Last Practice of the Year

Today was the last practice of the year for me. So much has happened this year. So many great experiences, new achievements, friends and contacts. I'm satisfied with 2012, and hope 2013 is even better.

I started with some kata practice again, before the official practice started. I was eager to show off that I had mastered nanahon-me at home doing shadow kata alone in my living room. I had Ino-san and Koyama-san help me again today. I was happilly much more confident with roppon-me than I was last week, though I completely forgot shidachi's final move into hidari-jodan at the end. D'oh!

And as eager as I was to show off my new nanahon-me skills, of course, it was still clunky and inaccurate. I managed not to fall this time, and could mostly bring myself down into a crouch smoothly. We worked mostly in the complicated footwork involved in nanahon-me. I bruised my right kneecap again, but I got some valuable tips for creating the right distance and strike. They tried to include some advice as far as feeling and intensity go, but I can't focus on that until my muscles have memorized the correct motions.

Practice felt good today. I opted out of choyaku-suburi again so I wouldn't have clogged airways for the rest of practice. We did a bunch of kirikaeshi wall to wall. I did my best to keep my arms up and my left fist centered again and was mostly successful. We did some stamina exercises involving an ai-waza followed by a continuous five strikes. I'm getting better at these.

Mawari-geiko was a lot of fun too. I got to fight Ino-san again and once again was scolded to go straight and not veer around my opponent. I got to fight Murata-san again. I swear he switched hands for the long shinai. I got a nice bruise on my upper arm for my efforts and wasn't able to strike him once. I was leaning forward too much, and Itou Sensei corrected me on that. It was hesitation and indecision getting in the way of correct kendo, unfortunately. Mawari-geiko must have lasted longer than usual because after a 5 minute break I was stunned to see we only had 10 minutes left.

I used the time to ask Koyama-san to help me correct my dou-uchi. He started me with some very basic stationary strikes, followed by a one step strike and some dou-kirikaeshi. His dou strike is incredibly strong! I'm envious, but I don't want to attempt to strike a strong dou right now while my form is still incorrect. Chances are I'll end up hurting someone or myself. I'm glad to have nanahon-me as an excuse to ask for more dou-uchi instruction.

After five minutes of large motion dou-uchi we did some small motion dou-uchi and then some tiny motion dou-uchi and finally microscopic motion dou-uchi (I exaggerate but still). The point was to get used to making a small, quick strike at the side for nanahon-me. He also corrected my footwork. In an attempt to focus on where my hands are, I have neglected my feet, and as a result, step too far to the right. Instead, I need to work on stepping forward, slightly to the right with a small step. This will ensure that my strike hits the side of the dou and not the front.

We closed practice with a final round of kirikaeshi though I did it twice because Koyama-san was correcting my strikes.

At the end of practice, Itou Sensei called us together to remind us about the importance of correct distance and correct seme. He said that to continuously strike your opponent without care is selfish kendo. That instead we must hold out, pressuring each other with our seme until we cannot hold out any longer. Then we strike boldly at our opponent. I will do my best next year to apply this to my kendo.

To everyone reading, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll continue to fill out the rest of the website over the break and hope to continue to bring you coverage of my kendo experience in Kyoto throughout 2013.

Final Women's Practice of the Year

I love the way the Butokuden smells. I think it comes from having  many fond childhood memories of wood cabins and camp fires. The Butokuden, being a large, entirely wood structure has that amazing old wood smell that makes me feel both nostalgic and comfortable.

I've wondered (and asked) if the Butokuden structure as it is retains the same wood that it was built with over a hundred years ago. No one I've asked so far has known. Certainly, there are some planks and beams that look old, and some that are obviously new. There are also new amenities such as electric lights and glass on the windows, but the over all feel of the Butokuden remains old, rooted and historical. I like it.

Women's practice today went well, I think. It was a moderately sized group, evenly divided between older and younger members. I still sit somewhere in the middle. While there are women my age who attend practice, their dan is higher than mine. Because of that, I can't entirely be grouped in the older group (their dan starts at yon-dan) nor can I be completely a part of the younger group, which consists mostly of high school girls. Today I floated between being motodachi and participating in the drills, as rotation required.

We did the normal stretching and warm up routine, with a nostalgic twist at the end. Kuzuta Sensei had the younger half of the class do a kiai drill. It was just a standing drill, in kamae but it brought back memories of running back and forth across the length of a gymnasium screaming myself purple.

Predictably, the first round had very weak kiai. We went back and forth in a sort of kiai competition to encourage the younger girls to be louder and more energetic. The kiai should come from the stomach, not the throat. You get a stronger voice this way, and a longer breath to use. Furthermore, vitality comes from tanden, the spot just below the navel. Kiai should come from the stomach and subsequently store energy in the tanden. This energy is then released explosively when we complete ki ken tai and lingers on in zanshin.

