Class with just Hiroko again. We worked on standing iai, warming up with standing iai 1 through 5, then focusing on 6 and 7. I brought notes on the iai to class this time so we could refer to them with questions. For the last part of class, we worked on One Step techniques 1 through 4.
Category: Uncategorized
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Class with just Hiroko today. We warmed up with any cut down and back, then any block followed by two cuts down and back, and we finished warming up with Cutting Pattern 1 a few times through.
Hiroko was interested in some Parry, so we did a couple long bouts of 1-attack Parry, followed by some 3-attack Parry.
We finished with standing iai 1 through 6 but were unsure on the ending of #6 so I’ll have to look it up and we’ll go over it on Friday. -
Class with just Lynette today. We initially used the Cutting Pattern 1 to warm up and take a closer look at good technique, shadowboxing first, then facing off. We then went through standing iai 1 through 4b, working on some of the more subtle details of good technique and application.
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Class with Lynette and Ivan today. Warmed up with some kihon, random cuts down and back, then the cuts from the cutting pattern down and back, then each cutting pattern block followed by two of the associated cuts, and last random block with two counter attacks.
We then moved on to iai, practicing Standing Iai 1 and 2. Lynette also asked about Standing Iai 4a/b at the end of class which I provided a quick refresher on. -
Both Hiroko and Lynette called out and it ended up being just Ivan and myself today. I started with some warm up, doing random cuts down the room and back, then down and back doing a block followed by two counter attacks. We then did down and back per cut (i.e. down and back with men, down and back with alternating or random temple, etc). Ivan had brought his bogu as requested, so we strapped on men and kote and did one-attack and two-attack parry for the remainder of the time.
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Attended class. Kihon with partners, ippon kumite techniques.
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Full class today with Hiroko, Lynette, Sammy and Ivan. Warmed up with kihon, randomly making a block and following with the corresponding cut on our own. I then created a few attack patterns of 3 – 4 cuts, then had each other person create their own pattern. We switched to shinai and practiced the Cutting Pattern 1 a bit and ended with a machinegun attack drill, first with just head (men) attack, next with just temple (either side) attack.
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Class with just Ivan again. We again reviewed all cuts and blocks and the cutting pattern, then worked on Standing Iai 1 for the remaining time.
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Today Hiroko, Lynette and I had an opportunity to assist in a martial arts exhibition at Redding School of Art, a private charter elementary school. I solo performed kneeling iai 1 and 5 and standing iai 3, and the Cutting Pattern 1 drill with Lynette and Hiroko each, and lastly 1 and 2 attack Parry with Hiroko. We performed the demonstration twice through, and the second time I included Western Circle kata’s 1 and 2 after the Parry to give Hiroko time to prepare for some Shotokan kata demonstration.
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Class led by Hiroko tonight. We had a couple new students and covered some basics. Hiroko is off to Special Training this coming weekend so we did kibidachi for a while, then we went through kihon. Hiroko then introduced a couple books she had found on tapping into your chi.
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Class with just Ivan and myself today. We reviewed all the basic cuts and blocks and applied them with the Cutting Pattern 1.
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Attended class tonight. There were approximately 10 other students and the class was led by Brad. We did some partner drills working on maintaining a good mah, and some passing techniques to keep us close and ultimately behind our opponent. The later part of class we worked on Tekki Shodan and ended with a drill to practice good stance and movement, whereby a partner holds a belt about your waist like reins and you attempt to move away from them in the designated stance (tonight it was kibidachi (side), zenkutsodachi (front) and kokutsodachi (back)).
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Class with Sammy today. We reviewed each of the basic cuts and blocks in detail, working on good form and technique, then applied them with the cutting pattern 1. I ended with a little bit of one-attack parry.
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No one else in attendance today, so I studied standing iai 6 – 9 a little.
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Class with Hiroko, Sammy and Ivan today. Ivan last serious trained in kendo some 10 years ago in the SF bay area. He came today as a guest of Hiroko to check out the class. We started with some warm up random cuts and blocks back and forth across the gym. Ivan’s previous school was sufficiently different that I spent time reviewing the four basic stances; kendo, front, cat, and back. We also took a look at the blocks for head, temple, wrist and waist as he had never worked with them. Next we started on Standing Iai 1 and finished with my adapted Cutting Pattern 1. As I was finishing going over the cutting pattern with Ivan, I had Hiroko and Sammy do a bit of light one-attack parry.
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I attended karate class tonight. Primary focus was on kumite technique with Sanbon drills.
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Class with Hiroko and Sammy today. We warmed up with random cuts and a few combinations, then switched to shinai for cutting pattern. At the end of our session, Hiroko and I donned the kote I have and did some parry. My observation of the kote was that it reinforced my wrists and forarms and made the cuts and blocks seem more powerful and at the same time I felt less connected. Once I get my regular helmet back, I plan to do more medium parry with minimum armor.
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My new kendo armor arrived today, purchased through e-bogu.com just this past Friday or Saturday. It is a complete set; men (head/face protector), do (chest plate), kote (hands and wrists) and tare (waist/upper thigh skirt). I already have a better pair of kendo kote and tare, however having extras means I can loan some of it to others. Combined with my non-kendo armor (western-styled leather body and head armor and protection), I now have better than two complete sets. I hope to be doing some sparring in class soon.
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Just Hiroko and myself today. We worked on One-Steps 1 through 8, reviewing what we already knew and relearning the once we had forgotten.
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Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Kneeling iai 1 – 5 review, combination attacks, cutting pattern 1 and two-attack parry.
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Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Kneeling iai 1 through 5.
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Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Standing iai 1 – 4.
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Class with Sammy. Kihone. cutting pattern 1.
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class with Lynette. standing iai 1 through 4.
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class hiroko and sammy. kihone. cutting pattern. finished with some Parry between hiroko and I.