No Aikido this week, since Pat's been doing his Koryu Dai Ichi clinic up in OKC at Nick's place. Worked out nicely, since my wife had a beach trip with some girls from church and I was at home with our three-year-old, AND I ended up with a bad sore throat for most of the weekend. It was a nice, long, exhausting weekend and I'm looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.
Looking forward to resuming next weekend. My wife says several of the ladies that were on the beach trip were pretty interested in learning aikido after hearing her talk about it (and she pretends she's not interested, haha), so we'll see what might develop.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Aikido, 5-16-11
During Tegatana this morning, we focused on which part of our arms were the points of contact in the pushing motions. That made the floating throws, especially maiotoshi, apparent in the kata.
Next we worked on Releases. I swear sometimes it's like I'm going backwards. I think as I learn more about the techniques and principles, they keep blowing my mind. Shorting it out and resetting it. Of course 6 and 8 were perplexing as always. Now 2 and 4 are also getting to me, haha. We worked on staying in synch (footwork), maintaining connection, and a couple releases from yon kata. Maintaining the connection seems contrary to what my brain wants. It's tough to override the "Oh crap, he's got you, get out of his grip!" instinct. We talked about how it seems like the art is constantly being broken down and rebuilt / rethought as you progress, and that was certainly the case today.
We worked on Junana #11, kotehineri. My footwork is better on my strong side, so I don't have to compensate with my arm as much as I do on the weak side. I need to remember to let uke react; not to try to force the technique or underestimate his evilness or capabilities.
We took a look at the Aikikai version of kotegaeshi, and Pat showed me a version that's sort of a Tomiki/Aikikai hybrid that was pretty neat. We played with it in the context of not being able to get around uke's arm in release 1, and getting this kotagaeshi in the other direction.
Next we worked on Releases. I swear sometimes it's like I'm going backwards. I think as I learn more about the techniques and principles, they keep blowing my mind. Shorting it out and resetting it. Of course 6 and 8 were perplexing as always. Now 2 and 4 are also getting to me, haha. We worked on staying in synch (footwork), maintaining connection, and a couple releases from yon kata. Maintaining the connection seems contrary to what my brain wants. It's tough to override the "Oh crap, he's got you, get out of his grip!" instinct. We talked about how it seems like the art is constantly being broken down and rebuilt / rethought as you progress, and that was certainly the case today.
We worked on Junana #11, kotehineri. My footwork is better on my strong side, so I don't have to compensate with my arm as much as I do on the weak side. I need to remember to let uke react; not to try to force the technique or underestimate his evilness or capabilities.
We took a look at the Aikikai version of kotegaeshi, and Pat showed me a version that's sort of a Tomiki/Aikikai hybrid that was pretty neat. We played with it in the context of not being able to get around uke's arm in release 1, and getting this kotagaeshi in the other direction.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Aikido, 5-7-11
We opened with tegatana, focusing on relaxation and posture.
We played with releases 1-8 for a while, and while certain parts of 6 and 8 still felt better to me, other aspects (that I used to have less trouble with) seemed to give me problems. Sometimes it feels like when one thing gets fixed, it pushes 2 or 3 other things out of line. Ah well, there's time enough to "master" this stuff, right?
We played with our "continuous Junana" cycle, for Junana 1-5. That's really good practice. It just feels way more awkward when done on the weak side.
We looked at a few tai chi exercises to demonstrate deflection, angles, evasion, etc, and that's always neat. This led into a little bit of light randori, and I was amazed at how different randori can feel when you're looking at / thinking of different principles. We stayed in motion, and focused on yielding... "out-wussing" the other guy. You can't always be stronger than your opponent, but you can be weaker - and neat things can happen when you do that. This art continuously blows my mind.
We worked on Junana 11 quite a bit, from the perspective of it being a modified number 6. I need to focus on taking the slack out of uke's arm and pushing through him.
As I'm hitting stride as a sankyu, I'm really struck by how different the art feels now. Pat described the feeling in terms of learning letters, then words, then sentences (and learning to write in cursive somewhere in there). In any case, it definitely feels different. Sankyu feels as different from previous ranks as white belt through green belt felt different from knowing nothing about aikido at all. I'm very excited about where my aiki will go from here.
We played with releases 1-8 for a while, and while certain parts of 6 and 8 still felt better to me, other aspects (that I used to have less trouble with) seemed to give me problems. Sometimes it feels like when one thing gets fixed, it pushes 2 or 3 other things out of line. Ah well, there's time enough to "master" this stuff, right?