From there, we put on our men and did several rounds of kirikaeshi. We rotated as motodachi so the impact of 6 rounds of kirikaeshi was not felt as much. The focus was on striking large, accurate hits. My focus was keeping my left hand in the center. Itou Sensei corrected my sayu-men a little while back. My tenouchi slips on the left swing and I lose a lot of power through the subsequent awkward angle of my wrists.

We followed this up with some kihon drills. Since none of the male teachers were going to be in attendance today, the focus of the practice was kihon. When practicing men-uchi in particular, we were asked to be aware of not just our arms, but our knees, legs and body. Correct timing and a crisp, audible sound with fumi-komi-ashi is key to completing a valid hit. Likewise, the distance cannot be crossed with arms and body alone. Leaping forward the correct distance and keeping the upper body straight keeps strikes correct and beautiful looking.

Following these drills we took our ten minute break. Fortunately, my lower back was a little more forgiving today. My breathing still hasn't reached it's full efficiency again, however. As irritating as that is, there's nothing for it. Little by little at least, my airways are clearing and kendo is becoming easier again.

After the break, we dove into the more complicated drills and waza. This is the part that I like best, aside from the actual keiko part. We did hiki-waza which I'm really glad for. Hiki-waza are my favorite waza. The timing of them just feels good, I think. We did hiki-men and hiki-dou (my dou has become so horrible) and then things got complicated.

We did a drill that involved on person to do men-hiki-men. The motodachi then had to chase the first person and hit men. We did this for a few rotational rounds, and then changed the final men to kote-men. These I could do easily, but then the pattern became more and more complicated. Waza were added into the mix until it became an impossible Simon game that I couldn't understand anymore. I asked my motodachi exactly what it was that we were supposed to be doing and she answered with such a long string of varied waza that I could only shrug my shoulders helplessly.

We finished practice with a few rounds of three minute mawari-geiko and some kakari-geiko.  It was interesting practicing with some of the younger girls there. I could see myself in my early years in them. It made me realize how far I've come, and how I am now in a position to help those younger than me. I could see their mistakes, because I've made them, and I know how to react to them now because I've had so many good teachers in my study. It was an interesting experience.

Unfortunately, another practice was arriving, and I suppose they needed us out quickly and we had to finish early..

After practice, we said our end of the year aisatsu and that was the last women's practice of the year. I was complimented on timing again, which is uplifting to hear, considering I practice with so many high ranked, and skilled people. To be told that, at the very least, I can keep a good timing with them is more than validation enough. My dou though I was told, truthfully enough still needs work. It will be something to focus on in the new year.

The end of the year nomi-kai will be on January 16th. Apparently, the February women's practice will be held in Osaka! I hope I'm able to attend!

The Pain and the Rewards

Wow! Two things really.

First of all, I can't believe how much my legs hurt after that thirty minute nanahon-me kata practice! I've seriously been hobbling up and down the stairs the past two days! Also, the bruise on my knee cap has turned a lovely shade of purple/pink. Is it a coincidence that my favorite colors always manage to turn up on my bruises?

Secondly, even though it hurts like a hundred forks in my leg, I've been reviewing nanahon-me by myself whenever I can find a space big enough to swivel around in, and void enough of people so that no one gives the crazy woman flailing her arms around at an imaginary enemy strange looks. The first day I spent reviewing roppon-me and nanahon-me just in my head, going over the footwork and the timing that I learned on Monday. The second day, I shadow kata'ed with myself and wow! Amazingly, not only was I able to (painfully) get myself down into the after dou crouch in nanahon-me but I was able to pivot (painfully) without falling on my backside!

This is really uplifting for me right now. It's just what I needed after the last two weeks of a very slow start back into kendo. I really can't stress enough the power of visualizing your goals. Your mind can train your body just as effectively as pumping your muscles. Likewise, it seems that my decision to just go, despite not feeling into it, and not effectively 100% able to breathe yet was a good one. There's no cure for lethargy but to move. I still need to make sure that the bronchitis doesn't relapse, but I can get through most of a practice without suffering, so I'll push as far as I can go.

On Being Told to Chill Out and Warm Up

Today's Fuchou practice was a little better than the last two. My body has grown a little lazy from the November of inactivity, so I resolved to recondition myself as fast as I could.

Fortunately, it was snowing this morning, so I had a little extra motivation to haul ass up the mountain to see the city scape under the snow. The snow fall didn't last long, but the air was crisp and clean and it was pretty going up, with the temple under a light white blanket. It was good to be moving again. I realize that since bicycles are so convenient in Japan, I don't walk nearly as much as I used to. I would like to walk to work, but carrying my bogu with me for the 40 minute walk would be too much, I think, especially considering the hour and a half walk from work to Fuchou, and the 2 hour walk from Fuchou back home. It would certainly be good exercise, but I don't know if my body could handle that. Instead, I'll incorporate an hour walk up and down the mountain and around the neighborhood in the morning to make up what I would be walking in Canada.

