Not the normal routine

Just when you feel like there's a good, solid pattern to practice, Sensei throws a curveball to mix it all up. ^_^
I'm not complaining by any means-- class was brilliant tonight (though my performance was less than mediocre... but we won't go into that... yet..O_o)

I got to class about 10 minutes before-- had a little time to stretch. There were alot of people on the mat, probably due to upcoming tests next Sunday.
Bob Sensei taught.

Started out with katatetori nikkyo.
Bowed to the new guy (3rd, maybe 4th class) The only other time we've practiced, it was nikkyo, so I figured we could muddle through. Sensei saw us pair up and didn't say anything, though he did come over and demonstrate this version of nikkyo for me.
Nage slides off the line, swings out and over uke's hand, matches the hand, and gently scoops so the elbow bends then bows. Sensei made it a point to illustrate it while pointing his index finger towards uke's chest.
My partner wanted to keep his arm straight, so Sensei came back over and demonstrated on me how to protect yourself. Had to remind new guy to tap the mat when he felt the technique (which is sensei-speak for when it hurts..lol)
Sensei clapped then said to transition from nikkyo directly into kotegaeshi as uke tries to stand but told uke to slap his leg instead of taking the fall.
We continued making the transitions until the pattern looked like...

katatetori nikkyo (transition)
kotegashi (trans)
sankyo (trans)
shihonage (trans)
Iriminage (trans)
Ikkyo (trans)
Ikkyo/Nikkyo pin

O_O We would practice each transition individually as Sensei added them and then put it all together. Poor new guy didn't really know the terminology-- he's still at the point where he doesn't know where to step, slide, swing up...etc.. I tried to help him without confusing him, but I don't think it worked very well. I kept apologizing for being a lousy partner for such difficult techniques.
We did manage to muddle through, with MUCH Sensei intervention when I couldn't explain a transition. (but at least I could DO the transitions--which is good for me) We spent about 45 minutes working on that.

Sensei clapped and demonstrated a kokyunage throw. We made about 6 lines and practiced. :) I like the throws. Not much to note except it was FUN. We did the line throwing for probably 20 minutes. Bowed out for a break. about 2/3 of the class left at break, so we had a lot more room on the mat. Sensei demonstrated a katatetori menuchi grab (grab to the lapel of the dogi)
Nage slides in and does a shomenuchi strike. Uke blocks, pushing against nage's arm. Nage allows uke to pass in front while cutting down to bring uke into ai hanmi. From there, kotegaeshi.

I was practicing with a girl getting ready to test for 6th kyu. Sensei came over to demonstrate the technique for us and 2 other pairs working nearby. Instead of telling my partner to strike, he had me O_o I am apparently not very good at following leads, especially when it't s a new technique. lol Sensei kept kicking at my foot of the cut down because I wasn't stepping back. He had to do that 3 or 4 times before actually making contact with my knee... LOL the next time I DID kick my leg back automatically and Sensei grinned. "see how much better that is?"

"Hai!" *grins*

Sensei proceeded to work with some of the potential testees while he left our little group (which started working together) to practice.

All in all a fun class. Too much to detail though. I didn't get a lot of pointers since the majority of class I was the senior to my newbie partner (WHAT? When did that happen?) But I didn't feel bad about it... I think the senior students needed to practice together so they could focus on their tests.

Swept the mat after class. We have so many beginners that I usually get a shot at cleaning now :) (If my Mom heard those words come out of my mouth, she'd probably have a heart attack...lol)

Liz