We played with our "continuous Junana" cycle, for Junana 1-5. That's really good practice. It just feels way more awkward when done on the weak side.
We looked at a few tai chi exercises to demonstrate deflection, angles, evasion, etc, and that's always neat. This led into a little bit of light randori, and I was amazed at how different randori can feel when you're looking at / thinking of different principles. We stayed in motion, and focused on yielding... "out-wussing" the other guy. You can't always be stronger than your opponent, but you can be weaker - and neat things can happen when you do that. This art continuously blows my mind.
We worked on Junana 11 quite a bit, from the perspective of it being a modified number 6. I need to focus on taking the slack out of uke's arm and pushing through him.
As I'm hitting stride as a sankyu, I'm really struck by how different the art feels now. Pat described the feeling in terms of learning letters, then words, then sentences (and learning to write in cursive somewhere in there). In any case, it definitely feels different. Sankyu feels as different from previous ranks as white belt through green belt felt different from knowing nothing about aikido at all. I'm very excited about where my aiki will go from here.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Aikido, 4-23-11 (Abbreviated)
Forgot to post a training log for April 23rd, and my memory is foggy. The one thing I do remember is feeling like certain parts of my Release 6 & 8 felt better than they have ......ever! It's mostly in the correct footwork at the correct time. That made a huge difference.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday Thoughts, 4/14/11
I follow Rener and Ryron Gracie on Twitter (@GracieBrothers), and they tweeted some really interesting statements this morning:
Imagine if the student was not fearful of disappointing the instructor.
Imagine if the student had the freedom to study the art to the extent that they would allow all inferior positions to happen.
The path to black belt can be cut in half.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Aikido, April 9 2011
Today we did "concrete aikido", out in the driveway. All the unusual aspects of that (wearing shoes, Sloping ground, acorns/debris, gnats and sweat in my eyes, etc) tend to shake things up, which I think is good once in a while, since chances are pretty low I'll be attacked on a mat while I'm barefoot.
Our walking kata was odd - it's tough to "fall into a step" uphill. We also did the kata with a knife in one hand, and that changes it up even more.
Releases were wonky too; for some reason, release 2 gave me fits this morning, and it usually doesn't. We talked about not only getting off the line, but getting out of the "box".
We played with Junana 1-10 with a knife-wielding uke. It was really interesting, and we explored ways to keep the knife at arms length by not engaging shoulder muscles. We talked about how Junana 1 and 2 were pretty much the only things that consistently had a chance for knife defense.
Our walking kata was odd - it's tough to "fall into a step" uphill. We also did the kata with a knife in one hand, and that changes it up even more.
Releases were wonky too; for some reason, release 2 gave me fits this morning, and it usually doesn't. We talked about not only getting off the line, but getting out of the "box".
We played with Junana 1-10 with a knife-wielding uke. It was really interesting, and we explored ways to keep the knife at arms length by not engaging shoulder muscles. We talked about how Junana 1 and 2 were pretty much the only things that consistently had a chance for knife defense.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Aikido Buddies Gathering, April 2011
I was happy to be able to make the Saturday session for this Spring's Aikido Buddies Gathering this weekend. Pat led us in an exploration of 2-hand grabs in Koryu Dai Ichi and we had a really good time playing with it. There was some very cool stuff in there.
Some of the guys from Starkville came down; it was great getting to train with Dr. Usher, Chops, Ross, and Tony. It was nice seeing Andy again too, and training with Jason, Kel, and good to meet Kevin, a striker who's a little new to Aikido.
One of the highlights to me was getting to play almost-full-speed randori with Andy for a while... Pat and I normally practive very slowly, and Pat has probably 20+ years experience on me, so it was nice to see the effect of our normal training expressed in a more chaotic situation with someone closer to my level.
Bottom line: wow, the day was really fun. We ended with Kel's shodan demo and promotion. Big congratulations to him!
Some of the guys from Starkville came down; it was great getting to train with Dr. Usher, Chops, Ross, and Tony. It was nice seeing Andy again too, and training with Jason, Kel, and good to meet Kevin, a striker who's a little new to Aikido.
One of the highlights to me was getting to play almost-full-speed randori with Andy for a while... Pat and I normally practive very slowly, and Pat has probably 20+ years experience on me, so it was nice to see the effect of our normal training expressed in a more chaotic situation with someone closer to my level.
Bottom line: wow, the day was really fun. We ended with Kel's shodan demo and promotion. Big congratulations to him!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Universal
Pat's Naihanchi stuff this past Saturday was so interesting, it may have renewed my interest in karate. I think I'm going to try to start practicing Ten No Kata again, just to get my feet wet again. It's simple, it's easy, it's......universal?
