While sensei's away...

Sensei is away for the weekend.
Today's training session was lead by our sempai, Chris. However, Chris is very inclusive during these sessions. He believes we all have something to offer. He asks another senior member to take us through warm ups and the conditioning exercises. Then he asks me to go through the finer points of ukemi due to my aikido background. As an added extra today, he asked a newer member of the group to demonstrate how he creates kuzushi for body throws. This member has vast experience in this sort of thing and Chris decided to call upon the man's knowledge and it was great. Finally, Chris took over and covered two sets of exercises that focused on subtle body stuff. The first set of exercises are used to teach subtle, balance-breaking. The second set is a set of escapes. They are mostly from wrist grabs but there are some from full body grabs as well.
I always value these sessions without sensei as it is an opportunity for us to slow down and check the finer details of our techniques. It allows us to reinforce what we have learned and generate questions for sensei upon his return.

Sword Mechanic.

Recently training has focused on kenjutsu and battojutsu on Wednesday evenings. On Saturday mornings we have been working on taijutsu kata and idori. Things are really starting to click. I'm retaining more and more of the kata now and the new kata are easier to remember as the TSYR principles underlie all the techniques.
Recently we were split into two groups. One group worked on the Shoden kumitachi and another group worked on the first set of the Chuden kumitachi and then moved into the first few kata of the next set. There is so much to learn (I seem to be always thinking this). As always I must work on obtaining the correct mindset for TSYR sword work. The physical application of the kata is only the beginning, the intent and mental application is just as important.

As I have been training I have been delving deeper into the bits and pieces of a sword. For a while now I have been determined to remove the mekugi (bamboo pin) from the handle of my sword. Ever since I have had the sword the mekugi has been jammed in so hard I have not been able to get it out. Armed with a hammer and two blocks of wood, I took my sword outside and placed it across the blocks. Then using a modified roofing nail I hammered on the pin until it finally moved. It took many more strikes before it loosened and was knocked out. Before anyone growls at me, I didn't have a mekuginuki at the time and I was being careful.
I discovered that hole of the tang through which the pin went through had gouged into the pin jamming it in there. So I made a new mekugi out of a bamboo chopstick. I removed the handle and checked the tang. There was some corrosion where the tsuba had been rubbing against the metal so I sanded that back and put some sword oil on it. The tang is long and is almost the length of the tsuka, which is an indicator of a good sword, I believe.
I reassembled the handle and put the new pin in. Good as new!

Working the kata or am I?

Some interesting things have been happening in my training lately. For a long time I thought I worked the kata but lately I am beginning to think the kata also work me. Let me explain.
There is a sword kata where I am dropping down into my front leg. However, there is no drop when done correctly. After talking this through with sensei it has become apparent that my hips are not square from the beginning and to perform the technique with the right structure I am dropping into my front leg which results in me squaring my hips.
Another example is during batto (sword drawing). Near the end of each kata the hips should be square and for a long time I was straining my left ankle during training. I finally realised that I needed to square my hips by moving my left foot out to allow room for the hips to open. No more pain in the ankle while I train.
A final example is during the taijutsu kata. Moving about the spine is important for TSYR movement and over time I am finally feeling when I am moving into a posture of imbalance so I self-correct.
In all of the examples above the constant repetition of the kata have changed my positioning or body posture along the way. As the principles of the art embed themselves in my psyche my body is automatically correcting small things I am doing wrong. It is exciting.

So I really feel the kata working me the more I try to work the kata. Weird.

