Sueno Sensei Seminar 2012

This year's seminar was hosted by Mumeishi Kendo Club and planned as a two day event.

Sueno Sensei is an established Hachidan Hanshi teacher who has many achievements over his long career, including success at the all Japans.

I'll try to write down all I can remember of his instruction.

Attitude to training.
Sensei split the stages of training into a number of parts.  We provided extended explanations on the following:

• Suburi
• Uchikomigeiko (inc kirikaeshi)
• Kakarigeiko

Sensei emphasised the need to establish a strong base in these three aspects in order to improve jigeiko and in turn competitive kendo.

Suburi

Sensei explained that the key to improvement is correct suburi, in particular the correct use of shoulder, elbows then wrists.  He's explained in great depth the use of each joint and described it using terminology which i'd not heard before, I can recall the following:

• Shoulders must be used when performing big cuts, with hands above the head, elbows in and ensuring you can feel a 'tug' on the triceps and bottom of the forearm.  Biceps and top of forearm should not be used for a cut.
• When cutting, don't think of extending the elbows to gain extra distance, you will only benefit from an extra inch or so and it will make you lead with your right shoulder.  Elbow extension should be used in order to generate power.
• If you lead by the right shoulder you will stunt footwork - therefore, creating a net loss of distance (two inch gained with elbows but a foot or so lost in footwork).
• Relax elbows immediately after cut, then point your left thumb toward the opponent.
• There are three wrist position (I cant remember the Japanese terms). 'Blocking' which is used for receiving kirikaeshi and is signified by wrinkles on the top of the wrist. 'Cutting' wrist which is used for chudan etc.. this should not show any wrinkles.  Finally, 'extended' wrist which is the final part of a cut.
• Cuts must be performed with relaxed upper body and arms.

Uchikomigeiko

Sensei had us run through a number of drills during the day.  These mainly consisted of men using the basics taught during suburi.  

Sensei introduced an interesting way of performing these cuts with a partner.  Kakarite would cut in the usual was but motodachi would step backwards two or three steps once hit before stepping to the side.  This encouraged people to cut centrally instead of sideways because of motodachi stepping too soon.

These drills were performed for big men, small men, kote and kote-men.

When we progressed to hiki-men and hiki-do is when I experienced a major problem.  My first hiki-do twanged my left wrist in a similar way to my right.  I instantly knew i'd damaged it. That was my day over and I lost my chance to practice with Sueno sensei.

In conclusion, I iced my wrist but it was obvious I couldn't return for the second day.  I hope its contents are covered by Salmon sensei's blog in the near future (edit:// here ).  I also hope Sueno sensei returns again in the future as I enjoyed his teaching style and explanations.

I now have two knackered wrists and 14 days until my grading.  I think the writing is on the wall and will give it a week before deciding to call it off or not.  I feel crushed :(

Edit:// 03/07/12 - After visiting the physio I found out that I have tendon and ligament damage in my right wrist and fresh ligament damage in the left.  I have to rest for most of this week, keep icing and perform light weight and flexibility exercises.  With wrist taping and pain killers I might be ok for grading.

Oxford Shinpan Seminar

One of the grading requirements is that we attend a ref seminar once a year.  Unfortunately, there are so few courses run by the BKA that we have to grab any that appear.

Last weekend's course was run by O'Sullivan and Mano sensei assisted by senor squad members.  Sensei opted for a relaxed style of teaching, encouraging plenty of Q&A audience participation.  They focused on the topic of 'What is ippon' as opposed to the actual mechanics of reffing a shiai-jo (e.g. flag signals and commands).

We spent the next few hours learning what a ref should look for in regards to the five elements of Yūkō Datotsu, which we all know is:

• Fullness of spirit and intention;
• Striking a datotsu-bui (striking zone);
• Correct striking region of own shinai;
• Correct ha-suji; and 
• Correct zanshin.

Sensei also suggested there was a 6th unofficial requirement of maintaining correct posture during the strike.  Basically no body contortions or spinning around after a kote cut.

We also discussed the tricky subject of 'grey zone' situations which are open to interpretation.  For example, high level oji waza which may appear weak in power can be given credit in order to encourage the use of complex techniques.  There are too many to list (not that I can remember them all).

Finally, sensei outlined different fouls and which warrant hansoku.

The afternoon session consisted of a fighting group who were refereed by a rotating shinpan group.  I was  part of the first reffing group up and found it very difficult to maintain triangulation with the Shushin (main ref), while paying full attention to the fight.  

