Just the basics

sometimes it's nice to have a class focused on basics. (A nice change after Tuesday's insanity... O_o)

I got to class a little early tonight, and Sensei stopped me walking in. "what's your name again?" *rolls eyes* ^_^

"I think today it's Liz"

"So when's testing?" He asked.

"I don't know-- isn't this your dojo? I thought you were supposed to know these things" (Sometimes I get a little cheeky with Sensei, but he's got a good sense of humor-- some of my fellow students would probably be mortified at that)

At any rate, he basically informed me testing is in August, and I will be testing. Okay, so it's settled... I'm testing. O_O Time to find an uke and start prepping.

Started class out with a nice long warmup. We had two new guys-- a father and son.
Did some ukemi exercises.

katatetori ai hanmi//

kotegaeshi (ura)
W/Don. Relatively new guy with a little experience in aikido years ago. Surprisingly, he's got a mean kotegaeshi.

iriminage
Same partner. Something clicked tonight. Sensei said not to focus on uke but to focus on the direction you want him to go. It seemed to flow much better than usual, and I didn't get as tired as I usually do. Sensei came over to correct my partner's swing up/swing down motion, but I think I managed a slight nod of approval on mine. huzzah.

ikkyo (omote/ura)
W/brand newbie, Fred. Sensei kept reminding us that we had new people, so I bowed to him immediately-- even though I dread trying to help new people. (I tend to confuse more than help, I think) Most of the time was spent helping him learn to move feet, hands..etc... Sensei told me to just do omote since it was his first day.
Fred seemed to be one of the macho types who has taken some form of martial arts before, because we got a few minutes into the technique, and he was trying to instruct me on how to do it properly. I just smiled and said "I'm still a beginner too, and this is a difficult technique for me-- I just try to do what Sensei says"
I did have to remind him to be mindful of the joints. He really pressed hard on my elbow a few times. eek!

Shihonage (omote/ura)
W/Fred. He seemed to get a little frustrated because he didn't GET the first technique. Not much to note here... Sensei came over and helped a little-- mainly with footwork. I managed to guide my partner without totally confusing him. He did try to tell me the proper way to do shihonage-- I just smiled and said "Maybe we should ask Sensei" (that's turning into my standard reply when someone says "is this right?-- "I don't know enough to know if it's right.... ask Sensei" *grins*)

After a while, Sensei switched focus back to ukemi and rolling basics. Actually, I really like it when he does that, because I always get some detail that I may have missed. (I think in the beginning, there were so many details that certain pointers were too much information) We practiced rolling backwards and forwards, focusing on feeling the mat roll across your back.
Afterwards, Sensei demonstrated the ikkyo kokyunage. After practicing with the newbie shihan, I was glad that Bill bowed to me. We always have a blast practicing together-- and we almost always end up working on kokyunage throws. whee :)

Sensei made one minor correction on our execution. On the swing up, nage should slide out at an angle then slide in towards uke on the cut down. I've never picked up on that detail, and I think that's why I tend to collapse my arms. It made a huge difference. Got to take some fun forward rolls-- yay! I love kokyunage. :)


Kokyudosa
W/Bill. He really made me focus on my extension. Some people rush through this exercise, because on the surface it's not very exciting. It's refreshing to work with someone who really enjoys kokyudosa.

Class again in 30 hours. heh
Liz