Kyu side, leading the closing rei-hou, but Sensei said that whoever opens the class sits next to him. I wonder if that’s an actual rule or if it was just a one-time reward.
Day 219:
Here I am at beginner class again. My arm is a little stiff and sore, but not a problem. Sensei didn’t show up today, but the senior students took right over to teach the class. We did a lot of stretches before suburi. The stretches where you cross your arm over your chest and behind the back hurt a little. I guess my arm isn’t quite recovered.
We did lots of suburi over and over with very little breaks in between. We did okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, kote-suburi, and doh-suburi. I was aware of those cuts but never did them before in warm-ups. Then we did a new one. It is like doh-suburi, but instead of stopping at the waist level, we finish the cut much lower, almost to the ankles. We also would not cut directly in front of us. We would cut right while turning left, then cut left while turning right. Since we were standing very close to each other, it was tricky not to bump into each other. We did squat cuts and then haya-suburi.
We put on men and then a few of us were drafted into receiving for the class. At first I was part of the receivers, but then the senior student decided to only need four receivers. I went over to the student side. We started off by doing one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step doh. The doh strikes made my arm hurt.
It seems I’m not as healed as I thought. It didn’t feel reinjured, so I think maybe it’ll be wise to stay with the beginner class until it doesn’t hurt anymore. We then did what we were leading up to. It was a combination drill of two times men, then two times kote, and then two times doh. It was fun, but the doh strikes would tug on my arm and make it feel not right.
My arm is mostly healed and I can move it without injury. It is still stiff, but it’s the kind of stiffness that can be worked out. Like my usual routine, I recover from injuries by going to beginner class. Sensei was glad to see me and asked me to lead the class in warm-ups. It’s been forever since I led the class, but I was not nervous. I just did what I was supposed to do and was glad for it. During the rei-hou for opening I made a mistake. I called out for ‘rei’ when I should have called out for ‘seiza’. I quickly corrected myself and Sensei made a comment that was familiar. He reminded people that in the future they would be taking turns to lead the class so they should be learning the rei-hou.
He separated the class into two lines and we began. I led the class in stretches. Even though I stretched before class, I did it again. I just made sure not to hurt myself. I made sure to call out the counting loudly, to show the class should also. They did not disappoint. Sensei asked that we do a lot of suburi. I decided that we would do three full counts of eight repetitions, with people taking turns counting out loud. We did okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, squat cuts, shomen-suburi again, haya-suburi, and breathing-suburi.
Afterwards, Sensei asked a few of us, including myself, to put on men and receive strike from students. I spent the rest of class receiving one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step kote-men. Each time a new student would present themselves, I would watch their waza and comment on how to improve. At the beginning of class, I was giving out a lot of changes, such as louder kiai and raising the shinai higher. Similar mistakes to what I made at their level. By the end of class, I was shouting more comments like ‘good’ and ‘do it again’, showing that they were improving. It was very heartening.
At the end of class, Sensei had a surprise. I sat next to him on the Dan side for the ending rei-hou. Normally,I would expect to be on the Kyu side, leading the closing rei-hou, but Sensei said that whoever opens the class sits next to him. I wonder if that’s an actual rule or if it was just a one-time reward.
Day 219:
Here I am at beginner class again. My arm is a little stiff and sore, but not a problem. Sensei didn’t show up today, but the senior students took right over to teach the class. We did a lot of stretches before suburi. The stretches where you cross your arm over your chest and behind the back hurt a little. I guess my arm isn’t quite recovered.
We did lots of suburi over and over with very little breaks in between. We did okii-suburi, shomen-suburi, kote-suburi, and doh-suburi. I was aware of those cuts but never did them before in warm-ups. Then we did a new one. It is like doh-suburi, but instead of stopping at the waist level, we finish the cut much lower, almost to the ankles. We also would not cut directly in front of us. We would cut right while turning left, then cut left while turning right. Since we were standing very close to each other, it was tricky not to bump into each other. We did squat cuts and then haya-suburi.
We put on men and then a few of us were drafted into receiving for the class. At first I was part of the receivers, but then the senior student decided to only need four receivers. I went over to the student side. We started off by doing one-step men, one-step kote, and one-step doh. The doh strikes made my arm hurt.
