Thursday, January 31, 2008

Kihon Shibu 01/29/2008

Welcome to the club Mark!

We're starting to incorporate more juunantaiso into the training because it is something everyone needs. After that we continued to warm up with various ukemi. After the usual zenpou and kouhou kaiten I introduced jun nagare and gyaku nagare. Along with the usual points I emphasized rolling in a straight line. I think one reason why people have a problem with this is a lack of flexibility in the hips, which is just further evidence of the importance and need for increased juunantaiso. I'm also starting to incorporate the follow-the-leader ukemi exercises where we each take turns performing a serious of ukemi and everyone has to replicate the series. Something new that I'm also starting to incorporate is a type of peer evaluation. The reason for this is you may have weaknesses in your taijutsu and not know it unless someone points it out. I hope both of these exercises will help to develop the "eyes" to see what exactly is happening and to obviously identify weaknesses. As a side effect hopefully people will train as if their instructor or whomever to they look to is always watching them and therefore they would try to practice their best. We'll see how things go.

After the ukemi we did a round of sanshin no kata. It had been a while since we practiced it and with Mark there it seemed like a perfect opportunity to revisit it. It was just an introduction to refresh our memories of what each kata is made up of and what they are called. I plan on weening off the ukemi and rolling the sanshin back in since there is only one more ukemi to formally introduce and a few more points to cover before all there is left to do but practice.

Next we practiced more of the kuzushi exercises that are just as much learning for me as it is everyone else. We started with just using the shoulders and incrementally added more control points. Next week I'll bring a training guide and we'll practice the exercises within it.

I then introduced omote gyaku for the first time. We practiced it in a very simple fashion that didn't require much more than just doing a couple of ichimonji no kamae steps. The difficult part seemed to be how to grasp the uke's hand to apply the wrist lock or freeing the uke's grasp on the lapel. This lead nicely into the different levels of being an uke. Using omote gyaku as a model we practiced each of the four levels of compliance/resistance. It was at the 4th level of resistance that the kuzushi exercises were clearly applicable. So, we worked on that for a few minutes. As usual, when the technique fails move on.

We closed class with some free response exercises from a simple jodan tsuki. The only parts that were fixed were the uke's attack, the initial receive on the inside and no dakkentaijutsu. The focus here was more applied kuzushi using a light touch.

Gambatte kudasai!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Shima Dojo 01/24/2008

There was a pretty small turnout last night with seven of us total. Doug started the じゅなんたいそ with the regular leg stretches. Then we did some squatting exercises and the usual "one person against a wall and the other person pushing against the body" exercises. He then throw something new at us with regular sit-ups and reverse sit-ups. I'm really glad he did that and broke the ice to include some basic "exercise" exercises.

I started off with some deep かまえ which I will continue for a while to help condition the legs. From here I started again with the usual ぜんぽうかいてん and reiteration of the points of making the roll smooth. Then I moved onto こうほうかいてん then たちながれ、again reiterating the points of smooth rolling. We practiced these three rolls starting in かまえ and ending in かまえ。I wanted to get the point across that with a smooth, proper roll you can come up from the roll in かまえ with no effort other than what was put into the roll itself. Often times people will fumble around when attempting to raise up from the roll. Practice and applying the advice that is given is really the only way to get good うけみ。Actually that applies to any activity in life that one wants to improve on.

Next, to change things up, we practiced basic punching and receiving. With the じょだんつき we practiced improving the timing of the fist and foot landing at the same time. We'll have to spend some more time on that. As for the うけながし it was a simple receive and gave the とり something to do. Then I talked about four different types of うけ someone can be and how it is beneficial for the うけ and とり to practice being all of them. These fours types are: fully compliant, partially compliant, partially resistant, and fully resistant. After practicing each type of うけ with おもてぎゃく we practiced applying おにくだき to an うけ that was fully resistant. I repeated something that was said to me long ago and that is if the technique isn't working move on to something else. I then showed some simple examples of taking the structure, the くずし, when the うけ resists おにくだき。Surprisingly I didn't have any trouble applying おにくだき so my partners weren't putting up much of a fight. That concluded my time.

This material was a very different from what I usually open Doug's class with but it happened to flow right into what he wanted to cover for the rest of the night. I will be incorporating more of it though as we move along. By March I will have covered all of the うけみ I want to cover and hopefully I will have repeated myself enough times that everyone will feel very comfortable with hitting the ground rolling. Then we can move onto more interesting things.

Doug opened with a brief talk about tension and how it can apply to the first kata of this year's theme. He mentioned that when the うけ is pulling you on the third step of the kata he should feel as if he's just holding your arm and not pulling your entire body. In other words the とり should offer no resistance to this last tug. So we practiced this last pull a few times.

