Aikido for 08/31/2009

Tonight's class started with no students, I had talked to Mike and knew he would likely be late. For the first fifteen minutes, I practiced with the bokken, starting with 100 bokken cuts and then practiced 50 yokomen cuts, and then 50 tsuki cuts. I continued practicing bokken cuts until Mike showed up for class.

After doing an abbreviated warm-up, we practiced the following techniques:

shomenuchi ikkyo omote and ura

katatedori kaitenage uchi and soto, omote style

All of these techniques are on Nashville Aikikai's test requirements for 6th kyu.

On a related Aikido note, Jake was town for a couple of hours and we talked for a bit. He taught four Aikido classes over the summer and it is now doing an internship in Wyoming. He will be back in Boulder in November so I may see him then. It was good to see him again.

Aikido for 08/26/2009

Tonight three new students showed up: Mandy, Ryan, and Gilbert. After warm-up, I spent more time introducing front and back ukemi. All of the new students were able to do a full-standing roll and were able to do back ukemi from kneeling position. I then introduced tenkan and irimi exercises from katatedori. I decided to do something different and brought out my bokken to illustrated the shomen cut (this is the same cut I showed my Dad this weekend). We then practiced an opening to shomenuchi kokyunage by doing a tenkan from the standing open-hand shomen strike. To finish the tenkan, nage slides forward, catching uke's extended hand for the throw. Uke takes a step and since everyone was able to do a front-roll, we got to re-enforce the forwards rolls practiced at the beginning of class.

I have been trying to improve my teaching and I was remindered about my own approach when I unconsciously chuckled at one of the student's tenkan movements. When asked why I had laughed, I first realized that I had in fact laughed, and then I to reassure the student that I wasn't laughing at them and then show how to do the proper tenkan movement. I enjoy Aikido so much when I'm on the mat, I need to refocus when teaching and be more mindful of even involuntary reactions.

Aikido for 08/24/2009

For tonight's Aikido class there was Tim, Mike, and a new student Ricky. Ricky had attended Santos Sensei's class last spring, it nice we are still seeing positive events from her visit to the Gunnison valley.

After warm-up and ukemi practice we worked on the following technique:

tsuki kotegaeshi ura

tsuki kotegaeshi omote opening

Dad's visit

On Saturday morning my dad came up to visit me from Grand Junction. We met where the Gunnison river flattens out before it meets Blue Mesa Reservoir. We both caught a couple of small trout that we threw back.

After lunch, we drove on highway 50 and turned south to 114 as Cochetopa creek flows next to the road on the way to Saugache. We brought our fly poles and as soon as we could, started fishing. I took this photo from the small creek as I was fishing:

We drove up to the State Wildlife area that included the Dome Lakes and I took this photo of the area below the Dome lakes of Archuleta Creek as it switched back and forth. I was able to sneak up on a couple of trout but I am still very much a beginner fly fisherman and I didn't catch any fish.

This second photo is of Dad fly-fishing the same area:

Dad had a couple of hits but didn't catch any trout. We then drove up the dirt road and fished at the upper Dome lake for about an hour until the rain and wind picked up. We drove the 40 miles back to Gunnison and then ate dinner and crashed for the night.

Sunday morning we decided to drive to Silver Jack Reservoir in Montrose County. The dirt road to Silver Jack is 21 miles or so off of Highway 50 along a couple of ridges. When Dad and I arrived, we noticed the lake was about 50 feet down so we had to walk over muddy lake bottom to reach the algae-colored lake water. Silver Jack Reservoir normally is around 8900 feet of so in elevation. The surrounding mountains and the entire area was some of the most beautiful Colorado wilderness I have seen. Dad and I didn't catch any fish but here are some photos of High Mesa ridge to the East of the lake and the final photo is Dad untangling his line at the end of our fishing at Silver Jack.

Aikido Basics Class flyer

Here is the first flyer I am putting around campus for the Aikido Basics course I am teaching starting on Monday at 6:30 p.m.:

I am looking at expanding to another class in the community so I can teach three times a week. Last spring teaching an hour and a half class on Saturdays at the Gunnison Fitness Center worked out well. I hope to start teaching there again in a couple of weeks depending on demand for the class.

No Aikido this week, plans for the weekend

The Escalante Fitness is closed this week so no Aikido classes until Monday, August 24th at 6:30 pm. I have a flyer for the class that I'll be putting up this week.

My father is planning on coming up for a weekend of fishing and maybe mountain biking. On Sunday I drove behind Hartman's Rocks and went hiking up a mountain-side. I continued vertically for twenty minutes until I reached the bottom of the ridge and my vertigo looking down started to kick in. If Dad does bring his bike, I plan on taking us to the Hartman's Rocks proper although on Sunday there was a bike race and I don't want to run into anything like that if we going biking.

