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Arrived half an hour early for morning class this morning because I was screwed up on time. Turned out excellent, got the perfect parking space, and had time to practice the 8th Kumi Jo with Julia before the class started.
In the morning class we worked on Sankyo. It was a lot of fun…I started getting it more or less, not anything close to mastery, but up from clueless. Sensie asked the whole class if they had any questions, I asked how it was that you pushed or pulled the uke down at the end of the move. He then called me up and demonstrated on me!!! Wow the first time that I have gotten to be a crash test dummy in class in front of everyone. Sensie uses a rolling down of the shoulder to get the uke to the mat, kind of like the throttle on a motorcycle. It is amazingly effective! A lot more than I would have though, no pushing, no pulling just some little spiraling and twisting, and you go down powerfully but oh so gently.
Then I was working with Nikky on a variety of stuff, some Sankyo and then Juwi Wazza. I noticed that she was always looking in my eyes no matter where we were in the technique. She then asked me as I was working with Julia, (we were a group of three), if I had lost track of Julia. (I had!). She said make sure you watch your uke all the time! It was wild when I started! Changed the whole idea of Marshal for me. It was really wild. Much better connection to my Uke, and I have started to look at the Nage the whole time that I am the Uke. This sounds strange to type it. Like what else have I been looking at all this time. It is a more active looking, and more intention based. Always watching, never letting go of the visual contact with them.
Worked with Roy tonight in the evening class, and he helped me with my Nikkyo, which is really strange, I don't seem to get it at all! Then I worked with one of the rank newbies! This was strange being the person that is the Sempie! Wow. He wanted to work on Ikkyo, so we did. It was good for me, I could have done better than I did I think with this, but I was getting pretty tired by this point in the day.
Everything feels like it has gone from some stage of competence to being clueless again. I guess that is what happens all the way up and beyond black belt. It did feel good to be practicing some things over and over again before the test through,