I was still feeling a little uninspired for kendo today, even after the walk, but really, there's nothing to help that feeling but to keep going, so I went, and I'm glad that I did.

I practiced kata with Koyama san and Ino san. Ippon-me to gohon-me felt a little smoother today than it did on Thursday, but I could still feel a few clunks in the works. I need to practice making myself more fluid. Mostly they worked me on roppon-me and nanahon-me which I know very little of.

The footwork of roppon-me was tripping me up a bit. I always get a little confused as to which foot goes where for the side stepping kata  like nihon-me, yonhon-me, roppon-me and nanahon-me. Since  roppon-me happens so fast, I had to keep asking  to stop and analyze what they were doing and what I was doing. It's such a tiny motion, the side step with the left foot, the forward step with the right foot and the suriage-kote that I needed to do it a bunch of times on my own before I felt confident enough to do it in the kata itself. Fortunately I have really patient teachers.

Eventually I was able to do it to my own satisfaction, but it'll take more work to make it perfect. Nanahon-me, however, I couldn't complete today. It took a long time to get the dou footwork correct (I'm still not comfortable with it) and during that time my poor left leg took the task of supporting my weight awkwardly as I tried to pivot in a crouch.

What it came down to was, I continue the pivot directly into a charlie horse or I fall on my ass. I fell on my ass. Everyone got a good chuckle out of it, but a chuckle is better than a scolding. In the end it came down to my leg being too weak to perform the motion, so I'll be doing more squats as well in the morning to make sure I'll be able to swing down into that kneeling position again.

By the end of kata practice I was wheezing, but practice was starting so there wasn't much time to clear myself out. The suburi drills went by as usual, though  I couldn't do choyaku-suburi today. I wasn't going to attempt it while already wheezing from just kata. 

We went through the usual men-uchi and kote-men-uchi drills as well as some kirikaeshi. I pushed myself through all of them, not at full strength, but at least thankful that I could do them better than last week. Itou Sensei caught me, however, and told me I should take a rest. So, I sat out and watched the rest of the drills and a round of mawari-geiko. I tried to jum in for the second round but Itou Sensei told me to sit out again. In the end, I managed to pop in for the third round and had a decent fight with Ino san. I was happy that some of the fight had come back to me. By that time, I actually did want to fight again, which was a welcomed relief. It's hard doing kendo when you don't feel like fighting.

After that one keiko,  however, I sat out for the rest of practice. I need to push myself, and force myself to go, and to try and to recondition my body, but I can't break myself. I've been out of practice too long now. I don't want to miss even more.

So watching from the side lines how people moved and hit, Itou Sensei tells me it's cold and I need to put on a jacket. I wasn't feeling cold at the time, but he reminded me how often I get sick, and so I relented and got my winter coat. Even at 27, I still need someone to tell me to put my coat on when it's cold outside.

I love kendo.

A Winter Freeze

Tonight's practice wasn't one of my better ones. I've been feeling uninspired and unenthusiastic about most things recently, and I'm hoping that it's just a product of the medicine I've been taking. I haven't really wanted to do anything, kendo included, but I forced myself to go. The longer I'm out, the harder it will be to get back in. It was really hard to muster a can do attitude today. Mostly all that came was a "why do I keep doing this to myself?" sort of feeling.

Everyone goes through these periods, and it's just a matter of continuing to make myself go to practice until things start to feel right again. I'm hoping once I can breathe easier again the feeling will pass and I'll be able to pick up where I left off.

On the whole, today's practice wasn't a bad one, just an uninspired one. I realized half way through that I just wasn't in the mood to fight anyone. Practice followed the usual routine; warm up, suburi, basic drills, mawari-keiko and ju-geiko. Fukao Sensei said my men was looking good. Some of them felt good, to be sure, but others felt crooked. I was leaning to the right again today and my right leg cramped up real bad again.

Since my run of medication has finished this week, I'm going to do my best to increase my daily exercise and get my body back into kendo working condition.

I'm taking every precaution at work to avoid getting sick again; vitamin C, masks and (even more) obsessive hand washing have become part of my daily routine. I really do love practicing kendo in Japan. It's been a great experience, and the level of kendo I'm challenged with has really forced me above and beyond what I thought I could be capable of in the past. Sometimes though, it seems that Japan is trying its best to keep me from practicing, with the heat in the summer and the barrage of illnesses in the winter.

Back to Business

I had a day off today! With my work schedule constantly changing I have to rearrange my kendo schedule as well, and I was a little disappointed to lose my Thursday evenings. Today though, my student was absent, so I jumped on the opportunity to go to Ren Shin Kai again.

As Majima-san said, it was incredibly cold. Only half the people even showed up. Even Sugaya Sensei was absent. Some of the women and I got into a discussion as to which is better to practice in, the heat of summer or the chill of winter. Only one person suggested that summer was better and we all kind of exchanged looks like she was crazy. Sure, it's freezing cold in the winter time, but at least you can warm your body up during practice. There's no escaping the heat of summer.

