I came a bit earlier and brought my bokken with. I went through the nine cuts kata, Sword etiquette and my own 10 cut kata three times each. My arm is now strong and use to swinging the sword and my knees are strong enough to keep my stance stable and my foot work fast.
We started class with the plank as usual, then ankle crunches. We had a quick stretching session and then we partnered up for body conditioning and after a couple of strikes to the midsection we were all focused and ready for a long evening. And long it was, the senseis partnered me with one of the more senior student and I knew I am in for a rough ride when he punched me in the mouth because my blocking was to slow.
We broke for a minute from doing combinations and then went straight back to doing combinations. At the end of the night my partner thanked me for being a bit more aggressive and I dragged my tired body back home to eat and contemplate what I have learned.
I took some time with this post because I wasn’t sure what that was. What could possibly be the point of using a whole hour in class to do combinations with a partner. Thinking back in a number of instances I criticised the Senseis thinking. I questioned their application and altered some of the moves and that was it, they were training us to think on our feet, even after being punched in the mouth and thrown around like a rag doll, I remained objective, un-perturbed by my surroundings and totally focused on the task at hand and the question, is what I am doing optimum and successful.
Embrace the shadows.
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