Maybe it was the fact that I skipped class on Tuesday. Maybe it was the heat in the dojo last night. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but there was one point in class where I really ran out of gas.
I had a plumbing problem on Tuesday that took much of the day. By the time I had things under control, I was too tired to make it to class. I hate not going to class. I was exhausted the other night, but my imaginary class ran through my head the way it always does on Tuesdays, or Thursdays, or Saturdays when I'm not there. 7:30 rolls around, and it clicks in my head that everyone else is bowing in. Sometime around eight, I'll look at the clock and wonder what technique they're working on. 8:30? Ah, they must be bowing out, except that we're not bowing out until almost 9:00 these days. Oh, maybe that's it. Maybe class is going longer, so it's taking more out of me. That, and the heat, perhaps.
One really good thing about last night was that I had the opportunity to work with every body on the mat. I'm guessing that everybody else did the same. That meant about ten "gozaimas'ta"(s) with the bow at the end of class. But it also meant that I had the chance to work with beginners, intermediate students, and advance students - even though we are all "beginners" in Aikido.
The downside was that I had to work with one fifth kyu student who has this annoying habit of taking any technique that involves a throw, and turning it into a break fall opportunity. We were working on a type of koshinage from a ryotatori (two hands on two wrists). Our technique was sort of like this, except instead of using our hips to throw, we went down on one knee, and brought uke over our head in to a forward roll.
Whenever this guy did the technique to me, he kept holding on to my wrists and pulling them in towards him as I went down. The result of this meant that my shoulder was the first thing to hit the ground, as the rest of me flipped forward; almost a break fall. I don't mind break falls. As a matter of fact, I've gotten much better at them, but I still don't like doing them. I also worked with this same guy on a different technique that involved a similar type of throw, and he did the same thing to me on that one, too. Instead of letting go of my leading arm so I could go easily into a roll, he held on to it, and actually pulled up on it, which increased my rolling momentum, putting me into a break fall. Ah, well, I'll try to work around him the next class or two. Or I could just work with him on techniques that don't involve throws.
I also discovered that if I wait more towards the end of class to work with our class' shodan, it works better for me. By the last half of class, he's tired. He has a medical issue which limits his endurance. Now that I've discovered that, it's easier to work with him later on. This guy knows his techniques from the Ueshiba Schools of Aikido, and to say that he is wicked is an understatement. I don't know if everyone from that style is as intense has he is, but he is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
So despite my lack of "wind," it was a good class. It was sweaty and intense, but the mood through class was good. Everybody worked up to their potential (it seemed with me, anyway), and I felt that I made some improvements along the way.
Earlier yesterday, I met the girl who will be my student teacher for the fall. I like her. I don't know how well she teaches yet, but that's the point, I think. It reminds me of Aikido. We practice again and again, and eventually we begin to see little improvements. When we start to add up all the little improvements, we realize how far we've come along the path.
Hiya Meshi o Michi
- Uruwashii
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