As the fight progresses, it's very easy to find yourself 'ball watching' and miss something important.  I also found acting as Shushin quite stressful, first of all you need to make yourself heard, you have to be aware that the other shinpan are triangulating off you and you have to act decisively with quick commands.  Any delays confuses those fighting.  

This experience demonstrated to me how tough acting as a ref can be, especially for those who are relatively inexperienced and are 'press ganged' during a competition.  It's very easy for a competitor to slate a dodgy decision but it's a bloody hard job!

Due to my bad ankle I didn't fight during the seminar and I'm going to give it another week of rest.  However, during my time off i've managed to sell my house and have an offer accepted on a new one, at least this dead time hasn't been wasted. 

Chiba Sensei Seminar 2011

Just enjoyed four interesting days of kendo.

Last week Chiba sensei made his annual trip over to the UK for a weekend seminar. However, I was lucky enough to attend two additional practices on Thursday and Friday before the ‘main event’. This was because Chiba sensei, accompanied by Salmon sensei, visited my regular Thursday and Friday club night.

This meant I was lucky enough to experience two jigeiko with Chiba sensei in as many days. As a result, I was happy that if I missed out on any further opportunities over the weekend (which ended up being the case).

Right, onto the seminar….

The main themes of the day was Te-no-uchi and Seme.

Te-no-uchi

Chiba sensei main focus (as with previous years) was the use of correct Te-no-uchi in order to achieve a correct cut and Ki-Ken-Tai-Ichi (KKTI). This was our first lesson on day one.

Firstly Chiba sensei instructed how to hold the shinai correctly with the base of the tsuka in the heel of the palm with it running diagonally across to the index finger. The tsuka is held lightly with the little fingers while the right hand grips very loosely, also with the little fingers.

With a light grip the cut is performed with a snap from the wrists, at no point did he strain his arm muscles or elbows to create Te-no-uchi. He simply tweaked his little fingers, I could hardly see any movement in his right hand while doing this.

Chiba sensei’s cut was made though the target. So to stike men he cut to the chin, kote was though the wrist (but with less power). Performing this with a relaxed grip and Te-no-uchi created a very quick cut with a powerful *pop*. Sensei explained that cutting with an ‘axe grip’ with too much arm power, the shinai will finish at the wrong angle (point too high).

This lead onto KKTI training with large cutting with correct Te-no-uchi. We were instructed to raise the shini slowly before stepping forward, then using hips/left foot push, increase the speed of cut down using the wrists. This should be performed fluently without a pause (timing of one), with fumikomi, cut and kiai all landing at the same time.

During all our drills, sensei emphasised the need to maintain a soft grip in kamae.

Sensei also has us practicing continuous do cuts without moving our feet (image a static do kirikaeshi). I’ve always been taught to cut do at a 45 degree angle down, yet Chiba sensei advocates an almost horizontal cut. I have to admit I had difficulty applying this alternative method.

From what I could see, this style od do involves moving the left hand up and down for each cut while the right hand moves over either to it’s left or right. It’s imperative that the left hand remains centralised and moves above the forehead for each cut. This results in a quick wrist based do stike that reduces the heave created by a shoulder based cut and possesses an advantage when performing techniques like men kaeshi do.

Salmon sensei better explains HERE.

Seme

Chiba senesi outlined the fundamentals of seme. He explained it was a combination of distance (different heights and techniques = different distances) and forcing your opponent to react.

There was a lot to take in on this subject so my recall is a bit patchy, I might be able to fill in the blanks when I get to see some video footage.

Sensei split the use of seme in shikake and oji waza.

Shikake waza

We were urged to step in and harai to open up the kote or kote-men, this involved using a sharp deflection to the right using the wrist, opening up a target.

We were also instructed to use a slower push to the left hand side of an opponent’s kensen. This encourages the opponent to push back which leaves his kote open if you lift your sword slightly – letting his kensen jerk right.

Sensei demonstrated additional techniques to make your opponent react. This included stepping in and dropping your kensen below an opponents shinai, this ‘should’ make then drop their point opening up their men. Another example involved stepping in and riding your shinai over the top of your opponents (pointing to their right kote), allowing a quick men cut (osae waza I think).

The final method he demonstrated is to seme in and use a high thrust (towards their right eye I think). This makes them lift up/across, instantly opening up their kote or do.

Oji Waza

We progressed onto oji waza after our initial shikake waza drills. For this training we were instructed to seme the motodachi who then performed a pre arranged men or kote cut.

