Steve Sensei announced that, in accordance with tradition (who's or from where I have no idea), all the students above the rank of sixth kyu would have to teach or demonstrate one technique from the somewhere in 2010 for the class. The technique could come from a kyu test, a seminar, a camp, or just from class. It was a small turnout last night, as there were only seven people in attendance, including Steve Sensei.
When it came to be my turn I demonstrated ushiro katadori kokyunage, as seen below. I don't remember the day we learned this technique, but I used it on my third kyu test. I had to do three different techniques on a ushiro katadori attack, and this was one that I chose to do. For whatever reason, I've been really good at this technique from the start. I think perhaps it has to do with all the motion from start to finish. I don't do as well on techniques that start from a completely static position, as so many do when we practice. I remember the vocal reaction from my uke the first time I performed this technique on him while training for my test. It took him totally by surprise, and from the reaction, it was clear there was simply nothing he could have done to stop me from doing this to him. The difference, of course, is that unlike this video, our ushiro katador always has uke starting from in front of nage, and moving around to grab from behind. For that to work, uke must come at nage as though he was going to grab nage, but nage puts up a blocking arm that forces uke to move around to behind nage. That's where the motion in this technique comes in.
Overall, class was very good. The last 20 minutes or so was spent practicing randori with two attackers. We took turns being nage, doing about four throws each, then trading off and being uke for the other two students. Hmm, I have to do randori with two partners at the end of my second kyu test. Think Sensei was trying to get me ready for my test? It is not beyond the realm of possibility. Over time he has said many supportive things to me, and helped me work through many techniques that were very difficult for me. I know he's really pushing for me to do well, not just on test, but in all my practice.
There was also a moment when we stopped our randori practice and Sensei asked one student from each group (there were two groups of three going) to switch and move to the other group. I honestly didn't want to switch, but I made sure I was the first person in my group to jump up from seiza and move to the other group. I wanted to make sure Sensei knew I was paying attention and being attentive to his directions.
Between all the different techniques, the randori, and some bokken work (with my new bokken!), I was exhausted by the time we finished. It was a great way to finish off the year.
Here's to 2011, and all the wonderful practice yet to come.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Fast, Slow, Fast
I really enjoyed last night's class. I got to work with lots of different people, which improves my Aikido, because not everyone moves the same. Some people don't move well at all, so learning to move with them takes patience, and more importantly skill. My "skill" seems to come and go like the weather, although it's staying around a lot longer than it's gone. I think there were eleven students, plus Sensei, so the mat was crowded in a good way. I think I worked with eight or nine of the eleven.
We had the opportunity to do suwari waza ikkyo last night. It's been a while since I've done any suwari waza, and as usual, I was having trouble getting going. I felt more centered than before, since I'm focusing more on my center and less on uke. I bought the two-book set, Best Aikido: The Fundamentals, and The Aikido Master Course: Best Aikido 2 with the gift cards I received from my students for Christmas this year. Both are written by Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, with the former also written by Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the former Doshu. The point being that in those books, the photos clearly show Doshu doing suwari waza techniques, and it looks to me that he is paying almost no attention to uke. He is simply staying as centered as can be, doing the techniques as though there is no uke present. Actually, to me it seems that he does all his techniques that way. So for me, when I have that opportunity to do suwari waza, I try to focus on staying centered, and it seems that my techniques work better. Duh, one might say, that's the point of Aikido: Stay centered. Well, that A-ha moment was important to me, but we've not had too many chances to do suwari waza. Staying centered while doing our standing techniques seems much less of an issue for me. The osteoarthritis in my hips and knees seriously slow me down in suwari waza, or hanmi-hantachi.
