Day 238:
In Iaido, we opened by performing our known kata over and over until Sensei was ready to instruct. I did my 1-2-6-12 like normal. I’m getting better and remembering the chiburi steps without forgetting. I think I may have made a mistake in tying my obi because putting the saya in the loop and tying the sageo was awkward today. I’ll have to think about that. Sensei gave a lecture on the sixth kata. He made sure to tell us about the finer points, like the second step forward has your left hand pulling up on the saya and twisting to help the draw. You are also supposed to pull back the saya instead of pulling the sword forward. This allows you to have power when cutting your opponent. We practiced the draw by doing the kata over and over using emphasis. By the end of class, we were using small kiais each time we did a cut.
In Kendo, we spent the entire class in two lines like advanced class. We did men strikes, kote strikes, and kiri-kaeshi over and over. Good workout. The beginners would block with their shinais while we would strike them slowly and gently.
Day 239:
Class was cancelled due to severe weather.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A Beginner's Point of View 236-237
Day 236:
In Iaido, I did the same routine over and over to hone my technique. First I did rei-hou to bow in, then I would perform 1-2-12 in that order over and over. Sensei commented on how my arm in the first kata was too high. I seem to keep cutting at my own eye height rather than an imaginary opponent’s eye height if they were in seiza. Sensei knelt in seiza in front of me to give me a target. I need to practice that. He promised to teach me a new kata, but he didn’t get to it today. I told him he owes me a new kata next class and he just smiled and agreed.
In Kendo, we were spinning the lessons of fumi-komi and men strike together. We would practice kiai all the way down the floor, then men strike all the way down the floor, then fumi-komi all the way down the floor. We added in a few drills to have two partners cross the saki and hold the shinais like that all the way down the floor. I helped receive men strikes for a short time while others were putting on their men and kote. I didn’t bring my men since my kote were in the shop for repair. I could have brought it, but I wanted to practice with the students this time. The end of class was practicing a half-round of kiri-kaeshi using very slow strikes and being perfect with each one.
Day 237:
In Iaido, I started off same as usual. Bow in, 1-2-12, bow out. However, Sensei taught me a new kata. It is the sixth kata, using tsuki. You start off standing with both hands on the hakama. You step forward with the right foot, then the left foot and put your hands on the sword. Then you step forward with the right foot and draw, threatening the chin of your opponent. You bring the left foot up into chudan while moving the left hand up to the sword. Then you step forward to attack tsuki. You use the special turning around step where you move around the sword. You attack vertically behind you, and then do it again to face front. You perform small chiburi to the right side and then noto. There’s a lot of steps involved, but it looks impressive when you do it. We had another competition for students going to test at the seminar. I timed the first group, and participated in the second group. The others had a random combination but I did 1-2-6-12-6 for mine. My first time was 5:53, which is good. We squeezed a last set in before the end of class and my time was 6:03, which I believe is not good. I had several seconds where I just could not get my saya into the obi. I think that was what made my time bad.
In Kendo, we did a new drill where we kiai all the way down, then all the way back. Also, we did all the way down, all the way back going backwards, and then all the way down. That was a new one. We added men strike to the drill to make it interesting. Then the instructor asked us to put men on and receive. I received men strike and half-round of kiri-kaeshi from the unranked students. Then the advanced students paired up to do kiri-kaeshi, men strike, and then a very short ji-geiko.
In Iaido, I did the same routine over and over to hone my technique. First I did rei-hou to bow in, then I would perform 1-2-12 in that order over and over. Sensei commented on how my arm in the first kata was too high. I seem to keep cutting at my own eye height rather than an imaginary opponent’s eye height if they were in seiza. Sensei knelt in seiza in front of me to give me a target. I need to practice that. He promised to teach me a new kata, but he didn’t get to it today. I told him he owes me a new kata next class and he just smiled and agreed.
In Kendo, we were spinning the lessons of fumi-komi and men strike together. We would practice kiai all the way down the floor, then men strike all the way down the floor, then fumi-komi all the way down the floor. We added in a few drills to have two partners cross the saki and hold the shinais like that all the way down the floor. I helped receive men strikes for a short time while others were putting on their men and kote. I didn’t bring my men since my kote were in the shop for repair. I could have brought it, but I wanted to practice with the students this time. The end of class was practicing a half-round of kiri-kaeshi using very slow strikes and being perfect with each one.
Day 237:
In Iaido, I started off same as usual. Bow in, 1-2-12, bow out. However, Sensei taught me a new kata. It is the sixth kata, using tsuki. You start off standing with both hands on the hakama. You step forward with the right foot, then the left foot and put your hands on the sword. Then you step forward with the right foot and draw, threatening the chin of your opponent. You bring the left foot up into chudan while moving the left hand up to the sword. Then you step forward to attack tsuki. You use the special turning around step where you move around the sword. You attack vertically behind you, and then do it again to face front. You perform small chiburi to the right side and then noto. There’s a lot of steps involved, but it looks impressive when you do it. We had another competition for students going to test at the seminar. I timed the first group, and participated in the second group. The others had a random combination but I did 1-2-6-12-6 for mine. My first time was 5:53, which is good. We squeezed a last set in before the end of class and my time was 6:03, which I believe is not good. I had several seconds where I just could not get my saya into the obi. I think that was what made my time bad.
