2012-10-13 12:51:00
Today started with a pleasant surprise: Hillen has returned to join Loyer-sensei and Kris-fukushou in teaching us. We also had a lovely, large group of 21 today with two fresh faces and four guys still working their way to wearing a uniform. With eight or nine guys in bogu it might not be much, but for Almere that's a decent show :)
After kata practice and warming up we quickly proceeded with kihon practice. Loyer-sensei took the newbies aside for the basics, while the beginners practiced men, kote-men and kote-men-do on motodachi in bogu. It gives me great pleasure to see that, in mawari geiko, the fundamentals of reiho are now falling into place. Beginners and advanced folks alike take the apropriate approach: bow (onegai shimasu), step into kamae, do your exercise, back into kamae, sheathe your shinai and step back, bow, then bow again when everybody's done (arigatou gozaimashita) and kotai towards the next partner.
The beginners then joined Ton-sensei with the newbies for further kihon training, while those in bogu proceeded with waza. Chiisai kote-men, kote kote-men, men debana-kote, men hiki-men ai-men and men kaeshi-do. Each of these exercises was performed two or three times and in between were one-minute rounds of jigeiko to further practice.
In all these exercises, Kris-fukushou reminded us of the importance of building tension, of proper footwork and of feeling the proper distance and chance to make your strike. Try to use different approaches in stepping in: sometimes edge your way in sneakily, sometimes boldly step and strike. In debana-kote don't simply step aside, but first step in when striking; then move aside. In both debana-kote and hiki-men keep your movements tiny, else you are simply too slow. With all these exercises it is imperative that motodachi give his best attack! Without a proper chiisai-men, you cannot practice a proper kaeshi-do! So don't just try and whack something, make it your best strike!
Class was closed with three rounds of uchikomi geiko (third round was kakari geiko for those in bogu). Everyone was pitted against Kris-fukushou, Hillen-sensei, Raoul-sempai and Charl-sempai.
At the end of class all three teachers had some closing remarks.
- Ton-sensei was amazed by how winded and tired a lot of people seemed in the last rounds of uchikomi geiko. Class wasn't too heavy and people didn't seem to be sweating too much. So why was everybody acting so tired? He also remarked that everybody's footwork went to pieces during these rounds.
- Hillen-sensei remarked how much his wrist and head were hurting: a lot of people are striking with strength instead of speed. You shouldn't be acting like lumberjacks! Snapping and striking, instead of slamming and shoving.
- He also thought that people were under the impression that uchikomi geiko needs to be hurried, especially when they have to do it in one breath. People started getting very sloppy! Instead, while it seems weird, you should be taking your time! By being more efficient and "clean", you are wasting less strength and breath.
- Kris-fukushou agreed with Hillen: people are lumberjacking! People are relying on their right arms and using strength. Instead, one ought to be using the speed in their left wrist and lower arm to make the "snap".
Pointers that I received individually:
- In kata 4, Charl-sempai explained that uchidachi's thrust should end with the shinai almost lying flat on its side. He also mentioned that my hasso kamae was too vertical.
- More importantly, Charl-sempai also explained that in the first pose, uchidachi's shinai should also lie on its side when hidden behind your body. That way, you actually use the curvature of the blade to hide the length, instead of having to turn the point very far behind your back. It's hard to explain, so here's another approach: when going into uchidachi's starting position you move through hasso kamae into waki gamae. When moving from hasso, the bokken's movement ensures that your left wrist naturally tilts to the side meaning that the left side of the blade automatically points up in waki gamae. This is shown well in this video.
- As before, Kris-fukushou reprimanded me for my too-large movements. Stupidly, I really wasn't feeling what he meant and I honestly thought I was moving in a small fashion. Only near the end of class did it register! I was going through a slow motion chiisai men with Sander and I saw it: as always before, my kensen was already at head height way before striking and my hands were also raised. So while I thought I was improving, I'm actually still making the same mistakes as a year ago.
- Kris also made the same warming about my maki waza: my movements are too large and thus I both lose my opponent's shinai and the center line. I also realized that I was performing maki with my right hand, instead of left.
- Raoul-sempai took me aside to explain more about the left-arm issues we've been learning about in Amstelveen. He noticed that I was showing the same issues and he also knew why. I may be stretching my right arm correctly, but I'm doing to this high. In my case the right arm shouldn't be horizontal but a bit below that, which will allow my left arm to naturally stretch (this also affects the angle of my shinai!). By keeping my right arm horizontally I was locking my left arm and shoulder, through which I couldn't stretch it (without it severly hurting).
- Raoul-sempai also warned me that my kamae was still too tense. He kept urging me to relax.
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