This weekend should be fun and hopefully we'll catch some trout.

Aikido for 08/12/2009

Tonight's Aikido class there was a new student, Tim, as well as Mike. We started off with warm-ups and I found out that Tim has practiced Taekwondo. After introducing forward and backward ukemi, we practiced the following techniques:

• katatedori shihonage omote. I just introduced the technique up until the throw.
• katatedori shihonage ura, for ura I did have us practice the fall. When I had Tim throw me, my right elbow was chicken-winged, a common beginner movement. This allowed me the opportunity to emphasis safety on the mat and about the reciprocal nature of uke and nage when doing techniques.
• We then worked on katatedori kokyu-ho ura
• The final technique of practice was katatedori ikkyo omote. When I was practicing with Tim as uke, he asked if about an opening he saw to do a round-house kick to nage's head during the secondary pulling movement off the line backwards to pull uke off-balance. I had him do the kick and although the ikkyo movement moved him enough off center, it was a different attack vector that I haven't considered before.

At the end of class, we were doing kokyu-ho from sitting position and I demostrated how to throw two people with one pushing behind the other. For me it is easier with two people than with one as I am forced to focus beyond one person and really extend my awareness and direction forward. Good ki training. After class, Tim asked how would Aikido respond to different stances or attacks. I told him that in Aikido, we redirect the forward aggression or attack, either by going to the side or next to as in tenkan exercise. This isn't entirely true of course but then I told him we would practice different stances and attacks in a future class. If he does bring a Taekwondo style of punching and kicking, it will be good for my own development. I just need to be sure that safety on the mat is maintain at all times.

Photos from this weekend

My friend Floyd visited me this past weekend. On Saturday we went to Gothic and went hiking on the Judd Fall trail.

This first photo is of Gothic Mountain. The trail was over 10,000 in elevation and I felt it during the climbs on the trail.


This second photo is of Floyd looking over the edge towards Judd's Falls. My vertigo kicked in and I did not much closer to the edge than where I took this photograph.


In this last photo we are hiking back to and I took this second photo of Gothic Mountain. We then went to the Gothic Museum and then had lunch and shopped in Crested Butte. I always have a great time with Floyd and look forward to seeing such a good friend as him soon.

Aikido for 08/11/2009

Tonight we started class at 5:20 with Mike and I the only students. After warming up we practiced the following techniques:

• katatedori kokyu-ho omote
• morotedori kokyu-ho omote
• katatedori ikkyo omote (w/pin)
• katatedori ikkyo ura (w/out pin)

I am getting ready for the full fall-class. Mike also talked about using the secondary gym that has gym mats that we may be able to use. I will have to talk to him to get more details at tomorrow's practice.

Aikido for 08/05/2009

Class started at 5:00 tonight with just Mike and I. After warming up, we practiced the following techniques after Mike asked about how uke could counter an irimi movement when we were doing the irimi warm-up exercise:

• kosadori iriminage
• katatedori iriminage - it was easy to show after working on the basic irminage throw from kosadori, how the same irimi movement from the warm-up exercise flows into the basic iriminage from katatedori

Mike also asked if I practiced Aikido for the self-defense aspects verses an internal self-improvement. I had to stop to think about his question because to me in my own Aikido practice, I don't separate the two. In the philosophy of modern budo, the proper mental attitude that is improved through practice is the same underlying reality of Aikido when used for self-defense. Self-improvement comes through the discipline and practice with the self-defense aspects of Aikido developing naturally through observation on the mat and actually physical practice of the Art. Through-out my practice and learning from other Aikido sensei, a commonality of their demonstrations and explanation is that the attack and response of the technique comes from responding to aggression. So for me, Aikido has always been a martial art that focuses on self-defense. The self-improvement and discipline of my years of practicing Aikido develops the proper mental attitude of modern budo so that the self-defensive motivation and application is a natural consequence of developing and practicing Aikido.

Escalante Fitness will be closed next Monday, so Mike and I will practice on Tuesday instead.

Aikido for 08/03/2009

Today a new student, Mike, came to class. We started class with wrist, legs, and torso warm-ups. I introduced forward and backward ukemi, Mike was a quick study and was able to do a standing forward ukemi. We then practiced the following techniques:

katatedori sumi-otoshi

katatedori ikkyo (just the opening movement)

I am enjoying teaching again and getting back on the mat. This weekend my friend Floyd is coming from Salt Lake. We are planning a trip up to Crested Butte. This weekend I finished building a loft in bedroom and I also purchased a nicer chair. Slowly the cabin is coming together by this weekend.