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Recently at our dojo, we practiced tai no tenkan exercises for about 45 minutes. I left class with a slight bruise on my wrist. Some of my classmates have a strong grip!
Today I decided to polish my wooden weapons. I started by laying out a clean blanket over the mattress in my one of my guest bedrooms. Then I placed my jo, bokken and tanto on onto the blanket.
I took a clean hand towel and wiped each item. Although my bokken is all banged up, I'm not too worried because it's not my favorite weapon (as of this week, anyway.) However, my jo has bumps all over due to some jo/bokken kata we've been practicing during the last few months at our dojo. Darn it - this is my favorite instrument.
Afterwards, I dabbed linseed oil onto the towel and smeared the towel onto each piece of wood. After applying a heavy coat, I wiped the excess off and laid each item back on the towel.
I then took my weapons case and shook it to try to dislodge any loose items that may be lurking inside. Luckily, no dust bunnies, hairballs, parking receipts or brown recluse spiders. (Don't ask.)
I carefully placed the weapons back in the bag. Now they're ready for another heavy session of hits, smacks and bangs.
As you can tell from my last diary entry dated 13th February, I have been amis in keeping my diary updated. My excuses:
- work travel (a few times per month)
- carpal tunnel syndrome (not really)
- no internet connection (not really)
- just plain lazy (the real excuse)
Summer-itis has apparently hit me big time. I'll try and do better.
On Saturday, we had only the instructor plus two students at the class. It was nearly a private lesson. We worked on options when nage would grag the uke's wrist. Based on whichever hand was grabbing (katate tori or kosa dori) we had to think on our feet and quickly decide the best response. Needless to say, my response was poor and slow. I suppose I need to work on how to think on my feet.