In Kendo, we did a new drill where we kiai all the way down, then all the way back. Also, we did all the way down, all the way back going backwards, and then all the way down. That was a new one. We added men strike to the drill to make it interesting. Then the instructor asked us to put men on and receive. I received men strike and half-round of kiri-kaeshi from the unranked students. Then the advanced students paired up to do kiri-kaeshi, men strike, and then a very short ji-geiko.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Beginner's Point of View 234-235
Day 234:
Today in Iaido, Sensei was preparing the others for a trip to a seminar and promotional testing. We did the full set of bowing in, kata, and bowing out over and over. My classmate did the first five kata, while I just did the first and twelfth. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done the twelfth so I should review my notes. Another student who is shodan got to pick her kata from the whole set of twelve that she knew. At the end of class, Sensei timed my classmates on their whole performance. He even set up chairs and designated a line to adhere to. It was interesting to see.
In Kendo, the drills on fumi-komi and men strike continued. It seems as if Sensei is rotating nidans to get them to practice teaching students. I wonder if that is part of becoming a “sensei”. The end of class was interesting. We lined up in two lines facing each other across the dojo floor. One side would hold up their shinais to block men while the other side would strike men with fumi-komi. It seems as if I don’t have a lot of time for advanced class anymore since my job is so early, so advanced class seems to be for special occasions. I guess I’ll save them up for preparation for promotional testing and just lose sleep then.
Day 235:
In Iaido, Sensei was getting ready to take the others to a seminar for testing. We went through a practice exam. You stand at the ready with your sword out of your belt but held up to it. You wait for the judges to say “meijo” and then you approach. You stop at the line, ready to go and wait. Once the judges say “hajime”, then you begin by bowing to shomen and then bowing to the sword. You perform your routine of kata as previously decided and then finish by bowing to the sword and then to the shomen. You put the sword to your belt but not in and hold still. Once the judges say “eijo”, you do the special walk away. I learned a new kata, which is the second one to increase my routine. The second kata is like the first one, only reverse. You start off by facing the shomen, then turning away and moving to seiza. When you are ready, you grip the saya and tsuka like usual, bringing your toes up. Then you move your left big toe behind the right big toe. Using the left big toe as a pivot, you spin around to face the shomen, then draw and cut horizontally. You then bring your right leg up and cut vertically while bringing your left foot forward. Your legs are reversed in position from the first kata. Then you perform chiburi with reversed legs. My combination to do for the practice test was 1-2-12-1-12. Apparently, six minutes is the ideal time to try for, so you must get as close to six minutes without going too long. My time was five minutes and thirty seconds. Not bad.
In Kendo, we continued with men strike with fumi-komi. Most of us put on men to give and receive strikes. My schedule is becoming unfriendly to Kendo now. I usually skip advanced practice because it’s too late in the evening. By the time I would get home, my adrenaline would keep me awake until an hour after midnight. My alarm sounds only a few hours later for my job, so I need my sleep. The time that I normally spent napping before Kendo is now spent in Iaido. Well, I’ll just have to save it for special occasions like holidays or preparation for promotional, especially Kendo kata.
Today in Iaido, Sensei was preparing the others for a trip to a seminar and promotional testing. We did the full set of bowing in, kata, and bowing out over and over. My classmate did the first five kata, while I just did the first and twelfth. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done the twelfth so I should review my notes. Another student who is shodan got to pick her kata from the whole set of twelve that she knew. At the end of class, Sensei timed my classmates on their whole performance. He even set up chairs and designated a line to adhere to. It was interesting to see.
In Kendo, the drills on fumi-komi and men strike continued. It seems as if Sensei is rotating nidans to get them to practice teaching students. I wonder if that is part of becoming a “sensei”. The end of class was interesting. We lined up in two lines facing each other across the dojo floor. One side would hold up their shinais to block men while the other side would strike men with fumi-komi. It seems as if I don’t have a lot of time for advanced class anymore since my job is so early, so advanced class seems to be for special occasions. I guess I’ll save them up for preparation for promotional testing and just lose sleep then.
Day 235:
In Iaido, Sensei was getting ready to take the others to a seminar for testing. We went through a practice exam. You stand at the ready with your sword out of your belt but held up to it. You wait for the judges to say “meijo” and then you approach. You stop at the line, ready to go and wait. Once the judges say “hajime”, then you begin by bowing to shomen and then bowing to the sword. You perform your routine of kata as previously decided and then finish by bowing to the sword and then to the shomen. You put the sword to your belt but not in and hold still. Once the judges say “eijo”, you do the special walk away. I learned a new kata, which is the second one to increase my routine. The second kata is like the first one, only reverse. You start off by facing the shomen, then turning away and moving to seiza. When you are ready, you grip the saya and tsuka like usual, bringing your toes up. Then you move your left big toe behind the right big toe. Using the left big toe as a pivot, you spin around to face the shomen, then draw and cut horizontally. You then bring your right leg up and cut vertically while bringing your left foot forward. Your legs are reversed in position from the first kata. Then you perform chiburi with reversed legs. My combination to do for the practice test was 1-2-12-1-12. Apparently, six minutes is the ideal time to try for, so you must get as close to six minutes without going too long. My time was five minutes and thirty seconds. Not bad.
In Kendo, we continued with men strike with fumi-komi. Most of us put on men to give and receive strikes. My schedule is becoming unfriendly to Kendo now. I usually skip advanced practice because it’s too late in the evening. By the time I would get home, my adrenaline would keep me awake until an hour after midnight. My alarm sounds only a few hours later for my job, so I need my sleep. The time that I normally spent napping before Kendo is now spent in Iaido. Well, I’ll just have to save it for special occasions like holidays or preparation for promotional, especially Kendo kata.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
A Beginner's Point of View 232-233
Day 232:
In Iaido, Sensei was getting a couple of students ready for a seminar up north. In class, we concentrated on rei-hou mostly. Sensei would show us how to bow in and out properly. We would follow along as best as we could. I obviously needed a lot of practice. I would bow in, perform the first kata, then bow out. I had to remember to seiza the right way and all of the sageo steps in my checklist. I think it’s time to smooth over the checklist to a more refined form. I did the whole routine twice by the end of class. I’m getting smoother, but I still only know the first kata (and twelfth, but that’s for later).
