Andy's Epic Ramble

Ponderings

2011-11-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

I've spent most of the morning thinking about some aikido stuff. It has mainly centered around initial off-balances, ushiro ate, and waki gatame. I think it would be fun to just have a class about the little brush off bump from inside the arm, the one that happens on the outside that "drops uke into the hole" as the intro to quite a bit of junana, the "cow catcher" as a brush off and using ushiro ate and waki gatame as the two ways to finish all these off balances. Then some multiple uke randori to use what we've learned.

So that's what I plan on doing next saturday. IF i can trick/beg people into showing.

As concerns the last post I decided that not advancing doesn't mean i can progress. I'll just work with what i have. If Karl can become a super judo player with just a couple of sweeps i can be a decent aikidoka with just a hand full of nijusan/ junana.

In case you were wondering.

2011-11-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

It has been some time since my last post. This could very well be the last one you see. Class eventually declined into a series of nobody showing up leaving me to sit in the park, wait 15 minutes, then go home. I made attempts to get students to show but after weeks of no shows it felt like i was only begging. So for now, the little study group I had named Konwakai is defunct.

I guess the real problem is I don't believe i'll be restarting it.

I recently tried to demo for my shodan with dishearteningly lackluster results. I wasn't ready and not really great at the material I was familiar with and was rightly so denied the promotion.

But it got me to thinking. Maybe from a bad frame of mind, but thinking none the less. All this time i've been trying to learn aikido it's been at a progression best illustrated as a snail through molasses. Students that started years after I did have gotten shodan in far shorter time than I. They simply live closer to the dojo and have the fortune of being able to train more diligently. Something that I, living an hour and a half away from class, just can't commit to. And with something like a martial art any practitioner NEEDS practice. To maintain skill and to improve on it. And in that i have been found lacking. My attempt at finding others to practice with didn't work out and there is really very little one can do in aikido solo.

I feel that i'm really the only one holding a torch for my continued training but even that is getting dimmer as time goes by. I haven't fully decided, because i really enjoy aikido, but i think it is time to simply acknowledge things the way they are and close up shop so to speak.

Anyway, that's all for now...just wanted to see my thoughts in print more than anything else. To reflect on.

See you when I see you.

Seeing where we're at

2011-08-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was something of an off day for class. It was a rainy afternoon, which seems to keep most of the students away. Even though the usual back up plan is to get under the large pavilion in the middle of the park it seemed to be overrun with people. I decided to wait and see if anyone would show up just in case and told Jesse we'd see if we couldn't get something accomplished despite everything else.

After wandering the park and finding a gazebo that would do the trick we had a small class. I'll be the first to admit that my head wasn't 100% in the game wednesday. Tegatana was done with a rocky start on my part and a few hiccups throughout but i have to say Jesse has caught on rather well and knows the kata.

Next we did hanasu. To test where Jesse is so far I decided we'd do 1-4 with me as uke to see how much he had learned. For 5 classes he's making progress. Things to work on include footwork and making sure to move diagonally as soon as uke breaks ma'ai.

The next few weeks i really want to focus on ma'ai. I think i've done a bad job of emphasising its importance to the whole shebang. Anyone have any cool and interesting ma'ai workouts?

The rest of the class was nothing but hanasu. Multiple reps of 1-4 and more introduction to 5-8. Our "cool down" was some aiki brush-off and shomen ate play.

Given the weather and the fact we had no light source class was only an hour this time but i think we got some good things accomplished.

Just the basics

2011-08-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

This post is for the class we had Wednesday the 17th. I'm a little behind on updating because i've been rather busy with the first week of college and all that entails.

I decided to push our start time to 6:30 to try and have most of class take place towards dusk and it seems to have helped with the heat slightly. Jesse was the only one who could make it so we had a lot of one on one time. After the usual stretching and ukemi we practiced tegatana a couple of times. The first run through was fine and Jesse seems to have the kata down pat. He asked a question about the turns we take in the later part of the kata so I re-explained the idea of having the forward leg create "tension" that unwinds your body into a turn and the third step is more of a recovery to get everything in place. We did a few of the turns until they seemed to be a more comfortable thing then went ahead with a repetition of the kata just to get it all into place. Looks like it's working fine.

The rest of class was almost entirely devoted to working on hanasu 1-4.
Focuses included:
proper footwork
moving diagonally when uke breaks ma'ai
unbendable arm

I'm still playing with the "first step is an escape and the second step is facing uke and where the off-balance is and the third step makes you safe" idea. It could probably use a shorter name. I'll work on it.

We closed class with more aiki brush off randori which is always fun AND educational!

On a side note, after much thought and research, i decided to name my little study group Konwakai "dojo". I say "dojo" instead of dojo for two reasons: it isn't indoors and it really just exists as a study group and not an actual school. I dig the name though as it means friendly gathering which is pretty much the style of learning and atmosphere i'm used to from learning with Pat and the Starkvillans. I'd like to think the people i'm practicing with in my little group feel the same way.

Stretching the pieces

2011-08-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

After about a month of random delays class resumed last friday. I had John from Johndo show up along with regular student Jesse.

We ran through tegatana a couple of times and paid attention to the same hand-same foot relationship of the movements and how they work like in hanasu. Disengaging our hip and fall-stepping to the hand-foot side works in both kata.

The rest of class was spent working on hanasu 1-8. More practice for jesse and a refresher for john turned into an interesting evening of technique dissection and discussion. I tried to make the overall goal of our practice to be get out of the way with the first step but make sure the second step (where at the moment i think the magic is concentrated the most) focuses on facing uke at unbendable arms length and then the third move ends up behind the arm as just the consequence of uke's continued motion. Sometimes it works like in the first four, sometimes uke makes a second attack like in the last four. As long as the second step is a turn to face uke you're doing alright, or at least you'll be better off.

That was the jist of class: experimenting with motion and distance and timing and footwork. We had fun and i think we all learned something. We did a bit of shomen ate tinkering as a cool down with a splash of multiple opponent aiki brush off thrown in.

No class is happening tonight but our next scheduled class time is Wedensday so i'll update as soon as i can.

As always if you have any suggestions/advice i'd love to hear it.
Thanks

And Socrates said..

2011-06-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

I bring this up because Pat's class is a constant reminder of this quote to me.

Instead of having class tuesday i tried to lure my students to McComb for Pat's class, but it was to no avail. I'm still hoping to get them out there at some point in the next two weeks. Anyway, as class began and we went through tegatana I was embarrassed to learn that I have completely forgotten an entire series of moves in tegatana : the rising up/arm above the head then move forward and the arm comes around and back up segment (or soto mawashi since i cheated and looked on the Internet). I was pretty stunned that it had completely left my memory and to make matters worse I've been teaching tegatana without it. D'oh!

Hanasu came up next and i uked ok enough but my turn as tori met more resistance with my fumble brain and I stalled on 5-8. Now i've done this kata about fifty thousand times by now and I've been showing people how to do almost 2/3rds of it for a month. I felt practically dumb at this point as i had flubbed two rather simple things in front of Pat.

We continued to work on hanasu with an emphasis on the idea of stepping onto a tightrope with the first step. At first i was fairly anti-absorbent to the idea and tangled up with putting too much strength into my arms or simply being stuck with the kata way i've gotten used to doing.

Being confronted with a more refined way to do something that I've been doing and teaching to others had me feeling more than a little worried. Had i been showing people new to aikido the wrong thing? And worse, had i simply been doing this wrong the entire time blindly ignorant?

"Verily, Nay." Said Pat. He went on to explain in more modern english that everything i had been doing is fine, this was just a more randori/real life way of doing the same old thing. The more we practiced the more comfortable with the practice i became. We moved through some different randori practices, with hands and with a stick about 18 inches long, using more flowing movement and better positioning. Relaxed and attentive to uke's force was the way to go. I eventually felt better as practice continued.

After class finished and Kel left Pat and I continued working on hanasu and some of junana since i had didn't have to leave anytime soon. There was some jo work in there as well. Overall it was a great practice and I'm glad i came to McComb (as i always am). I just have to become more relaxed with my aikido and with my thinking. There's always more to learn....some routes are all about the journey, not the destination.

Morning showers and deep thoughts.

2011-06-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

This isn't really all that important, just something I wanted to jot down. A notion struck me earlier today that a key to better understanding something like aikido is to be comfortable and confident in the path you're taking at the pace you're experiencing it in. It opens you up to better familiarize yourself with what you're doing without having the access baggage of self-doubt(or consciousness or worry or fear). Follow along at your own pace and revel in it. Sure some people may get to A goal or THE goal faster than you or become better than you but you'll never achieve the optimal design for you by chasing after what everyone else has.

Anyhoo, that probably came out as a lot of hooey but when that thought floated into my mind I realized that if I had been able to figure that out way back when I wouldn't have beat myself up near as much over the years of learning as I have. I suppose I have trying to teach nijusan (in the way it makes sense to me) to thank for showing me that.

I owe Pat a bunch for pushing me into trying to teach.

Double the students, double the fun....

2011-06-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

...."it's the statement of the great mint in Doublemint gum!" (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

So I had two students last night which really helped me stick to my plan to keep it simple. After spreading out the tarp and doing some warm-up stretches we gave it a go:

Ukemi was more forward rolls and back falls. With the forward rolls it was pretty much business as usual. Back falls we had to make sure to take enough of a step back to assist with being round. If we tuck and roll from a neutral standing position there's more chance we'll land right on our tailbone...and since we don't have mats that's something we have to avoid for sure.

We did a few reps of Tegatana focusing on those turns again. Using the tension in the first leg to turn the second helps to make a more relaxed motion and it generally keeps the steps small. The extra rehearsal also gives everyone a chance to learn the kata so they can practice it away from class.

I was able to keep on track with hanasu 1-4 this time. I went through them all with Chris then again with Jesse. After that I broke it down one technique at a time and had them switch off as uke and tori for several minutes.

With 1 we continued with diagonal step, to the end of the arm (usually causing uke's off balance to worsen enough to cause him to step and allow tori to) step behind the arm. Maintain unbendable arms assists with every part of the process.

On 2 we continued with the idea to "open the door and allow uke to walk on through". I'm really attempting to stress the idea that if tori is patient and willing to let uke follow up on his off balance it will really improve tori's chance of completing the technique with minimal force. (As a matter of face that's true on all the hanasu techniques we're working on AND with Aikido in general)

3 brought more of the same lessons from 1, it's just same being idea but being grabbed on the same side vs opposite armed. I'm working more unbendable arm on this one as well to help with the whole.

With 2 it's the same with 4 except with the same sided attack as 3. "Open the door", be patient for uke to wobble, then step behind him when he "comes through the door". Easy peasy!

I never thought I'd ever be this interested in 2 & 4. I've always seemed to struggle with these two (though never quite as much as 6 and 8 for some reason). Then one day Pat pointed out a little tweak that made the whole thing click and now I really like these.

With all our work on Hanasu class seemed to fly by and we were all having a lot of fun. Just to shake things up a bit and give a fun close to the evening I had them get on opposite ends of the tarp and we did the same ma'ai exercise from monday. We traded off opponents and used the aiki brush-off and the cow catcher to block, deflect and evade uke's attack should he decide to strike inside of ma'ai.

Before I forget I also brought Jesse up to speed on what Chis has dubbed "attacking the tree". It's just an exercise demonstrating stepping with same hand same foot, meeting resistance or some kind of opposing force (this instance the tree) and then stepping to the other side's same hand and same foot and building another "wall" with that side. Something for them to piddle with and noodle over.

Aaaaand that was class. Seems to be going well still. Hopefully we'll have a streak of continued luck and Jesse will be able to get off work on time to be able to come to class.

As with the initial mission statement for this blog i may tend to ramble and most of what i say may not make a whole heap of sense. If it DOES though, and you have any advice on how i can get better with teaching and aikido in general PLEASE leave me a comment.

Thanks everybody!

Ma'ai, ma'ai...it's hanasu!

2011-06-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

So far class is going well. I'm trying my best to be patient and not overload the guy with too much info at once but at times it is a bit difficult. I worry I'm going too fast so for the next two classes i think I'll just stick to tegatana, hanasu 1-4 and nijusan 1-2.

