Sidewalks of Ice
The streets and sidewalks this morning were icy and treacherous due to the snowfall yesterday. I walked from Wakamatsu-Kawada Station (on the Oedo subway line) to the dojo at a snail's pace. Irie Sensei passed me on the side street that leads to the dojo, walking his bike at a normal pace! I was so surprised at his nonchalance. As he passed me, we greeted each other with "Ohayo gozaimasu (good morning)" and then he said something like, "It's safer at the dojo!" And then I was left to fend for myself on the ice. I actually made it without being late, though.
It was so cold during class this morning that my feet remained frozen although the rest of my body was drenched in sweat from the workout. My mind soon forgot about my feet as we finished our customary warmup of katate-dori tenkan and moved on to groundwork like katate-dori ikkyo. I was glad when we eventually did kote-gaeshi because it had been awhile since we practiced this in the Sunday morning beginner's class. I guess that was because of the small size of the 4th-floor dojo and that particular move requires a lot of mat room. But we still had to do it at about half the regular speed, which was okay; I needed the chance to work on my technique.
The last thing we usually practice is kokyu-ho sitting (za-ho). Sensei helped me with my technique; I wasn't moving my hands and forearms in an upward motion before attempting to move uke's arms. It helped a lot. I usually start executing the move as soon as uke grabs my wrists, but this morning I wanted to try it with uke holding my wrists down and using more force. I've seen some Hombu instructors easily throw their uke (sometimes around 100 kg) while uke is pressing down with all his might. I can see firsthand that breath power (kokyu-ho) is real and effective.
At the end of class we always finish with a back stretch (haishin undo). Two people stand back-to-back and one is lifted onto the other's back. Well, today my partner misjudged my weight and I rolled off his back right onto the floor. To make matters worse, we were the last pair doing this, so the whole class had already lined up in seiza at the end of the dojo and were watching us. It was pretty embarrassing.
After class, Toshi gave me an omamori (lucky amulet) from Kishibojin Shrine in Tokyo. The amulet is to ensure the birth of a safe, healthy baby (my wife and I are expecting a little one in early March). It was so nice of him to be thinking of us. He couldn't stay and chat because he had to go and meet a student of his shortly after aikido class. By the way, Toshi teaches shamisen, a traditional Japanese musical instrument. His website is listed in the links section of this weblog.
It was so cold during class this morning that my feet remained frozen although the rest of my body was drenched in sweat from the workout. My mind soon forgot about my feet as we finished our customary warmup of katate-dori tenkan and moved on to groundwork like katate-dori ikkyo. I was glad when we eventually did kote-gaeshi because it had been awhile since we practiced this in the Sunday morning beginner's class. I guess that was because of the small size of the 4th-floor dojo and that particular move requires a lot of mat room. But we still had to do it at about half the regular speed, which was okay; I needed the chance to work on my technique.
The last thing we usually practice is kokyu-ho sitting (za-ho). Sensei helped me with my technique; I wasn't moving my hands and forearms in an upward motion before attempting to move uke's arms. It helped a lot. I usually start executing the move as soon as uke grabs my wrists, but this morning I wanted to try it with uke holding my wrists down and using more force. I've seen some Hombu instructors easily throw their uke (sometimes around 100 kg) while uke is pressing down with all his might. I can see firsthand that breath power (kokyu-ho) is real and effective.
At the end of class we always finish with a back stretch (haishin undo). Two people stand back-to-back and one is lifted onto the other's back. Well, today my partner misjudged my weight and I rolled off his back right onto the floor. To make matters worse, we were the last pair doing this, so the whole class had already lined up in seiza at the end of the dojo and were watching us. It was pretty embarrassing.
After class, Toshi gave me an omamori (lucky amulet) from Kishibojin Shrine in Tokyo. The amulet is to ensure the birth of a safe, healthy baby (my wife and I are expecting a little one in early March). It was so nice of him to be thinking of us. He couldn't stay and chat because he had to go and meet a student of his shortly after aikido class. By the way, Toshi teaches shamisen, a traditional Japanese musical instrument. His website is listed in the links section of this weblog.
posted by Chad at 5:50 PM
1 Comments:
Dear Chad
As a fellow aspiring Aikidoka I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experiences in Japan. It's good to see that you're enjoying your training so much, even though I can barely contain my jealousy with the fact that you are able to train with so many talented Shihan over there.
Keep up the excellent work, and don't take one day of training for granted! I look forward to reading many more entires about you and your experiences in the Way.
Cheers, Dave
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