Majima-san was excited to practice kata and so was I, though I really need to ask Koyama-san to go over roppon-me and nanahon-me with me. I'll need them for san-dan and I want to be able to practice all the way through the kata forms in the near future when people ask. Unfortunately I was a bit rusty today. I could feel that I was a bit stiff and unbalanced. Majima-san complimented me as always, but it didn't feel as fluid as it usually does. More practice is needed. She suggested that (as shidachi) I take larger steps back to center in sanbon-me. I think that's what I'll work on next in kata training; being able to accurately place myself back to center, and to remain on a straight line.

Practice was tough today. I hadn't been to practice since the women's practice a week and a half ago, which put a lot of strain on my still recovering respiratory system. I've been taking it a little easy in the hope to heal quickly. Also the medicine the doctor gave me makes me a bit sleepy so I haven't been inspired to do much more than slug around the house.

But one can't hibernate the winter away as was demonstrated today. Stamina was low, in part because I still don't have full lung capacity yet and in part because I haven't been moving much recently. My muscles got stiff very quickly and my body wasn't working in sync with itself. I was reaching too much with my arms and not lunging far enough with my leg. More than once my left leg got left behind and my right arm extended too far. Amateur mistakes that I could absolutely feel I was making. I did my best to make up for it with ki and kiai, but there's only so far that can get you. I ended up with another nice bruise from a dou hit that went too high.

My last fight went a little bit better. Body had warmed up a bit and I was feeling a little more cleared out in the lungs. My opponent however, was shorter than me, so he kept creeping in closer than I would have liked. It forced me to either attack before I was ready or retreat. Retreat is rarely the better option, so all that remained was to make myself ready faster and try to catch my opponent off guard. It was a good fight, but I was exhausted by the end of it. I'll need to up my training some more and try to recover some lost stamina. I'll go to Fuchou tomorrow and see what I can do there.

Fighting New Sensei!

Yesterday was a national holiday in Japan (something like Thanksgiving, only with less turkey and more tourists crawling through our neighbourhood to see the momiji) so there was no kendo, even though my energy has come back and I really wanted to go.

Fortunately, there was women’s practice today! Yuko unfortunately is sick, and so were a bunch of people, because only half as many showed up this month as opposed to last month. I was feeling good, not weighed down at all by the germs that have been plaguing me all month. Finally, I can get back into kendo!

Practice was much the same as it was last time, though we only had one break this time in the middle. We did our warm up and suburi, put on our men and did some men-uchi waza and six rounds of kirikaeshi. My lower back and calves started to seize up half way into the first hour from disuse this month, but I pressed on until the end.

In the second half we did more men, kote and dou-uchi, as well as some hiki-waza. I was complimented on my debana and suriage-waza which was nice considering I’ve been struggling to teach them to myself these past few months.

Keiko was really welcomed, and since there were less people attending, I could fight with all three sensei present which was great! 

The first was really strong. Kuzuta Sensei has a strong seme and likes to press forward quickly so there was little chance to reset myself. It was a lot like fighting Sugaya Sensei, only with less playful teasing and a more serious feeling. I couldn’t get very far with him, because he pressed me so hard and so quickly that I was quickly exhausted, but it was a good exercise nonetheless.

My second fight was with Masuda Sensei. He was somewhat more relaxed in that he didn't constantly press the distance too short, but his seme was still strong. He tagged me twice on the same spot on my hip with a sensei power level strike. It hurt like hell both times and on the second time he stopped and asked if I was all right. Yuko says that I should have said “It hurts! It hurts it hurts it HUUUURTS!!” but I told him I was fine and wiggled in my dou a little to ease the discomfort and we kept going. I prefer to pretend that I’m fine, even if I’m not because if I give in to the thought that I’m in pain, I’m less likely to want to continue, and I NEED to continue.

My last fight was with Toyoda Sensei. He was really fun to fight, probably because his feeling was the most relaxed and it felt more like I was playing than in a life or death battle. I managed to score a hit or two and he seemed to be impressed which was uplifting.

At the end of practice I was pretty exhausted. My lungs were feeling sticky again and the cough was coming back, so I bowed out of the final rounds of kakari-geiko.

I was told that sometimes I cock my elbow out, which tilts me to the side a bit and that I should concentrate on being as straight as possible. I was also told that I had amazing energy, which is a great thing to hear on the first practice back after a month of being sick!

Observations

What a rough month this has been. Just as I was recovering from my cold, it morphed into bronchitis, and just when it seemed that the bronchitis might be clearing up, my cold made a come back. I was knocked flat for 3 days with a fever and the coughing became so bad that I ripped the back of my throat and started coughing up blood. The fever finally broke last Friday and I’ve been feeling better ever since, though it still feels like I’ve swallowed a knife, talking and laughing both hurt, so today I went to practice just to watch.

