武神館忍術

The weather was perfect yesterday and just hot enough that I had to take my jacket off during the routine exercises. After that we worked on そくほとびと ぜんぽうとび (sokuhou tobi and zenpou tobi). I then brought out the obstacle to practice the とび (tobi) over it. After a few of those I grabbed one of the padded long ぼ (bo) and knelt next to the obstacle. We each took turns swinging the staff at the legs while leaping over the obstacle. We then did the same thing with ひちょかいてん (hicho kaiten). Next was おてん (oten) practice going off of the obstacle. After that we practiced ぜんぽうかいてん (zenpou kaiten) from a handstand. This lead into an introduction to ぜんぽうきてん (zenpou kiten), or forward handspring. We practiced this by having one person crouch down on their knees and elbows to create a support and another person do a handstand right in front letting their body fall over the support. This is the supported handspring. After a couple more sessions we’ll remove the support.

The next thing we did was solo then partnered かのかた (ka no kata) practice. We tried to switch the focus to a stronger うけながし (uke nagashi) and smoother transition when moving in with the うらしゅとけん (ura shutoken). I then showed a way to practice it in a more confined space by altering the footwork slightly. I also threw すいのかた (sui no kata) in to see if they would remember and just to practice it again.

Next was the とりてきほんがた (torite kihon gata) practice. We revisited おもてぎゃく (omote gyaku) with a focus on finishing the technique. Once the opponent was on the ground, usually on their back, we wanted to move them onto their stomach. The way we did this was by applying うらぎゃく (ura gyaku). So, as the opponent is going down switch to うらぎゃく (ura gyaku) to roll him over. You can use a knee or hand against the elbow to assist if necessary but we focused on just using the wrist. We practiced it slowly to start but you really need to do it immediately because the longer you wait the more time the opponent has to escape. Once they are on their stomach apply pressure to the shoulder with the knee and pull up on the arm with the うけの (uke’s) elbow facing the sky. From there drop all your weight onto the back by sitting down forcefully. The shin will be braced against the  うけの (uke’s) arm. Yank the arm back and do こうほうかいてん (kouhou kaiten).

We ended class with some more うらぎゃく (ura gyaku) practice. This time the approach was slightly different. Instead of stepping back we stepped straight to the side while striking with うらしゅとけん (ura shutoken) to the temple, ear or neck. As you reach over to grab the hand use your upper arm to begin an armbar. Apply the armbar as your turn to apply the うらぎゃく (ura gyaku).

I believe that was it. As with everything かまえ (kamae) is important.

がんばって　ください！