Sadly, my knees and hips were working against me, so that when it was my turn to be nage, I was having trouble blending with my uke - a first kyu who is also 100% military. He is very good. I think he said he studied with Toyoda Sensei from Chicago, and of the American Aikido Association. Fortunately, when he saw me struggling, he slowed his attacks way down - almost to the point of being painfully slow. Once he did that, however, my technique was not bad at all. A couple times he said that I was taking his balance, and really moving him around the mat. I also notice that I've stiffened up a bit while on Christmas break. I move around a lot more when I'm teaching. On break I spend much more time sitting, even though I'm reading and grading papers, and developing enrichment projects for my students. I also need to start working out again while off the mat; school and family kind of take all my time off the mat. I do not mind this, however, as I love both my family and my teaching career.
Among others, we also worked on a kokyu-nage that began like a shiho-nage on a yokomen-uchi, but added another circular movement. The technique ended with uke doing a forward roll without the leading arm. I am humbly grateful that Sensei decided to use me as the demonstration uke. All night long he stressed quiet, relaxed no-arm rolls, and this was no exception. Forward rolls, no leading arm. I had trouble with these when we first started practicing them in earnest about one month ago, but I'm at the point now where I can get into them pretty well. I must have done about six or eight when Sensei said, "Two more, and listen to how quiet he rolls," or something like that. The second of my rolls did not go well, and I slid away from him at the end of my roll. "Two more, and he better roll quietly," Sensei half-joked. The other students laughed. Luckily, both rolls were very quiet, although I was really out of breath by this time. I then practiced with Sensei, who said I did a very good job.
We had the opportunity to do suwari waza ikkyo last night. It's been a while since I've done any suwari waza, and as usual, I was having trouble getting going. I felt more centered than before, since I'm focusing more on my center and less on uke. I bought the two-book set, Best Aikido: The Fundamentals, and The Aikido Master Course: Best Aikido 2 with the gift cards I received from my students for Christmas this year. Both are written by Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, with the former also written by Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the former Doshu. The point being that in those books, the photos clearly show Doshu doing suwari waza techniques, and it looks to me that he is paying almost no attention to uke. He is simply staying as centered as can be, doing the techniques as though there is no uke present. Actually, to me it seems that he does all his techniques that way. So for me, when I have that opportunity to do suwari waza, I try to focus on staying centered, and it seems that my techniques work better. Duh, one might say, that's the point of Aikido: Stay centered. Well, that A-ha moment was important to me, but we've not had too many chances to do suwari waza. Staying centered while doing our standing techniques seems much less of an issue for me. The osteoarthritis in my hips and knees seriously slow me down in suwari waza, or hanmi-hantachi.
Sadly, my knees and hips were working against me, so that when it was my turn to be nage, I was having trouble blending with my uke - a first kyu who is also 100% military. He is very good. I think he said he studied with Toyoda Sensei from Chicago, and of the American Aikido Association. Fortunately, when he saw me struggling, he slowed his attacks way down - almost to the point of being painfully slow. Once he did that, however, my technique was not bad at all. A couple times he said that I was taking his balance, and really moving him around the mat. I also notice that I've stiffened up a bit while on Christmas break. I move around a lot more when I'm teaching. On break I spend much more time sitting, even though I'm reading and grading papers, and developing enrichment projects for my students. I also need to start working out again while off the mat; school and family kind of take all my time off the mat. I do not mind this, however, as I love both my family and my teaching career.
Among others, we also worked on a kokyu-nage that began like a shiho-nage on a yokomen-uchi, but added another circular movement. The technique ended with uke doing a forward roll without the leading arm. I am humbly grateful that Sensei decided to use me as the demonstration uke. All night long he stressed quiet, relaxed no-arm rolls, and this was no exception. Forward rolls, no leading arm. I had trouble with these when we first started practicing them in earnest about one month ago, but I'm at the point now where I can get into them pretty well. I must have done about six or eight when Sensei said, "Two more, and listen to how quiet he rolls," or something like that. The second of my rolls did not go well, and I slid away from him at the end of my roll. "Two more, and he better roll quietly," Sensei half-joked. The other students laughed. Luckily, both rolls were very quiet, although I was really out of breath by this time. I then practiced with Sensei, who said I did a very good job.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Hiya Meshi O Michi
Class at the dojo last night was intense. Not because what we did was so difficult, but because I made it difficult for myself. There is a word in Japanese, 'shugyo,' that means 'intense practice.' I've got about one year before my next test - for my brown belt. I have decided that I need to make the most of this year's practice if I intent to be truly ready for both my test, and for what is to come beyond the test. For me, at least, the brown belt carries an obligation to practice hard in order to toughen by body and sharpen my skills.
