6Th Kyu Tuesday

I have been very relaxed the last three weeks, due to chronic sinus thanks to my kids, but after antibiotics and lately a homeopathic alternative I am starting to feel like my old self again. I got to class a bit earlier with the aim to work on my sword kata again, but the Sensei was in a chatty mood.

Everybody seemed to have low energy levels and we skipped the plank for the first time in as long as I can remember. I was a little disappointed, I can feel I am losing muscle weight and was eager to push my body to the limit again. At least we got to do push-ups which got my heart rate up a bit.

We did body conditioning and my friends’ strikes felt a little harder than usual. My focus felt a bit off and soon the only thing I could focus on was how I am going to enjoy doing the same to him. As we swopped I aimed a stiff elbow to his midsection to test his reaction... He recoiled with a pained expression on his face as I stopped the strike just before impact.

Then the barrage of strikes and kicks descended on him and soon he dropped his hands and bowed out. The problem isn’t so much the power of the strikes as it is the frequency. The mid section has to remain contracted while the strikes continue. It’s like the strikes adds to the tension in the mid section. The tension is relieved only once the midsection relaxes and if the strikes continue, this can’t materialise.

We went over into some combinations and as usual I was the demonstration uke. I could still sense the low energy even from the Sensei as he asked for a straight punch to the face. The drill was for multiple jabs by the attacker and the defender would have to block and duck out and under to facilitate a side attack. I hardly look where I punch the face any more, by now I can feel the opponents proximity and my aim improved even more with boxing and hitting the bag at home. I keep my eye in the middle of my opponent’s chest for an overall peripheral vision of my opponent. Ask I jabbed in with another punch my fist made contact with the Senseis nose... It was more like a push but with the upward angle and a bit of a shoulder inevitably a trickle of blood started to flow.

The rest of the drill was difficult for me, I was over cautious and over emphasised my movements in a bid not to hurt my friend as well. I failed and as he missed my hand , he too got it on the nose. Fortunately he didn’t bleed. We agreed that we would use the gloves to train this way at home, but not before he got me with a bar arm in the mouth and nose. The Sensei asked if we want to do some bag work and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 After bag work I offered to teach the juniors 6^th Kyu. As I mentioned before, 6^th Kyu is all about locks and immobilisations from holds. Basically an assailant would grab your wrists, shirt or neck or push you on a shoulder and 6^th kyu is what you would use to get out of the situation. I did 6^th kyu in June last year and it was at this stage of my training that I really started to find the flow and rhythm of my body as a martial artist. Besides 9^th, 8^th and 7^th, 6^th kyu is the foundation for most weapon moves in the higher levels of our art. All the locks and manipulations stem from 6^th kyu so it’s normally a pivotal point in NinjaSA.

I had two 7^th Kyu students with me and we started with getting up from ones back and stomach into a fighting stance. It was a bit distracting while the seniors were practicing the sword kata, but the students got the just of the moves. We went on to two hand grabs and that’s when it happened again. I could see the mistakes they were making, how their rigid movements were hampering their success and I could feel how well and effective I was flowing while I was demonstrating the moves. I got in the zone again and for and instant while I was demonstrating a move I became one with the technique, explaining step for step how to do it.

The Senseis’ voice ripped me from the teachers slumber with a comment of praise. I was blushing as he congratulated himself as a teacher. His teachings have become my own and at the end of the evening I could see a new shine of respect in the one juniors eyes when he thanked me for the training session.

Embrace the shadows.