Month: May 2018

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Thinking about the difficulty of footwork and teaching it.

I tend to try to introduce kyusha to the different stepping rhythms as soon as they are ready to understand the difference with their bodies. Some of our kyusha are able to do fumikomi within a few weeks, others require long months to grasp it. So I’m tailoring it to each person’s ability.

Teaching those basics of correct footwork while keeping a good posture has been challenging for me over the years. It’s the most basic stuff but it’s hard to make people develop a feeling for it. Their minds get my words but more often than not, their bodies don’t — and I always feel like it’s a small victory when I find an explanation that will “speak” to my dojo-members and make their bodies “get it”.

Remembering that I required quite some time to properly feel comfortable with fumikomi-men (from any distance or situation) I think it started requiring me much less of conscious attention somewhere during my time as a 2nd dan, so not so long ago, frankly.

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I feel a bit under the weather today.

In an unrelated matter, I haven’t been able to breathe properly for a while (or at least I’m under that impression) and I greatly fearing it might be my genes and the tendency for our arteries to get clogged. That or I need to lose the extra weight. Or I felt like this cold was coming for about 4 days or so. No idea but it is worrying.

Training-wise, nothing much has happened. I don’t feel like doing anything at home and since it was day off on Monday we didn’t organise a training so I suppose next session will be next Monday?

I hope to feel better by then.

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I’ve had a really hard time on monday. I guess I still carried the fatigue from the weekend trainings. I’ve lost a lot of stamina with the birth of my son, since I understandably had to cut back on trainings for a while. I’m only at once a week (outside visits excluded) while we have two 2-hour sessions scheduled per week.

Monday I felt sluggish. For instance I could manage to hit kote but giving the extra energy to go nidan waza and add the men really felt excruciating. 

I should find ways to build back up the stamina that I used to have. Starting with losing 15kg (±30 pounds). Yeah fatherhood does that to you… My wife lost the pregnancy weight after birth but I didn’t!  

No idea how to go about losing all that weight since I reaaaaally like food.

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I don’t feel tired at all today, nor did I feel discomfort yesterday, which was odd. Tonight’s going to be regular practice in the dojo. An old member is going to pay us a visit and practice with his three kids, probably a one shot though.

For the rest I hope there will be enough regulars to keep the momentum of the last few trainings outside our walls. The plan tonight is to work on kote men and “the timing of one”.  As Geoff Salmon sensei writes it.

During the regional training, I went against a 4th year 4th dan. Younger than I am. Taller than I am, much thinner than I am. Also very slippery, like an eel. Ducking, moving the head. He could really have beaten me without doing that and I felt that our geiko was more of a display of his prowess, which I don’t mind because he is generally nice and friendly (unlike some other chaps that I’ve had the displeasure of practicing with in the past).

But this made me think about two things immediately afterwards : 

  1. I still need to face such strong, mobile and vigorous opponents because no one in my dojo can bring me that kind of challenge. 
  2. This made our difference in style of kendo (or more accurately what we as people look for in kendo) very apparent. He’s in a shiai winning mentality but is certainly able to do tadashii kendo when asked. I on the other hand don’t want anything but tadashii kendo. 

It makes me think of my dojo’s peculiar history and our necessity to stick to tadashii because we don’t have a 6 dan + sensei to correct us if we start “playing hit”. Though it severely limits us to not have the aura of a real sensei around, my absolute refusal to see anything not in accordance with the basic principles holds us on a good course despite being a longer and rougher way.

During events where we meet others, the only positive feedback we get is about our form : “very clean” “proper” and frankly I’d rather hear that until the end of times than being praised for our results or raw strength/speed.

My (7th dan) sensei posted on my dojo’s facebook group’s wall recently, complimenting our progress through our relentless practice of correct basics. He added “don’t change a thing”. 

That’s exactly what I intend to do.

TA DA SHI I !

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This morning I participated in two trainings. The first a regular training at a big dojo in the capital city. The other one the monthly regional keiko practice. Today it was hosted by 3 nanadan and one rokudan. Regular high-ranking attendance. I think the most I’ve seen at once at such event might’ve been 5-6 nanadan?

