Even More Pictures-May 10th&11th

Went both nights last weekend. Mostly practiced for Tokyo. My partner is really light and his uke is quite good, so he's lots of fun to throw. Take a look.

We are working on kotogaeshi here. His landings are nice and smooth.



Here we are doing shihonage. Sensei said I should keep my hands higher, not lower them so much. This makes it easier for the partner to jump over his own arm as I twist it.



This pic shows tenichinage. The tori has to extend one hand up towards the heaven and the other down towards the ground. The result is the uke being unbalanced and brought into my space. His body should look like a bow being pulled. Then I step forward and he falls backwards.



Here's me being thrown kotogaeshi. I have to train myself to slap my hand on the mat before my body hits. This absorbs much of the shock of being thrown. Mistakes are painful, so you'd think I'd have learned it by now.


These next few photos are me with the sensei as uke. It was only second time to throw him. Quite an honor as well as a great model.



Kotogaeshi




Can't remember the name of this technique, but it look cool and is a lot of fun.



Kotogaeshi again.

When we practice with each other, we can always feel the weight of each other as we twist and throw. When I throw the sensei, I feel nothing. Like I'm holding jump rope handles and swinging a light rope around my head. Sensei often seems like boulder when I try to push him, but here he seems like a butterfly whirring around my head. Can't really understand what is going on there.

More Practice, More Pictures-May 3rd, 2008

Week late posting. My bad. Spent most of the evening working on our routines for Tokyo. Sensei spent a great deal of time giving me feedback on a few techniques.

Here I am doing kotogaeshi with my partner. Sensei said I need to make a bigger circle with my arms. I keep my body small and so my technique looks weak and makes it hard to throw him. It also makes it hard for him to be thrown.



This is the final stage of the waza. I have a bad habit of lowering my hands too much. I mistakenly thought that I was helping my partner land safely, but actually I'm not controlling my technique very well. My partner is a nice guy, so he rolled properly despite my error.



Here's the sensei explaining and modeling the proper form. Bigger circle creates a better form. Not sure where I picked up the bad habit of keeping my movements so small and constricted. Perhaps being 185cm in Japan and banging my head on doorways caused it. In the dojo, I have the freedom to move wide and large but I don't always utilize my size to its advantage. Gomen sensei, I'm still learning.

Gearing Up-April 27th, 2008

Sunday night we got into our pairs and spent the whole night practicing for Tokyo. My partner wasn't there, so I got a chance to practice with my partner from last year. He's been doing aikido for around 20 years, so he's great and great to work with. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

This is me completing ikkyou. I need to keep my back straight. It gives more control during the technique and looks better.



Here my girlfriend is being thrown in kotagaeshi. This guy is really smooth; his wazas look beautiful. His sense of time and speed are spot on; he knows the right moment to "snap the whip" and give a photo finish to this technique.



Now it is my girlfriend's turn. She's got the rhythm down right and this guy went flying.

I'll throw in one more just for fun. Here's me going down like a crashing plane in ikkyou ura. No, I didn't land face first. I landed on my chest using my free arm to guide along the mat.



That's all I had time to catch on camera that night. Until then, I'm signing off.

Pairing Up-April 20th, 2008

Sunday night we were put into our pairs and practiced for Tokyo. There was some reshuffling of the partners and and now I am working with a rather new fellow. He has only been in our dojo for about 2 or months, but he practiced elsewhere for about a year. His ukemi is coming along nicely and he was fun to throw around that night.

My plan is to stick to the first routine of techniques that my former partner chose. We will do ryotedori (両手取り） in Tokyo. That gives us quite a few choices of wazas. I'll give you a list later. Now, I want to show you a few photos from that evening. It has been a long time since I posted pictures. Sorry about that, folks.

Nice shot of the first stage of kohkyuunage. Aite approaches and...



Gets thrown on his ass!




And more time, just for good measure!

These next pics are of the shihan tossing his partner like an old sack of rice. With sabaki and omoiyari, of course!



This last one is pretty funny. The shihan looks puzzled about something. "Did I do that right?" or maybe, "Why isn't she moving?"




I'm not sure what is going through his head, but I know it is unwise to question a master. Just leave well enough alone. And with that, I will say "Sayonara" until next time.

She Takes Her First Step-April 19th, 2008

Saturday night we had two people take their black belt tests. My girlfriend and another fellow. I was chosen to be his partner. I'm glad sensei didn't ask me to work with my girlfriend, would've been a tad embarrassed.

