Aikido for 03/29/2012

Tonight Tip taught and after warm-ups, we worked on yokomenuchi shihonage, yokomenuchi kotegashi, yokomenuchi iriminage, and then we did some tsuki jo-tori techniques to finish class. After class a group of us went over to OC for beer and food. A good Aikido practice.

Aikido for 03/22/2012

Tip emailed the dojo instructors late yesterday afternoon asking for someone to cover class, I volunteered and arrived a few minutes early to open the dojo. Five people eventually showed up for class, including Ken and Garry. Due to the last-minute nature of teaching this class, I didn't have an idea what I would be teaching but sometimes a lack of a plan enables a more spontaneous and free-flowing class. During warm-ups, instead of doing our usually slide and step tenkan exercises, I had us do a "Simon says" variation where I would call out either step or slide and everyone attempted to that tenkan variation. I liked this exercise when Knut first did many years ago in Illinois and it was fun do. When we got to the first technique in class, our katatetori tenkan kokyunage we usually do for every class, I decided the central focus of the night's class was thinking about the rotational nature of the hip joint. So, for the kokyunage I emphasized how the rotating the hip into uke as nage turn creates the movement instead of trying to muscle through the technique. We then worked on the following techniques:

• Yokomenuchi kotegashi omote
• Yokomenuchi shihonage omote
• Yokomenuchi

Aikido for 03/15/2012

Tip taught class last night and he decided to do an all weapons class. After warm-ups, we started off with basic jo tsuki strike, followed by an overhead block, and then moving towards the paired jo practice where uke and nage mirror each other with a combination of tsuki, overhead block, a yokomen strike to both sides, finish with a back tsuki strike. We then moved onto practicing jo katas one-five for the rest of the class.

Aikido for 03/03/2012

Nate taught the first class as Garry was out of town. I enjoyed the techniques we worked on including a variety of kokyunages, sankyo, and gokyu. Since Nate was covering for Gerry, I offered to teach the last Aikido class so Nate could go home. There was one new beginner, so we started off with an extended warm-up including an half-hour of ukemi introduction and practice before finishing off with a sumitoshi technique.

Aikido for 03/01/2012

I taught class, covering for Tip as he is visiting family, and although there was only three beginner students, I focused on katatetori ikkyo omote; I started off the standard Aikikai style that we test on with nage stepping up with an Atemi to the face and then stepping diagonally across with the forward foot and out of the way, with the forward hand coming over the top for the ikkyo. I then had us practice an alternate variation where nage steps immediately back with the forward foot. Both ikkyos end up the stand, it is just this opening that is different, what I first learned from Tohei Sensei and which Central Illinois Aikikai taught as the most basic ikkyo, that you are trying as nage to get out of way first and accept and redirecting uke's aggressive energy instead of initially reacting with aggressive atemi to the face. I then had us practice stepping back initially from a katatetori attack for a shihonage omote to illustrate the same opening is always available from any of our techniques. I finished class with a modified randori practice where nage is being attacked by the other two students using whatever attack they want but with added restriction that nage closes his eyes. We did two rounds of randoir, I went first for both and in this practice, you will get hit. It forces you to not get attached to any single point but to move, respond, and start trusting your other senses and ki connections with uke. I still got in the face, and occasionally I became too attached to my current uke while throwing them with a kokyunage or doing a modified sankyo. I suggested after both randori that everyone was too caught-up in their current space and need to move and trust their themselves.