What's everyone working on in their training right now? Why? Instructors, what are you looking at in your classes at the moment? Why? Myself, I'm currently working on two things. Firstly is Koho Kaiten. My backward roll is teh sux, especially my transition from standing to ground so I'm trying to improve that right now. Secondly is basic sword manipulation. I've spent too long training with bokken and mogito and I've picked up some dangerous habits. Therefore I'm doing a lot of basic work using my new shinken. Real slow and careful to highlight the little bad bits so I can polish them out. Swordsmen are generally supposed to retain both ears and a complete set of fingers and thumbs! In the classes, I'm trying to focus on building a solid framework and understanding of the core material like Sanshin no Kata and Kihon Happo although we spent the last three lessons emphasising Te Hodoki at the basic mechanical level.
same here suprisingly!! i do like the movement you can get from tehodoki when you move your feet as well.
That's something I was trying to get across last night. The actual mechanical movements are important in the sense of understanding how the bad guy's grip can be weakened etc but they have to be viewed as part of the whole picture rather than as isolated components. To help get the mechanical hand positions across, we gave them silly names such as "shark's fin", "pat the dog" and "handshake".
I'm currently working on combining my skills in Te hodoki and Kumi-uchi, so as to deal with both judo style grip fighting and natural style 'goofy grips'. That and trying to polish basic Nage waza.
At the moment, Im digging deep into the first level of kata from Gyokko Ryu. How great arent they really?!? There´s so much interesting stuff in only the first 4 kata, I could work on them alone for the rest of the year! Regards / Skuggvarg
Mainly, Kuki Taiso. . ."Demon Play" within the context of Kukishin ryu. . .and the concept of Yugen expressed in movement. Sub-themes: Recognizing/understanding the "danger points" in kata where things can be changed/exploited by the uke so that you can learn to either "enter without openings" or present an apparent opening as a trap. . .an exploration of "why reliance on form will get you killed". Exploring the seeming paradox of how "non-attachment to technique" is, literally, built into the Kukishin ryu kata. Why? 'Cause it's fun, and 'cause it's a big part of what's going on in Japan.
1. Not stopping moving 2. Dynamic (not static) balance 3. Maintaining a feeling of 'connection' 4. Giving no 'Feedback' 5. Good Kamae
San Shin, Demon Play as per Dale, trying to understand what I learnt in Japan. That should keep me busy for the next decade or two
As a personal focus, I've spent the last year working on trying to understand how to take the uke's balance away with the first movement, then never give it back. Have applied that to everything we've done in class where it's appropriate. Now doing the same thing with strikes, trying to really understand what works where and how to shift gears back and forth between soft and hard movement. In class it's mainly basics, boken, bo, and Kukishin-ryu right now.
Right now.... 1) Sho Ten.... don't we all love Sho Ten. 2) Shime Hodoki Gata 3) Kihon Happo Nagare Gata.... getting everything to flow smoothly 4) Meso no Jutsu... I would have never believed how important this is. 5) Reinforcing everything I have already learned Also, 3 of my buyu's will be testing for shodan probably within the next couple of months, so I am trying to help them (and helping myself at the same time better understand everything).
On one week I will work on taijutsu kihon gata such as punching , kicking etc in three distinct stages first very sloww looking at the generation of power and correct form, then trying technique at full power then at full speed. Also that week I will work on the kukishin ryu bojutsu shoden and chuden gata and kukishinden happo bikenjutsu The following week I would do ryuha gata - specifically Takagi Yoshin ryu , and also Jinen Ryu Tantojutsu. Then I go back to kihon and it starts again. Why - because I feel constant polishin of kihon makes my technique better and produces new insights when I do the ryuha stuff
I'm relearning Kihon Happo and Sanshin No Kata which I'd forgotten after several years of 'another' version. Not just doing the 8 techniques though but counters to each plus a myriad of techniques that lead outwards from the basic 8 (the true meaning of Kihon Happo) and the addition of some weapons. Give me fine-tuning of basics (that I can work on) over novelty any day! It's not just a case of learning to walk before one can run, but learning to walk as perfectly as possible before even thinking of running. As the McDonalds advert says: Da da da da da...I'm lovin' it!
