(no subject)
iai - Nice class last week with lots of tips. I felt "on," which left me feeling (because the on/off feeling usually alternates days) feeling "off" the next day, when I was pleased to host my Tamiya-ryu friend for a little bit of everything sort of workout.
It was, however, tremendous fun to share waza and compare styles and whack at each other with sticks of various lengths. ^_^
judo - USJA town hall meeting and open workout at Norwich Judo Dojo on Saturday. Joan at that dojo is a super nice lady-she grabbed me and worked with me for the whole session. She's very, very good. I ended up with a few bruises and a broken toe during randori, but it was well worth it.
Then a town hall meeting with Ann Maria DeMars, who is the USJA president. USJA is not my org; not my dojo's org. But the issues I have cut across the entire judo population. So it being an open forum I expressed my frustration with my situation, with the double-whammy of being both a woman and a recreational judoka, and the need to create a broad base of all kinds of judo students and teachers. Definitely agreement on that, but what I heard a lot of was creating more opportunities for people to train as coaches, and for women to compete. That's not what I need; not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a climate where everyone is valued for what they can bring to judo.
naginata - Back to back training sessions, last week and this. I think this is something that's a good thing to schedule now and again, as it gives me a chance to capitalize on the learning from the previous week. Yesterday I had a much better sense of ma-ai, and a much better recognition of timing (even if I wasn't always successful, I could at least feel when I was wrong). However, my brain was all over the place, blanking out in the middle of kata, etc.
As I drove straight from CT on Saturday, we had budo movie night, concentrating on kusarigama, naginata, and jo. Next morning I did a show and tell with the latest weapon projects. I'd had a lot of email conversations with The Boss over the GPPB, rev 2, and he was very curious to see/feel the difference. It was proclaimed excellent, and I was asked if he could start advertising me. I said not yet-we'll wait until Mini Mongo (the jatoba for sempai Fred which will be in progress soon) has had some bash-in. Plus Dave wants a purpleheart naginata. So! I'll supply the dojo, and we'll see how they fare before I open things up.
The Boss actually preferred my unfinished tachi to the weapons made by the well-known person in the frozen north (he liked how neutral it was in travel), and the tanto I've given recently were much appreciated, and I have actually received money down for a weapon, so it appears I have been set on a path which I must follow.
weapons in progress
Alas, The Boss still wasn't feeling well enough to come to training, but he was sure he'd be well enough the next time I was down. He'll have to play Sensei Dog for a few months (barking from the corner), but we can't let him take any risk of another head bump. Like I told him, when I heard the news about his injury, my entire Buko-ryu career flashed before my eyes.
work - Yay, holiday season! That, in case you didn't realize, is sarcasm.
family - Some pathetic grades from the boys in the first term. :-(
school - Registered today for Regions of the World: East Asia, history and current issues. Because my self-acquired knowledge is . . . a little tip-heavy.
reading - Still The City and The City. Not because I'm not liking it, but because I'm busy!
writing - Well, this post is writing, right?
Learning Japanese - Starting now on the Muso Shinden-ryu kanji.
It was, however, tremendous fun to share waza and compare styles and whack at each other with sticks of various lengths. ^_^
judo - USJA town hall meeting and open workout at Norwich Judo Dojo on Saturday. Joan at that dojo is a super nice lady-she grabbed me and worked with me for the whole session. She's very, very good. I ended up with a few bruises and a broken toe during randori, but it was well worth it.
Then a town hall meeting with Ann Maria DeMars, who is the USJA president. USJA is not my org; not my dojo's org. But the issues I have cut across the entire judo population. So it being an open forum I expressed my frustration with my situation, with the double-whammy of being both a woman and a recreational judoka, and the need to create a broad base of all kinds of judo students and teachers. Definitely agreement on that, but what I heard a lot of was creating more opportunities for people to train as coaches, and for women to compete. That's not what I need; not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a climate where everyone is valued for what they can bring to judo.
naginata - Back to back training sessions, last week and this. I think this is something that's a good thing to schedule now and again, as it gives me a chance to capitalize on the learning from the previous week. Yesterday I had a much better sense of ma-ai, and a much better recognition of timing (even if I wasn't always successful, I could at least feel when I was wrong). However, my brain was all over the place, blanking out in the middle of kata, etc.
As I drove straight from CT on Saturday, we had budo movie night, concentrating on kusarigama, naginata, and jo. Next morning I did a show and tell with the latest weapon projects. I'd had a lot of email conversations with The Boss over the GPPB, rev 2, and he was very curious to see/feel the difference. It was proclaimed excellent, and I was asked if he could start advertising me. I said not yet-we'll wait until Mini Mongo (the jatoba for sempai Fred which will be in progress soon) has had some bash-in. Plus Dave wants a purpleheart naginata. So! I'll supply the dojo, and we'll see how they fare before I open things up.
The Boss actually preferred my unfinished tachi to the weapons made by the well-known person in the frozen north (he liked how neutral it was in travel), and the tanto I've given recently were much appreciated, and I have actually received money down for a weapon, so it appears I have been set on a path which I must follow.
weapons in progress
Alas, The Boss still wasn't feeling well enough to come to training, but he was sure he'd be well enough the next time I was down. He'll have to play Sensei Dog for a few months (barking from the corner), but we can't let him take any risk of another head bump. Like I told him, when I heard the news about his injury, my entire Buko-ryu career flashed before my eyes.
work - Yay, holiday season! That, in case you didn't realize, is sarcasm.
family - Some pathetic grades from the boys in the first term. :-(
school - Registered today for Regions of the World: East Asia, history and current issues. Because my self-acquired knowledge is . . . a little tip-heavy.
reading - Still The City and The City. Not because I'm not liking it, but because I'm busy!
writing - Well, this post is writing, right?
Learning Japanese - Starting now on the Muso Shinden-ryu kanji.