A lot of people taking part in the A to Z Challenge (mostly from blogger or blogspot blogs) have been redirected here, to Kyoto Kendo Connect. I suspect this is because clicking my Google+ avatar is easier than copy and pasting the web address I've left in comments.
For clarity, Kyoto Kendo Connect is not participating in the April A to Z Challenge. Blogger and Blogspot blogs refuse to let me post with my Wordpress ID. Something goes wrong in the multiple captchas and the post goes into a preview/publish loop from which there is no escape. To solve this problem I post via my Google+ account, which automatically links to this blog. I tried adding a link to my blogs participating in A to Z, but since most of the Blogger and Blogspot blogs I commented on don't seem to support html in comments, I started simply leaving a web address.
If you find yourself brought here by mistake, do not fear! I have two other blogs participating in A to Z and you can find them here:
Diary of an Aspiring Writer
Out of Print
Happy writing! :)
Monday, April 13, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Kendo can be one of those frustrating endeavors that even if you are doing everything correctly, there are still hundreds of things that are going wrong. Combine that with learning it in its native language, a language that I am still myself learning, and the frustration is tenfold.
On Friday I went to practice feeling good, and Nakano sensei and Koyama sensei both helped me with my suburi, as they promised, Nakano sensei in particular was trying to get me to understand that I don't have to use a lot of power from my shoulders to get the shinai swinging. It was, of course, a difficult concept to grasp at first. I'm still not sure I have it down, but what I understand is, if the swing is started from the wrists, not a lot of power needs to be struck downward. The weight of the shinai on its own can provide the power. The snap at the end is made by snapping the the wrists at the last second before the strike. Of course, there's much more to the technique of actually landing a strike than this, but I'm going back to the basics, ask Okusa sensei says, and this is a new way of looking at things. Nakano sensei also suggests pushing the elbows forward, instead of dropping them , or at least keeping that image in mind when striking. They will make the whole strike one, smooth motion, instead of breaking it into two, which is a habit I have picked up.
Today doing mawari-geiko my back started hurting again. So I took Fukao's sensei's advice and, when I could no longer do an entire keiko, I bowed out. I tried to leave the dojo, so as not to take up room, but there were too many people and I was trapped, so eventually I went back to my partner, and crouched on the ground. I'm not sure what Fukao sensei saw, but he got on my case again about quitting in a keiko. It was one of those times when I really wished I could understand what he is trying to tell me completely, and am able to explain myself again. This is why:
Two weeks ago he told me that if I cannot complete a whole keiko, it is OK to sit out, but don't start a fight and then bow out in the middle. I took this advice to heart and, after completing a whole match with Koyama sensei on Friday, I judged that the pain in my back was too great to complete another one, so, I bowed out. Perhaps Fukao sensei thought that I quit in the middle of my match again. Something has been lost in translation here and I'm neither able to understand what it is, nor clarify my own actions. So, I can only nod my head and try again next time. Hopefully my back will allow me to comeplete however many rounds of mawari-geiko Itou sensei has us do tomorrow. I don't want to risk Fukao sensei's lecture again.
On Friday I went to practice feeling good, and Nakano sensei and Koyama sensei both helped me with my suburi, as they promised, Nakano sensei in particular was trying to get me to understand that I don't have to use a lot of power from my shoulders to get the shinai swinging. It was, of course, a difficult concept to grasp at first. I'm still not sure I have it down, but what I understand is, if the swing is started from the wrists, not a lot of power needs to be struck downward. The weight of the shinai on its own can provide the power. The snap at the end is made by snapping the the wrists at the last second before the strike. Of course, there's much more to the technique of actually landing a strike than this, but I'm going back to the basics, ask Okusa sensei says, and this is a new way of looking at things. Nakano sensei also suggests pushing the elbows forward, instead of dropping them , or at least keeping that image in mind when striking. They will make the whole strike one, smooth motion, instead of breaking it into two, which is a habit I have picked up.
Today doing mawari-geiko my back started hurting again. So I took Fukao's sensei's advice and, when I could no longer do an entire keiko, I bowed out. I tried to leave the dojo, so as not to take up room, but there were too many people and I was trapped, so eventually I went back to my partner, and crouched on the ground. I'm not sure what Fukao sensei saw, but he got on my case again about quitting in a keiko. It was one of those times when I really wished I could understand what he is trying to tell me completely, and am able to explain myself again. This is why:
Two weeks ago he told me that if I cannot complete a whole keiko, it is OK to sit out, but don't start a fight and then bow out in the middle. I took this advice to heart and, after completing a whole match with Koyama sensei on Friday, I judged that the pain in my back was too great to complete another one, so, I bowed out. Perhaps Fukao sensei thought that I quit in the middle of my match again. Something has been lost in translation here and I'm neither able to understand what it is, nor clarify my own actions. So, I can only nod my head and try again next time. Hopefully my back will allow me to comeplete however many rounds of mawari-geiko Itou sensei has us do tomorrow. I don't want to risk Fukao sensei's lecture again.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
On Monday I was still feeling the effects from the weekend's flash cold, although I'm feeling much better, surprisingly quickly (I'm chalking this up to the lifestyle changes that have made me, overall, feel much more genki. Knowing, however, that my lungs are sensitive to bronchitis, and feeling the dizziness that comes from clogged sinuses and imbalanced ear fluid, I went to practice to watch, yesterday. It was a good experience. Since Koyama sensei and Nakanao sensei offered to show me some proper suburi techniques, it would have been a waste not to go to practice when I can still swing a shinai.
Itou sensei also gave me some good hints. It boiled down to a few things: Nakanao sensei suggested that I'm unfolding my arms too slowly, joint by joint. and that I should let the shinai swing down by it's own weight, only adding a final snap by the wrists at the end. This will produce a good patt sound as well as increase the speed of my swing.
He also helped my with my kamae. He said that the center is key, and that even if the kensen is slightly off center, we can remain in the center if the left fist is remains steady they. Push forward with the left first in the center, and the strike will also be in the center. This left first forward motion will prevent the Right hand from pressing too far left to get center which will open the kote op for a strike. Protect the right wrist with a slightly off center tilt of the kensen, but remain in control of the center line with the strength of the left fist.
Koyama sensei also reminded me that movement should start with the right knee. It should carry forward. The left foot should push against the ground to propel you forward while the right knee should lead. This has always been a difficulty for me though.
These are the basics that I must practice to pass san-dan. With extra instruction at the beginning of keiko, I hope I'll be able to memorize them in time for the July exam.
Itou sensei also gave me some good hints. It boiled down to a few things: Nakanao sensei suggested that I'm unfolding my arms too slowly, joint by joint. and that I should let the shinai swing down by it's own weight, only adding a final snap by the wrists at the end. This will produce a good patt sound as well as increase the speed of my swing.
He also helped my with my kamae. He said that the center is key, and that even if the kensen is slightly off center, we can remain in the center if the left fist is remains steady they. Push forward with the left first in the center, and the strike will also be in the center. This left first forward motion will prevent the Right hand from pressing too far left to get center which will open the kote op for a strike. Protect the right wrist with a slightly off center tilt of the kensen, but remain in control of the center line with the strength of the left fist.
Koyama sensei also reminded me that movement should start with the right knee. It should carry forward. The left foot should push against the ground to propel you forward while the right knee should lead. This has always been a difficulty for me though.
These are the basics that I must practice to pass san-dan. With extra instruction at the beginning of keiko, I hope I'll be able to memorize them in time for the July exam.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Yesterday I had one of the most positive affirmations so far in my kendo advancement: my teachers told me I did not need to practice kata anymore [for the san-dan test]. Aside from a few points to engrave into muscle memory for nana-hon-me, they said my kata is fine the way it is, and doesn't need any further tinkering at this stage. YAY!