There is another phrase, "hiya meshi o michi," or, "the way of cold rice," that is also associated with dojo practice. If you've ever eaten cold rice, you know how awful it tastes, but nutritionally, it is identical to warm rice. To follow the way of cold rice is to endure what is difficult, or distasteful, in order to improve oneself from the inside. To follow budo, or the "martial way," means to improve oneself physically, mentally, and, most important, spiritually. Students who are well taught are constantly striving to become better people, to do what is right, to be generous, to be friendly and helpful.
The usual routine in class is to first warm up. After warm ups, Sensei will demonstrate a technique several times with the help of a student, who is either thrown or pinned.
There is another phrase, "hiya meshi o michi," or, "the way of cold rice," that is also associated with dojo practice. If you've ever eaten cold rice, you know how awful it tastes, but nutritionally, it is identical to warm rice. To follow the way of cold rice is to endure what is difficult, or distasteful, in order to improve oneself from the inside. To follow budo, or the "martial way," means to improve oneself physically, mentally, and, most important, spiritually. Students who are well taught are constantly striving to become better people, to do what is right, to be generous, to be friendly and helpful.
The usual routine in class is to first warm up. After warm ups, Sensei will demonstrate a technique several times with the help of a student, who is either thrown or pinned.
We started out with our first technique, and I worked with a twenty-something guy who is in Japanese Studies at one of our local colleges. We started slowly, and worked up to a breakfall. We must have done the breakfall at least eight times each. I have to guess that our practice impressed our Sensei enough that he had everyone else in the class sit down while the two of us demonstrate the technique. Each of us performed the technique once, while the other did the breakfall. It was nice to be recognized.
At the end of class we worked on a koshi-nage, or hip throw. I basically am terrible at these, mostly because my knees are so bad that it truly hurts to squat down far enough to get uke over my body, and me under uke's hips. The 1st kyu who took over at the end and was teaching this particular technique said something to me about "corkscrewing down," which really helped once I thought about it for a second. Once I stepped in I turned and dropped, and my technique improved quite a bit. It's not where I want it to be, but I have about a year to fix it, so I'm not feeling a ton of pressure.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
One Ukemi Challenge
The good stuff first: Steve Sensei came up to me after class and commented on how hard I was working last night. That's encouraging to hear, that someone at least recognizes that I'm stepping up my work in class. I'm trying harder to work at what I think is a 2nd kyu level. I should have enough hours to test for 2nd kyu by the fall of 2011. On the one hand, I'm excited and looking forward to having that brown obi tied around my waist. On the other hand, and as I'm getting used to, I feel that there are these enormous walls I have to scale to overcome the challenges of attaining higher rank.
Last night, for example, had some good and some bad. I'm pleased that my break falls are progressing as nicely as they are. There are even some times when I do the break fall and it's not even required; it's just something that naturally seems to happen. I am less than pleased that I cannot seem to master a forward roll that does not somehow use a leading arm. We were practicing a technique from shomenuchi where nage would grab the incoming wrist and elbow of uke, pivot, then drop to the knees. Uke must either break fall or do a forward roll without the use of the leading arm, because nage is using it to control the throw. I could not get it. I kept going into a break fall. When Sensei told me to just to a relaxed roll, I couldn't do it. I kept going back to a break fall type of roll, or worse yet, I kept my trailing foot on the ground in some attempt to stay planted, which forced me to rotate around nage at a 45 degree angle. You do not want to do this, because it hurts. A lot. I have a pain a couple inches to the left of my spine, right over the left side of my pelvis. It felt similar to me trying to do the break fall from irimi nage. I am still having a terrible time with that, too.
