Random thoughts

We've done a lot of sankajo (third control) this week. It's always been one of my favorites, but at the same time it can be quite frustrating if you're not getting it right. However, I noticed a minor detail in Sensei's technique, reversing the way I hold uke's elbow, and incorporated it into my technique. At that point, the take down became much easier. I suppose that's the natural progression for improvement, but it's nice to see such immediate results.

*********

Lately we've been doing more complicated techniques in class. I pretty sure it's because Sensei's testing for 5th-dan this weekend. It's quite nice for the students looking to work on the harder techniques, but I'm sure it's tough for a beginner. Without the foundation from simpler techniques, it's easy to get lost when things get a little more complicated.

Yoshinkan jiyuwaza video

I found great example of Yoshinkan Aikido. This was filmed at Honbu Dojo and has some of the senior instructors in it. The jiyuwaza section starts at the 2:30 mark.

Enjoy

Fourth Kyu Shinsa

The official results don't come out until tomorrow, but I'm fairly certain I passed my fourth kyu test. This is great news. It's the last white belt test, and six months from now I'll be able to test for brown belt. Righteous!

I felt this was my best test to date. I didn't train at all the day before the test, and generally just tried to not think about it. I felt confident I had trained enough and my body knew all the techniques. My only goal was to be relaxed and calm for the test and trust my training.

This seemed to serve me well. I got a little tired during kihon dosa, but that's to be expected. When we came to the techniques, I may have done them a little to fast, without enough pause between the steps, but other than that I felt great. Saori was my uke and she's really easy to work with, so that also helped a lot.

In addition, I was Allen's uke for his seventh kyu test. He worked hard to prepare for the test and did well. Truth be told, I felt all seven people testing did quite well and took their test training seriously, which was apparent in the tests themselves.

Congrats everyone,

Osu!

Hard work makes it easy

We spent a lot of time yesterday and today on kihon dosa and my muscles can really feel it. The good thing is that I'm mostly feeling it in my hips and lower back, meaning these are the areas I'm using the most. While working on hiriki no yosei ichi and ni this morning, Sensei's instructions really started to click and I figured out a subtle change in the position of my hips to make my hiriki no yosei stance better.

For me, kihon dosa training is really frustrating, but the understanding you gain pays dividends when doing the techniques. The correct movements become more natural and instead of wondering why the uke isn't moving, you're left wondering why the uke went down so easily.

4th-kyu Test Training

Test training has started in earnest. This time around I'll be going for 4th kyu, the last white belt ranking. This'll put me six months away from my brown belt test. That will be a nice day.

One thing I'd like to work on during training and be evident on my test is greater balance and sense of uke's balance. I often lose my balance after a throw or when bringing uke down for a pin. This is obviously a lack of balance, and needs to be rectified sooner rather than later.

Painless Hiji-ate

In this week's early morning class, we've been working on hiji-ate, a throw using pressure on the uke's elbow and shoulder to propel them forward. Before this week, I didn't like this technique as I felt it was using pain to induce the uke to move. However, it turns out there is a "painless" way to do this throw.

Before the throw, apply a little pressure into the shoulder with the hand holding the wrist, with the uke's elbow in the crook of shite's elbow. Then move the knee and hips forward to get the uke to start moving. When the uke starts moving, follow with the legs, either stepping or shuffling. Finally, near the end of the movement, snap your arm so the elbow accelerates the uke forward and down. When rotating the arm, be sure to rotate the elbow into your center, resulting in the uke being thrown not parallel to your movement, but instead across your center.

Doing this correctly results in not so much pressure on the uke's elbow, but a greater movement of the uke's balance into your center. Now to turn this theory into practice.

Osu!

Well timed break

I know missing a day of training is a frowned upon in budo, and to miss a day of the 10-day Aikido-a-thon that is Shochugeiko is even more of a faux pas, but I must say that skipping class yesterday was really good for me.

I've been getting battered from a couple different angles, monotonous work, daily training in the summer heat, and finally my bike getting stolen, so I took yesterday off from both training and played hooky from work to complete unwind and chill at home. I took the opportunity to do some light house work, watch a few shows I've downloaded, do some reading at a coffee shop, etc.

And getting up this morning, I could really feel a difference, not so much physically, but mentally. My outlook was fresher and more optimistic, and at the dojo, I felt faster, smoother and not so tense. I still found difficulties to work through, but I was ready to apply myself fully.