It seems I’m not as healed as I thought. It didn’t feel reinjured, so I think maybe it’ll be wise to stay with the beginner class until it doesn’t hurt anymore. We then did what we were leading up to. It was a combination drill of two times men, then two times kote, and then two times doh. It was fun, but the doh strikes would tug on my arm and make it feel not right.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 216-217
Day 216:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Day 217:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Day 217:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 214-215
Day 214:
At the end of the beginner class, Sensei put on a kind of haya-suburi contest to see groups of students compete to see who would finish first. Some of the students are coming along very nicely. In later groups, I filled in to finish a group of three. The final contest showed a senior student to be the winner. At the start of advanced class, we repeated the haya-suburi contest with advanced class. It was much faster and much closer a contest. Even Sensei participated. One of the nidans won. It was a lot of fun.
Today’s topic was all about pressuring your opponent. Every waza Sensei wanted us to pressure and force the opening. We did several drills of one-step men and one-step kote. Then we moved into men-kaeshi-doh. Each side took turns pressuring with men strike and the other side would do their best with kaeshi-doh. Kaeshi-doh is hard to do. You must block and then make enough space to step aside and move through. The striking makes it awkward, especially if your opponent is fast enough to close distance before you finish swinging.
We had another two mock shiais. In my first match I won 2-0 against a shodan, but in my second match I lost 2-0 against a nidan. It was very intense. Sensei asked me to keep score after each individual match and my team was constantly behind in points. We had a couple of keikos after shiai. My first keiko was against a jodan player. Without fear I stepped up and used different alternate kamae to get him to attack first. I would parry and strike men or kote. I did better striking men and an almost-good kaeshi-doh. I seem to like using the kamae where you make your shinai parallel to the jodan’s shinai. That one is easier to parry and open them up for men strike. The kamae where you cross shinais is good for kaeshi-doh.
My second keiko was intense. My opponent was trying to teach me and strike me at the same time. There was an exchange where I tried to strike doh while he struck men. We both missed, but in trying to pass by, he passed by my right side and his shinai hooked my shinai. We are both two of the faster chargers so my right arm got yanked a little too far backwards. Pain shot up my arm from the elbow to the shoulder. It was not the type of bending where the ‘inside surface’ was down, letting the elbow help. It was the opposite way where my arm seemed upside down and yank backwards so the elbow was twisted. It’s not bad, but it is sore. So, I stepped out of practice and let it rest. This feels like something that a couple of days of rest should fix.
Day 215:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
At the end of the beginner class, Sensei put on a kind of haya-suburi contest to see groups of students compete to see who would finish first. Some of the students are coming along very nicely. In later groups, I filled in to finish a group of three. The final contest showed a senior student to be the winner. At the start of advanced class, we repeated the haya-suburi contest with advanced class. It was much faster and much closer a contest. Even Sensei participated. One of the nidans won. It was a lot of fun.
Today’s topic was all about pressuring your opponent. Every waza Sensei wanted us to pressure and force the opening. We did several drills of one-step men and one-step kote. Then we moved into men-kaeshi-doh. Each side took turns pressuring with men strike and the other side would do their best with kaeshi-doh. Kaeshi-doh is hard to do. You must block and then make enough space to step aside and move through. The striking makes it awkward, especially if your opponent is fast enough to close distance before you finish swinging.
We had another two mock shiais. In my first match I won 2-0 against a shodan, but in my second match I lost 2-0 against a nidan. It was very intense. Sensei asked me to keep score after each individual match and my team was constantly behind in points. We had a couple of keikos after shiai. My first keiko was against a jodan player. Without fear I stepped up and used different alternate kamae to get him to attack first. I would parry and strike men or kote. I did better striking men and an almost-good kaeshi-doh. I seem to like using the kamae where you make your shinai parallel to the jodan’s shinai. That one is easier to parry and open them up for men strike. The kamae where you cross shinais is good for kaeshi-doh.
My second keiko was intense. My opponent was trying to teach me and strike me at the same time. There was an exchange where I tried to strike doh while he struck men. We both missed, but in trying to pass by, he passed by my right side and his shinai hooked my shinai. We are both two of the faster chargers so my right arm got yanked a little too far backwards. Pain shot up my arm from the elbow to the shoulder. It was not the type of bending where the ‘inside surface’ was down, letting the elbow help. It was the opposite way where my arm seemed upside down and yank backwards so the elbow was twisted. It’s not bad, but it is sore. So, I stepped out of practice and let it rest. This feels like something that a couple of days of rest should fix.