We were shown how to perform men kaeshi do/suriage men (omote & ura)/ nuki do and kote suriage men/kaeshi men/nuki men.

I have practiced all these before, but following Chiba sensei’s instruction I realised the reason why many of my techniques do not work is because my hands/arms are not relaxed when deflecting the opponent’s shinai then cutting.

The biggest ‘lightbulb’ moment was with men kaeshi do. I tend to cut do too close using big movements, meaning I hit the front of the do while facing away from my target. During the drills Chiba sensei demonstrated to me how to ‘catch’ then quickly rotate the wrists to cut using very little arm movement. This increases cutting speed thus creating distance. I’m in no way proficient at this, but it’s a marked improvement in what I have been doing.

Regarding suriage men, again this needs to be performed with relaxed arms and good Te-no-uchi. An important point demonstrated by sensei is to rotate the hands anti-clockwise when deflecting a kote attack from the omote (left hand side). This means at the point of deflection the left hand is almost underneath the right arm, the kensen should still in the centre and the ‘blade’ of the shinai facing outwards… this is performed as a thrust forward and completed with a wristy snap on the opponent’s men.

I landed a few half decent cuts when deflecting men suriage men from the omote (although I was a bit too close). However, I was terrible from the ura – couldn’t achieve any timing. I need to work on this one.

By the end of the two days and 12 hours in the dojo my body was broken, the soles of my feet were in ribbons, ha! The challenge now is trying to remember sensei’s techniques and apply them during normal practice.

The guys at Imperial Kendo Club and Katsuya sensei have kindly uploaded short vids of Chiba sensei's teaching HERE (all 58 of them!).

Kashi No Ki Kenyu Kai Seminar 2011

This was originally Kashi No Ki Kenyu Kai’s annual Ozawa Sensei seminar. However, due to the circumstances in Japan he had to cancel his visit. In his absence Paul Budden sensei (7DR) took his place.

The theme of the two day seminar was ‘The role of the motodachi’, and the aim was to highlight the importance of this task to help improve shidachi’s kihon.

Turnout was pretty good considering the cancellation, I’d guess about 40 people. These were mainly from the midlands, with a sprinkling of northern and southern dojos.

Day 1
The first day was concerned with outlining motodachi’s role. Budden sensei explained what he has learned from Sumi sensei on this subject and takes the form of three key considerations (referenced here):

1) At any time was I in ‘a resting' mode, so did I spend any time without concentration?

2) Did I make the appropriate distance (Maai)?

3) Did I encourage and make Kakarite execute their skills fully? And did I also encourage them to do a little more than their usual ability?

Though a number of drills involving shikake and oji techniques, we were instructed to facilitate good kihon with out partner though adjusting maai (come to one step outside distance –toi maai) and providing encouragement.

We were constantly asked “did you maintain concentration?” throughout the day, it was very easy to ‘switch off’ when tired!

We completed lots of kirikaeshi during these drills. We practiced 1-7 kendo no kata during the second part of the day and finished with jigeiko with the seniors. This was my first practice with many of the midlands based sensei, many of which I’d not seen fight before.

I managed jigeiko against Trevor Chapman and another Kashi No Ki Kenyu Kai senior which was fun, I was impressed at the speed and timing of both their kaeshi do waza… must be a notts favourite.

Day 2
The morning session was concerned with waza basics using bokato, many of which are used in kendo no kata (e.g. kote suriage kote). This allowed us to study correct cutting without the temptation ‘whack’ using shinai.

These were conducted using suriashi footwork in order to retain a strong posture.

We then donned our armour and practiced many of these techniques with shinai, full spirit and fumikomi – ensuring the motodachi performs his/ her role as highlighted earlier.

After lunch we had a few hours of referee training in which we took it in turn to shinpan a shiai match.

I found it very difficult to concentrate on positioning/movement in relation to the head shinpan AND watching the actual match, I ended up missing an obvious ippon as I was concentrating too much on my own movement –doh.

The final part of the seminar was rotating jigeiko with fellow attendees and seniors. This allowed us to fight people we’d only performed kihon with… it was noticeable that some of us were struggling by this stage, many of our legs knackered and had stopped working!

Other than the 4 hour dive home this was an enjoyable seminar. I’ll try to travel up again in 2012, hopefully Ozawa sensei will be there next year.

Happy 45th Nenriki!

