Hustle

I was reminded yet again of the great importance of openings.

We had a small group of three for a class, and Sensei decided that the tanto would get the limelight for weapons evening. Uke attacked shomen, as nage entered omote, irmi-ed, kaiten-ed, and tenshin-ed, bringing the arm down in the process.

I got frustrated after several futile attempts to bring uke's arm all the way down to the mat. Frustrating, I say. After doing some examination and thinking, it hit me--my entrance stunk. So, after a few modifications to timing (and thanks to a very patient uke), I finally got it right. Tally ho.

-gHopper

'Tis been but a while

I sorta noticed - there have been no recent posts since September! Big blog no-no. Oops. School's been a priority lately, thus less aikido, thus less to blog about. But, I found something! (Yay)

Last night, our dojo received a pleasant surprise. Tonya, who recently finished her sentence as an uchi-deshi at New York Aikikai, dropped by the dojo for a quick hello. Did you fall for that? No, she trained.

I think the second class was by far the one of the best classes I've experienced for a while. I felt so energized. I think seeing and training with Tonya again helped to revitalize the savage within.

Sorry for the delay of posts. Will try to fix that, but for now, American History calls-er, screams.

-gHopper

Endurance

Tonight was a good night on endurance. That doesn't sound right grammatically, and frankly, I'm too tired to care; sorry. There were four people in all; a nice, round number. One person would be uke, the other, nage. Once nage threw uke eight times, they switched roles. Uke was to give hard, fast, committed attacks each time. It worked out great, and the great and merciful Sensei allowed us to take breathers every now and again.

Basically, we went all out for 30ish minutes. Yeah, it was good.

-gHopper

Can you feeel eet, mon?

The sun is up, and I, barely. Yep, it's Saturday morning, and the bed is still whining for me, nipping at my heels. "Back!" I say, "Back!"

Aikido on Saturday has quite a different "feel" as opposed to aikido on a monday night. It's the "Oh-I-love-aikido through yawns" feel. I don't know. Maybe I'm just weird...

-gHopper

Randori stuff

A few principles I've heard regarding randori:

1. DON'T FREAK OUT
2. Once you make contact with one uke, immediately shift your focus to another.
3. Use quick and easy techniques.
   
4. Move with uke; don't clash. It's aikido randori, not a jousting tournament.
5. If all else fails, scream, cry, and run away try, try, try again.

Oh, how can something so fun be so daunting? *sighs and looks at the sky*

-gHopper

Ode to...

Well, well, well. Today I received good advice on a tenkan version of kokyu-nage. This kind soul of a shodan pointed out that if I move diagonally through uke, it would make for a more proficient technique. It was most gratefully received, as this particular kokyu-nage tends to be on of my many "blegh" techniques. I suspect it may be due to lack of extension, as my arms tend to be shorter than most. But now - NOW - thanks to this sympathetic shodan, I am on the mend. Thanks, Jerry!

-gHopper

Through the valley

Have you ever felt that you've been stuck in a training rut for so long, and then you finally break through and realize you're a lot more proficient than you were a month (or two, or three) ago? Yeah. You know what I'm talking about. I'm in the rut stage right now. I can't wait 'till I break through and see the light. Well, I take that back. I can wait, but do I want to? Nope. See, that's why you're supposed to be careful when asking God to give you patience. He'll make you work for it. Ah. Just keep on rolling...

-gHopper

Element

Have you ever had one of those classes that you would just love to have again? I had one the other day. Everyone but Sensei, Patrick and I had left after the first class, and Sensei broke into the unopened can of techniques, so to speak. We really dug into juji-nage and examined its corresponding ma-ai, extension, timing, and so forth for about a third of the hour.

We then played with kotegeashi from tsuki. I learned about the timing of the tenkan and its importance in the projection aspect of kotegeashi. Patrick and I had a little fun with it; he tried to get me airborne enough to land me on my feet (which we almost accomplished).

To top it all off, we demolished a large heaping of yokomenuchi udekime-nage redirection. As uke strikes, nage irimis in (apologies to Japanese verb tense) and brings the arm in. Just before the throw is complete, nage launches uke into a roll. I learned a lot as far as ukemi goes; I was uke for a lot of the time. Boy do I love thrashings. Boy do I love aikido. Suffice it to say, it was AWESOME.

-gHopper

Little Deeper

I enjoy learning about the different aspects of techniques, such as their counter-points, purposes, and so forth. I worked with a hardcore nidan today who really knows his stuff. He showed me a few things about tenchi-nage. It's kind of hard explaining in words, but here goes.

• Good ma-ai and extension are crucial for this one.
• You have to synchronize the entire side that you step in on. For example, if I am in left hanmi, when I step in with my right foot, the hip movement has to match the step, as well as my right hand's movement.
• The reason you step back and twist towards nage is because you are trying to stand back up and counter, since you as uke know what he is going to do. At least, that was the daito-ryu/aiki-jutsu mindset I think.

Yep. That's if for now.

-gHopper

Seminar

Today we had a great seminar by Grady Lane Sensei of Brevard Aikikai, a well known and respected 6th dan shidoin. Lane Sensei teaches in a slow, precise, and technically proficient manner. He had us practice some techniques I have never seen before, as well as some familiar techniques.

