Alumni Weekend report
Oct. 29th, 2005 03:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirLowell House, on the Feast of St. Narcissus
The return of the long rambling kendo post! (For those of you new to my friends list, I spend a lot of time babbling about kendo in my LJ, although I've been better about restraining myself this year.) For the rest of the world, this weekend is for Halloween costume parties. For the rest of the university, this weekend is for visiting freshmen parents. For the kendo club, however, it's Alumni Weekend, an annual event when various alumni of the HRKC come back to visit and practice with us as well as get acquainted with the new members.
This year, we not only have more undergraduates in the club than ever before, but also more visiting alumni: twelve total, I think, which is a record for the club. Among them are Kofi, who was captain when Daera and I were freshmen, and Izzy, who was captain last year, which makes us happy because they are always going to remain our favorite senpai. ^_^ It's especially nice to see Kofi because it's been more than a year since we've last practiced with him. The sophomores are, of course, eager to see their "Mama Izzy", and for once they've all showed up to practice on time. Ugh, I was awfully irritated on Wednesday when only one sophomore showed up to practice. I mean, they all had legitimate excuses, but still! I feel like I'm the only one who's constantly going, "Oh no, oh no, we have a tournament in two weeks. What are we going to do?!"
The tournament in question being at Cornell. In the past, that is before my freshmen year, the HRKC has done very well there, usually placing in the top three. The last time the club participated in the tournament though, it disgraced itself in an incident of which I will not write in public because hey, I do have some sense of discretion. Last year, we didn't go because we didn't have enough veteran members and our captain was injured. So this year, not only do we have to wipe out the stain on our club pride, but also reestablish the reputation that we used to have. Or so I think, anyway. Yes, I read too much Jump series, I know. But seriously, I really want the A team to get to the semifinals. Considering how little we've been training so far, I don't think that's exactly possible, but I think quarterfinals shouldn't be too unrealistic an expectation, right? I mean, the UC schools that cream everyone at the Shoryuhai don't come to Cornell, nor do the terrifying Canadian teams. I think by now that we should at least have a good chance of competing with most of the teams that come to Cornell.
Then there's the issue of team line-ups, which is going to be such a headache because usually the club captain (i.e. Daera or me) takes taisho but I'm starting to wonder if that's the best idea. -_- I mean, not that I'm not confident in my kendo, but I know I'm not that great in competitive kendo, and I don't think Daera would be too insulted if I say that she isn't quite at the right level either. (One normally puts the strongest player in the taisho position, so whoever is taisho will be going up against the best players on all the other teams, unless they do something obnoxious like put their strongest player in a weaker position to ensure more wins.) Both of us would work well as fukusho, I think, particularly if we crack down on some of our bad habits by practicing hard before the tournament, but...okay, clearly I'm worrying about this tournament too much. No need to stress out over it; it's not even the Shoryuhai after all.
Anyway, Alumni Weekend! Daera's been rather stressed out unfortunately, but to tell the truth, I've been enjoying practices a lot. I've been struggling with a cold all week, and funnily enough, the only times when I feel at all healthy is during or right after practice. Which is why I've really enjoyed practices. Plus, we've been doing jigeiko again, and although I still lack stamina, I've learned so much these past two practices. (I thought I should write down the advice that all the alumni gave me so I can hopefully remember it for later.)
Friday, I went up against Ken, who pretty much put me through a mild form of kakari-geiko, which tired me out. Then, I went up against Kofi, where my form was so sloppy that I'm kind of embarrassed to remember it. I was still kind of out of breath and kept leaving openings during tsuba-zeriai or not making distance quickly enough while going backwards. A recurring problem: not only do I suck at hiki-men, but it's also the point that everyone always scores off of me, because I'm never in center when I back away. Which is another point, I shouldn't be backing away. >_> Then, I went up against Jesse, who advised me to move more quickly and use smaller men. (I'd been so used to large strikes from practicing with the beginners, that I've forgotten how to do small men.) He also made a good point about pushing myself more forward in fumikomi, which I've been doing my best to focus on this weekend. Then I went up against Jang, who started explaining that I should try to incorporate a wider range of strikes, because going for men all the time is silly, particularly when I'm up against a larger, stronger opponent. Again, good advice...actually, I'd been focusing on using men in jigeiko because the only points I ever score are kote, and I don't want to end up relying on kote as my only good strike, but that doesn't mean I should stop practicing kote (otherwise I'll probably lose what little skill I have at it). Or dou for that matter, although I'm very bad with dou strikes.
Today, I went up against Kofi again and did better than yesterday. Kofi told me that I "hop around" too much before attacking. Something which I didn't quite realize before, but it's so true. I have this bad habit of putting my weight too much on my front foot, so I always shift back before getting ready to attack. So stupid. I've sort of known about it, but haven't done much to fix it until now. Next jigeiko was with Chit, where he went into jodan and had me hit tsuki, so I could strengthen my center. He told me basically the same thing, that I'm "jittery" before I attack. So I stopped shifting around and focused on getting center. Then he told me that I'm leaning forward when I strike, another bad habit that I've sort of noticed in the back of my mind but haven't really focused on trying to fix. So then I focused on moving my lower body forward, and whoa, I finally landed tsuki on target. It was such an epiphany. The trick that I hadn't quite realized before, despite having been told about it millions of times, was that the force of the strike itself has to come from the force of the left foot snapping back into place after the stomp. I mean, mentally I knew it, but I didn't quite get how it was supposed to feel until then. Chit also said that I should try to imagine my center of gravity pushing down, and that was also really helpful. I haven't gotten it down but now I sort of know how it's supposed to feel, so I'm definitely going to keep that in mind for future practice. Chit's probably the best at teaching out of all the alumni, not only because he, well, does it all the time, but also because he's really good at pinpointing a person's weaknesses and suggesting different ways on how to improve them. Most of the alumni keep repeating the same phrases, but Chit comes up with new ways to visualize something, which are often more effective at making the principle sink in even if you've heard its essence hundreds of times before.
