Something interesting today

It has been a rather eventful week before and it looks as if this week will be more "eventful". Training goes on as usual. C took the class tonight and just before class started he was sharing with me something he learnt about executing a yokomenuchi attack. He asked me to execute a yokomenuchi. As I move forward with my tegatana C proceeded to raise his arm straight at me with a fist. I was taken aback and could not finish my attack as I was contrained to block the punch. Hmmmm. So C explained to me why there would be no point in him receive my yokomenuchi. It is the same for katatedori and morotedori. I was in his direct line of attack. That was a good reminder. We explored on this a little bit more after class and N pitched in and we discussed about whether it would make a difference if we it was static compared to irimi-tenkan. It was a good discussion and I realized that we seemed to be doing it abit more after we became yudansha. Truly, this is where we begin to learn about aikido.

Taking C's class is always interesting. He makes the effort to put some life into training (otherwise it is usually very serious and...well serious). I am not saying that he plays around during training but its a different perspective. We paired up for our ukemi and kaiten ukemi practice (which is usually done solo) and that gives us a feel of taking ukemi with a partner. Doing ukemi on your own is good but I feel that at some stage you will need to "feel" the taking of ukemi. 

We first trained generally with our kyu partners on shomenuchi dai nikkyo. J was a little stiff which makes him more prone to kuzushi than others. I am probably not articulating this properly but i hope you get what I mean. As for S, he was abit tense which made it difficult for him to taken ukemi in urawaza. He seemed to be in great fear of the arm lock as it would end up being very very stiff. I would ask him to relax him arm and let fall as if it was asleep. I never imagined me telling others to relax because I used to get that alot from most senseis. Hahaha.

We did some techniques with dual attacks. Firstly katatedori with shomenuchi and secondly katadori with shomenuchi. Moving from dealing with just one attack to two made me a little unsure and haphazard. It is new to me so I have to make sure we practice practice and practice. As I practice I realized that I can now better relate to blending and kuzushi. The need to recover your balance is indeed very important (it is an interactive endeavour after all). Sometimes I wonder at what point is it that you submit to the technique? Do you keep coming back up until there is absolutely no way to or do you discern for yourself whether it is practical for you to do so?

Maybe we will discuss that at our next training session. 

It was a good tiring session and I am off to bed once I get some nom nom to satisfy my wailing stomach. Good night!

Please don't fall!

Sensei is back in action! With his knee heavily wrapped and guarded he went on the mat to conduct the class. I was abit worried at first but after seeing his first few moves I realized that I was overly concerned and he knew his physical level more than I do!

The kyu students practiced on shomenuchi kotegaeshi while N, C and I worked on some other techniques. We started with ushiro kubishime dai sankyo. One of the things we were asked to take note is to be aware of the space that we occupy during training. Although we are blessed with rather generous mat space (not due to the size of the dojo but the number of students hehehe) that does not mean that we can move wherever we want. It is part of dojo etiquette to be considerate of our fellows' space so that we can train safely. Into the second set of the technique I felt that something was wrong. It did not have that many movements... Ah. I did not pay attention to maai when I came out of the grip hence I could not continue with hanmi tenkan when applying sankyo. Check.

Next technique was hanmi handachi ushiro ryokatadori dai yonkyo. I felt very strange in my movements considering the fact that the uke is now so much taller than me. I had a lot of trouble executing kuzushi on the uke and many a times find myself stuck in a position, feeling very vulnerable. Sensei had us continue our training in tate and explained the mechanics to us and pointing out the differences when doing the same technique in hanmi handachi. All I can say is I suck in execution of of tachiwaza too!

Whilst waiting for my turn to train with my group (we were training in 3's) I noticed one student in the kyu group looking at our training and mimicking our movements. He is a newcomer and appeared to be quite an enthusiastic student considering the fact that he lives in Tutong (40 minutes from dojo) and chose not to join another dojo situated in Tutong. I checked on him a few more times and noticed that he pays more attention to our training than his own. This is another topic of discussion in training which I may go into later. After all this is the first time I see him doing this so I will just observe a few more times before I make any comments.

Sensei shouted "Yame!" and we all lined up. Instead of ending the class he called the kyu students to come forward for a mock examination. You can see nervousness manifesting visibly in their performance which would have been otherwise quite relaxed. Many things were forgotten and movements became more abrupt and mechanical. After the mock test sensei decided that he will also have a go with the yudansha. When C was asked to call his uke, I heard my name and my first reaction was "uh-oh...will I be able to stand up?" Moving forward in shikko had never felt so difficult and when the first technique called is shomenuchi iriminage, I can only hope that my legs will move the way I want them to. Sensei decided to see iriminage executed with different attacks. Ah. I am done for. Somehow I managed to blend in with C and didn't collaspe halfway like a ton of bricks. I was tested as well. It was the exam jitters for all of us!

