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.

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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!