In Kendo, there were a lot of people present. We had to have three lines for warm-ups and suburi. Then we all put on men and did one-step men and one-step doh drills. I would take turns receiving men and doh as well as giving men and doh.
Day 233:
In Iaido, Sensei was getting some of us ready to go to a seminar and promotional exam. We would do the bow-in, kata, and bow out. I only knew the first kata, so I did that one. I did all right bowing in and out, although I’m still feeling out the line. I should be closer but I don’t want to have my knees on the line just yet. For the first kata, doing the sword movements was easy, but I seem to forget to switch forward feet exactly half of the time. It seems that every other time I try to noto with the right foot forward and left foot back. Also tonight the saya did not seem to swing to the back for sayabiki like it should. I’ll have to ask Sensei some questions about the tightness of the obi and placement of the saya. On top of that, every third time I did the first kata I would forget to bring my knee down to the floor in the second half of the noto. It’s not hard to do, it’s just that doing the kata in stages like Sensei teaches ingrains patterns which are hard to break.
In Kendo, Head Sensei showed up today. After warm-ups, he taught the class like everybody was going to test for promotion soon. The spring tournament is coming in a couple of months, so I should expect this. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step doh. As I went through the lines, one of the instructors asked me to take his place. So, I received for a large portion of the class. Once, Head Sensei told me that when receiving for a shorter student that I should lean my head forward a little to let them strike the top. It gave me a slight headache to do so, but not bad.
In Advanced Kendo, Head Sensei continued to drill everyone as if they were going to test. Lots more of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. Many, many drills of that. Eventually, I had to step out and rest. I just couldn’t get my breath back. After a while, I got back into it. Head Sensei was setting up impromptu matches and saying that they were the promotional keiko matches. The nidans were competing for the sandan victory. The mudansha were competing for the ikkyu victory. I stepped onto the floor at the end of it, so I didn’t get a match. Head Sensei wanted everyone to do kakari-geiko with enthusiasm. In our dojo, the phrase ‘with enthusiasm’ means ‘scream like a maniac’, so people love to do it. When we did kakari-geiko, the nidans received and would make opening like we’ve been drilling for weeks. Kakari-geiko with Head Sensei was very taxing, but I hung in there. To finish class, we did long keiko with partners. I had a short one with Head Sensei and then two longer ones with other students. I left openings for a lower-ranking student and pushed myself to win against a higher-ranking student.
In Iaido, Sensei was getting a couple of students ready for a seminar up north. In class, we concentrated on rei-hou mostly. Sensei would show us how to bow in and out properly. We would follow along as best as we could. I obviously needed a lot of practice. I would bow in, perform the first kata, then bow out. I had to remember to seiza the right way and all of the sageo steps in my checklist. I think it’s time to smooth over the checklist to a more refined form. I did the whole routine twice by the end of class. I’m getting smoother, but I still only know the first kata (and twelfth, but that’s for later).
In Kendo, there were a lot of people present. We had to have three lines for warm-ups and suburi. Then we all put on men and did one-step men and one-step doh drills. I would take turns receiving men and doh as well as giving men and doh.
Day 233:
In Iaido, Sensei was getting some of us ready to go to a seminar and promotional exam. We would do the bow-in, kata, and bow out. I only knew the first kata, so I did that one. I did all right bowing in and out, although I’m still feeling out the line. I should be closer but I don’t want to have my knees on the line just yet. For the first kata, doing the sword movements was easy, but I seem to forget to switch forward feet exactly half of the time. It seems that every other time I try to noto with the right foot forward and left foot back. Also tonight the saya did not seem to swing to the back for sayabiki like it should. I’ll have to ask Sensei some questions about the tightness of the obi and placement of the saya. On top of that, every third time I did the first kata I would forget to bring my knee down to the floor in the second half of the noto. It’s not hard to do, it’s just that doing the kata in stages like Sensei teaches ingrains patterns which are hard to break.
In Kendo, Head Sensei showed up today. After warm-ups, he taught the class like everybody was going to test for promotion soon. The spring tournament is coming in a couple of months, so I should expect this. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step doh. As I went through the lines, one of the instructors asked me to take his place. So, I received for a large portion of the class. Once, Head Sensei told me that when receiving for a shorter student that I should lean my head forward a little to let them strike the top. It gave me a slight headache to do so, but not bad.
In Advanced Kendo, Head Sensei continued to drill everyone as if they were going to test. Lots more of kiri-kaeshi and one-step men. Many, many drills of that. Eventually, I had to step out and rest. I just couldn’t get my breath back. After a while, I got back into it. Head Sensei was setting up impromptu matches and saying that they were the promotional keiko matches. The nidans were competing for the sandan victory. The mudansha were competing for the ikkyu victory. I stepped onto the floor at the end of it, so I didn’t get a match. Head Sensei wanted everyone to do kakari-geiko with enthusiasm. In our dojo, the phrase ‘with enthusiasm’ means ‘scream like a maniac’, so people love to do it. When we did kakari-geiko, the nidans received and would make opening like we’ve been drilling for weeks. Kakari-geiko with Head Sensei was very taxing, but I hung in there. To finish class, we did long keiko with partners. I had a short one with Head Sensei and then two longer ones with other students. I left openings for a lower-ranking student and pushed myself to win against a higher-ranking student.