Evasive Walking
I just thought of something I forgot to include in my last training log:
Saturday, during our walking kata, the wrong-footed portions felt more awkward to me than they usually do. So we spent more time on them, and talked about hip switches, ranges of motion, foot placement, etc. But the big "sticking point" for me was the "helicopter" motion (the first wrong-footed turn).
It turns out I've been leaving out the evasion aspect of that step and just doing a mechanical set of motions. When Pat emphasized the initial motion as an evasion, it made way more sense to me, and felt much better than it has in the past.
Saturday, during our walking kata, the wrong-footed portions felt more awkward to me than they usually do. So we spent more time on them, and talked about hip switches, ranges of motion, foot placement, etc. But the big "sticking point" for me was the "helicopter" motion (the first wrong-footed turn).
It turns out I've been leaving out the evasion aspect of that step and just doing a mechanical set of motions. When Pat emphasized the initial motion as an evasion, it made way more sense to me, and felt much better than it has in the past.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Back to Blogging
Well, after a while away and a false start or two, I'm gonna try blogging again with regard to my martial art studies. These really are the times that try men's souls; I have a job that keeps me busier than ever, a car that keeps giving me trouble, aches, pains, and general ailments. In a word, life.
Speaking of my martial studies, for the reasons listed above and more, I haven't been as consistent as I should have been. Part of that has been circumstances, part of it just some laziness I suppose. Maybe I need a good dose of a freezing waterfall in my undies or something.
My last post was about how I was all committed to training at the Shotokan Karate place, but I've since given that up, haha. I think they liked to "play Japanese" too much for me there. Yes, the training was tough, but I wasn't inclined to keep going there if they insisted on playing "warrior-monk".
I have continued training Aikido with Pat, albeit way too sporadically. Hopefully that will improve soon. I'm a sankyu (third brown) now, so if I can get my rear in gear, I might be looking at shodan sometime in 2012. Not that it matters...
So this past weekend, Pat and I worked on releases quite a bit. Big takeaways:
--- In Release 1, I need to stay centered behind my hand and push, not try to push uke sideways with my arm (using my shoulder muscle - duh!). Pat tweaked this for me and it made good sense. Hopefully it will stick!
--- Dare I hope Pat was able to fix my Release 6?!? Six (and eight) have been problematic for me since day one. Pat tweaked my footwork and the timing of my turn (and pointed out the need for some urgency when my back is to uke) that felt like it did the trick! Also pointed out a bit of the hip-switch in the walking kata that appears in Six. I felt better about that release maybe than I ever have.
From releases, we went into randori. I feel like I'm getting a little better at yielding. At least I think it kept me out of a particular bind I normally get myself into.
Lastly, we played with karate's Naihanchi kata, which fits surprisingly well with Aikido. I'm always amazed at the inter-relatedness of that martial arts. Truly genius.
Speaking of my martial studies, for the reasons listed above and more, I haven't been as consistent as I should have been. Part of that has been circumstances, part of it just some laziness I suppose. Maybe I need a good dose of a freezing waterfall in my undies or something.
My last post was about how I was all committed to training at the Shotokan Karate place, but I've since given that up, haha. I think they liked to "play Japanese" too much for me there. Yes, the training was tough, but I wasn't inclined to keep going there if they insisted on playing "warrior-monk".
I have continued training Aikido with Pat, albeit way too sporadically. Hopefully that will improve soon. I'm a sankyu (third brown) now, so if I can get my rear in gear, I might be looking at shodan sometime in 2012. Not that it matters...
So this past weekend, Pat and I worked on releases quite a bit. Big takeaways:
--- In Release 1, I need to stay centered behind my hand and push, not try to push uke sideways with my arm (using my shoulder muscle - duh!). Pat tweaked this for me and it made good sense. Hopefully it will stick!
--- Dare I hope Pat was able to fix my Release 6?!? Six (and eight) have been problematic for me since day one. Pat tweaked my footwork and the timing of my turn (and pointed out the need for some urgency when my back is to uke) that felt like it did the trick! Also pointed out a bit of the hip-switch in the walking kata that appears in Six. I felt better about that release maybe than I ever have.
From releases, we went into randori. I feel like I'm getting a little better at yielding. At least I think it kept me out of a particular bind I normally get myself into.
Lastly, we played with karate's Naihanchi kata, which fits surprisingly well with Aikido. I'm always amazed at the inter-relatedness of that martial arts. Truly genius.
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