Day 215:
No practice since my arm is still injured.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 212-213
Day 212:
Well, I’m back from taking it easy because of the head impact. I feel better from it. Today was a day all about the finesse of strikes. We started off not by doing kiri-kaeshi but instead with one-step men. We practiced several techniques quickly, such as one-step men, kote-nuki-men, men-nuki-men, and a fun drill where we charge in for men, then our opponent blocks us with his body, and then we strike hiki-men going backwards. Always keep the mind flexible and you’ll keep your opponent harried.
We did some doh strikes, which were hard. We started off doing one-step doh and then branched into men-kaeshi-doh and doh-debana-men. Doh-debana-men seems impossible at first. However, the secret is to already decide that you’re going to do it and then move as soon as your opponent raises for men strike. Sensei taught us a secret. It makes everything easier if you do not step forward directly, but diagonally off to the right while swinging. This way you give yourself more room to connect with the doh when you strike.
Day 213:
No class today because I am working late at my job.
Well, I’m back from taking it easy because of the head impact. I feel better from it. Today was a day all about the finesse of strikes. We started off not by doing kiri-kaeshi but instead with one-step men. We practiced several techniques quickly, such as one-step men, kote-nuki-men, men-nuki-men, and a fun drill where we charge in for men, then our opponent blocks us with his body, and then we strike hiki-men going backwards. Always keep the mind flexible and you’ll keep your opponent harried.
We did some doh strikes, which were hard. We started off doing one-step doh and then branched into men-kaeshi-doh and doh-debana-men. Doh-debana-men seems impossible at first. However, the secret is to already decide that you’re going to do it and then move as soon as your opponent raises for men strike. Sensei taught us a secret. It makes everything easier if you do not step forward directly, but diagonally off to the right while swinging. This way you give yourself more room to connect with the doh when you strike.
Day 213:
No class today because I am working late at my job.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 210-211
Day 210:
The broken callous on my left foot is old enough and dry enough that I was able to tear most of it off. It’s a little sensitive now, but I’ve been keeping it under a bandage and ointment. It’s okay now, just a little sensitive. I should get back to Kendo but not work it too hard. As long as I keep it clean, there should be no problems.
We had a new person wear their bogu for the first time today. I stepped out of line to help him put on his men for the first time. I showed him about how the himo on top of the men need to be flat and close to each other. I stepped back into line and quickly did a short rei-hou and put on men and kote. When he tied them up, it looked okay, but soon into practice it was obvious that he needed to tie it tighter. He stepped out and got some more help from one of our club officers.
For class, we started off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi. It seems that I’m finding that limit to hold much I can recover breath. I wonder if it will ever increase. We did some more one-step men, concentrating on getting each one perfect. Sensei wanted us to pay attention to our footwork and posture. Some of us (e.g. myself), were leaning forward too much when moving forward. This leaves the men wide open for counter-attack. Sometimes we would receive openly, sometimes we would respond with oji-waza.
We would also practice one-step kote and one-step doh to keep our minds moving. We did a drill where we would learn the other’s timing with a men vs doh drill.
We also did a more obscure drill called kiri-kae-doh. The attacker would strike doh left, right, left, right, etc… while going forwards across the room. The receiver would strike shomen over and over in time with the doh. When you both reach one side of the room, you stop and then continue going the other way. It was a fun drill, although the one moving forward needs to warn their partner of the closeness of the wall to avoid bumping into it.
We did a couple of long keikos which robbed me of breath. My final keiko was against a nidan. I was trying to bait and provoke him, but he wasn’t falling for it. As a result, I could charge and strike with little resistance. However, once I baited him incorrectly, leaving too wide of an opening. He merely stepped half a step forward, pressuring me. I stepped back to regain maai, but he charged and swung for sayu-men. Too much sayu, not enough men. THWACK! Right to the right side of my skull. I wasn’t injured, but it was a shock. I had to take a moment to recover. I pressed on to finish the keiko and then stepped out. Good thing I bought one of those thin leather inserts for the men to protect me from too-hard strikes. I figure it absorbed half the strike. I was good enough to drive home, so I didn’t need to leave early and miss out on rei-hou.
