2012-01-07 14:25:00
Today was the first class of 2012. It wasn't very busy, but it was a nice class nonetheless! We even had two newbies. Martijn also taught me the basics of kata number 4 (picture above), which really is a pretty cool one!
Sensei and fukushou asked us to pick one or two goals for this new year, which we were to attain by the end of the year. I picked fumikomi: by the end of 2012 I want to be able to pull of decent and consistent fumikomi.
Learning points from today's class:
Marli came to class to take photographs; that was great :) She was originally invited to make our 2012 groupshot, but then also stayed to shoot during the rest of class.
kilala.nl tags: kendo, sports,
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Posted by Thomas
Actually, this isn't about mental relaxation.
This is about the muscles in my shoulders, arms and neck which tense up when I am in 'kamae'. They should be relaxed, ensuring two things:
1. My arms functions similarly to the suspension on a car. My body may move, but the sword stays in place, in center aimed at my opponent's throat.
2. By being relaxed I make no presumptions about which movement needs to happen. It can block, I can parry, I can feint, I can strike. By tensing up I am only readying myself for the strike.
I'll show you some of the stuff next time we meet :)
All content, with exception of "borrowed" blogpost images, or unless otherwise indicated, is copyright of Tess Sluijter. The character Kilala the cat-demon is copyright of Rumiko Takahashi and used here without permission.
2012-01-09 18:14:00
Posted by Menno
A tip for relaxation that works pretty ok for me when I'm about to climb a difficul or scary route that I really want to do.
I don't try to push back my feelings of fear or attachment to some outcome. I take a few moments to observe what I'm feeling and thinking etc. No labelling, just intense observation with breathing calmly. It helps.