So I'm working hard, doing fairly well on my break falls, but falling short on certain kinds of rolls, no pun intended. My techniques? Oh, they're fine, it's just my ukemi that's bad.
My lovely wife also made her traditional batch of Christmas cookies for the dojo, and as tradition would have it, one of our members tried to take them all for himself. I guess his wife just doesn't bake, so he likes to take the ones I bring in. My wife warns me when I leave for the dojo, that she doesn't want me coming back into the house with any cookies - at all. Fortunately I'm able to share them with the other dojo members, although some don't take any at all, as they take this whole fitness thing way too far.
Last night, for example, had some good and some bad. I'm pleased that my break falls are progressing as nicely as they are. There are even some times when I do the break fall and it's not even required; it's just something that naturally seems to happen. I am less than pleased that I cannot seem to master a forward roll that does not somehow use a leading arm. We were practicing a technique from shomenuchi where nage would grab the incoming wrist and elbow of uke, pivot, then drop to the knees. Uke must either break fall or do a forward roll without the use of the leading arm, because nage is using it to control the throw. I could not get it. I kept going into a break fall. When Sensei told me to just to a relaxed roll, I couldn't do it. I kept going back to a break fall type of roll, or worse yet, I kept my trailing foot on the ground in some attempt to stay planted, which forced me to rotate around nage at a 45 degree angle. You do not want to do this, because it hurts. A lot. I have a pain a couple inches to the left of my spine, right over the left side of my pelvis. It felt similar to me trying to do the break fall from irimi nage. I am still having a terrible time with that, too.
So I'm working hard, doing fairly well on my break falls, but falling short on certain kinds of rolls, no pun intended. My techniques? Oh, they're fine, it's just my ukemi that's bad.
My lovely wife also made her traditional batch of Christmas cookies for the dojo, and as tradition would have it, one of our members tried to take them all for himself. I guess his wife just doesn't bake, so he likes to take the ones I bring in. My wife warns me when I leave for the dojo, that she doesn't want me coming back into the house with any cookies - at all. Fortunately I'm able to share them with the other dojo members, although some don't take any at all, as they take this whole fitness thing way too far.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
2nd Kyu Test, So Far, So Near
I'm about one year away from my 2nd kyu test. For me this is a daunting test. Unlike previous test - yokomenuchi, kote gaeshi, omote and ura - this on seems more free flowing; less concrete. When I test, the sensei will call out, not a technique, but an attack. It will be my challenge to harmonize with the attack, and demonstrate multiple techniques to neutralize the one attack. Another attack, another set of techniques. I've got to be fluid and flexible. I've got to think fast, or have ready exactly what I'm going to do ahead of time.
I've also talked to another student who took the same test about one year ago. His recommendation was to not just have different techniques, but techniques from different "families" of techniques, if you will. His thought was to have one pin, such as an ikkyo or nikkyo, a throw from the koshi nage family, another from the irimi nage or kokyu nage group. I also know jujinage, sumi otoshi, kaiten nage. I've got to mix them all in, and prove that I can do mostly any technique from any attack.
Daunting, yes, but oddly, I'm looking forward to it. It also means that I'll earn a brown belt for the first time in my "martial way" life. I started a long, long time ago, gave it up (for many reasons), and then started again. I'm glad I started again. I find this all much more satisfying than the bicycling I was doing, even though I enjoyed that, too. I'll never forget that one time, riding with the group, looking down at my speedometer and seeing that I was riding just a whisper under 40 miles per hour, inches away from the other riders. It was exciting, but doesn't compare to what I do at the dojo, and the feeling that has become part of me now that I study Budo through Aikido. It doesn't hurt that I also feel safer at the dojo than on the road. When I was riding I had people throw things at me, swear at me, try to run me off the road. I was also hit by a car once. As much as I'm thrown around on the mat, it feels much safer than being on the road. My wife and children appreciate that additional safety, too.