I like to watch people’s footwork on days when I can’t practice, and the mechanics of their swings. As expected, those who utilize the energy of all of the joints in their arms get the most out of their swings. They are faster and snap harder than those who use only one or two joints. 

Watching people who have mastered the basic mechanics of kendo, it makes it seem like it's easy. Every motion is fluid, timed and connects perfectly. It's always so much harder than it looks, of course, but when I can visualize the motions that I see, I find that I can reproduce them a little bit better. 

When I was just starting kendo, I used to visualize that there was a tennis ball hanging from a short string from the tip of my shinai and that my goal was to hit my opponent in the back of the head with that ball. That visualization helped train me to get my shinai to snap down with the motions of my joints, and not crash down like swinging an ax. 

In the end, there are so many small mechanics of the body that need to work in harmony for the motions of kendo to look as good as they do on some of the guys I watch. So many pieces to the puzzle of great kendo that I'm still looking for and trying to fit together, but watching a practice is as much training as actually participating.

Watching a Test

Today was Yuko’s yon-dan test. I told her after I got my ni-dan that I would come and watch her test and cheer her on. I was really excited when my Sunday class got transferred to another teacher, because it meant I could go from the very early morning to watch from the beginning.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the new Sunday teacher got the flu on Saturday and couldn’t make it for Sunday, so I had to take over her class. The test usually lasts from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, however, so I could watch from 12:30.

When I got there, Yuko had already finished, and she happily told me that she passed!! She only had to do the shiai portion, because she took a three day seminar to be exempt from the kata and the written. She has tried for 6 years to get yon-dan, so understandably, today was a very happy day for her. She said she spent the whole morning before the exam telling herself that she could do it, and visualizing herself moving and striking. There’s a lot to be said about the visualization process before an endeavor. Involving your mind before you involve your body is, perhaps, a more effective warm up than actual suburi or drills. The mind is a very powerful tool in kendo.

Yuko wanted to wait until the end of the test in order to thank all of the sensei who had helped her along the way, which was fine for me, because I wanted to snap some pictures and watch the test.

Apparently, about 500 people were testing today. The gym was packed with people, and even a few foreigners. Yuko explained that in Kyoto for shodan through yon-dan, the test happens four times a year. Go-dan and roku-dan, it’s twice a year, and for nana-dan and hachi-dan, it’s only once a year. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for people to travel to another city to take a test, to maximize the number of times they can take a test in a year. In fact, Satou Sensei took his test today in Nagoya, and a few weeks back, Koyama san took his roku-dan test in Okayama.

In the end, the judges were really strict today. Only 72% of shodan passed, 73% of ni-dan, 76% of san-dan, 32% of yon-dan and 36% of go-dan. The reason stated was there wasn't strong enough kiai and kihon was really lacking. It was obvious that kiai was lacking. Voices were really weak and didn’t project at all. It’s good to remember that basic techniques and a good, strong kiai are the foundation of kendo and ought to never be forgotten.

At the end of the test, I took Yuko out for a celebration slice of cake. We’re going to have a celebration nabe party too, which I’m really looking forward too! For now, we both need to focus on the next step up on our journey, san-dan and go-dan. We can do it!

Well isn’t this just great.

Bronchitis again. Back in Canada, I used to get bronchitis when I was in elementary school. I had a flair up again in senior year of high school, but since then, it hasn’t been an major issue.

Then I moved to Japan. For whatever reason, be it to incredibly dryness of the air in Kyoto winters, or my body still using all of its immune resources to fight colds, leaving none left for bacteria, or maybe over the years I’ve just become more susceptible. Whatever the case, every year since coming to Japan I’ve had to deal with this, sometimes twice a year, and as far as kendo goes, it makes it very very difficult.

I should have known that something was up after practice on Monday. I was absolutely exhausted. Way more than I should have been, even taking into account 6 rounds of mawari-geiko on a bum leg. It took a lot of effort just to ride my bike home afterward, and I all but called it a night as soon as I got home.

For the rest of the week I was just as tired, and progressively, my throat became dryer and itchier, something that no amount of water could fix. By Friday, I was hacking, and there was nothing that could be done. I can do kendo to an extend on a pulled groin, but a pulled groin and bronchitis at the same time is impossible.

Instead, I’ve been focusing on arm and core strength at home with suburi and push ups, and mostly keeping warm under the kotatsu with lots of water, tea and Benylin. After coughing up what can only be described as glue this morning, I think going to kendo would be a bad idea today, so I will stay home and try and get this under control as quickly as possible.

LIttle Good, LIttle Bad

Practice today is best described as “a little good, a little bad”. It could have been a lot worse, I guess, but at least it wasn’t a disaster.

