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.

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.