Spring is Here

Sensei was a few minutes late this morning, which was surprising. Another surprise was to see Ito Sensei (with a black eye) walk in instead of Irie Sensei. Regardless, it was an invigorating class.

Just like last week, a lot of yudansha (black belts) were present since we were in the main dojo again. It seems that the pace of the class is determined by the students and not the instructor or size of the class. It felt like a beginner's class until I became partners with yudansha. The tempo was just so fast, but I was glad for such a good cardiovascular workout; it motivates me to try and watch my diet. There's nothing more embarrassing for me than to struggle with finishing a class while everyone around me is so vibrant and full of energy.

I received some help from my uke regarding katate-dori shiho-nage. That's another good thing about yudansha partners: they usually offer good advice on inproving my technique. When I tried to down my uke, I was just pulling on his hand to no avail since he was tall and pretty solid. He told me to use the same motion as I would when cutting down with a sword. It helped me get more momentum in my movement, and my uke fell to the mat more easily.

For irimi-nage, half the class practiced while the other half sat in seiza and watched. My partner really wore me out. His timing was really good and effective. I noticed he was using the outside of his elbow to down me instead of the inside of his bicep and elbow. I figured he was a yudansha, so he knew what he was doing.

When we finished and the other half took to the mat, I plopped down on the wooden floor and finally took a break. However, a yudansha came up to me and said in English, "Would you like to practice with me?" I was so out of breath that I actually refused at first, saying that I was part of the first group. He said he would go slowly, so I got back up and was glad I did. I was able to go slowly and focus on my movements and hand/feet position when downing him. He was also very friendly and was eager to communicate with me in English. Living in Japan, I really appreciate that sometimes!

I'm really wondering how April will affect me and my training. Winter/spring break will be over and I'll be teaching six days a week, not to mention all the hours commuting every day. Sunday will be my only day off, so I'll probably do aikido training on weeknights instead. It will be tough, but I'll try and see how it is.