Tonight's practice was a nice return after a long absense. Sensei tends to give two kinds of practices--either a very kiai-heavy, endurance-building, continuous-combination type of practice involving more and more strikes, or very slow-paced, basics heavy, hit-isolation paired training with less followthrough and a lot more emphasis on isolated elements. The latter was the style of tonight's practice, which meant that although I walked out not fully exhausted, I hadn't completely killed myself, especially since my dodgy throat condition meant that I had to push to produce any acceptable kiai.

I still need to work to make my kote strike more determined with proper zanshin, as I think I tend to think of making it smaller as a feint always, but of course kote is a perfectly fine strike all by itself.

Five sensei tonight! This was lucky, due to a shift in the rotation, and meant that I ended up keikoing with three sensei back-to-back. So I don't feel quite as bad about needing to miss the next two weekday practices, and even the first ten minutes of tonight's practice due to yet more work business. But it's interesting to think about how much better I'd be if I always had the attitude of "I need to practice super-hard because I won't have practice until..."

In particular, I felt more relaxed in kamae at least, even though I'm told by Sensei I need to relax after the strike, to make tenouchi snappier. But at least he tells me that I have learned better timing so that I'm striking at the right opportunity, and I did indeed feel better able to recover and strike after unsuccess at times, at least.

I prefer this kind of practice, with lots of concrete things to work on, and advice that I can use right away, although not having my journal close by has meant that I lost out on a lot of insights right afterwards.

It was interesting to see all those sensei line up to practice with Sensei, as they have a shinsa coming up, which is the same thing for them as for us, I think, and Sensei has been saying more of late about how subject to luck promotion is. One of the older yondan reminded me that since I'm younger, I should be initiating more attacks, rather than waiting for him and countering. A godan weekend sensei reminded me to keep my elbows closer to the side of my body, which will also allow me to keep center rather than swerving off to the side, as I often do, and coming in more like yoko-men than straight men, or otherwise opening up my kote yet again. On the other hand, I still don't know how to deal with certain sempai, such as those who push too hard through after striking, which makes my countering and so on much more difficult.

Saturday sensei claims that I've made a great leap now that I'm observing my opponent more and making better contact, two closely linked changes in my kendo. I have never been able to respond to praise very well, and so I demurred, but this meant that he said so again downstairs to my even greater embarassment. But I will admit that I was happy with that last men which I scored tonight, a minor fakeout but nothing too fancy, then a nice big solid thwack right down the center. After a good cut, you feel like you actually meant it, but weren't trying too too hard--breaking through nonetheless

Some other points to keep in mind today would be (given my relative lack of practice with sensei), would be from a much taller sempai (not to whack him in the hand with my overheavy bokken) to keep my elbows tucked in more closely to the sides of my do rather than sticking my arms out--my range will increase in that case, because when arms are extended, I can't hit any further than my legs carry me, while a tighter-in kamae means that I can both use arms and legs in hitting. Another sempai now refuses to have me fight from issoku, but rather from to-ma. Can't wait for more keiko tomorrow, bright and early.

It's not that I don't value keiko with sempai, but I am disappointing, when as today, I dont' get to practice with any sensei, in part because I was next in line for Sensei, but he spent too much time dismembering my immediate sempai so that there ws no tiem left for me to keikio with him, not even ippon shobu. Meanwhile, the drills today seemed to focus on lunging and the further aspects which included squart suburi, which are painful enough to cause my hamstrings still to dully ache. My kohai prctices were unsatisfying and a little frustrating, but with sempai at least I felt again as if I could hold center and consistently counterstrike. The rest comes with time.

almost three months to the day, I got my ikkyu menjo today. The biggest compliment Sensei has ever paid me was as he was handing me it, he said, "I though you was shodan"

Not having my usual stenobook today, I didn't write as much as usual after practice. But it was a good solid Tuesday practice, which meant a vigorous kihon session and then men-o-tsuke earlier than usual--it's a good week when I can get four solid hours under the buton. I also got a chance to practice with three sensei today, and I guess my attitude has changed from avoidance (I don't remember when I used to do that, but earlier, certainly) to chomping at the bit to practice with as many sensei as I possibly can. In any case, today I managed to land a few nice waza, but I should keep it kihonier, I think, and at the same time I really need to work on my kote, which can land well, but is more of a tap rather than a cut, and has me stop moving right afterward, rather than following through with any real zanshin. I'm cautioned especially against making too many kote feints which might make my real kote-uchi even more faint and uncommitted. So it's something to work on, rather than my men-centric approach of late.

