2012-05-09 05:59:00
Last night was a valuable class in Amstelveen. From the side lines I might not have been able to hear every single line from the senseis' explanation, but I did get a good hard look and I got the chance to ask questions later. Here's a bunch of things I wrote down.
- When doing suburi, don't swing back so far that you whack your tush. When striking, try to keep your position as long as possible without losing the group's pace (aka Kris' challenge).
- Any time that you do diagonal striking, be it in suburi, be it in dou strikes, be it in strikes to the side of the head, always swing straight over your head on the upswing. Over the class' last kirikaeshi, Heeren-sensei specifically pointed out that he saw a lot of people doing lateral swings behind their heads when going from left to right, right to left. No. Swing up straight, strike down diagonally.
- I asked Roelof-sensei about breathing. He confirmed my suspicion that, in suburi (and in everything we do) it's best to breathe in on the upswing and out on the strike. This does indeed mean that you'll be breathing like a madman in suburi! However, given the proper lung capacity one could also breathe in on the upswing and out on strike,swing,strike.
- I've finally learned the Japanese terms for "big men" and "fast men", which actually applies to all techniques: oki (large) and hayai (fast).
- An interesting practice for coordination and fast thinking: kote, men, blocked men to the side, blocked men to the side, men, run through. All including fumikomi.
- In hayai men, never raise the kensen of your shinai above your head. Move the tip past your opponent's face and over his head, then strike. Remember the fight over the center line! In hayai men stay low and maintain the center line! That way you can always switch to other techniques, like dou or a parry strike.
- To receive taiatari slightly step in, or sink down, with your right knee. Do NOT step backwards on your left. Also keep your center of gravity low, in your hara, by keeping your hands low.
- When performing hiki waza, don't swing your shinai backwards over your head and away. You will lose your balance. You have to feel that you're "stabbing the ceiling". By punching upwards and slightly backwards you're giving yourself momentum. Think of the movement being made in kata #1, by the receiving partner.
- With hiki kote, before the strike do not move the shinai upwards a lot. Keep it a bit higher than in kamae and keep the center line. Do not try to swing around the opponent's shinai, but instead wait for enough clearance to strike from the center.
- After your opponent has struck it is your chance to retaliate! So when he's done a hiki strike, chase after him! Especially be ready to strike when his sight is blocked by his own kote, when going back to kamae after a hiki men. This routine can be practiced as follows: hayai men, tai atari, hiki waza, ai men (both strike men at the same time).
I also got a chance to talk to Heeren-sensei about some of the stuff I've been working on. Apparently the badges are on their way to the Netherlands now (200x Amstelveen, 100x Almere) and they will be sold at 1 euro a piece!
He also asked me to work with one of our dojo's sempai to improve the kanji writing on the back of the grey shirt. Supposedly my attempt at the kanji looks too Chinese and sensei was asked by a few Japanese whether he was advertising for a new restaurant :P
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