I suffered with another cold during the last few weeks.  This included an annoying cough which I was unable to shift for ages. I still attended practice but it knocked me for six every time due to my lack of energy.

This year is my home dojo’s 45th anniversary. One of the celebration events was an Ono ha itto ryu seminar run by Harris and Blake sensei. Both have studied this form of kenjitsu for decades, itto ryu is acknowledged as one of the origins of modern kendo. Due to my cold I was unable to attend the morning session.

The second part of the day was a talk by Victor Harris sensei about the history of the dojo and kendo. Harris sensei is very knowledgeable in Japanese sword art history, one of the dojo's originators, is a retired curator of Japanese Antiquities at the British Museum, completed the first English translation of the Book of Five Rings and has made numerous appearances on history channel style documentaries. His presentation was made in one of the school’s classrooms and was very interesting, a playlist of vids can be found HERE.

The final part of the day was keiko back in the dojo.  I managed 5 fights before flaking out, one was with Fuji sensei who was one of the first sensei to teach at the club during the 1960's.  Keiko with Fuji sensei was fun but must have looked a little odd, i'm guessing he is about 5"1' or 2' while i'm 6"4'! I have attached a few photos of the practice below.
 

Men wo tsuke

Fighting Fuji sensei

Wait for turn



Chiba Sensei and Tatsuo Hayashi Sensei Seminar 2010- Day 2

The second day and my feet were prepared for another pounding.

We started off with a recap of the techniques we learned the day before. Chiba sensei emphasised the importance of observing the opponent and using the reaction from the seme.

We then progressed to taking it in turns to cut men while the opponent cut kote. The idea was to beat the opponent. Sensei introduced a surprise intensive, whoever lost had to perform 20 hyasuburi. However, most of the time both sides admitted defeat and did the hyasuburi together (I suppose no one wanted to appear superior).

O'Sullivan gave some advice to me which struck a chord. He said that seme should be indication that i'm ready to cut, not an indication that I will cut. Therefore, I should use it for pressure rather than the first part of a men/kote etc..

The following technique we learned was Hiki waza. By now the soles of my feet were raging and my fumikomi suffered. Chiba sensei showed us ways of attacking the opponents kamae in tsubazeriai.

• Hiki men - Keeping the body active with the top of your tsuba pressed against the edge of your opponent's. Push the tsuba against your opponents body then quickly step back left then right foot, then cut men while performing fumikomi moving backwards.
• Hiki do - Same as above but lipping your tsuba over the top of the opponent's. Quickly jam it downwards causing the opponent to fight and push up. This allows you to step back and cut do.
• Hiki kote - Push the sword left across the opponent making them fight back, let go making them move to the right. Step back and strike the open kote.

I think this is how we were instructed - my memory is a bit hazy on this.

Chiba sensei gathered everyone around and spoke about keiko and fighting shiai. He said he'd let us into the secret of winning shiai, this was translated as:

"The secret to winning shiai is to practice until you are good enough to win"

Ha! I think he was saying that we wont be good enough after a weekend seminar, we must go back to our dojos and practice hard on the techniques we have learned. Then we'll be good enough to win.

The latter part of the day involved a mock grading and I was paired with a good fighter from Hizen. I was hoping for a good performance considering my nidan is only two weeks away... however, disaster! I choked at the critical time and failed to score a good ippon. Very disappointing as I know I can do better.

Hayashi sensei took notes during the mock test and explained that I showed good posture and a strong kamae (he said I initially looked threatening). Then it all went wrong, my men cuts were feeble. Hayashi sensei said i need to work more on my men cuts - worrying!

The day finished with sensei jigeiko. I managed to get my men on early and queue for Chiba sensei. The fight was inspiring, but again I didnt cause any upsets. He could see right though my attempted seme.... how do you fight someone so strong?

I also practiced with Hayashi sensei. I started ok with my seme but I then switched to 'headless chicken' mode, sensei stopped this by blocking away my pointless cuts which made me consider pressure again. He said that I managed to cut him once when I spoke to him afterwards, but I don't remember it.

All in all it was a very enjoyable seminar. I hope they return again next year!

A better explanation of the two days can be found on Salmon sensei's blog here.

Chiba sensei jigeiko

Hayashi sensei jigeiko

Chiba Sensei and Tatsuo Hayashi Sensei Seminar 2010 - Day 1

The first day of a two day seminar run by the famous Chiba sensei supported by Tatsuo Hayashi sensei and based in Reading, Berkshire. During this session we concentrated on basic men, kote, do and maai/seme.

