Last night's class went well. We are still taking a break from Rokushakubo, focusing on basic taijutsu while wearing yoroi (armor). We bowed in and did our usual warm up rolling segment. Then, I grabbed my padded hanbo and had them stand in a line. Each person had to stand in front of me in shizen no kamae (natural stance). I would make a slow, horizontal swing with the hanbo at shoulder level and they had to do a vertical drop to a prone position and spring back up into shizen no kamae again. Then, I would swing at their shoulders again in a backhand manner, so as to train from right and left swings.
This was done slowly and smoothly at first. Then, as the line progressed through, I did the same two swings at hip level. After that cycle of guys went through, I moved the swings back to shoulder level, but at full speed. Finally, I ended with a round of full speed, hip level swings.
At first, most of them were jumpy and some got smacked. But, in time, they relaxed more and more, finding that when they relaxed, they had good reaction time and were able to drop below each swing - even the hip level, full speed ones! This was an important lesson in 'letting go' and in the 'shizen', or naturalness, of their movements. I was standing at striking distance, poised to swing each time. I would wait until I saw their body and energy 'settle', then snap the strike out. So, it was quite a sudden and challenging thing to avoid if they were focused on my technique. They had to really let go and just 'feel' when the strike was going to happen. Some dropped even before I swung! I laughed and made reference to how many folks we've seen on video doing that in Soke's Godan test, where they sit before Soke and he does a downward swing with a padded sword from behind!
I explained how this exercise is the first step in understanding the Sakki, or Godan, test - even though I am not qualified to administer such a test. But, many of the same things are involved in being able to 'receive' this type of test - letting go, not thinking, no technique, trust the feeling, etc. It was a good practice drill.
Next, I taught the three Koshi Sanpo Kata from our Kihon Happo Waza. The first, Ichimonji no Kata, involves a response to a head strike where you evade and block to the outside, then finish with an Omote Shuto (half open fist from outside the frame of the body - similar to a judo chop). I explained how, in training, you make large movements to understand and develop the little things within those movements. But, in Shinken (real fighting), the timing and movements become blurred. The 'step 1, step 2 and step 3' approach disappears and the whole thing becomes 'step 1'. I showed this using a strategy of "Dominating the Kukan (space)", where you aren't just moving into the opponent's space - you are dominating it to such a degree the opponent is left helpless and vulnerable. Plus, to tie in current themes, you are doing this while both of you are armored.
So, using this domination strategy, I changed the technical aspects of the original kata to make it seem more of a forward moving, offensive response. However, in looking at it more closely, it became clear to them I was still moving away and blocking, but the shift between moving away and moving into their center space for the Omote Shuto was so blurred that it appeared to be completely forward movement. Even the Omote Shuto was delivered from the center of my chest, instead of the high posture of the hand up by the forehead or temple. I just 'fired' it from it's natural position. Needless to say, the opponent was locked backwards on his heels, couldn't step back to regain balance, and fell away from being hit by my shuto while in this vulnerable position.
Then I showed a variation or expansion of this technique by using a shinai practice sword against a sword wielding opponent. We both started in Seigan no Kamae, but I pulled my right foot back to be in a reverse kamae. My partner brought his sword up over his head in Daijodan no Kamae, then swung down at my head in Tenchi Giri (downward cut). I moved in under his strike with my right step, bringing my sword up in a cross block, but used my forearms to block his forearms (similar to a Kosei no Kamae posture). Then, while still holding the weight of his strike, shifted my left foot in a kind of aruki cross step past his right foot. I 'let go' of the weight of his body by twisting out of the aruki cross step posture, placing my left elbow against his right shoulder and bringing my sword around behind his neck to cut the cervical spine (under the back plate of the helmet). This involved using precise body placement to enable me to 'feel' the actions of my partner and dominate the available spaces, leaving him vulnerable and dependent on my position for his balance. Once I took that away by twisting out of the cross step, he fell forward and was easily cut.
They liked this technique very much and spent considerable time with it.
Next, we explored the Jumonji no Kata and Hicho no Kata techniques, using the same concepts of timing and domination. Each time, the attacker felt as if I was directly coming into him, but again I was moving away and into the center space in such a way that the shift away was hidden.
