Whole curriculum in two hours!

My instructor is away on holiday. So training always falls to those of us left behind. 

One of my fellow deshi lives in Cambridge which is only 15 minutes away from my house. I asked him to come out and train at my dojo for the weekly Saturday training session. We decided that we would attempt to work through the entire shoden curriculum (60 Omote Kata, 24 Goshinjutsu Waza) in the two hours we had available. 

Vigorous training!

We decided to do just one kata each before moving on to the next. The challenge was to remember the kata and not to be too concerned with the quality (although we would do our best on the one take). I have done this before with another training partner and it gives an insight into what is actually memorised and what needs more work. 

Very early on we were making good time and we actually got through all shoden kata including Tachiai Te Hodoki, Idori Te Hodoki and Tachiai Tedori Kuzushi. We also covered all weapons kata such as kumitano and kumitachi. The only kata we decided to leave out was batto as we do these often and don't need a training partner for these movements. 

We bowed off with 10 minutes to spare. 

It is now the next day and my body is stiff from the practice. This is good. It feels like I have ironed out some kinks. I don't recommend this kind of practice very often. This is about the third time in eight years I have done this. Training in this manner does not endorse quality of movement. It is merely a 'check in' to see what we can remember and what our bodies can put up with. It really is a full body work out!

Happy training out there!

Spring Training

For the second year running, I invited members of the Hamilton TSYR dojo out to Te Miro for two hours of training on a Saturday morning. With the trees in full bloom and native bird chorus around us it is an opportunity to train in idyllic surroundings.

The Hamilton Dojo TSYR Deshi.

Chris lead us through idori te hodoki, the three kata of the uchite set and finished with nage waza. The sprung floor and judo tatami provide a good surface for this sort of training. It is only a twelve mat space, however, so we had to be aware of where everyone was moving and standing to avoid collisions.

There is not much to say about the session so I will let the pictures tell the story.

Training in July (winter)

Well, it has been a very wet week here in the hills above Cambridge, NZ. The South Island has suffered severe flooding and a state of emergency has been declared in certain areas. However, training continues here.

My instructor, Chris has been overseas and left me to run the classes in his absence. The reality is that only a few of us are left to train while both Chris and Nat are gone so during the week we trained at the Hamilton Dojo and on the Saturdays we trained at the Te Miro Dojo.

I have been thinking about the way we train when Chris is away. We are left to work through our training problems and must rely on our own muscle memory and notes to do the techniques correctly. We have video footage of Threadgill sensei and notes of senior students to look at as well.

One tool we use are the key principles of the Ryu. If what we are doing is not working we return to principles. The more we train, the more we see the principles emerging in different techniques. It is empowering to solve a problem and push through our training on our own. Many times Threadgill sensei has mentioned one point or another and we think we are doing it but we are not. Then we have an epiphany during our training and realise he had been telling us that all along.

We watch our posture and structure a lot. We check the position of our shoulders compared to our hips and elbows. If our shoulders are ahead of our hips, we are often using too much arm force and not letting the lower body provide power. We watch the spine and check to see if we twisting or bending our spine in unhelpful ways. Things like this help us stay true to the training.

I have also enjoyed training over intense cold days (well as intense as it gets in our temperate climate) and very wet ones. There is something invigorating about trudging out to the cold dojo and forcing my limbs to get moving to warm up. Then afterwards feeling the warm glow that only post-training brings. Staying active in the colder months is important for health in my opinion.

The last couple of weeks has been satisfying and affirming of where we are in our training while our teacher is away.

One Year On...

This post is more of a short update.

On the 27th April 2016, Marco Pinto and Jules Robson visited and trained in my personal dojo in Te Miro. I had just got the mats down and although it was not complete, it was functional. I keep a visitors book and I was looking through it the other day and imagine my surprise to see that it has been open for a year already!

The dojo currently.

In this time I have had the other TSYR members from Hamilton out to train at various occasions and also a 10 year old boy out to learn aikido, my daughter has been joining him in practice. Of course I train by myself here, often. Mostly I perform TSYR batto or nairiki but also aikido solo practice. Unfortunately I have not done much more renovation in this time. The genkan still needs to be completed and finishing touches need to be made to the mat space. Threadgill sensei also saw the dojo in his most recent visit to New Zealand and now I feel the need to complete the rest of the space before I can officially open it with his blessings. 