Everything else, however, it is as Okusa-Sensei always says: back to basics. The basics of the swing, "throwing" the shinai in an arch; the basics of foot work, not to leave the left foot behind; the basics of straight posture; the basics of kamae and a stationary, centered left fist and kensen.
It was these points I worked on yesterday. Koyama sensei helped me visualize the correct posstion of the arms as cupping water in the hands... and then turning the wrists in. I'll try to visualize this, but in my do my arms feel cramped.
My back felt good today, as did my foot. I took a short break in between mari-geiko and juu-geiko before getting into it again with Fukao sensei and Ino sensei. Fukao sensei seems to believe my problem is confidence. He'll let me take hits instead of me figuring out how to do it on my own. Granted, when given the chance to figure it out on my own I often take too long to do so.
We had an interesting moment together before practice, where he was reminding me the reason why we fight for the center line with the kensen of the shinai. It is, naturally, to have the advantage for a centered hit on the opponent's men. We were not wearing men while he was explaining this, while he was demonstrating this. Fukao sensei has a very intense face when doing kendo; it's one of the reasons that I like to keiko with him so much, so when we were practicing this jostling shinai, I was receiving intense signals of aggression from him, in his face in his posture and in the pressure of his shinai. Seven and a half years of kendo has not left me bereft of instincts. More than a few times I was almost provoked into hitting him. He saw it too, and responded to my jerks forward, my feigns and hastily stopped advances with his own calculated retreats and increased seme.
It was fun, I admit, these are the moments in kendo that I adore the most, but it was also dangerous, and I asked if we could stop. In Canada once at a UBC practice we were doing men strike drills without our men on. I missed the raised shinai and jabbed my opponent in the eye with the kensen. It was a horrible feeling of regret, and one of the only times I have ever asked a teacher if we could quit a drill.
Unfortunately, I couldn't sustain that sort of seme during actual keiko today. Despite starting practice with energy and gusto, my strength waned by the end. Fortunately (if one is looking for the silver lining in a negative situation) it turns out that this sudden weakness wasn't due to an inability on my part, but rather the onset of a bad cold which I probably made worse with the 40 minute bike ride home in the snow.
Needless to say, I probably won't be going to Ren Shin Kai practice tomorrow morning, but I may still go to practice on Monday. Koyama sensei offered to teach me some techniques for basic striking before practice begins that would be worthwhile to do, even if keiko itself may be too difficult.
Everything else, however, it is as Okusa-Sensei always says: back to basics. The basics of the swing, "throwing" the shinai in an arch; the basics of foot work, not to leave the left foot behind; the basics of straight posture; the basics of kamae and a stationary, centered left fist and kensen.
It was these points I worked on yesterday. Koyama sensei helped me visualize the correct posstion of the arms as cupping water in the hands... and then turning the wrists in. I'll try to visualize this, but in my do my arms feel cramped.
My back felt good today, as did my foot. I took a short break in between mari-geiko and juu-geiko before getting into it again with Fukao sensei and Ino sensei. Fukao sensei seems to believe my problem is confidence. He'll let me take hits instead of me figuring out how to do it on my own. Granted, when given the chance to figure it out on my own I often take too long to do so.
We had an interesting moment together before practice, where he was reminding me the reason why we fight for the center line with the kensen of the shinai. It is, naturally, to have the advantage for a centered hit on the opponent's men. We were not wearing men while he was explaining this, while he was demonstrating this. Fukao sensei has a very intense face when doing kendo; it's one of the reasons that I like to keiko with him so much, so when we were practicing this jostling shinai, I was receiving intense signals of aggression from him, in his face in his posture and in the pressure of his shinai. Seven and a half years of kendo has not left me bereft of instincts. More than a few times I was almost provoked into hitting him. He saw it too, and responded to my jerks forward, my feigns and hastily stopped advances with his own calculated retreats and increased seme.
It was fun, I admit, these are the moments in kendo that I adore the most, but it was also dangerous, and I asked if we could stop. In Canada once at a UBC practice we were doing men strike drills without our men on. I missed the raised shinai and jabbed my opponent in the eye with the kensen. It was a horrible feeling of regret, and one of the only times I have ever asked a teacher if we could quit a drill.
Unfortunately, I couldn't sustain that sort of seme during actual keiko today. Despite starting practice with energy and gusto, my strength waned by the end. Fortunately (if one is looking for the silver lining in a negative situation) it turns out that this sudden weakness wasn't due to an inability on my part, but rather the onset of a bad cold which I probably made worse with the 40 minute bike ride home in the snow.
Needless to say, I probably won't be going to Ren Shin Kai practice tomorrow morning, but I may still go to practice on Monday. Koyama sensei offered to teach me some techniques for basic striking before practice begins that would be worthwhile to do, even if keiko itself may be too difficult.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Nana-hon-me is going to be one of those kata that keeps causing my problems. Part of the reason for this is that as soon as I figure I've got one set of motions down corrctly, one piece of the timing, or angle of the swing, someone points out another thing that I'm doing wrong. I know on an intellectual level that this is part of the process of learning, that mistakes are addressed by order of priority to slowly become better at the thing that is being studied, However, nana-hon-me is a complicated kata, both for its footwork, the timing of the strikes, the harmony with the opponent and the somewhat difficult motions of the body as a whole. When I'm corrected on a new thing, my focus naturally goes into correcting that portion of the kata. Unfortunately, this draws focus away from the previously memorized portions, which allows for mistakes, or worse yet, the formation of bad habits. This naturally prompts further corrections which can start to clog and confuse the mind. Language barriers don't help this. Fortunately kata can be demonstrated more easily than regular kendo, I feel, and with the good and patient teachers that I have, I feel myself improving, step by step.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Today was an interesting experiment in how much my body can take when my mind is switched off. This must be the 'no mindedness' that is so pervasive in kendo philosophy. Now, if only I could get there without putting my body in a calorie panic, life would be peachy.
Unfortunately, dieting has its drawbacks too. Aside from the pounding headache I've had all day, I've been forgetting things--little things-- that are usually routine for me. Like how many steps back to take in kata. I was counting the damn steps, but I just didn't stop at five. My head was somewhere else. Fortunately, after that I was able to pull my head back in and do a fairly successful kata sequence, nan-hon-me aside. Fukao sensei is trying to get my to finish the do strike at a 90 degree angle before turning to look at my opponent, but my muscles are having a hard time remembering the intricate details for the whole things, so its slow going.
Suburi was the hardest part of practice though. Trying to reintegrate the idea of throwing the shinai was a bit more difficult than I expected it to be, mostly because when you fix one thing your break three others. Itou sensei had to talk to me about my kiai. Oops.
Kihon was better today than it has been in a while. I was able to get through all the drills with speed and flexibility, mostly, I think, because my brain was completely shut off, and I could just do the thing I needed to do without thinking about it. It was nice, I admit.
I did a few mawari-geiko, too, keeping in mind Fukao sensei's advice of "Don't start something you can't finish." Since my body and mind were working on different worlds, maybe that's why today was a little easier, In any case, my right leg was one massive cramp today, from all the stress I've been putting it through. Hopefully a day of rest tomorrow will sort it out.
I had a mock shiai with Yuko today. It didn't feel as good as the mawari-geiko, but it was all right. I also had a bit of success fighting Sato sensei today.We always finished too close to each other, so I switched my tachi-ai, and was able to get him a few good times on men. That felt good. Even he said it was a good thing to realize and implement.
All in all, it was a good practice, even if it went 25 minutes over the usual time. I got home super late. No time to make a healthy dinner with all the super markets closed. Combini it is.
