We have a 50-50 chance of getting back onto wooden floors today for kendo. I will provide a SMS message to everyone once this has been confirmed (positive or negative).
Default position will be another session in the Japanese Garden. Se you there!
Kendo in the Japanese Garden Monday 23 May
Unfortunately we have not been able to secure a venue for kendo keiko this afternoon, and we will be practising at the same spot in the Japanese Garden from 4–5.30 pm.
Michael will be "bogu-ing" up, so you will be able to practice striking as well as the kata that we touched on last week. Look forward to seeing you there!
Jujutsu shinsa this Saturday
The month is fast drawing to a close and we are rapidly drawing towards the culmination of many months of sustained effort at training with the Jujutsu grading opportunity on this Saturday.
I would like to congratulate everyone for their efforts to this point, and wish all candidates the best for the peak event.
A little house keeping:
- The shinsa will start at 10 am sharp. Could folk please try to be at the dojo from 9am so that we can properly prepare the dojo, including a good tidy of the main hall and setting up chairs for observers.
- For those jujutsuka not attempting a grading this time, it would be good for you to observe how a grading is conducted, and to simply support those who are grading. In addition we could use the hand of folk to take photos, help to organise lunch and welcome visitors on the day.
- Friends and family are very welcome to watch and have lunch with us at the conclusion of the shinsa. If you know who might be coming (some have already sent this information through), please let Michael know ASAP, along with any dietary requirements so that they can have something to eat with us.
- If you have not formally put in your expression of interest, an extension has been provided and you will have till this evening to contact Michael and discuss your eligibility to grade. If you do not, you cannot attempt a grading on Saturday.
- Thursday night training will be a partial "dress rehearsal" for Saturday. While not compulsory to attend, it is strongly recommended that you do. We will not be holding Iaido nor Systema on Thursday night to allow for more time to practice.
So gambatte folks! Will look forward to seeing all of your efforts this week!
And back to a regular week
It feels a little odd mentally getting back to things after two long weekends in a row. However, we are back to "regular" programming this week with Kendo on from 4 pm today at the CBRC, both PunchFit and Fire and Flow arts tonight in the MEAC, and more preparation for upcoming gradings.
The Jujutsu 5th Kyu requirements will be reposted in the BBRD Group page this evening. If you require a copy sent directly to you, please e-mail Michael. Remember too that you will have to e-mail Michael with a formal request to grade and have your grading application fee put into the Club's account by Saturday 21 May.
We will start to look more specifically at grading requirements for Kendo and Iaido this week, having received some excellent advice from Isaacs Sensei and Johnson Sensei, respectively, for those disciplines.
Finally, we will be starting to look for accommodation options for the QKR seminar in July. Please let Michael, Sian or Tracy know this week if you would like to come and stay so that we can get a few options together. Given it is the last weekend of school holidays, we will need to move reasonable quickly on securing something at a reasonable price.
I'll look forward to seeing many of you at the dojo this week!
Iaido update plus QKR seminar and grading
Seitei Iaido study group is now training on Tuesday nights as well as Thursday nights from 7:45pm to 9:15pm at the MEAC.
Tom Johnson sensei is back from his trip to Japan so that means that Kohokai is back to regular training down in Ipswich with the exception that there will be no more training at Collingwood Park, all the training will be at the Pine Mountain Road venue. Tracy is still making the trip down as often as she can so if you would like more details or to discuss car pooling be sure to contact her.
Also, there is an upcoming seminar and grading opportunity on the 9th and 10th of July to be held at the Tallebudgera Leisure Centre. It will run from 8:30am to 5pm both days. Seeing as it is a two-day event we will be looking at renting some accommodation down at the gold coast. Anyone who might be interested staying overnight please contact either Michael or Tracy so we can organise it as soon as possible.
It is important to note that those wishing to attend need to make sure that they have paid their QKR membership by June 30th so that they can be registered before the start of the seminar.
Thanks.
Jujutsu shinsa Saturday 28 May
The date for the jujutsu nyumon and chuden gradings will be 10am Saturday 28 May at the Mort Estate Activity Centre.
If you intend to grade, you will need to nominate which grade you are attempting and pay the registration fee of $20 no later than Saturday 21 May. Please e-mail Michael with your request to grade, and ensure that the fee is deposited directly into the BBRD account.
Gradings are a culmination of many months of sustained effort, and you are very welcome to invite family and friends to observe. It is expected that the examination should be finished by 12.30, and we will finish off by sharing lunch at its conclusion.
Things to keep in mind this month in the lead up to the grading:
- While shinsa preparation is not a "sprint", now is not the time to slack off from your training. Try to attend as many sessions as you can between now and the end of the month.
- Make sure you know what is expected for your grade. The grading requirement sheets are on the Club's Facebook group page, but I will e-mail people the relevant document directly if requested.
- Ask questions if you don't understand a component of the grading requirements or if you can't quite remember how to do a particular portion of the curriculum.
- Don't panic. You are not expected to be perfect at the requirements, simply adequate for your grade. It is much more important to show spirit, tenacity., and a demonstration of solid foundations for posture and movement.
- Remember you are working with— rather than fighting against— your partners, both in training and during the grading. Be generous, offer yourself to the technique, particularly as the main focus for this month is nage wasa.
Gambatte folks!
The long read: Generating power from the hips in Jujutsu
I wanted to write a follow on piece from the last "Long Read" on kendo, and keeping the fire in the belly. This article is focussed on jujutsu, but again can be equally applied to other disciplines. It comes from something I have been saying in class as a help in preparing for gradings at the end of the month.