I've also talked to another student who took the same test about one year ago. His recommendation was to not just have different techniques, but techniques from different "families" of techniques, if you will. His thought was to have one pin, such as an ikkyo or nikkyo, a throw from the koshi nage family, another from the irimi nage or kokyu nage group. I also know jujinage, sumi otoshi, kaiten nage. I've got to mix them all in, and prove that I can do mostly any technique from any attack.
Daunting, yes, but oddly, I'm looking forward to it. It also means that I'll earn a brown belt for the first time in my "martial way" life. I started a long, long time ago, gave it up (for many reasons), and then started again. I'm glad I started again. I find this all much more satisfying than the bicycling I was doing, even though I enjoyed that, too. I'll never forget that one time, riding with the group, looking down at my speedometer and seeing that I was riding just a whisper under 40 miles per hour, inches away from the other riders. It was exciting, but doesn't compare to what I do at the dojo, and the feeling that has become part of me now that I study Budo through Aikido. It doesn't hurt that I also feel safer at the dojo than on the road. When I was riding I had people throw things at me, swear at me, try to run me off the road. I was also hit by a car once. As much as I'm thrown around on the mat, it feels much safer than being on the road. My wife and children appreciate that additional safety, too.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Humph
I went to the dojo yesterday, and overall had a great class. I'm still a bit tired, so that means I worked pretty hard. I felt good about what I did, although I was far from perfect. The only real challenge I faced yesterday was on a partner bokken exercise - although I don't remember the name - where my partner, a higher rank, really didn't know what he was doing. As nage, he was supposed to hit my bo off to my outside (right) so that I could raise my bo and move to my inside (left). The problem is that he kept hitting my bo off to my left, so when he raised up to a shomenuchi, I had no place to go. I feigned confusion and asked Sensei for help. We got the issue solved and moved on. I know this guy is a higher rank and all, but his weapon's technique is a bit rough. It's always a challenge working with him. I find that I can work better with several other student whose technique with bo or jo is much better. After we changed partners, I found myself working with a first kyu, and really moving fast, and pretty well, too. I even started to relax a bit, which made me even faster, and that's always good.
I cannot wait for Christmas so that I can use my new bo and weapons bag.
I cannot wait for Christmas so that I can use my new bo and weapons bag.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Kids' Classes
I've been thinking about teaching a kids' Aikido class ever since Steve sensei asked if I'd like to give it a go. I found a really useful web site about teaching Aikido to kids, including a sample curriculum that spirals over eight weeks to increase student learning, and a number of games that incorporate Aikido skills. I'm getting excited about this.
We also discussed whether we'd want a short-term introductory class, or something ongoing. We decided on an introductory class first, mostly as an introduction, followed by the ongoing class. Steve sensei also mentioned that we could grow the dojo by getting parents to join after their children start. This would be an added benefit.
We had a 90 minutes weapons class today; bokken and jo. It was a repeat of something I remember we did months ago, but it was an opportunity work on skills that I actually remember beyond the regular suburi, and jo work.
I used my own bo today, which is a lightweight red oak. As the class progressed and we were switching between weapons, I used other students' bokken as well. About an hour ago, I went downstairs to the basement, and slid my new bokken out of the new weapons bag; both of which I'll get for Christmas (Oh, Sweetie, how did you know?). It felt incredible. The balance is outstanding. The weight, at 750 grams, is empowering. It felt like a true weapon in my hand. I could do some serious damage with this, as it stacks up beautifully against anything else I've used at the dojo. One of the students has a bo made from hickory, which I've seen online, and I don't particularly care for it. When I've used it, I can feel the wood grain in my hands, like it's in need of a good sanding. He's happy with it, which is all that counts, I suppose, but I can hardly wait to take my new bo to it's first weapons class.