This was a good class overall. We ended the night playing with some defenses against a double leg takedown, where the attacker goes in for the waist, then slides their 'hug' down to the knees. Once they compress the knees together, the toppling is easy. I showed defense ideas at every stage, from entry, to waist grab to knee compression. Then, I showed ideas from the conventional mount position, side mount position and so on - demonstrating the sport technique vs the real combat technique. This was not a class in BJJ or MMA grappling, but rather an exploration in how these things would happen in real combat and what considerations are there when there are no rules to what you or the attacker can do.
We bowed out to each other, then left satisfied another good night of training was achieved.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Class Recap...
Last night's class was great. I decided we'd give the Rokushakubo stuff a rest for a couple weeks and just look at taijutsu. So, I spent the first part of the night touching on the Sanshin no Kata movement forms and how wearing armor affects how you move. Things like upright posture, keeping the shoulders back (centered over the hips), not over extending yourself, keeping the feet closer together (yet wide enough to provide a balanced base), use of the knees to roll the motions instead of start and stop actions, how the weight of armor will pull and plant your position if not moving properly and so on.
Next, I covered the unique dynamics of the Jodan and Gedan Uke blocking actions. The armored kote (armor worn on the forearm and back of hand) provides the striking surface for powerful blocks, usually done in an upward motion from Kosei no Kamae or in a downward motion by dropping the weight and bending the knees deeply. The arms don't fuel the action, the body does. This is due to the taxing effect of the weight of armor on the arms and shoulders.
Next, we looked at some basic kata, starting with some variations of Seion from Kukishinden Ryu. This is a basic takedown, shown in the densho as starting from the Kumi Uchi grappling posture. I showed it as a technique versus a two punch combination. Then, I followed it with a counter technique, which the students enjoyed very much.
I showed a few more techniques in this fashion, with the base form first then a counter technique. My guys like learning the base form, then exploiting all the holes in it. The point was clear that every technique has holes and knowing where they are makes the technique efficient and adapting.
For some new excitement, I brought a couple of padded soft hanbo and we played a bit with some randori (controlled sparring). It was fun to watch how quickly things like kamae, control of space, striking technique and such all broke down once the action was on. I found that most were afraid of really hitting their partner and, at the same time, afraid of the vulnerability that comes with opening up the posture to make 'realistic' swings with the hanbo. So, at many points the exchange became a game of light, jerky jabs and lots of reaching. But, soon it took on more realistic aspects as they started to take larger movements to simulate real intent, but with controlled speed. Unfortunately, one of my guys lost balance and did a side roll to recover, but broke the hanbo in the process. So much for that! I'll be reconstructing it over the weekend.
We ended the class with a few more basic techniques versus a two and three punch attack, with a counter technique thrown in each time. Eventually, we were all tired and ready to end class. So, with a satisfied bow to each other and a "domo arigato gozaimasu", we ended the evening and went home.
I like it when the guys walk away feeling like they've had their fair portion of budo training. It's like eating - too much and you feel bloated and miserable. Too little and you are unsatisfied and scrounging around later for snacks. Just enough and it just makes the evening 'just right'.
Next, I covered the unique dynamics of the Jodan and Gedan Uke blocking actions. The armored kote (armor worn on the forearm and back of hand) provides the striking surface for powerful blocks, usually done in an upward motion from Kosei no Kamae or in a downward motion by dropping the weight and bending the knees deeply. The arms don't fuel the action, the body does. This is due to the taxing effect of the weight of armor on the arms and shoulders.
Next, we looked at some basic kata, starting with some variations of Seion from Kukishinden Ryu. This is a basic takedown, shown in the densho as starting from the Kumi Uchi grappling posture. I showed it as a technique versus a two punch combination. Then, I followed it with a counter technique, which the students enjoyed very much.
I showed a few more techniques in this fashion, with the base form first then a counter technique. My guys like learning the base form, then exploiting all the holes in it. The point was clear that every technique has holes and knowing where they are makes the technique efficient and adapting.
