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.

On Striking Through Nito

Practice at Fuchou today. I still have a couple sniffles and a general cloggled sinuses feeling, but I’m more or less well enough to do kendo again. Kendo today was then as expected. There were only a few people at first, but things started to pick up as the practice wore on.

I was complimented on my new shinai today. Apparently it has a really nice balance. I suppose that’s why it feels so nice and fluid in my hand. I tested out a bunch of shinai while I was at Tozando and this one was the one that felt best. Doing a few practice swings I was surprised to find that the oval shape of the tsuka helps me keep the center of my swing a lot better, and my cuts seemed a lot sharper for it. I was really impressed.

I was further impressed when we started practice. The very first men-uchi drill we did, the strike connected so sharply, with such a nice pop that I could feel it up my arms. Even I could tell that was a nice hit, and after practice Yuko told me that my first men-uchi was really nice.

Practice went well from there. We did the usual drills, men-uchi, small motion men, kote-men, ai-kote-men and then three rounds of mawari-geiko. Unfortunately not being able to breathe through my nose really slows me down, and after the second mawari-geiko I was almost completely out of breath.

I managed to get through the first two fortunately, with decent strength and stamina, which was especially necessary when fighting Murata san’s nito style again. I think I’ve gotten a little better, though, I only judge this by the fact that I’m hitting him more than I did before. My timing is a little bit better, though I still have to wait for him to strike first before I have a chance of hitting him in return, which is a disadvantage.

The other thing I’m noticing when fighting him is that I can’t tell what the appropriate distance is. I’m used to judging distance by my opponent’s height and the relative distance between our shinai. Because he has his shinai up, I lose that way to track distance so he always seems to be too close (in fact, from my perspective he is too close) and it gives him a further advantage to strike me first. I’m still trying new ways and tricks to get an opening on him. I’ve learned that it’s impossible to try the usual tricks to get a valid hit, so everything I do with him now I’m making up as I go. I don’t even know if any of it is valid! Maybe I’ll ask someone to watch us next Friday and give advice.

By the time we started ju-geiko, my throat was completely dry and sore, so I took a little break for a throat soother and a discussion on suriage-waza. I think I’m going to try and increase my study of basic suriage. It’s a good technique to know, and I want to at the very least, not completely be in the dark with it.

Afterward, Tanaka san challenged me to a match that I didn’t do stunningly well on. My shoulders were too tight through the entire practice, and I know I was too tight when fighting him too. Strange how some days everything is relaxed and others it’s all tight and knotted. Somehow I managed to relax enough to get a good enough hit that he called an end to it, and from there, practice was over.

I need to get myself a better knee brace too, I think. My right knee felt a bit like jelly today, not willing to support my weight which isn’t a great thing considering how much pressure I put on it. I’ll go to the drug store when I get paid next.

Jumping the Hurdles

In the summer, it’s the heat that most often prevents kendo practice. In the fall and winter, it’s a cold virus. While progressively, the longer I stay in Japan cold affect me less and less, they still punch harder than when I was in Canada. Different country, different strain, different immunity I suppose. Last night I went to bed with a dry throat and this morning, I woke up with a full set of cold symptoms. Unfortunately, it means no kendo for me today. Walking down the stairs alone takes a huge amount of concentration. I’ll spend the week resting and hopefully be healed enough for Friday and Saturday. I want to go to the once a month women’s practice at the Butokuden on Saturday! It’s a two hour practice. I don’t know what to expect, but Yuko tells me that the sensei there are incredible. 

Kendo 101

Some friends from out of town arrived today, looking to experience some of Japan and Kyoto. Aside from all the normal tourist spots there are to go see, the only place I could really think to go was the Butokuden. It’s got a lot of history, the grounds are pretty, and we might even get to see some action.

As it turned out, there was a high school tournament at the Budo Center, so we all watched for a time. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the sight and it reminded me of the first time I watched kendo. It was also nice to be able to explain the rules of the sport, and maybe interest a few people in trying it out. It actually took some work to convince them to leave.

On the way back, Ari bought me a new shinai, as my last two are getting pretty badly beaten up. For the first time I have an oblong tsuka! It was an expensive shinai, but it feels great in my hands and it’s really light. Hopefully it feels great during practice. I’ll try it out tomorrow.

All Fired Up

It’s great to feel pumped for something, to feel completely on the ball and ready for action. Today was one of those days. I’m sure it was a combination of factors, but usually, if I take a week or two off of kendo after a longer stint I come back all fired up. We just got back from our Tokyo vacation and kendo felt great today!

Before practice, however, I noticed that both my regular shinai, and my back up shinai have sustained some serious damage. Ino san helped me unwind my shinai and shave away the splinters. As a quick fix, we rotated the slats so that the slat that is usually at the top is now at the bottom. I’ll pick up a new shinai either this week or the next.

It was a bit of a small practice, just 11 of us there but I prefer the smaller practices. It feels a bit more like I’m having fun with friends, rather than going through the motions with people I don’t know.

We started with a shorter than usual warm up and then jumped right into some basic drills. Recently, we’ve been doing less basic drilling in exchange for a longer ju-geiko. Today we did a longer mawari-geiko; five rounds of 2 minutes each.

It’s rare that I can go more than 2 rounds without needing some bit of a breather, or at least, that’s how it’s felt all summer, but today I got a little bit of validation that my recent poor performance in kendo has been almost entirely because of the heat. I went the full five rounds of mawari-geiko at full strength and awareness with no difficulty. It was a well needed confidence boost.

I took a short water break before starting ju-geiko. I managed two more fights and some uchikomi-geiko. I absolutely bombed the uchikomi, because I’m not used to it anymore. I’ve become much more used to reacting to an opponent’s attack, rather than an opening. In part this is because my opponents here are so tight that openings rarely present themselves. I have to try to make them myself.

I fought Murata san’s nito technique again today and was even fired up for that. He still beat me down, but the only thing I felt was more determination. I still haven’t come up with a decent strategy to get through to hit him. He’s really fast and a very aggressive player, so I’m not left with a lot of time to plan or to even assess the situation before he’s attacking again.

I tried to keep my kensen on his left wrist (every time I keep a centered kamae, he knocks it out of the way anyway) and sweep between his two shinai when he strikes. This technique was met with a small amount of success that was stifled mostly by his speed in both blocking and striking at the same time and my inexperience with an uncentered kamae. I want to try to use some suriage techniques with him, but I’m not knowledgeable enough with them yet to attempt it with someone who does nito.

Finally I fought Ino san, who is always a lot of fun to practice with, despite that it often feels like being hit by a train. He’s a very nice guy outside of practice, but he’s one of those people who has an extremely intense ki within practice. For whatever reason, fighting people like him energize me as well, and I try to match his energy when we fight. He’s a lot taller than me, which makes me have to plant myself when we crash together. One of the unfortunate side effects of this, however, is that I get into the habit of leaving my left foot behind to ground me in an effort not to be bent backwards by his higher center of gravity.

Points of the day:

1)    Push forward from the hips. I noticed it a lot early in the practice that I was reaching for the strike with my arms instead of leaping for the hit with my hips and legs. It was pointed out after practice as well. I hope it got a bit better toward the end.

2)    Keep a strong stance in both keiko and in drill training. Shoulders squared, back straight, and strong ki. Don’t drop the zanshin after a hit has been made (or lost).