But on to last night's breakdown:

Warm up stretches and ukemi. There's still some drift off to the side when he rolls but with more practice and continued emphasis on rolling across from shoulder to opposite hip it should correct itself. He's getting the backward rolls rather well. He even commented how important that step to half step backwards was in making it feel more relaxed. Success!

With tegatana we did the standard initial run through then broke it down and looked at it a few ways. The second time we emphasised correct posture and moving from the center and less stepping. The next 2-3 reps we worked mostly on turns and how loading the forward leg like a coiled spring and allowing the other leg to turn around the first helps with footwork and keeping our steps small. This worked really well.

With hanasu I wanted to see how well 1-4 has sunk in so far so i uke'ed straight through 1-4 and then we reversed so i was tori. He's catching on to the motions, and after 1 million or so reps he'll have it mastered for sure. If he seems to get frustrated i always make sure to remind him that it will get better with practice, practice, practice.

We did several reps of each and after trying to explain how the hand raising motion in 1 and 2 should feel we worked on hanasu 5 to get that feel of "going under the bridge" we returned back to 2 and 4 using the same raising motion to get a better stretch out of uke. I also introduced 6 as a response for when 2 goes wrong as a branch off the same tree but this is where i feel like I'm throwing too much at him at once. Definitely using 1-4 alone for a while.

With us being all hopped up on hanasu know-how we used a practice from the book of Pat to use 1-4 and practice with ma'ai as well. Uke and tori stand several paces apart from each other and walk towards then past. Uke has the option of attacking or simply passing by. Tori's job is to concentrate on when ma'ai is broken and if he is attacked (by having his wrist grabbed) how to respond. We used alot of class time working on this and at the end threw in some cow-catcher and aiki brush-off as well.

To wrap the evening up we worked on shomen ate and aigaime ate with a little gedan and slowly doing the back fall out of it (as we practice without mats). More work on using the unbendable arm as a feeler for what uke is attempting and having the patience and confidence of tori's position to wait and let uke attempt something. He'll either be foiled from the initial off-balance or he'll get wise and stand up or move to face you. Whichever he chooses you can use his arm (by feeling where his shoulder and elbow are turning) to determine how to act. He's really catching on to this idea and so I'm looking forward to see how he absorbs the rest of nijusan in the months to come.

That's about all there was to last night's class. Still really digging the teaching thing. If you have any criticisms or advice I'd love to hear it!

Deflect, evade

2011-06-07T03:19:00.000-07:00

2nd class was a repeat of the basics with the student that's new to aikido:

A few reps of tegatana with relaxed small steps as the focus. We went through the whole kata each time. Next we did some ukemi. Stepping back falls and forwards/backwards ground rolls. For the ground rolls we tried to follow that invisible line across our backs from the shoulder to the opposite hip. After 1 million of these master status will be obtained.

Hanasu 1-4. Need to work on footwork but he's getting the feeling of the off-balance. Since 4 was the new technique there was a bit of a stick up but the same emphasis on the "open the door and step out of the way" motion helps just like it does on 2. We just need to keep working on stepping off to avoid, move around the arm, and then getting behind. Unbendable arm is a must.

Before we did nijusan we played around with some same hand/same foot drills using Pat's "building walls" idea. Find a wall, or in our case last night a tree, and post against it with one side or the other "building a wall". With this stable base it allows you to deflect or block as strong as you can. The second step is when uke's resistance builds up step off to the next side (left if you blocked right or vice versa) and build another "wall".

We did this against a tree several times until the concept made sense then moved on to the "cow catcher" and the aiki-brush off. We talked about avoid and deflect. Either block and get behind the arm or brush off to deflect and head in the opposite direction. This was a set up for our reps of the first three moves of nijusan: Shomen ate, Aigamae ate, and gyaku gamae ate. Use uke's attack to off-balance to the side pointing them down into the space between their feet. If that fails stay behind the arm and continue to step in motion with them. We did a lot of practice with being patient and letting uke decide what happens next: either waki gatame works and they're down or the arm you're behind can be your guide as to what uke will do next. Aigamae ate or gyaku gamae ate is just a response depending on the conditions.

After all of that we ran out of time. Granted that's a lot of typing but I'm trying to get this all down so I can get pointers on how to do things differently and better.

The difference a year makes.

2011-06-02T08:34:00.001-07:00

Its been one year exactly since the last post on this blog and there has been a lot of changes in my life since then. The video blog project fell through almost right after its inception. I moved back to Mississippi from Washington State. Several other upswings and downturns occurred but yesterday one of the biggest things for me personally finally happened: I taught my first class!

Who would have thunk it?

Even though I've been doing aikido for years and I always had a somewhat illusive concept I would teach one day, I never really believed the day would actually come. At the end of the day I suppose it was nothing really special (class activity to be described shortly) but its a milestone we all get to at some point or another if we continue our practice.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at getting a local group together vs. schedule conflicts and disinterest I was able to get a friend of one of the Starkville instructors and a friend of mine (who has done some aikikai) to meet up at a local park. The class was what I assume would be standard "this is aikido" fare. After some chatting with the new aikidoka and my friend we did stretches and a little intro ground ukemi. Nothing to report on the ukemi really, just forward rolling from a kneeled position and backwards falling with emphasis on the "sitting on the couch" focus I learned from Pat. The new guy picked it up rather well.

The next thing we worked on was tegatana no kata, the walking kata. I went through the entire kata once as a walk through, breaking down which directions we were going in and how the turns were executed. The next few reps we did with just the first 3 sets: diagonal moves, side steps, and turns. Stepping on the balls of the feet was emphasised for these.

Hanasu was our next segment. All of the eight techniques for Hanasu are wrist releases and I had us work on the first three as a primer. We worked on all three pretty slowly as I wanted them both to get used to feeling the moves in three steps at kata speed. I also wanted them to get the concept of being good ukes so we used a firm initial grab to give tori something substantial to work with. It went great!

The last few things we did was Shomen ate and Aigamae ate from Nijusan. I went over Shomen ate first then explained the idea of the "cow catcher" block against an incoming attack. After several reps of both we moved onto aigamae ate. On this we worked on staying behind uke's arm and allowing uke to decide when he would stand up to face tori.

All in all it was a lot of fun for me and I believe they had a blast as well. It has always seemed like a daunting task in the past, but once I actually got to show people some aikido it was a relaxed thing. I just tried to show them what I know and help them understand it the way I do, which I guess is the whole concept behind instruction.

Can't wait to get better at it! If anyone has advice I am all ears....

Aikido where you can do....it.

2010-06-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

To pass the time at work I've obtained a high bounce ball to play around with. One of the things I've been working on particularly is trying to do the first portion of hanasu one bounce at a time. It definitely shortens up your steps. I occasionally get some evasion practice in when it's really quiet. Throw the ball against the nearest concrete wall and you get an instant attacker to sidestep! Needless to say i have to carefully pick my moments with this one but it's still something to do.

Anyone know of any other coordination or aikido-like things one can do with a bouncing ball?

Classified Ad

2010-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Semi-adequate aikido student willing to do degrading menial tasks for aikido lessons. Must be within bus distance of Bellingham, WA. Specialties include medical sanitation of premises and odd job repairs. Also capable of taking falls and receiving mild joint manipulation. Not looking to advance in grade, just in understanding. Please leave email address below.

Bass Rutten is an expert. Andy learns the importance of sarcasam.

2010-04-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Any thoughts?

So much for that idea.

2010-04-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

The aikido project is dead. It was, i thought, a good idea for the hour it lasted. At the moment it looks like i'm going to be taking something of a step backwards. My plan now is to try and find a way to get into the local aikikai classes and start training there. Yes, i'm going to be starting over at square one in a different organization but not getting to do aikido ever again seems to be the worse option. What's an ikkyu 2500 miles from his teacher really supposed to do?

Pat says i should find a couple of people that would like to learn aikido and practice with them, in a way teaching each other, but i just don't feel like i would do our style justice. There's a lot of rust and uncertainty on my part in that regard.

Suggestions?

Aikido Project

2010-04-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. Here's the actual page for the project John and I are doing. It's nothing fancy and you are bound to be disapointed if you're looking for the reinvention of the wheel or extremely crisp technique. It's really just something john and i are doing to practice various parts of aikido. Hopefully we'll get better and get some great advice along the way.

So, here's what i did....

2010-03-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the large lapse in blogging. I realize it's been 5 months and no one may even still be reading this. That's cool because i use this thing to write down my random scattered thoughts on aikido.

The last 5 months were filled up mostly with life. I had a job that kept me busy so much i didn't make it to class very often. 3 times in fact, which isn't a record or anything. The year i was in Orlando i MAY have posted twice.

My last class at Pat's was my last class in Mississippi. I recently moved to Bellingham, WA where my best bud John of Johndo fame resides.

My last class was rather mind blowing. I guess since Pat knew i was leaving he decided to blow apart some of my ideas and leave me at aikido square one. After doing the class norm of tegatana we worked on hanasu. I have always had a problem with the second move in this kata, Hon Soto te Osu. I have felt rather led footed and one step behind with this technique all the years i've been doing it. I asked for some advice on how to make this move work smoothly and Pat told me to try and accomplish the technique on one foot at a time always causing a same hand/same foot to fall. Wow, said I. Instead of simply stepping around like i have been, i allowed uke more freedom to move me in whatever direction he was going making my aikido (i think) crazy better. I know you're supposed to allow uke to determine how the engagement goes... but this was really working great!

The whole class allowed me to re evaluate all the footwork and positioning that i seemed to have taken for granted in tegatana. With just a slight shift in focus my aikido (i think) as become a bit more free flowing and a bit less cluttered.

So fast forward about a month later and here i am in the top north corner of the United States. John and I, in an effort to keep ourselves training, have decided to do a video blog here. We're not trying to teach anything by any means, we're just recording our sessions so that we can 1)get advice and 2) have something that shows what we're doing, that we're doing something, and shows where we are at and were we need to go. I look forward to hearing what people think and trying to overcome my extreme anxiety over seeing myself move and flop about like a pregnant ox.

So, what do i do?

2009-11-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to travel to class since august. I have no one in my area that wants to practice. I have missed and will miss seminars because of my job. There is only so much tegatana i can really do.

I'm just really discouraged and don't know what to do. My aikido doesnt seem to be going anywhere because i can't get the practice i need to improve but i don't want to just...quit.

Suggestions?

"I thought i could instruct him....

2009-08-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

....as well as Yoda. I was wrong."

So today i got up early and went to USM to do some aikido with my buddy Jessie. He's taking an aikikai off-shoot there at the college so every once in a while we get together and compare notes and work with a few things and basically uke for each other.

Today i actually went with the idea of us doing a few reps of tegatana with a few of the ideas from Pat's 100 terrific things to try with in tegatana and then working on hanasu.

With tegatana we went through a few reps focusing on:

1. relax
61. same hand same foot
&
3. balls of feet, heels slightly brushing

What made this more challenging than usual was the fact that our place to practice happens to be the volleyball court outside the college's fitness center. After doing a rep in the sand we did the second one on pavement and for the heck of it did another rep in the sand.

Hanasu is where everything felt like it fell apart. As we went through the first 4 back and fourth i had a hard time conveying how uke should generally move during each technique. Hanasu basically boils down into 2 things for uke

Either
1. uke grabs tori's opposite hand in an attempt to lead him off
or
2. uke grabs tori's hand on the same side and attempts to lead him off.

Somehow there was a gap in communication. Jessie would simply grab my wrist and just plant. It didn't stop me from completing the "kata" like continuation of the move.. but it didn't really move well at all. When i was playing uke i would follow through and things worked alright.

I eventually stepped back two steps away to see if i could maybe create what i was trying to relate and that seemed to solve it to an extent. It's so hard to get him to relax.

I'm not sure if it's just me not explaining things well (see subtitle at top of page) or the differences in style or his inexperience with aikido as a whole. It left me a little self-reflective, my thoughts as i repeated everything in my head became increasingly frustrating. I feel like at this point i should be able to show some of the simpler things of aikido but today that just was NOT the case.

Help??

Community

2009-08-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

As i moved around in class last night trying to remember how this technique goes or how that technique moves a certain way something occurred to me that i thought i'd waste the virtual ink to share.

One of the new guys (i say new guy but he's been going for almost 3 months and having only met him twice that shows how good i am, plus i can't remember his name) and i were working on a chain of techniques that hover around shomeate and kotegaeshi and wakigatame. I had been having trouble all class with my wakigatames, still getting an "arm bar" but the grip felt wrong or this or that but we continued to move around and bouncing comments back and forth to each other and eventually it started to run a tad more smoothly for me.