For some new excitement, I brought a couple of padded soft hanbo and we played a bit with some randori (controlled sparring). It was fun to watch how quickly things like kamae, control of space, striking technique and such all broke down once the action was on. I found that most were afraid of really hitting their partner and, at the same time, afraid of the vulnerability that comes with opening up the posture to make 'realistic' swings with the hanbo. So, at many points the exchange became a game of light, jerky jabs and lots of reaching. But, soon it took on more realistic aspects as they started to take larger movements to simulate real intent, but with controlled speed. Unfortunately, one of my guys lost balance and did a side roll to recover, but broke the hanbo in the process. So much for that! I'll be reconstructing it over the weekend.
We ended the class with a few more basic techniques versus a two and three punch attack, with a counter technique thrown in each time. Eventually, we were all tired and ready to end class. So, with a satisfied bow to each other and a "domo arigato gozaimasu", we ended the evening and went home.
I like it when the guys walk away feeling like they've had their fair portion of budo training. It's like eating - too much and you feel bloated and miserable. Too little and you are unsatisfied and scrounging around later for snacks. Just enough and it just makes the evening 'just right'.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Finding the Center
My class last night went very well. The problems that plagued my taijutsu last Saturday at Dale's seminar seemed to all but disappear and I felt strong in my movements. *sigh of relief*
We started class with our usual ukemi rolling to warm up the spine and body. Then, I had everybody practice Bofuri gata with their rokushakubo or jo. I walked around the room and did some fine tuning of each person's technique, mostly with footwork and letting the staff move with it's own energy. I also revisited the aruki cross stepping movements with them and eventually they were all moving about the room fairly freely, spinning their staves with greater ease.
From there, I showed a variation of a Bojutsu kata (can't recall the name at the moment). It starts with the attacker doing a mid-level draw and cut with the sword (iaijutsu). You move outside the attack to the forward left and into a posture called Jodan no Kamae, where the forward tip of the staff goes in the space between the attacker's sword wrist and handle. The rear of the bo (right side) is held horizontally up over the top of the head. Then, you step with the right foot, parrying their sword hand to the outside left, sliding your left hand up to their wrist and using your left forearm in a kind of 'lock' or leverage to control the sword. From there, you step with your right foot behind their forward right foot and drive your right hand and staff into their neck to topple them down. You end by stepping forward with your right leg to break or pin their extended sword arm.
This went fairly well. They quickly figured out the kata isn't so much about the technical movements as it is about controlling the space and the spine of the attacker, so that they become unable to withdraw their sword arm and/or step away to regain their posture. If done correctly, it doesn't require a 'grabbing' of the sword arm, but rather the control happens from the proper use of the Jodan no Kamae and keeping the space (also known as 'kukan') open.
I showed a more nasty variation. Instead of driving your right hand and staff into their upper body and head, you take it over the top of their head to place the rigid staff behind their neck. As they fall backwards, you follow their descent to drive your right forearm against their head. This forces the neck to break against the haft of the staff, which braces into the ground to create a kind of anvil effect on the attacker's neck. It's a very dangerous technique, so please don't try to do this without proper instruction and careful practice.
From there, I showed a small counter to this technique, just to make them aware of the holes that exist in it and how moving properly using the kukan space and kamae posture correctly prevents or reduces the counter.
Next, we looked at a counter against a grab and punch attack. You stand there, casually holding your staff in the right hand in a 'guard post' position (staff pointing upwards like a palace guard). The attacker approaches, grabs the staff with their left hand and does a right cross punch to your face. Without moving the staff, you step back 45 degrees to the right, blocking the punch with the left forearm and fist. From their, you shift into a neck strike with your extended left hand, then reach up to the tip of the staff. By using the attacker's own grabbing hand as the axis, you pull back with your left hand and push forward with your right, bringing the bottom of the staff up to strike the attacker in the groin. Then, you slide your left hand forward to grab their right hand, which is still on the staff, and step forward with your right leg in front of their extended left leg. This puts your body behind the elbow of their extended left arm, so that you can do an arm bar throw by simply twisting your body sharply or drop them with an arm bar leverage by kneeling down. Finish by bringing the staff back to center.
From there, we went into unarmed taijutsu against a two hand combination attack. This started with a taking of the first punching arm to the outside, then taking the center space when the attacker attempts the second cross punch. This taking of the center space was the key to the rest of the evening. As the space was taken, the technique called for a pulling down of the lead punch and lifting of the second punch (with the right forearm) so that the attacker's shoulders cross the line of the hips in a cross pattern. This made toppling the attacker backwards very simple, since the line of the shoulders pointed to the third point of their "Balance Triangle", or that point which is between the feet. When done in the right timing, the attacker is literally thrown by their own inertia and their center space taken.