There's one more Shochugeiko class tomorrow morning, and after a Friday and Saturday evening classes, the dojo's closed for a week. After the vacation, I start test training for 4th-kyu, the last white belt rank. Bring it on!

Osu!

Am I getting worse?

It seems that no matter what your level of Aikido is, maintaining focus is paramount. During training, you can't allow your mind to be elsewhere, otherwise it becomes quite obvious, to the uke, to the Sensei, and most importantly, to yourself.

Today, I was merely making my way through the techniques. Instead of concentrating on my movements, my mind was unfocused, as were my techniques. There is a part of me focusing on the technique and working on doing it right, but I just feel that my Aikido edge is a little blunt right now. I'm not thinking about using my hips, or staying in kamae, or the other hundred details that can and should be concentrated on while training.

I've heard other people talk about Aikido improving in spirals, where there are times they feel their movements are crisp and their techniques are strong; and then there are times when they feel slow and weak. I think I'm at a weak point now. But like a baseball player working through a slump, I just have to keep at it, and eventually I'll hit my stride again.

Shochugeiko, day 4

We're four days into Shochugeiko, with today's technique being sankajo.

In the early morning class, we looked at shomen uchi sankajo osae II in depth, focusing on the strike, pivot and entry into the sankajo lock. Sensei emphasized the importance of the circle that uke's wrist makes, starting with the strike, moving down a little as shite pivots, bring the arm back, and then the wrist moves back up as the sankajo lock is applied. Easy, right?

My goal for Shochugeiko

Today was the second day of Shochugeiko (暑中稽古), or mid-summer training. For 10-days over the two hottest weeks of the year, our dojo challenges the students to train every morning. We did eight ikkajo techniques this morning, spending about 5 min on each one.

Last year I was almost a complete novice during Shochugeiko, and so didn't understand most of the techniques. I just tried to mimic what I saw and did my best to keep up. There's not really any time to focus on any technique in depth. This year, I understand a little more but I'm still missing a lot of detail on the techniques. I'm able to mimic the motions well enough, but the techniques don't actually feel like their working.

We have a fair number of beginners doing Shochugeiko and I'm finding this to be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that I can practice the techniques on someone that responds more like some would in a "real" situation, and the curse is that beginners respond without understanding what the shite is doing.

I know that's saying the same thing, but the reason it's good is because an inexperienced uke forces you to be more sure of your balance and movements than an uke who knows what you're going to do next. At the same time, an inexperienced uke has trouble blending with the shite, making the learning process for shite more difficult. The uke will put up more resistance, and personally, I find myself resorting to powering through the technique when I feel uke's resisting too much. Finding the "no-power" line in the technique is tough when you know you can get through the technique by applying a little muscle.

My goal for the rest of the week, "no-power" Aikido. Relax the shoulders, sink my weight into my center, and keep my energy forward.

Osu!

Saturday Night Special

It's been another good week of training, with me being able to attend every class this week. I'm still pretty wiped after two hours of training in the morning 3 days a week, but I can already feel my body getting used to it. But I'll be glad when the heat isn't such an issue.

Tonight Saori ran the class, as both Sensei were unable to attend and it was a great class. The four people who came each chose a technique and we did ikkajo, sankajo, shihonage, and kotegaeshi. We mostly did shomen and yokomen uchi, along with the suwari waza counterpart, but for the sankajo, we did ushiro ryotemochi sankajo osae I & II. I had only practiced this technique maybe once, and it's nice to train on techniques I don't know so well.

A frustrating thing about kotegaeshi, when turning the uke's hand to move into the kotegaeshi, right before the throw, I can conceptualize the correct movement, and at times I feel I have pieces of the movement correct, but I have yet to feel I have the uke locked before the throw. Tonight I tried to connect the movement of my hips with my arm, hand, and into the uke, but I think I need a full class on just that part of kotegaeshi.

So many flaws, and so little time to fix them. See you on the mat. Osu!

Summer has arrived

I started attending the early morning class last week and this combined with the rising temperature and accompanying humidity had me pretty wiped out by the end of the week. However, I did make it to all but the Friday morning class, making a total of 9 hours of training last week. Not bad.

The Friday and Saturday night classes were really enjoyable. In spite of being incredibly hot and humid in the dojo, both classes were fast paced and with more focus on fluidity and speed, obviously an essential element in Aikido. Friday night we worked on yokomen jiyuwaza techniques, shihonage, ikkajo, katatemochi and udegarami. In Saturday's class, we worked on katatemochi techniques, the first being a kokyu-ho, followed by strange, shihonage-based technique.

