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.

No one else in attendance today, so I studied standing iai 6 – 9 a little.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Kneeling iai 1 – 5 review, combination attacks, cutting pattern 1 and two-attack parry.

Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Kneeling iai 1 through 5.

Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Standing iai 1 – 4.

Class with Sammy. Kihone. cutting pattern 1.

class with Lynette. standing iai 1 through 4.

class hiroko and sammy. kihone. cutting pattern. finished with some Parry between hiroko and I.

class with hiroko and lynette.

Class with Hiroko and Sammy. We covered all the basic cuts and blocks, including introducing Sammy to the waist cuts and blocks. We then covered the Cutting Pattern 1, initially shadow boxing it and finishing class by pairing off, rotating in the odd person.

Class with Hiroko, Lynette and Sammy. Basic cuts and blocks for head, temple and wrist.

Class today was Hiroko, Lynette, Sammy (a new student), and myself. Due to the new student, we covered cutting basics, going over all basic cuts (head, temple, wrist and waist) and new the end of class I started on head block with the new student while Hiroko and Lynette practiced the complete cutting pattern.
We had moved the class up to 11am, however there appears to be another class in the main gym until 11:15, so we’ll look into possibly holding ours at noon instead.

Hiroko, Lynette and I met tonight with the intention of working with Black Sensei, however he was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. None the less, we had a good review of all kneeling and standing iai in our repoitore (kneeling 1 – 7b and standing 1 – 6). Hiroko and I also did some of the refined strikes drill back and forth, working on control, targeting, and movement. Tom will hopefully be available Monday, Sept 10th at 9pm.

Class today with Hiroko initially and Lynette joined us late. With Tom holding class this coming Monday, we focused a lot on details and making sure we are ready to receive some new material. Hiroko and I used the cutting pattern to review cuts and blocks, initially shadow boxing just the cuts and analyzing details, then just the blocks to again analyze details, then went through the cutting pattern together several times. Lynette arrived and we started in on standing iai, reviewing one through six.

Todays class was with Hiroko and Lynette. We first warmed up by reviewing Standing Iai 1, 2 and 3, focusing on refining technique. I then taught the Refined Strikes drill from WCoS teachings where a partner (uke) stands in ready position with sword reversed along forearm, behind the back or otherwise out of the way. The other student then makes several cuts using their uke as target, practicing control, form and correct placement. Every cut should contact the uke lightly but with discernible pressure. There are a few levels to this practice. Initially, the aggressor may simply engage and make a set pattern of cuts, such as the cutting pattern, then disengage. The next stage is to engage and make a random set of 10 – 15 cuts, then disengage. The final stage is to engage and make 10 – 15 random cuts while shifting from left to right as appropriate, avoiding patterns and pauses, and at 50% to 75% combat speed.
Both Hiroko and Lynette performed at stages 1 and 2 and I ended class with each of them as an uke for myself as I performed at stage 3. They both commented that it was a good drill that they felt they learned much from.

Note: No class last week due to other engagements.

Class with Lynette and Rick. We reviewed all cuts and blocks, then started in on Standing Iai 1. Near the end of class, I also briefly introduced Standing Iai 2 for contrast and comparison.