Next we assumed くみうち with a partner and practiced shifting each other around enough to take the balance and do simple take downs. We practiced this just briefly to lead into the next exercise where we did the same thing except this time the とり was supposed to offer no resistance or tension and to move around with the うけ to prevent any type of throw. This was done with the とりの eyes closed and should be fairly simple to prevent a throw.

Next we did some むとどり。When the cut comes とり pivots to the outside of the attack with your back to the weapon. How you stand in しぜんのかまえ is important to this first step. From there turn back to the うけ to apply おもてぎゃく with the sword or stick.

I believe that was it.

I found it interesting how Doug and I went to two separate seminars and we were both shown some common things.

がんばってください!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Kihon Shibu 01/22/2008

Johnny and I spent a little bit of time doing うけみ and じゅなんたいそ。I showed all the mobility exercises that I could remember from the recent seminar then went down the list of stuff we did ending with one of the うけながし exercises.

It was colder in the dojo than it was outside. Other than that it was a good time.

がんばってください!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Seminar Review: Rob Renner in Virginia

If you're a member of the Bujinkan and hang around people that go to Japan on a regular basis, and have been doing some for some time now, then you've probably heard that the training over there is very different from the training in the U.S. It's not different just because it is a different culture or because the people there are simply better by virtue of living there. It's different because the material being taught, the stuff that occurs in a regular class is completely different. At least that's the impression I received after this weekend's seminar with Rob Renner.

The material he covered you would never find in a book or in a video or on the web. Google does not index this material. And even if it did you would not understand it simply by watching or reading. The kihon he showed is not in the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki or in anyone's kihon happo video that I've seen. This stuff I might describe as kihon no kihon: foundation's foundation. Maybe it's just me and I never learned the true basics but these fundamentals make the traditional basics a lot more interesting.

Throughout the seminar the focus was taken away from the actual technique, which, in my experience, a lot of people focus on. Instead the focus was put on destroying the structure of your opponent. This isn't the same as taking the balance. Taking the balance isn't that difficult usually and with a good uke he or she could still launch one final attack before having to take ukemi. When you take the structure though, the kuzushi, the uke literally doesn't have a fighting chance. At least that was the case when I was Rob's uke. I'm not that good though so your mileage may vary.

Most of the seminar was spend on getting a feeling for kuzushi, both your own and your uke's but we also spent time doing exercises that will help increase your mobility; get you familiar with your body, what it can do, what it's range of motion is; learning to move joints independently of one another; and moving in and out of the distance where the uke is either just barely touching you or not. These points were shown through the examples of some basic skills such as uke nagashi, oni kudaki, omote gyaku, ura gykau, ganseki nage, and a few other examples. Along with these basic examples more complex ones were later practiced with knife attacks and multiple attackers.

One important thing that was constantly being used throughout the seminar was the body's proprioceptive system. All I'll say about this is it is the reason why an uke reacts the way he or she does when they are in the hands of someone like Rob.

The mobility exercises, the structure manipulation and the ability to take advantage of the body's proprioception system are all linked and should be practiced. I feel when these three things, along with kamae and understanding of the traditional kihon all gel together, you can really do something special with your taijutsu. It appears this type of training can only be had by training with Hatsumi-sensei and those close to him. I plan to make my first trip to Japan for training in the Fall of this year.

I'd like to thank Rob Renner, Roger D'Souza and Lauren Brandstein for a great weekend.

がんばってください!

Rob Renner Seminar January 2008

Friday, January 18, 2008

Shima Dojo 01/17/2008

Last night there were eight だん level students and three きゅ level students. After a short stretching session lead by Doug I started off with simple うけみ。From しぜんのかまえ perform a みぎぜんぽうかいてん, stand up and rotate 180 degrees, then perform a みぎこうほうかいてん。After a few minutes we did the same on the left side. After that we practiced そくほうかいてん。After that we practiced ぜんぽうかいてん coming up into いちもんじのかまえ and rotating 90 degrees and performing こうほうかいてん。This made an L shape on the floor. I then talked about how the かまえ you "land" in after the かいてん, which I described as げだんいちもんじのかまえ, allows you to move in any direction and perform any other type of うけみ。I also reiterated the points to aid in performing smooth うけみ。After that we practiced standing in いちもんじのかまえ、shifting from left to right, and moving forward from left side to right side. I also reiterated the points that make up good かまえ。That concluded the warm up and what I feel to be the three pillars of good taijutsu/basics: flexibility, ukemi, and kamae.