Unfortunately, dieting has its drawbacks too. Aside from the pounding headache I've had all day, I've been forgetting things--little things-- that are usually routine for me. Like how many steps back to take in kata. I was counting the damn steps, but I just didn't stop at five. My head was somewhere else. Fortunately, after that I was able to pull my head back in and do a fairly successful kata sequence, nan-hon-me aside. Fukao sensei is trying to get my to finish the do strike at a 90 degree angle before turning to look at my opponent, but my muscles are having a hard time remembering the intricate details for the whole things, so its slow going.
Suburi was the hardest part of practice though. Trying to reintegrate the idea of throwing the shinai was a bit more difficult than I expected it to be, mostly because when you fix one thing your break three others. Itou sensei had to talk to me about my kiai. Oops.
Kihon was better today than it has been in a while. I was able to get through all the drills with speed and flexibility, mostly, I think, because my brain was completely shut off, and I could just do the thing I needed to do without thinking about it. It was nice, I admit.
I did a few mawari-geiko, too, keeping in mind Fukao sensei's advice of "Don't start something you can't finish." Since my body and mind were working on different worlds, maybe that's why today was a little easier, In any case, my right leg was one massive cramp today, from all the stress I've been putting it through. Hopefully a day of rest tomorrow will sort it out.
I had a mock shiai with Yuko today. It didn't feel as good as the mawari-geiko, but it was all right. I also had a bit of success fighting Sato sensei today.We always finished too close to each other, so I switched my tachi-ai, and was able to get him a few good times on men. That felt good. Even he said it was a good thing to realize and implement.
All in all, it was a good practice, even if it went 25 minutes over the usual time. I got home super late. No time to make a healthy dinner with all the super markets closed. Combini it is.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Self-Reflection
I've been having a bit of trouble focusing myself and orienting myself toward my goals. I think part of this is because I've lost sight of what my goals are. This is never a good thing. It can lead a person into a downward spiral emotionally, physically, mentally. I've tried to redefine and understand who I am and who I want to be so many times that I think I've lost who the core of me actually is.
Kendo is a lifestyle. I seem to have forgotten this in the need to consider other lifestyles that I am currently engaged in. Some of these lifestyles are necessary, healthy progressions of me as an individual. Others, not so much. In this losing of self, I've lost sight of a lot of the things that gave me true satisfaction in exchange for what gives only temporary pleasure. In trying to find a harmony between lifestyles to re-balance myself, I've left kendo at the wayside.
I thought for a while that I had lost my passion for kendo, as if it were something that could that easily disappear. In reflecting on this I see that this isn't the case. I have the same passion for kendo that I've always had, but I have erected barriers between myself and this passion so the way is now conflicted and uncertain. Before I can love kendo again, I must remove these barriers. Before I love kendo, I must love myself.
Sometimes it takes hard words to understand. Sometimes it takes pain and failure and misery to truly see. I hope I can lift myself above the challenges I face now and return to a place where I am truly happy. If I can keep putting one foot in front of the other, taking steps toward becoming the person I want to be, then I can embrace kendo into my life again, and more importantly, kendo can embrace me.
Kendo is a lifestyle. I seem to have forgotten this in the need to consider other lifestyles that I am currently engaged in. Some of these lifestyles are necessary, healthy progressions of me as an individual. Others, not so much. In this losing of self, I've lost sight of a lot of the things that gave me true satisfaction in exchange for what gives only temporary pleasure. In trying to find a harmony between lifestyles to re-balance myself, I've left kendo at the wayside.
I thought for a while that I had lost my passion for kendo, as if it were something that could that easily disappear. In reflecting on this I see that this isn't the case. I have the same passion for kendo that I've always had, but I have erected barriers between myself and this passion so the way is now conflicted and uncertain. Before I can love kendo again, I must remove these barriers. Before I love kendo, I must love myself.
Sometimes it takes hard words to understand. Sometimes it takes pain and failure and misery to truly see. I hope I can lift myself above the challenges I face now and return to a place where I am truly happy. If I can keep putting one foot in front of the other, taking steps toward becoming the person I want to be, then I can embrace kendo into my life again, and more importantly, kendo can embrace me.
Friday, February 21, 2014
A pain in the Back
So recently I've added a series of strength training exercises to my normal workout routine, to try and build up some more strength in my core and legs. Of course, whenever you add a new training regimen the subsequent two weeks are going to be nothing but pain and weakness and general discomfort and why, god why am I doing this to myself. After pinching a nerve after the first weak, I'm back at kendo again this week to test out some of the results of my additional training.
The results were not pretty.
Muscles which hadn't had the time to repair and rebuild were less than inclined to do an activity requiring a great deal of short, explosive movements, so I was much slower today than I wanted to be and took the brunt of a lot of teases for it. Unfortunately, there's nothing for it than to do it, but there are times when I really do wonder why I do this to myself.
The answer, of course, is that there's no quitting kendo. I don't think I could ever really leave this sport. It's too much a part of me now. Even on the days when my body screams in pain to lift my arms for another men strike, I can't conceive of stopping.
In any case, a hot bath is in order tonight, to work the stiffness out of these joints. Plus, if there's one nice thing about kendo nights, it's that I can eat as much meat as I want. Mmm... niku.
I cornered Ino-san today to give me some pointers on kamae and seme. He advised me to be aware of where my left fist is and should be. That is to say, the left fist should be in front of the navel at all times during chu-gamae. He also suggested that seme should feel as though one is pushing down on the opponent's shinai, toward the tsuba, but cautioned, that this is only a feeling. He also suggested that my kensen be pointed toward my opponent's left eye, which always throws me a little bit since my basic training has always said that being in dead center is the place to be. Oh well, little changes it is.
The results were not pretty.
Muscles which hadn't had the time to repair and rebuild were less than inclined to do an activity requiring a great deal of short, explosive movements, so I was much slower today than I wanted to be and took the brunt of a lot of teases for it. Unfortunately, there's nothing for it than to do it, but there are times when I really do wonder why I do this to myself.
The answer, of course, is that there's no quitting kendo. I don't think I could ever really leave this sport. It's too much a part of me now. Even on the days when my body screams in pain to lift my arms for another men strike, I can't conceive of stopping.
In any case, a hot bath is in order tonight, to work the stiffness out of these joints. Plus, if there's one nice thing about kendo nights, it's that I can eat as much meat as I want. Mmm... niku.
I cornered Ino-san today to give me some pointers on kamae and seme. He advised me to be aware of where my left fist is and should be. That is to say, the left fist should be in front of the navel at all times during chu-gamae. He also suggested that seme should feel as though one is pushing down on the opponent's shinai, toward the tsuba, but cautioned, that this is only a feeling. He also suggested that my kensen be pointed toward my opponent's left eye, which always throws me a little bit since my basic training has always said that being in dead center is the place to be. Oh well, little changes it is.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Change the Conversation
This is the third Monday practice in a row that we haven't done mawari-geiko. On one hand it's nice because I get to choose who I practice with and at what pace, but on the other hand, I like having the timed fights at regular intervals; it's good practice for tests.
I got through the beginning 210 suburi with more ease this week, which puts my relieved faith back in the bouce-backability of youth. Don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to count on that though.
Yuko and Ito-sensei were absent again today, both for health reasons. No one is really sure when Ito-sensei might be back, but as long as he's getting better, we can wait. Donna invited me out for a drink later on, pending the result of my visa. Success or failure, we'll be drinking to it. It's the kendo way.
I did a bit of long sparring with Koyama-sensei today who informed me that I'm still coming in from the side. I'm stepping too far to my right and my shinai isn't coming in straight. It's an old habit again that I'll have to put some serious effort into the correct once again. Right foot to right foot-- that is to say, move forward with your right foot as though you mean to step on your opponent's own right foot. This will put you in the path of his center. Of course, thinking of it cause the whole tenuous form to collapse and I got progressively worse while I tried, but that's normal, and Koyama-sensei was, as ever, patient and kind.
