Aikido for 10/22/2008

Last night Jake, Joey, and I warmed-up using some of the Systema warm-up techniques. (While rolling, I believe I bruised my upper hamstring. I didn't notice until I began to do forward ukemi when on my right side, I was in pain. For the rest of the class, I could still do the technique but doing ukemi on the side caused more pain than I am comfortable practicing.)

Before class, I threw Jake and he threw me following some of the ushiro techniques demostrated by the Y. Yokota Shihan's second class at the Midwest Aikido Center's seminar I attended in Chicaog on Sunday. I saw some old friends from the late 1990s and even Mike, a new friend from Iowa City who was also at Boulder's Summer Camp. Yokota Shihan's did this ushiro kokyu-nage where nage first leans forward to get uke leaning forward and then nage reachs up and throws uke by graping the neck. This is the first time I have practiced this technique and it is effective. When I was practicing in Chicago and this technique was demostrated, I made an effort to remember the details because I wan't to practice it in Gunnison. The other two techiques we practiced included:

• Ushiro kubishime kokunage
  
• Ushiro ryotetori kaiten-nage