The rest of the class went great. Pat had a loaded house so it gave us all a chance to work with everyone else. Everyone in class has variances in height and size and levels of experience but we were all communally working towards helping each other out.

It dawned on me during the car ride back home how nice it is to be able to participate in something (anything) where everyone is helping everyone else get better. Even (and i'm preaching to myself too though for appearance sake i choose to make the implications as to who vague) thought sometimes it seems like everything is getting frustrating and you might not be progressing you actually ARE getting better. Bit by bit.

I wanted to end off with a Doogie Houwer type revelation for this post, but all i can really say is it's just nice to be a part of that.

Our dojo has popsicles.

2009-07-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

I made it to class yesterday and i convinced Jessie (the aikikai guy) to come along. We had class outside of the dojo this time, and it's always an interesting change. The parking area in front of the dojo has a decent slope upwards towards the street which makes movement on the balls of your feet quiet different from the norm.

Pat gave tegatana a bit of a switch up during the second rep. Going through the kata with a rubber knife in one hand causes you to have a different focus on what sometimes ends up as the "off hand" during the kata. I liked how it changes your ideas for some of the things you'd otherwise take for granted.

The rest of class we all worked on chains stemming off of hanasu #2 and a bit of a tune up for the first motion of nijusan.

A couple of things to ponder:

1) Even if tori somehow gets positioned further away from uke or an unexpected turn happens it takes very little for tori to turn this new situation into something defensible. Just stay aware.

2) I need to work on scaling back the "force" i try to apply on the first off balance of nijusan's shomenate by approaching it with a more agile footstep.

I'm hoping to get in some extra practice time this week. Jessie isn't working so that ought to allow for some tossing around at least a couple of times this week.

Also, you're always affirmed on your choice of places to train when you break between lessons for delicious frozen treats.

A moment of silence for a fellow aikidoka

2009-06-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that Sensei Charles Crist passed away from his long fight with cancer today. Though i didn't have the pleasure of knowing him long, i considered him a friend.

He was a good teacher and a great person.

Hey kids, it's a new way to do the kote gaeshi!

2009-05-25T19:56:00.001-07:00

Saturday's class was great and i was even able to bring my buddy Jessie along. We did a little bit of tegatana and moved right on into nijusan. The first motion was what we focused on the most, but the second popped up from time to time.

Class was really geared towards the different ways kote gaeshi can pop up. My favorite out of the bunch was done with a grip below the wrist. It squeezes down on the nerves just below the wrist itself, still producing a reaction from uke that causes him to lean to one side or the other. My favorite part of the whole thing is that it doesn't remotely risk hurting the wrist at all. I think it's the most aiki like of all the ways to do kote gaeshi.

Jessie seemed to be really interested in going back. He said the part he likes the most about Pat's dojo is that we work through what happens when one technique moves into another. The majority of his practice sounds like it's a strict repetition of kata moves. Hopefully with enough time in class, he'll be swayed over to our side. -=insert maniacal laughter=-

If i get there, can i give someone directions over the phone?

2009-05-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

The last few posts my buddy John has made over on his blog show that he's gotten a lot wiser over the last year or so. He's teaching aikido one night a week at the YMCA and his classs (as well as his understanding of aikido) seems to be flourishing. The post he just made today got me thinking about goals.

In the martial arts, and in life in general, goals can mean and lead to a lot of different things. The reasons that drive us are as varied as the people that have them. I've had several different reasons for why i've been going to aikido over the (5+ off and on) years i've gone to class. I can't say one has really been greater than another or even if any of them would actually lead to an "achievement" of any tangible sort, but i kept going. In the times when class wasn't an option i'd noodle over some point or another or practice my footwork using our walking kata.

Eventually i came to terms with the fact that, for me, it's like playing with clay. You can mold something out of it but if you take a closer look at what you've made there will always be something that you can add on or shape differently. If you're dedicated enough or strict enough or if you love the thing enough to see what it becomes next your piece of clay will never run out of things to explore. Even when you place it aside and go about daily life the things you've done with that clay will carry with you. Spending that much time with a thing, i think, causes you to in a way become the thing or at the very least the experience of what you've done is a part of who you are.

Touchy-feely mumbo jumbo aside, and having lost all pretense of making a point i'll conclude with something of an idea.

I don't care about the next belt. I doubt i'll ever be "one of the greats" or even one of the mentionables. All i want for now is to become a potter that doesnt become so concerned with forming my best bowl that i forget how to translate potting to someone else.

Ok, i'm done with the psuedo wise man bit. Back to the ramble.

Quick edit

2009-04-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

On that last post i put pluralsy when he actually had pleurisy. I'm sure there was no confusion, but i apologize anyway.

End transmission.

Midnight Aikido

2009-04-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Friday after a movie a couple of buddies and i went over to USM's volleyball court for some aikido practice. Jessie and i both practice aikido (he does a style akin to aikikai) and Jimmy is a newb interested in seeing what it's all about.

We did some forward and backward rolls and showed jimmy the basics of ukemi. He did alright though it's hard to get a lot of reps out of a guy who doesn't want to get sandy.

Most of the night was just Jessie and I comparing notes in a "I do this this way, how do you do it format". We did out best to give Jimmy some of the basics and by the end of the night we both looked upon him with a sense of pride. He easily adapted to the getting off the line idea but still had an occasional tendency to lean instead of fully move out of the way. We went over waki gatame and a bit of kote gaeshi with him as well. Between jessie and i tossing each other around we would occasionally spring an attack on Jimmy and he defended himself really well.

All and all it was a fun time. Jessie decided to do some airfalls at one point while i worked with Jimmy and at some point took a nasty fall onto his side. A few days later the doctor told him that he fractured a rib, got pluralsy and pneumonia. Ouch. He's doing better though..

The Aiki brush off.

2009-03-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

Pat recently did a "What If.." article where he asked, amongst other things, "What part of your art is most rapidly teachable and imminently functional?"

In the post apocalyptic future of the damned that Pat set forth in his scenario i chose to teach the survivors the aiki brush off. I like it as a intro to aikido because it basically covers (in my mind) may of the things that make aikido aikido:

1) it's a decent intro to the concepts of ma'ai
2) it helps learners pick up on the lines of attack
3) (i think) it's an easy way to show people just how little force you need to deflect almost any attack
4) anything else i may not have mentioned

The time's we used it in class, during the seminars about knife defense, and at at Sensei Charles' dojo against various forms of faster forward attacks i've gotten to be something of a fan of it.

I agree with Pat that it won't really stop any conflicts but versus most types of the slow moving undead and those radioactive mutants with a low movement rate it WILL allow a holocaust survivor to wade throw small to moderate sized groups of them without much trouble. Throw the brush off in with almost any ones basic tools of punching and kicking and it's a good place to start. Another thing that might help would be the ideas behind "rolling the ball" and i'd be satisfied for group forays into the shattered wastelands to forage until they could train more.

Tai Chi Masters Battle

2009-03-09T15:59:00.001-07:00

Time to read!

2009-03-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

As luck would have it.. i happened to be traveling in Waynesboro at work today and the local library was selling books extremely cheap. I loaded up on just about everything Mark Twain wrote and a few odds and ends about Stalingrad and government files on first contact knowledge.

Of interest to this blog though are two books i decided to be worthy to pick up. The first one is by Bruce K. Siddle called Sharpening The Warrior's Edge : The Psychology & Science of Training.

The second is The Spirit of Shaolin by none other than David Carradine himself. Naturally i'm reading the Spirit of Shaolin cause Kung Fu the series rocked. My copy is hard backed and has a less fruity/new age cover than the one pictured at amazon.

Once i get these read i may say yea or nay on how worthwhile they are.

1,000 step journeys are much longer than advertised.

2009-03-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we worked on 6 through 9 of nijusan. Pat started us off with some jodo like exercises that helped to emphasize bringing both hands down to our center using uke's weight/force. It was a great class but there are so many things to improve on it's sometimes hard to remember a time when i was not as adequate as i am now. And i do mean simply adequate.

Right now i want to become more comfortable with the motions and having better flow. I also need to work on better memorization of the techniques and the principles behind them so i can better describe/explain them to others. I'm glad im in no hurry to get anywhere but better.

Wait. It's THAT easy? Really!?

2009-02-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

Ukemi.

Anyone out there who has kept up with my sporadic posting and my slightly askew monologues knows that I've always had a problem with my falls. I've always felt awkward in the execution, which led to "not quite great" falls or occasional flopping. This in turn created frustration with aikido in general and self-consciousness 'cause I must have been doing something wrong. (which i was)

Today's class changed all that.. and i couldn't be happier.

A good bit of class today was devoted to ukemi. Ground rolls forwards and backwards progressed to the standing forward rolls. Pat got us to extend an arm out for him to hold and as when leaned forward to a certain point he'd let the arm (which was limp btw) go and we would fall into the roll. For me, everything finally snapped into place. The roll felt comfortable, i wasn't tense, and i was easily able to come back up to standing. Great success!

So i ask Pat (in so many words), "Since you made those easy, can you make backward rolls as easy?"

"Ok then," says Pat.

2 weeks ago we were doing shomen ate and again (as had been the norm lately) the back fall just wasn't working right for me. I go flop onto my arse like i was just plopping down on the couch. My muscles seized up in my neck and upper back and, long story short, it took a few days to recover.

Back to the present: Pat broke out the crash pad, leaving it folded, and had us take a small step back and then sit down. As he demonstrated it i silently balked a little. "That looks way too easy." As as i crouched and sat it felt way too easy as well. After a few reps he unfolded the crash pad and we continued to step back and sit on a lower, though still comfy, surface.

At this point i was pretty amused by the fact that all this was was us sitting back and rolling slightly as the backward motion canceled out. It didn't hurt, feel odd, and it worked.. so i just couldn't see this thing being the right. I was enjoying this too much. It was fun.

Pat, being the ever patient teacher, finally moved the pad away and over and over the backfall worked. It was smooth and effortless. This still couldn't be that easy but I was hooked and enjoying it. This was definitely part of the aikido i had always felt i was missing out on.

With standing rolls and backward rolls covered i decided to push my luck and get Pat to fix my side falls as well. With these i had always just assumed, even more so than the other parts of ukemi, that falling sideways just walked hand in hand with eating a whole bunch of energy.

As it turns out though, not so much.

The thing i had been missing out on with these is that with the palm from whichever side i was falling and my leg/hip i was creating a arch to slow myself down and continue rolling slightly to the other shoulder. All this time i had been slamming onto my side with a slapping arm absorbing some of the impact but nowhere near the right amount i should have been getting rid of.

All of that said i was quite shocked and at the same time extremely delighted today. It was by far my favorite class because it cleared up nearly all of the things i have difficulty with in aikido. Or atleast difficulty in the sense that i constantly butt heads with it. I've been on cloud 9 all day and will for a while, i think.

I really love aikido. Best day ever!

I have mastered the Hadou!

2009-02-20T05:16:00.001-08:00

It's kinda lame but i sorta dig it. I just wish i wasn't so damn pasty white! Lol

If you're a fan of Street Fighter.. and want to see your face on a cartoon click the link and make your own. It's pretty neat. I only wish i had thought to put John's face on Akuma.

Happy Birthday to me.

2009-02-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

February 3rd is my birthday. Tomorrow will only give me 729 days left to enjoy before Carousel.

Renew! Renew!

(Yes, i'm posting a day early...but i'm feeling rather apathetic towards it at the moment.)

Changing ideas by building better walls.

2009-01-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

This saturday definitely gave some things to ponder on.

With tegatana, i need to devote more practice to the kata. As the first kata we learn in our style of aikido it's seems easy, after so many repetitions, to simply zone out on auto pilot as i go through the steps. I don't want you to think that i flop through it without any care as to what's going on at all, because i don't. Generally, i think of the up and down and how the motion of my arms effects the side to side. As i found out later in class i need to keep from losing track of how my feet are acting. When i have to stop and think about it or explain where they go, i run into a snag. "Does my foot turn out or in?" "Will my hand be on the same side as my foot or opposite?" I have to work on making the katas i've learned stand out of the background haze of my thoughts and become something that i can consciously cite whenever i need to.