Day 211:
My head still does not feel quite right. I feel a little ‘off’ if you understand. So, I’m going to just go to beginner class and exercise to keep in shape. If I start feeling dizzy, I’ll stop. We started by doing a series of stretches. These stretches are way different than the ones I’m used to when I was habitually in beginner class. Have I been out so long that they evolved without me? Possibly. During suburi, Sensei’s been adamant about showing how powerful people were. He had them doing 100 haya-suburi with no breaks! I could keep up, but the newcomers were not that far behind me. I guess I have proof that my endurance has been increasing all this time if I can just jump into 100 haya suburi without needing to stop. It’s a long ways away from the days when 30 haya-suburi would make my heart hurt.
While some others were putting on men and kote, Sensei had a group of us watching the beginners as they demonstrated their footwork walking across the floor and swinging for shomen. Most of the students were doing well for their rank. I only needed to correct a few students about turning their back foot out to the side or bringing their back foot too far forward when they walk. Nothing major, but I did tell them about it. I also made sure to give them encouragement that they were doing well, which they were. We did this for the duration of class and then bowed out.
At the end, Sensei arranged for newer students in bogu to receive men strikes from the entire class to get them used to it. I scored a few very good men and screamed my kiai to show the unranked students what a kiai is supposed to sound like. I hope my head heals soon. I want to get back to advanced class, but not too soon.
The broken callous on my left foot is old enough and dry enough that I was able to tear most of it off. It’s a little sensitive now, but I’ve been keeping it under a bandage and ointment. It’s okay now, just a little sensitive. I should get back to Kendo but not work it too hard. As long as I keep it clean, there should be no problems.
We had a new person wear their bogu for the first time today. I stepped out of line to help him put on his men for the first time. I showed him about how the himo on top of the men need to be flat and close to each other. I stepped back into line and quickly did a short rei-hou and put on men and kote. When he tied them up, it looked okay, but soon into practice it was obvious that he needed to tie it tighter. He stepped out and got some more help from one of our club officers.
For class, we started off with a few rounds of kiri-kaeshi. It seems that I’m finding that limit to hold much I can recover breath. I wonder if it will ever increase. We did some more one-step men, concentrating on getting each one perfect. Sensei wanted us to pay attention to our footwork and posture. Some of us (e.g. myself), were leaning forward too much when moving forward. This leaves the men wide open for counter-attack. Sometimes we would receive openly, sometimes we would respond with oji-waza.
We would also practice one-step kote and one-step doh to keep our minds moving. We did a drill where we would learn the other’s timing with a men vs doh drill.
We also did a more obscure drill called kiri-kae-doh. The attacker would strike doh left, right, left, right, etc… while going forwards across the room. The receiver would strike shomen over and over in time with the doh. When you both reach one side of the room, you stop and then continue going the other way. It was a fun drill, although the one moving forward needs to warn their partner of the closeness of the wall to avoid bumping into it.
We did a couple of long keikos which robbed me of breath. My final keiko was against a nidan. I was trying to bait and provoke him, but he wasn’t falling for it. As a result, I could charge and strike with little resistance. However, once I baited him incorrectly, leaving too wide of an opening. He merely stepped half a step forward, pressuring me. I stepped back to regain maai, but he charged and swung for sayu-men. Too much sayu, not enough men. THWACK! Right to the right side of my skull. I wasn’t injured, but it was a shock. I had to take a moment to recover. I pressed on to finish the keiko and then stepped out. Good thing I bought one of those thin leather inserts for the men to protect me from too-hard strikes. I figure it absorbed half the strike. I was good enough to drive home, so I didn’t need to leave early and miss out on rei-hou.
Day 211:
My head still does not feel quite right. I feel a little ‘off’ if you understand. So, I’m going to just go to beginner class and exercise to keep in shape. If I start feeling dizzy, I’ll stop. We started by doing a series of stretches. These stretches are way different than the ones I’m used to when I was habitually in beginner class. Have I been out so long that they evolved without me? Possibly. During suburi, Sensei’s been adamant about showing how powerful people were. He had them doing 100 haya-suburi with no breaks! I could keep up, but the newcomers were not that far behind me. I guess I have proof that my endurance has been increasing all this time if I can just jump into 100 haya suburi without needing to stop. It’s a long ways away from the days when 30 haya-suburi would make my heart hurt.