I really need to work on my flips, if only to use less energy when taking uke repeatedly. I'm so jealous when watching someone talented flipping and getting back to their feet. It looks like it takes no effort at all.

Semi-hajimi with Yonkajo

We worked on yonkajo this morning. This is a technique I've learned to like. I had trouble understanding how it worked at the beginning, but now I find it fun to do, and it effectiveness is gradually increasing. Roland Sensei had us practice shomen uchi yonkajo osae I & II, finishing the class with a short hajime-like training. It wasn't a full-blown hajime, as he had us start slow and gradually picked up the pace.

A new student came to the dojo for his first class and ended up training with me. He's done Tomiki Aikido before, so he understood the idea behind the techniques, but the details were quite different. The class was pretty fast paced, but he walked off the mat with a big smile, so I think he had a good time.

quick note on Saturday night

Last night we worked on shomen tsuki shomen iriminage I and II. We practiced the two techniques and then did them both in hajime (continuous doing the technique quickly over and over) for 10-15 minutes. I hadn't done hajime in a little while and really enjoyed it. We finished the class with a kokyu-ho technique in kagarigeiko.

During class, a few times I found myself using the strength in my shoulders. I need to be sure to focus on starting the movement in my hips and using that power instead.

Chino Sensei at Honbu Dojo

Last night I made the trek out to Honbu Dojo for Chino Sensei's class. There were twenty-five students or so on the mat, a good number for the size of the dojo. Surprisingly, a large portion of the students were brown belts. Usually when I go to Honbu, a most of the students are black belt, with a few browns and whites sprinkled in, but for some reason, most of last night's class were browns belts, with some white belts and just a few blacks. Strange, but in no way was that a detriment to the class.

We did a number of techniques that I either had never seen before or have only done once or twice. Here's a list:

katatemochi ikkajo osae I (suwariwaza & tachiwaza)
I was wondering how to do this one few weeks ago. I'm glad I got a chance to try it out.

katatemochi kotegaeshi I & II
My kotegaeshi experience to date has mostly been with shomen uchi. I found these techniques rather fun, with the interesting direction change in the middle of the technique.

To finish the class, Chino Sensei did another variation on katatemochi kotegaeshi II, but with just one pivot from ai-hanmi and a shuffle forward. I couldn't get the handwork on this one, but I'm not discouraged; I'll get it to work eventually.

Osu!

Thoughts on test day

Test day was last Saturday, and with four different levels of tests, there was a good variety of levels on display. The 10th kyu students were taking their first test and struggled a little with the format, not knowing where to stand, starting the technique before the Sensei's call and things like that. I believe I saw a little frustration flash across the Sensei's face. However, the subsequent tests were much better. The most impressive thing was the level of focus everyone had.

There's a pretty good core of students that has developed over the last 6 months, and while we're mostly still beginners, there's a fair amount of dedication among the group. I hope everyone continues to train as hard as they have been.

My own test, 5th kyu, went pretty well. My kihon dosa (basic movements) felt solid without too many extraneous movements, but afterwards, Sensei did say that I need to be careful about keeping my neck and head in line with my spine and not let it lead when starting the movements. As for the techniques, here's a shakedown of my thoughts:

shomen uchi shomen iriminage I
I learned to keep my striking arm in contact with the uke while entering and move my head past the uke's head after the entry

shomen uchi yonkajo osae II
The initial application of the yonkajo has improved a lot, but I still need to work on getting the uke moving forward on the initial pivot and using that momentum to apply the control.

katatemochi nikajo osae I
After applying the nikajo and bringing the uke down to one knee, rotate the uke's wrist forward and stretch the arm out far enough to give yourself room to step forward and continue the movement. Remember to maintain the lock into the shoulder throughout the technique.

suwariwaza ryotemochi kokyu-ho II
Starting with a strong seiza is really important. When uke applies pressure, move your center underneath the uke's and make them fall forward so that they're leaning on shite for balance.

shomen uchi kotegaeshi osae I & II
For the kotegaeshi ichi, I need work on the footwork for the final step and throw. It seems like I'm running out of space and can't fully step thorough.