My hanasu isn't immune to foot misplacement either. Hon Soto Te Osu (#2) and Gyaku Soto Te Osu (#4) have alway been two moves that have never felt.. quite right. Pat gave me another idea to iron them out. At times the way to move off to the side is to make a full step, then a shuffle adjustment then to move behind uke takes another full step and a shuffle adjustment. As always i need practice practice practice.

For me, our nijusan practice was what gave me the most to noodle on from that class. We worked on shome ate and aigame ate.

The entry to shomen ate as uke attacks with his right hand is for tori to step off to the right with a deflecting qucik/small push against uke's arm causing an off balance. If uke insists on continuing the attack tori makes a block with the left hand and then makes a shomen ate forward with the right.

With aigamae ate, when uke makes a forward right handed attack tori deflects the attack to the right attempting to cause an off balance between uke's feet. If uke is able to recover tori stays behind uke's arm making a series of steps to the left deflecting uke's arm with tori's left hand. When uke gets into a position where he can attack it will cause him to stop moving and face tori. Tori then makes a right handed shomen ate to uke.

Now, if you were able to follow my explanation of these two moves ( i admit it's probably very convoluted in it's explanation) then you noticed that there are a lot of switches from the left hand to the right hand and vice versa. As Pat explained, what really places the strength in these right and left movements is the placement of your feet in unison with you hands as a stable cohesive motion creating a wall that won't move. In my case, as far as my hands were concerned, they were more or less on autopilot. When Pat had me pay almost exclusive attention to my feet things definitely came together much better. Even in aigamae ate as i stayed behind uke my left hand would be in place but having my foot work with it i was able to build a better wall each time.

One of the best ways to practice this simultaneous right side/left side together movement is to stand in front of something sturdy and pick a side to some ate against the (let's say a wall) wall. Then as one side makes firm contact roll over to the opposite side. You can do this back and forth however many times you want to help get that idea to become more natural. It's something that Pat had us do every now and then, but it's importance never really clicked until saturday's class.

All this stuff to readjust my thinking of aikido and we got to do some extra ukemi practice too. It was a great class.

I've something to say on the topic of Saturdays.

2009-01-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

Made it to class saturday as part of my "no weekend class left behind" program and had a lot of fun. We went through some ukemi practice and i was made well aware of just how little practice i've gotten with it over the last few months as i couldnt do a backward roll from a laying down position. It was personally embarassing as it had previously been a personal hurtle i had (once) finally overcome. So i'm going to have to re-adjust that setback.

We did hanasu 1 and 2 and some chain work. It's cool having the new people in class, i get to work with someone that's even taller than i am and someone that's almost 2 feet shorter. That big of a change between ukes give a lot to sort of noodle out.

As far as anything else goes the writing is actually going, which is nice. The blog i plan on posting my stuff on will be private for a while (indefinately is more like it) so i won't be linking it here but i am almost through with my first short story. So yay me.

New stuff for a new year.

2009-01-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

This post isn't going to be a whole bunch of stuff. I've been way too lazy the last couple of weeks when it comes to out-of-class practice but i am determined to change all of that.

Though i wont call these resolutions, i am re-dedicating myself to edit the layout of my current life.

First off, aikido. I love it, but i haven't been often enough for quite some time. Saturdays will now be designated aikido day. On call or off, i will be making my fat ass show up to at least one class a week. Tuesday and thursday i can't make the concrete guarantee i'd like because of work, but there will be a significant reduction in: "Ugh, it's been a long day. I'm just gonna go home and veg" on the days i do get off in time when im not on call. Get over it self, you know you're going to feel a jillion times better when you're in class so just GO!

As far as out-of-class goes, one of my gamer buddies is going to an aikikai class in town and recently we played around for a few minutes doing some wrist releases and mainly comparing notes on our differences. He seems pretty interested in aikido and wants to do some more so it sounds like i might have an uke to work with every once in a while, i just gotta clear it with Pat first. My buddy's classes are at the local college on monday's and wednesdays from 8:30 to 9:45 and he's invited me so i'm thinking of checking it out. If nothing else it'll give me two more chances a week for ukemi practice. I have to admit im curious to see how "the other guys" do aikido.

Second off, writing. I used to love to just write back when i was in Jr high and high school but i just don't give myself the time to sit down and jot things out. To remedy this im gonna start a different little side blog (not connecting it to this, dont worry. You, faithful reader, are subjected to enough.) to put my stuff on and it give me a chance to look at it later and see what i think.

3rd, but still important. Drawing. It's something else i used to do alot once, and with decent skill and i want to get back to drawing. John's current escapades into comics and just the general desire to see some of my ideas bear fruit has lit a fire under my butt to get back into it. The writing page may go hand in hand with this, there is one huge idea i've had for a while that i'd like to flesh out and set some standard points on.

This has run a bit long, but thats where i'm at currently. I'll have more to write on during the week.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T03:16:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to share my favorite Christmas song with everyone. I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas.

"It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us, the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage (every man and brother of us all throughout the whole earth), may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss...." - Mark Twain

Aikido ice cream cones

2008-12-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

I made it to class today!!

Warm-up was pretty vigorous this morning. Pat and a new student ( i figured i'd forget his name by the time i sat down to write this...i was right) had already been doing Judo when i got there so to catch up quick i got to participate in something new. Setting the crash pad between them, i was thrown back and forth between the two of them like a human game of pong.

It worked 'cause i warmed up reaaaaal quick. It was fun though.

We did a single rep of tegatana and then a few reps of hanasu. It's nice to know after all this time i still need work on hanasu (not meant to sound bad). I have a real problem with 2 and 4 in the kata. Something about the way we sidestep and move directly behind uke i still haven't grasped yet. I can do the motions but it just doesnt feel natural.

As we did the first motion of hanasu Pat talked about the distinction between small circular motion and big circular motion when it comes to moving behind uke's arm. As we sidestep from the grab pushing out our arm in front of us then moving behind the arm it will create either a small conical motion, i.e. a small ice cream cone (in mokuren dojo lexicon) or a large conical motion, i.e. a large ice cream cone (see previous).

The smaller ice cream cone seems to me to be less effective for the first motion. When i did them this morning most of the time it caused uke's arm to break from a straight armed position to bend at the elbow. I think this has happened most of the time i've ended up with the smaller cone. The larger ice cream cone keeps uke's arm straight the entire time and just simply works better.

Who doesn't prefer a larger cone of ice cream anyway? Wakka Wakka.

The main bulk of today's class was aigame ate and the variations there of. A while back there was a discussion between Pat and John over aigame ate that you might want to check out. As we worked on it i couldn't quite remember why John thought the way he learned it in Seattle was different. The way we do it at Pat's is the same, and we've been doing that for years. =)

The only thing that might cause aigame ate to appear different is how uke responds to the initial off balance. In one version as tori sidesteps the attack to put uke's momentum in the hole caused by where his legs have ended up uke might spin around so tori would have to step to follow with him. The other version is when uke's momentum causes him to keep walking around to the right (or left depending on which way tori was attacked) until he finds a position to stop and confront tori, where he proceeds to get creamed.

We worked on oshi taoshi and a few variations of it. I needed to get reminded to side step instead of eating up a bunch of energy as i and uke spins apart.

Anyhoo, it was a great class and i've pretty much been jazzed up by it all day. Long absences make one forget just how much fun aikido is. I was having fun and maybe it showed today, Pat said my aikido was pretty good today. I'll take his word for it this time around, a bunch of stuff just seemed to be clicking right today. Can't wait to trek back after the holidays.

Give some advice!

2008-12-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah, i haven't posted in a while. It's been a while since i've been to class. One of those things. But if you happen to read this you should go here and check out my buddy John's blog. He's teaching aikido up in Seattle, WA and if you can think of any kind of advice or ideas that would help him out as he gets his classes underway would be awesome. Thanks.

Just some pics.

2008-11-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

This is from the Aiki-buddy weekend. Just a few pics where i'm not looking terrible.

Group shot.

I thought i had killed him.

Lightening strikes, and it'll never happen again.

Heel instead of toe, d'oh!

Thought of the night

2008-11-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. - Edmund Burke

A week of aikido

2008-11-03T18:13:00.001-08:00

Last week from the 27th to the 1st of November I was at Pat's for the 3rd Annual Aiki Buddy Gathering. John and I were there the first four days for some extra practice at 5am and 6pm with plenty of open mat practice and sleep in between.

The first 9 sessions we had focused on synchronization with uke as tori diffused their attack. The 8 motions of Hanasu and the 23 techniques of Nijusan were broken down, relaxed, tweaked, and repeated often. The chains, which are combinations of two to three of the things from either Hanasu or Nijusan, we went through a few times to give us the chance to continue to avoid uke while staying in sync with his motions no matter where uke chooses to go. I got plenty of practice for my Ikkyu demo.

The sessions from 10 on were the actual Gathering classes devoted to the knife sets of Rokukata, knife randori, and simply adapting your aikido to the idea that even an unarmed opponent is as dangerous as a knife wielding one. It puts a much more fine tone to your movements, making them sharper (pardon the pun).

My ikkyu demo pretty much rocked the casbah thanks to Chops, one of the Starkville students. I missteped on one move because my mind simply blanked during the setup as to wich one i was doing next. The rest of it flowed really well and we went slowly enough to show how each technique worked. The q&a from Pat and Dr. Usher was pretty cool. I think i could have pulled off a shodan demo rather well if i had had the hours to do so...so i'm really looking forward to the real deal sometime next year. Not saying i deserve a shodan or anything, i just think i've gotten decent at aikido. Let me have my delusions. Oh, and for long time readers my ukemi is no longer a problameo, i can roll!

My best bud John got his Shodan over the weekend and was pretty overwhelmed when Pat handed him his own black belt. It's definately something he'll always remember.

All in all i had a blast. Between all the training and crashing on the floor in the dojo to hanging out with the MSU crowd it was a pretty great week to spend hanging out with John before he headed off to Washington state. My aikido has improved and i'm looking forward to all the things i learn in the future.

Presidential Judo

2008-10-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

Granted Dojo Rat beat me to it, but here's the video! Vladimir Putin doing Judo:

Questions redux.

2008-10-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

So a while back i asked "Does anyone know how to make the world a better place? Can it be done? Is it vain to try?"

I got a good number of replies. I haven't really mentioned it since, but its has still been in the background noise of my thoughts since and it seems to gain more attention every time i get attacked by the media in another scare tactic.... be it non-existent money bailouts or my least favorite of topics lately politics.

In my own vanity i have decided to make the world a better place. How, you ask? I have no idea, but this article has some pretty good ideas. When i came across it i wanted to share. Enjoy!

The motion and the moves.

2008-09-27T11:29:00.001-07:00

Aikido class this morning was pretty straightforward. We did a couple reps of tegatana, did a rep or two of hanasu between myself and the other student whose name escapes me at the moment. We moved on to nijusan after hanasu and though i can "do" through 1-10 of the kata there is still a need for some tweaking of each one of the techniques. I've got to try and not only produce the correct techniques but also instill each of the higher principles.

For example, as we moved on to the 11th and 12th techniques, kote hineri and kote gaeshi, it was shown that though i was getting the arm turned and the wrist torqued my hand placement was off so i wasn't really getting the full effect.

It's the little stuff that makes the difference. Most of the way through class today i wasn't syncing up well with the resistance i was getting and so most of the things i was trying to attempt were not coming out smooth at all. It kinda bothered me but it's just something i'll have to work with to be both a better tori and a better uke.

2 for 1

2008-09-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

Pat has updated the saturday schedule to include both aikido and judo so i made sure to stay for both.

Aikido (and judo for that matter) has new students from the last time i was there. We went through tegatana (i still remember!) and the first motion from hanasu. We illustrated the two basic ways it happens, basically uke will either strong arm or bend his arm as you avoid it. The two randoris were fun and was just another example of how much i missed class.

Judo was a refresher course for me, i've never really been to many judo classes and what i did learn has been layered in dust. Going back over the ground transfers and footsweeps was a much needed refresher course. During the newazza randori i noticed a bad habit of leaning backwards. So thats something ill have to work on.

All in all a great class.

A different attacker.

2008-09-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive and kicking, i'm just currently having to apply aiki principles more towards life than ukes at the moment. Random thought/question of the moment: is having to pause on the path still part of the journey?

