We went to Komaki in Aichi prefecture yesterday for the 7th annual meeting. It was a rainy day, but that kept the heat down. The session ran for two and a half hours, but flew by quite quickly.
Isoyama sensei taught a long series of wazas starting from ushiro-dori. These are some of my favorites. They involve running behind the opponent and grabbing their wrists and/or the backs of their necks. We use their momentum to bring them down.
Sensei went through a wide range of techniques: ikkyo-gokkyo, kotogaeshi, iriminage and shihonage. What confused me was that with some wazas we would turn into our partner's body, but others we would turn away. Once I sorted that out, the techniques went much more smoothly.
It is always a lot of fun practicing with such a variety of people. We don't know each other, don't know the other's levels. Fun, but it can also be a bit scary if you encounter aikidoka who want to be tough guys or don't have much control over their own bodies.
Oh yeah, funny story. While I was doing uke for somebody, the sensei was watching from behind me. I was prone, but my body was not completely flush with the mat. The sensei walks up behind me and stomped on my butt to force me down. I was startled to say the least. I looked up and he gave me some advice then smiled and stepped on me again.
After practice, the sensei came over and sat next to me and started asking me questions about my life in Japan, aikido, etc. Really nice, funny man.
Following that, we all went out to a restaurant for a banquet feast. My Aussie friend and I started mingling with the college kids from Chubu University. They were a lot of fun; we swapped stories about school and our aikido experiences. Another sensei whose name completely escapes me gave me a pin with the kanji for "aiki" printed on it. It is from the Aikikai in Tokyo. I was surprised and honored. Feel a bit rude as I can't remember where he is from. I'll check on that later.
And then we hopped on a bus, took a couple of trains and we all went home. And that was that.
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