We had several techniques from yokomenuchi strikes. One was a shihonage from a more direct irimi opening. Another was a sumi-otoshi/ maki-otoshi with an irimi tenkan opening. Morotetori and ryotetori techniques were also included in the repertoire. I can remember nikkyo from morotetori and a "kokyu-nage" and nikkyo from ryotetori. Katetori saw some irimi-nage and kokyu-nage action as well.

I skipped the second class since I wasn't feeling all that great. I got that awful phlegm in my nose and throat. In between chess moves, I saw some jo and *drum roll* bokken stuff a-goin' on. I recall kokyu-nage and shiho-nage, unfortunately, I have no recollection on how it was done. Bad phlegm. Bad.

It was a great seminar; thank you Lane Sensei!

-gHopper

Fresh from the mint

I tested for 4th kyu Saturday. :) It was a good test; I found some things to work on.

1. Posture- Stop bending over for throwing and pins.
2. Speed- Mine arch-enemy. SLOW DOWN!
3. Pace- I got tired after the third or fourth technique
4. Finish- Finishes needed to be more crisp.
5. Refine footwork and body placement
6. Tight pin- They don't call 'em pins fer nuthin'.
7. Precise pin- Wrist, elbow, wrist, elbow...
8. Nikkyo transition- I can't stand these. I will get them yet!

All in all, it wasn't bad. I found that I was more confident this time around despite not vigorously training for it. But I think I want some vigorous training when 3rd kyu rolls around (no pun intended).

Before closing, I'd like to congratulate my dojo mates who passed their 5th and 1st kyu tests. They were great!

-gHopper

"Runned-away" Randori

Today served another reminder to me to SLOW DOWN. There is a delicate balance between good speed and rush hour in randori. I tend to barrel away through poor ukes.

I find that when I go too fast, I lose entrance and technique opportunities. Another problem of mine is aggression, and I think it is one of the results of my spectacular speed. I end up throwing mini-punches that borderline innocent atemis and karate sucker punches. Good thing 2nd kyu is a century away.

-gHopper

Tenchi-nage

Never before have I seen so many versions of tenchi-nage. My Sensei went to a seminar hosted by Grady Lane featuring Robert Zimmerman and came back with about four versions of what I thought was one of the simplest technique of our time.

It wasn't too bad I guess. Two of them required you to step back, and two of them emphasized exxagerated hip turns. I'm sure I missed some. Oh well.

-gHopper

What's in a name

Apparently the entrance that we do for shihonage omote has a name. Something like "sokomen", if I remember correctly. I had no idea; I thought it was just irimi. However, because we are changing directions, it becomes "sokomen". Again, I have no clue, that's just what I heard.

I find it interesting to break down all the names of the entrances, movements, techniqes, and so on. Bring on the knowledge; let's cram it in!

-gHopper

Mind yer manners, see.

With an exhilarating night of bokken comes some thought. (Wow, how sentimental can this get?)

I think I found myself drifting from aikido to complete and utter savage primordial instinct. Somehow, my being nage turned into uke. I could see the fear in "uke's" eyes as I slashed wildly at the poor fellow. Not exactly the best illustration of the "art of peace". I says to myself, "What's wrong with me?" There's nothing wrong with me. It's just that there's a time and a place for savages and a time and place for civilized sword-play. How ironic the previous post was about balance, precision, etc.. Personally, I find it easier to go savage, but no one said aikido would be easy. Quittin's fer wimps, and I ain't one of them.

-gHopper

My good friend Bo

Last night we did some bokken form and work. Let me tell you, I don't like bokken. I LOVE bokken. There's just something about that wooden sword that I thoroughly enjoy. I even named mine "Bo." Not "Beau". Bo.

Rant and rave aside, practicing with the bokken gives me a better sense of centering, balance, and blah blah blah. With this one particular kokyu-nage we did, we had to be stable enough so that we didn't fall on uke. When doing ude-kimenage, we had to time our entrances and hip turns while being stable as well.

My favorite part had to be at the end where Sensei let us play around with some jiyu-waza. Despite somewhat sloppy technique, I had a blast. I can't wait till I get better at it; crisp technique + bokken jiyu-waza = Muy diversion!

-gHopper

Prioritize

They say you don't know what you have until you lose it. I get it now. At 3:28 this morning, I saw my little brother off to a week with the Boy Scouts of America to Camp Ottari in Pulaksi, Virginia. It's only 8:50 a.m and I miss him already.

This week I had planned to attend a seminar at Brevard Aikikai featuring Robert Zimmerman. The seminar is on the day that my brother returns. As of this morning, I canceled that seminar plan.

Days like today remind me of my priorities. I believe I can now say that I am honestly content with them so far. I will get to see my newly transformed brother, fresh from camp with that look in his eye that says, "Hey sister, I did it." Seeing that will be better than seeing Ueshiba himself.

"Be prepared- WE ARE PREPARED!"

Troop 35, Riverbend District, North Florida Council

Whoa, nelly..

One of the problems I seem to have is speeding through techniques. I think my brain is moving faster than my body. Very frustrating for me.

It's not just in aikido, though. Often times, I find myself thinking so fast that I can't speak. In our youth services at church, I turn the lights on way to fast. (And it looks very very weird.) Once in first grade, I rushed so fast through my test that I ended up getting a D. Yeah. It was sad.

So I guess one of the ways to solve this problem is to just force myself to slow down. I expect to see a big difference as far as proficiency and appearances in technique go. And who knows, maybe during our youth services, I won't keep getting these weird looks.