I'd like to think so. I hope so.

Rex-Kwan-Do meltdown

2008-08-23T09:25:00.001-07:00

Cuban taekwondo athlete banned after kicking ref

"BEIJING (AP) A Cuban taekwondo athlete and his coach were banned for life after Angel Matos kicked the referee in the face following his bronze-medal match disqualification.
Cuban coach Leudis Gonzalez offered no apology for Matos' actions.
Matos was declared the loser for taking too much injury time after hurting his leg during the men's over-80 kg (176 pounds) match. Fighters get one minute, and Matos was disqualified when his time ran out.
"He was too strict," Gonzalez said, referring to the decision to disqualify Matos.
Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden. Matos then spat on the floor and was escorted out.
Matos won the gold medal in this division at the 2000 Sydney Games, dedicating the victory to his mother, who died on the day of the opening ceremony. At the 2004 Athens Games, he finished 11th.
Matos' tantrum followed a day of confusion on the mats.
Earlier Saturday, China's double gold medalist Chen Zhong crashed out in the quarterfinals after initially being declared the winner. It was the first time a match result had been overturned since taekwondo became an official Olympic sport in 1990. "

I think it's probably uncontrolable angst about the lack of tv coverage for his sport. I'm certain a TKD player, in a world where international ping pong gets more press, would be a ticking time bomb.

Office space practicallity

2008-08-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

As i'm sure anyone in the cubicle jungle knows, danger lurks everywhere. One must constatly be mindfull of attack from every angle and from any person which, as i learned today, also includes the pregnant ones.

One of the office girls decided to "attack" me today and yelled out, "i'm going to strangle you" after i had applied a perfectly executed smart ass remark. As i turned around she had just broken ma'ai with both arms outstreched to strangle me. After that kind of set-up it was easy, i just stepped forward to the side breaking her balance and set her up for a Ushiro Ate (relax, i didn't drop her). I have to admit i was slighty bemused for hours that i had pulled all that off without really thinking.

But one quention remains, how do you claim real world effectiveness when you've defended yourself against an expectant mom?

A question on my mind.

2008-08-05T18:37:00.001-07:00

Does anyone know how to make the world a better place? Can it be done? Is it vain to try?

I'd love to hear opinions.

You need all the pieces to finish the puzzle.

2008-07-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my spiffy new C-PAP machine i'm feeling much more the energetic aiki student.

Today's class was pretty good. We looked at how a fluctuation in movement can affect things one or two steps further along by using tegatana as a looking glass. The end of the first set of turns leaves an awkward pause before moving into the forward steps or the tenkan ashi before the shomen te gatane.

We moved into hanasu and after a rep each Pat had us go through some randori while naming the releases as we went. I have to admit this was a bit of a challenge for me. I know the releases well enough in the kata form but trying to name them as they appear naturally wasn't easy. It's something im definitely going to try to commit to memory in the future.

Nijusan. Something i thought i had a decent grasp on. Not quite as it turns out, but all for the best as i learned another piece of the puzzle that makes aikido a complete picture. The way i had been doing the techniques before i was slightly blurring through the different points to sorta force them to go smoothly, basically speeding up to make it work. As i found out today the pieces, each given their due time to fit into the next piece, create a whole that is much more like the aikido we all aim for as we practice. It goes back to something i posted about a while back, having faith that the technique will work frees up your mind and allows you to have a lighter touch to let uke go where he wants. At least that's how it seems to work for me at the moment.

I think i did alright today as far as motion is concerned. I have to admit that i may have been a little stiff to begin with today, in times past my frustration does have a habit of getting in the way even before i begin. Its something i have to work on, the way i absorb things isnt always the quickest and that's usually the source of it. But given enough time i'll get better at my own pace, i just have to be patient with my pace's speed. And that's the hardest part i think i face.

Independence Day

2008-07-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day everyone. Enjoy your freedom and grilled meats!

Social Responsibilities and Martial Arts

2008-06-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

John's got a great blog post i wanted to spread the word on. I'd love to see more people's opinions on this one. CHECK IT OUT!

Well, maybe that explains something....

2008-06-27T05:22:00.000-07:00

I just found out last night i have fairly bad sleep apnea. When your brain's half asleep most of the time it might explain why learning is a 12 step process in the order of 7-1-3-10-4 and so on. I'll have to go back for a second night to see what amount of air pressure i need out of a CPAP, but i'm told i'll feel like a million bucks once i go back to a decent night's sleep. Here's hoping.

Oh yeah, i almost forgot!

2008-06-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Pat's class where he threw in the idea of french curves was something that i enjoyed. It reminded me to use the natural curves of both my arms as i defend and the curves of uke's arms as he attacks.

I also need to work on being a better uke. I'm not sure how i'm falling short but i've had comments that i'm not doing things at times that are quite right. My tsugi-ashi and shomenate are done with the right forward intent from my perspective but somewhere along the way through the technique to it's ending point i may be falling short or not giving the correct force where it should be.

It's sort of the silent problem that seems to fade in and out from time to time and i don't want to forget it's there.

Anyone out there have tips and tricks?

Of things to come.

2008-06-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

So after i reinstalled windows, lost my scratch built levels of neverwinter nights (sigh), and fought the genuine copy protection block my blog seems to be back in order. I'm back in "range" of Pat's dojo, that is to say i'm back home and back to around 90 miles away. I've made it to class a couple of times, mainly going to a starkville clinic and once or twice to a regular class. I've mentioned before that i don't get to go as often as i'd like (as in every class) and how that bugs me so i won't get into that again. That's just how it goes.

In October (if i'm lucky) i'll be getting my ikkyu and john will be getting his shodan the week before our dojo's annual (semi) event, Woodhenge. The name has a history. I'm looking forward to the week long training session with john and pat but there's a tiny tinge of disappointment that i won't be getting my shodan with john. That was sort of our shared goal for the longest, getting them at the same time from pat but it's just not in the cards i suppose.

I've been working on the self discipline side by dieting and attempting to exercise regularly. John's idea sounds like a good one so i think i'll find a soft spot out in the yard and try and throw that into the "regimen". Definitely need the ukemi practice one way or the other. Actually, if i can create a comfortable zone of ability that i can maintain (continued practice) with that i wouldn't mind if i ever got another belt again. Though i really gotta catch up on dues....

Under construction

2008-06-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'll be back as soon as i can figure out why my personal comp won't post posts. I've been to class and have confusing/enlightening things to work out in literary form but it'll have to wait till i debug something. I guess.

I like this dude.

2008-04-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

Pat has posted a couple of videos on this guy: Robert Sharpe. The videos are great to watch, very informative in their own right, but (as Pat said on his blog) if you substitute aiki or aikido into his discussion it comes out as a great lesson for us aiki guys. I wish there was more to find on this guy, i like his personality and his philosophy on what he does and the world around him is definitely worthy of note.

Enough of my gabbing, here's the one i wanted to show first(since that link apparently has every freaking one of them). This one is part of the interview that relates who he is and what he's done:

And this is an example of one that you can throw aikido into what he's talking about, he's talking about tai chi push hands and randori can be interchangeable with much of it:

Anyway, i like the videos ( reiteration ) and i think you should go watch them all. Yes even the capoeria ones.

The things i think i understand

2008-03-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

I went to Sensei Charles' class again last night and here are two points that stuck with me:

Get my hands involved with forward rolling.

Have confidence that the technique will work.

After reading the email that john forwarded him Sensei Charles wanted to go over again why he also teaches aikikai ukemi at his dojo. Demonstration: concrete sans mats. A perfect arena to make a full roll to standing. I have to say i was somewhat nervous to try it out, akin to them moving the floor and revealing a shallow indention full of burning hot coals, but after seeing them do it i had to try. I have to say i didn't do bad, i could use some work....but i didn't dive right into the ground like a mangled airplane either.

I've always had problems with getting into a roll and coming up to standing. Putting my feet into a different position than i've been trying seems to work out. (duh, right?) I'm not saying the other fall is some kind of archaic false religion now, by no means, just at the moment it seems to me how the foot and hand slap helps more with airfalls than with forward rolls. It also helped me to look at the roll as something continuous till the end. With the other way i was trying to do it, my momentum would stop fully down on the mat and i would then push myself up over my extended leg to get up. With the new roll i just keep on moving, my arms come in at the right time and guide my momentum (i.e. large bulk) up off the ground.

My final theory is, using the way John put it; Aikikai = forward rolls, Kodokan = air fall recovery. All theories are subject to change due to me only being a sankyu. And just as a disclaimer the Fugakukai way is taught at the dojo.

As we went through Nijusan, it was neat to look at it from the angle of "As you create the offbalance, they will generally go a certain way, so don't worry about it, clear your mind for what happens next." I think this comes from a different idea/perspective and the experience of having done this for a little while. It's took me a little while to really see what it meant, but like in ushiro ate if you aiki brush them off to the side uke will move from point a to point b and that's when the throw takes place. So do the brush off and the rest falls into place.

Last night was the last chance i'll get to go to Sensei Charles' class, as i'll be moving back to Mississippi this weekend, but i definitely enjoyed the time i did get to spend at his dojo and the classes gave me a lot of things to noodle over. If anyone is in the kissimmie, fl area you should definitely check out his dojo.

Oh, and read this....

2008-03-10T04:04:00.000-07:00

I dug this story and wanted to link share. All credit goes to AikiThoughts.

Dharmakaya Aikido

2008-03-10T02:43:00.000-07:00

After months of false starts and schedule animosity John and i finally headed down to the Kissimmie, FL area to see Sensei Charles Crist at his dojo. His dojo is in his garage which was cool to us given out little slice of heaven downstairs and Pat's dojo back home...the Fugakukai tradition continues.

Sensei Charles is a great guy and even better teacher. The class started off with ukemi and his students are AWESOME at it. I have to say when it came to my turn i was a little intimidated. They were all very fluid in their motion and came right back up and rolled right back down again. I have seriously got to practice more, it was a clear view of what i need to aim for.

Next we did tegatana but the switch from what we're used to came in the form of doing it by the count. It was a different tempo to attempt and i found myself looking around once or twice to make sure i was on the right foot or hadn't skipped ahead by accident.

Then came nijusan. I really enjoyed this part of class (which luckily lasted the rest of the session). Tori would step out on the mat and the rest of the students would line up and attack with a straight arm to the chest at what Sensei Charles called "actual speed". It was a different animal from measuring off at ma'ai and making a single step/lunge forward but i dug it. Shomen ate, Aigamae ate, and gyaku gamae ate were all easy for me to go through but gedan ate, the black sheep, reared it's head again. As we lined up for it i was curious to see how they were able to use the technique in the midst of all this dynamic movement and avoidance. The way they practice it is different from ours...but i think (because i'm able to make this work much better) that it's more effective. It involves the same idea...a "failed" attempt at gyaku gamae ate but instead of getting under the arm for a bumping off balance it uses uke's other arm being turned over the first to cause him to air fall onto the ground.

The one we practice the most often, Sensei Charles said, seems to work best as a linear move instead of happening in the parameters of what their type of nijusan creates. He still has the regular version of it up on his techniques page and all of them are worth looking at.

Afterwards we talked about aikido and whatnot and said our goodbyes. I walked away with a refreshed sense of aikido. Our time in class gave me another opportunity to see how aikido works no matter how it's approached and a few new ideas to use when i travel back home next week.

And soreness...jeeze it's been a while since i've practiced.

Woot!

2008-02-03T05:27:00.001-08:00

It's my birthday!

A different kind of aikido.

2008-01-22T21:32:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been (almost) a month since my last post and there hasn't been anything to report since then. With current circumstances being what they are where i live, these days i don't see my aikido training staying a continuing practice the way it has been in the past i.e. going to the dojo and getting to practice with an uke on even an occasional schedule. I used to worry about that kind of situation happening and my aikido sliding into atrophy but i realize even going it alone a lot of aiki training can still be maintained without a training partner. Tegatana, our aikido style's walking kata that demonstrates the basics of evasion, can (of course) be done solo and with the different thoughts behind it I can keep staying out of the way of an attack fresh in my mind.

