Saturday was D-day for some people who had been looking forward to being graded for gokyu. There were a few problems with the venue, but eventually it was all sorted and we had a nice session.
The first part was spent mostly on some basic techniques. It was very different in that we had all these skilled people and they perform techniques without holding back, all this despite the fact that the floor is not at all forgiving. Ok, I am repeating myself here but I think it’s important to note that this is not child’s play.
Right, so Piotr sensei really took some time to demonstrate a few techniques and explain in more detail the concept behind each and every one of them. It was all very enlightening. Yeah, there was some kote gaeshi, some kind of irimi nage, etc with the attacks also changing from tsuki to katate dori…
After a short break we had a weapons class. This was done using jo. It was our very first jo class ever since we started aikido. First time in my life to be honest. A jo is basically a straight piece of wood, slightly longer than a bokken. The explanation was that there are no rules like with bokken use. This is just a weapon you use to seriously injure or kill someone, there are no formalities. Piotr Sensei said that he enjoys using/teaching the jo class more than the bokken class. There were all these new styles shown and its all very hazy now, but I am sure Mateusz will make it palatable for us next year.
Then came the main event, grading. Of course every one being graded was very nervous. Its kinda like the moment when swords are drawn. Everyone freezes. (I am lifting this from a Japanese movie I saw once called the ‘The Hidden Blade’). Its hard to explain if you haven’t watched the movie yet. Anyway, despite all this nervousness, everyone managed to show some level of understanding of the gokyu techniques. Proof of whether Piotr Sensei was convinced will be known tomorrow when we get our results. I can’t wait.
For me I find that I learn something new in every session. Like now I understand how and why people bow to each other in seiza. I even understand why the left hand is the first to touch the ground and also the last to leave the ground, and why one should not lift the body off the ground when doing this. These are not things you will learn from you-tube or over the internet, so I think it’s a great privilege to have our guests impart all this knowledge to us for free. Mateusz suggested that if anyone has any questions, now would be the right time to ask because we have someone who has been teaching for a very long time, so knock yourselves out guys!
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