I made it to class tonight. Hiroko lead the class. We started with Basai several times through, then did jiyu kumite and finished with a bit of sanbon kumite.
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Class with Hiroko and Ivan. Primary focus today was One-Step techniques. We covered 1 through 3 in detail and introduced Ivan to the 4th before time was up.
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Class today with Hiroko, Lynette and Ivan. Started with high repetition kihon followed by several rounds of Cutting Pattern 1, then did some machine gun drills, starting with just “men” (head) cut, then a choice of head or temple cuts with the defender making the block and then dropping and making a “do” (waist) counter attack.
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Class with just Ivan. Warmed up with Cutting Pattern 1, then focused on Standing Iai 2.
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Class with Hiroko and Ivan. Warmed up with high-repitition cutting, then worked on combat movement and closing the distance to an opponent.
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Class with Hiroko and Lynette. Primary focus today was One Step techniques 1 – 4.
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Class with Hiroko and Lynette. We did high repetition basics for a bit, including block-counter-counter patterns and the Cutting Pattern 1 sequence, then I had us do a drill where one would stand in the middle (wearing kote in this case) and the other two would stand at opposite sides and alternate attacking. It was a pretty good drill, though I think it would be better with four people so the attackers could form a triangle and either the hind right or left could attack as the center completes their defense against the currently forward opponent, thereby training awareness and response.
I found that turning was best accomplished with either an aggressive jodan stance with the sword over the head, or a defensive chudan with the blade held vertical in front of the body. -
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.
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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.