Ukemi, falling practice, is something i've been uncomfortable with in the past and though i have a long way to go to make it a second hand idea or an automatic response i'm getting there. Another solo practice it may be (who needs an uke to roll?) it's one that i actually need to do more regularly... tegatana can be broken down into segments and done "out in the world" where you wont get cross looks but if someone clear out of the blue decided to fall backwards to one side or the other you tend to feel like an odd duck. My current (much after the new year) resolution is to get into the habit of doing some ukemi practice since i have to set it aside just to find a place to do it easily/safely.

Well that's all well and good, but the title of this post hints at i've been mentally noodling over what's still aikido when actually physical practice isnt involved. This is the point where i think everyday aikido comes into play, the aikido you use by rolling with life and blending with the occasional hard knock and getting along with the people you come across.

The Way of Harmony a guy named Ueshiba talked about once.

You may be familiar with it.

The philosophical parts some may gloss over entirely or focus on exclusively. Their or your call.

It was never a driving goal for me, but the spiritual side (if you'll allow) seems to have popped up over the time i've been in aikido as a by-product of the whittling away of anxiety over learning something like the kind of martial art aikido is, looking silly, not getting it right aways - name your poison. The training that you place on yourself that gets Andy(insert your name here) at white belt to Andy at brown belt and beyond.

So even though i don't have a good destination for that train of thought to end up at the moment in the confines of this post i am working on it. Enjoying the knowledge that i'm handling life better that previous and the understanding that aikido had a part to play in it. It may not be fighting an army of Agent Smiths but i think it's the aikido that we end up practicing much longer in the end than the martial side.

Thoughts?

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since i've updated and both John and I are looking forward to posting about our training and ideas but i just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everybody. Here's hoping that the year ahead fosters peace on earth and good will towards everyone.

I claim the first dojo injury

2007-11-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later....you go to a martial art class long enough and eventually, as the man says, "the bar eats you". Tonight for our session we had both Beleek and Beau (the aforementioned absent class mate) down in the dojo for some judo. John had us go over a new judo throw, deashi harai, we all did a few reps of that. Then we moved on to ground work. John went over the mount and guard positions and ways to manuever our of being scisored. Then we went on to some simple sparring where the idea was to simply roll around and try to gain position but it escilated. I got a knee to the mouth. I still gots mah teeth, but i have three holes in my upper lip now. Bitting down on a sock with ice in it to stop the bleeding, John snaged a pic of it so im sure it'll be up on the net tomorrow.

Let's try something different.

2007-11-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Last night's workout was a lot of fun. We started out by doing a quick go over of ko soto gari, i wanted to make sure i still had the basics of the throw from the other night. I still remember how the throw goes, woo!

Next we went through tegatana, nothing especially new there this time around. We forgot Pat's jumpy jelly leg syndrome exercise but we're going back to the dojo tonight and that's one of the things we'll work on.

Next John wanted to work on a judo throw who's name escapes me at the moment. I'm sure he'll be describing it in his next post.

After i had gotten off the mat several times we moved on to the first five of Ni ju san:

Shomen ate
Aigame ate
Gyaku gamae ate
Gedan ate
Ushiro ate

These first five are all striking techniques and i had been noodling over the idea for the last few days of changing the exercise up a bit from the way we normally do it just for a change of pace from the established way and...well...mainly just to see what would happen. Instead of uke making a straight armed forward attack from mai as usual, after checking mai and tori dropping his hand (signaling he's ready for the attack) uke brings his hand straight back to his shoulder then pushes it back out as he steps forward. Not quite a punch granted but the fact the arm, and especially a hand, visually seems to be "coming at you" was a load of fun to avoid during ni ju san.

Our mantra of "getting the hell out of the way" was a quicker and more automatic response with a different simulated attack thrown into the mix. Another thing we both noticed was that the initial off balance became a more "final" maneuver if uke was totally committed to the attack (which an attacker may or may not have a recover step in their game plan when they're trying to kick your ass and i'm wondering how different your body's natural recover step will react vs. a deliberate attempt to right one's self) and the technique often ended there if we were devoted enough into dropping the attacking arm into the hole between their feet. When the techniques DID continue they often produced spectacular results. We did tweak a few things every now and then, making sure tori stayed close to uke and aigame ate works better if you wait for it instead of just stiff arming your buddy in the head whenever, but over all pretty kewl beans.

After that John wanted to work on some ideas he had about being attacked in the guard and from the guard. He's been thinking on different ground work ideas he's come up with while watching UFC and other MMA shows where the opponent on the ground generally gets pounded instead of tying up the arms or simply shrimping side to side to avoid the attack entirely. Now this is not generally the case but i've seen it happen alot on TV (which is always a great meter stick to judge your ideas). I strapped on some gloves to be the uke on this one, and while i'll let John describe the whole thing in his words when he posts on it i will say i was pretty amazed at the ease someone can simply shrimp out of the way of an attack. The guy in the mount has to change his posture if he wants to attack someone in the guard which facilitates an easy block or evasion. It's a weird point where aikido and judo get close to the same thing in relation to being attacked.

I'm going to TRY and get some pictures up for some stuff soon. I think our dojo would definitely fall under a Dojo Rat heading. Nothing beats having an automatic door rise up as you approach your inner sanctum.

The difference between 1 and 1

2007-11-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

John and i got some practice in the other night. We warmed up and went through tegatana (the walking kata we practice that teaches the basic evasions) a couple of times, the first runthrough as a warm up then the second go round we emphasised the idea of keeping our feet under our rears. It was interesting to see how different we each did the first attempt. I suppose it shows what we've each gotten used to and how we comfortably interpret the motions when we're not shaking things up.

Next we went straight to nijusan (the 23 main forms as it's called, all dealing with the forward attack of a single uke) and after clearing up the misunderstanding of which technique John wanted to work on we did several reps of both shomenate and the initial offbalance that proceeds the techniques throught the rest of the kata. John's interest was focused on where our initial step off the line places us when doing the shomen ate and how the second foot ends up (John may have to correct me on this):

1) Uke attacks; tori side steps off the line avoiding the attack at the same time as uke's forward foot lands with the second foot coming up underneath then face uke's center and a push forward,

OR

2) Uke attacks; tori's sidestep ends with him already in postition to shomenate uke and he pushes forward.

As i typed this i realized that the same number of foot movements occured in both versions we tried. John's shomen ate leaned more towards the first, while mine favored the second idea but we came to the conclusion that both worked.

I'm going to have to start asking Pat for his long distance training tip of the week.

Solo Training is still training.

2007-11-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

In the absense of a training partner (John's pretty busy) i've reverted back to my can't-go-to-McComb method of training. This time around though i get to add some ukemi practice to my routine thanks to the mats we have in our makeshift dojo in the garage downstairs. So on top of the triangle rolls i'm doing straight off the mat (both backward and forward) in the half hour or so before i get prepared for work i'm also doing"

Toothbrush tegatana (One of Pat's super secret training techniques)
Wall brush offs (these still get odd looks at work, i don't know why)
The easy floor push offs for getting off the ground without so much strain on the knees (making a bridge with your legs and pushing off the ground up and over the gap between them, it's great for stocking shelves on the bottom and then getting right back up) = this one i'm repeating over and over so i can make it a more automatic idea then pushing up with my knees after a breakfall

One of the things i've noticed as of late that i thought was (maybe) worth a mention was moving your weight onto the balls of your feel during the day, especially if you're standing around or walking on them all day. It really helps with sore feet and it gives me the opportunity to take a step or two from tegatana. As you've stretched up on both feet, you can pick a hip to disengage for a overexagerated example of the evasion movements we practice.

(P.S. Didnt realize my link to Aikithoughts wasn't working. It's fixed now so go check it out if you havent already! Check out the one on blending he did recently. Sorry aikithoughts dude!)

I made it to Florida!

2007-10-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

First post since moving in and getting settled down and so far i'd have to say i'm enjoying myself. John and i haven't specifically done aiki yet, my schedule had to be ironed out and i've spent my free time just checking out some of the sites and and what not. All i have of note aikido wise is that which is pool oriented. I played around with tegatana in the pool and to a plesant discovery the falling forward method of movement (disengaging the forward foot and "falling" in that direction) works wonderfully in a pool. Something that would be a unique way of getting a new student to understand and expeiriance that concept. Another thing that came to mind was that if you use your lungs to correct your posture (ala feldenkrais) during tegatana becomes another thing that's easier to expeierence in a pool. I shared these tidbits of idea with John and he seemed to dig them. So if you want to do some rather effective tegatana just go for a swim.

Hopefully in the next few days John and i can get back in a regular training schedule for both aikido and judo. More updates later.

Winds of change.

2007-10-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last post i was in the frame of mind to put together a post about perfection in aikido, trying to weigh the pros and cons which might have ended up into some sort of andy vs. self solo discussion on old school aikido vs. new aikido. I would have tried my best to get my point across on all of this, eventually saying that wether you learn aikido rigidly going through 1,000 move or the dojo you train at experiments and what-not it's still aikido. It would have been an insightful post (if anyone could keep up with my scatterbrain).

All of that will not be appearing in this post.

Woosh. (That would be the aforementioned wind of change, just go with me on this)

I'm moving to Florida. That has taken up a huge part of my mental storage space the last few weeks as the idea has taken shape from concept to actually happening next thursday (the 18th of october). Yikes would be an understatement. I'll be moving in with ol' John, my best friend and also student of Pat. We'll be getting to train practically everyday and there are several dojos (dojoes? sp?) in the area to attend as well. The downside is i feel like a heel. I like learning at my dojo. Now i'll be learning with new people and under new teachers, probably always wondering "How would Pat approach this". I'm leaving home territory to learn from them! I think the culture shock is going to get to me, plus as i progress i can't even see myself getting rank tests from anyone else? Has anyone else had to undergo sensei transplant? What is that like, learning a certain way of doing things, even inside the same organization, and then going somewhere else where everything could be (God forbid!) different?

These are the things i ponder at the moment. Well, that and all the chances i'll get to help John with his ukemi ;-)

Isn't the blogsphere great?

2007-09-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

I found this while i was wandering around the Aikido oriented websphere and i wanted to share it. The whole blog at Aikithoughts is pretty insightful. Somethimg else i wanted to bring to someone's attention is this article at Martial Views. I think the second most difficult thing someone taking aikido faces, after falling, is the idea that it doesn't have to be perfect to be effective. That, in fact, the search for perfection might actually get in the way of achieving functional, comfortable aikido. This is only my thinking btw, and only applies to my experience. I'm going to try and collect my thoughts on that and make a post about it later.

Just an update to keep things current and to invite discussion.

2007-09-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to link to these two things from Pat's blog. His post about Rhadi Ferguson is pretty interesting and i wanted to keep track of the discussion on forward rolls since it's something i struggle with. I doubt i'm the hub of anyone's blog perusal, but if so check them out.

Way of the Warrior - Aikido and Kendo Pt4

2007-08-30T16:39:00.005-07:00

Way of the Warrior - Aikido and Kendo Pt3

2007-08-30T16:39:00.003-07:00

Way of the Warrior - Aikido and Kendo Pt2

2007-08-30T16:39:00.001-07:00

Major point of interest in this one is his ideas on "cultural movement". I really enjoyed the insight of it. It's not something one thinks of often but it's so true. His insight on the difference in breathing is another good thing to listen to, i thought.

Way of the Warrior - Aikido and Kendo Pt1

2007-08-29T10:44:00.001-07:00

Aikido on thursdays

2007-08-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

I made it to class last night, and we went through the usual tegatana and hanasu. Pat is turning those into general warm-up practices instead of actively working on them in class. We worked on oshi taoshi, kote gaeshi and kote hineri by first breaking down the initial off balance and getting the feel for how uke is balanced and which direction he could be leading the technique. It also helped illuminate how timing effects both tori's and uke's positioning.

For anyone curious as to how these techniques begin (if anyone's reading) all of the moves in this kata (where oshi taoshi, kote gaeshi and kote hineri can be found) begin by checking mai and uke moving in with a shomenate. As uke moves in, tori responds by making a small forward step, his hands raised to guide uke's shomenate off his line of attack facing into the gap created between his feet.

One of the two main ways this will end up (if i'm not mistaken) is either uke's off balance will leave him "idling" on the balls of his feet with his mass leaning in some direction or he'll get his footing right after the "push" and that will leave him flat footed and stable.

Anyhoo, we worked with those three techniques for quite a bit...how they work and interact with each other. This all ended up in some cool sensitivity drills akin to the tai chi push hands exercises. All in all another good class.

