Aiki with Rob
Today was the beginning of our 5am aiki/judo mixed class. This morning was pretty cold and the mats were stacked so we did sweats and shoes aikido without the mats.
- tegatana emphasizing pulling with the front foot and making the turns more stable and stronger.
- hanasu working a lot on synchronization, stretching the step, direction of offbalance, and doing true releases so that uke can't reverse you.
- Chains 1 and 3 as a demonstration of how these release ideas come together into techniques.
- shomenate (junana and nijusan versions as two ends of a spectrum)
- Plus I got some jodo solo work done. Saw a neat thing on #7 and #8. Hard to put into words right now, but might improve #8 some.
A 5am class is very impressive.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I trained in aikido at a class held in the wrestling room at Eastern Michigan University.
The rubber wrestling mats were great when it was warm. I don't know how cold it gets in Mississippi, but it Michigan, during the winter, the mats were like concrete.
As Kushida Sensei used to say, it was a good study.
I would normally cringe at the thought of a 5am class, but this one was awesome and motivating. I can hardly wait for the next one. Maybe I can talk some guys into more than one 5am class per week.
ReplyDeleteI do, however hate rubber wrestling mats. Very painfu, though they do remind you (force you) to do the light breakfalls just right.
This morning it was 30 degrees in the dojo but two ceramic space heaters heated it up nicely. The real environmental challenge here is when it is 105 degrees and you have to turn the AC on for 2-3 hours before class just to get it down into the 80's . Combine that with 100%humidity and it makes practicing in gi (much less hakama) impossible.