Friday, December 31, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 230-231
Day 230:
Sensei didn’t show up today. I guess he got delayed at work. So, the class was the three of us Iaido students just practicing what we wish to practice. I’ve been studying my checklist of opening and closing rei steps and I think I’ve mostly got it down. All that’s left is the little touches to smooth it out, like the smoothing of the sageo at various points. By practice, it seems that sliding the saya in the ‘outer loop’ of the obi makes things easier than close to the body. I practiced the opening rei and torei once. Then, I practiced the first kata over and over more than a dozen times. I could tell what major mistakes I was making, so I would do the kata over and over to correct them. Like not bringing the toes up on my left foot soon enough and doing chiburi before switching which foot is forward. At the end of class, I practiced bowing out. I felt rushed, so I left my obi on for Kendo class. I think that may have been a mistake. I get conflicting information about whether or not to wear it, so I’ll keep wearing it. Besides, if I took it off, I’d have to re-tie the hakama.
One of the higher-ranking students took over teaching the class. I offered to warm up the class for him, and did so. I pulled a sneaky trick by doing twenty haya-suburi, and then breathing. Once the warm-ups were over, I asked if anyone was out of breath. When everyone said no, I commanded us to do thirty more haya-suburi. Sempai asked what was being done in previous classes. I told him about footwork, fumi-komi, and kiri-kaeshi. He invented drills to test our footwork and keeping of spacing. At one point, he had everybody starting to do kiri-kaeshi without men on. That made me nervous. After the first drill, I called him aside and made the suggestion. I made sure not to challenge him, but I really wasn’t comfortable letting many unranked people strike and be struck by the head without protection. Sempai thought it was a good idea. We put men on and the higher-ranking people, including myself, formed a line on one side. The others rotated through the other side while doing kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote.
In advanced class, I decided to stay even though I had skipped dinner previously and might lose some sleep. We did a lot of one-step men strikes at first. Sempai asked what was done for advanced class, so I told him about what we were doing, which was uchi-komi. So, he started us on one-step men drills, one-step kote drills, and one-step kote-men to set us up. Then we did uchi-komi over and over. There were only four of us, so we did each drill four times. It started with me opposite Sempai and finished with me opposite Sempai. Then he would not rotate at first but introduce the next drill. I helped demonstrate each new drill before we did it. After uchi-komi, I felt really run down. The obi was causing me discomfort. I stepped out and took off men. I very slowly got my breath back, but still felt badly. I stayed out of class for the remainder while Sempai was teaching the steps to lead up to nuki-men. He was clearly not comfortable teaching the class. So, I made sure to keep track of the time for him. At the end of class, I stayed to help close up. He thanked me for helping him and watching after the students on a personal level.
Day 231:
Sensei was back today. He taught me the next step in the first kata for Iaido. He also taught me a secret tip for preparation. When rising up on my knees before the horizontal strike, I should curl up my toes on both feet. After making both cuts, I swing the iaito around to my right as if pointing towards an opponent behind me, then curl my elbow towards my temple. When doing noto, when the sword is halfway inside I lower down onto my right knee to touch the floor at the same time.
In beginner Kendo, I warmed up the class again and then put on bogu. I received for the class during kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote drills.
In advanced Kendo, we had a surprise. Guest Sensei from Japan showed up! I didn’t expect him until next year. We did kiri-kaeshi and one-step men drills primarily. Guest Sensei didn’t make any comments when I did waza with him, so I guess I was doing it properly.
When it came to uchi-komi, Guest Sensei was giving out lots of advice, such as making sure to strike doh with enthusiasm instead of being timid. He also told me to hold my arms so that the inside edges of my elbows would point upwards instead of outwards. He explained that by doing this, I shall ‘make BIG universe’ and my strikes will be more natural. I tried it and it does seem to be more natural. It’s another way to say to hold your arms so that you could balance a beach ball while in chudan-no-kamae.
I had to step out for breath for a bit. Then people were lining up for keiko and eager to keiko with Guest Sensei. I put on men again and did keiko with an unranked student to warm up, then got in line with Guest Sensei. He made a comment that he was out of breath and I almost made a joke about planning it that way to be sneaky. I decided not to say it just to be safe. Still, even though he was out of breath, he was still better than me at keiko. I would try to make openings and make lightning strikes, but he would beat me at every opportunity. He was just so fast. He could circle his shinai around mine and strike kote before I could finish raising up for men strike. It’s hard to believe anyone could be that fast.
Sensei didn’t show up today. I guess he got delayed at work. So, the class was the three of us Iaido students just practicing what we wish to practice. I’ve been studying my checklist of opening and closing rei steps and I think I’ve mostly got it down. All that’s left is the little touches to smooth it out, like the smoothing of the sageo at various points. By practice, it seems that sliding the saya in the ‘outer loop’ of the obi makes things easier than close to the body. I practiced the opening rei and torei once. Then, I practiced the first kata over and over more than a dozen times. I could tell what major mistakes I was making, so I would do the kata over and over to correct them. Like not bringing the toes up on my left foot soon enough and doing chiburi before switching which foot is forward. At the end of class, I practiced bowing out. I felt rushed, so I left my obi on for Kendo class. I think that may have been a mistake. I get conflicting information about whether or not to wear it, so I’ll keep wearing it. Besides, if I took it off, I’d have to re-tie the hakama.
