SJI dojo training, 21.02.09

My whole body hurts. A lot.

Initially, training yesterday was rather disappointing. It was all so kelam-kabut and all, as Marcus said. We did warmups, which for the newbies were rather easy. But then after that we did the continuous series of cuts. Arif led us to do joge-suburi, men-suburi, and even sayu-men! I mean, of course i could do those, but to all the beginners? As marcus said, sayu-men hancur lama lama jadi sayur masam.

Okay, and to add matters worse, Mr. David, a school teacher, entered the dojo and gave us utterly shocking news. There will be an exam in the school hall at 9 o'clock, so cannot use the dojo since its so close.

And then Arif said practice will end at 9 o'clock. No bogu prac today.

I was on the brink of tears already. Call me a wuss but that was what I felt. I mean, I waited TWO WHOLE WEEKS (last week no prac) for a chance to train and suddenly kaboom. No training.

I tak puas hati. I saw Marcus grabbing his men and kote and brought it outside to the school concourse, a nice flat area usually reserved for Wushu and Silat. I immediately followed him. So Marcus managed to get a few girls who really wanted to train as well and trained them in kirikaeshi. I joined as well.

In on the receiving end, holding the shinai above my head.

And then Hakim arrived. SO LATE@!!!!!

We continued doing the kirikaeshi exercises with those six girls. I finally concluded that what makes a good instructor isn't his or her prowess in jigeiko; it's how you present your teaching to your students. The way Marcus taught those ungraded Kendoka was very systematic. He started out with teaching them sayu-men. Left hand swings up and down vertically like ringing a bell, and only the right hand guides the shinai in a slight angle aimed at your opponent's head. Then he proceeded on to doing it while moving. Then it was 5 cuts forward and 5 cuts back. He did that until everyone felt comfortable with the idea of alternating strikes to the left and right while moving forward and backward. Then he pieced all the steps together, and voila, kirikaeshi for beginners.

I gotta admit, Marcus got style..... and a way with girls =D

Once those girls were dismissed, then the REAL TRAINING had begun. Hakim........ has...... arrived.......

Bogu on, Hakim ledMarcus and I through various exercises that were completely new to me. There was this geiko, i forgot the name, where u had to simultaneously hit the other person's men. Until a person scores a clean cut, or an ippon. It is so much more difficult that in theory! I kena hantam dari Hakim and Marcus punyala berapa banyak kali! FElt so beginner-ish. But, really, I am nothing but a beginner, and life must go on. Must always taste bitter before taste sweet. Must walk the thousand mile journey step by step. I will train harder after this.

After that, we did men-hiki-do, if I'm not mistaken (someone pls correct me if I'm wrong!). Opponent strikes men and you have to block it aside and strike do. I had lots of trouble for this one. Somehow, my shinai kept getting heavier and heavier, and sweat was blinding my eyes. Also, my overworn kote were doing more damage than help either. I can't grip my shinai properly! I NEED TEN A IN SPM TO GET new BOGU!!!!

Hakim later told me that I tended to bend my back too much. It was Star wars style... whoomph. Cannot. As a result, Marcus' shinai kept striking my left shoulder. And it still hurts until now.

Lessons learnt:

1. Anticipate the timing of your opponent's attack. Timing is very crucial in Kendo and in everyday life. Victory or defeat lies in a few milliseconds. Music would lose all its glory without the gift of timing.

2. Keep back straight when launching attacks. Remember, stick to the basics.

3. Aim properly. I kena Marcus' leg so many times..... Sorry ya!

Things to do:

1. Learn to do snap cuts, like Hakim, but at the same time not neglecting the full men cuts.

2. Get new kote.

3. Train harder. In trainings, must push myself to my very limits to be stronger and faster than before. Only then will I achieve enlightenment.

Izzaz.

p/s: I think marcus will post his own view about the training session....