While some others were putting on men and kote, Sensei had a group of us watching the beginners as they demonstrated their footwork walking across the floor and swinging for shomen. Most of the students were doing well for their rank. I only needed to correct a few students about turning their back foot out to the side or bringing their back foot too far forward when they walk. Nothing major, but I did tell them about it. I also made sure to give them encouragement that they were doing well, which they were. We did this for the duration of class and then bowed out.
At the end, Sensei arranged for newer students in bogu to receive men strikes from the entire class to get them used to it. I scored a few very good men and screamed my kiai to show the unranked students what a kiai is supposed to sound like. I hope my head heals soon. I want to get back to advanced class, but not too soon.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 208-209
Day 208:
Today I come back to class from being sick. I want to pace myself so I don’t overburden my body, but I do need to get back into the routine. I did my kiri-kaeshi slowly and deliberately to save energy. My partners would always speed up the pace to get me moving again on the backwards direction.
We did a series of drills where there would be a total of four exchanges. Each side would attempt a single attack, either men or kote. There was a beginner student there. Whenever we would practice with him, he would always be the attacker. We would use oji-waza in the drill to our advantage if we could. Kote-suriage-men and men-suriage-men were most commonly used. We did a couple of keikos to mix it up. I had a lot of energy, so I used it to charge quickly past my opponent. I got a powerful hit to my right index knuckle. That really hurt. After the keiko, I looked at it and there was an instant bruise. I continued for a second keiko and that one went much better. I stopped for a rest and some water.
I had another keiko against a ni-to fighter. That was the guy who passed his nidan when the judges forgot that he could not sonkyo. He was not experienced with ni-to so he was slower than other ni-to players. I enjoyed lining up the off-side kote and sneaking in a men strike up the center. I did a keiko against someone practicing jodan-no-kamae. I used everything I could think of. I used alternate kamae on the right to block his sword and strike doh. I used alternate kamae on the left to perform suriage and open up his men. I charged forward first to strike debana-kote. I seemed to be successful about half of the time. My adrenaline was racing. Then he struck my right thumb knuckle hard. I tried to keep going for a couple more strikes, but I had to raise my hand and call a stop. When I stepped off again for water and rest, I noticed my right thumb was instantly bruised also. Sheesh, what a night. Maybe I should stop before I break something.
However, after resting and chatting with Sensei for a minute or two, he returned my CD. I put it in my bag and saw the beginner practicing a suriage waza drill. I decided that it was okay to help him and put men back on. I rotated in and helped him learn suriage. He was doing it wrong by dragging my sword along back into line. I showed him from both sides how it looks when it’s done right. We then did endless suriage while the others would push themselves with their combination drills and keikos.
Day 209:
I’m still working my way back into health so I started off my kiri-kaeshi slowly and deliberately. However, I did get excited enough to speed it up by the end. We did one-step men and nuki-men drills to warm up, including a round of Sensei’s new favorite. It’s a total of 4 exchanges between partners where each is trying to win by striking the other and not letting the other strike back. I went up against a nidan and lost 2-1-1, which is not bad.
Today’s focus was on jodan-no-kamae. Sensei wanted us to practice using it and defeating it. We would pay attention to using the right thumb to launch the attack and bringing the right kote to the doh to counter-balance the movement. It’s harder to do than it looks, but jodan-no-kamae can be useful to cover distance and surprise your opponent. Defeating jodan-no-kamae can be daunting but if you have a calm mind, you can see all of the targets available: kote, off-kote, doh, and tsuki. It can be hard to step out of the way and remember to pass through went fighting against jodan-no-kamae. You have a natural urge to stop in your tracks to verify the strike.
Afterwards, I got a lot of one-on-one instruction from a nidan and from Sensei about sharpening my chudan-no-kamae stance. They were tweaking the position of my hands so it would be more perfect. They revealed to me that I was twisting my left hand’s grip on the tsuka when I get tired. They were beginning to groom me for shodan now.
