Ouch

I received a whack on the left hand index finger on Friday... it's swollen up so much I can hardly move it. Hopefully it will calm down again in a few days.

Another relatively quite week finished with a hard Friday practice. I'm still working on my distance which means i'm losing a lot. However, Manni commented that he can see an improvement. The intent is there even if the technique isnt!

O'Sullivan Sensei taught us how to Harai using out body instead of just whacking the opponent's shinai away. It involves moving the left hand to the left (using right as pivot) then slamming it back against the shinai while clenching your lower abdomen, arse muscles and moving right foot slightly.

I tried this on Friday against a number of opponents. It was a waste of time against seniors as they battered me (nuki waza usually), I did manage to make it work ONCE against another shodan which made his shinai ping to the side. This pleased me.

Nic commented that my small cuts are using too much right hand. Glen observed that i'm not taking immediate action after my seme, I shouldn't pause because my opponent will take advantage.

No kendo for me for the next week. I'm getting married.