I have listed what I can recall from the lesson:

• Suburi

We instructed on how to hold the shinai correctly. The left hand must grip the end of the tsuka with three fingers, ensuring that the bottom of the shinai its on the 'ball' of the palm (unsure the correct term). You shouldn't have any part of the tsuka poking beyond your palm.

The right hand must have a loose grip with the index finger about two finger widths from the tsuba. No hand should hold the shinai in a 'axe handle' grip.

Chiba sensei then instructed us how to 'snap' a cut using soft hands but powerful wrists. Its was amazing to see the power he can generate with such little effort.

Sensei instructed that we should aim to cut to the chin to 'pop' the cut. The cut must snap and not land heavy.

• Men, kote & do

We instructed in how to make small, sharp cuts. We started at chikama with one step cut (no run though or tsubazeriai), then progressively moving back to find our own comfortable cutting maai and running though after cut. This exercise was repeated for men, kote and do.

• Seme

Chiba sensei then instructed us to create pressure with our opponent when cutting a target when the opportunity presents itself. This was done by stepping into distance, motodachi then waits for approx 3 seconds (building pressure) before reacting and providing either a men, kote or do opportunity. It is then up to the shidachi to immediately cut the target using the small cut technique taught earlier. The aim is to cut without hesitation.

During this period I asked Chiba sensei on his opinion of seme for taller people as I am constantly told to cut from distance (being 6ft 4). Hayashi translated simply "do what works". This topic lead to a discussion between 4-5 sensei. I'm unsure if I got the gist of the full conversation but to my understanding Chiba sensei meant that I should try to create pressure from distance, if it is ineffective then I need to move in closer to disturb my opponent and create an opportunity.

• Oji Waza

Our seme work moved on to a higher level of kendo. Instead of motodachi simply presenting a target, they were told to cut either men or kote. Shidachi's job was to step in with seme to create pressure then perfom oji waza (defensive waza) when motodachi cut. We were instructed in:

• Men kaeshi do - Sensei told us to thrust the shinai forward above his head to collect the parry before the do cut. The parry had to be with the monouchi and not too far down the shaini.
• Men suriage men - Again the parry had to be with the monouchi part of the shinai. This was to be performed with forward motion.
• Men, kote men - Sensei emphasised we must step forward with the right foot only for kote cut (dont move the left forward). The left is then brought up after the men cut, this results with a quick pow-pow footwork.
• Debana kote.
• Kote nuki men.
• Men nuki do.

After a period of rotating kihon with these techniques we took a short break in preparation for jigeiko.

For the final hour of the day we had rotating jigeiko. During this time I was lucky enough to practice with Chiba sensei for 5 minutes. I attempted to use what we had learned during the lesson but of course I couldn't connect with anything I tried. I did manage to touch his kote once but it was well messy, no way ippon worthy! One thing that struck me was when I attempted harai or suriage I couldn't move his shinai, my weak attempts just bounced off hahaha.

I did gain some success of a few other people I fought, connecting with some good fake kote men and suiage men.

Looking forward to tomorrow's session although my feet aren't.

Saburo Iwatate Sensei and Tatsuo Hayashi Sensei Seminar Day 2

'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This kendoka is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-KENDOKA!!

14 hours of kendo over the last few days has broken me. Lots of suburi and kihon was really hard work (but fun in a perverse way). After a hot bath i'm having trouble typing out these words due to lack of energy.

Today was a mixture of recapping Saturday and learning some new techniques. We went though the basic kote, men, do drills as before but also practiced hiki waza. Iwatate Sensei instructed on the following aspects of hiki waza:

• Receiving Taiatari

Must step into the taiatari keeping his/her arms low to meet the aite's tsuka. Motodatchi must NOT step back while performing this.

• Creating Opportunities

Must move the motodatchi's kote to create an opening to cut. The one I remember clearly is for kote, kakarite must try and lip their tsuba under the aite's tsuba and push/roll the opponent's kote up and to the right using their own hands. Once this opportunity has been made, the kakarite must step back and cut the kote using a straight cut (not angled in). Zanshin is shown by retreating at speed and immediately pointing the kensen to the aite's throat.

Zanshin for men and do are also performed at speed with the kensen to the aite's throat. Iwatate Sensei encouraged us to strike using big cuts.

We were asked to perform repeated kote, men, do then hiki men, do, kote as a single string during mawari geiko. After this we practiced repeated kirikaeshi and men cuts across the width of the dojo.