It's just sad how I've left behind suburi after that blister, but will probably need to later next week since I will have many different interruptions.

Sundays have been deserted, today too, but the new cute former model student at least got extra-special tutoring from Sensei. Today was lots of kihon, some confused waza drills (you really need to "go on the blocks" rather than on your own timing. My anti-kote-waza still need a lot more work, especially my ojikaeshi-waza, which I can seldom get to work. The rest of my keiko was fine, just not remarkable in any way.

I keep on getting complimented by sensei when I haven't done anything that great, or so I think, which is surprising because when I'm asked, "So what did you do different today?" as I was today, I didn't know whether it was because I did significantly better or worse than usual. I have been reasonably pleased with my ability against much taller opponents, although it's not that I score first against them, it's just that when I do strike, I hit right after, but straight and solid buton-men-uchi.

I haven't made a Saturday practice in quite a few weeks, so it was good to get into the kata groove again, although my kodachi kata is predictably worthless, for now at least. But then regular practice was a nice energetic hour of mawari-geiko, three sensei, and practice with almost everyone who managed to show up.

I still need to work on my kote being a more determined strike. I did not feel as in control today as I have in the past, and my debana-men was a little off, at least compared to my degone, which I was apparently able to land far more today, at least against kohai. Against sempai, I had good strong kiai, but not enough velocity on zanshin or anything. I still need to work on kote-men which is pretty crap.

Teaching sensei reminded us to use the tip of our shinai more, to tap and control the "root" of the opponent's, rather than the other way around. This is disruptive and stays in control, making subsequent waza much easier.

Practice was rather deserted tonight, but that just meant that with my return after missing a practice I managed to practice with three sensei tonight, with varying levels of success, with a very pretty hiki-kote as the last 1pon shobu, although I went back so fast so far that I was wobbly at the very end. But there are still things I need to work on: two hands as one, heijoshin, not leaning forward before I strike, striking kote more determinedly, and hitting at a better depth in kakarigeiko. It's these sorts of things I need to do better and more consistently, to say nothing of hitting and going through all of the time, rather than mostly on men-uchi. But I must say that practice always lifts such a cloud from me, though today I felt better rested and happier than normal.

I noticed at long last a small hole in my kote, on the left one, near the thumb, but not where I would have expected. It's nothing to get worried about just yet, though.

It being godogeiko and all meant that there were lots of sensei around, though I didn't stay for the godogeiko proper. I felt all right today, but owing to the non-end of actual practice, I didn't get much feedback from the four sensei I practiced with today, which makes me how much I miss it--how much I still rely on this advice rather than my own opinions of how things went, and need their guidance as to what to do next. But this is only natural at my stage of htings, though I must confess that I do tailor my practice what I do based upon the sensei I'm up against. So this might mean lots of men-uchi, more pressure, trickier waza with mixing it up, and so on.

My kote is apparently wider open than a barn door, and the sensei are not shy about tagging it, despite my belated counter-men.

So I've been sniffly, and now a little hoarse, but my kiai was pretty fine today. It was a straightforward practice, with lots of nissoku/to-ma work, tsuki, plenty of uchikomi, and wonderful wonderful kakarigeiko, though only two rounds of it, I'm afraid. My keiko's with various Sensei are not really all that different from Tuesday--it felt very much like a continuation of that practice, a definite plateau phase. But at least my burst callus has healed, but like another kohai I fnd that my joints are still a flippy-dodgy or something. Something to work on--relax, relax, relax