To start with, my left leg was feeling much better, no pain during stretches, and no tightness when I did a few trial lunges. Itou Sensei asked me if I was genki and I could enthusiastically tell him that yes, I was genki! And I was too. I got through all of the warm up suburi with high energy (though chouyaku suburi was taxing).

We did a bit of ai-men, some large motion men, and some kote-men, all of which felt pretty good. We also did kirikaeshi, and that’s when my leg started to tighten up again. I didn’t want to stop before the end of mawari-geiko though, so I stuck it out. Itou Sensei split the usual three sets of 2 minute mawari-geiko into three 1 minute rounds, two 1 and a half minute rounds and one 2 minute round.

It was obvious right away that initiating an attack myself wasn’t going to work. I’d have to get way too close to be able to execute one without lunging, and Itou Sensei already corrected me once on being too close during the drills. That pretty much left pressing my opponent to attack first by both inching forward slowly or by giving an obvious opening and then responding with a hit and a stationary fumikomi.

It worked with some success. Unfortunately there were still some instances were I had to launch the first attack, or where instinct launched me forward before I could remind myself that 'oh right, my left leg isn't working'. My leg did not appreciate that at all. Sankyu became very hard to get in and out of but there was nothing for it. I kept going through all the rounds, which got especially painful with taller opponents who I had to ground myself on my left leg against. But, at least I learned the lesson of how to get opponents to attack me first.

I sat the ju-geiko out, however, not wanting to stess my leg to the point of needing a longer rest than I want. Instead I just practiced more suburi by myself. That, combined with the suburi I do in the morning, and the suburi at the beginning of practice makes it 500 suburi I’ve done today.

At the end of practice Itou Sensei initiated a drill that I was sorry to have to have missed. Everyone found a partner and would stand in kamae. When Itou Sensei clapped the wooden blocks together, they were supposed to launch into ai-men without hesitation. It was interesting to watch those who could snap forward at the clap, and those who hesitated. It was a good drill to practice seizing an opportunity with zero hesitation when it presents itself. I hope that he does it again when I’m able to snap forward myself. It looked like a lot of fun!

On Wanting to Go Higher

Today was a very frustrating practice. I think it was made more frustrating because of other frustrating things in my life recently. I haven’t been made truly angry at a practice in a long, long time, and I’m hoping that I can change this emotion into something positive.

Basically, I pulled my groin in my left leg on Monday, so any sort of forward lunging motion is off the table. I still have the mobility to walk without pain, and to do some limited stretches, but anything that involves lunging forward from my left leg is still really painful, so that eliminated 70% of practice for me.

So instead of doing the drills and the keiko, I practiced men-uchi by myself, over and over and over until the floor became too energetic for there to be any room for me to safely practice. From there I watched, thinking about what sort of drills I might be able to do that do not involve lunging and I remembered a stationary drill we did occasionally in Canada. Motodachi would hit for men, and the practitioner would strike suriage-dou left and right over and over and over. The speed of the drill could be adjusted for skill level either very fast or very slow.

I thought this would be a perfect drill, considering I couldn’t lunge, I’ve wanted to, at the very least practice suriage for a while now, and it didn’t have to be a complicated drill that would necessarily mess up what I’ve already achieved with men-uchi.

So I waited until the last 7 minutes of practice to ask to do this drill. I explained how it works and even demonstrated and I was flatly refused. I was told to just keep hitting men. I was shocked, but I did it, until someone else cut in to take my spot.

Anyway, the continued refusal to even consider allowing me to practice anything other than men is getting very frustrating. I think it’s compounded by the fact that when I was beginning in Canada I was told up front that if I wanted to learn something, I needed to ask for it.

I’ve been patiently accepting that my teachers here want me to excel in basic training before I attempt anything more complicated, but to not even allow such a simple drill as standing in one place and striking the same spot again and again?

After practice I commented that my basic men-uchi must still be very bad. I was told that no, no, my men-uchi was very beautiful and everyone thought so. I asked why, then, if my basics are so beautiful, can I not learn something else? I was told that those things are very difficult.

What if they are difficult because we don’t practice them?

In any case, it seems the only way I’ll be able to convince anyone to let me practice anything other than basic men or kote (they won’t even let me practice basic dou) is to step up my practice and act like a san-dan. Ni-dan, it seems, is not good enough.

Crippled

My left leg was feeling much better today when I woke up. I've been tenderly stretching it and icing it and in general not over exerting it this whole week in the effort to have it healed in time to go to the open practice at Butokuden today. Ever since that first women's practice I've been wanting to practice at the Butokuden again.

There were even some people there tonight that I knew! Koyama san very nicely introduced me to the head teacher. He explained that I love kata and that I got both shodan and ni-dan in Japan. I'm sure he spoke more highly of my level that I actually am, but it was not my place to correct.