What's going on.

2007-08-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

You know the story: i haven't been to class. A preveously held job was keeping me busy but i freed up my schedule (unemployed). Now that Pat's got class 3 times a week i'm looking forward to going back and much more often. I haven't gotten to practice that much, but i have gotten into an email chat with some aikikai guys in town that want to start a small club. Getting to chat about aikido has been nice, and if their club ever gets off the ground i may stop by between McComb class.

Apparently all that conservative talk radio i listen to is going to waste.

2007-07-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

I've been called a lot of things.. but liberal has never been one of them. I do agree with the ascertation that i have a strong sense of right and wrong and believe in economic fairness, but i feel icky being in the same group as Hillary Clinton and Bono.

You are a
Social Liberal
(63% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(18% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Socialist (18e/63s)

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

I also find it humorous that i'm Pat's diametric opposite.

Another training weekend.

2007-07-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's been a while since i've been to class. I was able to go a couple of weeks ago to the saturday morning class but this weekend felt like i was actually coming to class (regularly). John was back in town this week and the plan of going to judo and staying overnight for aikido was formed.

I'm glad i got to go to judo, everytime i do i realize how much i enjoy it but i rarely get to go. With recent events and a new job i hope to be able to attend once a week from now on. Both the class and john's and my randori session brought out the glaring fact of just how yellow my belt is. We filmed it, and upon several rewatchings i must say there is much work ahead. Things to work on: foot sweeping (period) and technical ground skills. Basically everything about judo.

On the aiki side of things we worked on hanasu and the "lost wrist releases". My brain quickly mired on these and it took a while to re understand what was happening (happens alot). When we moved on to knife randori i kicked myself a bit over just how many times i got stabbed. I realize that i'm going to get stabbed... but sheesh! In my defense though, i don think being attacked by a knife wielder trying to make me laugh will happen in too many times "on the street" or what have you. Still, compared to the bar set high in my head, a deplorable accounting. On the other side of the coin, though, i think i was acceptable at multi-opponent randori. Plus it's just fun to do.

My next rank test is on the horizon, and my fondest wish is to feel better capable at breakfalling. I know it's a reoccuring request of myself, but i wouldn't care if i ever ranked again if ukemi would simply cease to be a foriegn concept to me. Cheifly among these techniques... the ever evil forward rolls and the yet to be fully explored air falls (of which i can wait on a while). The hardest part of training is vs. yourself and this is definately the Great Wall of China in my thoughts where insecurity steadfastly patrols.

I should have some video and pics of the weekend as soon as i can figure out how to image capture them off the disc i have.

Just thinkin'

2007-06-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Pay no mind to any of this.

When i'm attacked, though it looks like they're punching at my head or kicking at my legs they are really aiming for my center. It's a pretty small target (figureatively speaking..just a little point under my gut), so all i have to do is move just a tad...it's out of the way...and i avoid the attack. Simple stuff. All the appendage waving is something to get distracted on. (Easier to brush aside that way)

maybe?

Kids Aikido

2007-06-04T06:04:00.001-07:00

I came across this and thought i'd post it. I figured John would be interested in it in particular.

Armed vs. unarmed attacks: another pebble on the beach of discussion.

2007-06-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

For saturday's class we took an extra minute to work on forward rolls. I hear what Sensei Pat is saying about that "point of no return" and then it goes in to the roll but i'm still not totally feeling it. I just can't quite discern that one missing piece that'll make everything fit together yet, it's still a step away at this point.

At the end of class Chops (whom is down from starkville for a while) and i did some knife randori where uke makes one dedicated attack (easy enough to avoid) and subsequent attacks (not so easy). We also did nijusan with a knife where we picked the response ahead of time but uke keeps attacking. Defense against a knife attack is a strange animal. I didn't care for using shomenate at all, i'd much rather move to the outside of the arm instead of the inside where it's easier for uke to slice and dice.

It will take getting used to the idea that i'll only be able to take my chances down from a "100% chance of getting stabbed to a 90% chance of getting stabbed". It's not quite defeatist, but it definately has an overtown of some kind of defeat. Maybe that's the point? I mean, i understand.. i'll get stabbed most likely, but i don't want to accept it as finality. I'm no sure... there's a lot about the concept i'm a novice to. Something to mull over.

During randori I got the impression (not saying it's correct) that the first attack is easy to avoid, the second one is considerably worse, but the third swing seemed to be a tad easier to discern. That doesn't mean i still didn't get the shiv but that bit floated in my mind on the drive home. Conclusion = i want to do more knife randori.

John and i got into a chat about being tackled or speared, part of a discussion that he had with Bryce. I don't recollect the entirety, but i believe he seemed to think it was much more difficult to avoid than i did (is that right John?). Since Chops and i had some time to piddle around with aikido at the end of class i asked his thoughts and if he wouldn't mind lunging at me and a side step and a shomenate seemed to be all it took to keep a Goldberg type off of you. He, Pat and i discussed a couple of different variations of lunging takedowns for a moment or two then it was off to pick blackberries for morning breakfast.

"Is this post leading anywhere?!"

2007-05-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Some philosophize that martial art training is supposed to chip away at the junk surrounding our core selves, or remodeling us into someone who is "better". The mental training aspect of aikido has been attributed to emphasize relaxation of mind and body even under stressful situations, as i understand it to better handle being attacked but to also make daily life simpler and more enjoyable .

Ueshiba is quoted as saying that one "must be willing to receive 99% of an opponent's attack and stare death in the face". Staring death in the face is one thing, all bravery and calmness focused on one extreme idea, but i think it's a lot harder for those ideas to challenge the everyday things we face. Everyone can tell a story about how something has made them lose their cool, it's just human nature. Sooner or later something will come along that will bother the hell out of even the most stoic person.

I am by no means one of those stoic people. Insecurity is one of the things that reoccurs in my mind as i train. I am my own worst critic and i often berate myself over a misplaced step, a technique done wrong or "poorly", or as in the case of seeing video with me in it: the way i look while moving around and especially falling. There are several things i could list off as to why i beat myself up but the fact remains that it's really not a good thing to do whether necessary or not. As i sit around and sorta meditate on aikido i often try to tackle what i can do to improve my ability. Practice and patience seem to be the top two keys and not necessarily in that order. Something that has seemed to be more important lately is how i perceive myself in aikido, what am i bringing with me into the dojo and what am i trying to sorta leave behind me on the way out. More important than both of those is what i'm carrying around day to day?

Something i think helps, and i think a lot of people have trouble with this, is what kind of goal you've place in front of yourself. Is it realistic? Are you expecting it to occur much faster than it should? Are you trying to be good for your level or someone else's? There's nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but sometimes things just "are as they are". Looking at where i am in relation to others that i see as better could make anyone in the same shoes feel discouraged. I have to remind myself that sure, someone else at my rank may be way ahead of the curve but what's important is am i refining "me"? "Am i moving from my center instead of trying to reach out to something that will throw me off balance," so to speak.

Just some thoughts. Next lesson, practicing what i preach. Haha

Anyone have any thoughts?

"With the blast shield down, i can't see a thing..."

2007-05-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

I was able to make it to class yesterday...and as usual, it was great. The walking kata tegatana still has some bumps and kinks i need to work out (as many reps as i do i would thing i'd have the thing perfect).
Pat threw in some blind ninja training into hanasu and we repped through it with our eyes closed. I liked the way it worked out. Later on in class we went through the two versions of kotegaeshi and koteheneri (tenkai) and added some blackout to those too at one point. I like the way it feels to give uke total control of the attack and move around that (lol, that's the whole point isn't it?). I wish i could develop that level of relaxed sensitivity while my eyes are open. Im going to have to talk gary into doing some of these before he leaves so i can get some extra practice.
We did some "aiki brush off" drills. I still had some highs and lows with these.. either they felt like they worked or they felt way to forced. They seemed like a finesse element i don't have the ability to make work all the time, like the bumps and the ends of certain otoshi or garuma movements.

Starkville Aiki weekend

2007-04-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend i had the opportunity to travel to Starkville, MS (home of MSU and tha Bulldogs) and go to a clinic headed by Henry Copeland (9th dan). The focus of the clinic was go kata (sp?) which starts off with several two handed grabs (i.e. two wrists grabbed) and goes into some...well..other throws.

I really enjoyed the clinic. It was cool getting to see the Starkville bunch again and getting to do aikido with Henry. I got thrown by him and slamed pretty hard once and i got to do randori with him and didn't notice anything but me falling. I was amazed at just how simple and relaxed his aikido was. I was wowed by it, but some might not be.

Some of the things i came away with this weekend?

1) My ukemi is "functional" but definatley needs improvment.
2) This weekend was brought by the letter L. (As in straightent the hands straight out with thumbs out to the side - thanks Porkchop).
3) Attach yourself to uke with the ring and pinky fingers, NOT the index and middle (this one seems the most daunting to adapt to).

Those are the ones that have been at the front of my mind. Hopefully the pics of this weekend will be up sometime this week, maybe video too. If so i'll try and link it.

I'll be thinking on this weekend for a while. I may post again on it later.

I really enjoy aikido.

Catching up on "The Walk"

2007-04-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed last night's class. We practiced tegatana, both the regular version and Pat's new "tooth brushing" version where all the turns are done in one spot instead off all over the mat (easier to do in the bathroom while brushing Pat says). The single spot turns helped in hanasu, especially in turn 5-8 because it exemplifies the "under a barb wire fence" motion of the techniques. That's, in numerical order; Hon Uchi Hanasu, Hon Uchi Ude Heneri, Gyaku Uchi Hanasu and Gyaku Uchi Ude Heneri for those keeping track.

Ukemi was a big part of lcass last night and i did really well. I felt confident about my aikido last night which was an awesome feeling. Ukemi was this major hurdle that just seemed insurmountable at times and it finnaly feels like i'm "there". Appropriately enough there's a seminar this weekend that should get rid of all that. Haha

Also.... Pat had an acident.

It may not be art, but....

2007-04-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Aikido + food = enjoyment

2007-03-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last night was my first class back in quite some time. I feel sore again and it's awesome. The focuses put into tegatana last night were gripping forward with our toes (kinda like cat walking from Pat's post on the msg board) and making sure we end up on the balls of our feet. A new one that was throw into the mix was snapping our center under us and the end of the movement. I noticed all three cause an accentuation of the up and down motion generated by our walking. I still think it's neat that by having your toes lead you to where you're going there's very little chance of ending up off balanced at the end.

I think i did a lot better at rolling last night, much less flat tire flapping. I think having less clutter in my head when doing it helps. I still need to work on rolling out of hiki taoishi.

We worked on chain number 7. I think that hand switches go along with the changes in garumas and otoshis as we move from gyaku uchi hanasu to ude heneri (?) to hiki taoishi. If i got the names right.

One of Pat's old students is coming to class now. Seems like an alright guy. The crawfish we had after class was fantastic, haven't had any in a while so i got double the goodness out of the return trip to class.

Bits and pieces.

2007-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to class in a WHILE, life has gotten in the way lately. I've still been "practicing" if you could call it that. I do tegatana frequently, posture (i.e. balance) and the drop vs step idea my two main concerns. My ideal place would be getting it so hardwired in my brain that i won't even STEP out of the way or whatnot but fall. (there's got to be a better thing to call that.) I'm playing with the unbendable arm too. One armed wall pushing, two armed wall pushing. We have a swinging double door at work and i check the different strengths of the one armed or two armed unbenadable arm push. A few other things here and there. I haven't given up!

Just some thoughts.

2007-02-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Life gets complicated. Things change, problems arise, people come in and out of your life. Sometimes, and i know this is true in my case, some of that complication is aggrivated by you. You dont take the time to think things through maybe, or past experiences already determine how you view some things. From my standpoint the most complicated thing i face is the future; what will i do, is what i picked the right thing, will i be able to support myself with what makes me happy. I don't really have anything figured out just yet, but every now and then something will pop up that sorta helps put things in perspective. Pat recently made a post on aiki and there's something i'll quote from it here

"Often aiki is translated as something like “coordinated energy” but lately I have preferred to translate aikido as the art of making peace with the energy in the world. People who are able to do the magical aiki effects are able to make peace with the things going on in the world. They have reduced their desire to impose their will on a situation so they are able to move around with uke and live with the results. They are at peace with the energy around them.And that’s real, magical aiki – being able to move so that you can live with uke’s actions. "

It's pretty easy to replace uke as what might be troubling you i suppose. I sorta like the implications that makes.