Joel shared with us again some material from the recent seminar he attended. First we did the みぎかたうでとんそうがた again. Then he showed us a little trick with a band aid. After that we did migite kubi suji tonsou gata (みぎてくびすじとんそうがた - right hand back of neck escape form). The spelling and translation of the name here may not be completely accurate but it is clear what happens.

I believe that concluded the class. Good stuff.

がんばってください!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Shima Dojo 01/15/2008

Joel had attended the Andrew Young seminar at the Tanuki Dojo last weekend and because of this was asked to share the experience with everyone Tuesday. I found that many of the points made were part of basic taijutsu.

He started with the first two kata from the Santou Tonkou no Kata. Points common with the two kata had to do with the kamae and the footwork. For the kamae, the front hand is kept low and in line with the front leg and the rear hand is held up by the side of your head. The footwork did not include yoko aruki but simply bringing your feet together.

For Migi Kata Ude Tonsou Gata he pointed out controlling the uke via his elbow. By pointing the elbow in the direction behind the uke his balance is affected and it opens the body for the kick. The kick should be done by tracing the inside of the uke's thigh from the knee to the target. This principle of tracing body parts to certain targets is basic striking.

For Hidari Kata Ude Tonsou Gata he pointed out again controlling the uke with subtle movements of the arms. For this one extend your fingers to push against the uke's forearm as you touch the uke's shoulder and roll his balance back. This will expose the body. Strike with the knee as you raise your captured arm up above the uke and bring the uke's shoulder down, similiar to o-gyaku. From here use the arm to off balance the uke completely. The principle of maintaining a single line, which is seen in ichimonji no kamae, appeared here as well. The kamae was not ichimonji, instead more like shizen, but similar in the way the body is lined up to the uke.

I don't think anything else we did was a particular kata but just different types of tehodoki. Each had two ukes holding each forearm on either side of you.
  1. Your arms are held by the body. Bend your knees, dropping the body weight and raising the arms at the same time. Your hands should have started with the palms facing back and ended with the palms facing each other. From the crouched position do zenpo ukemi. Zenpo kaiten after that. Pretty basic taijutsu.

  2. Your arms are crossed. From here you rotated towards whichever side the top arm was on. Be sure to affect each uke's balance with your movement and use good kamae.

  3. Your arms are held by the body. Shift all the way to one side "smothering" one of the uke's. Affect the balance and strike as necessary.


I think that was. Good stuff.

がんばってください!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Shima Dojo 01/10/2008

We had a pretty full class last night with only three kyu level students. I started my portion of the class with a short talk on what I felt were the most basic ingredients for good taijutsu(たいじゅつ): flexibility, ukemi(うけみ), and kamae(かまえ). Each of these skills are connected and if one lacks the others will suffer. I suggested that if you're early to class, which you should be, do your stretching then. Also practice the ukemi and kamae as perfectly as you can with honesty about your skill level. I mentioned a couple of other things before practicing zenpou kaiten(ぜんぽうかいてん), koho kaiten(こほうかいてん)and ichimonji no kamae(いちもんじのかまえ)。

Doug followed with this technique: Uke(うけ)does katamune dori(かたむねどり)followed by a jodan tsuki(じょだんつき). Tori(とり)strikes down with the forearm into the bend of the uke's arm while stepping back into jumonji no kamae(じゅもんじのかまえ). The strike is performed with the same side arm. The free hand can deflect the incoming strike as you assume kamae. I don't recall a specific take down. The reversal to this was as the tori strikes down into the arm move in with the strike. While holding onto the uke's lapel apply a fudoken(ふどけん)to the face while sweeping the leg with ihen no kamae(いへんのかまえ). You could also just perform ganseki nage(がんせきなげ)or kick the uke's leg out to help with the throw.

Doug then showed the second Togakure Ryu(とがくれりゅ)kata from the Santo Tonko no Kata(さんととんこのかた): Hidari Kata Ude Tonsou Gata (ひだりかたうでとんそうがた - left side arm escape form). Uke grab's tori's wrist on the same side. Uke pulls tori back three times. The tori resists the first two pulls, the second one slightly less than the first. On the third pull tori pushes the uke's wrist/arm outward and kick's the uke in the groin. Hold the uke's shoulder and drive uke to the ground like o-gyaku. With the arm trapped zenpou kaiten over the uke. Next we did the same thing while wearing shuko.

We finished class with simple senban shuriken(せんばんしゅりけん)throwing. One person was a target while the other walked toward the target throwing them and then walked away while throwing them.

Good times.

がんばってください!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Kihon Shibu 01/08/2008

The weather has been nice lately so walking into the dojo didn't feel like walking into a refrigerator. Since it was just myself and Johnny at the dojo I didn't really have a limit on the material and since it had been a while since we met I didn't have anything prepared. So, everything we did was new for him.