Finally, I got to practice with Donna for an appreciable length of time today. I'd forgotten how nice it can be to practice with someone who can speak your own language. She schooled me on the floor, naturally, but she gave me some nice advice that I do appreciate: "Change the conversation. More specifically, she pointed out I have a tendency to press too far to the left with my shinai against my opponent's shinai. For me this habit evolved from my reliance on the connection between the two shinai to judge the future actions of my opponent. Last week, Sato-sensei also pointed out a weakness in this tactic in that it frequently tilts me off-center.
This week, Donna mentioned that the connection between the two shinai is like a conversation, and my side of the conversation is very one sided and repetitive, to the point that she always knows what I'm going to do, leading to a boring and predictable keiko.
I will try harder in the future to change the conversation, and find ways to not rely so heavily on the connection between the two shiai to gauge my opponent. I'll also spend some time working on new ways of moving my shinai in relation to that of my opponent. I'm going to lose out on a lot of hits while I try this, but that's the nature of the game.
I got through the beginning 210 suburi with more ease this week, which puts my relieved faith back in the bouce-backability of youth. Don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to count on that though.
Yuko and Ito-sensei were absent again today, both for health reasons. No one is really sure when Ito-sensei might be back, but as long as he's getting better, we can wait. Donna invited me out for a drink later on, pending the result of my visa. Success or failure, we'll be drinking to it. It's the kendo way.
I did a bit of long sparring with Koyama-sensei today who informed me that I'm still coming in from the side. I'm stepping too far to my right and my shinai isn't coming in straight. It's an old habit again that I'll have to put some serious effort into the correct once again. Right foot to right foot-- that is to say, move forward with your right foot as though you mean to step on your opponent's own right foot. This will put you in the path of his center. Of course, thinking of it cause the whole tenuous form to collapse and I got progressively worse while I tried, but that's normal, and Koyama-sensei was, as ever, patient and kind.
Finally, I got to practice with Donna for an appreciable length of time today. I'd forgotten how nice it can be to practice with someone who can speak your own language. She schooled me on the floor, naturally, but she gave me some nice advice that I do appreciate: "Change the conversation. More specifically, she pointed out I have a tendency to press too far to the left with my shinai against my opponent's shinai. For me this habit evolved from my reliance on the connection between the two shinai to judge the future actions of my opponent. Last week, Sato-sensei also pointed out a weakness in this tactic in that it frequently tilts me off-center.
This week, Donna mentioned that the connection between the two shinai is like a conversation, and my side of the conversation is very one sided and repetitive, to the point that she always knows what I'm going to do, leading to a boring and predictable keiko.
I will try harder in the future to change the conversation, and find ways to not rely so heavily on the connection between the two shiai to gauge my opponent. I'll also spend some time working on new ways of moving my shinai in relation to that of my opponent. I'm going to lose out on a lot of hits while I try this, but that's the nature of the game.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Full House
Monday practices are always full, in part because we have the entire large gym to our disposal on that day. Because we're still in January and everyone is still basking in the sense of newness and freshness of the year, Monday practices have bloated even more, to the point that we almost don't have enough room for everyone to keiko together.
Itou sensei is still recovering, though the news is that he will be at practice next week. He had a successful surgery to set the broken leg, and is expected to make a full recovery. It goes without saying that everyone breathed a very large sigh of relief at that.
Fukao sensei apparently really liked the maple sugar cookies that I brought back from Canada. He offered to give me some money to buy some more the next time I went, but it's hardly necessary. I get a tremendous amount of quality keiko and instruction from him. That's worth way more than a couple boxes of cookies in my mind. I don't mind giving them away.
Back still hurt today and I needed to take a bit of a breather to take some of the pressure off. Sitting two or three minutes in a squat position is sufficient, it seems to relax the muscles again. At least it's something that I can adjust in practice. Problems with my plantar or heaven forbid another torn groin keep me out of practice for weeks with no recourse but to let the injury heal in its own time.
I got to practice with Donna san today which was great fun, even if it was just at the end of practice for a quick ippon. Another Italian guy came too, and from what I watched of him, he's really strong.
Asahi san cracked me three times like a hammer on my men today during waza practice so hard that I actually checked my scalp after practice for blood. I'm not sure if it was a retaliation hit because I may have been hitting too solidly myself, or if he was a bit stiff as well, but my god, it's not often I see stars in practice, and three times in a row was enough to have me shaking the cobwebs out of my head before the next round. I hope I'm not going to incur permanent damage in my later years from all the head trauma I take in kendo.
I practiced a bit with Sato sensei again, but it was at the end of the line, so he was exhausted and our practice didn't last very long. I also did a bit of my own waza practice with some of the ladies during ju-geiko, mostly to correct that bent elbow thing Yamada sensei was on me about last week. Fists up and forward, elbows relaxed, wrists snap. Must keep that in mind. Especially the fists up part.
Itou sensei is still recovering, though the news is that he will be at practice next week. He had a successful surgery to set the broken leg, and is expected to make a full recovery. It goes without saying that everyone breathed a very large sigh of relief at that.
Fukao sensei apparently really liked the maple sugar cookies that I brought back from Canada. He offered to give me some money to buy some more the next time I went, but it's hardly necessary. I get a tremendous amount of quality keiko and instruction from him. That's worth way more than a couple boxes of cookies in my mind. I don't mind giving them away.
Back still hurt today and I needed to take a bit of a breather to take some of the pressure off. Sitting two or three minutes in a squat position is sufficient, it seems to relax the muscles again. At least it's something that I can adjust in practice. Problems with my plantar or heaven forbid another torn groin keep me out of practice for weeks with no recourse but to let the injury heal in its own time.
I got to practice with Donna san today which was great fun, even if it was just at the end of practice for a quick ippon. Another Italian guy came too, and from what I watched of him, he's really strong.
Asahi san cracked me three times like a hammer on my men today during waza practice so hard that I actually checked my scalp after practice for blood. I'm not sure if it was a retaliation hit because I may have been hitting too solidly myself, or if he was a bit stiff as well, but my god, it's not often I see stars in practice, and three times in a row was enough to have me shaking the cobwebs out of my head before the next round. I hope I'm not going to incur permanent damage in my later years from all the head trauma I take in kendo.
I practiced a bit with Sato sensei again, but it was at the end of the line, so he was exhausted and our practice didn't last very long. I also did a bit of my own waza practice with some of the ladies during ju-geiko, mostly to correct that bent elbow thing Yamada sensei was on me about last week. Fists up and forward, elbows relaxed, wrists snap. Must keep that in mind. Especially the fists up part.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Bouncing Around Holidays
There are more holidays in Japan than there are in Canada. Way more. Sometimes I find myself in a position where every other week I'm missing a practice because the dojo is closed due to a stat holiday. The strange thing for me is that Christmas isn't really counted among them. Aside from the 25th, there's not anything all that special about the days around Christmas. I've practiced on Christmas Eve in the past in Japan, and though it was a particularly meager showing that day, it was still an official practice.
Not that this is surprising given that Christianity is a minority religion in Japan, with roughly one percent of people claiming it as their faith. The big winter holiday here -rather than being Christmas- is New Years.
For a little over a week, traditionally, everything closes, shops, offices and community centres etc. The tradition of osechi (started in Heian period) began with a final meal cooked at the end of the year that needed to last through the first few days of the new year, in which the women did not cook. This tradition has grown over the years into elaborate and beautiful bento boxes that are meant to be a weeks worth of leftovers for a family to wait out the holiday season when all the shops are closed. These days, chain grocery stores and big department stores are still open during the New Years season, though the tradition of eating a large osechi meal with ones family over the week long holiday remains.