Anyway, I feel as tired as the day I climbed on top of this mountain :

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Wife and kid have left for the big north again.
I’m home alone for ten days, which means…

Kendo tomorrow morning in a dojo held by two 7th dan senseis
Followed by regional keiko practice (open from 3rd dan and up)

Yoshi!

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Yesterday night’s training was very nice as I was feeling positive after the regional taikai. We started with kirikaeshi with a little kiai twist at the start with the motodachi starting by screaming ICHI answered by a NI from kakarite, followed by another round of SAN and SHI for motodachi and kakarite respectively right before both sides make a single long kiai at the end of which kakarite starts kirikaeshi.

A trick to develop kiai and get through the stiffness of the beginning of the training I picked from a 7th dan sensei. This is exactly the sort of thing my dojo members need.

We then went on towards men strikes of various flavours before getting to the kote strikes. First big, then small with both hands joined in the middle of the tsuka (to work on the te no uchi snap feeling), then regular small kote.

After a few rotations of which, the kote hitting side was switched to motodachi. On the third received kote, kakarite would perform a waza (kote nuki kote/men, kote suriage men, debana kote, kote kaeshi men). We made about 4-6 rotations of each waza.

The last exercice before jigeiko was simply : motodachi attacks small kote whenever they feel it, 5 times in a row, kakarite simply do the oji waza they want to counter the attack.

I’ve also corrected some of my dojo’s 1st dans’ posture (too stiff in the shoulders and on the tsuka) and told them to feel like they put shoulder blades closer to each other in order to straighten up and get their shoulders down and relaxed. 

They shouldn’t focus on their arms while performing small kote, only posture, movement and power in the left leg / buttocks / hara. The kote should only be made with wrists and fingers. 

“grow tall, don’t sink into the ground, dominate with attitude, light on the feet, back and head straight, arms relaxed, wrists relaxed, hara forward, tip forward, left leg at the ready” 

It is hard to find ways to convey what you feel is the right movement. Especially knowing that I’ve only managed to reach that feeling of performing a correct waza relatively recently, at least compared to a 30+ years of practice Sensei. 

But that’s my struggle for now. I’m feeling more and more like a real 3rd dan. Working my way up, knowing what I lack and what I need for the next milestone on the way of the sword.

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Not only did I score my first ippon ever, I’ve finished first of my pool, by scoring two kote, one men, one do. I also went into initial lineup ritsu rei, holding my son in my arms, cause wife needed to go elsewhere. Cutest lineup ever, for sure! 

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The gist of tonight’s friendly visit to another dojo.

  • Got seated on the sensei side — perks of being a dojo-leader, if I wasn’t used to this possibility by now, it would be very embarrassing.
  • I was looking forward to participating when 7th dan visitor sensei said “men tsuke” but then my men himo broke as I tightened it.
  • I borrowed a men for the duration of kihon
  • I’m stiffer at kihon outside my own dojo, I feel I’m not as relaxed as I usually am and the crispation goes into my shoulders.
  • I had to give the men back for jigeiko.
  • But then I tied my broken men himo bits together for the duration of keiko, and it was good enough.
  • Luckily I have spare men himo but that means reverting to kansai style.
  • Had good time and late night dinner with a senior of my dojo, the other dojo leader and visitor sensei in a local restaurant
  • Meal was offered by host dojo
  • During the meal, sensei spoke about the importance of “just doing it” (what is uncomfortable to us, gives us doubt, makes us fearful) on that, I’ll have to write a longer post at a later time.
  • Sensei asked me what I thought were the skills I should work on and concepts I should grasp for my next grading and my answer was greeted with approval.
  • A fellow 3rd dan confessed they didn’t like championships and I could relate and it felt nice to talk about it, and share ideas on how to overcome that error of judgment we shared.
  • The different conversations at the restaurant made me feel motivated.
  • I have no pictures because my phone is having problems but someone else took a group shot, just waiting to see it pop up on social media…
  • It’s almost 3am and I’m not tired.

Very good night indeed.