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Guy's Aikido Journal Blog Tools Rating: Rate This Blog
Creation Date: 02-27-2005 12:33 AM
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This is a journal of Guys Aiki path
Blog Info
Status: Public
Entries: 217
Comments: 33
Views: 290,911

Entries for the Month of August 2004

In General First class as a 4th Kyu, Steel Blue Piercing Eyes Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #109 New 08-28-2004 12:12 PM
8/27/04

Friday evening classes, which are amazing always. Worked with Anna first, this was strange, as she had started I think over a year ago, and has always been higher rank or longer in rank than I have since I have been there, however with this last test, I am now a 4th Kyu, and she is 5th Kyu. This created a strangely funny moment at the beginning of our training together, where I was waiting for her to hold out something for me to grab, and she was patiently waiting for me to do the same. I eventually laughed and held out my hand. We worked on Ryoti Dori Tenchi Nage Sensei came by and helped us with it. It was good practice, and helped me work on some of the stuff that I already knew but had not integrated into my bodies practice yet. We spoke a lot about connection and how to maintain it when you were both Uke and Nage. There is a whole energy that I have never thought about in letting someone grab you. Uke is trying on that mat, and sensei says in real life to establish a connection, by honoring that connection and letting it happen you start the process of Aikido. True that you are going to use that connection to assist them in transformation by holding them on the ground after you have thrown them down. By slightly pressing into the grip of the person that is grabbing you can increase their desire to hang on. Also during the technique it is important that you keep the part that has been grabbed in alignment with the grabbing hand. It is easy to pull away and bre ...More Read More
Views: 1058


In General 4th Kyu now! Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #108 New 08-27-2004 10:46 AM
8/26/04
Ran through the test once before the class started, and once during the first part of class with Rick. My wife came up to watch the test, which was fun. It was the most people that I have seen on the mat during a morning class in a long time!! Toward the end of class, Sensei called us all into a line, and then announced my test.
There was less nervous energy on my part than there had been on my 5th Kyu exam. Time during the test was weird. For some reason I fixated on Tenchi Nage, and kept waiting for that to be called. I did make a mistake, the previous technique had been Shoman Uchi Nikkyo, and in the pin I had slightly messed up the hand positioning. (I had not grabbed my Gi with the top hand). I was knocked out of being in the moment for a while, and when sensei called for Shoman Uchi Nikkyo, and I did a Shoman Uchi Ikkyo, this was actually opposite what I was worried about happening. I finished the move, and Rick jumped up and we did the right move. When Sensei called Katate Dori Shiho Nage, I had to think about what this was, as it was on the last test, and we had been working on Yokaman Uchi Shiho Nage, Rick and I had not worked on Katate Dori Shiho Nage all that much, on the last test I had worked on it a lot, and done it for the 108 practice. After Rick looked at me a little and made the little sign that we have for change your homi, it clicked and off we went. The test was about 15 minutes, not really very long, but in the middle it seemed to be going in ...More Read More
Views: 3409 | Comments: 1


In General Last two classes before the next test.....Anxious. Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #107 New 08-24-2004 11:16 PM
8/24/04
Morning Class went through the entire test with Rick. It all went pretty well. Although there were some issues with Yokaman Uchi Shiho Nage. We worked on it for a while. I think that I have it pretty well. There are definitely a lot more details to work on for all of the techniques, and I can see where there are details that I am missing here and there. I know that this is part of the stages of learning Aikido and that we can not get all of it immediately. Rick said that he thought that I was doing wonderfully and was definitely at 4th Kyu level.

Sensei set my test date for Thursday the 26th. This is one class away! Egads! Sensie also stated that he will be calling for some Ukemi at the end of my test in addition to the rolls demonstration.

Evening class. Worked with a variety of people. It went really well during basics class. It gave me a chance to work with some different people on the stuff for the test. It was good getting some feedback from some of the sempies on what I was doing especially on Yokaman Uchi Shiho Nage. Stayed for the first part of the second evening class and worked with Noel on almost the entire test. Lots of work on Ikkyo and Nikkyo. It was good. Learned that there is a lot that a blackbelt can do to make you not want to move when you are trying to get out of the Nikkyo pin. My wrist is still a little on the tender side.

Sensei and Noel both worked with me on the making the nikkyo better, and sensei gave me some pointers to work on i ...More Read More
Views: 909


In General First ever breakfall! Wow that was scary! Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #106 New 08-24-2004 11:15 PM
8/22/04
Sunday freeform training. Wow! Worked with Victor on Jo takeaways this was intense. I also managed my first breakfall! This was when I found myself three feet above the mat on the end of a stick held by Victor. It was not painful, so it must have been somewhat successful. It was a little spooky and I asked Victor not to do that again. He said Ok, and then said with a little grin that I obviously knew how to do breakfalls because I had done one just then. We worked on some of the stuff for my test, Shiho Nage Nikkyo primarily, and then the time was over. It was a great workout.
Views: 764


In General Opps ran into the Shoman! Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #105 New 08-20-2004 11:10 AM
8/19/04
Morning Class, worked with Rick on test material. We worked on Shoman Uchi Nikkyo, and on Tenchi Nage. Rick says that I am doing well, I am not so sure as is normal for us at this stage of getting ready for a test. Sensei came by and said that he wanted me to show a little more marshal aspect in letting go of the Nikkyo pin and then demonstrated on both Rick and myself.

