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.