But I did pass, so I can relax and just enjoy training for a while. My next test only involves 2 new techniques, but along with those, I'm expected to know all of dai ichi and they'll call out 4 randomly during the test. Sound like fun?

Osu!

No Ego

Training continues and my next test approaches. I'll be testing for 5th kyu on Saturday. I know the six techniques on the test and am pretty relaxed about it. But more important than the test, I've been trying to find something in my Aikido.

It seems I'm at the point where I'm trying to learn how to align my entire body in the movements and draw power for the technique from my center. Right now I'm working on refining my body's movements to draw out and focus this energy and make it available to use. Of course at the same time I'm trying to be aware of the uke's energy and momentum, but I feel like I still need to further develop my own power and balance before I can really manipulate the uke effectively.

It's a difficult process and one that the concept of "no ego" becomes important. As soon as you let your ego enter a technique, you start using external physical power to get through the technique. The goal goes from learning how to blend with the uke, to getting to the end of the technique to prove to yourself, the uke, or a third party that you can do it. By taking the focus away from having to prove something, you can try focus on the true difficulty of Aikido, extending your sphere of control past yourself and into the uke.

Ego gets in the way of this by forcing you to give up part of your control. Instead of giving your entire focus to the technique, your ego consumes part of that focus, sapping the effectiveness of your Aikido. While you may be able to make your technique more powerful physically, the blending aspect will suffer.

Osu!

The Dai Ichi Challange

My feel for Aikido seems to have been slipping away from me lately, but this week I've tried to improve my diet and even do a bit of stretching at night before I go to sleep. This seems to have been working, because now my body's feeling lighter and I'm able to bring more fluidity to the mat.

This, combined with a great class today, has renewed my enthusiasm for training. Did a bit of test training with Bryce and worked on katate mochi nikajo osae I and shomen uchi yonkajo osae II. The yonkajo is still a bit of a mystery, but we were able to work out the angles for the nikajo.

After this, Roland challenged the six of us by seeing how far we could get through dai ichi (a set of 21 basic techniques) in 10 minutes with both partners doing left and right side. The techniques were a bit sloppy toward the end, but Bryce and I for the most part were able to perform. However, we only got through 3/4ths of the techniques before the 10 minutes were up. Sensei wants us to be able to get through all 21 techniques in 10 minutes. 頑張らないと！

This was followed by a bit of jiyuwaza practice for Sensei. He's doing an Enbu at another dojo on Sunday and intends to take his 5 dan test at the end of June. We each did one-on-one jiyuwaza followed by a chaotic go-nin dori (five attackers) jiyuwaza.

Osu!

Kyoto trip

I neglected to write about the trip some of the people from the dojo and I took to Kyoto a few weeks ago. It was a great trip and I hope I can keep in mind some of the many lessons I learned and at some point internalize them. The five of us visited Payet Sensei's dojo and were welcomed very warmly by the other students.

Among the highlights of the trip was Payet Sensei's incredible ability to absorb uke's balance, the 5 hour izakaya nomihodai (all you can drink), picnicing in the imperial gardens and performing an enbu on hardwood (picture) in the middle of a shrine.

I hope it's not too long before I get down there again.

Osu!

Test technique notes

I was able to work on one of my test techniques for a whole class today, shomen-uchi shomen iriminage I. I found it works best if after the strike, you move the uke's arm with the hand on their elbow instead of your striking hand. This requires much less power. Also, when doing the entry, shift to the side just enough that the uke's about to fall over. The distance you need to move over seems to change depending on the height and balance of the uke.

Osu!

Weekend jiyuwaza

Had a couple of great evening classes over the weekend (...and incidentally were both followed by a couple of really fun parties). Friday night, Tokita Sensei went through 4 different katatemochi kokyu nage techniques, and kept us going the whole class. He showed us the first one, had us practice it, showed us the next throw, and then had us chain them together, jiyuwaza-style. After that, he tacked on another 2 throws in the same style.

This gave the whole class, even us white belts, a chance to feel like we were effectively doing jiyuwaza without having to pause and think of a technique. I felt that even though my throws weren't terribly effective, I was able to practice moving fluidly through a number of techniques.

On Saturday, Roland Sensei ran us through a very similar class. The techniques were again taught jiyuwaza style, but this time they were a little longer and more complicated. The first was another kokyunage, but with two different finishes. The next was aya-mochi jujinage, again with two different finishes.

Both classes were really high energy and lots of fun. I love walking out of the dojo knowing I left nothing in the tank.

