Training Day!

I have just finished a great training session with Pete and Chris. Pete had spoken for a while about working through all the waza in the Shoden Mokuroku, both weapons and empty-hand. So I invited Pete to my dojo for a Saturday morning training session. We bowed on sharply at 9 am and set my phone timer going. Then we proceeded to work through every kata one time each to see how long it would take. We managed to do all the kata in 1 hour, 16 minutes. This included idori, paired weapons sets, the works. It was great to pressure test ourselves to see what we really knew. We managed to remember all the kata even though for a few of them we had to stop and think or work out certain parts, but we got there. Not bad considering there is something like 90 or more kata to learn. It was great to get the heart pumping and my limbs warm. It is a mild winter's day here and it felt good to get to that magical 'training warm' feeling.

Kumitanto!

Not long after finishing the whole Shoden syllabus, Chris arrived. He had just flown into New Zealand early this morning and wanted to work out some of the swelling from a long flight. So he joined us on the mat as we slowed down and looked at some key points on the idori kata. 

Chris emphasised the right attitude in the techniques, an attitude that presses an opponent and takes the initiative immediately. It was just the right amount of fine tuning we needed after blasting through the techniques. 

Overall Pete and I were happy with our progress. Despite the speed at which we worked, the main points of each kata remained intact (despite the odd technique not being our best). It certainly showed us what we need to work on now for future training sessions.

Pete suggested we do the whole Shoden set some time again to see if we have improved overall. I know it will be a blast. 

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!

The next steps!

Training is going well. 

Good session on Thursday with kumitanto. Refining the techniques. Slice and dice!

Saturday was great with good numbers. A couple of members showed up that we hadn't seen on the mat for a while. Sensei took us through the nairiki no gyo then some kunren. After that it was into the katate set of the tachiai kansetsu waza. (Standing joint locking).

I really enjoy this set. It was the first set of unarmed kata I was introduced to when I first started TSYR. Externally they look a bit like aikido techniques such as ikkyo, nikyo and sankyo. However, as some of you may know, they are far more complicated than that. They are considered betsuden, which means they are applications of TSYR principles and are not part of the classical syllabus. My understanding is that Takamura Sensei added these kata in order to cater to the change of the times. They contain an assortment of strikes, different joint locks and take downs. In other words, lots of fun!

One of the guys I train with likes to increase the intensity and when we pair up we do a few slowly then get into it. Often this results in quick decisive movements that slams the other chap into the mats. I get a buzz off this kind of training because I can gauge my progress. If the elements of the technique are not internalised then things get messy pretty quick and the other guy lets me know about it. There is something exciting about executing a technique cleanly at speed.

We spent most of the session on these kata. In the last 5 or 10 minutes we looked at the tachiai tai nage (body throws). There are five and we do them most Saturdays so we know them well. Although there is always plenty to work on. I'm very happy with my progress in this area because my exposure to body throws was limited to koshi nage and seio nage in aikido and even then I did not execute them very well. I am tall and lean so you can imagine my difficulty in getting my hips low enough with correct technique to pull them off. Nowadays, I think I'm getting the hang of these throws.

So overall it was a great session.

On the aikido front, I caught up with my old teacher after 4 years!  He still trains in the same place at the same time so I popped in before training to chat with him. It was great to see him and the other seniors who are still training. I went to ask him about getting certification for my dan grade in aikido. Since I stopped training in aikido he had affiliated with a larger organisation. As I am starting to teach aikido again I thought it prudent to be under the umbrella of this organisation as well. I was asking for his endorsement. He was more than happy to do this. So the cogs are turning and in due time I will have certification of my grade through this organisation. I think it is important for my credibility when dealing with the public.

Next week I begin training a boy in aikido at my personal dojo and I am excited about delving back into my original martial art. I will head back to my original aikido dojo as well from time to time to knock off any 'rust' in my techniques as well. 

Exciting times ahead.

Back into it!

Well, its been a while, in that time I have shifted house, helped my wife through her father's death and got on with my job, my training and raising my two girls. 

Today I am writing about the tips and thoughts my sensei, Chris and another training buddy, Pete brought back from two weeks away at the TSYR instructor's seminars in Colorado, USA. They attended the Shoden Instructor's seminar and Chuden Instructor's seminar over this time.  

First and foremost, they are both happy with where our dojo is in regards to the quality of our practice and technique. This is important as New Zealand is a long way from other dojo, in particular hombu, so knowing we are on the right path is good. 

Secondly, Threadgill sensei has decided to rearrange some of the kata in the syllabus. This appears to make a lot of sense and I don't want to go into too much detail here but Takamura sensei did move some of the kata around due to the type of students he had when he began in the United States. Threadgill sensei thinks the time is right to move some of these kata back to where they were. Ultimately, this means that the order that the kata are learned will change slightly. This does not affect our group very much as we have practised most of the kata involved at one time or another anyway.

What is exciting is that there are three throws being introduced back into the shoden curriculum which I have not practised before. However, due to the principles that we adhere to I was amazed to find how easy it was for the group to learn these throws quickly. They are in fact, easier than the throws we had been doing but we can see how they give a foundation for more advanced throws later on. 

Finally, sensei talked about some points to our practice that we need to refine or tweak. It is always exciting to hear and see what these points are so we can continue to refine and perfect our martial art. 

It is moments like these that I appreciate how both my past sensei, Robbie Smith and my current sensei, Chris can see the principle behind a technique and distill it down and teach it back to us. It is this type of instruction that makes us as good as we are, in my opinion. As a group we are moving past needing to know where to place our feet and hands for a technique and are seeing more of the greater whole of the TSYR curriculum, We are seeing how each part fits together like a puzzle. 

It was great to have these guys back and just to show you how crazy these two are with their training. They came along to the Saturday morning training which starts at 9am having arrived back in the country at 5am that same morning!

Now that is dedication.