We also discussed whether we'd want a short-term introductory class, or something ongoing. We decided on an introductory class first, mostly as an introduction, followed by the ongoing class. Steve sensei also mentioned that we could grow the dojo by getting parents to join after their children start. This would be an added benefit.
We had a 90 minutes weapons class today; bokken and jo. It was a repeat of something I remember we did months ago, but it was an opportunity work on skills that I actually remember beyond the regular suburi, and jo work.
I used my own bo today, which is a lightweight red oak. As the class progressed and we were switching between weapons, I used other students' bokken as well. About an hour ago, I went downstairs to the basement, and slid my new bokken out of the new weapons bag; both of which I'll get for Christmas (Oh, Sweetie, how did you know?). It felt incredible. The balance is outstanding. The weight, at 750 grams, is empowering. It felt like a true weapon in my hand. I could do some serious damage with this, as it stacks up beautifully against anything else I've used at the dojo. One of the students has a bo made from hickory, which I've seen online, and I don't particularly care for it. When I've used it, I can feel the wood grain in my hands, like it's in need of a good sanding. He's happy with it, which is all that counts, I suppose, but I can hardly wait to take my new bo to it's first weapons class.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Another Honor for kohai * with Edit
I must be developing my aiki spirit or something. Good things keep happening, and I haven't asked for any of it.
I was sick for the first three weeks of November, then my daughter had a concert I attended, then parent/teacher conferences, then Thanksgiving. I finally made it to class on Tuesday, and it was really amazing to be back on the mat. I moved well, my ukemi was good, and my techniques were smooth with well focused ki.
The next two days I was sore from the waist down from all the standing back up again after getting thrown. Today I felt good enough again to get back to the dojo. At first it was just Sensei and me. I arrived at 9:15, and Sensei was already there, so we started putting down the mats. My daughter came with me, and acted as my otomo. She likes helping out by carrying my weapons bag. Today she tried to carry mats with me, but they were too heavy for her, so I had her straighten out the velcro flaps that keep the mats together. Sensei and I had the mat together quickly, which had him say, "It looks like it just might be you and me today." I was fine with that, but I had a feeling that some others might show before 10:00 - and I was right. Three more students showed up, including two who tested last night (Friday) at the Midwest Aikido Center in Chicago.
While we were putting the mats together, Sensei said, "How would you feel about teaching a children's Aikido class?" I was floored, frankly. I replied, "If you think my Aikido is good enough, I'd be happy to." He said he gets many emails each year asking about children's classes, and so far we have not offered any. We decided that I would investigate some opportunities to advertise, such as a Park District flyer. I also said that since I was home in the summer I thought that would be the best time to schedule it. I also said I thought a class of anywhere between four and 10 students would be ideal, because it would be small enough that I could watch everyone and offer individual assistance as needed. When I told my wife, she thought it was wonderful and was very proud of me. I was really honored.
And once again, Sensei asked about how soon I could test for 2nd kyu. I must have something going on that I don't yet see in myself. Mostly I feel very good about classes these days, but once in a while I just don't feel good about some aspect of my Aikido. Today was no different. We were practicing doing a break fall from irimi nage for the very first time. I was having a difficult time of it, I'll tell you. Instead of flipping vertically, I was flipping horizontally, and it was awful. I had to try at least a dozen times before I got even slightly vertical. By the time Sensei said, "Yame," (stop) I was basically getting it. One side was clearly better than the other. Once or twice I had a nice fall on my good side, but I still need some work on my "stupid side," as our resident shodan calls it, as in, "we all have a smart side and a stupid side."
* (edit) I don't know what I did yesterday at class, but I can't believe how sore I am today, particularly in my upper body. Nothing comes to mind. Even the weapons work didn't seem that taxing, so I am at a loss.
* (edit) I don't know what I did yesterday at class, but I can't believe how sore I am today, particularly in my upper body. Nothing comes to mind. Even the weapons work didn't seem that taxing, so I am at a loss.
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