Thursday, September 29, 2005

Munetsuki Iriminage, Sumi Otoshi, Bokken Dori

It was a warm one tonight! It was still in the mid-80s as I drove home. T. sat this one out for the heat and staying-up-too-late-induced tiredness.

I did some rolling on my left side during warm-up, forward and backward. I gingerly tried a right-side roll but my shoulder still doesn't feel comfortable doing that.

We worked on the 3rd (I think) munetsuki tai sabaki. The basic move is the 1st tai sabaki, a tenkan pivot on the outside of the striking hand. With the 3rd, however, we used an inside step blocking outward and the opposite hand moves to the uke's chin for the iriminage variation. Later, instead of the chin push we did an atemi strike toward the face followed by:

  • a quick tenkan pivot and immediate sumi otoshi - uke continuing in original direction

  • nage's atemi hand runs to the back of uke's neck while the other hand drops uke's fist, tenkan around uke's opposite side dropping uke's head and raising uke's arm into a kaiten nage

  • a *large* step back across in front of uke (technical term: "zig") while holding uke's wrist and forearm followed by a large step behind uke (technical term: "zag") with a strong sumi otoshi


  • Anyway, all these techniques are applicable in bokken dori (when uke attacks with a bokken).

    Tuesday, September 27, 2005

    Ikkyo, ikkyo, ikkyo, ikkyo, ikkyo, ikkyo

    Ikkyo. Basic technique. Easy to get right fairly quickly but hard to get right all the time.

    We started with tai sabaki to get warmed up. Then, we worked on a *lot* of ikkyo variations. My shoulder prevented me from full contact but I was able to do most of the techniques (uke and nage) as long as I didn't have to extend my right arm much higher than my shoulder. I was able to roll on my left side, though, and that was good.

    T. and I felt like wet noodles afterward. Good class!

    Thursday, September 22, 2005

    Still not 100% but improving

    T. and I went to Aikido this evening. We warmed up, went through our aiki taiso and rolls. (No rolling for me yet because of my shoulder.) We worked on tenkan and irimi movements then an ushiro version. Since we're helping one of our fellow students prep for a shodan test we worked on hanmi-handachi waza where the standing uke attacks the kneeling nage. We finished with a one-handed kokyu-dosa variation.

    I could do a lot more than I thought I would be able to do. Lifting my right hand higher than my shoulder is still pretty dodgy but definitely improving.

    Wednesday, September 21, 2005

    Coming back

    My ukemi always needs work. (I suspect it will always need work!) Thursday two weeks ago (September 8) I came down from a koshinage... well, wrong.

    I put my hand down.

    I should never put my hand down!

    Why? Because I am not nearly strong enough to do a one-handed hand stand. I landed with full weight (300+lb) on my elbow and I felt my right shoulder dislocate. As I lay on the mat, I asked my nage to pull my arm and it popped back into place. That pretty much ended practice for the night. I loaded up on anti-inflammatories for the next day or so and used ice packs. It never swelled up or discolored.

    The following week I was back at practice but out of uniform. I did some of the warm-ups but no ukemi and nothing that would take my right hand behind my back or above my shoulder. (Try it - there isn't much you can do.) Buckling my seatbelt was a challenge for a couple days!

    This week I'm back in dogi but still not taking any rolls. I can do kotegaeshi ukemi as long as it's not very vigorous. All my training partners have been very gentle with me.

    Randori - Seizing Chaos

    Randori is an Aikido exercise that allows it's participants to create harmony amid chaos. It's fun when you keep your head about you but it is very challenging. Randori translates from Japanese as "seizing chaos". This blog, should I manage to keep it up to date, may serve as a diary for my Aikido experience.