This led to other techniques which involved very close fighting scenarios, where striking turns to grappling. We looked at how controlling the center space of the attacker nullifies much of their technique and how the timing of when to move out of that space creates the finish. The techniques themselves became less important than the space at the center of them. By taking and controlling this center space, dominance was achieved and the attacker easily defeated.
Lastly, we spent time looking at Sankakujime, the infamous "Triangle Choke" commonly known as the "Rear Naked Choke" in modern sport grappling. After some practice applying it from various approaches around our partner, I started showing defenses against this form of attack. The classic defenses show trying to defeat it after it is put on, but this is dangerous. If the attack is done correctly, the odds are with the person doing the choke. Stopping the blood flow to the brain only takes less than a minute to render someone unconscious. So, the defense needs to start happening as the technique is being applied. We looked at ways of using natural ukemi to feel and move with the intial actions of the setting of the choke and how getting out of the attacker's center space makes application of the choke difficult. We tried this while closing the eyes, so that the sensory skills could be used. Eventually, they were doing pretty well at moving out of the effective center space required for the attacker to get the choke hold on securely, even when done at more of a randori or realistic speed. This was a good exercise and it went very well.
This was a good class and I was complimented by the group as we bowed out for the evening. I like it when they compliment me, not to feed my own ego, but that I walk away really feeling as if I sparked a growth curve in each of them. Their growth is very important to me and knowing that the teaching I give them could mean the difference between life and death if any of them ever happen to end up in a violent situation gives me a real sense of responsibility. I am fortunate to have such quality people who look to me for that guidance. They are not looking to be entertained, so I know that compliments I receive from them are genuinely because they found something valuable from a real budo sense.
I needed to feel that again after my feelings of disappointment and frustration with my taijutsu at Dale's seminar. I needed to return and take possession of my own 'center', to regain control of myself and my budo.
I feel great now!
We started class with our usual ukemi rolling to warm up the spine and body. Then, I had everybody practice Bofuri gata with their rokushakubo or jo. I walked around the room and did some fine tuning of each person's technique, mostly with footwork and letting the staff move with it's own energy. I also revisited the aruki cross stepping movements with them and eventually they were all moving about the room fairly freely, spinning their staves with greater ease.
From there, I showed a variation of a Bojutsu kata (can't recall the name at the moment). It starts with the attacker doing a mid-level draw and cut with the sword (iaijutsu). You move outside the attack to the forward left and into a posture called Jodan no Kamae, where the forward tip of the staff goes in the space between the attacker's sword wrist and handle. The rear of the bo (right side) is held horizontally up over the top of the head. Then, you step with the right foot, parrying their sword hand to the outside left, sliding your left hand up to their wrist and using your left forearm in a kind of 'lock' or leverage to control the sword. From there, you step with your right foot behind their forward right foot and drive your right hand and staff into their neck to topple them down. You end by stepping forward with your right leg to break or pin their extended sword arm.
This went fairly well. They quickly figured out the kata isn't so much about the technical movements as it is about controlling the space and the spine of the attacker, so that they become unable to withdraw their sword arm and/or step away to regain their posture. If done correctly, it doesn't require a 'grabbing' of the sword arm, but rather the control happens from the proper use of the Jodan no Kamae and keeping the space (also known as 'kukan') open.
I showed a more nasty variation. Instead of driving your right hand and staff into their upper body and head, you take it over the top of their head to place the rigid staff behind their neck. As they fall backwards, you follow their descent to drive your right forearm against their head. This forces the neck to break against the haft of the staff, which braces into the ground to create a kind of anvil effect on the attacker's neck. It's a very dangerous technique, so please don't try to do this without proper instruction and careful practice.
From there, I showed a small counter to this technique, just to make them aware of the holes that exist in it and how moving properly using the kukan space and kamae posture correctly prevents or reduces the counter.
