Did some work with swords today. Worked on a regular Shomen strike across the mat one way and then back. After you swing you pull it back in a "water shed" motion to the side of your body opposite your stepping foot and then continue the swing. An important pointer to remember with the sword is that you always hold it with your left hand on the bottom of the hilt and the right hand above the left. The swinging motion shouldn't be stiff, but rather relaxed as if casting a fishing line out. The tip of the sword is where your energy should flow from with each strike and the last 6 inches is what does the cutting. Never try to cut with the sword like a "butchers blade".
Then we did 8-directions (Happo No Undo) motion with the sword strikes which didn't take too long to get used to. It was the same motion as any other strike and if you just think of it as a Shomen barehand strike it's essentially the same. The only difference is to remember which way to draw the sword back so that you do not clash with the foot you are stepping forward with.
Worked on Randori with freestyle self defense today. I enjoy these because it is a nice benchmark test to see how you are coming along flowing naturally with strikes from an attacker. I enjoy the Randori's with a specific attack for that session but it's always more fun to have to read the attack and then react accordingly. There's not too much to say about these other than it's a great way to learn to stay relaxed in a stressful situation. I still need to work on moving more and allowing myself to stay calm and not tense up. I was very rigid and rather than blending with Uke's attacks I was fighting with their energy rather than working with it.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Multiple Attackers
Worked multiple attacker techniques. First one was wih two attackers coming at you from each side. Both Shomenuchi atacks. One counter is Shomenuchi Kotagaeshi and the second attacked was countered with Shomenati (blending the attacking hand while extending your outer arm as an "unbendable" arm along their throat (can be an atemi) and past their chin to the face causing them to fall back.
Second attack was with three people. This was a bit mroe difficult. I rtied engaging at all three attackers in different orders to see which ended up being the most comfortable. Attackign the first one to the left was the more natural method of defense for me. The right was the second most natural and the second best choice for me. The one i nthe middle I tried countering with a Shomenate but it did not work out too well the first time as I was too slow to engage the Uke. Ultimately, the objective was to counter one with Kotagaeshi, Sankyo and Shomenate.
The last technique was with two people holding on. First from a stationary position. You need ot feel for where their energy is going and find the weak seam in it to push your center against and twist them out of the grip and their balance. After breaking one persons grip, a Tenkan or turn towards your center could break their grip or help place them into a multitude of different grips.
Last up was a freestyle self-defense. Sensei called out several attacks and we reversed with whatever came naturally to us. I enjoy this one a lot because rather than thinking "I have to counter this with that" you do what comes natural and can judge a bit more accurately on how you are coming along. Great class today as usual!!
Second attack was with three people. This was a bit mroe difficult. I rtied engaging at all three attackers in different orders to see which ended up being the most comfortable. Attackign the first one to the left was the more natural method of defense for me. The right was the second most natural and the second best choice for me. The one i nthe middle I tried countering with a Shomenate but it did not work out too well the first time as I was too slow to engage the Uke. Ultimately, the objective was to counter one with Kotagaeshi, Sankyo and Shomenate.
The last technique was with two people holding on. First from a stationary position. You need ot feel for where their energy is going and find the weak seam in it to push your center against and twist them out of the grip and their balance. After breaking one persons grip, a Tenkan or turn towards your center could break their grip or help place them into a multitude of different grips.
Last up was a freestyle self-defense. Sensei called out several attacks and we reversed with whatever came naturally to us. I enjoy this one a lot because rather than thinking "I have to counter this with that" you do what comes natural and can judge a bit more accurately on how you are coming along. Great class today as usual!!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Some Aiki-Jujitsu
Today's class was a bit more Aiki-Jujitsu focused with some great applications.
First we worked a bit on rolls and strikes. Did some line drills to work on proper atemi striking and posture.
First technique was from a Shomenuchi strike. As Uke comes in for the strike Nage blends past it to their back side with the closer hand hooking on to their shoulder as Nage does a Tenkan and places the other hand on the other shoulder. Nage should now be mirroring Uke in stance. The first hand that made contact to hook onto their shoulder should be redirecting them into the hole behind them you have created and you perform another Tenkan to get out of the way of Uke as they fall into the hole behind them. The motion for bringing them down is as if you where shaking out a shirt. A whip/wave motion downwards as you Tenkan will continue the off-balanced Uke to the ground.
Next technique was from a Menutsuki strike to the abdomen. As the strike comes in Nage deflects it past them and is now facing Uke's arm. The free arm goes to Uke's back of their head and feeds their head down to your other arm and that arm turns their arm down to spin them. This turns Uke's head into Nage's arm which locks around their neck for a drop. As their head is drawn into the hold Nage kneels down into the knee closest to Uke and drops them into a front roll (or a hard drop to the ground in real life). The whipping motion is key to this and sets it up for the most part when done right.
The randori exercise involved one person on one end of the mats and three attacks on the other end. The three Uke's charge at Nage and he has to get past them to the other side of the mats. This was a good exercise for a situation where you have several people grouping up to come and attack you all at once and you have to get past or deal with them.
First we worked a bit on rolls and strikes. Did some line drills to work on proper atemi striking and posture.
First technique was from a Shomenuchi strike. As Uke comes in for the strike Nage blends past it to their back side with the closer hand hooking on to their shoulder as Nage does a Tenkan and places the other hand on the other shoulder. Nage should now be mirroring Uke in stance. The first hand that made contact to hook onto their shoulder should be redirecting them into the hole behind them you have created and you perform another Tenkan to get out of the way of Uke as they fall into the hole behind them. The motion for bringing them down is as if you where shaking out a shirt. A whip/wave motion downwards as you Tenkan will continue the off-balanced Uke to the ground.
Next technique was from a Menutsuki strike to the abdomen. As the strike comes in Nage deflects it past them and is now facing Uke's arm. The free arm goes to Uke's back of their head and feeds their head down to your other arm and that arm turns their arm down to spin them. This turns Uke's head into Nage's arm which locks around their neck for a drop. As their head is drawn into the hold Nage kneels down into the knee closest to Uke and drops them into a front roll (or a hard drop to the ground in real life). The whipping motion is key to this and sets it up for the most part when done right.
The randori exercise involved one person on one end of the mats and three attacks on the other end. The three Uke's charge at Nage and he has to get past them to the other side of the mats. This was a good exercise for a situation where you have several people grouping up to come and attack you all at once and you have to get past or deal with them.
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