As for myself, I went home this holiday season. I caught a ten hour plane ride on Christmas Eve to San Francisco, followed by a two hour plane ride home to Vancouver where I was greeted, exhausted and travel shocked, by my mother whom I hadn't seen in over two years. It was a nice reunion, followed by two weeks of eating and sloth with the rest of my family before I took the nightmarish journey back home again.
I missed the first practice back due to extreme jet lag coupled with two weeks of poor sleep on account of sleeping on couches and floors at my parents' houses. The second practice, this last Monday however, I was in the zone. I had everything packed up all neat and ready, had myself psyched up to see everyone again, and all my omiyage ready to give out to all my friends.
I got half way to the dojo when I realized: It was a national holiday. Well damn. I called my friend to confirm and yes, the dojo was closed, no kendo on Monday. We just had a week and a half holiday at the beginning of the year and halfway through January there's another holiday!
I shouldn't complain, I know. Days of rest are good for the body, mind and soul, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed.
Today, then, was my first day back, and warming up the joints was a little tough. Fukao sensei laughed at me as he watched me practicing, asking if I'd forgotten how to do kendo, since I looked so stiff. In the end though, it wasn't my arms, or even my legs that put me off balance; it was my back. My lower back as been giving me some cramping issues and I'm beginning to wonder if it has something to do with the frequency of pinched nerves I'm experiencing in my shoulders recently. More than likely it is yet another sign that I need to keep losing weight as I head into my thirties. That's a depressing thought.
That said, my stamina held out all right through the practice, but my back was slowing me down a fair bit. I'm going to have to give it a bit more TLC when I warm up, I think. Despite that though, the practice went well. I've been trying to spend 15-30 minutes before practice reviewing the basic techniques that I learned in Canada. It helps my body warm up to jumping into waza and keiko which we do with little in the way of changing the mode of movement from every-day to practice.
Yamada sensei advised me that I'm bending my elbows again, and thrusting my shinai forward from my chest. This is exposing my kote again. It's always the same old familiar patterns and bad habits we fall into, isn't it?
I had a great, energetic keikowith Fukao sensei as well, who at the end of practice badgered me with disbelief that I'd actually been gone for five weeks. Sometimes I'm not sure when he's pulling my leg and when he's being genuine. He's a bit of a joker, which I appreciate, but I'm not sure sometimes if when he says "You were great today! I can't believe it!" he actually means it, or if he's just being cheeky, especially considering that he could crush me without any effort in keiko if he really wanted to.
I practiced with Sato sensei as well, though he wasn't nearly as generous with the hits as Fukao sensei was. I did manage to pop off a nice men near the end though, that I got a few compliments on, so that was nice.
It's good to be getting back into the swing of things. As much as I sometimes gripe about it, kendo is my passion, and it's a sport, I think, that suits me well.
Happy New Year everyone!
Not that this is surprising given that Christianity is a minority religion in Japan, with roughly one percent of people claiming it as their faith. The big winter holiday here -rather than being Christmas- is New Years.
For a little over a week, traditionally, everything closes, shops, offices and community centres etc. The tradition of osechi (started in Heian period) began with a final meal cooked at the end of the year that needed to last through the first few days of the new year, in which the women did not cook. This tradition has grown over the years into elaborate and beautiful bento boxes that are meant to be a weeks worth of leftovers for a family to wait out the holiday season when all the shops are closed. These days, chain grocery stores and big department stores are still open during the New Years season, though the tradition of eating a large osechi meal with ones family over the week long holiday remains.
As for myself, I went home this holiday season. I caught a ten hour plane ride on Christmas Eve to San Francisco, followed by a two hour plane ride home to Vancouver where I was greeted, exhausted and travel shocked, by my mother whom I hadn't seen in over two years. It was a nice reunion, followed by two weeks of eating and sloth with the rest of my family before I took the nightmarish journey back home again.
I missed the first practice back due to extreme jet lag coupled with two weeks of poor sleep on account of sleeping on couches and floors at my parents' houses. The second practice, this last Monday however, I was in the zone. I had everything packed up all neat and ready, had myself psyched up to see everyone again, and all my omiyage ready to give out to all my friends.
I got half way to the dojo when I realized: It was a national holiday. Well damn. I called my friend to confirm and yes, the dojo was closed, no kendo on Monday. We just had a week and a half holiday at the beginning of the year and halfway through January there's another holiday!
I shouldn't complain, I know. Days of rest are good for the body, mind and soul, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed.
Today, then, was my first day back, and warming up the joints was a little tough. Fukao sensei laughed at me as he watched me practicing, asking if I'd forgotten how to do kendo, since I looked so stiff. In the end though, it wasn't my arms, or even my legs that put me off balance; it was my back. My lower back as been giving me some cramping issues and I'm beginning to wonder if it has something to do with the frequency of pinched nerves I'm experiencing in my shoulders recently. More than likely it is yet another sign that I need to keep losing weight as I head into my thirties. That's a depressing thought.
That said, my stamina held out all right through the practice, but my back was slowing me down a fair bit. I'm going to have to give it a bit more TLC when I warm up, I think. Despite that though, the practice went well. I've been trying to spend 15-30 minutes before practice reviewing the basic techniques that I learned in Canada. It helps my body warm up to jumping into waza and keiko which we do with little in the way of changing the mode of movement from every-day to practice.
Yamada sensei advised me that I'm bending my elbows again, and thrusting my shinai forward from my chest. This is exposing my kote again. It's always the same old familiar patterns and bad habits we fall into, isn't it?
I had a great, energetic keikowith Fukao sensei as well, who at the end of practice badgered me with disbelief that I'd actually been gone for five weeks. Sometimes I'm not sure when he's pulling my leg and when he's being genuine. He's a bit of a joker, which I appreciate, but I'm not sure sometimes if when he says "You were great today! I can't believe it!" he actually means it, or if he's just being cheeky, especially considering that he could crush me without any effort in keiko if he really wanted to.
I practiced with Sato sensei as well, though he wasn't nearly as generous with the hits as Fukao sensei was. I did manage to pop off a nice men near the end though, that I got a few compliments on, so that was nice.
It's good to be getting back into the swing of things. As much as I sometimes gripe about it, kendo is my passion, and it's a sport, I think, that suits me well.
Happy New Year everyone!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Ow
Holy hell am I sore today!
After a few months of gathering my life together and seeding a few career changes I'm finally back in the game and all I can say is 'ow'. Not that it's unexpected and if anything, it just makes me all the more determined to pull myself back up to where I was when I left off.
Like riding a bicycle, however the body never really forgets the motions. The brain can get confused or frustrated, but muscle memory can always be counted on. It took a lot longer to warm up that it usually does. I couldn't hit kote to save my life yesterday, and it took some real hard concentration to hit a large men, but by the time we started jugeiko I was able to strike at least decent pops on men and coaxed my reflexes into keeping up with most of the strikes against me. I even got a compliment on one of my hits which is always encouraging after a lengthy absence.
Monday will be the real trial though, Monday practices are always much more thorough and rigorous. I'm going to be feeling it on Tuesday for sure. The only thing I can really do now is draw myself a hot bath and paper myself with shippu.
After a few months of gathering my life together and seeding a few career changes I'm finally back in the game and all I can say is 'ow'. Not that it's unexpected and if anything, it just makes me all the more determined to pull myself back up to where I was when I left off.
Like riding a bicycle, however the body never really forgets the motions. The brain can get confused or frustrated, but muscle memory can always be counted on. It took a lot longer to warm up that it usually does. I couldn't hit kote to save my life yesterday, and it took some real hard concentration to hit a large men, but by the time we started jugeiko I was able to strike at least decent pops on men and coaxed my reflexes into keeping up with most of the strikes against me. I even got a compliment on one of my hits which is always encouraging after a lengthy absence.