Next, we looked at a counter against a grab and punch attack. You stand there, casually holding your staff in the right hand in a 'guard post' position (staff pointing upwards like a palace guard). The attacker approaches, grabs the staff with their left hand and does a right cross punch to your face. Without moving the staff, you step back 45 degrees to the right, blocking the punch with the left forearm and fist. From their, you shift into a neck strike with your extended left hand, then reach up to the tip of the staff. By using the attacker's own grabbing hand as the axis, you pull back with your left hand and push forward with your right, bringing the bottom of the staff up to strike the attacker in the groin. Then, you slide your left hand forward to grab their right hand, which is still on the staff, and step forward with your right leg in front of their extended left leg. This puts your body behind the elbow of their extended left arm, so that you can do an arm bar throw by simply twisting your body sharply or drop them with an arm bar leverage by kneeling down. Finish by bringing the staff back to center.
From there, we went into unarmed taijutsu against a two hand combination attack. This started with a taking of the first punching arm to the outside, then taking the center space when the attacker attempts the second cross punch. This taking of the center space was the key to the rest of the evening. As the space was taken, the technique called for a pulling down of the lead punch and lifting of the second punch (with the right forearm) so that the attacker's shoulders cross the line of the hips in a cross pattern. This made toppling the attacker backwards very simple, since the line of the shoulders pointed to the third point of their "Balance Triangle", or that point which is between the feet. When done in the right timing, the attacker is literally thrown by their own inertia and their center space taken.
This led to other techniques which involved very close fighting scenarios, where striking turns to grappling. We looked at how controlling the center space of the attacker nullifies much of their technique and how the timing of when to move out of that space creates the finish. The techniques themselves became less important than the space at the center of them. By taking and controlling this center space, dominance was achieved and the attacker easily defeated.
Lastly, we spent time looking at Sankakujime, the infamous "Triangle Choke" commonly known as the "Rear Naked Choke" in modern sport grappling. After some practice applying it from various approaches around our partner, I started showing defenses against this form of attack. The classic defenses show trying to defeat it after it is put on, but this is dangerous. If the attack is done correctly, the odds are with the person doing the choke. Stopping the blood flow to the brain only takes less than a minute to render someone unconscious. So, the defense needs to start happening as the technique is being applied. We looked at ways of using natural ukemi to feel and move with the intial actions of the setting of the choke and how getting out of the attacker's center space makes application of the choke difficult. We tried this while closing the eyes, so that the sensory skills could be used. Eventually, they were doing pretty well at moving out of the effective center space required for the attacker to get the choke hold on securely, even when done at more of a randori or realistic speed. This was a good exercise and it went very well.
This was a good class and I was complimented by the group as we bowed out for the evening. I like it when they compliment me, not to feed my own ego, but that I walk away really feeling as if I sparked a growth curve in each of them. Their growth is very important to me and knowing that the teaching I give them could mean the difference between life and death if any of them ever happen to end up in a violent situation gives me a real sense of responsibility. I am fortunate to have such quality people who look to me for that guidance. They are not looking to be entertained, so I know that compliments I receive from them are genuinely because they found something valuable from a real budo sense.
I needed to feel that again after my feelings of disappointment and frustration with my taijutsu at Dale's seminar. I needed to return and take possession of my own 'center', to regain control of myself and my budo.
I feel great now!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Friendship, pain, sweat, frustration - happiness!
Wow, what a week...
To start off with, my Intel class last Tuesday was incredible. One of my shodans, Andrew, invited us to an after training get-together at his house, which is right across the boulevard from Intel. I ended up running a little late getting to class, due to heavy traffic, but phoned another of my shodans to start without me. When I got there, only 4 of us were in attendance and they were rolling around and practicing basics. We quickly bowed in and started warming up with our 5' jo staves, doing the bofuri gata. As I was practicing, I started doing aruki cross stepping in time with the flowing movements of the jo and this sparked interest in the others. So, I spent some time showing a step by step synchronization of movements between forward and backward cross step motions and the motions of the jo staff, so that even in the crossed step 'half point', they still had strike or block kamae positioning. This led into using the aruki to make subtle range changes while using the tip of the jo to keep the uke distracted and using this aruki method to allow for multiple strikes, thrusting in the half step of the crossed legs kamae.
