The last two weeks have been interesting. I haven't had time to post to share all the things that have gone on. We cut again last Monday. Head sensei pulled us out of class one at a time so he could work with us individually. He did a special setup for me- four gozas in a square shape, and had me do a kata, completing cuts as I go. So I made a little Josie eep sound and preceeded to try. The first cut in the kata was an upward diagonal right out of the saya, which is a tough cut. It was the first time I cut from there. He said he was surprised I had no trouble with it, and so was I. Next was a left to right diagonal cut, then from there, a horizontal cut. EEP! My stepping became really crucial. Oh, and, did I mention we cut goza on a gravel parking area? I can tell you that turn and cut is fun to spot *scarcastic roll of the eyes*. But I did okay, I cut through. The last cut was another right to left diagonal, except head sensei had placed not one, but two half gozas there. That was tough. I don't have quite the arm strength yet to make a complete cut. On my first attempt, I cut and broke the goza stand. The support came right off the base- dunno hwo I managed that one. Then he had me practice cutting straight from the draw, which I did okay at. He told me I am still conserving goza, but I'm getting much better at fixing that. I use the rubber bands now to space out my cuts. So, them head sensei says, "one more thing" and pulls out a couple full gozas. Now- half gozas are one tatami mat rolled up, and full gozas are two. Basically, one is about 3 inches thick and the other is almost half a foot. Big difference. I tried and made cuts, but it hurt my arms. I kept having the goza shed into layers like dinner bread mocking me when I cut it with a butter knife. Then, I cut, and crack the goza peg. Head sensei laughs, instructs me to stand back, and comes over to put the peg precariously back together. Adding to the humiliation, head sensei goes to cut, the peg breaks into two, and as the goza falls over, he cuts it in half. Holy crapulence, Batman. So that was fun. It was a good thing we only had four people that day, because I used up more than half of class time. I'm sure the other kids waiting loved that. So I did a kata, broke some things. It's all good.
So that was just last monday. Since then, a variety of things have happened. I put in my two week's notice at work- it seems rather than hire me full-time, they want me to continue to do full-time work at a temp.'s salary. So I decided to leave, and pursue my dreams of a career in medicine. So now I have to find another job, part-time, so I can study and afford classes.
The aiki requirements have changed- head honcho sensei has decided to encourage more people to join aiki by adding more belts, which in turn is causing everyone already in aiki more headaches. Verizon guy and I have been spending the last few classes studying the new aiki book for belt adjustment day. So instead of getting a green belt, we'll probably get a yellow one. That sucks. Another thing that sucks is being small. I got drilled into the mat accidently by Tank while reviewing a move with him. There's probably still a Josie-shaped splat grooved into the mat. I fell much in the way that Wile E. Coyote does off a cliff. I'm still shaking that one off. We also have one new doormat, I mean, uke in our aiki class. Let's see if he stays.
The thing that's probably most significant of this past week is when head sensei told me he wants the head honcho to come down, run an iai and aiki clinic, and oh, by the way, test me for sho-dan. EEP! Other than this mention, I have heard nothing else. I don't know if this is what he's still planning. Head Honcho sensei's visit is in two weeks. Most (at least, what I have seen before)are informed of the date of their test one year in advance. Soemtimes, like in the case of the tiny senseis, the test date is moved up. But I dunno- I'm anxious about it, and I don't want to come right out and ask. The visit's "rain date" would be the third weekend in September, which would be the date of the brown belt karate kid's black belt test. I may test that same day, that would make sense.
I thought it'd been fun to write down some people's rank as is now, so when I read this later, I can see how ranks change:
karate*little senseis (aka professional children, interchangable, as far as I'm concerned)
*brown belt kid who never comes to class- brown, two stripes
*girl with same haircut as me- brown
*# of brown belts who I haven't seen in weeks- 3
*girl who comes...sometimes- purple w/stripe
*wheezy kid w/glasses- purple
*verizon guy- purple
*little T- green w/ stripe
*me- green
*numerous gaggle of greenies
*Big T- orange
*Tank- orange
*Cage Fighter- Yellow
*Tiny T
iai*me- ikkyu
*kid with paparazzi dad- nikyu
*little senseis- san-kyu
*Nerdverd- yon-kyu
*Aiki teacher- yon-kyu
*no-ranks- newbies dad and son, a karate sensei
Aiki*aiki sensei- ni dan?
*Applebee's young'un (okay, so he's only two years younger)- brown, two stripes
*Karate sensei- blue
*verizon guy- blue
*me- blue
*Big T, Little T- white
Today was my birthday! I went with my family to Tokyo Seoul, which was very good. I even had ramune! I got pleasure too in watching my family try to eat with chopsticks. I feel good. If you live in the Syracuse area, I highly recommend it. I'm going back for the fried ice cream! Tokyo Seoul