Monday will be the real trial though, Monday practices are always much more thorough and rigorous. I'm going to be feeling it on Tuesday for sure. The only thing I can really do now is draw myself a hot bath and paper myself with shippu.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Just Warming Up
After an exceptionally long winter, the weather has decided to just skip that whole spring business and get right on to summer. It's really starting to heat up again, which means kendo is starting to get challenging once more.
We had a small group today, as usual. Koyama Sensei lead us through the warm up and did some new exercises with us to strengthen our shoulders and build muscle memory. He had us link our fingers together and stretch up, at first. Then, pulling our arms back with our shoulders, we were to push our chests out. This, he explained, is to become familiar with the back muscles used in lifting our shinai to prevent tightness n the shoulders and arms. It's a great little stretch.
We did a bit of practical suburi with it.Breaking down the steps into lift-strike we practiced using our back muscles to lift our arms. When we combined it into one motion, he asked us to step forward with our backs straight, our chests out and our knee first. It was difficult at first, as it always is, coordinating body parts while you're hyper aware of what each is doing but it's a good exercise to keep in mind.
We did our usual drills from there: men, kote, kote-men, ai-men and so on.With the back muscles already warmed up, my torso was a lot more cooperative in staying straight and perpendicular with the ground.
We did four rounds of 1.5 minute mawari-geiko after that. I'm trying to use kote a lot more recently with mixed results. Murata-san came today as well, which meant some hard hitting against a nito player. It's the ultimate game of strategy with him and he's always just a little too close for comfort, but it's so hard to judge distance without two shinai!
For a first practice in the heat, it went all right. I definitely need to remember to keep drinking water though!
We had a small group today, as usual. Koyama Sensei lead us through the warm up and did some new exercises with us to strengthen our shoulders and build muscle memory. He had us link our fingers together and stretch up, at first. Then, pulling our arms back with our shoulders, we were to push our chests out. This, he explained, is to become familiar with the back muscles used in lifting our shinai to prevent tightness n the shoulders and arms. It's a great little stretch.
We did a bit of practical suburi with it.Breaking down the steps into lift-strike we practiced using our back muscles to lift our arms. When we combined it into one motion, he asked us to step forward with our backs straight, our chests out and our knee first. It was difficult at first, as it always is, coordinating body parts while you're hyper aware of what each is doing but it's a good exercise to keep in mind.
We did our usual drills from there: men, kote, kote-men, ai-men and so on.With the back muscles already warmed up, my torso was a lot more cooperative in staying straight and perpendicular with the ground.
We did four rounds of 1.5 minute mawari-geiko after that. I'm trying to use kote a lot more recently with mixed results. Murata-san came today as well, which meant some hard hitting against a nito player. It's the ultimate game of strategy with him and he's always just a little too close for comfort, but it's so hard to judge distance without two shinai!
For a first practice in the heat, it went all right. I definitely need to remember to keep drinking water though!
Monday, April 22, 2013
The Inevitability of Destruction
The leather loop in my dou for the himo has been frayed for several months. David was kind enough to buy me a replacement strap for it last summer but seeing as no one knew how to actually take apart and repair that part of the dou it's been left sitting in my bag until today, when the thing snapped for good.
Fortunately, Koyama-san was there to give me a quick patch up, but he suggested that it would only be good for one day. Since I don't have a bike anymore after the mysterious theft of it from outside my house, and no money until I get paid again, it'll have to wait until Golden Week.
I did a bit of kata practice today with Koyama-san. He really drilled me on ippon-me today, which is nice. It's good to make sure I have the early forms down to perfection. (Note: this has not yet happened). In particular, he reminded me that shidachi needs to give uchidachi a 'push' when they come together in the center. Seme is important.
I got to experience the new 60 suburi drill today and nearly died for it, but it certainly woke all my muscles up. I just hope this drill isn't going to etend into summer. I'll shrivel up like a little raisin before I even put my men on!
My body was much more cooperative today in terms of correct striking and footwork. I got a couple nice pops that I was very pleased with. Itou Sensei corrected me again on taking my zanshin way too far after a strike. At least, I think he's corrected me on that before. Different teachers give different advice on this subject I've found. Some have told me that I need to get as far away from my opponent as possible after a strike, and some have told me that if I feel I've earned the hit, to run away with it. Others advise a strict 'three step and then turn' rule. I think, like most things, it depends on the circumstance. I know that in many cases I'm guilty of putting my kendo on auto-pilot and just doing everything my habit. Need to start making myself more aware of the fights I'm in.
Fortunately, Koyama-san was there to give me a quick patch up, but he suggested that it would only be good for one day. Since I don't have a bike anymore after the mysterious theft of it from outside my house, and no money until I get paid again, it'll have to wait until Golden Week.
I did a bit of kata practice today with Koyama-san. He really drilled me on ippon-me today, which is nice. It's good to make sure I have the early forms down to perfection. (Note: this has not yet happened). In particular, he reminded me that shidachi needs to give uchidachi a 'push' when they come together in the center. Seme is important.
I got to experience the new 60 suburi drill today and nearly died for it, but it certainly woke all my muscles up. I just hope this drill isn't going to etend into summer. I'll shrivel up like a little raisin before I even put my men on!
My body was much more cooperative today in terms of correct striking and footwork. I got a couple nice pops that I was very pleased with. Itou Sensei corrected me again on taking my zanshin way too far after a strike. At least, I think he's corrected me on that before. Different teachers give different advice on this subject I've found. Some have told me that I need to get as far away from my opponent as possible after a strike, and some have told me that if I feel I've earned the hit, to run away with it. Others advise a strict 'three step and then turn' rule. I think, like most things, it depends on the circumstance. I know that in many cases I'm guilty of putting my kendo on auto-pilot and just doing everything my habit. Need to start making myself more aware of the fights I'm in.
Friday, April 19, 2013
A Few Good Men
Another Friday practice and only 9 of us there. It's always a good group on Fridays, and the small size makes it feel more intimate. It's nice.
Ino-san worked with me doing some kata today which is good. I don't get to do kata with Ino-san very often. I messed up my footwork on sanbon-me and I forgot the last step into jodan for roppon-me but I think t was a successful venture, nonetheless. I had fun.
The warm up drills went well too. Much better from how they were on Monday, actually, which was very nice. I hit with some nice, solid pops and my arms and legs seemed much more in agreement to work together today, as opposed to Monday where they just wanted to flail around and pretend like they never had any motor skills to begin with.
We did some more complicated waza today too, the hardest being suriage-kote. I tried, and managed it clumsily, but at least it was included in practice.
I fought Ino-san and Tanaka-san during mawari-geiko and managed to get a few hits in, possibly because they're both tired from extra training for the up coming exam. In any case, remembering to go straight always helps me get the best men hits and I even managed a few kote. At the end, everyone had good things to say about my men accomplishments. I was told that even if my opponent is fast, a good, solid men is better, so that's something.
I still want to be faster, though.
Ino-san worked with me doing some kata today which is good. I don't get to do kata with Ino-san very often. I messed up my footwork on sanbon-me and I forgot the last step into jodan for roppon-me but I think t was a successful venture, nonetheless. I had fun.
The warm up drills went well too. Much better from how they were on Monday, actually, which was very nice. I hit with some nice, solid pops and my arms and legs seemed much more in agreement to work together today, as opposed to Monday where they just wanted to flail around and pretend like they never had any motor skills to begin with.
We did some more complicated waza today too, the hardest being suriage-kote. I tried, and managed it clumsily, but at least it was included in practice.
I fought Ino-san and Tanaka-san during mawari-geiko and managed to get a few hits in, possibly because they're both tired from extra training for the up coming exam. In any case, remembering to go straight always helps me get the best men hits and I even managed a few kote. At the end, everyone had good things to say about my men accomplishments. I was told that even if my opponent is fast, a good, solid men is better, so that's something.
I still want to be faster, though.
