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!