Just got back from a week stuck in a data centre in Silicon Valley. We only managed to get out for a couple of hours so there's not may photos
Day three starts out a little differently as Jeff is assessing an Iaido instructor for a coaching award, so those people who do Iaido are split of to act as guinea pigs whilst the rest of use are left doing some kata with Satoshi.
After an hour of kata we get back to the running around stuff, starting with kirikaishi I get pulled out the front to be motodachi after a bit and then everyone gets moved around. Men cuts down the length of the dojo, then it's back in-front of the motodachi for uchikomi. Finally we finish up running round the dojo followed by suburi.
It's been quite and energetic practise but much better then the previous days as my ankle is holding out and I seem to have more energy. Whether this is due to my cold receding or the king size chocolate bar I had before the practise I don't know but it all felt a lot better.
Jacob's taking the practise today. Satoshi takes us through the usual Wakaba style warm up. Then we start kihon. Usual stuff Men, Kote-Men, Kote-Men-Do, Kote-Men-Men-Men etc. This goes well for me I like the feel of the combinations when the timing comes together.
Then the Motodachi step up and we start Uchikomi followed by Kagarigeiko, which for me is where things start to go bit pear shaped. My achilles doesn't actually start hurting but my ankle starts to feel very weak and I get very worried about the sharp turning in Kagareigeiko. Part way through I stop and have a closer look at my ankle, but I can really find anything wrong so I step back in. I then have a complete disaster of Kigarigeiko with Momoe as I can't bring myself to stand on my left foot properly, I always seem to save my worst kendo for her. After this I come round again and find Momoe's line is the shortest so I end up going straight back in for another go. A bit better this time but still all over the place.
After some more poor Kigarigeiko Jacob calls it to an end and we finish the practise with Jigeiko a little easier as I just try and relax and regain some degree of composure.
I come away from the practise feeling quite despondent. Luckily for me Momoe is racing my bus home on her bike and after watching her grinning face pass the bus window a dozen times I'm in a much better mood when I get home.
Apart from my own issues the practise goes very well and Jacob deserves praise for taking a room full of 50 assorted kendoka and keeping them gainfully occupied for 3hrs. Who knows what kind of trouble they'd be in if they were allowed to roam the street.
Yesterday was the first practise of 2006 and the first day of our winter training. Rather predictable I've got a cold so I was very close to giving up before I'd started and going home to bed rather than going to practise. Luckily I had just enough fortitude to turn up and I'm glade I did.
We started off jogging round the dojo not so hard, but I can't really breath and I was a little worried that this was a precursor to harsher things. As it turn out it wasn't ;). Next we do suburi which turns into men cuts where we're concentrating on trying to move forward rather than cutting on the spot. Then we get to the turns, Jeff's teaching us jump turns which I quite like except I can only do them turning left and I think they aggravate my Achilles so I wasn't really throwing my self into them.
Armour time now again basic men cuts then we split into to groups, the beginners going of and doing something, and the seniors going of and doing something else. I'm with the something else group. We go through kirikaishi, hiki-waza then some ogi-waza. Then motodachi are pulled out and we start uchikomi. Really didn't have the strength for this but I run about a little and shout a bit and get through it. Now it's my turn to be motodachi as we have gigeiko/uchikomi depending on peoples level. I'm not really in a killer mood today but I'm practicing enjoying the practise this week so I take it easy and try and make sure my cuts are straight, but don't really try to dominate the practise to much.
The armour comes of and we get to run across the dojo one breath one cut once across the dojo, one breath two cuts twice across the dojo, one breath three cuts thrice across the dojo. Not really my favourite thing, the it's all part of the fun.
Day one ends. Time for bed
I've been fiddling around with tree generation routines for a little while and I've started to actually implement something in Blender.
It's still got a long way to go but I'm fairly happy so far. I've got lots to do regarding randomness of the branches growth. They're all straight at the moment but it's not to bad.
Three trees with different twig factors.
Spent the first two weeks of september visiting my sister in Canada. Might get around to writing about it in a bit more detail some time but here's some photos at least
My ankle is still niggling me, I did think about not practicing on Saturday. In the end decided that I'd go but only do the kihon practice but skip the ji-gieko. Come the end of the kihon it was quite difficult just to step back and not join in for the rest of the practice, but I do actually want my ankle to get better so I stuck to my guns.
I spent the rest of the practise trying to watch peoples footwork, By the end of the practice I felt I had a fairly good mental template to try and step into, hopefully I can try and use this in my next practice. That's going to take quite a lot of concentration especially as the feel for things I had when I was watching is fading.
Tuesday's practice was devoted to footwork. Lots of running up and down the dojo practicing fumikomi-ashi etc. I really quite enjoy this now (I hate running). What it did bring home was how much of a mental block I have over footwork. I can do it fine, but if someone's stood infront of me my feet are rooted to the spot. I'd really like to move, it something I've always admired in other peoples kendo, and I can do, but not when I should do. It's really starting to bug me, ji-geiko is becoming something I dislike because I'm incapable of moving enough to perform an effective attack.
Enjoyed the chance to practise ayumi-ashi in isolation though (Jakob told me I had to write something positive here), oh and my left ankle doesn't feel to bad today (unlike my right heel)
I'm starting to think quite a bit about my impending nidan grading (end of october). Definetly more concerned over this one than the last one. What's making this worse is the inconsistency I'm having between practices. One will the good the next will be bad. Thursday's practice at Hizen was good (dispite a stomach bug which saw me having to leave the dojo half way through and left me dehydrated for the rest) I seemed to have much more control over what I was doing and was able to try and execute good cuts. Saturday's practice at Wakaba was a different thing all together. I went into it trying to recapture the feel of Thursdays practice. It didn't work the controlled and considered nature of Thurdays practice ended up as flat and undynamic. I don't know if I can put this down to the recurrence of the ligament indury to my left ankle or just trying to hard to do the wrong things and not concentrating on the simple (simple yet difficult to actually do) things like pushing with my left foot.
On the plus side I seem to be getting better at analysing my apponents kendo and comming up with some idea of how to approach attacking them. Although with more senior kendoka this does seem to just end up with me thinking "I'm stuffed, I'm gonna die". Also in trying to cut smaller men cuts (not something that is actually working at the moment), I finally seem to be seeing do as a target, something which I've never been able to do before.
Watching the news this morning about the arrests of people in Tooting related to the London bombings. Suddenly thought that the road they were in looked very familiar even more so when the camera panned round to show Tooting station. That's the road my sister lives in! Actually it's the next road but still bit weird having terrorists for neighbours.
Doh, I guess some poor sod should in up and take that down. Spent yesterday walking around Montmartre and up to the Basilica du Sacré Cœur
Just had a call from my sister in canada. First thing she asked me was what i was doing. I had to answer that i was having a snooze in a part overlooking paris listening to a jazz band :-) it's been a lazy day left the house around 12 and went to the market round the corner to buy cheese, tomato and bread. Rochefort of course and bread with oliver in. We've then spent the rest of the day in the park. Not a bad day ;-)
So far we've spent the day wondering around paris. Part the arc de triumph down the champs elyses down to the louvre and now where outside notre dame.
Just so you can tell we're actually here.
We managed to survive our first night in paris although we did sleep in very late. We'll be off out in a bit to hunt down some breakfast/lunch. Then probably head into the centre for a wonder around.
We've hit paris and hooked up with Iain and mel. Making our way out to saint germain en laye
Finally managed to get Momoe home despite the train problems so hopefully we'll be okay to head off to paris tomorrow.
