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.