First off was the うけみ。We took turns playing follow-the-leader with some ぜんぽうかいてん and こうほうかいてん。Then we spend a few minutes differentiating between たちながれ and こうほうかいてん。We finished off with some よこながれ。

Next up was a more applied approach to ぜんぽううけみ、こうほううけみ、and よこうけみ。This consisted of us catching more air by jumping into the うけみ。It was not comfortable and when we return to training outdoors it won't get any more comfortable.

After that was いちもんじのかまえ time. There isn't much to write about standing in かまえ and shifting from one side to the other. Then we worked on moving off the attack line from かまえ。We practiced that solo for a bit then we teamed up with the うけ doing a じょだんつき and the とり moving off at an angle to the inside. We didn't bother with a うけうち or うけながし、just moving and maintaining かまえ。We laid two bo staffs on the ground forming a 90 degree angle to use as a reference point.

Next up was balance breaking. We both assumed くみうち and took turns breaking each other's balance without stepping or striking. After we did that a few times we changed it slightly by not grabbing the gi jacket but just touching with open hands.

Next I tried to incorporate everything we had done up to this point into a simple exercise. Each exercise started with both of us facing each other in しぜんのかまえ with the うけ performing a じょだんつき and the とり performing an うけながし。From this model we did the following:

  1. Shift forward hanging onto the wrist with your front hand and move into ひちょのかまえ to deliver a ぜんぽうげり to the ribs. Assume いちもんじのかまえ covering the うけの front foot and pull him off balance with the hand you've been holding while extending your leg into いへんのかまえ. Effect the balance the moment you hold the wrist. Pull down some when delivering the ぜんぽうげり and pull outward when assuming かまえ。This was the only one that used ひちょのかまえ and ぜんぽうげり。Everything else you just switched かまえ。

  2. Do the same thing except just take the balance by the using the hand. Alternate which hand takes the balance.

  3. Do the same thing except use your free hand to touch the うけの shoulder and affect the balance.

  4. Do the same thing except apply おもてぎゃく to the forearm as you move into かまえ。

  5. Do the same thing except use your free hand to move the うけの elbow into おにくだき as you move into かまえ。

  6. Do the same thing except as you switch かまえ after the initial contact get low and place the うけの wrist against your belly and apply むそどり. Assume かまえ then rotate away from the うけ causing him to fall backwards. Maintain the lock throughout.

  7. Same as above except apply a ぜんぽうげり to うけの ribs as he falls.

  8. Same as the second one above except apply a ふどけん to the ribs as he falls.

  9. Same as above except add an おもてしゅと to the head as he falls.



I think that was it. Good times.

がんばってください!

Friday, January 04, 2008

Shima Dojo 01/03/2008

First class of the new year and first one with the new class format. I covered the first 30 minutes and Doug covered the rest.

First thing was simple しこ with a focus on かまえ, meaning all your body parts are arranged the way they should be. Next was ぜんぽうかいてん from しこ。 After that we two ぜんぽうかいてん、one right after the other. Then we practiced こほうかいてん from げだんいちもんじ。Then we combined ぜんぽうかいてん and こほうかいてん。 The focus of this うけみ was on the feet: how they are orientated when you complete the かいてん and whether your toes were alive or dead. After that we did the うけみ from いちもんじのかまえ between two long staffs to help emphasize direction. That concluded my lessons and Doug covered the following.

He started with a short talk on the theme of 2008, とがくれりゅ, then we went into some simple いちもんじのかまえ and じゅもんじのかまえ practice. The first technique used these two かまえ。

  • Uke - Attempt a full nelson hold.
    Tori - Assume じゅもんじのかまえ affecting the balance and preventing the hold. Lightly grasp the last two fingers of one of uke's hands. Pivot around this hold and assume いちもんじのかまえ delivering an おもてしゅとけん strike to the head.


The second technique we did empty handed a few times before incorporating しゅこ claws, しゅりけん, and こだち。

  • Uke - Two jodan tsuki.
    Tori - Receive the first one on the inside then catch the second one on the inside to perform an off balancing throw.

  • Do the same thing with the しゅこ。

  • Do the same thing with the しゅりけん。Receive the first tsuki with the しゅりけん in one hand and when the second tsuki comes step back and allow the uke to punch the しゅりけん held in your other hand. Throw them if you wish.

  • Same as before except receive the second tsuki with the blade drawn and attacking the body. Let the posture and movement of your body draw the sword. In other words, use たいじゅつ。


That concluded the first class of 2008. It was nice training again and my new indoor tabi are cool. ありがとございます ジョニーさん!

がんばってください!