Yawara...not the stick

She's Awesome!

Sankyu Reqs.

On Sunday Sensei said to begin the process of familiarizing myself with the Sankyu requirements...so here we go.

From the manual...

Sankyu- (3rd) Brown Belt
1. Ukemi Kata-All Free-Tori will rollout left or right side and defend against an
attack.

Staying calm on roll out and defend, as well as entering straight in are my challenges. I need to be sure to practice this over and over again to beat it into my brain so much that it's redundant. I also need to not be afraid of entering straight. I notice when I am nervous I veer off. I must fix this. Hit me as hard as you can!

2. Atemi Kata and Bunkai.

Bunkai is a mystery...like how they get those huge cranes down that build skyscrapers...how do they get those down?!

3. Kote Gaeshi #1 to #10

Need to learn forms 5-10

4. Defend against five wrist grabs
5. Defend against five lapel grabs
6. Defend against five punches/grab and punch

The above we should know from white - green

7. Defend yourself against:
back grabs
bearhugs
mugs-straight up and pulled back
headlocks-front and back
8. Defend against knife, A - F (same as Yonkyu )
9. Defend against club, A - D (same as Yonkyu )
10. One defense from each group 4 - 9 will be against the wall
11. FREESTYLE Tori will defend him/herself any attack ( uke will decide on attack )
12. FREESTYLE situations: Defend yourself from chair, corner, on the ground, on
your back / and face down.

This is very interesting. Hmmmmmmmmm.
If I'm in a chair I'm going to pick the chair up and hit you with it...does that work?

13. Choice of weapon:
A. Bo
B. Jo
C. Humbo
D. Baton
E. Yuwara

We've worked with Yawara, view the blog here.

14. Defense from Full Nelson, front kick, gun - front and rear.
15. Pressure Points - Demonstrate blind folded

Not sure about this...

16. Written exam - Terminology
Not sure about this either or the requirements, but I think I can hang. Last night I said Ude-Garame and Sensei Stephen and Jeannie both said in unison "NO, it's a Kimura!" and I said "Ude-Garame is a kimura"! Haha I'm such a nerd!

17. Multiple Attacks:
a. 2 - man attack - Ukes front and back of Tori

Kick front tori, throw the one on your back...pretty simple. ;)

b. 3 - man attack

Always need work!

18. Demonstrate the first twenty throws ( Judo throws )

From Sensei Maria :
O-goshi
Uke goshi
Tsuri goshi
Koshi garuma
Ippon seionage
Morote seionage
Harai goshi
Hane goshi
Uchimata
O sosto gari
Ko soto gari
O soto otoshi
O soto garuma
O uchi geri
Ko uchi geri
Tai o toshi
Uke otoshi
Sumi otoshi
Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi
AND
a sacrifice throw.
I choose
Sumi-Gaeshi

I am familiar with most of these, but can always use practice, if anyone wants to work the syllabus before or after class please feel free to join. I figure 10 minutes after class is 40 minutes a week...it's like 2 extra classes a month!

sensei stephen class, may 22

Here are technical notes of today:

attack type: ss wrist grab
defense type: projection
technique: step inside, project uke hand / body
uke direction: front / forward roll
entry: hitch step toward uke ctr line (step inside), bend wrist toward you, get off balance. try to keep arm in ctr and in front + bent. defending arm makes drinking beer motion.
description: keep defending hand in front of you, step across uke's center line with lead leg, pivot and face uke's front, bring arm / body down. then uke takes fwd roll

attack type: ss wrist grab
defense type: projection
technique: step inside, project uke hand / body
uke direction: back / forward roll
entry: hitch step toward uke ctr line (step inside), bend wrist toward you, get off balance. try to keep arm in ctr and in front + bent. defending arm makes drinking beer motion.
description: keep defending hand in front of you, but free hand does 3 finger grab of uke's hand (with 3 little fingers caught on thumb side of hand). catch should feel like turning door knob (cause pain in uke.) step across uke's center line with back leg toward uke's rear, project uke's arm + arm / body down. then uke takes fwd roll

attack type: rear one arm mug
defense type: lock
technique: escape to uke's outside + kimura lock
uke direction: front / forward roll...and other possibilities
entry: important to drop weight+catch choke. inside elbow strike.
description: opposite (opp) arm catches attack uke hand / arm + opp leg steps behind you to uke's outside + head ducks under uke's attacking arm. opp arm holds on uke's attack arm. new inside arm can clock uke in head with elbow as it rides over uke shoulder, snake under uke attk side elbow + grab other forearm. shoulders back and down. use turn of hips to project uke forward. or lots of other possibilities.

