Mind Over Matter

It seems like ages since the last time I practiced aikido. The reason is that, on February 16th, my wife gave birth to our son! It has been a terrific but hectic week for both of us; we will never forget it.

I wanted to go to the regular class again, but it didn't happen. I went to Irie Sensei's beginner's class this time. It seemed as if I didn't have the energy to get up at 7:00 am after spending the last few days at the hospital, sleeping restlessly in the waiting room. But I was able to deny myself and get out of bed.

There's something about a good workout that rejuvenates the body and senses no matter how tired or lazy one happens to feel beforehand. In other words, I'm sure glad that I went to practice this morning. That's one thing I like about aikido: Once class begins, I quickly forget all my problems and concerns and just focus on training.

About halfway through class, Doshu suddenly entered our small, cramped dojo and sat at the edge of the mat, directly in front of where my partner and I happened to be practicing ushiro ryotekubi-dori sankyo (uke grabs both of tori's wrists from behind). This was ironic because last week I was having a lot of trouble with this kind of move. I can't be certain that Doshu was watching me, but it sure felt like it! Actually, he was just waiting for a break in order to speak briefly with Irie Sensei. Isn't it interesting that we as students step it up a few notches when we know the instructor is watching?

By the way, ushiro sankyo didn't seem to be much of a problem today compared with last week's ushiro shiho-nage. I studied my book (Best Aikido) and DVD (Principles of Aikido) a little and made sure I could get a better grasp on these moves.

At the end of class during sitting kokyu-ho, my partner was a student whom I have gotten to know during the past year or so. Whenever we do this move together, his ukemi seems to humor me: He uses all his might to resist, and in the process, emits a loud animal-like groan when he can no longer contain me. Today I couldn't help but laugh out loud (and so did he). We weren't horsing around, but I was worried that Irie Sensei would get the wrong idea; he didn't. (The instructors at Hombu sometimes find things humorous and make light of certain situations. Like today when sensei grinned as he pointed out to a student that his uniform pants were halfway down his thighs, exposing a colorful pair of boxer shorts -- I guess the student didn't notice during all the suwari-waza!)

After class, I left the dojo a little more quickly than usual. I wanted to get to the hospital to visit my wife and our new son! I no longer felt lazy and tired.

29th All-Japan Traditional Martial Arts Demonstration

Click on any picture to enlarge

Entrance of Nippon Budokan (Japan Martial Arts Hall)


Okinawan Kingai-ryu karate with weapons


Saburi-ryu sojutsu (spear fighting with armor), Hiroshima


Shibukawa-ryu jujutsu, Osaka


Hyohoniten ichi-ryu kenjutsu (school of swordsmanship founded by Miyamoto Musashi), Fukuoka

Step Up

This was the first time for me to attend the regular class. Luckily, Toshi said he would also go. It is said that when going to the regular class for the first time, one should go with a friend so as not to be too overwhelmed. It worked for me at least.

I recognized a few white belts from the beginner's class, but the vast majority were yudansha. The main dojo is significantly larger than the 2nd-floor dojo, but that just means more students will be there; it doesn't necessarily mean more room to practice.
Kanazawa Sensei began with ten minutes of stretching, and then we practiced standing kokyu-ho ura (briefly explained in a previous post). After doing kokyu-ho, I was already out of breath, and the class had just started. There was no time to worry because we soon started ushiro ryotekubi-dori (uke grabs both of tori's wrists from behind) ikkyo, shiho-nage, irimi-nage, and a variation of kaiten-nage that I had never seen before: Tori sets up uke for shiho-nage, but instead tori puts inside arm under uke's armpit and throws uke forward using shoulder force.

Needless to say, this was the first time for me to practice so much ushiro ryotekubi-dori at one time. I wasn't able to do shiho-nage or kaiten-nage at all; the ability seemed to elude me this time. My uke was extremely patient with me, as was Kanazawa Sensei, but I usually have trouble with complicated moves at first (and these definitely qualify!). With kaiten-nage, only half the class practiced at once since forward rolls require ample space. Forward rolls -- That's something else I need to work on by the way.

There was a student whose head was injured somehow during practice; I didn't see it happen, but half the class stopped as sensei and a few other students tended to him. The student was finally able to stand up and continue.

I was definitely tired after class, but not as much as I could have been: My uke and I were having to pause a lot since I didn't comprehend some of the moves. As I was leaving the dojo, I heard one student say to another, "Hmm... You seem to be bleeding all over." And with that, my first experience in the regular class came to a close. Until next time...

Hole in my Keiko-gi

Above: A plaque on the first floor of Hombu Dojo in honor of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido (photographed with permission)


Above: The quiet side street where Hombu Dojo is located. It is the light-colored building on the left with all the cars. Doshu's residence is next door on the left.

