sensei maria's class

technique notes

1. same-side wrist grab - sankyu: turn hip to angle away from uke, grabbed hand creates bend upward in uke attacking elbow w/ top of tori hand pressing against underneath uke attacking forearm, hitch step, hands put uke attacking arm/hand to outside shoulder, setup for sankyu lock, can take step tru w/ back leg, turn hips/whole body for lock, keep lead/inside leg away from front of uke otherwise uke can sweep it (says russian monster), then bring locked uke arm/hand w/ tori hip as inside leg cross steps behind other leg - in a line- turn hips, stretch out uke arm, uke is off balance, take down

2. round house punch - sankyu w/ entry strike: important to hitch step early for an off balance, to an angle, back leg immediately follow lead leg in entry, outside arm parries block, inside arm elbow strikes to uke ribs, finish w/ sankyu

3. cross hand wrist grab - katana nage: taisabaki, uke grabs wrist, thumb turns over uke hand so on top, don't let elbow rise or stray from body, don't leg arm collapse to body, keep arm/hand in front/your center, think down, bring uke down - downward motion causes uke to roll, seems like uke is off balance when shoulder in uke arm pit and tori hitch step and brings hand down


3. back hand club slash - katana nage: on taisabaki entry, catch strike with non lead hand and bring immediately down to hips, creates off balance i think, when taisabaki done: uke hand/arm w/ club is across tori center line and down low/hips, hitch step with shoulder into uke armpit, take weapon w/ u, uke takes fwd roll

4. round house punch - close window: hitch step early, both lead/nonlead leg move together - don't trail nonlead leg behind, it helped to think of the feet as to forces of energy going together for greatest impact, and then thinking of both feet driving together at an angle away from uke helped to think how it will help make uke off balance, roll shoulder, take down

5. round house punch - tiger lock: rather difficult for me but in case close window does not work, roll shoulder for off balance, step a little to side of uke than front - otherwise get hit, outside arm snakes under striking arm straight to other wrist, roll both wrists forward, shiko dachi for take down, i think leg on side of hand rolling uke shoulder kneels on ground, mitsu says to keep back straight/vertical and then twist hips away from uke to apply another tiger lock on ground. may help to not look at uke when doing this bc i hunch my shoulders fwd when i look down. when i was hunched over, looking at uke and pulling up on uke arm, there was no tiger lock.

6. cross hand wrist grab -ikkyu: sempai pumpkin says that if you're at the point where both your arms are over uke + uke arm is not stretched out, take a side step away from uke and will stretch out uke arm, lock arms so uke can not get out + will dislocate if do, take down + lock

culture + language
I spoke to an old friend earlier in the day about how learning a bit of culture + language would be a good supplement to learning martial arts. So far, I have not discovered a good text on Zen Buddhism (since we do a little zazen before/after class). I'd like find one and spend more time understanding what the integration of mind, body and spirit means to me.

Why learn more about mind, body, spirit? I guess I am seeking Truth: a) looking honestly, directly, critically (and sometimes uncritically/playfully) at my mind, body and spirit b) then see how they're working together c) then relate them to the world and time. This process makes me feel like I'm stepping closer to what is true and not true. That is rewarding - I feel like I'm growing.

My intuition tells me there is something very Zen or Buddhist about all this, but I need to learn more to see if there is a real connection.

the instructional voice
On a side note, this personal pursuit for Truth reminds me of balance in how much you listen to yourself and how much you listen to others. Both are important for growing, as I have learned. A college mentor used to say to me that it was foolish to always listen yourself in isolation of others, and it was foolish to always listen to others in isolation of your personal voice. What was needed, he said, is the honest clarity to decide of who and who not to listen to and when, and to not bias the value of another's voice w/ potentially misleading factors like status, emotions, image, age, gender, etc. (He gave a nice example how a life lesson could be learned even from the simple, honest words of a child). What he encouraged me to develop was an "internal guage" to hear what is true and not true within myself and from others.

thought I'd share two examples of instructional voices + learning responses w/ personal voice:
a) the instructional voice: a couple weeks ago, I heard Deepak Chopra speak - he's a wonderful, engaging orator. You feel instanty at home with his personal story telling and teaching style. And the lecture was fascinating - a demonstration of his success in mind-body medicine. It was inspiring and he spoke how humankind has evolved over the ages from an agricultural society, to an industrial one, to an information age, etc. And he paralleled this with humankind evolving from the age of body, to the age of mind to finally the age of spirit- which we are living today. That today we are finally coming to the age of mind-body-spirit (since yoga and wellness are hot trends today). All of this, of course, was uplifting and I stood together in the standing ovation for his speech.

the learning response: But now, when I listen to my own voice and reflect on his teaching, I realize none of this makes sense to me. It is not logical that humankind evolved from body, mind, spirit and finally coming to terms w/ mind-body-spirit. I mean, I'm studying jujitsu, and this is mind-body-spirit in action from ancient Japan!

So I disgree with Dr. Chopra, despite his reputation and illustrious career. I think humankind has been evolving all three: mind-body-spirit since the day thought and action were married together for human survival (and happiness) - and that some cultures - particularly eastern asian ones - practiced and developed this more in their societies/traditions/cultures than others. Yo, mind-body-spirit - it's nothing new, it's just that our western American society as a larger whole is drawing more media attention to it and trying to be more scientific about it all. But this increase of media and scientific studies does not mean that humankind as whole is evolving - it's the western American cultural trend that is changing. My 2 cents, of course.

b) the instructional voice: I yawned in dojo (being tired/not bored!). Sensei c caught me and snapped and said don't yawn, any japanese something or another "would slap you" and something or another "would piss in the streets," and that it was "rude." I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was startling. I felt bad. But then I yawned again later in seiza (and thought, oh shit, did sensei c see that??)
learning response: I could have thought, oh this instruction made me feel bad so I won't listen to it and I'll avoid Sensei c. But I would've let the "feeling bad" get in the way of learning something useful/meaningful/helpful. So with open ears, I hear not just "don't yawn in dojo" instruction value, but the value of respecting and understanding culture -I am after all learning a japanese martial arts. So I take away from this instruction, the strength to get past the "feeling bad," to listen with open ears, to see a bigger picture of what needs to be learned (i.e. culture appreciation/respect, one of which is don't yawn in dojo)