Enbu

With the enbu finally finished, this morning was back to training as normal. We did a simple shihonage class, katatemochi shihonage I and II. Roland Sensei made a few good points, like keeping the posture straight during the pivot and not arching back toward the uke. Also I guess I haven't been turning on my toes through the whole turn.

As for the Enbu, it was a great success. Turnout was good and all the feedback I heard from the audience was quite positive, except my girlfriend mocking the way I bow. I think all the students and teachers were happy with how things went.

The final jiyuwaza demos were great to watch. Tokida Sensei and Okamoto-san had a great presentation with quick, powerful execution of the techniques. Another highlight of the jiyuwaza section was when Bryce neglected to block a punch from Roland Sensei during yokomen uchi juyuwaza and got a good sized lump between his eyes for it. Incidentally, I saw a video of Roland Sensei's 3rd-dan test, where he broke his uke's nose doing the same entry. At least there wasn't any blood this time.

Where's the grace?

For the past few weeks, students, and sometimes the Sensei, have been practicing jiyuwaza (freestyle techniques) after class. Last Friday I took uke (attacker) for Roland Sensei, and had a terrible time of it. It was ryotemochi (grabbing both hands), and after just a few throws, I was getting confused, grabbing the wrong hand and doing sloppy flips.

Today was a bit different. I'm not saying my uke today was stellar, but it was a marked improvement over last Friday. The attack was yokomen, and my uke was much cleaner and my flips better. Perhaps I wasn't so worried about taking uke this time, or maybe I wanted to make up for embarrassing myself last time.

However directly after I took uke for Sensei, he had me take uke for David, a brown belt. I hung in there and David threw me seven or eight times. But after that, Sensei called out "Shite uke kotae!" ("Shite and uke switch!"). At this point I was dead tired and couldn't think of any techniques. But I ran on instinct and just tried to let my body remember some of the jiyuwaza techniques I've practiced before. I went through four or five throws before I had to start repeating the same techniques. I think I made some up along the way as well.

Roland Sensei gave me some good advice about doing ukemi in such a way as to be able to get to my feet earlier. If I keep my legs straight and slow down the flip, I can then use my arm to both cushion my fall and push myself back up again. Right now I turn quickly in the air and just kind of crash into the mat and it takes a lot of time and energy to get back up. I basically need to introduce grace to my ukemi because right now, there's a severe shortage.

One week to go

We've reached the one week countdown to the enbu next weekend. We had a special training session yesterday morning and did a run through of most of the demonstrations. Everything seems to becoming together nicely. The techniques look good and the groups are pretty well synchronized on the movements. Of course there are areas that can be improved, and a few details to iron out, but no one seems worried about performing their demos in front of a crowd.

Enbu Training

All week, the focus in class has been practicing for the our dojo's enbu (martial arts exhibition) in about three weeks. There are several demonstrations to the enbu, with different people participating in the different sections. Some of the simpler demonstrations are coming together quite well, but the more difficult and involved ones haven't really been worked on that much, mostly because of scheduling conflicts. The people involved just don't train at the same time.

But I'm really looking forward to showing some of my friends exactly what it is that I do every morning before work. When they ask, I show them nikajo or kotegaeshi and talk about blending with your attacker, but talk is cheap and it doesn't really get the point across. Some would say that even by watching Aikido, you can't understand what it is; you have to get on the mat and actually try it out. Which is why I'm glad there's a audience participation section of the enbu, where the Sensei will teach a technique to anyone who wants to try it out.

But until then, I have a lot of training to do to get myself ready.

Osu!

Coming back in style

R Sensei is back from Korea, and he sure let us know it. We had a non stop class starting with kihon dosa renzoku, translated as continuous basic movements. We then went through the entirety of dai ichi kihon waza, the first set of basic techniques. There are about 30 techniques and we did them all, left and right side in about 30 minutes. The entire class was sweating and tired by the end, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

I feel I did pretty well, and while of course there were a few techniques I messed up or just faked my way through, I was able to keep up for the most part. I'm not sure how the rest of the class did, since I did all I could just to focus on myself and my partner.

There were 8 people in class, making 4 pairs and I was lucky enough to train with a former shodan. Former because he hasn't trained in 5 years and chooses not to wear his black belt. It seams he wants to get his confidence back before accepting the weight and responsibility of a black belt. I suppose I can understand that, but at what point do you decide to re-don your black belt once you've taken it off? Maybe Sensei will give him a mock shodan test.

