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10/14/04
Morning Class.
Worked on Direct Entry Ikkyo before class with Rick. I can't get the timing and the intent right. I think that this has something to do with being large, and trying not to intimidate people all my life, so that when I am in a situation that I am supposed to intimidate people for the start of a technique, I find it extremely hard to do so.
Class was Shiho Nage from Kihon, Shoman, and Tsuki to the head. It was great, worked with Rick several times, and with Anna, Linda, and a Yodonsha. In working with Anna I think that we both made some interesting connections to life through Aikido. I had been thinking about our last time on the mat doing Shiho Nage for two days, and thought about the beginning of the technique, and how I could change the way that things work. It was interesting to try the first of these things which was a tiny pull on her arm when we were connected, and then to ride the energy back as she pulled back. It worked pretty well to start things smoother and to get some flow happening. However it kind of felt like cheating in some way, especially when I am working on some level on effortless aikido. Will have to talk to Victor and Sensei about it. Maybe tonight!
I managed to trip on my Hakama for the first time today, it was inevitable, while I didn't fall over, both Sensei and Rick noticed it and welcomed me to the hakama club while laughing.
Doing Shiho Nage from Tsuki to the head, Sensei pointed out that I have to actually act
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Weapons class. Worked on the paired practice for the 31 cout Kata from 13-27. It was fun, although there were parts of the area from 20-27 that I didn't do as well at as I would like. So much of this is confidence and you body teaching your mind, instead of your mind teaching your body. Seems strange to write that and read if from my keyboard still. Michael form Belgium would surely smile knowing that ultimately I came over to his viewpoint that the body and the mind have to be together to work effectively and for the fastest learning.
The thing with weapons class is that I work on weapons less that 1/5 of the time that I work on TaiJitsu. This means that my weapons work seems to be crawling along, and that I am still a very beginner in it. I have to start working on it outside of class more. I have to put some time aside and work on at least the Katas and the Suburi when I am not at weapons class.
10/12/04
Morning class, worked with Anna on the feel of not making the other person feel anything. It was Really interesting to watch her getting it. We also worked on the degree of Omotee ness that one can use with different people. It is always interesting working with her, and today especially so. Worked on Shiho Nage the entire class. Worked on Making sure that your movements were from center, and that your hands stayed in your center. Then we worked on the two different ways to get into the position where you are behind uke, ready for the "throw". One way is to extend the Ukes center around, so that they are basically always off their center for the whole move, kind of grind their should and elbow along your body and back. The other one is to do a quick pivot, and a little adjustment. It is really great when you get it to work, as it is not anywhere as intrusive, it does seem a harder way of doing it though. I worked on it for the class, and the next class. Thinking about how the energy of the other people flows how the flow of energy of each of you makes a conversation, how to feel the physical conversation, and allow it to take place, yet do good aikido.
Evening Basics class.
My Hakama came!! I washed it, and wore it to the evening basics class. M was on the mat again. We worked on Shiho Nage again, it was good. I got to be crash test dummy for both the tai no henko and for one of the shiho nage demonstrations. It was amazing. Sensei's technique is so fluid, so s
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10/8/04
Kote Gaieshi from Shoman, and from Yokman, both the attacking hand and the other hand craftly captured with an atemi. (My atemi sure needs work. It isn't real, kind of like my playing with sticks, I don't want to bop people.) M was on the mat, I worked with her some, Noel did, Krista did too. Victor and Noel co-taught, and it was a wonderful class. I worked with Victor, and he also critiqued me on some of my moves when working with other people. I completely by accident managed to push an emotional button of someone on the mat. I was concerned about them, and said something that evidently had been said to them many times before. OOPS! Where I thought it was just a friendly concern it seemed to the other person to be a personal attack. Ykies! So I had one section of the evening talking on the mat with the person trying to explain that I was just genuinely concerned, and not taking a dig at them.
We also did Kote Gaieshi from Yokaman with a flowing block from the opposite hand, then directing it down and away from us and grabbing it with our other hand, and then Kote Gaieshi. It was so smooth a couple of the times that I did it.
Krista was back on the mat in her very flowing self, with amazingly bendable arms. I like training with her because we are absolutely opposites in so many ways.
Victor worked with me on my staying upright and not bending. I worked with M on the same thing. It was very interesting, degrees of difference.
10/7/04
Morning class.
A good class, Noel taught. Lots of inner aikido and thinking in this class for me. Not because it was structured that way, just because I was in that space. Wonderful KoKyu Dosa with Anna who refused to be tipped over at the end by any standard means, It was great, later in the day the physical side of it clicked for me, and I understood that there was a way to gently and without a lot of muscle to tip her over. Maybe next time we are on the mat together I can give it a shot.
Evening class: Got to be crash test dummy for with Doug who was teaching in Senseis absence. Worked with a lot of the newbies, and a couple of my sempies. It was interesting being crash test dummy and having people rush out to bow to me. It was kind of cool also having done the technique with the person instructing, and to have felt some of the flow there while giving a demonstration of the best Ukemi that I could.