The four of us bowed to the sword, to each other and the test began. Sensei called out the names of techniques in a rapid-fire style, making it difficult for me to hear what he was saying. Bear in mind, I was being thrown to the mats as he announced the next waza. As long as I caught the first word, I was ok. I knew my line, as it were.

My partner did quite well. He forgot a couple of techniques and so we had to start over a few times. When he froze, I tried to give him a hint with my fingers. That is, if I remembered the technique myself. Must admit, my hiatus of several months emptied my repertoire. We went through a general run of the waza list. Starting with the seated (座儀) forms, on to aihanmi, gyakuhanmi and finishing with the hanmihandachi techniques. A few ushirodori and koshinage stuff thrown in as well. No tanto or katana, I noticed.

I am hardly fit to teach or critique others at aikido. Readers will notice that I generally criticize myself and my own mistakes. Having said that, my partner showed the same error I often do myself. Perhaps out of nervousness, he went through each waza very quickly. Even when he clearly didn't completely remember it. I mentioned to him afterwards that if we go a bit slower, more methodically, the technique often looks better. Beyond mere beauty of display, the waza is also much more effective, as the tori can perform each step of the waza with more control and poise. Last thing, if you go slowly, it gives the confues student a chance to feel the flow of the technique and realize what he/she needs to do next.

All in all, the double shodan test went really well. We are very proud of the two of them. I am particularly proud of my girlfriend for her achievement. Now the real test is to see if my fragile male ego can handle the fact that my girlfriend and I are now at the same level.

Soft Landings and Happy Endings-April 6th, 2008

Last Sunday we were back at the Obata dojo. New, soft mats. It was a small group, so the sensei didn't teach in the usual fashion. Instead, we got into pairs and were told to practice what we wanted. I think sensei was slightly upset that so few people came that night, but the free choice lesson gave me and my girlfriend the chance to work on some techniques we have been messing up lately.

She and I went through the list of yokumen and ushirodori techniques. She is getting ready for her shodan test, so I was uke most of the evening. Again, the soft mats were noted and appreciated. Both yokumen and ushirodori involve using both hands and we have to grab the correct hand or the waza doesn't work. My girlfriend and I were confused about whether to grab the aite's upper or lower hand. Sensei pointed out the differences and I think we generally got the idea.

Besides all my errors, stamina seems to be one of my biggest weak points. I went full-throttle for a solid hour. Getting thrown, bouncing up and getting thrown again. Then I reached a point where I had trouble getting back up fast enough. This causes problems for the tori, as they have to wait for this old man to get on his feet. I really need to focus on building my own strength. Come to think of it, today is a beautiful spring day. Great day for a long bike ride. Think of it as cross-training.

Couple of quick notes. I brought my camera, but was practicing too much to take any pictures. My apologies. Also, we are getting ready for Tokyo next month. I haven't been told who my partner will be, but I will let you know right after I find out.

Wazas & Kisses-March 29th, 2008

Last night we had about six people show up. A couple of dads and sons, plus my girlfriend and I. We only covered 2 or 3 techniques, but we went over them in immense detail.

We focused mainly on aihanmi wazas. Ikkyo, omote and ura. Timing became a huge factor here as we had to flick our "hand swords" and cut into the technique before being grabbed by the aite. If we let them grasp our wrists, it becomes almost impossible to carry out ikkyo or irminage.

I focused so much on the wrist flick that I would stop and think about the next step. This breaks the flow of motion and allows the opponent to solidfy his grip on us. Instead, we need to move in one fluid motion. Not thinking, just moving through and around the aite.

I typically overthink most everything. This has helped me quite a bit in other areas of life, but usually hinders me in aikido. Although I haven't been going to the dojo that much recently, last night I felt what psychologists call "the flow", a state in which physical and mental activity run smoothly and without conscious effort. I used to feel it more, but lost it sometime ago when I broke from regular training. Was good to know it's still there.

Another point that came to mind after practice was the point of first contact. As soon as I make physical contact with the aite, I know if I will do the waza properly or not. The next 99% of my physical movements will either complete the technique or be an awkward, forced imitation of aikido. It reminded me of a first kiss between two people. When the man first touches the woman, he instantly knows that, yes, I did the right thing, or, no, I made a mistake. Anything after that will continue down two wildly different paths. In romance, we speak of passion and chemistry; in aikido-rhythm and ki, the "harmonious energy".