Switching into high gear

Last night's class felt a little different for some reason. It's a funny thing that when training with the same group of people, a certain atmosphere can develop among everyone in the dojo. In last night's class, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that everyone was going to train fast and hard, and with no prompting from Stumpy, we did. So much so that just 15-20 minutes into the class, everyone was getting winded, but no one slowed down. To take advantage of this, I tried to do the techniques without too much pausing, instead working on moving through the techniques fluidly yet still maintaining control of the uke. I didn't want to rush through the techniques, but instead move quickly enough that the uke never had time to recover their balance. I had limited success, but it still felt good to alter the focus a little.

Greater Expectations

Great news, all five students who tested Saturday passed, with myself attaining the exalted rank of 6th kyu (note the sarcasm please). I felt it was a good test and I was pretty confident through the whole thing.

The feedback I got from the Sensei after the test was good as well. R Sensei pointed out that I'm not keeping my knees flexible throughout the techniques and I allow my center to come up as I move forward. This is something I've been working on in my kihon dosa, but I need to be conscious of this as I do my techniques as well. I basically need to remember to move through my knees as I move forward.

After completing this last test, I feel like I'm approaching the intermediate level of training. For example, the curriculum for the next test includes hiyaku ukemi (flying forward flips), as well as kotegaeshi. Up until now, doing hiyaku ukemi has been a novelty, preparing for the time when I'll be expected to be able to perform them well. However, now that time has arrived. I am at the level where I'm expected to be able to flip. I suppose it's good I've already been exposed to flipping, but I'm far from confident. I did a few after class this morning and I felt pretty comfortable doing them, however I did scrape my head along the mat on one of the flips, which is a big no-no. If you do that when someone's really throwing you, you're setting yourself up for a serious injury.

The next event to look forward to is our dojo's annual embu (演武, or martial arts exhibition) in April. We worked on a weapons enbu during the last gashuku, but there's still a lot of work to be done to prepare. But it should be a lot of fun showing people why I get up so damn early every morning.

Osu!

Insights Galore

Today was one of those days where I had some sort of insight on every technique I practiced. I had the pleasure of training with Masa, a nidan Japanese guy, who unfortunately doesn't train very often. I spent the whole class with him working on some of my test techniques.

I came in to the class itching to work on shomen uchi ikkajo osae II, so naturally that was the first technique we did. Masa hadn't trained in a while, so he seemed happy just doing whatever I wanted to work on. The reason I wanted to do this technique first was that I didn't feel like I was getting a good initial rotation of the shoulder when I did an ikkajo entry, especially on ichi (pulling) techniques. This is a ni (pushing) technique, however, so the pivot is key here. So today, after the block, I made sure to pivot a littler deeper than usual so I end up slightly behind the uke. This allowed me to start him turning without having to push him forward, something I had been struggling with on this technique. It worked out great and I was able to take uke to the mat with some authority. Hu-rah!!

The other things I was able to work on were katamochi hijishime I and shomen uchi yonkajo osae I, two techniques that will also be on my test. On the hijishime, Masa showed me that moving the uke's arm above the line of the shoulder makes the hijishime more effective. We also worked on having better contact on the yonkajo, keeping the entire palm in contact with the uke yet still focusing the energy of the technique into a small area (面積) of the hand.

All in all, it was a very productive class. We had lots of students on the mat today, 12 to be exact, with each group working on their own thing, and Stumpy walking around giving instruction where needed.

Osu!

A Weekend of Weapons

What a great weekend! The dojo held a gashuku, a weekend training retreat, in a mountain side dojo about an hour and a half outside of Tokyo. The location was quite remote and much quieter than Tokyo. However, it being February, it was exceedingly cold. Dealing with the cold was the "spirit" part of the training, and while there was a fair amount of complaining about the temperature, it was all good natured, and no one was really bitter about it.

We left on Friday night and started training first thing in the morning on Saturday. In the first class we covered all the basic movements, did some shikko-ho practice, and worked up a good appetite for breakfast. The rest of the weekend, until noon Sunday , we spent on weapons training, bokken (wooden sword), jo (a short staff) and tanto (a wooden knife). This was a rare treat as the ceilings in our home dojo are too low to allow us to train with the bokken and jo.