From there, we explored similar concepts with the bokken, or wooden training sword, just to show continuity. Then, we looked at unarmed striking concepts using the same strategy.
Lastly, we played with some yoroi jujutsu, or grappling in armor. This was in preparation to the upcoming Dale Seago seminar on Saturday.
We decided to end class 30 minutes early and head over to Andrew's house for our 'get together'. We arrived and I was impressed and surprised with everything Andrew had prepared! I was expecting to just hang out and chat for a bit, maybe have a beer or something. But, he had a prepared sushi platter, fresh salmon steak, bread (for the salmon), Corona beers, tea and even some ice cream Bon-Bons for dessert! We ate, drank and had a great time chatting about everything from training, gadgets, hiking, and all sorts of topics. Afterward, Andrew treated us to a slideshow on his laptop computer, giving an excellent photo tour of a mountain climbing expedition he did in South America!
What I came away with was a reminder of just how important fellowship is to martial arts training. We have been training together for almost 5 years now and I can only think of a few times we've gotten together outside of the dojo to just hang out and enjoy each other's company. I sent an email to them the next day, thanking them for the evening and vowing to do more of these 'get togethers' from now on. They all agreed it's been too long and we need to do more of it.
When Saturday came, I got down to the Sacramento Bujinkan Dojo well ahead of Dale and most others. A black belt student there had keys so we were able to get in early and start setting up. I brought my SCA armor and trucked it in, which caused quite interest among those who were there early.
After starting the business end of the seminar, getting a roster of names going and collecting fees from people, Alex showed and so I had my 'hosting partner' to start the organizing of the itinerary (lunch schedule, payment details, etc). We got word that Dale was running late, but since he was coming from San Francisco, we expected the possibility of traffic and such. So, we spent the time chatting with everybody, making new friends and reacquainting ourselves with old ones.
Dale arrived, not much late, and we promptly began the seminar. Dale mentioned to me it would be good for me to wear my armor for the first part of the seminar, so I began lacing on the pieces as they bowed in and Dale talked about many things, including his adventured filming a documentary with the MythBusters TV show. I was happy the armor went on smoothly, especially since it had been over a year since I fought in it last. But, the leather strappings still fit and the metal plates weren't too rusty. The night before, I had put strips of duct tape along many of the edges and points. Getting cut with rusty metal would not be a good thing!
After all the armor was on, including my sircoat tunic, I walked out into the training area. The armor made it's usual clanging and creaking and it caused everybody to turn and look. I suspect they had never seen medieval armor live before, at least not at a Bujinkan seminar! Everybody was happy and excited to see it and it definitely added an energy level to the room.
I stood next to Dale and, as he demonstrated some basic Sanshin movements (from a Kukishinden armored 'feel'), I copied them so that the others could see how armor really does affect the posture and movements. It was a great visual demonstration and people later commented how seeing me really helped them understand what Dale was teaching.
We went on to do some basic kata and I practiced mostly in the air, being afraid of accidentally cutting someone with my armor plating - particularly on my elbows and knees. I spent some time with a judan and hachidan who were training together, so they could see the unique attributes armor added to the kata we were doing. They loved it!
Dale did some kata on me, doing Onikudaki and other nasties. I took the ukemi well and was able to fold into various falling positions as needed. He didn't throw me, but I know I could have taken that ukemi as well.
I had opportunity to train with some others in the room and it was very enlightening for them. However, the room was becoming very warm and humid, so my own heat level was getting very high. Eventually, I started removing parts of my armor, starting with my helmet, in between being Dale's uke and training with my partner. Eventually, though, I got out of the armor and put on my dogi. I was soaked completely in sweat and it didn't take long to soak through the dogi I put on, too!
The rest of the day went fast. We stopped for lunch about midway. I bought Dale's lunch and spent some quality time with him discussing all sorts of things. Then, we continued the seminar until well into the late afternoon (around 5pm).
Overall the seminar was excellent! Dale's teaching is always top notch and his technique is beautiful. I, on the other hand, suffered many setbacks and challenges. Once I became very hot from training in armor, I couldn't get myself to cool down. I sucked down bottles of water and took a few breaks, but would quickly get overheated again. I would go from being Dale's uke, where he would hit, twist and throw me fairly hard, then jump into training with my partner. I didn't have time to cool down like the others who were watching Dale demonstrate.
