Mar 112010
 

Last night, after some kicking drills and sparring, sensei entrusted the adult class to me and told us to work on kusanku. The ‘adult class’ yesterday consisted of three sankyu.
I looked at the clock, rubbed my hands together and said “Alright everyone, we have twenty-five minutes’ worth of kusanku. Let me know if you have questions or doubts.”
When we had finished walking through it, I looked at the clock. I’d spent twenty minutes on the form, and they all looked happy. I don’t think I really stood still for more than a few seconds at a time during those twenty minutes.
It reminded me of the first time I led the adult class, and I spent twenty-five minutes on seisan kata. I distinctly remember that it did not go quite as smoothly. It is usually hard to convince ranks under shodan that seisan is a very important, subtle kata, full of knowledge to be examined ;-) It’s a realization they must come to by themselves.

My favorite moment of those twenty minutes (besides the part where they all had a big smile, at the end), was one of the signature kusanku moves (koza dachi, right hand shuto to the throat, left hand behind your head like in seiuchin). I knelt by each one, adjusted the position of their rear foot with my hands, then stood up and watched their faces light up as the lesson sank in – in the proper stance, the legs and hips are looser, and thus the hips can turn more and still be more comfortable!

I _like_ teaching.

Sep 172009
 

So tonight, I went to train 35 minutes away from home, at the dojo where my sensei’s sensei teaches. Warmups / stretches, kicking drills, calisthenics, sparring, then fighting drills.
Sensei’s sensei has a son who is now 48. Now — I am fast by normal people’s standards. This guy is really fast by my standards. He also has a really positive energy – very friendly eyes, a great disposition.. And he can dislocate your jaw before you can blink or think “oh sh..!”, so don’t piss him off.
Anyway, as much as shihan (sensei’s sensei) is amazing, tall, skilled, talented, dedicated to his art, as much his son inherited many of the traits, has been training under his dad a long time, and has learned a lot from a ton of sparring and tournaments and just .. being there.
So now he imparts his wisdom and skills, and it’s WONDERFUL to watch him in action, and learn from him, and listen to his way of explaining things. Just like in Dune, “A process cannot be understood by stopping it”, he explains action and reaction within the context of a moving match, which is AWESOME.

I breathe hard when I’m in this class. It’s a bit of a work-out, and excellent cardio.
Oh ! So shihan’s son hit me twice, and I managed to shift out of the way of the third strike, like I felt his movement and reacted. It was sweet. Now I only need to make that happen ALL THE TIME.

Sep 162009
 

I had a good time in the dojo tonight. Managed to bring a kid back from the verge of tears to feeling good and performing kata with solid focus and intent.. And then good sparring. Kid’s 6, by the way.
My class wasn’t that good, though I got a compliment on my push-ups from sensei. Went through my kicks.. Then sparred..

I fleetingly get a grasp of efficient body movement, and then it disappears, and then I have to train a lot more to make it happen again, and then more again, etc etc, until I can make it happen effortlessly.

I really, really love teaching martial arts. There’s something about the student-teacher relationship, in the study of something which involves both body and mind – and you can’t lie or fake your way through that. It’s all about the truth, and being naked and exposed. It forces you to examine yourself and your relationship with others.