Oh, what a weekend...

Well, Saturday was a blast! I attended Alex's bojutsu class and was happy to see both Johns from my Intel class! One John is a shodan and the other is an Ikkyu, who is also a regular at that dojo, as well. Alex was pleased to have us there and the energy was high among the participants.

We started a bit late, so we bypassed the usual warm ups. We did some light kihon training, using some Sanshin no Kata and some Gyaku wrist reversal techniques with our partners to loosen up our bodies and get ourselves into a training mode.

Then, on to the Rokushakubo 6' staff...

We started with a quick review of the 9 Kamae (postures), but didn't spend much time with them. This is in part because I was told this year Soke had someone demonstrate each one, then said "ok, now forget them". Soke had said that we need to move away from Kamae as postures and just look at them as guides to movement, which is something he had said many times before. But, coming off the heels of last year's theme of Shindenfudo Ryu, where there are no official Kamae (except for standing and sitting in natural positions), this doesn't surprise me.

Next, we went through the basic strikes with the bo and their corresponding targets. What Alex emphasized was the use of the whole body, in particular the legs, when moving the bo. This is important, since the tendancy is to want to swing the bo like a stick to hit a target. This will wear out the arms quickly and cause many holes in the Kamae, which provide the balance, power and protection on the battlefield (the real lesson behind the Kamae!).

From there, we drilled the evading movements of the Ukemi Gata overhead parry/block, then against an overhead bo strike from our partner. I was very happy with the movement of both my guys, since I just showed all this last Tuesday in our class. The things I pointed out in that class became even more clear as Alex mirrored the same things in his teachings. Alex said there are actually many more kata contained within the Kihon Gata (18 I think), but we weren't going to cover them at this time.

From there, we got into the 'good stuff'. Alex explained the Shoden, Chuden and Okuden breakdown of kata as having 9 techniques each. These 9 are actually 3 levels of 3 techniques, but I can't remember the names of each level he labeled them as. I am terrible at memorizing names and such!

He demonstrated the first kata from the Shoden level (Goho, I think). He broke it down, as Alex always does, into 'steps' of layered movements. He explained how the first level of kata has to do with an attitude of 'checking' your attacker, or stopping their ability to attack. For instance, the timing of the first kata is to create a perceived opening to draw their attack, then hitting them as they begin the attack - not after the attack is launched. For instance, in one kata, you do an Ashi Barai (leg strike), then pull back into a 'passive guard' kind of posture. The attacker blocks the low strike, then raises their sword into Daijodan no Kamae and attempts to pursue you as you move back. But, as they lung forward, raising their sword over their head, you 'flip' the jo around into a downward strike on top of their head or their hands (or you can bring the tip to their face as a spear like movement). This, in essence, stops their attack and 'checks' them.

There were many other wonderful kata, but I won't describe them here. There are some things you just have to be there to experience firsthand.

Alex's classes are always very enjoyable to me. His teaching style is very technical and, as he is an avid note taker himself, his teaching style appeals to those who are interested in exact names and densho kata. He points out regularly that whatever he is teaching or a particular aspect is what he learned from teachers like Someya Sensei in Japan or Luke Molitor here in the US, or even from Soke's classes. His head is filled with all sorts of knowledge picked up from training with these sources and he doesn't spare any sharing of that knowledge. I always feel like I am getting a snapshot view of Alex's own learning, a kind of 'laying out' of all the different things he has picked up from those he trained with. I like this because I can pick out tidbits I find interesting, whether to share or expound upon with my class, or to just file away for my own understanding. It creates a nice balance for my Intel guys when they also participate in his classes, since I am also a stickler for knowledge.

However, I have always been the kind of person who doesn't 'color within the lines' or do things exactly as written. I've always been one to step out a bit and play with my own interpretations and sparks of interest, instead of sticking to the directions. Sometimes I get my fingers burned, but mostly I find that I learn better that way and discover much more in the process. I also teach this way. So, where we have densho kata that describe certain techniques in certain ways, I am one to take a piece of it and run with it, playing with many different interpretations. I guess for me my focus is always on taijutsu fundamentals like balance, posture, efficiency, and so on - regardless of what kata is being explored. This is why I am terrible at memorizing, but I have been complimented on my taijutsu - and my ability to 'get it' when shown a kata. I guess we all have our own unique way of learning and teaching. In addition, I think this is why it's important to get out and train with different teachers, because none of us truly has 'the way' to learning and sharing this art. Being exposed to as many different flavors of Soke's budo through these different people can only help add more richness and depth to each of our own understanding.

So, where Alex may be different than I, we are really the same. Two sides of the same coin, you could say. But, I'll be the first to admit that he definitely has a better knowledge of the material properties of that coin! Apparently, I'm good at spending it wisely and not so good at knowing what it's made of! :-)

After Alex finished, Judan Joel arrived to do a bit of teaching. He was happy to see us there and jumped right in to some demonstrations. He did some unarmed techniques against punches to show use of space, balance and angling in dominating and toppling the attacker. He explained how armor would affect these techniques, then taught how a knife could be applied in the spaces created.

Next, we looked at similar concepts in 'stealing the sword' of your attacker, as they threw a right punch at you. Ikkyu John and I were training together and I started adding some other elements like pulling the sword away to protect it from John's grab, or using my right hand to cover the sword while punching with the left (surprise!). Joel liked that very much and demonstrated the idea to the group, as another level to what he showed.

That little training session was very enjoyable and it was refreshing to train with Joel again. It had been a long time since we trained together and, after the class was over, we spent considerable time 'catching up' with some friendly chat. He had alot of things to say about my Japan trip and suggested that he may be going around the same time. He offered to take me on a bit of touring to see some great sites he had visited on previous trips, including a boat ride, visits to shrines, his favorite market place and so on. I accepted the offer and am looking forward to his sharing if he happens to be there when I'm there!

One thing I noted with my guys that I will be taking to the next class tomorrow night at Intel is the importance of legs and kamae. I'm not talking (or writing!) about kamae as in the 9 postures, but more about proper alignment and position of the parts of the body during the various bojutsu movements. I was concerned with the lack of proficiency in some of the people in how they aligned their feet, knees, hips, shoulders, spine and head during the various kata and drills. It was interesting how the classic "L" shape of feet and knee alignment disappeared! In addition, the upper body often was flat instead of having the shoulders over the hips in the classic 'bladed' posture. This was something that was exposed greatly with the bojutsu training, so it seems this will be my focal point with my guys during the next several weeks of bojutsu training in our class. If these bo staves were the actual Kukishinden Ryu bo, which are much larger and heavier for crashing through armored opponents, these little things would prove critical. So, I have to devote my attention to drilling proper basics in regards to these areas immediately!

Always so much to do...

On a non-budo subject, the weather on Sunday was sunny and warm. This was a nice welcome after the heavy rains we experienced for the last 3 days. So, we spent the entire day working outside. I trimmed trees, broke down limbs and deposited them into the 2 "Green waste" cans I have and made a nice pile in the corner of the yard to put into the cans after the County guys come around and empty them for us.

In addition, I also did a considerable amount of domestic duties that needed doing for some time.

Needless to say, after training hard on Saturday and all the physical labor on Sunday, all my muscles are sore and well taxed. In fact, as I sit here typing away on this blog, I can feel my fingers complaining and the tingling on the skin of my hand from countless hours of using the long tree trimming pole and limb snips...

But, now I'm looking forward to more bojutsu training in my Tuesday Intel class!

Until next time...