Opening Tuesday

I picked up my friend and the hunt for the new Dojo began. We got a little lost, but thanks to my snappy Android phone, we were back on track in no time. The Dojo seemed a bit bigger than where we train and it had punching bags too. I stretched and played with the Bo a bit more. Our Sensei showed me a couple more tricks and corrected my style a bit.

There were a lot of familiar faces around and some of the old students showed up in street clothes in a bit to make the new comers feel more welcome. Even Shidoshi Lee joined us and I could see how proud he was of Sensei Stuart. We warmed up with a variation of push-ups, sit-ups and the plank. We then did a number of body-conditioning exercises. Again Sensei Stuart had some interesting variations. Both I and my partner were sweating properly by the time we were ordered to get bags. There weren’t enough bags for all of us so the senior students split up to form their own class.

And so while the new students were doing what Sensei Stuart demonstrated on the bags we were throwing each other to the ground as our Sensei showed us a couple of variations on some seventh kyu takedowns. Our minds were open and we were experimenting with the moves, testing each ones effectiveness and trying new variations.

We broke up for water after which each of us walked amongst the new students to help train them. I saw myself in all of them, unsure of what they were doing, hopelessly lost as to how to better their form and pretending to be competent. I tried to set the ones I was helping at ease, focusing on the small things like footwork, body position and hand techniques, breaking down the movements and explaining the mechanics. I could hear my Sensei’s voice in my head as I explained every move. Our Sensei also helped out and some of the students excelled while others clearly need more time. In the end it was a fun class to attend and I am sure Sensei Stuart will go from strength to strength with his new Dojo.

Embrace the shadows.