Something else i stumbled across just a few minutes ago i would like to share. I'll post the whole things so i can come back to it.. it may be long, but i think it's worth the read.

So You Chose the Martial Arts as Your Career Path: What Were You Thinking?
By Tom Callos

As I write this I’m preparing for the graduation ceremony for participants in my first Ultimate Black Belt Test (www.ultimateblackbelttest.com). I’ve been searching for the right words to put the 13 months each of the candidates has invested in their test into perspective –and that lead me to writing the following piece, A “Career” Black Belt’s Graduation Address.

The piece, as it is here, is for an imaginary group of black belts, a graduating class at a “Black Belt University,” who have chosen to pursue the martial arts as a career. If the martial arts are your chosen career, maybe you’ll find some value in reading it? In my mind, every day is a graduation of sorts, so the truth is that maybe I wrote this for myself –and for you too?

A “Career” Black Belt’s Graduation Address

When planning this address, I realized that I don’t have a single answer to give you, only questions. However, the questions, mine and your own, are what I think contain the real power in life. At least that is what I have learned, but continually need to practice to remember.

Up to this time in your martial arts journey, there have been any number of people who have cared for your education, nurtured you along, and cared about how you performed –your teachers, your seniors, your fellow students, some friends. But beginning next week, you will, more or less, be on your own (like you have always been) and back with that one person who got you into this thing in the first place –your inspiration, your truest critic, your most faithful supporter, and your some-time-enemy … yourself.

Yes, this is the same person who (might have?) chose the martial arts over, oh, say a law degree, medicine, architecture, and all the other noble careers you could have had --had you not been on the mat so often.

What were you thinking?

You weren’t, were you? At least not in the sense of considering the ins-and-outs and calculating your choices. Being a martial artist --or pursuing art of any kind--is a path that doesn’t make a lot of sense at all when you think about it logically. But the internal call of the martial arts is compelling and powerful. And there are lots of other kinds of thinking other than analysis.

Did Baryshnikov think when he danced? Did he analyze and calculate? Did Michael Jordan think when he ran down the court, stopped, took three steps back, faked, turned the other way, turned again then jumped and sent the ball through the hoop that he hadn’t looked at since mid-court? Is that thinking? One important thinker, Educator Howard Gardener, calls it intelligence in his book Multiple Intelligences. He calls it kinetic intelligence. Athletes use it. So do neurosurgeons. This isn’t a surprise to you, is it?

And he cites other intelligences –musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence –and adds them to mathematical and verbal intelligence, which were, for years, the only ones most educators acknowledged. Technology isn’t set up to measure all of these intelligences, but everyone can recognize the truth in the idea. And here’s the thing: They all come into play when one pursues the lifestyle of a black belt –and then the path of the professional martial arts teacher. We may not understand it all, but we use them, just as we didn’t have to understand grammar when we started talking.

So, through some invisible process, you choose to pursue this path. Maybe you saw something in a movie or on TV, maybe you met a black belt who inspired you, perhaps it was simply an idea you found in your head? But when you put on that uniform and you felt your power on the mat, you were changed.

It isn’t always easy, this martial arts thing. There’s pain, there’s push, there’s humiliation and defeat. But like the oyster that turns a grain of sand into a pearl, you take all the experiences and find transformation. As a result of training you are different than you were before. You are expanded by it all.

I’m not speaking figuratively here. Thanks to brain imaging, we have started to see something of how we are changed by our experiences. When the brain encounters something new, something it has never seen before, its neural pathways shift, and some synapses become more active while others become less so. Properly wired up and monitored by a scientist or doctor, the image of your brain lights up like a pinball machine. When the stimulus is removed the brain reverts back to its prior state –but not all the way back. It retains some of the new patterning. You create neurons every time you learn something new as a record of sorts of how to do the thing. The first years of your life were completely taken up by this patterning and stretching as you encountered the bright light of birth, then Mama, then water, and on and on.

This is all exhilarating, but after 20, 30 or 40 years of it, it can be a bit too intense for some people. Maybe that’s why some people tend to get careful and conservative as they get older. They want things to stay the way they are, so they can get a handle on life.

But not martial artists; we go looking for the change. The fear of the unknown, a quick triumph over fear, something new, the crafty new opponent --then a rush of dopamine to the brain. Of course there are other things that change us. New arguments change us, new concepts, new people, and new places. But martial artists make most of their change from the inside. They use it to grow themselves. It is exalting –and exaltation is pretty hard to find in the everyday.

So there’s a succinct definition of a good training day for you: You come home and you’re not the same person as when you left in the morning. Your daily efforts may not always create a huge change, but it’s there and it adds up.

Will you ever wonder why you chose the martial arts over everything else you could have done? Probably. Will you ever “hit the wall?” I think you will. Will you ever doubt yourself and your decisions? Most certainly. The famous artist Richard Serra said, “The place where you are dumfounded by your own lack of understanding is the place to start working. Once you stop doubting you might as well stop working.”
Now, graduating to a new level, your real work begins. It’s not about being a great martial artist, this journey. It’s about being a great human being. That’s your graduation thought.

My last bit of advice: Stay awake, stay out of your comfort zone. Keep searching. Keep working. Don’t get stuck for too long. Practice evolving physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. That is The Way.

You’ve chosen the right career. Make it a great one. Make the martial arts industry, no, make the world better --because you were involved.

About the AuthorTom Callos is a veteran consultant to the martial arts industry. His latest project, The Ultimate Black Belt Test can be seen at www.ultimateblackbelt.com. His personal website is www.tomcallos.com. He resides with his wife and three children in Placerville, CA.

Aiki weekend

2007-02-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

So John came down this week and Pat Sensei let us do some judo and aikido friday and saturday. It was a pretty productive weekend in my book. Sparring with John made me notice for the first time just how much judo and aikido are related. It's one thing being told they are and another actually feeling the similarities. I was able to keep up with him standing but more or less lost it on the ground. The different arm bars and that kinda strategy isn't really firm in my head.

Still, doing judo again was fun. It's been many moons since the last time i got to practice it at all and to me it's kinda neat to look back and see just how much the aikido i've learned has helped. I used to be deathly afraid of being foot swept and now it's no big deal at all. Although i still think Vincent would put the fear of God in me were he to show up again.

As well as some sparring, John and i also did the basic throws of judo and played around with those some. Pat Sensei came in and we sorta moved back and forth from judo to aikido, and at some point Kary showed up and we did....something (here's where posting when i get back to town would be helpful). At some point that night Pat nailed me rather well with ALL of nijusan. Ouch!

Saturday we did a couple of reps of tegatana and hanasu. I helped refresh kary on them since he's only been to a few clases and has been absent a while. We did some ki bump exercises with oshitaoshi and the broke out the crash pad for some owaza. After class John had Pat and i demonstrate nijusan and all of the different technique chains so he'd have a video to compare things to while he's learning from Bryce. I was practically exhausted, which won't be hard to tell once the video John took makes it to the internet, so i'm sure it'll be an interesting thing for me to see from an outside perspective.

John and i got a chance to catch up on things, compare notes and whatnot. More on that in a different post. An interesting thing occurred to me on the way back home though. The way i've been absorbing aikido is a lot like tetris, the blocks fall down and every once in a while make a line that actually becomes something learned. That's why after the umpteenth time i'm told something i'll finally grasp it. I think i did pretty good this weekend. I definitely had fun.

Dedication.

2007-02-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

This one's a tad short. I've just sorta been thinking about my training and how dedicated i seem to be. I live 85 or so miles from the dojo, so it's sorta a long haul from home to class and back. I've missed a lot of class nights lately and though most of them have been due to random events from school to car work and things in between, there have been a couple where i just didn't want to make the trip. I love aikido and enjoy going to class, but sometimes the will to go just isn't there. On the nights i don't go i know i'm not going to be getting any practice in elsewhere to compensate for what i've missed as a matter of fact class is the only time i get any reall practice at all other than doing tegatana and pondering on things in my noggin. Dave Lowry once wrote to the effect that one who is serious should go to class no matter what because you never know if it will be there tomorrow. I happen to know how true this actually is through various experiences in the past but if a student misses class on purpose is he slacking off? I feel guilty (and more to follow as soon as i hit publish) because i'm not giving it a hundred percent. Anyhoo, those are my thoughts at the moment.

Morihei Ueshiba - The Founder of Aikido (complete) 1 of 5

2007-01-20T20:51:00.001-08:00

Another cool thing i came across on YouTube. I posted this in reverse so it can be watched in order (atleast that's the plan, i dont know how it came out on my blog yet) i hope someone enjoys!

Morihei Ueshiba - The Founder of Aikido (complete) 2 of 5

2007-01-20T20:49:00.005-08:00

Morihei Ueshiba - The Founder of Aikido (complete) 3 of 5

2007-01-20T20:49:00.003-08:00

Morihei Ueshiba - The Founder of Aikido (complete) 4 of 5

2007-01-20T20:49:00.001-08:00

Morihei Ueshiba - The Founder of Aikido 5 of 5

2007-01-20T20:48:00.001-08:00

O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba Interview

2007-01-20T20:46:00.001-08:00

I came across this video a while back and now that i can actually get it to post i wanted to share it. Really shows some insight into the man he was.

Everybody has a story.

2007-01-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

John recently started a blog and posted his "how i got into aikido" story. Then Pat laid out his epic over on his blog.

Guess i could try to follow suit.

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far far away.... (who didn't see that coming?)

I was but a mere 4 years old when i first got into martial arts. I was in a private daycare/kindergarten and Mrs. Elaine the owner and teacher one day presented us with the option of taking karate instead of a nap (with parent approval). With me it was a no-brainer. Not only did i get out of having to pretend to be asleep for over an hour but i got to learn how to fight like a superhero (i was 5!!). I enjoyed it and continued going untill my parents freaked out over a belt rank test at the main dojo. Part of the rank test involved all of us sitting in a dark room and defending from an attack. For some reason my mother and father just wern't keen on it and pulled me on the spot. I didn't take it well, especially having made it through the test and not getting scared in the dark (i was addicted to night lights at the time) but that's the way it goes. My interest never really went away, (i held onto the belts and gi for years) but for a long time i never got to go to another class on a regular basis. Until. I was going to Jr. High ( i think?) and i got invited to an American Kenpo class. The short version of the story is the teacher wasn't affiliated with Kenpo and wasn't even a black belt IN the style. The class broke up. It was sorta a blow, i wasn't far from sankyu and at the time i was disappointed that all i had worked towards was for naught (amazing to look back and see how different my opinion is now. on some stuff. yeah yeah i know what you're thinking John.)
After all that i went to Seibukan Shorin Ryu and fell in love with it. I even got John to come to class for a while but it wasn't his thing so he stopped coming. Biljac is an awesome teacher and i pretty much enjoy everything about the style but cost ended up being an issue. If aikido ceased to be i'd end up back in Seibukan. I constantly see Biljack Sensei and he's always wondering when i'm coming back. High school was a sprinkle of Seibukan, fencing, a small bit of kendo (that ended up mostly being an introduction of just how many times I can take a bokken to the ribs before my eyes leak water), some Shotokan with a substitute teacher (i wonder if John remembers that), a quick return to kenpo and a just as sudden departure, John and i trying to learn Aikikai Aikido from Kisshimaru's Aikido book, and other adventures. I was always looking for a sword fighting school to take up, that's sorta always been my thing but along the way i began to dig the ideas of aikido. I guess it finally came together for me when John and i made the 4 hour trek to the coast once to go to an aikido dojo there. John would have his aikido and i could go for iaido. Watching the class was fun but what really got me into it was seeing how their bokken and jodo training looked a lot like their regular aikido so it really piqued my interest. John ended up finding Pat Sensei's dojo and so we went there. I went for a while with John, we stopped going due to a deer demolishing his truck, a huge span of time later and then i started going back and for the most part have been going ever sense. Aikido is definitely a lot different that anything else i've taken but i can see myself taking it till i'm old, the only thing i guess that's "missing" is kenjitsu or kendo (if you prefer) of some kind. But who knows what'll happen in the future.

Messy and inchoherent but it may have gotten an idea across.