WEEK 4 (part 4 of 4)
The last week. I have to admit I was becoming mentally and physically exhausted. Usually, in class, we watch as a technique is demonstrated for us a few times, and then we practice it on our own. If you're not paying attention to the technique being demonstrated, when it becomes your turn to perform the technique, you are lost and feel really stupid... "What are we doing again?" I knew I was tired, but my desire to learn was still there. There was one class I still remember fondly. Mrs. Parks Casey Sensei taught a class where we worked on one technique - irimi kokyunage - for the entire hour. It is now one of my favorite techniques! I can't say I can do it perfectly yet, but I was the uke for a few people who could do it really well, and it was fun to to take a 'flying roll' when they threw me! At one point during that class I thought to myself "I couldn't have done that last month." Making progress is such a great feeling! But then I thought "Will I still be able to do this next month?" Oh, self-doubt is not a good friend!
A day to act like a tourist! On Sunday, July 25th, Laura and Paige were gracious enough to show me around downtown Chicago. We went to Millenium Park and saw:
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| Frank Gehry's Jay Pritzker Pavilion |
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| Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate |
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| Crown Fountain |
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| Frank Gehry's BP Bridge |
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| Laurie Garden |
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| Boeing Gallery |
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| Tony Tasset's EYE |
Then we hung out and ate here.
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| Navy Pier |
To end the night, Paige and I went to see Inception - an action packed movie that keeps your mind occupied! What a day. When you only have one free day a week, you make the most out of it!
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| Image courtesy of Toyoda Sensei |
Last 'official' day! July 29th was our official last day of kenshusei. That night, after aikido classes were over, we celebrated together at Leona's - a creative modern-style pizza joint. We bid Toyoda Sensei farewell as he left Chicago to attend the City Aiki Grand Opening in RI. I was sad that kenshusei was over. However, there were still two more days to enjoy before I left!
On Friday, July 30th, Dale left in the morning. I think he enjoyed kenshusei, but was ready to go home. Alex, Carlos, David, and I went to Conrad's house to help him move out of his apartment. He's an artist that specializes in woodwork, so there was a lot of wood pieces to move! It was impressive. We met two other awesome guys who were also there to help Conrad move. Oh, and by the way, Conrad plays a mean ukulele!
On Friday, July 30th, Dale left in the morning. I think he enjoyed kenshusei, but was ready to go home. Alex, Carlos, David, and I went to Conrad's house to help him move out of his apartment. He's an artist that specializes in woodwork, so there was a lot of wood pieces to move! It was impressive. We met two other awesome guys who were also there to help Conrad move. Oh, and by the way, Conrad plays a mean ukulele!
That night, I attended the 6pm aikido class, but left at 7pm to join Chris and Jill's book club. They told me about it on Monday and I tired to finish the entire book (Enchanted by Orson Scott Card), but I only got through half of it. Surprisingly, I was able to follow most of the discussions and the main concepts of the book. It was my first book club, and it was better than I had ever imagined it would be! I knew some people already from aikido. The people there included Rob, Jordan, Genea, Peter, Jordan, Julie, Jodie, Jill, Chris, and me. We started off with drinks and pizza, talked until everyone had said their piece and discussed several ideas. Then we ended with more drinks and games! Playing games provided by the establishment was unbelievably fantastic. Chris and I played a game called Stratego (which he won) and then the entire book club played "Apples to Apples" (which Jordan won). I only have one blury picture of the event so bear with me.
When I got back from the book club (thank you Jill and Chris for walking me back to the dojo), the Spaniards were all enjoying their last night in Chicago on the roof. I went up and enjoyed their company for a while until I was just dead tired and went to sleep. I also had to get up early the next morning because...
At 7:15am, I got a call from Shimako asking "Are we still meeting up for Bikram yoga?" "Of course!" I replied, jumped out of bed, grabbed my stuff, and ran to the train station. We had never done Bikram yoga before and thought we'd give it a try. At this point, working out in a heated room with the humidity turned up just didn't sound so bad after my aikido experience at the dojo. "I think I'll be just fine." I told myself.
