Thursday, September 29, 2016 session at the JICC Conference Room

The work out keep on getting more and more intense and this particular session was all sweaty and exhilarating.

Daniel Sempai took us through the whole session kicking off with full body workouts followed by Mae and ushiro Ukemi from both Suwari Waza and Tachi Waza.

The rest of the session featured the following:

TACHI WAZA :

-Katatedori Ikkyo Omote.

-Shorter version of Katatedori Nikyo Omote (two versions).

-Opening move for reverse Kote Gaeshi.

P.S. Nairobi Aikikai Association is going through the legal registration process and the registration fee is KES 15,000. All are requested to contribute a minimum of KES 1,000 for this purpose.

NEXT SESSION: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016 AT THE SAME VENUE

Thursday, September 22, 2016 session at the JICC Conference Room

The workouts we have been going through will no doubt count in developing stamina and to some extent flexibility.

Daniel Sempai kicked off the session with Funakogi Undo followed by light stretching warm up drills before we got down and sweaty with Mae and Ushiro Ukemi from both Suwari Waza and Tachi Waza followed by some intense workouts that also featured the dreaded star jumps.

We also went through the basics of a Shomen Uchi attack simulating holding a sword and sliding forwards as well as backwards.

Daniel Sempai later on guided us through the following basics:

TACHI WAZA:

-Opening of Katatedori Shiho Nage without the Nage part where Tori stretched Uke's back.

-Ai Hanmi Katatedori Hiji Waza.

-Katatedori Kokyu Nage.

-Jiyu Waza featuring the techniques of the day.

N.B. There will be no Aikido session on Tuesday, September 27 due to unavoidable circumstances.

NEXT SESSION: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 @ THE SAME VENUE

Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at Titanium Fitness Gym, Westlands (Intermediate level class)

We started with ukemi drills as usual, and this time tried the back feather fall. Its interesting how difficult something is when tried for the first time. Keep at it, it will get easier. It was nice to see that some people had got the hang of the front feather fall. After working up a good sweat, we got down to business with the attack of the day being tachi waza ushiro ryoute dori. From this attack, we did

-kokyu nage
-irimi nage
-kokyu ho and
-kote gaeshi.

Next session (aikido for all levels); Thursday, September 22, 2016
Place; JICC small hall, Embassy of Japan
Time; 5.00pm-6.45pm
Damages; 0
Welcome one, welcome all!

Thursday, September 15, 2016 session at the JICC Conference Room

This week was all about Ukemi and body conditioning exercises and boy did I have a blast!

Daniel Sempai guided us through the whole session that incorporated full body workouts as well as the following;

TACHI WAZA :

-Mae and Ushiro Ukemi.

-Front breakfall.

-Katatedori Ikkyo Omote.

SUWARI WAZA :

-Mae and Ushiro Ukemi.

-Mae and Ushiro Shikko.

It was a good opportunity to refresh our breakfall skills if I may call them especially the fron breakfall that proved quite a task for me.

NEXT SESSION: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 @ THE SAME VENUE

Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at Titanium Fitness Gym, Westlands (Intermediate level class)

Piotr Sensei is in Japan. Yay! Anyone who has ever been to Japan knows what an amazing experience it is. Let’s wish him well!

The focus this month and last month has been on ukemi, with more emphasis on orenai te. This is what we continued with in the extended warm up session. We were able to incorporate the front feather fall, and later had an introduction to the back feather fall (not so easy). Once again we put Mateusz sensei’s ‘balls’ in the mix, and it turned out to be exhausting but satisfying. We are gradually getting more and more confident, and having less and less pain. The only nut that is a bit tougher to crack is shikko. With time, we will manage.

The last few minutes were spent on a revisit of the following sankyu techniques;

-Tachi waza tsuki ikkyo omote and ura
-Tachi waza tsuki nikyo omote and ura
-Tachi waza tsuki sankyo omote and ura
-Tachi waza tsuki kote gaeshi omote and ura

We wrapped up with variations of kokyu ho and kokyu nage.

Next session (aikido for all levels); Thursday, September 15, 2016
Place; JICC small hall, Embassy of Japan
Time; 5.00pm-6.45pm
Damages; 0
Welcome one, welcome all!

Tuesday, September 13, 2016 session at the JICC Conference Room

There were no attacks or techniques practised on this day and we mainly went through body conditioning drills to ensure that we prepare ourselves physically for the upcoming Aikido seminar in Nairobi and also to recognise the importance physical fitness plays in any martial art.

After kicking off with light warm up exercises, Mae and Ushiro Ukemi as well as Mae and Ushiro Shikko followed suit before incorporating other physical exercises which went on until the last three minutes which were dedicated to Zagi Kokyu Ho.

