This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

Small class today which is always good. Along with various comments in regards to our week-long seminar (2008 Australian Iaido and Jodo Seminar and Championships) we received a fair grilling on our tandoku. I was glad that I seem to have adapted 2 of the major things I was doing wrong last week but there’s always more to improve on. On dobari-uchi my strikes were far too wide which means I’m not visualising what’s actually happening. tsk tsk.

After that we went through kata. Sometimes I screwed up pretty bad but there was one time where my partner and I seemed to gel really well together and that was cool.

Iaido

After warmups in which I was told I’m still pushing up when I go to cut (I really can’t feel it most of the time and when I watch myself in the mirror I can’t see it) we went through all 12 kata. Luckily I had spent some time the day before trying to learn kata 8 and 10 although it didn’t appear to pay off in day :). For 10 after the tsuki I didn’t step through with my left foot which meant that I would naturally cut to the left next (and another visualisation thing I guess). So I cut opponents in a different order which left me finishing facing the opposite direction to everyone else. Rather comical.

Today I head off for the week for the 2008 seminar. There is going to be about 6 sensei down from japan including the australian technical advisor who is a 8th dan hanshi (and quite awesome I might add) along with a whole bunch of 7th dan and high ranking sensei. Should be quite a full on set of training sessions. Expect some reports when I get back.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

We spent quite a bit of time focusing on stance and posture in tandoku today. In particular I have to be more side on in all my stances. Not to be confused with being ’side-on’ I just need to be more side on. I tend to use basically the same stance in jodo as I do in iaido. Which basically means my feet are basically always straight and hips are square on. Now for the majority of jodo (and some areas of Iaido I’m finding) it is not this way. So I have to focus on turning my feet a little.

Also sensei pointed out that my back hand in makiotoshi is not properly holding the jo. It tends to be a little open at the front. I know why my body did this as it makes the twisting action of the easy to perform as it just rolls in your hand. Thinking about it I agree that it’s going to be stronger to not have this loose grip.

For the rest of class we worked on kata. Yesterday I was examining the starts of kata 1 and 2 in regards to how far off the line you need to get. Looking at it when I was practicing, given the turn of the body(note, the body has to stay relatively square on, it’s more the pull back of the left hand I’m talking about) in kata 2 you do not need to move off the line much at all. I was reading in a book where it described the ideal judgment of distance is when your hakama is cut by the cut but you are not.

When it came to practice kata 2 with a partner I noticed that my mindset had totally changed and I was barely concerned with the sword at all. This enabled me to be wholly concerned with getting into the opponent which seems far more aggressive and committed. So I’m quite happy with that :). I’m gonna have to watch out I don’t revert to turning side on though which would weaken my strike.

I have a lot of problems with the various kamae, in that I mean I have trouble making them look threatening. I don’t know how I’m gonna change that, I’ve spent my whole life trying to be a peacemaker I can’t even remember the last time that I actually got angry. Nevertheless I don’t think the stances require me to be angry but their must be something I’m missing. Lucky I’m doing jodo with kiai’s. Otherwise I think I’d have no idea how to be ‘active’ intense (I think I know how ‘passive’ intense works ;)).

To finish sensei and sempai taught me kata 5. As you progress along the katas get longer and longer being more and more involved. I remember learning I think it was 11 which has quite a lot in it. Something has to be said about long katas where not an inch of room can be given as it would result in death. Having to be perfect and intense for periods of time breeds a sort of undying spirit. Quite interesting.

Anyway, kata 5. Basically consists of a tsuki hazuchi uchi in response to a do cut, followed up with a critical moment before adopting hikiotoshi to strike away another stance. This kata is very similar to the tandoku practice.

While practicing the end of the katas in the mirror focusing on the need to relax I noticed how long my arms really are lol.

Iaido

I’ve been reading a few iaido books recently that I have acquired over the previous year. Yesterday I was reading about how the sword works for a cut. It’s very much a case of the sword hits maximum velocity as the hands/arms reach full extension which in the case of attacking an opponent is probably just above the head. Then the sword essentially ‘falls’ down and this allows the blade to ’slice’ through the target. Must be very sharp.

