Hey folks, big apologies. I haven't been at the dojo in awhile. Life, stuff, summer. Anyway, we went last Sunday. It has been cooling down, but not much. The dojo was hot. Oh well.
We focused on stab defense techniques. The opponent attacked with a tsuki (突き）and we tried several different wazas throughout the night. We ran through ikkyo and nikkyo to get warm up. I was a bit out of practice, but it came back to me quickly.
We spent a long time working on kotogaeshi. Our first move is to touch the attacker's fist and then spin into the waza. The opponent is pushed into an awkward position and thus becomes easier to throw.
We tried a variation of kotogaeshi that involves using irmintenkan then spinning with our backs to the opponent. We grab their wrist with our hind hand from behind our backs. It is a great technique when done smoothly. I didn't. Or rather, I could with my left hand but not with my right. Bit strange for a right-handed man.
Honestly Sensei seemed a little grumpy that night. He didn't correct us much, just sat there watching. A lot of us were stopping to rest frequently throughout the session. Myself included.
To wrap up, it was hot and I made a lot of mistakes. Banged up my wrists a bit. But it was great to practice. I really want to include aikido in my life again.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hi Steve,
A difficulty of kotogaishi is that most of us, including me, let go of almost all air during the first part when we lead the opponent in his forward direction. That means that for the second part, doing another spin and flapping back his lower arm, we first have to 'come up for breath', which means we give him back the balance that we just took away from him.
Another difficulty is that you need some 'hard pivoting point' for breaking his arm. That point is your ki-point in your belly, but if you harden up the whole belly, you offer your opponent a 'solid ground' against which he can fight with power. So your ki-point should be like a small solid iron ball, which actually takes both stamina and a lot of breath control. I have the feeling that Sensei can project that 'small iron ball' even outside of his body, for pivoting or even luring in the opponent.
Again the sword may help you in your practice. If you make a straight hit after a tenka, you will easily feel what it needs in regard to body tensions and breath control. More difficult, but still easier than kotogaeshi, is shirionage-ura.
Hans
Oh man. It's been very hot here, too! Probably not as hot as Obata, but I hate it, and classes thin out considerably during the summer.
Post a Comment