What do I wish to add? Well a weapon rack on the wall above where you see the jo on the ground. Line the edging of the mats so they cannot slide around. Lay carpet in the reception area and finish lining the walls in the reception area. Above where the photo was taken is a loft and I would ultimately like to set this up for guests to sleep on (this is a long term goal). So lots to do but its always good to have a project.

Ambitious Training to Start the Year.

Despite what I said in my last blog, I did train one more time after writing it. 

Pete and I had been talking about going through the whole shoden curriculum in one session. Just straight through the waza. Not concerning ourselves with the finer details of the technique but rather could we remember them all, at least, in their outer, basic form. So as it turned out, Pete did stop by and train at the Te Miro dojo before New Year's. Despite only doing the technique three times each and then moving on, we only managed the Buki no Maki in that session (about two hours). We squeezed in the Kuzushi no Kata and Tachiai Te Hodoki as well.

Jujutsu in 1922

So it was, that Pete was back today for my first session of training in 2017. We dived right into the Idori Te Hodoki then the 5 Idori kata before moving onto the Tai Nage and tanto disarms. We eventually moved into the Kansetsu Waza of the Katate set and then ran out of time. 

So despite our best intentions, trying to go through the whole shoden curriulum would take a good eight hour day I would think. We still have most of the Betsuden sets to do and the sword disarming waza. 

Now that my body has cooled down, I feel aches and pains creeping in. It was good to get some serious keiko in with Pete. We were happy with what we did despite not finishing the whole curriculum. As it was we completed at least 32 different kata (keeping in mind we repeated many of them three times as well) today and a further 39 in the earlier session. That in itself is a good effort.

Something we worked on was honest attacks from the uchitachi role. Some of the techniques (especially the idori) require a sincere attack to develop the correct dynamic for the waza. There is plenty to learn just in giving a good attack and Pete and I worked on this all through the session. 

So now I will bask in the knowledge that I have trained hard today, my aching muscles and joints testament to it. 

Enjoy 2017 everyone and train safe!

Last class before Xmas!

This week, Chris, Nat, Pete and Zac drove out to the Te Miro dojo to train. We had a great night making the most of the good tatami to practice body throws. The Hamilton Dojo has thin, hard, puzzle mats that are not comfortable to fall on repeatedly, so having the thicker tatami was a great opportunity for Chris to have us work on these falls. It was the last training session for me before my family takes to the road for Christmas holidays.

We started with practicing different forms of ukemi. After spending quite some time on this Chris took us through the kuzushi for body throws then we proceeded to work through the Shoden Tachiai Tai Nage. These are great fun and on the thicker mats we could throw one another around with little chance of anyone getting hurt.

Zac had some trouble adjusting to the smaller space. He hit the wall with his heel in one instance and knocked over a jo later during the session. He reminded me of a giraffe let loose in a cluttered shop.

After the training Ricci and I invited them in for a hot drink and a chat, then they headed home for the evening. It was a lovely way to finish off the year.

I always know if it has been a good session if I can feel some stiff muscles the next day and this was the case. Good training indeed!

I don't intend to post anything else before Christmas so train hard but train safe out there people!

See you in 2017.

Latest musings - Family, work and training.

Below is a picture of the kamidana of my private dojo. I finally finished putting the shelf up. 

It has taken a while because work and family always come first. So when I get the chance, I go out to the dojo and work on the current project. For a while it was the shoe rack. I put together some old shelves, sanded them and painted them. Now I have a shoe rack in the area which will be the genkan eventually. 

I had the shelf for the dojo made for a while but the brackets were being made as a project by a young man at the high school I teach at. They were eventually finished and then had to be stained to match the shelf. Just staining the brackets took a while because the oil-based product needed 24 hours between coats. I would try and get some of the staining done in the evening after work or in the weekend and sometimes it would be two or three days before I could get back at it. 

Once the brackets were done I wanted to buy brass screws (I eventually used zinc gold) to match the colour of the brackets. I had to wait two weekends before I had the chance to get to the local hardware shop. Visitors and family kept me busy until then. I eventually had to tell my wife that I wouldn't be going on the latest family road trip just to get time at home to drill the brackets and shelf to the wall. 