This really affected me pretty much most of the day, especially at the second half. I found myself losing many of the basics, like timing and flow. I was fortunate to train with a very experienced Bujinkan dan rank, who pointed out and helped me with all these areas. It was frustrating for me on many levels, mostly because these were things I normally don't struggle with and I could 'see' these things happening - even though it seemed I lacked the ability to fix them! So, I just kept going, kept adjusting to the suggestions given to me by my partner and tried to relax. Many times I felt incredibly dizzy and actually had to step away to get some fresh air to cool down. My patient training partner is also very skilled in Yoga and healing arts, so he spent some time with me working on my breathing and energy levels. This helped alot to keep me back on 'center'.
At the end of the day, I felt stupid and really disappointed with myself. Either I was just having a bad day, maybe my body was in a weak cycle, or I really am developing a weakness for over heating. At any rate, I found that being overheated affected me by robbing me of essential basics in my taijutsu - basics that I believe could get me killed. So, I am going to have to put a new focus on my training. I do not want to keep making myself overheat, because that is dangerous to my body. But, I do think I need to spend more time working on the subtle aspects to my basics, to drill them into my body deeper and deeper. That way, when I am under such conditions, they are rooted farther into my subconscious body mechanics and will be there when I need them.
If I learned anything this entire last week, I can sum it up in two things:
1. The importance of fellowship among buyu
2. The importance of kihon, or foundation, in training
Yet, these are things I've already known. But, I suppose the cycle needs repeating, needs reminding. It takes good training opportunities and good training friends to 'remind' us!
Now I look forward to my Intel class on Tuesday!
To start off with, my Intel class last Tuesday was incredible. One of my shodans, Andrew, invited us to an after training get-together at his house, which is right across the boulevard from Intel. I ended up running a little late getting to class, due to heavy traffic, but phoned another of my shodans to start without me. When I got there, only 4 of us were in attendance and they were rolling around and practicing basics. We quickly bowed in and started warming up with our 5' jo staves, doing the bofuri gata. As I was practicing, I started doing aruki cross stepping in time with the flowing movements of the jo and this sparked interest in the others. So, I spent some time showing a step by step synchronization of movements between forward and backward cross step motions and the motions of the jo staff, so that even in the crossed step 'half point', they still had strike or block kamae positioning. This led into using the aruki to make subtle range changes while using the tip of the jo to keep the uke distracted and using this aruki method to allow for multiple strikes, thrusting in the half step of the crossed legs kamae.
From there, we explored similar concepts with the bokken, or wooden training sword, just to show continuity. Then, we looked at unarmed striking concepts using the same strategy.
Lastly, we played with some yoroi jujutsu, or grappling in armor. This was in preparation to the upcoming Dale Seago seminar on Saturday.
We decided to end class 30 minutes early and head over to Andrew's house for our 'get together'. We arrived and I was impressed and surprised with everything Andrew had prepared! I was expecting to just hang out and chat for a bit, maybe have a beer or something. But, he had a prepared sushi platter, fresh salmon steak, bread (for the salmon), Corona beers, tea and even some ice cream Bon-Bons for dessert! We ate, drank and had a great time chatting about everything from training, gadgets, hiking, and all sorts of topics. Afterward, Andrew treated us to a slideshow on his laptop computer, giving an excellent photo tour of a mountain climbing expedition he did in South America!
What I came away with was a reminder of just how important fellowship is to martial arts training. We have been training together for almost 5 years now and I can only think of a few times we've gotten together outside of the dojo to just hang out and enjoy each other's company. I sent an email to them the next day, thanking them for the evening and vowing to do more of these 'get togethers' from now on. They all agreed it's been too long and we need to do more of it.
When Saturday came, I got down to the Sacramento Bujinkan Dojo well ahead of Dale and most others. A black belt student there had keys so we were able to get in early and start setting up. I brought my SCA armor and trucked it in, which caused quite interest among those who were there early.
After starting the business end of the seminar, getting a roster of names going and collecting fees from people, Alex showed and so I had my 'hosting partner' to start the organizing of the itinerary (lunch schedule, payment details, etc). We got word that Dale was running late, but since he was coming from San Francisco, we expected the possibility of traffic and such. So, we spent the time chatting with everybody, making new friends and reacquainting ourselves with old ones.