10/5/04
Wow a triple class day of Aikido!
Morning class worked on Tski Kote Gaeshi, Shoman uchi Kote Gaeshi. After class worked on Morote KoKyu ho with Anna, Noel, and Candice. I think that I got a little smoother at it. I also worked on Sankyo with Candice. It was a good after class mat secession. We did accomplish a lot. Candice was making noises about my testing again in the next test secession. I don't know that I will have the requisite number of training days. It was good to hear her say it though.
Basics class, worked with a variety of people on Tski Kote Gaeshi. Some beginners and some sempies, it was a really crowded mat, and some care was needed to make sure that everyone remained safe. Strangely in a few situations I was the most senior of the four people who could bump into each other and had to be the one that was most aware of the situation. It went well, and I worked on being present during Ukemi and focusing on the Nage and their intensions and energy.
Second evening Class. M has decided that she is going to join the cult :-) and has signed up and gotten a set of white pajamas. She got on the mat for the second secession tonight. I worked with her for the beginning of the class, and we did some Gykute Dori Ikkyo. Sensei came by and said that I was doing Ikkyo with Melissa very well. The technique was good, and my slow and gentleness were wonderful. WOW! I quipped back that I knew that I had to sleep sometime, and he laughed.
10/1/04
Sensei was away so Noel taught the class. Worked on Ushiro Ryote Dori with a press down on the elbow with Victor, the Usjiro Ryote Dori with an arm around Nages neck with Noel, don't know what that was called, but it sure was interesting. Also worked with Victor on making things flow easily and not be pushed. This is still a lot of work for me, and I don't get it often. Victor and I also worked on Ushiro Ryote Dori Shiho Nage which I actually felt worked without pushing on him once! Wahhoooo!!!
Noel taught me some about KoKyu Dosa and moving from center in the technique. Heck you are supposed to get your hips involved there too! I don't think that I ever have until now.
M was on the mat again. She had a good time, but got a little frustrated at the end of the class when things seem to have been harder to follow for her.
9/30/04
Morning class, measured for a Hakama for me, I wore Noels a little and threw and was thrown around the mat. Sensei helped decide what it was that I needed, measured, and then wrote out the order. It was very nice of him. I could definitely feel a difference in the way that energy flowed with the addition of about 5 lbs of cloth tied around my waist.
We worked on Kote Gaieshi from a variety of attacks. This was really interesting. I manage to get a little of it feeling better. We started off the class pretty much from Skee. There were a lot of lessons about getting low, and guiding the uke, also about not ending up in striking distance from the Uke when doing the technique. It was a great class. Worked with Noel, Rick, and Anna. We did some Juwi waza only limited to responding with Kote Gaieshi for the Nage. It was fun, a couple of Ricks attacks actually resulted in some smooth techniques from me that I did not know existed in my repertoire.
Sensei was out, Doug covered the basics class. We worked on Tenchi Nage, and Tai No Henko. It was a good class for the beginners. M got on the mat again and seems to really like it a lot. I ended up being one of the most senior people there and was the anchor for the circle in the end! Wow! I also got to be a crash test dummy for one of the techniques that Doug demonstrated.
Ordered my hakama today, should be here in 3-4 weeks. According to the person at Bujin, I got the last large blue premium cotton that they had. Seem
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9/29/04
Sticks class. Worked on the Jo Subuti, and then a bit of paired partner practice. The paired partner practice was about parrying and about distance and movement. It actually made some sense to me and I was able to get into it. I stated in circle that the work with Noel really eliminated some of the fear that I had in weapons work. Sensei stated that I had instead passed it on to the rest of the class, as I was now much more animated with my stick! The lessons over the weekend with Noel really made a big difference to me.
9/24,25,26/04
Mountain Wind Dojo Nevada city Seminar with Sensei.
This was wonderful! Techniques worked on Tai No Henko, KoKyu Dosa, , Ushiro Ryote Dori Irimi Nage, , Ushiro Ryote Dori Ikkyo, Shiho Nage, , Ushiro Ryote Dori Nikkyo, , Ushiro Ryote Dori Sankyo. We worked on big blends, small blends, and the difference between Omote and Ura in , Ushiro Ryote Dori techniques. There was some excellent poetry read between segments, which really brought home some connections between spiritual aspects of the practice and physical aspects of the practice.
I was fortunate enough to ride up with Sensei and his wife, along with Noel. The conversations about Aikido and non Aikido topics were very fun.
Noel and I stayed in the Dojo and talked each night till the wee hours about Aikido, life, and getting to know one another better. Some folks came up from our Dojo and it was a lot of fun to play with different bodies, and familiar bodies mixed up well.
I was extreamely blessed to receive about three hours of one on one training in Weapons with Noel. (HEY my Bokken and Jo strikes make that cool noise, herto previously only associated with the strikes of Youdansha!).
I have a ton of stuff to process here, and I know that I only took in a tiny fraction of it.
10-14-2004 01:51 PM 