Levels of Training

Today's training was challenging in many ways.
First, the weather made for very humid conditions and it felt like we were training in a Sauna. Within minutes of warming up we were sweating heavily. Secondly, Sensei split the group into two groups with the theme of developing a strong focus between partners during the kumitachi. The group I was part of was asked to work through the two shoden kumitachi but with emphasis on complete focus from beginning to end. We were also asked to challenge each other with faster attacks. The result was a very intense class that fatigued us quickly due to the concentration required. It is to be expected. Sensei is trying to lift our game.
Time and time again, I hear or read about going back to the kata. This is an example of this. We all have much to learn from the very first kata. We now know the kata but aspects have yet to be internalised. It really felt like we were doing something completely different. It was invigorating and challenging at the same time.
After this, we worked on the first of the chuden kumitachi. This was done at a slower pace as not all of us had done these techniques before.
Once again I find myself reflecting on just how much more there is to learn in this art. I am excited by what may lie ahead.

Wood and Steel

I finally purchased a Shindo Yoshin Ryu bokken from Tozando online. As you can see in the picture below it just so happens it is the same length as my custom made sword (which is quite long due to my height).

TSYR uses a sword with a longer tsuka (handle) and a deeper sori (curve), which in turn means the bokken must mimic this. In fact the dimensions of the blade determine how some of the kenjutsu techniques work.
Up until now I have been using a VERY old aikido bokken that was too short and had been taped in three places to prevent the blade splitting. Sensei has been kind enough to let me use a TSYR bokken that belongs to the dojo from time to time to allow me to improve my technique.
I'm looking forward to using the new bokken in 2014.

TSYR and aikido cross paths.

In the week just been my Sensei took Toby Threadgill and the other visitors from abroad to an amazing dojo found in the Coromandel, New Zealand. Three members from our branch also went. The Koru dojo was designed by an aikido practitioner called David Lynch and as far as I know there is nothing like it in the world.

Toby Threadgill Sensei with members of TSYR.

The dojo is surrounded by native New Zealand bush and has a unique roof. Over four nights this was their home. David and his wife made the kobudo group very welcome and the setting and hospitality impressed so much that it is likely the branch will visit there again. 

Battojutsu

Needless to say, I am extremely happy to see the two arts that I practice combining in the name of budo. It is times like these I realise just how lucky New Zealand is to have such quality in budo locations and practitioners. Despite being on the bottom of the world. 

What's wrong with aikido?

For years now, people have rubbished aikido by saying it isn't a practical martial art. I can see their point. But I think the Founder's aikido was very practical. So what has happened?

In this article:
http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=519

Todd Jones says the following about students of O'Sensei, "Yes, so they understood these things fundamentally. He didn't have to waste time teaching basics… they were either qualified to step into his dojo or, “Sorry, we don’t have time.” I think, partly because of that, aikido — the way it’s taught today - is built on an expectancy of those fundamentals; those basic skills should already be there. I see aikido as a high level, or graduate school, martial art. If you've done ten years of judo, or if you've done ten years of karate, or if you've done ten years of kendo… it’s very easy to step in and say, “Oh yes, I see.” This just makes training all that much easier, all that more efficient, all that much better."

Let's look at the implications of this. If aikido was originally taught to students who had come from other martial arts backgrounds we can assume they were already taught how to strike, use timing and understood ma-ai. 

Morihei Ueshibi then advanced them further with aikido. 

Now move forward to contemporary aikido and untrained people are walking off the street into that kind of training paradigm. Here, I believe the problems begin. 

Aikido as a set of principles and techniques is a solid martial art in my opinion. However, the training paradigm is wrong. 

I can speak from personal experience around this. I now study a kobudo with others trained in another martial art, most people on the mat are Dan-ranked in a gendai budo. The training is intense as every practitioner is competent in their ability to move their body around. Of course we have our strengths and weaknesses. The karateka strike well but have had to learn how roll and breakfall. I can roll about all day (coming from an aikido background), but must learn to strike correctly. Those trained in Judo find the body throws a piece of cake. 

If I was to take this experience and retrofit it to an aikido dojo, I'm sure the training would be very satisfying. Imagine a group of Judoka, karateka and kendo practitioners working through aikido techniques. Alas, this is simply not the case now. 

I think this would solve problems of colluision between uke and nage. It would stop problems around poor attacks and it would turn aikido back into a serious martial art once more.