Trying to create this sort of action feels very different, a lot freer and relaxed. It also (to me) looks a lot more like my sensei’s cuts. I think my cuts have improved a lot recently. Both from focusing on really throwing both hands forward (left just before right takes lead) as well as relaxing and letting the sword go after the first movement.

The only initial problems was that because I had improved the technique (by relaxing) my sword was cutting to below horizontal. So now I have to focus on proper grip and tightening it as the sword approaches horizontal.

As far as practice today was on kamae positions and a mock grading (with some reiho practice). I’m not going to mention all the things I have to work on, rather I’ll mention one event that occurred when I was moving a chair into the grading position. As I put the chair down the sword slipped out. Instinctively I reached out and grabbed it, first with my right and then with my left. My right hand neatly grabbed the handle so that was fine but then after almost 3/4 of a second later my left hand reached out and grabbed the blade half way between what was out. Very bad!!!!! I’ve read books where they say if the sword starts to come out let it go, don’t try and catch it.

Given this experience I can understand it. While I will definitely pay more attention to where my sword is while doing things I’m reluctant to stop myself from catching a falling iaito. I understand that it is training so you don’t instinctively grab for the sword when you are using a shinken. Hmm…

Just pay attention, attention…

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

We spent a lot of time on Sotei today. Which is good. I find it a very useful practice tool. Especially for distancing. This was followed by rounds of kata. I’m starting to get the feel of kata 4 and after being shown again I believe I now know the sword side of kata 3 much better. In particular the footwork for receiving the tsuki. Also a note on receiving kuritsuke. Rather than just pivoting with the motion of the sword. Also take a small shuffle step backwards. This gets the sword in the right position relative to the body and also helps you to maintain a pressure forward. When I used to do it I’d be leaning forward as if putting pressure but the sword would be a long way behind me.

Iaido

We had a rather interesting warm-up session today. A few more motion drills, so doing cuts and kata 1 while walking forward. We also had a drill where we stayed low, crossed the left foot in front and then moved the right out and cut. I really liked that one as it was a new sensation to come across. Adjusting to cut while in a new position is always interesting.

After all the drills it was free training time. I spent some time working on kata 1 to begin with trying to integrate some of the other comments that sensei and sempai had been making. One thing that was pointed out (among many) was that once the sword is brought out for noto it should come into the saya along the same line, with no extra movement. It’s amazing how much better it feels when you find that right angle and your sayabiki falls inline then having the sword go straight in without anything else, feels cool :).

All week I’ve been focusing on trying to take the pause out between bringing my left hand up to the sword and the cut, particular in kata 3 and 5 where there is the big twist which feels so nice. Also I’ve been really trying hard to get the initial left hand motion followed by the right hand coming through. I think this is starting to get me the right shape provide I relax the shoulders. I still have to consciously think about it in every cut though.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

We started off with Tandoku as usual today, my Kia’s are still changing. Today I was focusing on doing more prolonged kiai’s to bring them a little closer to sensei’s. Still need to develop much more power in them though.

After this we paired off to do Sotei (paired forms). We worked on Tai atari first up. Doing this in paired form after watching Sensei I really got a feel for how it is really a strong ‘flick’ up to above a persons head which throws them off balance. If you try to do it slow with the flick it doesn’t work all that well and it’s harder.

Next we worked on to Tai hazuchi uchi. The striking of the sword in this is where I learnt the most, or maybe better said remembered the most. In hikiotoshi I remember being told to imagine striking at your opponent but just follow through and this will strike the sword. So don’t think of hitting the sword. Applying this to Tai hazuchi uchi helped tremendously.

Iaido

After warmups we had a few minutes cutting practice where I listened in to what sensei was instructing one of the senior students. He was indicating more of a throwing out of the left hand first followed quickly by the right hand coming through over the top. This gets the cut happening up high. It works much better thinking about it like this I feel. But it’s hard to remember to always try to have that feeling. Just gotta retrain my body again.