I wanted to take some pictures of the side street where the dojo is located because it's such a quiet area -- totally different from busy Shinjuku station which is only two subway stops from Wakamatsu-Kawada station (the nearest station to Hombu Dojo). By the way, Doshu's residence is next door to the dojo. That sure is a benefit since he teaches class at 6:30am every weekday!

After stretching, we started with katate-dori tenkan. I had the same partner as last week, so I mentioned it to him and we both laughed. There is a Japanese woman who has just started aikido (I believe she started late last year), and we were paired together for shomen-uchi ikkyo. I think she is the same person who ran away screaming when I asked her in class last year to be my partner. I guess the fact that she was new plus having a huge foreigner approach her about being an uke was too much for her to handle. Anyway, she seemed nervous but did just fine.

It had been awhile since we practiced hanmi-hantachi katate-dori shiho-nage. My partner was the same person who did ukemi for me during my 4th-kyu exam. Since I was nervous, I think I did the techniques a bit harder than usual. I remember apologizing to him after the exam. Well, today I kept repeating to myself that he wasn't seeking revenge; he was bringing me down extra hard. I had to do a backwards roll each time just to keep from injuring my wrists.

We did a lot of suwari-waza as usual. For kote-gaeshi, Irie Sensei told me to turn (tenkan) faster. It was hard for me to keep my balance on my knees. I have to practice being more fluid in that regard.

For my next exam, 3rd kyu, I will have to demonstrate ikkyo through yonkyo, standing and sitting. It will be the first time for me to perform suwari-waza for an exam. Luckily I still have some time. 50 hours of practice are required after obtaining 4th kyu before one can test for 3rd kyu. However, the head examiner, Endo Sensei, prefers students to have more than the minimum number of hours when they test (which is not unreasonable at all). But the examinations are an entirely different story! I'm sure I will write plenty on that topic in days to come.

After class, I asked my friend Toshi some questions about the 3rd kyu exam. For example, I didn't know the term "tsuki" in tsuki irimi-nage. He told me it just means the uke delivers a straight punch. That is something I have never seen practiced in the beginner's class; all the more reason to attend the regular class, I suppose. He also taught me the phrase "hanmi-hantachi" (tori is sitting and uke is standing). Luckily there will only be one move on the 3rd kyu test that is hanmi-hantachi.

I also noticed that a hole is forming in the left knee of my uniform pants. I always envied students with holes in their knees because I thought it showed how hard (and often) they trained. It seems as if I will be one of them soon! It's a good feeling.

Time to Kill

This was my first time to train on a Thursday night. Usually my work schedule doesn't allow it; also, the only beginner's class offered is at 7:00pm, which is a bit late for me. Anyway, I arrived at the dojo around 6:00, so I had a lot of time to kill. There was a women's class from 6 to 7pm, so I couldn't enter the dojo early. Instead, I went up to the 4th-floor dojo to warm up and stretch because it's seldom used at night. There were a few students practicing some moves as I entered. Around 6:30, a steady stream of students had entered and were suddenly lined up in seiza. I thought, wow, we still have a half hour. Everyone must be really serious on Thursdays. Then all of a sudden the instructor came in and class was underway! I knew this wasn't Fujimaki Sensei, nor was it the correct starting time. I was puzzled. A few seconds into the class, the instructor walked over to me and asked if I were a member of the aikido academy (a special class offered at Hombu). So that's what happened -- I had wandered into the totally wrong class. I apologized and quickly left. I felt like such an idiot.

The class I had in mind is taught by Fujimaki Sensei. He also teaches the 6pm women's class, so he doesn't get much of a break between classes. It was my first time to be taught by him. Apparently I wasn't the only clueless Westerner tonight; as we entered the dojo, Sensei made a light-hearted comment to a student about the student's wandering into the previous women's class. I felt a little better after hearing that.

We started with standing (rippo) katate-dori kokyu-ho ura. This is something we normally don't practice on Sunday mornings, so I was glad to work on it a little. In gyaku-hanmi stance, uke does tenkan and then makes an outward arc with his arm, downing uke. Next was suwari-waza ikkyo. I noticed that I wasn't very fluid in my knee walking (shikko). Before my next exam, which is still in the distant future, I really need to practice this. I don't want to fail because of it.

One of my uke tonight (a Westerner) told me that it's hard to do ikkyo on me because of my long arms. He had to cut down to the side with my arm instead of straight back. I didn't realize how he felt until I saw my next uke who was about the same height as me. We were doing yonkyo, and I wasn't accustomed to executing the move on a person with such long arms! So now I can sympathize with all of my uke from now on.

It always seems to happen when we do yonkyo: When I am uke, my partner needs help from Sensei with the pin. I brace myself for the flood of pain to wash over me as Sensei applies the technique to the inside of my arm, right above the wrist. My wrist is still in pain, and it's been four hours since the end of the class. I sometimes wonder if yonkyo can cause permanent injury. Surely it can't since the instructors always apply it so effectively on us...