One of the higher-ranking students took over teaching the class. I offered to warm up the class for him, and did so. I pulled a sneaky trick by doing twenty haya-suburi, and then breathing. Once the warm-ups were over, I asked if anyone was out of breath. When everyone said no, I commanded us to do thirty more haya-suburi. Sempai asked what was being done in previous classes. I told him about footwork, fumi-komi, and kiri-kaeshi. He invented drills to test our footwork and keeping of spacing. At one point, he had everybody starting to do kiri-kaeshi without men on. That made me nervous. After the first drill, I called him aside and made the suggestion. I made sure not to challenge him, but I really wasn’t comfortable letting many unranked people strike and be struck by the head without protection. Sempai thought it was a good idea. We put men on and the higher-ranking people, including myself, formed a line on one side. The others rotated through the other side while doing kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote.
In advanced class, I decided to stay even though I had skipped dinner previously and might lose some sleep. We did a lot of one-step men strikes at first. Sempai asked what was done for advanced class, so I told him about what we were doing, which was uchi-komi. So, he started us on one-step men drills, one-step kote drills, and one-step kote-men to set us up. Then we did uchi-komi over and over. There were only four of us, so we did each drill four times. It started with me opposite Sempai and finished with me opposite Sempai. Then he would not rotate at first but introduce the next drill. I helped demonstrate each new drill before we did it. After uchi-komi, I felt really run down. The obi was causing me discomfort. I stepped out and took off men. I very slowly got my breath back, but still felt badly. I stayed out of class for the remainder while Sempai was teaching the steps to lead up to nuki-men. He was clearly not comfortable teaching the class. So, I made sure to keep track of the time for him. At the end of class, I stayed to help close up. He thanked me for helping him and watching after the students on a personal level.
Day 231:
Sensei was back today. He taught me the next step in the first kata for Iaido. He also taught me a secret tip for preparation. When rising up on my knees before the horizontal strike, I should curl up my toes on both feet. After making both cuts, I swing the iaito around to my right as if pointing towards an opponent behind me, then curl my elbow towards my temple. When doing noto, when the sword is halfway inside I lower down onto my right knee to touch the floor at the same time.
In beginner Kendo, I warmed up the class again and then put on bogu. I received for the class during kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote drills.
In advanced Kendo, we had a surprise. Guest Sensei from Japan showed up! I didn’t expect him until next year. We did kiri-kaeshi and one-step men drills primarily. Guest Sensei didn’t make any comments when I did waza with him, so I guess I was doing it properly.
When it came to uchi-komi, Guest Sensei was giving out lots of advice, such as making sure to strike doh with enthusiasm instead of being timid. He also told me to hold my arms so that the inside edges of my elbows would point upwards instead of outwards. He explained that by doing this, I shall ‘make BIG universe’ and my strikes will be more natural. I tried it and it does seem to be more natural. It’s another way to say to hold your arms so that you could balance a beach ball while in chudan-no-kamae.
I had to step out for breath for a bit. Then people were lining up for keiko and eager to keiko with Guest Sensei. I put on men again and did keiko with an unranked student to warm up, then got in line with Guest Sensei. He made a comment that he was out of breath and I almost made a joke about planning it that way to be sneaky. I decided not to say it just to be safe. Still, even though he was out of breath, he was still better than me at keiko. I would try to make openings and make lightning strikes, but he would beat me at every opportunity. He was just so fast. He could circle his shinai around mine and strike kote before I could finish raising up for men strike. It’s hard to believe anyone could be that fast.
Friday, December 24, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 228-229
Day 228:
In Iaido, we practiced the proper way to bow in and out. There are a LOT of steps to bowing in and out. A lot of them involve the proper movement of the sageo, which apparently has a specific length for just such movements. Sensei demonstrated and the other students knew the procedure. However, I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of steps. Gently parting the hakama, sliding the left hand along the saya to grip the sageo at the proper distance at the end of the saya, pulling the sageo around the right thumb, putting the saya on the floor in front of the right knee, laying the sword down, left then right hand down to bow, bow to sword but head ‘up’ as to not show the neck, right then left hand to get up, sit up, then perform the steps in reverse for the ending bow, including a confusing transition to the off-hand to bow to the judges. I really did not know what I was doing, but I did my best.
Sensei asked us as a group to perform the bowing in and out with the first kata in between. Technically, I do not know the first kata. I have seen others do it so I know what he is talking about, but he has not trained me in it yet. I was so busy concentrating on rei-hou that I counted all of the skipped steps that I forgot and even forgot to do the first kata! I chose not to be upset and just finished as best as I could. Sensei admitted it was unfair to test me like that while the beginner Kendo class was watching, but he liked that I did not panic. He told me that he has some movies of Seitei-Gata to loan me. I think I’ll make a list of steps to perform and memorize. Unlike Kendo, I can practice at least some of Iaido at home, like opening and ending rei-hou.
In beginner Kendo, I led the class in warm-ups. The instructor for the day asked me to warm-up the class slower than usual to let them stretch out better. So, I did mostly my usual regimen and included a couple of seconds between each exercise. At the end of warm-ups, Sensei decided to do an extra round of the balloon Kendo for youth that some of the students missed. I helped by receiving strikes while wearing a balloon on my men. It’s feels just as silly this year as last year. We finished beginner class with some more fumi-komi drills. The instructor would call out 1-2-3. On 1, we move into yoi. On 2, we did a men strike with fumi-komi, and held that posture. On 3, we pulled our left foot up into Kendo stance. Very awkward, but good for us.
