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This is a quick post about today's classes. Tomorrow I'll put down some thoughts about the whole 16 days.
There were 2 classes today: Weapons, and open hand.
In the weapons class we did the first 10 jo suburi. I think I'd done them all before, but at any rate none were a mystery, so I was able to focus on doing them correctly. I need to work on my timing. I was coming in ahead of the strike, which isn't a terribly good idea. I'm feeling pretty good about most of the jo techniques I've learned. I'm sure they are very crude at this point, but I think I have the concepts down enough to practice a bit on my own, and recognize at least some of the things I might be doing wrong.
In the second class we worked mostly (entirely?) on preparing to do breakfalls. (Yay! Something I have done nearly none of before today.) Not exactly like this video shows, but that's the idea. I was with a group doing really easy, low stuff (like early in that video), while most of the class did more advance practice (like later in that video). Even the "easy" stuff feels really awkward and scary at first! Like "no way, I'll die." LOL But by the end of class it was feeling much more natural.
It's not that I'm in any hurry to be doing spectacular high falls, but I feel a little "at risk" not knowing the basics. Like driving a car without knowing where the brakes are. So I was really glad to start working on this a little.
More tomorrow about the whole experience of my 16-day "Per
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This has been a very busy running-full-out kind of week at work. For some it's been a pretty rough time. Everyone was quite ready to get started on the weekend this afternoon. For me it's been mostly fun - the kind of work I enjoy, just lots of it, on tight deadlines. My body has had enough of sitting at a desk and using a trackball, even though I did get out for a quick walk at lunch. My brain could use a cooling-off period, too. Thankfully, I got to a good stopping point, and even entered my time for the week, before shooting out the door at 5:00.
I managed to pop a temporary crown off a molar today. At 5:10 p.m. On a Friday. While driving in heavy traffic. On my way to the dojo. That's always the best time for that sort of thing, you know. D'oh! Naturally I just stuck it back on, smooshed it down real good, and went on to class. Now I'm being very, very careful when I eat. Great.
Tonight's class was a lovely respite from the madness. (I just looked up "respite" on Dictionary.com to be sure I am using it correctly. I am. "a delay or cessation for a time, esp. of anything distressing or trying; an interval of relief.") I got there early enough for plenty of warming up and stretching, and for the meditation period. When class started we did a lot of very soft rolling exercises, and then one putting each other into a forward roll, and being aware of where the connection and center was. Lots of attentiveness to keeping alignment and integrity. It was a pretty m
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Day 14 of 16. Today at work was harsh. Plowed through work all day long, and then an hour before I had to leave, I realized there was a huge chunk more that had to be done. If my day were randori, I'd let myself end up in the middle, and all the attackers were on me. I haven't been out walking for 2 days, and my legs felt like achy blocks of concrete. My left shoulder has been bugging me, so I was icing it at my desk. I wouldn't have gone to class, except that I said I was going to. I didn't figure my brain could absorb a lot more today. I was tired and overwhelmed, and really feeling the need for rest.
That all vanished after a minute or two on the mat. Everyone was in a wonderful mood. I had plenty of time to warm up. My front and back rolls were better tonight. I got most of the techniques at least halfway correct. I felt focused and centered, and had a very pleasant time in class. Yay!
Tonight was a weapons class with Sensei. We did tanto, which I think I've only worked with once or twice before. Even techniques that sometimes turn my mind into a pretzel seemed easier.
I was gonna go to class anyway, because I said I would, but now I'm really glad I did.
Off to dinner and a quiet evening, with more energy that I'm going to need for another intense day at the office tomorrow.
Tonight's post is being pre-empted by a meteor shower. The quick version: Two awesome classes tonight, the first with Sensei, the second with Cyril. Both flew by. It's great to have Sensei back. More later. Heading out to the back yard to stare at flying rocks.
Today, Saturday, wrapped up the first week of my 16 day Personal Aikido Intensive. I'm delighted and relieved to be able to say I've been having an awesome time, and am excited about having another full week ahead.
Next week I'll be in classes Monday through Saturday. M, W, & Sat. are two-class days. That's 9 classes, 5 of which will be with Sensei. This past week (M-Sat) he was away, and the yudansha (meet most of the teaching staff at Aikido of San Diego) taught all the classes. I really could not have picked a better time to do this, because for the past week there has been a tremendous variety to the classes, and for the next I'll have 5 days in a row of classes with Sensei.
The whole 16-day thing kicked off with a killer Friday night class with Sensei. I think he was trying to tire us out so we wouldn't be too hard on the yudansha during the week. It was an absolute blast. Sensei taught again on Saturday morning, and we did several really interesting exercises, including a walking-pace randori practice that looked like "Night of the Living Aikidoka" as 6 uke wandered, zombie-like in the general direction of each nage. Then Terry, Bill, and Doug had their exams, and there was the dojo party and potluck with the Sumo suits. (If you haven't seen the video yet, you can find it on my YouTube channel.)