There was no structured warm up; we all had to warm up on our own, just like at Ren Shin Kai. I di a few more careful stretches of my leg and hips before we started practice. Unfortunately, a single men-uchi drill into practice and it was obvious that this was a losing battle. Pain sliced through my left leg on the first lunge. I completed the final two men-uchi drills on will power alone, and then limped back to the tatami mats to watch the rest of practice. Apparently two days of resting doesn't heal an injured groin. Who would have thought?

It was incredibly disappointing, and embarrassing, especially after Koyama san took the time to introduce me so carefully to the head teacher. We have to make the most of a bad situation, however, and I tried to find the silver lining in not being able to practice today as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the motions of Wednesday open practice, so that when I'm able to return, I'm not as confused by the motions as I might have been today.

During the ju-geiko portion of the practice, I watch Yasuda san wait in line for 30 minutes to practice with a the head teacher who gave her only a minute of kakari-geiko. It's incredible how long people will wait to practice with a teacher, though I can understand it. I find myself rushing to to get to the front of the line to fight Sugaya Sensei at Ren Shin Kai as well, on occasion.

From a watching stand point, however, it seemed like an incredible waste, to wait so long for so little. I'm sure though, it was entirely the practice she needed, as her test is coming up again.

Too Much

Starting a rigorous kendo training schedule is tough. There are all sorts of limits a stubborn body wants to impose when it comes to training harder. Stiff muscles, aching joints, pulled muscles and a general lethargy are all things that slowly need to be plowed through to increase the endurance of the body. Today was one of those days.

I was still sore and lethargic from the two hour practice on Saturday, so I made sure to stretch a little extra today, jogging around the gym to try and loosen up my muscles. My knee felt a little weak and sore so I worked a bit on it too. I had a discussion with Koyama san about knee injuries, and he helped me a little bit with making a nicer men-uchi before practice started up.

Itou Sensei wanted us to make sure our strikes connected and didn’t simply bounce back up into the next one, that there was some amount of pause between the two strikes. He was getting on some of the guys’ cases about it, and asked Sato Sensei to do a further ten strikes. Then, we all did another twenty strikes and following that, Itou Sensei asked me to do another ten. Embarrassingly, everyone clapped after I’d finished. By that time, the extra hits plus having started rather tired made me absolutely exhausted. I don’t think I completed the full 50 sayu-men-uchi, and the final choyaku-suburi nearly flattened me, but I finished.

We started with a couple sets of 5 basic kihon in one breath, and then did some kirikareshi. The oval shape of my tsuka gave me it’s first disadvantage today in that it hurts the muscles in my hand to do sayu-men for a long period of time. It’s something I’ll have to get used to.

Next, we did 4 rounds of mawari-geiko which, honestly, I can’t tell you how I survived. It was tough. My body just didn’t have the energy for it. I wish I had a bit more time to energize myself for the practice, but coming right in from a difficult day at work was a bit halting.

I took a water break between mawari-geiko and ju-geiko, and then fought Inoue san. He’s incredibly fast. I couldn’t land a single hit on him before he got me. I’ll have to try and fight him again to see how he does it. After that, I asked for a match with Tanaka san, though we didn’t get very far. I launched myself forward for a hit and pulled my groin. It’s not the first time I’ve sustained this injury, and it probably won’t be the last, but I’m always surprised by how much, and how suddenly it hurts. Like, laughing while in tears sort of pain.

I managed to limp over to the side to recompose myself before stepping off to just watch the rest of the practice. I’m told I should rest, but I have practice again on Wednesday. If it feels all right on Wednesday morning, then I should be able to practice, but I should take it slow. I think, then, I’ll go to the Butokuden practice on Wednesday.

Yuko suggested that I not go at all, but I’m getting tired of being side tracked by injury or illness every time I make a commitment to do all the kendo I can do. I just want to do kendo! I don’t want to rest anymore!

Finally, Women's Practice

Finally! A women’s practice at Butokuden that I can attend! This is my first time practicing at the Butokuden, and after having finished my research on the place, I’m really excited to be practicing there. There’s so much history surrounding the Butokuden, so many great teachers and students practiced there. Hopefully I don’t disappoint.

 

The nice thing about having the occasional practice that’s longer than usual ones is that it puts into perspective how easy usual practices are. I always felt this way after Gasshuku in Vancouver, “If I can do 8 hours of kendo in one day, then it’s nothing to go back to 2 hours a day.” I feel the same now after women’s practice. If I can survive 2 hours of this practice, then normal practice is nothing.

To start with, I arrived at the Butokuden way too early, so I sort of lingered around the grounds until someone showed up to open the doors. I told her that I was sent by Yuko, which seemed to be enough for her to not ask any further questions.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have an invitation before attending a new club’s practice. If you don’t already know someone who can get you an invitation, then the best way to get an invitation is to arrive at the practice in street clothes (don’t presume you’ll be allowed to practice the first day you meet someone) and politely either wait until someone approaches you, or ask someone to tell you about the club. I’m my experience it’s better to have the organization explained before you ask to join a practice. Most places will be happy to have a new person to practice with, but being invited to join a practice (with permission of the head teacher) will make a good impression.