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Next Round
Everyone at practice was feeling pretty beat up today, it seemed. Except Koyama-san, who Yuko pointed out is always genki. It's testing season again for the higher dan and the rush to squeeze out every last practice before the exams can definitely wear out the body. Coupled with just the stress of testing, it leads to a pretty rapid onset of exhaustion. Sometimes I wonder if it's better to just skip a week of practice before an exam and center one's self, but I too am always over anxious to get in those last few precious practices the month before exams. Cramming for any sort of test is just too ingrained in our minds, I guess.
Today was my first practice back after a break to go to Taiwan. In short, my body was not impressed to be mack at swinging and leaping and shouting, but it's going to have to deal with it. Itou Seinsei wasn't at practice today which may have been for the better. Yuko says that he has upped warm up suburi from 50 to 60 each and I don't know if I would have been able to handle that today. I've made a note to at least 50 each at home every day to condition myself.
The practice (for me at least) was fairly relaxed. Fifteen minutes were devoted to mock test shiai for the higher dan, after we did some preliminary kihon. Ju-geiko followed that and Sugaya Sensei grabbed me for my first match which was all right in relation to how terrible my kihon practice had been. It was mostly a feeling my way back into my comfort zone of kendo. It's like squeezing into an old pair of pants. You know they're comfortable, you just have to break them in again.
My final fight was with Koyama-san who told me that I have to chase my opponent when he backs up out of my reach; more than twice if necessary. So I chased him around in a circle the next time. It was only after the match that I realized after the third strike he was probably just trying to step out of my way. Oh well, over achievement for the win.
In other news, my bike was stolen while I was in Taiwan so I had to leave my gear at Fuchou. I'll be taking Ari's bike too and from kendo until I save up enough money to buy a new one.
Today was my first practice back after a break to go to Taiwan. In short, my body was not impressed to be mack at swinging and leaping and shouting, but it's going to have to deal with it. Itou Seinsei wasn't at practice today which may have been for the better. Yuko says that he has upped warm up suburi from 50 to 60 each and I don't know if I would have been able to handle that today. I've made a note to at least 50 each at home every day to condition myself.
The practice (for me at least) was fairly relaxed. Fifteen minutes were devoted to mock test shiai for the higher dan, after we did some preliminary kihon. Ju-geiko followed that and Sugaya Sensei grabbed me for my first match which was all right in relation to how terrible my kihon practice had been. It was mostly a feeling my way back into my comfort zone of kendo. It's like squeezing into an old pair of pants. You know they're comfortable, you just have to break them in again.
My final fight was with Koyama-san who told me that I have to chase my opponent when he backs up out of my reach; more than twice if necessary. So I chased him around in a circle the next time. It was only after the match that I realized after the third strike he was probably just trying to step out of my way. Oh well, over achievement for the win.
In other news, my bike was stolen while I was in Taiwan so I had to leave my gear at Fuchou. I'll be taking Ari's bike too and from kendo until I save up enough money to buy a new one.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
A Nice Success
So after a precautionary time out after a bout with a fever last week, I jumped back into it again yesterday. Sometimes it takes a reset of the mind to return to normalcy in kendo. There's a build up of fears and anxieties over time that comes from an inability to do a certain thing, or frustrations at constant correction that can be wiped clean by taking one's mind momentarily off kendo and returning to practice with the same feeling of not thinking. Letting ones body do the acting without interference of the brain. I hope one day that I'll be able to pt myself in that state without having to dangle a carrot of distraction in front of my mind first.
In any case, practice went well tonight. It felt good all around (my back didn't even hurt which I counted as a huge success!) I focused more on correcting posture and forcing myself to move straight than on anything else, and my strikes felt cleaner for it. I didn't let myself get distracted by who I was fighting and their relative ability, and just did as I could. Such simple ideas that seem, at times, to be so far from reach.
I practiced more basic men and kote with Fukao Sensei again. He's willing to teach me and I'm more than willing to learn, so the opportunities to fight him are appreciated. He corrected me on bouncing my shinai too high up after strikes. It should remain at chest level for kote and head level for men. It's a bad habit I've picked up in the attempt to clear my opponents after a strike, and something I'll try to keep in mind in the future. It should save me some arm strain in my kendo, too. Also, from my previous observations of Fukao Sensei's kendo, his arms very rarely rise above his chest, and his strikes are always very crisp and clean for it.
We did five rounds of mawari-geiko, which was exhausting, but less exhausting than I felt it should have been. At the third round I thought we were finishing, so I gave it my all. The subsequent two rounds therefore were a bit more cautious on energy reserves, but it reminded me that the goal is to always fight with full energy, and that doing so doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be completely depleted for the next round.
The could rains have been hitting Kyoto recently, which makes it more difficult for me to navigate to practice on my bicycle. 40 minutes in the freezing rain is tempting fate, but I've stepped up my indoor training to compensate and have been working on muscle training, particularity in my arms, shoulders and legs to give myself a bit of a boost come spring.
In any case, practice went well tonight. It felt good all around (my back didn't even hurt which I counted as a huge success!) I focused more on correcting posture and forcing myself to move straight than on anything else, and my strikes felt cleaner for it. I didn't let myself get distracted by who I was fighting and their relative ability, and just did as I could. Such simple ideas that seem, at times, to be so far from reach.
I practiced more basic men and kote with Fukao Sensei again. He's willing to teach me and I'm more than willing to learn, so the opportunities to fight him are appreciated. He corrected me on bouncing my shinai too high up after strikes. It should remain at chest level for kote and head level for men. It's a bad habit I've picked up in the attempt to clear my opponents after a strike, and something I'll try to keep in mind in the future. It should save me some arm strain in my kendo, too. Also, from my previous observations of Fukao Sensei's kendo, his arms very rarely rise above his chest, and his strikes are always very crisp and clean for it.
We did five rounds of mawari-geiko, which was exhausting, but less exhausting than I felt it should have been. At the third round I thought we were finishing, so I gave it my all. The subsequent two rounds therefore were a bit more cautious on energy reserves, but it reminded me that the goal is to always fight with full energy, and that doing so doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be completely depleted for the next round.
The could rains have been hitting Kyoto recently, which makes it more difficult for me to navigate to practice on my bicycle. 40 minutes in the freezing rain is tempting fate, but I've stepped up my indoor training to compensate and have been working on muscle training, particularity in my arms, shoulders and legs to give myself a bit of a boost come spring.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Bucking Up
My recent struggle on the plateau and the stresses it breeds notwithstanding, slogging through practice is the only help for it and so finding a way to endure and become enthusiastic again becomes the only viable path. I've felt uncomfortably bored with my ability for the past few weeks, and I think it's largely due to a drop in confidence in my ability. I've been falling back on simple kihon techniques that are neither very effective against high ranked players nor very elegant, especially considering that I've been trying to focus on both guarding my right wrist and pushing off with my left leg more. The split concentration has caused a great deal of collapse in my usual ability.
In any case, it was necessary to convince my mind today that I both wanted to be at practice and was excited to be there. Sometimes, if you tell yourself something enough, you start to believe it. It worked today, thankfully and despite feeling uninspired upon arriving, by the end, I was feeling much better, though it could be largely because the other members all did their part to not make me feel like the complete disaster I've been feeling in myself recently.
I'm over extending my arms too much. I can feel it in my shoulders sometimes. It's a product, again, of trying to guard my right wrist by not bending my elbows. And for whatever reason, when I'm actually trying to close a distance with a lunge alone, I fall horribly short on it. Fortunately though, after a few warm up drills I was feeling a little more like myself.
Practice seemed to go by quite fast, actually. It didn't seem that we did many men and kote-men drills before we moved right onto mawari-geiko for three rounds of two minutes, and when that was finished, there was only 20 minutes left for ju-geiko.