Sensei gave his comments on our performance in the mock exams and also reiterated the etiquette aspect in the dojo. Before class ended I requested to make a couple of announcements. One of which is concerning sensei's resignation as a member of the technical committee. In my capacity as the Secretary General and on behalf of the federation expressed regret over the resignation followed by a formal speech.

On a personal note I am very sad that sensei has resigned. I took note of his reasons and I think that I would never be able to relate to his situation unless I am in it myself. We all know that his post is not easy. Even for myself I discover new challenges at every turn of my job in the committee. Sensei was one of the pioneer members in Brunei aikido even before the federation was formed. He worked very hard and dedicated much of his time in aikido. He will be sorely missed and I hope that he will continue his post as an instructor as he is currently the only active instructor and the highest ranking aikido practitioner in the country.

Well, the training goes on!

A place for my dogi

My little aikido section. Hehehe.

A white shelf from IKEA which I installed myself.

Adding to my collection

I try not to browse at certain sections of a supermarket, knowing full well my weakness for certain things. Then again, I was in need of retail therapy, so...I bought another lunch jar!

My thoughts on Japan

One of my bento lunches,

 wrapped in a furoshiki,

I bought from a good friend just when I was on holiday with my mom.

We enjoyed Japan's beauty, efficiency and advancement. A week later a 9.0 earthquake came and caused a tsunami which changed many things.

My heart aches for those who lost their love ones. I sympathize those who lost their dwellings and belongings. I applaude those who are part of the rescue and rebuilding efforts. I salute those who valiantly stayed behind to work on the reactor crisis.

But Japan is a nation of resilience. As a country situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, she accepts her precarious geographical location and constantly builds on how to deal with natural calamities as they arise. Admittedly, this time disaster has hit her on a grand scale, but I believe that she will rebuild herself in good time and be up and working just like how she was and maybe even better.

My prayers are with the people of Japan at this difficult time.

Gambatte Nihon!

On this day, are the anniversaries of 2 very important men.

One I can only honour in memory and the other, in the heart, for now.

I miss you both badly.

Beautiful Japan

Tis the season!

Aren't they pretty?

Spot the birdie!

Triple visual pleasure

Scenic

The serenity of the crane lured me

One perspective of the garden

Leaning tree? Hehe

I spy with my eye..sakura blossoms

Red Ume

Simple and white!

My order from Amazon has arrived! Actually it arrived 2 weeks ago but I have it now! I was looking for a jacket to bring for my Tokyo trip and did not have much luck finding what I want. A simple but white jacket. I decided to give online shopping a go and found this jacket which fits the description of what I had in mind perfectly! It fits nicely with a good allowance for thick clothing. There are 3 pockets outside and 1 inside. The stuffing is made of down and it has got a nice weight to it.

All in all I am quite pleased with this purchase. Once I packed in my dogi I will be all set for my trip!

You got the better of me (for that day)

A few days before Chinese New Year, I was driving on the highway back home after a function. I wanted to overtake a car in front of me and so I indicated to the right. As I was nearly halfway into the right lane the car behind me indicated and started to move to the right lane as well. The car looked as if it was accelerating at a speed much faster than mine so I moved back into the left lane. As the car behind me overtook me I saw the passenger (who presumably was the driver's wife and was holding a baby instead of placing the baby in the car seat) give me an angry stare.

Usually, I would just brush off these stares as nothing more than a waste of time and energy. But somehow I was very annoyed by the unwarranted stare. So I indicated once again and moved into the right lane. I started catching up to the car and it moved to the left lane. As I passed that car I looked at the driver, who was keeping his eyes straight ahead, as if trying to avoid me (or just being a safe driver). I zoomed off and within a few minutes I was back home.

As I parked my car I asked myself what have I accomplished by doing what I did? Did it make me feel any better? What did I actually get out of it? Nothing much, except for giving my car engine a good short run.

I would have never batted an eyelid on something like this and I honestly thought that I am beginning to mature, in a sense of seeing things as they are and not attaching any emotions or judgment to it. I felt so bad for letting my ego take over and doing something so pointless.

Guess I still have some way to go...

Hello DD 2011

 Enjoying her avocado

 Daddy is..

 

..the fun factory!

The comfort of mother's embrace