The first class at 6:30 in the morning was taught by Blitz Sensei. We worked on tenchinage and kokyuho variations
The second class was taught by Saotome Sensei and we did paired jo practice. A notable technique involved throwing your jo and uke, uke then swatted your jo to the ground while stepped in and did a kotegashi throw. I learned a lot from my uke with the all of the jo variations although I did get yelled at by a couple of senior udanshi because I didn't warn my partner although thinking back, I wasn't the only one who had a responsiblity to my uke. Funny, how ego gets involved and the power dynamic between senior and junior students.
The third class was taught Ikeda Sensei and his focus was on moving oneself even when uke is strong. By counting to three and moving oneself, it opened up uke's center and ki and made uke much easier to move.
The forth class was taught by Doran Sensei and we did a number of ryokatatori techniques with the focus of getting out the way and then moving one's body to move uke.
The fifth class was taught by Ushiro Sensei and we again worked on a number of ki exercises, many of them from earlier in the week. At the end of class we performed a variation of the crack the whip that flung people around. Ushiro Sensei helped me personally at one point and I really felt the ease of ki moving through my body which helped me move my partner. We advised a "po" breath exercise to get one's ki flowing and advising doing this every day for practice.
I am now off to take a shower for tonight's Dinner and Party at Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. Today was the last full day of practice and tomorrow we have classes in the morning and then mat moving and early check out. My plan is to stay the night and then leave for Gunnison on Sunday.
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