(Image courtesy of s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com)

NEXT SESSION: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 @ THE SAME VENUE

Thursday, September 8, 2016 session at the JICC Conference Room

Joshua Kohai kicked off the session with some intense warm up exercises featuring a variation of press ups based on the same principle of the classic plank.

Daniel Sempai took over the rest of the session and based on the fact that the majority present were new to aikido, we went through some endurance exercises/stretches as well as basic Mae and Ushiro Ukemi stressing the importance of rolling across the shoulder as opposed to rolling on one's back.

This particluar session did not feature any techniques apart from the opening of Katatedori Shiho Nage placing emphasis on Uke not losing grip of Tori's arm and Ryote dori Tenchi Nage stressing the importance of a proper Ushiro Ukemi execution.

The basics were really beneficial as they reminded me the importance of going back to the basics no matter which level one is in.

NEXT SESSION: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 @ THE SAME VENUE

Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at Titanium Fitness Gym, Westlands (Intermediate level class)

The class started with an extended warm up session that focused on various ukemi drills. We started off slow with ukemi from suwari waza, gradually advancing to ukemi from tachi waza, and finally imitating break falls. The main aim was to get rid of the fear of falling, which is very important as aikido has lots of this (falling). We tried to concentrate on orenai te, which is usually overlooked when doing ukemi on unforgiving ground.

We then moved on to stretching. This took many forms. We started with 2 attacks; gyaku hanmi katate dori and morote dori. From these we did the kokyu ho stretch, which always looks easy until you actually try it. Trust me, it’s not as easy as you think. Moving on, we advanced to ikkyo omote, kote gaeshi omote and shiho nage omote, incorporating both stretching and ukemi at the end of the movements.

The techniques of the day were;
-Tachi waza shomen uchi irimi nage
-Tachi waza shomen uchi kote gaeshi
-Tachi waza gyaku hanmi katate dori kokyu nage variations
-Tachi waza ryo kata dori kokyu nage

The most important thing to remember is not to be lazy, as this increases chances for injury. When one is lazy, they don’t stretch properly, which means even their ukemi comes out wrong. We will continue the ukemi drills in the next class, so look forward to it (たのしみにしてください)

Next session (aikido for all levels); Thursday, September 8, 2016
Place; JICC small hall, Embassy of Japan
Time; 5.00pm-6.45pm
Damages; 0
Welcome one, welcome all!

Advanced/Intermediate Aikido Classes

For students who have practiced aikido before, there will be a session at Titanium Gym in Westlands today. The regular students have already covered quite some ground while the Embassy was closed, but with a little bit of effort catching up will not be a problem.

The class tentatively starts at 6.30pm, and may go for an hour or two, depending on the mood.

Place; Titanium Fitness Gym, Westlands,
Time; 7.00pm-8.00pm
Damages; 300 bob
Welcome all!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016 session at the JICC Conference Room

The session was composed mainly of newcomers who came to 'try out Aikido' and it was a slow session which kicked off with a handful of warm up exercises followed by Mae and Ushiro Ukemi from both Suwari Waza and Tachi Waza. The session also featured a few techniques outlined below:

TACHI WAZA:

-Ai Hanmi Katatedori Ikkyo Omote.

-Ai Hanmi Katatedori Ikkyo Ura.

SUWARI WAZA:

-Zagi Kokyu Ho.

NEXT SESSION: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 AT THE SAME VENUE

Thursday, 1st September, 2016 at Titanium Fitness Gym, Westlands

This marked the ‘last’ session outside the safe confines of the Embassy. As usual, we started with various ukemi drills, and this time we incorporated Mateusz sensei’s famous ‘balls’ he he. It was very nostalgic.

The techniques that we explored were;

-Suwari waza tsuki kotegaeshi omote
-Suwari waza shomen uchi nikyo variations
-Suwari waza kata dori nikyo
-Tachi waza gyaku hanmi katate dori kokyu nage
-Tachi waza ryoute dori kokyu nage

Many thanks for those who sacrificed their time and cash to keep training with us while the Embassy was closed. Big up to those who took time to train at their own convenience during this period as well. We hope that as from next week we will get an opportunity to compare notes.

Next session; Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Place; JICC small hall, Upper Hill
Time; 5.00pm-6.45pm
Damages; 0
Welcome one, welcome all!

Proposed Nairobi Aikikai seminar Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23, 2016

Andreas Schriber Sensei (Godan) from the Aikido Ikeda dojo in Zürich, Switzerland is planning to organise an Aikido seminar in Nairobi on Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23 this year at a venue yet to be confirmed.

He is open to any suggestions on the venue, etc. Any feedback is highly appreciated.