Another good reason to have an invitation first, is that most clubs have a different set of etiquette that they follow. Some clubs are very strict about where and when you can talk, drink, rest, where to place your things, where to sit/stand, how low you bow and to whom. Having an invitation gives you an ally who will guide you through the rules of the club.

As I arrived early, I didn’t have Yuko to explain things to me, so I just sat in a corner where I thought I could do the least amount of damage until she arrived. It turned out that there was a fee for the practice: 300 yen for adults, 200 yen for students. Likewise, drinking is not permitted within the Butokuden.

After I had all this sorted out, it was time to start practice. Warm up was lead by a group of university girls, and it was quite different from what we do. The leader counts to four, and the rest of the group waited for a 3 count before finishing the count to eight. Why this is was not explained to me. I think the older women were just as confused as I was.

There was also a squatting suburi drill that was new. I’ve done the drill where, from an upright position, one bends the knees to a squat with every swing, but this squat was stationary. Fortunately I’ve been working on my leg muscles recently and keeping that squat position for 30 swings wasn’t very difficult.

After that it was time to put our men on. There were so many people there, and so little time for introductions that it was naturally impossible to tell where in the ranks I should be, so I placed myself somewhere in the middle. No one voiced an objection so that's where I stayed.

We started off with a bit of large men-uchi drilling, small men drilling, large kote-men and small kote-men. Each of these drills were done four times each by both side. Younger practitioners were asked to do five strikes each time, and older practitioners were allowed 3 strikes. I asked Yuko which category I belonged to, and she said she wasn’t sure, so I let my motodachi decide for me how old I was. I got mixed results.

This was followed by kirikaeshi, which we did a total of 9 times. The first three times were slow, large motion, the next three times were faster motion, and the final three times were one breath only, though instead of two sets of 4 forward 5 back, we just did one.

After that, we had a 10 minute break for water and air, and I was introduced to some of Yuko’s friends. It’s nice to get to know some of the people you’re practicing with. At times, seeing only a pair of eyes between the grill of a mask can be intimidating, as all you see is an enemy, and not a friend, especially since naturally, we put on a more aggressive posture when we practice, where as outside of kendo, many of us are very warm, friendly people. It’s comforting knowing that there are actually kind people under all of the armor and fighting spirits.

The following drills were all debana-waza. They were timed drills, which I would guess to be about ten minutes a piece, though I wasn’t watching the clock at the time. The first set, the motodachi would strike for men and the responding strike could be suriage-waza, kaeshi-waza or nuki-waza, though strikes zones were limited to men or kote only. Motodachi would rotate to the end of the line after their role had been fulfilled, to then act as the responder.

Following was another shorter, five minute break for water and air before we all lined up once again to put on our men and begin two minute rounds of mawari-geiko. This was a lot of fun, though I slipped a few times on the floor. The Butokuden floor is lovely. It has a great spring, and the floorboards aren't varnished like newer gyms so there isn’t any chance to stick to the floor, as I so often have a problem with. The problem can then become that you slide too easily. Still, it’s a great feeling when the floor vibrates under you and launches you upward when you do fumikomi.

I had to take a break after three rounds though, as my knee began feeling very weak once more and the last thing I want is for it to give out on me and completely pull out of the socket in the middle of a hit.

After mawari-geiko, the head teachers lined up with the motodachi and we did kakari-geiko. I always hated kakari-geiko in Canada, because I’ve never been a stamina athlete. In track I could dominate the 100 meter, but anything longer than that was very difficult. Stamina is still something I’m working on building now.

I think, though, because kakari-geiko was the last thing we did at the women’s practice, and because my body was already well warmed up and the adrenaline was pumping, and also because there was a line of two people per motodachi, kakari-geiko was much easier today than it usually is. I didn’t actually feel tired at all. All I felt was the feel of the floor under me, and the timing of my shinai on the targets. Each round only lasted for roughly the time of five hits, then we rotated, but it felt really good.

The practice ended with a final round of kirikaeshi and then we were finished.

There were many people to give aisatsu to afterward, and since I didn’t know who were the teachers present, I just followed Yuko.

In all, it was a very rewarding practice that I recommend to any female practitioner visiting from abroad. The teachers were all very kind and explained things to me when I didn’t understand what was going on, the practice was rigorous, but not impossible, and the highly repetitive drilling made for the trial and error of technique that is necessary for improvement.

Tips of the day:

#1: Do not raise the shinai after a strike. This is a very bad habit that I’ve acquired over the years, mostly from fighting people taller than I am. The strike should end where it fell and not bounce high up into the air once again. The balance of not raising the shinai, but creating enough clearance room to complete a through motion of zanshin is still something I’m working on.

#2 Be sure to complete a solid fumikomi, with an audible stomp to complete each hit.