November 13, Sensei Maria

1. Hitch Step + Pivot
A letter to myself...

Dear Woody,
Please stop veering off to the side, move forward. Actually move forward the rest of class, except when somebody's swinging a club at your head.
Love,
Your Bruised Solar Plexis

2. Throw for Throw
My big goal was to throw without having to set up. I remember Sensei Coleman telling me that Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi, can't work at 1 mile an hour, so I figured it would be a good "in movement" throw. I do not believe I was close enough on the throw...

When I was thrown by Sensei Ivan, I am very happy with my breakfalls, it's a great thing to not be afraid of those big falls anymore. You can also pay attention to the signals of your body to undertsand the throw, i.e. "My arm is clippped very tightly"

3. From Club Attack
• Uke swings, hitch step backwards, cover head, Sensei Maria said "Like Headphones"
... I thought of Bjork for some reason

4. Ude-Nage from Club Attack
• Hitch Step backwards, cover up
• Hitch step back in, checking the club hand with your hand, place other hand on the elbow to create the Ude-gatame (arm lock)
• Cut down like sword and let go for projection

*Note: Uke can still hold onto the club
5. Katana-nage from Club attack
• Hitch Step backwards, cover up
• Tai-sabaki back in, not too deep ( i do this every time!) project arm into the direction of the throw

6. Sumi gaeshi from Guillotine Choke
• Check choke with hand to remove any choke
• Scoot in and cut up the crotch and sit at your heel ( this should be about 6" in front )
• As you sit, raise your hand away from your face to keep uke from hitting you in the face

*Note : Sensei Ivan called it Sumi Gaesh, if I am wrong, please let me know
**Note : By trapping the leg you prevent uke from projecting which causes a head stand almost immediately...so to quote Sensei Ivan "Don't grab my leg man!"

So in my research this technique falls under Sutemi-waza ( Sacrifice Throws ) and Ma-sutemi ( front sacrifices ) supposedly since these techniques are considered risky they have a more dangerous consequence to them, via headstand. In falling I hit my head twice before I figured out to put my hand down on the mat to give myself a cushion of space. This was a really really cool technique.

7. Sparring with Sensei Coleman

"Mindful not fearful"

So sparring with throws with Sensei Coleman... I think we had already thrown a few strikes and I'm thinking to myself...cross step-reap ( ouchi-gari), punch-punch sweep ( kosoto-gari), hit head, kick ribs...

...I realized I didn't have that fear in my chest, and after realizing that I noticed that remembering that I wasn't fearful didn't cause the fear to rise. ( does this make sense? ) I used to sit on the sideline ad have to mentally pump myself up for sparring. I guess something has changed.

In keeping with my earlier thought, moving forward ( physically & philosophically ) in sparring seemed to feel more proactive as opposed to reactive, it also seemed to allow me to get a bit closer to my partner.

As Sensei Coleman and I clinched, I had a hard time putting a throw together ( the movements ) so I just threw some kicks and avoided throws, in the future I need to:

- Bend my knees in the clinch, to drop my weight
- Focus on shoulders as opposed to eyes
- Fight for a comfortable grip