It is probably a truism to say that one of the most consistent pieces of advice provided by senior martial arts practitioners to their students, regardless of discipline, is to "generate power from the hips". And conversely, it seems to be one of the most difficult things for novice and intermediate students to develop.
In part, this is probably because of a failure to understand what this actually might mean in relation to how your body has to move in order to make this happen, and in part a failure to properly communicate the broken down steps of how to create the desired outcome— remembering that many martial arts instructors are not trained teachers, often they are physically talented individuals, and in most cases their own experience as a struggling beginner is now many years or even decades in the past.
So what might it actually mean to move "from the hips"? And why/how should you develop it?
What I have taken from my own personal struggles with generating the "correct" movement is that in order to take the first steps you need to develop and understanding of what seems at first like a paradox. This is that in order to create power you need to have muscular tension to maintain posture and generate force, while in order to achieve maximum velocity, you need to relax and "let fly". However, if you miss the sweet spot between structure and relaxation, you end up looking like a giraffe on roller skates.
Driving this is an unvirtuous cycle:
- failure to engage the core means that you reduce the efficiency of movement
- throwing your torso first, rather than your belly, leads to stumbling into a technique rather than performing it correctly
- missing your timing and distancing reduces the chance of successfully completing the technique
- trying to play "catch up" with your poor positioning and timing starts with your arms and legs without engaging your core ...
- this is then repeated till you either "muscle" a solution, or are successfully countered by your partner.
So what needs to happen?
First, is to build your posture from your feet upwards. Make sure that you start any motion from a neutral position, with your feet correctly aligned. Avoid being "flat footed" or leaning back on your heels as your will find it very difficult to initiate movement.
Second, your pelvis needs to be correctly aligned. In jujutsu this often requires them to not be square with the shoulders. Why? Well, in order to generate power you need to be able to pivot the rear hip forwards so that you are able to drive the initial acceleration of the leg to either:
- initiate forward movement
- transfer acceleration to the upper body, or
- continue the acceleration of the leg in order to change position or kick with it.
In our warm ups, we do a hip-torque exercise that is supposed to develop the neural response required to do this effectively. However, there are a number of common errors that I often see from my end of the mat. These include: initially throwing the movement from the shoulder; placing too much emphasis on the return to the start position; insufficient power (read explosive force) in the forward motion; rigidity in the hip; floppiness in the torso; and lack of committing to the motion.
I know — it is quite a list. But given that this motion forms a foundations for much of what we do in jujutsu, it is critical to try and get this as good as you can, especially with grading at the end of the month. Some things you can try to think about:
Stabilise the torso: Remain engaged but pliable as you move through the action. Think of your torso touching lightly against a bar at chest height — movement should happen at the waist. Correct posture starts with drawing your shoulder blades back and down, opening up your chest, and having your torso both perpendicular to the ground and square to the front.
Let your pelvis find its natural place: You do not need to "place" yourself into the reset position. If you start with good posture, you will fall back to where you started without having to place — simply relax the driving muscles (mainly your buttock). And certainly don't "throw" yourself backwards!
Contract the driving muscle hard and fast: It does not matter if we are doing a slower or quicker count. Each hip torque should be the same speed. The variation is to develop timing and reaction speed rather than the quickness of the contraction.
"Float" the rear foot: make sure that you are off your heel so that you get the sense of pivoting on the ball of the foot and whipping the leg forward without lifting it off the ground. This will help to relax around the socket of the hip and to generate even more power. This becomes particularly useful when launching a kick or a knee strike, allowing you to switch-step and use plyometrics to launch even more quickly.
Make each movement count: We all have times when we feel like simply going through the motions. However it can develop into a very poor habit that can lead to reducing your ability to actualise the above pointers. An important part of what we do is wrapped in the Zen practice of mindful and deliberate action. So see each repetition as a chance to refine and perfect the fundamentals. Don't sweat it if it isn't quite tight, and don't dwell on the success you have. Just try to get each action correct every time you do it!
So with the above in mind, I wish every one the best in their preparations over this month leading up to the gradings. As always, I'm very happy to receive questions regarding what it is that I expect for each grade level and how you might be able to demonstrate that on the day.
SMR Jodo
Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo is still training Monday and Wednesday nights at the MEAC starting at 7:00 pm. I would like to invite Kendo practitioners in Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei Jodo (or Seitei Jodo) to come along and work on your Kihon and Kata with us. There are but minor differences in the Kihon between SMR Jodo and ZNKR Jodo, and SMR Jodo practitioners in Toowoomba first start learning the Seitei Jodo Kata (again with minor differences to that of ZNKR Jodo) before moving on to our series of Kata.
So, if you would like to work on your skills with the jo, please feel free to come on Monday and Wednesday nights. See you there.
Eric
Monday Kendo for the next two weeks
With public holidays for ANZAC Day and Labour day coming up, we are going to have to be a little flexible with our kendo training, as the CBRC will be unavailable.
Instead, we will train 4–5.30 pm at the MEAC for those of you who are interested/available to train.
Boxing & Systema
Well Anzac day is almost here, so I’m thinking it’s a great time to talk about the martial arts of Boxing and Systema, but before then, I’d like all of us to remember the ones that have serviced in combat zones around the world and at home, so we could be free thinking and to train and live life the way we choose too.
Now it’s being a great pleasure running Boxing & Systema at the club, were seeing an increase in numbers on both Mondays boxing Classes and also on the Thursday Systema classes, were seeing a lot of progress with both classes especially with Ray, Dillon and Peter from the boxing classes and I’m seeing a huge improvement in the whole group in Systema.
So keep up the great work guys,
Today's Systema Tip:
"The person with the most flexible behaviour, will control the system" But be warned, not to overuse it!!!
Sean C