In advanced class, we did kiri-kaeshi and men strike. We did drills which paid attention to using fumi-komi in ji-geiko. After a while, I had to step out and catch my breath. I watched the others do more fumi-komi, and then some uchi-komi. I tried to put my men back on in time for at least one turn of uchi-komi, but I was too late. We did some men strikes with many repetitions to build up endurance and then some keiko. I just naturally would make slight openings and use oji-waza during keiko. I felt I was getting smoother doing it, much more fluid. I even did a nuki-men and practiced some of my anti-jodan techniques against a nidan. He was impressed that I would be eager to face jodan. We finished with a new drill. It’s kinda like ‘kenshi-in-the-middle’, but with only three people. The outside people always initiate attacks, but the inside person always tries to win. We started off with only men strikes, then moved into kote, and then eventually into either men or kote.
Day 229:
Today was concentrating on rei-hou. Opening rei to both shomen and the sword, followed by closing rei to the sword and then to shomen. I practiced as best as I could. I’m getting better. I remembered more steps this time, but I still get confused with all of the sageo movements. I do see a pattern. When you open, you bow to the shomen first, and then to the sword. When you close, you do it in reverse. When bowing to the sword, you keep the sword horizontal and push the sageo close to the saya. You bow left hand first, then right, then bow down, keeping the head kinda ‘up’ to avoid showing the neck. When you bow to shomen, you transfer the sword from your left hand to your right, turning the blade upside down so it points to the floor, then do it in reverse. I practiced it a few times, then Sensei asked a senior student to show me the first kata. I’ve seen this done lots of times when I started Kendo because Iaido class is right before beginner Kendo. Still, I did learn new things, like exactly how to do the chiburi in totality instead of the small flick of the wrist. You bring the sword around to your right widely, holding the sword at a right angle to your arm, then bend your elbow, bringing your fist to your head, then swing the blade in an arc above your head down to your right knee. The senior student did it twice, then I tried it. I did it, but forgot to curl my toes before I swung vertically. After I finished, the senior student commented, ‘Well, if you do it like that, you’ll get shodan’. I’m pretty sure he’s not literal, but it’s a nice compliment. There’s a lot more kata to know for shodan, but I need the encouragement. We bowed out to finish class. I’m shaping up my checklist with information I researched. It’ll take a bit to finish shaping up, but it’ll be helpful.
I got my obi in the mail today. Sensei told me off-handedly how to tie it under the hakama. It felt weird and awkward, not to mention it didn’t make sense. The hakama’s back plate still gets in the way of the saya when you pull it to the side. I thought the obi would be on the outside to allow more freedom of swing, but I guess not. Sensei said the obi is to make sure the saya stays firm against the body, not to increase range of movement. I’ll have to practice tying it more.
I really didn’t feel up to a full day of Kendo today. My hips are sore for some reason and my arm still has that soreness from striking doh too hard for the old injury. I stayed for beginner class only. Today was all about kiai coupled with footwork. We did fumi-komi and suri-ashi, both forwards/backwards and sideways with a partner. Long kiai makes the pressure in my head skyrocket and I got a wicked headache quickly. I was also short of breath for over half of the class. When class was over, I just left to go home and recover.
In Iaido, we practiced the proper way to bow in and out. There are a LOT of steps to bowing in and out. A lot of them involve the proper movement of the sageo, which apparently has a specific length for just such movements. Sensei demonstrated and the other students knew the procedure. However, I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of steps. Gently parting the hakama, sliding the left hand along the saya to grip the sageo at the proper distance at the end of the saya, pulling the sageo around the right thumb, putting the saya on the floor in front of the right knee, laying the sword down, left then right hand down to bow, bow to sword but head ‘up’ as to not show the neck, right then left hand to get up, sit up, then perform the steps in reverse for the ending bow, including a confusing transition to the off-hand to bow to the judges. I really did not know what I was doing, but I did my best.
Sensei asked us as a group to perform the bowing in and out with the first kata in between. Technically, I do not know the first kata. I have seen others do it so I know what he is talking about, but he has not trained me in it yet. I was so busy concentrating on rei-hou that I counted all of the skipped steps that I forgot and even forgot to do the first kata! I chose not to be upset and just finished as best as I could. Sensei admitted it was unfair to test me like that while the beginner Kendo class was watching, but he liked that I did not panic. He told me that he has some movies of Seitei-Gata to loan me. I think I’ll make a list of steps to perform and memorize. Unlike Kendo, I can practice at least some of Iaido at home, like opening and ending rei-hou.
In beginner Kendo, I led the class in warm-ups. The instructor for the day asked me to warm-up the class slower than usual to let them stretch out better. So, I did mostly my usual regimen and included a couple of seconds between each exercise. At the end of warm-ups, Sensei decided to do an extra round of the balloon Kendo for youth that some of the students missed. I helped by receiving strikes while wearing a balloon on my men. It’s feels just as silly this year as last year. We finished beginner class with some more fumi-komi drills. The instructor would call out 1-2-3. On 1, we move into yoi. On 2, we did a men strike with fumi-komi, and held that posture. On 3, we pulled our left foot up into Kendo stance. Very awkward, but good for us.