So much of Aikido was developed from sword movements, that when you actually train with a sword, your kamae (stance) and movements become much more natural. Also, since four out of the five students were white belts, you could see that people's kamae and basic movements dramatically improved over the weekend, mine included. I especially found that my hiriki no yosei II movement improved from training with the bokken. I found it easier to keep my back straight and not lean too much while shifting my weight, a common problem of mine.

So to list what we actually did work on, with the bokken, we did all six kihon dosa and happo kiri, or eight direction cut. With the tanto, we did the tanto dosa six through ten. Because the mats were so cold, we skipped one through five because they're sitting techniques. We also did 3 techniques with the tanto, shomen tsuki hijishime osae, shomen uchi ikkajo osae, and shomen uchi udegarami osae. Finally, with the jo, we learned and practiced the 31 jo kata.

R Sensei recorded a video of us performing all the above in enbu (exhibition) style, and the plan is to do this during the our dojo's enbu in April. After looking at the video, I must say we looked pretty good for a bunch of shiro obi, and a brown belt.

Tale of Two Sensei

I had two very small classes this morning. The 6:00 class was just Saori and me, with Stumpy teaching. We worked on ushiro waza, where the uke attacks from behind, with a focus on maximizing contact, and hence control, with the wrist when moving into the technique.

First we did ushiro waza ryotemochi ikkajo osae I and II, then we did two different types of ushiro waza ryotemochi sokomen iriminage I. What I find most difficult is moving the hands and feet together. I understand that this makes the technique more effective and fluid, but knowing something and and being able to do it are completely different. I suppose that's why we train, right?

The second class, 7:00, was just R Sensei and me. I'm taking the 6th kyu test in two weeks, so we worked on test training, and I felt like I was able to discover and work on some of the small things in my techniques. I finally discovered how shomen uchi sokomen iriminage II works. However, the tip of the day was planting my back foot and using that as a source of power in my techniques. I sometimes still find myself shuffling my feet in the middle of a technique, which means I'm not balanced and centered. I also need to keep my weight forward in kamae and keep that straight line from my heel to my head.

Osu!

Extra training

This week and next week, I'll be doing an extra hour of training in the morning, meaning I need to wake up around 4:30 to arrive at the dojo around just before 6:00. It's a bit hard core, but it's only two weeks, three days a week.

This extra hour is a bit special in that the focus is on a deeper understanding of Aikido. So the pace is a little slower and with more focus on basics, such as a strong kamae and proper seiza. The sensei, Stumpy, also has us do some techniques, but the focus remains on the basic principle that ties the techniques together.

However, along with this hardcore training, I've been struggling through a mild fever all week. It`s a little tougher getting to class, but surprisingly, I feel much better after class than I did at the beginning. Is Aikido a healing agent as well?

Osu!

Kangeiko: day 10

Final day of Kangeiko! Along with five others, I was able to attend everyday and have gotten back into he swing of going to class every day. That's not to say it wasn't a struggle, especially the past few days, but it feels good having done it.

After class today, I had a short discussion with R Sensei about the purpose of training and what we expect to get from it. He was saying that goal of budo(wikipedia.com) lies not at the end of training, but in the training itself and that through self-discipline, we craft our mind to synchronize with our body.

Consistent training, like kangeiko, forces you to focus your energy toward one aim. Not just in the dojo, but outside the dojo as well. For example, in order to get to the dojo, we have to wake up early everyday, but then in order to be able to wake up early everyday, we have to go to sleep earlier at night. Granted, this is a mild exercise in self-discipline, but it does require a certain level of dedication. R Sensei was saying this is budo, not just the perfection of your Aikido technique, but also the self discipline necessary to commit to Kangeiko-type training.

Osu!

Kangeiko: day 8

I guess it's a sign of success for a dojo when the mat is full of people. It's certainly better than the alternative, a paucity of students. Today, however, may have been an extreme. It was the first class of the new beginner's course and five new students, along with the recently good turnout for kangeiko, nine regular students, made for a very crowded mat.

Seeing the beginners naturally brings me back to my first few days at the dojo. Their struggles with koho ukemi (back break falls), kamae (stance), and shikko ho highlight the progress I've made over the past eight months. I know that in terms of my Aikido, I'm still a novice, but I can't say the progress I've made isn't insignificant. One thing I've come to realize though, is that it's not how much progress I've made, or how much further I have left to go, but what's important is that I go to the dojo and train hard every day. This is the road to Aikido. If I can just do that, everything else will take care of itself.