During the middle of the class, as I was bent 90 degrees at the hips, torso parallel to the floor, sweat was dripping off my face like I had my head under a faucet of water. Wow, never sweat that much before! Definitely an intense experience, and not sure I want my yoga workouts to be so hard core... Shimako and I stopped by Jamba Juice on the way to the dojo to cool ourselves down. We arrived at the dojo to find that the kid's class was in session, and that they would be testing today. So Shimako and I watched and took pictures! I did join the second half of the class to take ukemi for a part of one child's test.
Around 3pm, the Spaniards (Alex, Carlos, David, and Maitei Sensei) all left to go back to Spain. That left only me and Shimako to attend the 2:30pm class. It was a good class with Kennedy Sensei, but I already missed the other kenshusei members! We worked on kokyunage, ikkyo, and kotegaeshi. Basic techniques, but hard to truly master! I left my last aikido class humbled by the fact that despite all of my training this month, I still had so much to learn when doing even the simplest techniques. After a refreshing shower, Shimako and I made our way to Catherine's bbq. There, I finally satisfied my craving for soda. I hadn't meant to go the whole month without soda, but I did. As soon as I realized it (which was a few days ago), I began to have an intense craving for it. I did manage to put off drinking soda until after my last kenshusei class. Trivial, yes, but still a small victory. The people that stayed until the end of the bbq are here in this picture. We had such a great time, especially after Vicki brought us two huge bottles of martini mix!
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| Image courtesy of Cathrine White |
After the bbq, Chris took Jill, Paige, and me out dancing since it was my last night in town. Now, I'm not saying that this is the smartest thing to do when you have an early flight the next morning, but I did eventually catch a flight home and into the arms of my beloved husband.
REFLECTIONS
The one thing I knew going into kenshusei was that I would be doing a lot of aikido on the mat. What I didn't realize was that I would be practicing just as much aikido off the mat. One class began as "What is aikido?" As we all gave the 'textbook' answers of the four principles, and how we can practice it in our daily lives, the instructor proceeded to tell us that despite all of our wonderful answers, he doesn't see it happening. On the mat, we tend to muscle our techniques. Off the mat, we don't blend, we get upset/frustrated, and distance ourselves. For me, practicing the principles off the mat was almost more challenging than on the mat. I began to categorize unpleasant situations as munesukis (a punch to the stomach), and I would have the choice to deflect, use their energy against them, and then pin them or let them go. Looking back, I think I might have chosen to deflect a little too often, because after I deflected, the next time they "punched" me, they would come from a different angle and even a little harder. Perhaps I need to learn when to be a bit more assertive - use their energy against them as a gentle reminder that they cannot go around attacking people without consequence. On the other hand, it was very easy to blend with the majority of the people I met in Chicago. I met wonderful people and have many fond memories.I feel that my aikido technique has improved quite a bit. Consistently putting in hours of practice helps your body realize what techniques should feel like (and not feel like). Working with tall people who weighed much more than I did really helped me use my center (keep one point), because muscling them got me nowhere. Weekly bokken practice with Casey Sensei helped me with extending ki. Once I applied this principle to my empty hand techniques, the techniques automatically became much stronger. Keep weight underside became very important when I started throwing break falls - heavy people would often make me lean forward and almost lose my balance. Not a good thing when your uke has put their trust in you! I have also learned the importance of relaxing completely. The technique, as an uke and nage is smoother and a very pleasant experience if they both "move with the flow." When someone is forcefully pushing you to the ground, it is not a very pleasant experience. Also, I feel that many injuries occur this way. Once relaxed as nage, techniques feel almost effortless; as uke, you automatically blend with your opponent. If the technique ends with a throw, then the uke is usually in for a real treat! Now, I would like to make it clear that I am still a beginner in the world of aikido, so my techniques are far from perfect - but the opportunity to learn so much was a wonderful experience.
My advice to future kenshusei (and I should read this if I am lucky enough to go next year), is to go with an open mind. Have no expectations of what it should be like, or what is going to happen. Know that you'll be doing a lot of aikido, and have hopes and goals for what you personally wish to accomplish. Other than that, relax completely, extend ki, keep one point, and keep weight underside. Oh, and extend more ki!
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| Final Kensusei picture courtesy of Maite Sensei |
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