Tori holds a bokken as if drawing out a sword. Uke stops this by grabbing tori's hand (aihanmi stance). Since tori has to counter, he/she does nikyo the normal way, only this time a bokken complicates life a little bit. This was the first thing in class.
Next up was gyakuhanmi katatedori uchikaiten sankyo. The steps involved were so many as to confuse things a bit, but one would do well to constantly practise until it becomes second nature.
From this we moved to aihanmi shomenuchi kokyunage. Anyone familiar with kokyunage knows that it is one of the most dynamic because tori blends into uke's movement and tries as much as possible not to give anything. To me it is the most basic aikido ever. This is the stuff you imagine when you hear the word aikido. It was a challenge doing it on a hard wooden floor, but we survived.
The last technique of the day was ryokatadori kokyunage. Again same challenges as with the former technique. With the last two, if tori doesn't get close to uke, it doesn't work very well. The idea of blending in should be taken literally as to become vulgar at some point. You have to move as one, and this is only possible when contact is so personal as to look almost intimate. I can't explain it any better than this.
On to some even harder stuff. Bokken. Most of us have forgotten even how to hold it. Understandably. Don't ask whose fault it is. Anyway, after a few kirikaeshi, we tried a form. I will have to check the name. This one involved a cut through a cut. Obviously both partners are equally at risk, but the brunt is borne by the one receiving the final blow. Since i don't have the words to describe this form, suffice it to say tsuba comes in handy, and the shomen uchi is trickier this time round because it has to be in tune with the other shomen uchi.
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