There was also a discussion about how long should I wait before I test for shodan. I distinctly remember Sensei telling me on the trip back from the tournament and testing for ikkyu that he felt it was six months. Today he said 1 year. I don’t mind either one being the answer, but the two contradictory answers confuse me. After lots of discussion from everybody there was no clear answer. They said to enjoy being an ikkyu while I can as long as I can and not to rush it.
Finally, after class I got the ice cream I earned weeks ago by striking Sensei when he had his men off. I plan to eat it this weekend when I don’t have to be at work.
Today I come back to class from being sick. I want to pace myself so I don’t overburden my body, but I do need to get back into the routine. I did my kiri-kaeshi slowly and deliberately to save energy. My partners would always speed up the pace to get me moving again on the backwards direction.
We did a series of drills where there would be a total of four exchanges. Each side would attempt a single attack, either men or kote. There was a beginner student there. Whenever we would practice with him, he would always be the attacker. We would use oji-waza in the drill to our advantage if we could. Kote-suriage-men and men-suriage-men were most commonly used. We did a couple of keikos to mix it up. I had a lot of energy, so I used it to charge quickly past my opponent. I got a powerful hit to my right index knuckle. That really hurt. After the keiko, I looked at it and there was an instant bruise. I continued for a second keiko and that one went much better. I stopped for a rest and some water.
I had another keiko against a ni-to fighter. That was the guy who passed his nidan when the judges forgot that he could not sonkyo. He was not experienced with ni-to so he was slower than other ni-to players. I enjoyed lining up the off-side kote and sneaking in a men strike up the center. I did a keiko against someone practicing jodan-no-kamae. I used everything I could think of. I used alternate kamae on the right to block his sword and strike doh. I used alternate kamae on the left to perform suriage and open up his men. I charged forward first to strike debana-kote. I seemed to be successful about half of the time. My adrenaline was racing. Then he struck my right thumb knuckle hard. I tried to keep going for a couple more strikes, but I had to raise my hand and call a stop. When I stepped off again for water and rest, I noticed my right thumb was instantly bruised also. Sheesh, what a night. Maybe I should stop before I break something.
However, after resting and chatting with Sensei for a minute or two, he returned my CD. I put it in my bag and saw the beginner practicing a suriage waza drill. I decided that it was okay to help him and put men back on. I rotated in and helped him learn suriage. He was doing it wrong by dragging my sword along back into line. I showed him from both sides how it looks when it’s done right. We then did endless suriage while the others would push themselves with their combination drills and keikos.
Day 209:
I’m still working my way back into health so I started off my kiri-kaeshi slowly and deliberately. However, I did get excited enough to speed it up by the end. We did one-step men and nuki-men drills to warm up, including a round of Sensei’s new favorite. It’s a total of 4 exchanges between partners where each is trying to win by striking the other and not letting the other strike back. I went up against a nidan and lost 2-1-1, which is not bad.
Today’s focus was on jodan-no-kamae. Sensei wanted us to practice using it and defeating it. We would pay attention to using the right thumb to launch the attack and bringing the right kote to the doh to counter-balance the movement. It’s harder to do than it looks, but jodan-no-kamae can be useful to cover distance and surprise your opponent. Defeating jodan-no-kamae can be daunting but if you have a calm mind, you can see all of the targets available: kote, off-kote, doh, and tsuki. It can be hard to step out of the way and remember to pass through went fighting against jodan-no-kamae. You have a natural urge to stop in your tracks to verify the strike.
Afterwards, I got a lot of one-on-one instruction from a nidan and from Sensei about sharpening my chudan-no-kamae stance. They were tweaking the position of my hands so it would be more perfect. They revealed to me that I was twisting my left hand’s grip on the tsuka when I get tired. They were beginning to groom me for shodan now.
There was also a discussion about how long should I wait before I test for shodan. I distinctly remember Sensei telling me on the trip back from the tournament and testing for ikkyu that he felt it was six months. Today he said 1 year. I don’t mind either one being the answer, but the two contradictory answers confuse me. After lots of discussion from everybody there was no clear answer. They said to enjoy being an ikkyu while I can as long as I can and not to rush it.
Finally, after class I got the ice cream I earned weeks ago by striking Sensei when he had his men off. I plan to eat it this weekend when I don’t have to be at work.
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