Monday, November 29, 2010

at KU

Saturday started on a somewhat shaky note. That is because it was a rainy morning, and it came with all the usual problems, namely traffic jams, mud, congestion, i leave it there for now. Anyway, despite all this we had enough quorum to do some aikido. As is customary, we tried to perfect our ukemis and do some more dynamic techniques. For those who had never done ukemi on tatami before, i have to say it was quite hectic. (some of us had it kinda easy, lol!)
So we managed to go through techniques like juji-nage, irimi-nage, and the like.
There was an impromptu test situation where we had to perform techniques almost on instinct, and ...well...we delivered. This is the part where some of us got to be reminded of uchi-kaiten-nage and sumi-otoshi. Its always so easy to forget.
For aiki-ken, we did shohatto and sato from Muso Shinden Ryu school. We also did iwanami, ukifune-gaeshi, noarashi-gaeshi and utsu-semi from Shindo Munen Ryu school.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Friday's Class

We covered several KatateDori techniques, both omote & ura versions, which included:
  • Ikkyo AiHanmi (KataDori technique as well)
  • Sankyo AiHanmi
  • Gokyo AiHanmi
  • Rokkyo AiHanmi & GyakuHanmi

It was a great refresher lesson. The techniques all seem to be derived from the initial Ikkyo movement, with subsequent moves then being specific. Everything also seems related to the sword movement; get the sword movement right and the technique works easier.

Gokyu focuses on the forearm (closer to the wrist than elbow). Sankyo on the wrist. With Rokkyo, focus is on securing Uke's elbow. Subsequent pressure is then applied to the wrist to force Uke downward to the ground. It's a technique that can be used to keep an attacker on the ground until 'reinforcements' arrive.

Back stretching exercise completed the class.

End of class was followed by a relaxation session over drinks. Interesting and thought provoking issues were discussed. I enjoyed myself and it was a different ending for my Friday's evening - thanks Sensei for the invitation.

Until next Friday!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

First off, it was nice of the additional ladies to show up and grace our session. Feel free to join us again next time, (maybe this Friday?)

Ok, so we essentially did katate dori gyaku hanmi kokyu nage, changed the attack to chudan tsuki, tried chudan geri (this didn't work). We also went through reverse kote gaeshi and finished with ai hanmi nikyo.

With bokkens, Mateusz managed to come up with a somewhat conclusion of ichi no tachi dori, which is one of the aikido bokken forms. This is what we did.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Friday's Class

Firstly, there were stretching exercises. For the back, legs, waist, well... basically routines to be incorporated for personal fitness and flexibility.

Next was Aikido. The techniques for today's class were (gyaku-hanmi omote):
  • hanmi-hadachi katatedori shiho
  • tachiwaza katatedori shiho
  • hanmi-hadachi ryotedori shiho
  • tachiwaza katadori ikkyo

Points to remember:
  • don't expose your sides; you could get tickled
  • for ikkyo's focus on the elbow and not that much on the wrist; keep uke's elbow bent
  • for shiho's keep uke's arm infront when tenkan-ing
  • don't fall unless the technique has worked!

Otherwise, classes are really getting exciting and I'm eagerly looking forward to next Friday's class!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Saturday and Wednesday Sessions

Having adapted to the Saturday sessions after attending only one session, I found it easy to keep up with what was going on. I won’t go into details because I lost focus at some point due to fatigue, but we covered most of the dynamic techniques, which included juji nage, sumi otoshi, kiri otoshi, and irimi nage (it is possible that I have forgotten one or two). Of course there was also mae ukemi. What I found most intriguing is that these sessions are so intensive that the only thing for me to do in order to get through them is to let loose. Forget everything and just react to what is happening. There is no time to slack off and daydream.

In the aiki-ken (会氣剣), we were able to complete the form that we have been practicing for a while now.actually, there was a little contention as to how the form ends, but we have the idea. On a side note, we might experience an even cooler form when Piotr Sensei comes next month.

We ended our day on a very high note, whereby most of us went to hang out after class. There is this fabulous sushi place in Westlands, where we had intelligent discussions as we savored this Japanese delicacy. That was quite an experience for most of us I dare say.

Of particular note on the Wednesday class at Goan Gymkhana is that Mateusz had some advice for us before class. In our Birankai International Passport (the booklet), rule 4 on page 16 stresses that what the sensei gives is not absolute, but rather an opening or path. We were encouraged to take note of this.

The basic technique in the first hour was gyaku-hanmi katate-dori shiho-nage. We were shown different variations of the omote version, including hanmi-hatachi, both in tachi-waza and suwari-waza. The theory is quite simple really, just move in while raising the arm as if raising the sword, grab uke’s wrist while keeping your elbows down, turn and cut to uke’s lower back. Uke’s reactions are equally important. For the simple reason that if one tries the technique in hanmi-hantachi, uke could be in so much unnecessary pain unless they react/move accordingly.

