3rd Kyu...it's alright!

It's all strange.

In one sense I probably have more to say about Aikido than ever yet I never seem to get around to posting these thoughts on the blog.

Maybe it is just poor time management and when I have the time to write I'm just too tired...or too lazy.

Highlights
I took my 3rd Kyu test last Saturday and I was “mostly” prepared but I stumbled a bit in a few parts and thankfully by my turn we were pressed for time and I think Sensei didn't have me touch each move on the list. Of course he saw me going through each technique before class so he actually did see me do everything.

There is a real ebb and flow of membership I've noticed in the 3 ½ years I've been practicing but it it getting pretty light now but one of the good parts is that Sensei gets to know your practice really well. So that may have helped with my testing.

Core Practice

It was a small class tonight and I ended up being the most senior student so was the uke for Sidney Sensei's lessons. Although I was my usual un-graceful self I managed to not make too big a fool of myself.

Anyway we started off with shikko or knee walking and then a little hanmi handachi (one perons on their knees and the other standing) and then back to some more shikko exercises. In closing Sensei gave a little talk to explain why we do such and awkward and impractical exercise. And it boiled down to us finding ways to return to our center or our core and our balance.

Once you can lightly walk on your knees it should be easy to carry that into standing practice. And once learned it is much like regular walking in that if you had to try and teach or explain what walking is, you would be hard pressed to form a lesson plan since you just know and don't even think about it.

I couldn't find anything the really matched our practice but the above video give the feel of it.