The rest of the day was kata but apparently I have a tendency to crouch a lot more than I should. I enjoy the low position because it feels like I have a lot of strength to move out of that position. I’ll have to try being taller as suggested by sempai. Just another thing to try :D.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

Going through the kihon at the beginning of practice I was quite surprised at the sound of my Kiai’s which were (to me) much different to usual. Much stronger/clearer and closer to replicating the sounds of my teacher (albeit a very long way off that). Must be a progression on from last week.

We moved through kihon quite rapidly, I think maybe I just need to practice more on my own so I’ll be comfortable at that pace. After this we did the sotei of Hikiotoshi. It’s amazing how little I am aware of my technique. Consistently I was not side on enough and I had no idea. Which reminds of another point in kihon in which I was dropping my body weight too much in dobarai and hikiotoshi.

We spent some time working through katas 1-3 rotating partners and each training a little with sensei. We were enlightened a bit with the footwork on the sword side of kata 2. Also some movements were corrected in regards to having the body more square on.

To finish with one of the senior students taught me kata 4. An interesting one which has a unusual movement to kaeshi zuki and a neat method of putting away the jo.

Iaido

Today was a little christmas special where we were taught Tamiya Ryu’s first kata. It is similar to Seitei’s first kata except it is rising and the opponent is off to the right a bit. There are probably a thousand other differences but there is no point me going into it. It did kind of re-emphasis the need to focus on the basics though. Sensei pointed out the my cuts are still a bit weird with me now raising the sword up just before cutting which is throwing everything out. It’s scary how hard it is for me to perceive the feeling of this motion. It must be something that I have developed when I took out the too tight grip I had. Now my arms are still used to that grip and hence forcing everything up as I begin.

Practice practice practice. Enough said.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

We spent awhile working through various tandoku this week focusing on a few points in each technique. I think I’m at a stage where I just need to start practicing them over and over and over and over. I was a little surprised by my kiai’s when we started out. They were longer like we had talked about last week. Either I haven’t quite got the hang of it or I have a bit of a cold (which I suspect) as I now have some what of a sore throat.

Sensei again emphasised that most of the techniques involve the grip being mostly from the three fingers closest to the pinky. Most people wouldn’t consider a strong grip to be with that part of the hand but there is probably some reason to it.

After this we went onto kata which thankfully my memory was holding together a bit better. I’m starting to really enjoy the kiaing on all the strikes during kata. It just feels a certain way, not sure if it’s strength, purpose or exertion but something feels good.

Iaido

After the warmups which focused particularly on getting good position with the sword and in particular some notes on keeping a very light grip especially on turns we moved on to working on kata 3.

This one was clarified recently, now we are focusing on making the glancing parry come more so from the movement of the body rather than the arm. We try to keep the arm over the right shoulder during the parry and set up for the retaliating cut.

I find this kata really hard, it doesn’t feel smooth at all to me (probably because it’s not smooth for me) :).

Afterwards we had some free practice in which I focused on trying to ingrain kata 9(I think) into my system.

Free practice seems to be a rather common practice of our Iaido sessions. I wonder if there is any reason for it being so.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

I’ve found an interesting little warmup exercise I like to do in the morning for jodo. Basically I crouch low so I’m just on my toes. From here I go through the techniques that don’t require any real twisting of the body. Techniques kaeshi zuki and tai hazuchi uchi are somewhat difficult to maintain your balance so it requires you to be careful with your technique. It stops me from throwing my arms into any of the engarde positions. From example, the horizontal position in kaeshi zuki I have a habit of putting too much into the downward motion and so I have less control. Doing it in the crouching position means that if I do this I’ll fall over. With all this though you still need to practice the standing moving forms otherwise you’ll forget the appropriate footwork feeling. Another benefit of the practice is that it helps you focus on the low center of body.

We did a lot of Sotei (paired form practice) today. It’s very interesting judging how far a weapon is from you when you are only watching the partner. Should help for visualising distance to an opponent in Iaido.