The whole off-mat area is still awaiting my attention. It is functional but the walls need lining and most surfaces need a paint job. The matted space is functional but small things still need some work. I have to decide how I am going to finish the floor space that borders the mats, at the moment the plywood flooring is still exposed 

I'm not complaining, work provides the money for the projects and family comes first. I just accept that things get done in the dojo at a slow plod. As long as I keep making progress I'm not too concerned. 

Training in TSYR continues as always. The core group are still at it and I never tire of it. The Hamilton dojo will be closing for renovations in December and I have said I am happy for the TSYR group to come out and train in Te Miro. I'm looking forward to sharing the space with them. I can practice batto in my own space which is a bonus but I need bodies to work with for most of the shoden curriculum. 

Since Threadgill sensei's last visit to NZ we have been going over the key points he mentioned. I know for myself I need to be less passive in my sword work. We all need to work on smoothing out our unarmed techniques so that they flow more and establish a connection with our partner earlier to get control as quickly as possible. 

It is all good for the mind and body.

Training in the Hills

I recently had the honour of having my instructor, Chris come out and train at the Te Miro Dojo, my private dojo on my property. He came out with Pete and asked me to set the structure of the class. I took the three of us through warm ups and then Nairiki no Gyo. Then we spent most of the two hours working through the five idori kata that have recently been placed in the Shoden Mokuroku. We hadn't practised them for a while and we were rusty. The guys appreciated the softer mats I have at my dojo. The Hamilton dojo has hard puzzle-mats and although they are on a sprung floor, it doesn't help much when working from our knees. In the last half hour we worked on the standing Uchite set. 

Pete (left) and Chris (right) at TSYR hombu with headmaster Toby Threadgill.

It was a fine spring morning with nice views of the hills and native trees. Great training with good men. Afterwards we popped down to Cambridge for a light lunch before going our separate ways for the weekend. Its times like these that I am reminded of what great friends I have with the TSYR people. It was my perfect morning.

A Little Perspective.

At the moment, my sensei, Chris is overseas at the TSYR instructor seminars in Colorado, USA.

I have been asked to teach in his absence. I thought I would share a few thoughts I have had during this time. On Thursday I rocked on up to the Hamilton Dojo for the usual Tanto training session. As it turned out it was just me and one other student. He had driven in especially from out of town so was glad to see me walk in. 

I decided to work through the Mae Aku set of the Kumitanto. We took our time with each kata, highlighting main points and refining technique. Then we moved to a type of free form practice where the uchitachi will say an attack height e.g. chuden, and then thrust with the tanto. The shitachi responds with an appropriate technique. I really enjoy this type of training as you quickly work out what has been internalised. Hybrid techniques often pop up at this point and uchitachi is not quite sure what he or she is going to get!

We then did the same with the Gyaku Aku set. Slowly at first, kata by kata, then semi-freestyle with named attacks. 

We ended the training session with two kata from the Idori Te Hodoki.

For today's (Saturday) training I invited the other students to the Te Miro Dojo. None of them had been out yet and I saw this as an opportunity to let them see what I had built. Nat and Michael said they could make it and we kicked off at the normal 9 am start. After warm ups, Nairiki No Gyo and some kunren we settled into the Idori Te Hodoki. 

We were so busy with the finer points of these kata that we spent the entire hour and a half working from our knees. It wasn't until a text message from my wife reminded us it was time to stop...20 minutes after we were supposed too. 

During one of the kata Nat asked if what she was doing was right. I was uchitachi at the time and Michael was watching on. Michael laughed and said "If you could see what I could see you wouldn't need to ask that."  So I suggested we do the technique again and Michael take a picture from my phone. This is what he got.

Natalie demonstrating Morote from Idori.

As you can see Nat's posture is unbroken and I'm a twisted mess. This is why Michael was laughing. It was obvious that the technique was working. But until Nat saw the photo she was unconvinced of her ability. Isn't it funny how we can have different perspectives on the same thing? 

We made some great progress on five of these kata today. Everyone walked off the mat feeling like they had made an insight. I call that a successful lesson.

I next teach on Wednesday, that is kenjutsu night. I'm looking forward to it.