After a break for food and water we had to perform a mock grading. We were sorted into grades and asked to treat it like a real shinsa with the hachidans providing feed back at the end. For my two jigeiko fights I was told that I need to seme more and show stronger attacking spirit. I wasn't creating or reacting to enough seme responses, thus relying on preconceived men cuts. This is something I should work on. On a good note my kiai pleased them.

After the gradings Iwatate Sensei ran though reigi. The main point he highlighted was that the three steps in then sonkyo must be done in a fluid action. Not three steps, pause, then sonkyo... but as a single unbroken string.

The final part of the day was an hour sensei jigeiko. This time I made sure I got to fight Iwatate Sensei. During my turn he conveyed the need to seme, he didn't let me cut unless I created pressure and made an opportunity (well, enough for him to let me cut anyway!). It was a pleasure to fight him even though my kendo is so basic compared to what he is used to.

It was also fun to see him practice with the kids, he always seemed to have a grin on his face as he dodged and weaved to make them cut with precision.

Due to the queues I only managed a short jigeiko with Hayashi Sensei. This was very intense and Hayashi Sensei doesn't let up for lower grades (within reason). It was amazing to fight with such skilled opponents.

All in all it was an enjoyable few days. The aim now is to try and integrate what I have learned into my 'every day' kendo.

All photos taken and kindly provided by Jeff Martin:

Mock grading (me on right)

Nishioka, Hayashi and Iwatate senseis observing.

Final group photo.

Saburo Iwatate Sensei and Tatsuo Hayashi Sensei Seminar Day 1

The first day of a two day seminar run by Saburo Iwatate sensei and Tatsuo Hayashi sensei was enjoyable but tiring. Most of the seven hours was concerned with kihon and basic men, kote and do cuts.

This is a list of what was taught (what I can remember anyway):

• Suburi

We were told to swing the cut over our head so the shinai hit between the butt cheeks. With timing of one the shinai was then swung over the back head to finish the cut. Making sure the arms were extended at the end (but keeping correct posture). This was done for shomen and sayumen suburi.

• Posture & Fumikomi

We were formed into lines and told to place our shinai across our lower back and in front of our arms (straightening our posture). We were then told to push with the left leg (straight knee) and fumikomi, making sure the foot is only lifted a small distance and 'stomped' with the whole sole. No lifting the foot so the sole faces forwards or backward with the toes pointing to the floor, the sole must remain parallel with the floor at all times.

We were constantly reminded to look up at all times, our neck much touch the back of our kendogi collar. Iwatate Sensei said it should be as if we are looking at a 'far away mountain'.

• Men

For a small cut we must start the cut as if we are attacking tsuki but at the last moment lift and cut the men, snapping with the wrists. The follow though must be straight and the arms not too high (right arm parallel with the floor). Iwatate Sensei stressed we should not run though at an angle after the cut.

• Kote

For a small kote we were told that when we push forward, we must align our right foot with the aite's right foot then cut with a snap. The kensen must be pointed at the aite's tsukidare to show proper zanshin.

Iwatate Sensei insisted that there should be no body twisting or spinning to the side for a correct kote cut.

• Do

Iwatate Sensei instructed how to perform nuki do with motodachi cutting men and kakarite stepping forward/right cutting do.

The main exercise came in three parts:

1. Motodachi lifts their shinai above their head and kakarite steps forward/right and taps the aite's left do with his left hand. This is to understand the body movement.
2. Motodachi lifts their shinai and kakarite steps forward/right and completes a do cut.
3. Motodachi cuts men and kakarite steps forward/right and performs nuki do.

The do cut itself was a small action with the hands lifting about face hight, the left hand sliding up the tsuka to meet the right hand, then cutting the do at 45 degrees (just below the aite's elbow). The cut must involve the body, not just the arms.

We then formed into groups and performed Mawari geiko using only the techniques we'd been taught. I was told by Nishioka sensei that I should turn to my right after my run though.

After a short break we had sensei jigeiko for the last hour. I managed to practice with Davis Sensei (BKA Kendo Bucho) and Hayashi Sensei. The queue for Iwatate Sensei was huge and I ran out of time.

Hayashi Sensei was very strong (as you would expect from an 8th dan!). I tried to keep my posture and use seme, however he saw me coming every time. They're like bloody yoda these hachidans.

Hayashi Sensei indicated that I should immediately follow up and cut if an opponent retreats. Just like what Young told me on Friday night. This is obviously something I need to work on further.