In advanced class, we did kiri-kaeshi and men strike. We did drills which paid attention to using fumi-komi in ji-geiko. After a while, I had to step out and catch my breath. I watched the others do more fumi-komi, and then some uchi-komi. I tried to put my men back on in time for at least one turn of uchi-komi, but I was too late. We did some men strikes with many repetitions to build up endurance and then some keiko. I just naturally would make slight openings and use oji-waza during keiko. I felt I was getting smoother doing it, much more fluid. I even did a nuki-men and practiced some of my anti-jodan techniques against a nidan. He was impressed that I would be eager to face jodan. We finished with a new drill. It’s kinda like ‘kenshi-in-the-middle’, but with only three people. The outside people always initiate attacks, but the inside person always tries to win. We started off with only men strikes, then moved into kote, and then eventually into either men or kote.
Day 229:
Today was concentrating on rei-hou. Opening rei to both shomen and the sword, followed by closing rei to the sword and then to shomen. I practiced as best as I could. I’m getting better. I remembered more steps this time, but I still get confused with all of the sageo movements. I do see a pattern. When you open, you bow to the shomen first, and then to the sword. When you close, you do it in reverse. When bowing to the sword, you keep the sword horizontal and push the sageo close to the saya. You bow left hand first, then right, then bow down, keeping the head kinda ‘up’ to avoid showing the neck. When you bow to shomen, you transfer the sword from your left hand to your right, turning the blade upside down so it points to the floor, then do it in reverse. I practiced it a few times, then Sensei asked a senior student to show me the first kata. I’ve seen this done lots of times when I started Kendo because Iaido class is right before beginner Kendo. Still, I did learn new things, like exactly how to do the chiburi in totality instead of the small flick of the wrist. You bring the sword around to your right widely, holding the sword at a right angle to your arm, then bend your elbow, bringing your fist to your head, then swing the blade in an arc above your head down to your right knee. The senior student did it twice, then I tried it. I did it, but forgot to curl my toes before I swung vertically. After I finished, the senior student commented, ‘Well, if you do it like that, you’ll get shodan’. I’m pretty sure he’s not literal, but it’s a nice compliment. There’s a lot more kata to know for shodan, but I need the encouragement. We bowed out to finish class. I’m shaping up my checklist with information I researched. It’ll take a bit to finish shaping up, but it’ll be helpful.
I got my obi in the mail today. Sensei told me off-handedly how to tie it under the hakama. It felt weird and awkward, not to mention it didn’t make sense. The hakama’s back plate still gets in the way of the saya when you pull it to the side. I thought the obi would be on the outside to allow more freedom of swing, but I guess not. Sensei said the obi is to make sure the saya stays firm against the body, not to increase range of movement. I’ll have to practice tying it more.
I really didn’t feel up to a full day of Kendo today. My hips are sore for some reason and my arm still has that soreness from striking doh too hard for the old injury. I stayed for beginner class only. Today was all about kiai coupled with footwork. We did fumi-komi and suri-ashi, both forwards/backwards and sideways with a partner. Long kiai makes the pressure in my head skyrocket and I got a wicked headache quickly. I was also short of breath for over half of the class. When class was over, I just left to go home and recover.
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Beginner's Point of View 226-227
Day 226:
In Iaido, I practiced the same movement over and over all class. Left foot, draw horizontal, swing up and around to over the head, cut vertical, right leg back, sheathe sword, stand up, step forward. Sensei was not there as he was on travel. However, one of his students is a nidan so he instructed. There was another student who is also unranked, so the instructor split his time between the two of us. He gave me the advice to remember to keep pulling the saya backwards to correct the shoulder stopping point, although he admitted that since I do not have a proper obi it will be difficult. I put in an order for a proper obi through Sensei. When he gets back from travel he will give me the club price.
In Kendo, it was more footwork practice. I’m glad to see the footwork practice. Everyone, including me, could use more suri-ashi polishing. We did more suri-ashi, including a strange fumi-komi drill. You stay standing, swing up, then you swing down and follow the shinai into fumi-komi. You hold for a moment, then bring your left foot up to meet the right. This goes against every footwork drill with a shinai that I’ve ever done. I did not do so well with this. We also paired with a partner and forced them backwards holding chudan, then allowed them to drive us the other way. We finished with a group serpentine to tie it all together.
In advanced class, we had a guest student. He was a former classmate from one of the instructor’s college. I think they said he was ikkyu, but I’m not sure. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote. The lecture today was about momentum. Striking kote and then moving the saki aside to pass by. Bumping your opponent back to take his space. Making sure to pass by and the turn around and take chudan immediately.
I had to step out because of my lack of breath. They did a full rotation of ichi-komi while I rested. I sat out for a long time, until the group itself called for a rest. I came back in for some keiko. I did fairly well, all the time trying to remember ‘eggshells’. I’m starting to think if I use my left hand to move the shinai while using the right hand only to guide it downwards, maybe I’ll do better. I even did a keiko with the new student. I think I did much better than he did because of spirit and momentum. He was no slouch for counter-attacks, but it seemed to me that he was doing the same things over and over by rote rather than improvising. He would rarely try different things, although he did trick me with a quick doh strike once. Then again, maybe I’m wrong. I’m only ikkyu after all.