Kangeiko: day 7

Kangeiko continues and I'm happy to say I've attended every day thus far. Only three days left. Attendance has been great, with about eight students on the mat everyday. I definitely feel I've gotten back into the groove of attending Aikido every day, even to the point where my body naturally wakes up as the alarm is going off.

Today was shomen iriminage (forward entry throw) and Stumpy ran us through four or five kihon waza (basic techniques) before moving on to some complicated ayamochi (opposite hand grab) and ushiro (attack from behind) techniques. I was able to get the basic footwork down, but I wasn't able to find the "line" in the technique.I guess I'll save that for another day.

Osu!

Kangeiko: day 1

Day one of kangeiko went really well, and despite the after effects of a long Saturday night, I felt pretty strong throughout the class. There was a really good turnout, with eight students and the two sensei.

Today was shihonage with R Sensei leading us through 9 different techniques:

katatemochi I & II
hanmi handachi katatemochi I & II
ryotemochi I & II
hanmi handachi ryotemochi I
yokomen uchi I & II

Finding the rhythm

It seems my entries are getting further and further apart. I guess this is for two reasons, the first being that as I get more experience in Aikido, there's less progress to report on. Secondly, my attendance as of late has been a bit spotty. I feel like I haven't gotten in to a good rhythm yet this year. I've been going to two or three classes a week, but haven't been everyday of the week since last year. So right now, my training seems a bit staccato. However, next week is kangeiko, winter training.

Kangeiko is a two-week training period during the coldest part of the year. Classes will be every weekday at 7am, and it's a bit of an accomplishment to attend all ten classes. There's also a summer equivalent, shochugeiko, during the hottest time of the year, and for anyone who has experienced a Japanese summer, you know this is quite the challenge. I went to every one of last year's shochugeiko classes and I'm aiming for a repeat performance this time around. Maybe then I can get back into the rhythm again.

Getting flippant with flips

Megumi and I have decided to improve our hiyaku ukemi (flying forward flips), so we've been doing a few flips this week after class. My right side flip is getting a little better, but I can't say I'm seeing any improvement yet on the left side. Then yesterday, we did a lot of hiyaku ukemi in class and of course, a few times I landed poorly and jarred my lower back. When I woke up before class today, I felt a bit sore. Not a good sign. Could it be that my form is actually getting worse?

Today we did a few different ikkajo nage and one kotegaeshi technique. R Sensei had us focusing on fluid movements, but I didn't feel very spry today. I was a bit slow and stiff, and halfway through the class, I felt like I was out of gas. Hopefully there's no flipping in tomorrow's class. My body needs a break.

Yonkajo bonanza

Tonight's class revolved around yonkajo. We had 6 students, 3 advanced students (black and brown belts) and 3 white belts, making a pretty good mix. Everyone seemed to be concentrating on training and there was a really good, focused vibe in the class. For techniques, we did suwariwaza yokomen uchi yonkajo osae, both ichi and ni. After that, we did katamochi yonkajo osae, ichi and ni.

And finally we did some nage (throws), the first being yokomen uchi yonkajo sokomen iriminage. This was a very different yonkajo, where after blocking the yokomen strike in ai-hanmi, shite pivots and moves the uke's striking arm down, circling into yonkajo. At this point, shite steps behind the uke into sokomen iriminage. My description doesn't do it justice, and it's very different from the yonkajo techniques I've done before. The final technique was a variation of this where instead of moving into iriminage, shite cross steps behind the uke and pulls the uke down from behind.

I really enjoy doing such a variety of techniques, but there were a few times tonight, where I feel just as I had an insight into the technique, we would move on to the next one. I guess that just makes one eager to do that technique again. I just hope that the same insight comes to mind the next time. Sometimes it feels like I spend a lot of time in class trying to remember what I've already forgot.

Right back to it

No fanfare or balloons, no whistles or dancing clowns, just some good basic Aikido for the first class of the year. We had five students and first quickly went through the kihon dosa and shumatsu dosa. Of course there was a bit of rust, but not quite as bad as I expected.

R Sensei then had us practice katate mochi shihonage ichi, then shomen uchi ikkajo osae ni. On the ikkajo technique, I discovered the importance of slightly rotating the blocking arm, like a subtle hiriki no yosei ichi, to move the uke's arm upward, making the movement into ikkajo much easier and more effective.