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...
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...
posted by Chad at 11:04 PM
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