The aiki-ken practice was a little different this time round. We tried Muso Shinden Ryu and Shindo Munen Ryu techniques. We started with the former, which is always in seiza, and we were shown the first 4 forms, namely, shohatto, sato, uto and atarito. It is important to familiarize oneself with nuki tsuke and noto. Nuki tsuke is the act of drawing the sword. Noto is the act of re-sheathing the sword. At the moment we can only do this theoretically, but for those who are serious about this, it is advisable to acquire a iaito. If you talk to Mateusz nicely, I am sure he will hook you up, especially since Piotr Sensei will be coming next month. We were able to go through shohatto, and for some of us it was easy, having covered this in one of the Tuesday classes that was scrapped. We then did the first 2 forms of Shindo Munen Ryu, that is Iwanami and Ukifune-gaeshi. The basic steps are: take 2 steps forward beginning with the right foot and on the 3rd step move to the side as you do nuki-tsuke (draw and cut off opponent’s wrist). I have forgotten the name of this cut, but it is a kind of kesa giri, only its from below. Then step back and do shomen-uchi, chiburi and noto, in that order. Ukifune-gaeshi was my favorite. After the first 3 steps, take 2 steps backwards and do shomen-uchi. Take 2 more steps forward while ‘pushing’ with the sword, and do another shomen-uchi. Then step forward with the right foot while doing barai in such a way that the sword ends up on your left shoulder sideways. Step sideways with the left foot and do a kesa giri, (this is my coolest part), then step forward, do chiburi and noto. If you know something about hara-kiri, this is the decapitation part.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday's Class

With practice certain aspects of Aikido e.g. Ushiro Ukemi (backward rolls) are becoming kind of fun. The initial phobia and slight bruises seem something of the past. However, I harbour no intention of trying it on certain floors!

We began today's class with Kaiten Nage. It must have been the Uchi version which goes on the outside of Uke's arm as opposed to Soto, which goes under Uke's arm. Next was Tenkan Ho, followed by GyakuHanmi Kokyu Ho. The former was a building block for the latter. It was the Ura version though a demonstration was given for the Omote version as well as a stationary one.

Irimi Nage then followed, both the AiHanmi & GyakuHanmi Ura versions.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wednesday at Goan Gym

Occasionally we get the privilege of quite a number of ladies gracing us with their presence during practice. It is a rare chance to experiment the techniques on what I consider worthy opponents.
Wednesday was one such occasion. In addition to the few ladies who are always with us, even more showed up such that the ratio of ladies to guys was almost 1 to 1. I was pleasantly surprised when a lady somehow managed to pin me down with a nikyo technique. Well, I kinda made it easy for her but seeing the ‘evil’ grin on her face was quite something. I am sure in her mind she was like, “uh huh, uh huh, don’t mess with me next time”. Or, something close to that. You can do this, ladies. Just put your back into it and keep up the spirit. Don’t disappear.

We basically went through gyaku-hanmi nikyo-ura and nikyo-omote, and finished with rokkyo. Nowadays we pay a lot of attention to detail because of the upcoming grading next month. Just the mention of the name sounds intimidating, but I hope we will be ready in time. All one has to do is work hard, right?

The aiki-ken(会氣剣) or bokken practise was also quite something. We continued with one of the forms we had started last week and it was fun. Apparently these forms are under constant perfection or modification, such that no single form can be maintained for long. One has to be alert and move with the times, I think.

After practise a few of us went for a bottle of beer. Its always nice to hang out even after the lesson. One can really let loose (partly coz of the beer) and still learn a lot. And besides, its a lot of fun fun fun!!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday's Class

Is it just me or is time really moving - it's Friday once again!

Where do I start today? For starters I was late for class, so bear with me if I miss the nitty-gritty details.

Okay... There was Ikkyo from SuwariWaza (from the knees as opposed to standing which is TachiWaza). Both ura and omote versions were covered.

Next came a KataDori (shoulder grab) technique. Not to be confused with KatateDori (wrist grab). Now this technique involved moving the grabbed shoulder backwards away from uke in order to destabilize, then with the other hand and approaching from below the chin, pushing uke's head up and towards the spine.

KoteGaeshi was closely behind. Both the KatateDori GyakuHanmi and AiHanmi versions. One of my favourites of 'Simplicity Rocks!' But that's another story of its own.

What I will call 'Entanglement' aka JujiGarame came last; RyoteDori GyakuHanmi. If KoteGaeshi is simplicity for tori, JujiGarame is 'ouch' for uke. Why? Getting to the point where ones arms are locked in that manner... well, that's 'heat'!

This how it goes, first move to try - Ikkyo. If pushed go Ura mode, if pulled go Omote mode. Had a long day and want something straight to the point - KoteGaeshi. Had one too many, JujiGarame would be nice - just make sure the entangled hands aren't yours :) If you have to fall bend the leg closest to uke but don't fall unless you have to - it helps tori learn and saves you some unnecessary aches.

So, that was today's class - exciting, lively, and fun (at least for me). Until next Friday!

Wednesday at Goan Gymkhana

This was one of the simplest classes ever. In this sense; owing to the request of some aikidokas, Mateusz kept things very…oh, I don’t know, slow? Guys just wanted to learn the names of the techniques in a static manner. To make this as palatable as possible, we only concentrated on 1 technique; ikkyo. The attack was gyaku-hanmi katate-dori. So we focused on ikkyo-omote and ikkyo-ura. The initial movement is important, difference being that when doing the omote version, one changes legs when stepping out of the line of attack. This was a good chance to focus on the details.

The ken-jutsu(剣術) was also unique in that a new form was introduced. It is a long one, so we did not get to finish it. I am looking forward to it next time.