Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday’s class went well. We worked on the jo. I’m still not sure if I really like the jo or not. Part of it is because it is new to me, but part of it is just because some of the movements feel quite awkward. I used the jo a little bit in my old style, but the jo was held and used differently, which could be why I am feeling uncomfortable. I am guessing I will get more comfortable with it as I go, but as of now, it is more of an enemy then a friend.

Yesterday my husband and I received our new bokken’s with a saya. They are pretty nice. They are wrapped and the saya is held on by a magnet, so it makes it more realistic. They will just have to do for a while until my husband and I can afford $1,000 to spend on our iaito’s. I am guessing we will spend about $500-$600 for each of ours. My husband got to use his new bokken last night, but I was unable to use mine. Mine was received with the tsuba loose. I am guessing it got damaged in shipment, but I am not sure. We are going to try to fix it with wood glue and if that doesn’t work, then we are going to call and see about a return/exchange for mine. They are a lot lighter then the ones we have been using and it will be different to actually use a saya instead of pretending.

Last night in iaido we worked on iwanami, ukifune gaeshi, noarashi gaeshi and utsusemi. My technique is still horrendous, but I am at least remembering the moves now. At the end, we did batto a few times. Over all, I think the class went well. At the end I asked sensei for a list of the names of the kata that we do. I am hoping that this will help me learn and remember the names and kata better. I also asked him about my sore shoulder and told him that I figured out it was from doing chiburi. He helped me figure out what I needed to do to fix that problem.

Aikido class went alright yesterday as well. We worked on irimi nage and shihonage from ai hanmi and gyaku hanmi katatedori and we closed the class with kokyu ho. I got to work with sensei a bit, which was nice. He always has a bunch of things to tell me to fix. I try my best to do them all, but I often forget. :O)

A few things I need to fix:
1.) Stay up on my toes (increases ability to move when I’m uke)
2.) Remain close to uke when doing irimi nage (can’t throw a bigger person if you can’t use your body)
3.) Work on remaining upright in my movements
4.) Don’t step back when bringing uke down in shihonage. Bring him straight to the mat.
5.) Lead with my chest on noto
6.) Be completely upright after the draw in batto

Pains/ Injuries:
1.) NONE! WHOOHOO!