Dale arrived, not much late, and we promptly began the seminar. Dale mentioned to me it would be good for me to wear my armor for the first part of the seminar, so I began lacing on the pieces as they bowed in and Dale talked about many things, including his adventured filming a documentary with the MythBusters TV show. I was happy the armor went on smoothly, especially since it had been over a year since I fought in it last. But, the leather strappings still fit and the metal plates weren't too rusty. The night before, I had put strips of duct tape along many of the edges and points. Getting cut with rusty metal would not be a good thing!
After all the armor was on, including my sircoat tunic, I walked out into the training area. The armor made it's usual clanging and creaking and it caused everybody to turn and look. I suspect they had never seen medieval armor live before, at least not at a Bujinkan seminar! Everybody was happy and excited to see it and it definitely added an energy level to the room.
I stood next to Dale and, as he demonstrated some basic Sanshin movements (from a Kukishinden armored 'feel'), I copied them so that the others could see how armor really does affect the posture and movements. It was a great visual demonstration and people later commented how seeing me really helped them understand what Dale was teaching.
We went on to do some basic kata and I practiced mostly in the air, being afraid of accidentally cutting someone with my armor plating - particularly on my elbows and knees. I spent some time with a judan and hachidan who were training together, so they could see the unique attributes armor added to the kata we were doing. They loved it!
Dale did some kata on me, doing Onikudaki and other nasties. I took the ukemi well and was able to fold into various falling positions as needed. He didn't throw me, but I know I could have taken that ukemi as well.
I had opportunity to train with some others in the room and it was very enlightening for them. However, the room was becoming very warm and humid, so my own heat level was getting very high. Eventually, I started removing parts of my armor, starting with my helmet, in between being Dale's uke and training with my partner. Eventually, though, I got out of the armor and put on my dogi. I was soaked completely in sweat and it didn't take long to soak through the dogi I put on, too!
The rest of the day went fast. We stopped for lunch about midway. I bought Dale's lunch and spent some quality time with him discussing all sorts of things. Then, we continued the seminar until well into the late afternoon (around 5pm).
Overall the seminar was excellent! Dale's teaching is always top notch and his technique is beautiful. I, on the other hand, suffered many setbacks and challenges. Once I became very hot from training in armor, I couldn't get myself to cool down. I sucked down bottles of water and took a few breaks, but would quickly get overheated again. I would go from being Dale's uke, where he would hit, twist and throw me fairly hard, then jump into training with my partner. I didn't have time to cool down like the others who were watching Dale demonstrate.
This really affected me pretty much most of the day, especially at the second half. I found myself losing many of the basics, like timing and flow. I was fortunate to train with a very experienced Bujinkan dan rank, who pointed out and helped me with all these areas. It was frustrating for me on many levels, mostly because these were things I normally don't struggle with and I could 'see' these things happening - even though it seemed I lacked the ability to fix them! So, I just kept going, kept adjusting to the suggestions given to me by my partner and tried to relax. Many times I felt incredibly dizzy and actually had to step away to get some fresh air to cool down. My patient training partner is also very skilled in Yoga and healing arts, so he spent some time with me working on my breathing and energy levels. This helped alot to keep me back on 'center'.
At the end of the day, I felt stupid and really disappointed with myself. Either I was just having a bad day, maybe my body was in a weak cycle, or I really am developing a weakness for over heating. At any rate, I found that being overheated affected me by robbing me of essential basics in my taijutsu - basics that I believe could get me killed. So, I am going to have to put a new focus on my training. I do not want to keep making myself overheat, because that is dangerous to my body. But, I do think I need to spend more time working on the subtle aspects to my basics, to drill them into my body deeper and deeper. That way, when I am under such conditions, they are rooted farther into my subconscious body mechanics and will be there when I need them.
If I learned anything this entire last week, I can sum it up in two things:
1. The importance of fellowship among buyu
2. The importance of kihon, or foundation, in training
Yet, these are things I've already known. But, I suppose the cycle needs repeating, needs reminding. It takes good training opportunities and good training friends to 'remind' us!
Now I look forward to my Intel class on Tuesday!
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