After this we were onto kata practice for the rest of the session. I was surprised when I couldn’t remember the sword side footwork/timing. Atleast I was moving too early and not too late ;D.

We had to focus on kiaing today, it’s good practice for me as I generally have a rather quiet voice. Came in handy at work the other day too when I had to kick some kids out of the store.

Iaido

We spent a lot of time on the basic techniques today which I certainly have no issue with. I think my overhead cuts have improved a lot in the last few weeks even though they still have a long way to go. We were trying to take out the pause above the head before the strike.

We also spent awhile on opening and closing reiho in which I clarified a few points in my mind. After which we did free training where I focused on kata 3 and 5. I have trouble with 3, but I think it will feel awesome when I get the hang of it. I particularly enjoy the noto as it feels so free and smooth.

It’s amazing how important it is to try and get in the zone of the kata pretending it is a real situation. It makes soo much of a difference to how the kata feels and I get a lot more out of it this way.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

I was doing tandoku commands today. Luckily I can still remember them even though I haven’t practiced them for awhile. After this we did sotei for kaeshi zuki and gyakute zuki which was interesting. Strangely enough I feel a lot more comfortable with a jo than a sword, don’t know why. We finished with kata practice. My main issue seems to be bringing forth my spirit and making myself look more intimidating, which I really can’t figure out how to achieve.

Iaido

After warmups we went onto kata one (Mae). Today my noto seemed to click somewhat allowing me to more quickly sheath the sword but still appear smooth. I have to be careful not to get sloppy and just insert the sword. I will have to practice it really slow to make sure I retain the jo-ha-kyu element. Then it was free training time so I worked through the katas 1,2,4,5,6 which I would be doing for the victorian championship later in the afternoon. I have trouble getting into tatehiza, it stills feels rather clumsy.

Then it was home to eat and drink before the championship.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

We had quite a few here this week and training proceeded with kihon followed by katas. I think I’ve finally got the sword side footwork right for kata 3. Now I can stop being concerned with that and fix up my head/posture so I can project more zanshin. Also in kata 2 on the jo side, I need to refine the right feeling for getting out of the way of the cut and then striking. I need to be slightly lowered and more centered.

Iaido

I spent a bit of time at the start trying to improve my cuts. Trying to make sure I cut out forwards as much as I can before letting the sword come down. I need to focus on pushing the right hand forward as one of the first movements, otherwise I’ll end up raising the sword which is not what I want.

Afterwards we did kata 4 and 7. Kata 4 is in tatehiza which I still find really painful. I’m going to have to practice sitting in that position at home at some stage. Kata 7 is rather neat but it’s a little confusing with the direction changes, going to take a bit to get used to the footwork. I was surprised that when turning to cut the 2nd opponent their is no step towards them. I’ll have to ask why that is in a week or two.

In all my katas I have to work on getting the flow going and not having either of my hands resting unnecessarily. In particular I tend to bring my right hand up over my head fully before my left hand starts moving towards it. The tendency when trying to speed it up is to start cutting before grabbing the sword which looks terrible. So I’ll have to retrain my body slow on that stuff.

Also I got a zekken with my name neatly in katakana. We have a pilot victorian championship next week so that will be interesting to see. I think there is going to be a naginata demonstration too which I expect I will enjoy.

This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

Jodo

Sotei (paired technique) was interesting. It is good for distancing practice to be on the receiving end of the strikes and for attacking you get a gauge as to how well you are doing. When receiving you also get a really good look at the other persons technique so you can pick up when something looks a little odd.

The only serious issue I had today was my bowing was all out of whack, maybe I’m too sore from long work hours yesterday, I was quite out of alignment.

Iaido

Here I was really focusing on getting some Jo-Ha-Kyu in and I was actually quite happy with how it felt. Unfortunately I noticed that I’m not quite ready for the pace that feels correct. The necessary muscles are not developed enough so the strikes are losing their shape and becoming unwieldy. Which means I am going to have to go back a step to big movements and take all of the strength component out (except for in strength training). While doing this I have to work on keeping my grip really loose and with just the lower fingers. My grip hasn’t been very good up till now.