Day 227:
Today was our annual Balloon Kendo tournament and potluck dinner. There was only a very abbreviated Iaido class, which I skipped. Instead, I suited up in bogu and made ready for the tournament. Both Sensei and Head Sensei were present for the occasion. Also my old Sempai and another of our former students arrived. They never miss the Balloon Tournament and potluck. We did rei-hou and then Head Sensei wanted us to put on men right away with no stretching. I was one of the first out in full bogu, so Sensei asked me to receive kiri-kaeshi from beginner students. I did this for more than half a dozen people before Sensei replaced me and told me to get in line with Head Sensei. After waiting in line, Head Sensei did keiko with me. He did not tone it down much. I was thinking and striking and passing through and baiting and trying oji-waza just to hit him. Practically nothing worked but they were close. I get the feeling that he saw it all coming but did not discourage me. Eventually, he declared ippon and we went at it. I tried fast, simple strikes, but all I could accomplish was aiouchi-men or aiouchi-kote. After a few strikes, he left himself open and I struck shomen and passed through with enthusiasm. I did a couple of kiri-kaeshi, including one with Sempai. She was saying something as I would finish each section, but there was so much noise in the dojo I couldn’t head her.
Then we did the tournament. Instead of a mock shiai, we did competitions such as having the nidans wear a balloon on their men and having students in a line try to be the first one to pop the balloon. The youth division went swiftly. The first three of the four got a prize. There were two brackets of mudansha. I was in the first. I was the second to pop the balloon so myself and another advanced. The same happened in the second bracket. The finals were four of us and I was the second done. The first mudansha popped his balloon a split second before me. We got some kind of brainteaser puzzle as a prize. Not bad. The nidans resident in the dojo had a best-of-three points shiai between the two of them. They chose not to have balloons. So, the four remaining fighters had two keikos simultaneously. It was wonderful to see. After the keikos, which lasted for two minutes, we changed out of uniform and had dinner together. I brought an entrée and a dessert. Apparently, people liked the entrée but not the dessert. Oh well.
In Iaido, I practiced the same movement over and over all class. Left foot, draw horizontal, swing up and around to over the head, cut vertical, right leg back, sheathe sword, stand up, step forward. Sensei was not there as he was on travel. However, one of his students is a nidan so he instructed. There was another student who is also unranked, so the instructor split his time between the two of us. He gave me the advice to remember to keep pulling the saya backwards to correct the shoulder stopping point, although he admitted that since I do not have a proper obi it will be difficult. I put in an order for a proper obi through Sensei. When he gets back from travel he will give me the club price.
In Kendo, it was more footwork practice. I’m glad to see the footwork practice. Everyone, including me, could use more suri-ashi polishing. We did more suri-ashi, including a strange fumi-komi drill. You stay standing, swing up, then you swing down and follow the shinai into fumi-komi. You hold for a moment, then bring your left foot up to meet the right. This goes against every footwork drill with a shinai that I’ve ever done. I did not do so well with this. We also paired with a partner and forced them backwards holding chudan, then allowed them to drive us the other way. We finished with a group serpentine to tie it all together.
In advanced class, we had a guest student. He was a former classmate from one of the instructor’s college. I think they said he was ikkyu, but I’m not sure. We did lots of kiri-kaeshi, one-step men, and one-step kote. The lecture today was about momentum. Striking kote and then moving the saki aside to pass by. Bumping your opponent back to take his space. Making sure to pass by and the turn around and take chudan immediately.
I had to step out because of my lack of breath. They did a full rotation of ichi-komi while I rested. I sat out for a long time, until the group itself called for a rest. I came back in for some keiko. I did fairly well, all the time trying to remember ‘eggshells’. I’m starting to think if I use my left hand to move the shinai while using the right hand only to guide it downwards, maybe I’ll do better. I even did a keiko with the new student. I think I did much better than he did because of spirit and momentum. He was no slouch for counter-attacks, but it seemed to me that he was doing the same things over and over by rote rather than improvising. He would rarely try different things, although he did trick me with a quick doh strike once. Then again, maybe I’m wrong. I’m only ikkyu after all.
Day 227:
Today was our annual Balloon Kendo tournament and potluck dinner. There was only a very abbreviated Iaido class, which I skipped. Instead, I suited up in bogu and made ready for the tournament. Both Sensei and Head Sensei were present for the occasion. Also my old Sempai and another of our former students arrived. They never miss the Balloon Tournament and potluck. We did rei-hou and then Head Sensei wanted us to put on men right away with no stretching. I was one of the first out in full bogu, so Sensei asked me to receive kiri-kaeshi from beginner students. I did this for more than half a dozen people before Sensei replaced me and told me to get in line with Head Sensei. After waiting in line, Head Sensei did keiko with me. He did not tone it down much. I was thinking and striking and passing through and baiting and trying oji-waza just to hit him. Practically nothing worked but they were close. I get the feeling that he saw it all coming but did not discourage me. Eventually, he declared ippon and we went at it. I tried fast, simple strikes, but all I could accomplish was aiouchi-men or aiouchi-kote. After a few strikes, he left himself open and I struck shomen and passed through with enthusiasm. I did a couple of kiri-kaeshi, including one with Sempai. She was saying something as I would finish each section, but there was so much noise in the dojo I couldn’t head her.
Then we did the tournament. Instead of a mock shiai, we did competitions such as having the nidans wear a balloon on their men and having students in a line try to be the first one to pop the balloon. The youth division went swiftly. The first three of the four got a prize. There were two brackets of mudansha. I was in the first. I was the second to pop the balloon so myself and another advanced. The same happened in the second bracket. The finals were four of us and I was the second done. The first mudansha popped his balloon a split second before me. We got some kind of brainteaser puzzle as a prize. Not bad. The nidans resident in the dojo had a best-of-three points shiai between the two of them. They chose not to have balloons. So, the four remaining fighters had two keikos simultaneously. It was wonderful to see. After the keikos, which lasted for two minutes, we changed out of uniform and had dinner together. I brought an entrée and a dessert. Apparently, people liked the entrée but not the dessert. Oh well.
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