It's Official
Well, I guess it's official: I am a lightweight when it comes to summer aikido training. On the news last night, the temperature at 9:00pm was 30 degrees celcius, and the humidity was 60%. During the day it was of course higher. That makes for some tough training.
In the dojo today, everyone was exclaiming, "Atsui, ne?" (It's hot, isn't it?) I didn't feel like such a wimp since everyone was complaining (and they were Japanese people, I might add!). I couldn't bring myself to go to the regular class; it was hard enough just to finish a beginner's class.
I might mention that there is no air conditioning or fan in the dojos at Hombu; there are some small ventilation fans near the ceiling, but those don't count. I read once that Doshu wants students to adapt with the seasons, so air conditioning is considered unnatural. Well, at least the showers feel good after a sweltering time of training! (There is no hot water in the locker room, so summer is the only time when guys take showers after class.)
Today during yonkyo (pin #4), my partner was fairly new to aikido, so he didn't know how to apply the pressure on the wrist during the pin. I tried to tell him (in my broken Japanese) and demonstrate, but he still didn't get it. I finally asked Kobayashi-san, a yudansha who was training next to me, for his help in explaining yonkyo to my partner. While he was showing my partner, Irie-sensei had us stop, so my poor partner will have to wait until next time to figure it out.
While I was taking ukemi for Irie-sensei during katate-dori nikyo (one-hand grab, pin #2), he told me in English that he thinks I'm ready to test for 4th kyu. I told him that I already have 4th kyu rank. I often hear that the exam for 3rd kyu is really difficult and that people usually fail the first time they take it, so I took that chance to ask Irie-sensei. He said it was indeed true! Apparently there is a gap between 4th and 3rd kyu as far as requirements on the exam (all the requirements for each exam can be found on the Hombu website -- click the link on the right).
After class, there were only two things on my mind: find the nearest drinking fountain and then jump in the cold shower!
In the dojo today, everyone was exclaiming, "Atsui, ne?" (It's hot, isn't it?) I didn't feel like such a wimp since everyone was complaining (and they were Japanese people, I might add!). I couldn't bring myself to go to the regular class; it was hard enough just to finish a beginner's class.
I might mention that there is no air conditioning or fan in the dojos at Hombu; there are some small ventilation fans near the ceiling, but those don't count. I read once that Doshu wants students to adapt with the seasons, so air conditioning is considered unnatural. Well, at least the showers feel good after a sweltering time of training! (There is no hot water in the locker room, so summer is the only time when guys take showers after class.)
Today during yonkyo (pin #4), my partner was fairly new to aikido, so he didn't know how to apply the pressure on the wrist during the pin. I tried to tell him (in my broken Japanese) and demonstrate, but he still didn't get it. I finally asked Kobayashi-san, a yudansha who was training next to me, for his help in explaining yonkyo to my partner. While he was showing my partner, Irie-sensei had us stop, so my poor partner will have to wait until next time to figure it out.
While I was taking ukemi for Irie-sensei during katate-dori nikyo (one-hand grab, pin #2), he told me in English that he thinks I'm ready to test for 4th kyu. I told him that I already have 4th kyu rank. I often hear that the exam for 3rd kyu is really difficult and that people usually fail the first time they take it, so I took that chance to ask Irie-sensei. He said it was indeed true! Apparently there is a gap between 4th and 3rd kyu as far as requirements on the exam (all the requirements for each exam can be found on the Hombu website -- click the link on the right).
After class, there were only two things on my mind: find the nearest drinking fountain and then jump in the cold shower!
posted by Chad at 9:35 PM
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