Comments | iai_adept: Reflections on iai

iai_adept

Reflections on iai

Jun 20, 2008 22:23

I just returned from iai class. It is confirmed - I am NOT testing for Shodan next week.

Sensei was really sweet about it though. He said that he thought I would benefit from another year of working on my technique. I need to learn how to project power and confidence. I need to have it down so that performance nerves don't ruin the test.

He said ( Read more... )

iaijutsu, martial arts

Comments 25

darth_qonfused June 21 2008, 11:34:49 UTC

You're quite welcome! I'm always glad to help when/where I can, especially as we're all training with the same goals in mind: that of self mastery. On the "planing the foot" realization you had: yes indeed. It becomes even more important when you try to actually cut something. If you haven't fully rooted your weight, then there isn't any power generated by your cast, and when you connect with your target you'll either bend it or the sword (unless it's really sharp ( ... )

iai_adept June 21 2008, 16:42:51 UTC

See? This is the perfect example of what I was talking about in the post. Your response to "bunkai" made me realize that I might have been using the wrong word. I was. I meant "enbu." We HAVE been working a lot on bunkai in class. Last night was one of those nights. We still stick to the kata though. It's main purpose is to help us work on timing, intent, and the reasons for all the moves in the kata ( ... )

darth_qonfused June 21 2008, 22:06:41 UTC

That reminds me. Oddly enough, we couldn't remember the Japanese word for the initial draw of the sword...have you run across the word, or a web page with common sword related words? I know most of them (virtually all common parts of swords), but there are a hand full that I'm not sure of...

slobbit June 21 2008, 23:22:15 UTC

nukitsuke? Is that the one you're looking for?

Thread 18

slobbit June 22 2008, 01:23:12 UTC

So how do you feel about not testing, if I may ask?

I have tremendous performance anxiety, but not in the worry-about-how-I'll do sort of way. I just go all limbic during the waiting. I figure it should be less of a problem with iai than when I was riding a horse and he depended on me to be calm.

iai_adept June 22 2008, 20:35:18 UTC

I don't mind ( ... )

slobbit June 22 2008, 23:40:47 UTC

I won't actually rule out medication. I deal with ADHD and med issues enough that I consider targeted treatment more like eyeglasses than cover-ups. But part of it is just the freedom that keeping that avenue open gives.

But psychopharmaceuticals are a highly personal issue.

I've found that my reaction to the thought of testing has calmed down quite a bit, especially now I've made the decision -- so I know. And I'll grill my sensei and sempai, especially the very detail-oriented one who tested last year.

iai_adept June 24 2008, 01:07:11 UTC

It sounds like you are totally ready for the test. Besides, your sensei wouldn't give you permission unless he knew you would succeed.
Good luck keeping that calm going during testing.

Just wondering: if your new sword is delivered before the test, would you test with it?

Re psychopharmaceuticals - I guess I resist using them for this because I have it in my head that I can overcome it by willpower alone. However, experience seems to be proving that assumption to be false. It's probably going to take more convincing before I try a medical solution (I can be pretty pig-headed sometimes). I did discuss the use of psychopharmaceuticals for testing with my sensei and though he didn't forbid it, he strongly encouraged non-drug approaches to this issue.

Thread 7