Sainou Kokoro Utsuwa – comes to mind when I think of last weeks review class. I’m happy to say we have resume classes (wed & fri) at our local venue. Our Japan trip was awesome. Words can’t sum up right not the feeling boiling inside me at this moment when I remember my journey little over a week ago. Anyway this is not about my review. The following post is from a dear and sincere student who has the kokoro and sainou (knack) for budo that has demostrated her determination. She is out on medical leave, yet comes to class to watch and learn from the sidelines. This is what she had to say:
Friday’s Class – 4/3
Anthony began Friday’s class by having everybody warm up prior to training. The class started by doing some basic rolling, zenpo kaiten, ushiro nagare and yoko nagare. I should mention that this is the first friday class since the dojo returned from Japan and everybody was pumped! For starters the forward and back rolls were a bit different from the way we are used to doing them. For example, in a “normal” forward roll we are told to roll over our shoulder, whereas in this class the forward roll was done straight through by rolling right over the head though not literally, what was happening is we were using our hands to push ourselves off and flow into the roll. the back roll was pretty much done in the same way. The side rolls(yoko nagare) were done with a partner so as we could learn to keep our eyes on the opponent during this roll.
Next came the basic movements of the Kihon Happo and Sanshin no Kata.
· Ichimonji No Kamae- Uke punches, Tori blocks(uke nagashi), free hand comes up as in Kosei no Kamae to hide the Shuto Ken to the outside of the neck.
· Jumonji No Kamae- Uke punches, Tori is in Jumonji, blocks (jodan uke) pushing the opponent’s puching arm up to expose the underarm, Boshi ken to the underam area, Mitsubishi, move back into Jumonji, second punch comes, Tori blocks again and repeats same movements from first punch.
· Hicho No Kamae- Uke comes in with an upper cut, Tori is in Hicho No Kamae, blocks(gedan uke), kick to the stomach, steps in, Shuto Ken to inside of neck.
What I got from watching this was that making smaller movements and staying close to your oppenent make it more effective in the control of your opponent. This was the feeling that Anthony and everyone else brought back from Japan. That staying connected to your opponent, “like a rope” creates less open space which makes you less vulnerable to a second attack. Letting go of your opponent can work for you if you are in an open space where you have time to get away, but if you are in a tight space it makes more sense to capture, hold, and control your opponent. He stressed the importance of practicing your Sanshin as this will help you to perfect your balance and coordination. And also to help you move in a more natural and relaxed manner while still generating the power necessary to take down your opponent. He also covered the basic locks: omote gyaku, ura gyaku, musha dori, and musso dori.
The second part of the class Anthony turned the class over to Meredith, Blaise and Bobby, giving each of them an opportunity to show a technique brought back from Japan. Blaise stated the importance of taking your uke’s balance by taking the shoulder. Meredith demonstrated the importance of smaller movements and staying connected to your uke. Bobby demonstrated some techniques in which you initiate the attack but still make it seem the other way around…very sneaky. In the end we did some sword work, where we learned not how to cut or strike your opponentt but how to effectively stop and control your opponent while maintaining connection…capture, seize, hold..
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
~ Lao-Tzu
Karla Pascual, 8th Kyu