I got to fight Fukao Sensei again, since he's been nice enough to give me the hard instruction I hate, but still need. Practicing with him always reminds me to keep myself straight, but he's so solid and together in normal practice that it's really difficult to get a hit on him, to the point that when he does open to give me a 'freebie' it really throws me off.
After our match was over, I spent some time watching how he fights and I observed that he really doesn't move his arms very much, His motions all come from the wrists. Of course he raises his arms to get the necessary height to hit men, but the height never seems to be higher than chest level. The way he can manipulate his shinai with very quick, pivots of his wrist has given me much to think about.
My final fight was with Koyama-san who gave me a much needed confidence booster. He let me tap him on the men a few times which was enough to get me relaxed enough to stop thinking how horrible everything has felt recently, and just do it. Somehow, he knows just what needs to be done.
In any case, it was necessary to convince my mind today that I both wanted to be at practice and was excited to be there. Sometimes, if you tell yourself something enough, you start to believe it. It worked today, thankfully and despite feeling uninspired upon arriving, by the end, I was feeling much better, though it could be largely because the other members all did their part to not make me feel like the complete disaster I've been feeling in myself recently.
I'm over extending my arms too much. I can feel it in my shoulders sometimes. It's a product, again, of trying to guard my right wrist by not bending my elbows. And for whatever reason, when I'm actually trying to close a distance with a lunge alone, I fall horribly short on it. Fortunately though, after a few warm up drills I was feeling a little more like myself.
Practice seemed to go by quite fast, actually. It didn't seem that we did many men and kote-men drills before we moved right onto mawari-geiko for three rounds of two minutes, and when that was finished, there was only 20 minutes left for ju-geiko.
I got to fight Fukao Sensei again, since he's been nice enough to give me the hard instruction I hate, but still need. Practicing with him always reminds me to keep myself straight, but he's so solid and together in normal practice that it's really difficult to get a hit on him, to the point that when he does open to give me a 'freebie' it really throws me off.
After our match was over, I spent some time watching how he fights and I observed that he really doesn't move his arms very much, His motions all come from the wrists. Of course he raises his arms to get the necessary height to hit men, but the height never seems to be higher than chest level. The way he can manipulate his shinai with very quick, pivots of his wrist has given me much to think about.
My final fight was with Koyama-san who gave me a much needed confidence booster. He let me tap him on the men a few times which was enough to get me relaxed enough to stop thinking how horrible everything has felt recently, and just do it. Somehow, he knows just what needs to be done.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
On Climbing the Mountain
To get off the plateau I mentioned in my last post there are two options, either quit and go back down the way I came, or buckle up and start climbing higher.
Yesterday I chose the latter. I got to Fuchou extra early to do a little extra practice before anyone got there. I usually sweep the gym floor anyway, but today I swept back and forth doing suri-ashi and then practicing my lunging. 'back straight, left leg primed, visualize the distance, hips forward, start with the right knee, leap!'. Again and again. I don't know if it actually helped much during keiko but extra practice can never hurt.
I got to practice some kata too, which I needed since I forgot nanahon-me. We went through some small details of moving and how one should feel while doing the motions, but again, I had some trouble with the final dou strike. Going down into that crouch is pretty difficult, but I'll keep working on it. I created some giggles from the guys when I accidentally yelped near the end. Oh well.
Practice itself was lively and full. We had a few guys visit us from another club and I got to practice with a few of them. Mostly I was able to keep my energy, but there was nothing out of the ordinary about the practice itself.
I spent the ju-keiko talking with some visitors from Doshisha who would like to practice with us too. The more the merrier!
Today, however, I am paying for trying. My legs are fighting every move I make, and it finally took a hot compress to relieve the pain in my back. Can't expect to get better without a little pain. At least my wrist isn't black today, The way it was taking a beating yesterday, I was expecting something gruesome!
Yesterday I chose the latter. I got to Fuchou extra early to do a little extra practice before anyone got there. I usually sweep the gym floor anyway, but today I swept back and forth doing suri-ashi and then practicing my lunging. 'back straight, left leg primed, visualize the distance, hips forward, start with the right knee, leap!'. Again and again. I don't know if it actually helped much during keiko but extra practice can never hurt.
I got to practice some kata too, which I needed since I forgot nanahon-me. We went through some small details of moving and how one should feel while doing the motions, but again, I had some trouble with the final dou strike. Going down into that crouch is pretty difficult, but I'll keep working on it. I created some giggles from the guys when I accidentally yelped near the end. Oh well.
Practice itself was lively and full. We had a few guys visit us from another club and I got to practice with a few of them. Mostly I was able to keep my energy, but there was nothing out of the ordinary about the practice itself.
I spent the ju-keiko talking with some visitors from Doshisha who would like to practice with us too. The more the merrier!
Today, however, I am paying for trying. My legs are fighting every move I make, and it finally took a hot compress to relieve the pain in my back. Can't expect to get better without a little pain. At least my wrist isn't black today, The way it was taking a beating yesterday, I was expecting something gruesome!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Another Plateau
Well, it's happened again; I've hit another plateau. I've done kendo for long enough now (oh my god, almost 6 years!) to know not to get discouraged when everything feels as though it's coming apart at the seams. Usually it follows a series of corrections that then occupy all my thoughts to correct and anyone who has done any kind of sport knows that the more you think about what you're doing, the more likely you'll mess something up. Of course, not thinking about it means that it never gets corrected. Like most things, there's nothing else for it but to do it, to move through the awkward 'am I doing this right' phase of repetition and practice and correction on into the muscle memory and fluid application of the desired motion.
So yeah, frustrations. I try not to let it get to me, and sometimes I succeed. Today at least was a day of rational acceptance of limitations that didn't dissolve into 'why can't I do this?! WHY WHY WHY?!'.
There weren't many people at practice today. I blame the cold. Kyoto is in a deep freeze at the moment and the flu is rocketing around the city like nobody's business. So with only seven of us there today we had a bit more of an intimate setting to practice in, and I was able to snag some time with Fukao Sensei for a few more pointers on keeping my kote guarded. He worked with me a bit on launching from the hips and the left leg (still working on that, six years in) and we did de-kote drills for about ten minutes. He always gets a laugh from my mistakes, which for me is better than being berated for not improving quickly enough.
It was a good practice, all things considered, but I'm still feeling sluggish and slow moving. I'm hoping that losing some weight will improve that. I'm aiming for dropping 5 pounds a month, so we'll see how that goes. If I could actually get my hibernating backside out of bed to exercise in the morning, it would go a long way, but every morning this month I've woken up with a very strongly punctuated signal of 'NO!' from my body. Warm bed is much more inviting that frozen mountain these day.
So yeah, frustrations. I try not to let it get to me, and sometimes I succeed. Today at least was a day of rational acceptance of limitations that didn't dissolve into 'why can't I do this?! WHY WHY WHY?!'.
There weren't many people at practice today. I blame the cold. Kyoto is in a deep freeze at the moment and the flu is rocketing around the city like nobody's business. So with only seven of us there today we had a bit more of an intimate setting to practice in, and I was able to snag some time with Fukao Sensei for a few more pointers on keeping my kote guarded. He worked with me a bit on launching from the hips and the left leg (still working on that, six years in) and we did de-kote drills for about ten minutes. He always gets a laugh from my mistakes, which for me is better than being berated for not improving quickly enough.
It was a good practice, all things considered, but I'm still feeling sluggish and slow moving. I'm hoping that losing some weight will improve that. I'm aiming for dropping 5 pounds a month, so we'll see how that goes. If I could actually get my hibernating backside out of bed to exercise in the morning, it would go a long way, but every morning this month I've woken up with a very strongly punctuated signal of 'NO!' from my body. Warm bed is much more inviting that frozen mountain these day.
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