attack type: round house punch
defense type: throw
technique: ippon seionage save w/ suki nage (sp?)
uke direction: back
entry: like ippon seionage, but it fails. arm of non throwing side checks uke's knee + same side steps around + behind uke. plants foot right behind uke's. straight upright posture, like samurai.
description: after entry, make sure use arm to pin uke's attack arm to shoulder. hold on to attacking uke arm when you wipe off uke and uke falls on matt. knee on head + armbar over thigh

attack type: ippon seionage
defense type: throw / footsweep
technique: kosoto gari?
uke direction: back
entry: tori throw round house punch. uke defends w/ shoulder throw.
description: immediately avoid being thrown by pushing uke's back for off balance. when uke is off balance, kosoto gari.

attack type: round house punch
defense type: lock + take down
technique: a lock with elbow bent w/ close window entry
uke direction: back
entry:uke throws punch, enter like close window (?) but inside arm punches bicep
description: inside arm under uke elbow + catch uke forearm + outside arm on uke wrist/forearm. immediately drop weight, uke takes back fall.
notes: alternatively, outside arm catches uke's face and pulls to you + inside arm holding uke arm w/ lock. inside leg can kick behind uke leg on attacking side to aid take down. this is hard to do when uke is much bigger.

attack type: forward straight punch
defense type: projection
technique: kaiten nage (?)
uke direction: front / forward roll
entry:uke throws punch, hitch step to outside, lead arm parries
description: i think sensei showed a strike w/ forearm instead of shuto. but this strike to neck helps uke to pitch forward + create uke off bl. pivot hips + step thru w/ back leg w/ uke's attacking arm perpendicular to floor and directed diagnolly , across uke's back.

One beer and a twinkle of the brain....

Yesterday as I was nursing a fine frothy lager, I was decoding a few of my past jujitsu notes. Aside from smudgy ink and coffee stains, my eyes were straining to figure out what my poor handwriting put together.

But then it hit me. Getting every detail of each technique was not so crucial as I originally thought. What really struck me as awesome and mind-blowing was the realization that I now know, not 1 or 2 ikkyus, but four different Ikkyu to a forward punch. This is amazing.

And then it hit me again. I am going to have to clarify which technique goes with which Sensei. Ah, a whole new world.

The other week Sensei Coleman tried to teach the shuto strike thru to solar plexus technique to a forward punch. It had a whole other kind of entry and parry of the attack than the way Sensei Maria teaches it. But we knew Sensei Maria's way better, so we ended up practicing that way.

But thanks to a frothy friend, I see the challenge is to sort out the unique approaches to different techniques between different senseis. Before I couldn't see much difference, but there are in fact big differences when it comes to entry - and that, I understand, is key.

Dixon Sankyu Photos

Enjoy!

Dixon_Sankyu

May 6, 2007 Sakura Matsui

The Bonsai and the The Cherry Blossom

This weekend ( actually 2 weekends ago ) I went to Sakura Matsui at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. It was ironic that I took off from sunday jujitsu class in order to go, yet wound up learning about jujitsu.

The Bonsai.
At first looking at all of the plants I was really overwhelmed. I have been to a few gardens but I really have never seen anything like this. I walked over to the bonsai, and emily told me that when you approach a bonsai you have to look at each one and determine where it wants to grow.

I thought recently about my consultation with Horizakura for my tattoo. He stood me up and looked at me before he started sketching the design on me, he explained why it would need to be in a certain place because of the way my body is. I also thought about what my sensei(s) have said to us about our techniques. Some of us our strong, some fast, some both. Some of us are aggressive, passive, irratic.

As I learned about the bonsai, the gentleman I was speaking with told me that once it is determined where it will grow, you have to "pin" the opposing areas back. This really struck me because if the bonsai wants to grow to the side, eventually it will collapse under it's own weight if the root is not strong enough. I related this to my instruction from sensei(s). I remember once I tried to drop into an armbar with youval as a pin and Sensei Coleman said "Matte! that is for competition, not for self defense!" In a way, I have been pinned back.

The Cherry Blossom.
Walking along the paths I did what every new yorker did that day. I stopped at a tree and took a picture. Looking through the view finder I realized that the cherry blossom by itself, is just a flower, with other cherry blossoms the individuality is lost. Against something separate, or contrasting there is a dynamic.



Hard vs. Soft, Safe vs. Dangerous I thought of how jujitsu works. I have read that jujitsu translates to "the flexible way" I have also read "giving way" like when a branch can not bend any more, gives way and breaks. I like the second definition better, though I feel both can be correct. Looking at the cherry blossom I thought of what are training for. We train for self defense, but do we train to fight? Yes! I mean no! Wait, huh? In my confusion I realized, we train to flee. By turning our back and running allows the attacker to just stab you and move on, by engaging, performing, and locking we are enabling our ultimate flight.

Hard vs. Soft, Safe vs. Dangerous, Fight vs. Flight

Congratulations Dixon!

The Diaphragm

I am a bit confused about the diaphragm. Was it better to keep it low or high? Do you lower the diaphragm by exhaling or inhaling?

I think sensei said that you can keep the diaphragm low either way, but it's harder...