The classes during the week were all as different as they could be, and offered many opportunities to try completely new things, hear familiar things explained
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I'm going to keep the brief, because come hell or high water I am going to get 8 hours' sleep tonight.
Have you read the two diaries that make their way around the Internet every so often? One is by a cat, and one is by a dog. The cat reports the horrors of his captivity, while the dog is excited about everything that happens, all day long:
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
My experience of Aikido all this week has been reminding me of the dog's diary: "Woohoo! My favorite teacher. Yay! My favorite kind of class. Awesome! My favorite people to train with. Oh, good! My favorite techniques."
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The teacher tonight asked me (since I've been to a lot of classes this week) what techniques we had been working on in the classes. Or at least what kind of work we had been doing. I could only come up with a very short list. I really should start being more conscious of that, I suppose. So I'll try to post a very brief summary of at least a few memorable points from each class, mostly to use for my own review.
Tonight we did a lot of bokken work:
Cutting, one direction, and then with irimi
8-directions cut (happo giri)
Front rolls, and back slap-falls (?) with bokken
We also did a bit of open-hand jiyuwaza.
A fairly large class, with a broad range of levels, learning happo giri looks a heck of
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Tonight's class was weapons. We usually focus on one weapon per class, and tonight it was jo (my favorite!). We did the first 12 jo suburi, and a combination of several at the end. I think I've only done 1 through 5 or 6 before tonight. I definitely had not seen the bigger swirling-the-jo-around techniques - those were fun!
I really like weapons classes, for the opportunity to work independently and slowly. It's possible to focus on the mechanics, alignment, center/base, staying relaxed, breath, posture, and so on, without the rush of doing partner practice. I wouldn't want to train like that exclusively, but it's nice to be able to break things down and work on what you need to work on.
I also like that once I get something basically down, I can practice it at home on my own. (I keep a spare jo in the barn for that.)
Tonight I was really happy about most of what I did (not really lost at any point). I felt much more solid and settled than usual during the techniques. Between techniques, however, I caught myself being a bit busy and unfocused in the way I was moving. I've seen what that looks like in videos (it looks ridiculous and goofy ), and have been trying to be more conscious of it. So tonight I tried my "being someone else" approach (see that blog post). Sort of "how might this look and feel if I were...?" It worked beautifully. No "trying" just doing. And then feeling what it felt like to be doing things that way.
Something I have found fun and useful in several areas of life (music, riding, and now Aikido) is to commit to doing or participating in something, and then figure out how to make it happen. For instance, I might commit to being at a weekend horse camping event. Then I have to get after making sure my truck and trailer are ready to go, get my horse used to loading in the trailer, etc. I don't wait until I'm ready, and then commit. I commit, and then use that commitment as a reason to get off my butt and get ready.
I recently signed up for a 3-day riding clinic in March. I've done virtually nothing with Rainy (my horse) for months. So having a date in early spring when we have to be capable of participating in clinic (plus having the truck and trailer current on maintenance, etc.) is a good goal. I've promised to be there, and paid in full. Time to start getting ready.
Now just this past week I have signed up for the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar (http://aikidobridge.com/). It's in mid-January. I figured with 3 months to work on everything in general, and to get in better shape, I should be OK to participate in a 4-day seminar without dropping dead. I just need to put in some extra time, focus during class. It's a killer opportunity, but it's just a seminar. No biggie.
And then the videos I ordered arrived, of the same seminar from past years. Uh oh. Mind you, I just did my 6th kyu exam. Nevermind "beginner's mind," I have beginner's everything. The vide
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The same (basically) as my AikiWeb blog, & I'll run them in parallel. You can't comment on the other one. It's more for people who aren't on AikiWeb already. It's a bit easier to browse, has more photos, etc. But it's not a replacement for this AikiBlog.
I think I've noticed an interesting rhythm to what is covered in classes: As exams approach, about every 2 months, classes focus more on techniques that are required for the exams (thank goodness!). Just after exams, we get to try some more interesting things. Both of the classes I did today covered new (to me) ground. Fun stuff!
Today 03:44 PM 
Something I have done nearly none of before today.) Not exactly 
LOL But by the end of class it was feeling much more natural.
For some it's been a pretty rough time. Everyone was quite ready to get started on the weekend this afternoon. For me it's been mostly fun - the kind of work I enjoy, just lots of it, on tight deadlines. My body has had enough of sitting at a desk and using a trackball, even though I did get out for a quick walk at lunch. My brain could use a cooling-off period, too. Thankfully, I got to a good stopping point, and even entered my time for the week, before shooting out the door at 5:00.
), and have been trying to be more conscious of it. So tonight I tried my "being someone else" approach (
Mind you, I just did my 6th kyu exam. Nevermind "beginner's mind," I have beginner's everything. The vide
