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Matthew's Blog Blog Tools Rate This Blog
Creation Date: 02-19-2008 11:49 AM
mathewjgano
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My cyber sounding board...
Blog Info
Status: Public
Entries: 104 (Private: 18)
Comments: 57
Views: 352,196

In General Equinox Keiko Entry Tools Rate This Entry
  #59 New 09-22-2012 10:52 PM
Been a little run down this week. The lads are sick again, although not too bad. Last sunday I went to a Wing Chun class an acquaintance from highschool is teaching. I wanted to support him and I've always been interested in it so I went for the two hour class. I had fun learning the first form and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of his training style. Train for about 50 minutes; have some tea and chat; train some more; have some tea before leaving. All in all quite pleasant, but I also enjoyed the punching mits. It was interesting how awkward I felt doing even just simple movements. They're very similar to movements we use in Aikido, but not being familiar and mimicking as we went along did a lot for making me feel uncoordinated.
What most interesting to observe in myself is the constant desire to translate everything back into Aikido. I was excited about what we were working on, but I kept wanting to talk about how it's like Aikido and I felt like I was overstepping my bounds as a student...even if it was just because I was happy to be learning what little I have so far. I'm going to be there tomorrow so I'll be more conscious of this ahead of time instead of after the fact.
Today's keiko was fun as usual, but I went into it a little flustered. I forgot to do the dishes last night so I had to rush them this morning. Then right before I went to leave I noticed my hakama wasn't in my bag. I looked all over and still could't find it so I just grabbed my non-cut-off (i.e. normal length) keiko gi pants and planned on training in extra beginner-mind attire. I was late so of course everyone driving in front of me wanted to drive 5mph below the speed limit. Earlier in the year I would have been quite flustered. Today wasn't that bad. I've been in a little bit of a rhythm with my training (actually making it a habit again) and it's amazing what that can do for self-confidence. Turns out I don't mind making mistakes if I feel like they're fewer and farther between. When I arrived I found my hakama sitting neatly, waiting for me. Apparently my bag being full of misogi gear made me think I had it when in fact, I did not. "Too many mind!"
I still feel pretty weak with my bokuto work, but it's coming along. Today I got to work with the senior most student...he always amazes me with his calm focus.
Mugamae; seigan; (unknown technique); [double kesa uchi]; hassho; kesa
I worked on taking the center line, but based on the interaction I can tell I need to work on being more assertive. Part of my problem with weapons is the fear that I'm going to mess up and so I tend to pull back a little. I'm careful (mostly) not to disengage too much, but I find myself not cutting with the kind of clarity I ought to be. Something to focus on in the future.
It started raining so we went in and finished up with some jo work on the mat. I got to do a bit of work with sensei on this and I really enjoyed it. We worked on deflecting kesa and moving into an otoshi tsuki. Toward the end I began getting the "flick" which tosses uke's jo down before I enter in with the otoshi tsuki.
For waza we worked on ai hanmi katate tori shiho nage omote. I was going to ask for the same technique, so I was stoked. Last week I was going to ask for a morote dori, but someone else made a request first...which was for a morote dori movement. So it seems like me and a couple other students have been on a similar wavelength. I love my experiences with shiho nage. As uke I love the winding stretch through my torso; as nage I love the way it forces me to get more of my torso into the exchange.
Tonight was my gramma's 80th birthday party. I got to watch my boys run around and interact with my extended family and that, combined with the tired feeling I still have from keiko, has left me feeling all warm and fuzzy. My training is part of my personal efforts at being the best person I can be, which is itself an extension of the love and unending support I've received from my family. For me, this is where love and budo .
Anyhoo...off to do suburi and breathing exercises...
g'night!
Views: 1899 | Comments: 2


RSS Feed 2 Responses to "Equinox Keiko"
#2 09-23-2012 11:22 AM
mathewjgano Says:
Thank you, Linda! I definately find I'm getting more and more as I keep up the practice. Fun stuff, too!
#1 09-22-2012 11:23 PM
Linda Eskin Says:
What a wonderful post. There's so much available to us in these arts. Thank you for sharing.
 




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