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This week has been a bit of a blur. Tuesday seems like the distant past; almost like a foggy hint of a dream…. Anyway, despite the fact that I don't really recall much of anything, I do know that I left the class feeling alright with myself. Having all the new people there has slowed the class down a bit, which is just what I needed that night. Going slow allows me the chance to really analyze and/or feel what I am doing. I appreciate the opportunity of working with beginners. First off, it shows me that I have gotten better over the past 9 months or so and working with them helps me realize my own mistakes. They don't know how to move, so you really have to do the technique right to get them moving. If I don't lift their elbow, it isn't going. They aren't able to move yet and they can't anticipate what you are doing, so they can't be nice to you. Working with the beginners is a sobering experience that can be both challenging and rewarding.
At the end of the class sensei had me and a yudansha demonstrate suwariwaza ryotedori kokyuho. Well, I didn't really demonstrate so much as take the ukemi for it. The dojo was so hot and muggy that I lost grip of his wrist. Sensei scolded me for it and I made sure it didn't happen again after I wiped my hands on my pants. Since the class was an odd number, sensei reid to me and offered to work on the technique from standing (he isn't able to do suwariwaza right now). I wasn't really expecting him to take me all the way
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Let's go back to the 5th, which was a Saturday. Sensei decided that the theme for this class would be yokomenuchi. For an hour and a half, everything we did began with a yokomenuchi attack. We did all sorts of techniques: ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo, yonkyo, gokyo, shihonage, kotegaeshi, kokyuho, as well as a few techniques that don't have a name. No surprise, but I realized that my nikyo and sankyo need some work. Actually, no need to be modest, it needs a LOT of work! I figure that will come with time though. We also did some techniques using the tanto. We did ikkyo and gokyo from a yokomenuchi attack and we did some basic evasion (irimi) and kotegaeshi from tsuki. All in all, I found it to be an enjoyable class. A bit challenging at times, but it went well. I guess that is something I should get used to. It seems Saturday's is more of an advanced class and I am one of the few beginners that come on a regular basis.
Tuesday's class went well. We had three beginners. Each of them has only attended a few classes. Sensei made it a really laid back class. We worked on ukemi, irimi, tenkan, irimi-tenkan, tai no henko (3 variations), gyaku hanmi kokyuho and maybe something else. At one point I was working with the new girl (We'll call her Anna). She seemed a bit frustrated. I did my best to help her by leading her hand and such. I have no problem working with beginners. This is my second time around as a beginner in martial arts, so I guess I can really empathiz
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I have been struggling to come up with something to write lately. Aikido is going like "normal", but life? Life is getting….. complicated. As of this moment, my family is in a bit of a crisis. I won't go into details because it is personal, but quite frankly I doubt that any of you are interested in hearing about it. With the holiday season upon us, I have begun to slip into a bit of a scrooge mentality. Truthfully, I am a bit over the holiday season this year. Too many things going on and if I could, I would put the holiday season on the backburner. Since I can't do that, I just push myself to do what is expected of me. I know that at some point during this "most wonderful time of the year" that a smile will come to my face and I will have a good time, but until then, I will stay as I am. Don't worry though, I am not depressed or anything. Been there, done that.
Anywho, since this is an aikido blog, I guess I will get back to the topic. We have a couple new people in the dojo. For this blog, I will call the new guy "Larry". I'm not sure if Larry has any previous martial arts experience or not, but what I can say is that he is VERY stiff. I have worked with him a few times over the past couple weeks. The first time I worked with him we were doing ikkyo and nikyo. Let's just say that he has an iron grip and that moving him is like moving a rock. I was able to do the technique provided I used good technique (which is a good thing to be challenged in this
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12-18-2009 04:55 PM 