Evening class. Took my visiting friend Jay with me. It was a good class. I managed to smack my foot on the shoman when doing Kokyu Dosa at the end of class. The shoman is really hard, and my foot is now bruised. Sensei came over right away to make sure that I was ok, and then instructed Krista and I in how to apologize to the shoman. It was a bit embarrassing. Worked with Noel on Tenchi Nage, and had some instruction from Sensei that included the words, now that you have it work on making it beautiful, with one of his little grins.

A very good Aikido day, the workout was strenuous, but I seem to have made some progress toward the goal of being somewhat proficient for the test. The differences between myself and those that are higher rank than I am become increasingly clear, I see more of the little things that I would like to integrate, but seem to have difficulty remembering and then getting them into the technique that I am doing when I am doing it. I frequently even seem to forget to breath when doing a technique that I am working on.
Views: 857


In General Elbow twist for direct entry shoman uchi ikkyo + Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #104 New 08-08-2004 10:21 AM
8/6/04
A great class. As much to digest intellectually and spiritually as there was physically. The Friday night classes at our dojo are an hour and a half. Sensei says that some people think that this is too long and don't come for that reason. Others seem to see it as the start of the weekend, and so are partying or relaxing at the end of their long week. Personally it is always one of my favorite days on the mat. Fridays have a different format, one where you work on techniques that you want to work on, and sensei comes around and helps you with them.

There were four of us in class tonight, I worked with Victor, Sensei, and Noel. It was amazing. The amount of things to learn from working with three Yodansha is amazing. Also there was the lesson of where you grab someone determining how much they are going to fight. The more that they feel that there is a way out of the situation them more their body is going to be relaxed. The more that their body feels that they are trapped, the harder and quicker they are going to put up a fight. Sensei demonstrated this with both Noel and I. I must say that it was a great demonstration, something as simple as where it is that you grab their arm when you are doing Ikkyo can make a difference between escalation and transformation. I see some of these subtleties, but I am not able to correctly perform them. It can be frustrating and at the same time helps me keep a beginners mind, and be open to the spiritual aspects.

Working with ...More Read More
Views: 707


In General More work on Kokyu Dosa Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #103 New 08-05-2004 09:05 PM
8/5/04
Morning Class
Worked on Shoman Uchi Irimi Nage, it was an amazing class in a lot of ways. Learned about blocking the shoman in the blend, and to put your arm above the Uke's elbow, keeping your arm bent so that you deflected the blow instead of guiding it to your side.

Kokyu Dosa was with Sensei, and was wonderful, he showed me that there was a way to the start of Kokyu Dosa, and that there was an imaginary plane between us, I needed to make sure that I started at least even on that plane, better still if I started as far as possible on his side of the plane. Then he showed my how there was a flow to moving toward my center when we were deadlocked in the middle. Then spiraling out of the movement back toward the uke. It was wonderful. I tried it again in the evening class with Eisa and it worked wonderful there too!

Evening Class
Worked with one of the white belts, on Ikkyo. It was a lot of fun, and I feel like I have forgotten ˝ of what I had down pat for my test. Oh well. Then I worked on my test stuff and it felt like my mind and body were on vacation, and not speaking to each other.
Views: 825


In General Flow is not retreating Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #102 New 08-05-2004 09:13 AM
8/4/04
Evening Weapons Class

I have not been in weapons class for some time. It is a strange draw to understand weapons work, and a feeling that I am really bad at working with weapons. This class did nothing to disprove either. I know that if I am to get better at the sticks thing then I have to do more off the mat practicing on the Kata's I have to know what comes when so that I can focus on positioning, movements, and the like.

I caught Sensei smiling at my weapons attempts today. It was pretty funny I thought too. It is interesting to know that I am not doing something very well, and still find it funny. This is a change for me personally as I generally would find it much more frustrating that I do. Part of the way that Sensei teaches seeking always to keep all of us off balance, always in beginners mind.

Sensei came over at one point in the paired practice and noted that I did not back up, I gave no ground. He then said "Remember there is a flow to this, moving backward is not retreating, it is working with the flow of the situation. You are not used to yielding much are you, you just stand there and take the blows of life." He stood ram rod straight, when he was saying the last part. Then Sensei talked about the way that Kelp moves with the waves and is not broken, and asked what would happen if it were rigid. Yielding ground, moving backwards as part of life, not a defeat, not a retreat, something necessary for mental, emotional and spiritual survival….. ...More Read More
Views: 819


In General Test Prep again Already! Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #101 New 08-04-2004 10:56 AM
8/3/04
We are working up to test time again. It does not seem possible that it should be happening so fast. It is interesting to look at the process after having completed my first test. The testing process itself is a big part of mastery of the art in our Dojo. The intense focus on the techniques that are to be demonstrated on the test, drive them deeper into your unconscious and into muscle memory. I worked on Tenchi Nage for the entire class this morning. Starting off with Candice, and then working with Noel. (WOW that was great, he is wonderful!) As this was a new technique to me it was very interesting to work on it focus on it for that long. Both Noel and Candice who are not testing this round spent most of the time Ukeing for me even though I asked several times if there was not something that I could serve up for them. They smiled said no, and kept serving up Yokemans. After class I worked on Tenchi Nage some more with Julia, specifically on keeping my hands in front of me, and trying to stay centered when working with a uke smaller than I am, also Julia's technique involved more hip action than did the others, so I worked on integrating a little of that into my technique.
The two step blend into the technique is a little different for me, but I am working on it.
Candice thinks that I should test for 4th kyu this time around. Rick has stated in the past that he thought so too. I am not sure if I will have the days in before the test, but I might go for it, both Ca ...More Read More
Views: 845




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