Then I went up against Jess (who is a different person from Jesse, with whom I sparred yesterday), and he went pretty easy on me, another light kakari-geiko type thing. Again, the advice to take center before attacking. I must admit, I've never had a clear concept of center before (other than an abstract knowledge), and it's only slowly sinking in now. He had me hit a lot of large men, which was rather cathartic (small men gives you that nice, vicious feeling, but it doesn't quite feel as clean as large men...probably because I do it wrong). Final jigeiko with Ken, who told me that my main problem is ki-ken-tai-ichi. Yes, I'm afraid this aspect of kendo has been plaguing me ever since I began. First, I didn't know how to stomp properly (Emma used to correct me constantly freshman year, but never managed to get me to fix it). Then I sort of got a handle on the stomp (sort of, I still lift my feet too much in that whole "marionette syndrome" that Chit tells us about) but then my swing was too slow. Sometimes, it's really bad, and I can hear my stomp a full second before my strike. Jeff once suggested that I ought to increase my upper body strength so I can swing faster. I haven't done any weight-training exactly, but I have been trying to make my swings faster in suburi. But I think it's a problem with my footwork too, because I don't extend forward enough during fumikomi. Anyway, I asked Ken about it, and he said that it's just something that I'll have to figure out how to coordinate and that I should practice on my own getting it to synchronize. Hm. Anyway, I hit a lot of men focusing on that. I'll say that much for Ken: I still think he's a jerk but he's a pretty good teacher.
Wow, I think I've never said so many nice things about the alumni (and when I say alumni, I exclude Kofi and Izzy because we wholeheartedly love them, and they'll always be captains to us anyway) in an LJ post before. Isn't it sad? It's also ironic because Daera's pretty annoyed with them at the moment, and with good reason, considering all the careless snipes they've thrown her way. >_< Anyway, I think of the alumni as a group of really eccentric uncles, who often exasperate you with all their demands or embarrass you with their immaturity or paranoia, but nevertheless can be very generous and supportive when the fancy strikes them. In other words, I can't ever really dislike them (...well, most of them anyway). >_>
You know, every so often, I look at these posts and get the sinking feeling that I'm becoming obsessed with kendo. (Here, people interject and say, "Becoming? You mean, you aren't already?") No, but seriously, I really care about improving, and somehow the whole "doing kendo to get physically fit" has turned into "getting physically fit to do kendo". I mean, I used to take it for granted that no matter what, I'll never be as strong or quick as other people simply because I have less muscle, less stamina, less everything, but now, I'm no longer satisfied with that. I really want to get better. I started noticing that around sophomore year, but now it's pretty undeniable. This sort of ambition is rather bizarre since I normally reserve my energy for academics and have none left over for anything else.
And now to reading papers as a way to procrastinate on studying for my midterm on Job!
Yours &c.
Post-script: Oh, did I mention that Alumni Weekend involves an extra Sunday practice? This year it's scheduled at 9-11 AM. Let's see if I'll still be as enthusiastic after practice tomorrow...
The return of the long rambling kendo post! (For those of you new to my friends list, I spend a lot of time babbling about kendo in my LJ, although I've been better about restraining myself this year.) For the rest of the world, this weekend is for Halloween costume parties. For the rest of the university, this weekend is for visiting freshmen parents. For the kendo club, however, it's Alumni Weekend, an annual event when various alumni of the HRKC come back to visit and practice with us as well as get acquainted with the new members.
This year, we not only have more undergraduates in the club than ever before, but also more visiting alumni: twelve total, I think, which is a record for the club. Among them are Kofi, who was captain when Daera and I were freshmen, and Izzy, who was captain last year, which makes us happy because they are always going to remain our favorite senpai. ^_^ It's especially nice to see Kofi because it's been more than a year since we've last practiced with him. The sophomores are, of course, eager to see their "Mama Izzy", and for once they've all showed up to practice on time. Ugh, I was awfully irritated on Wednesday when only one sophomore showed up to practice. I mean, they all had legitimate excuses, but still! I feel like I'm the only one who's constantly going, "Oh no, oh no, we have a tournament in two weeks. What are we going to do?!"
The tournament in question being at Cornell. In the past, that is before my freshmen year, the HRKC has done very well there, usually placing in the top three. The last time the club participated in the tournament though, it disgraced itself in an incident of which I will not write in public because hey, I do have some sense of discretion. Last year, we didn't go because we didn't have enough veteran members and our captain was injured. So this year, not only do we have to wipe out the stain on our club pride, but also reestablish the reputation that we used to have. Or so I think, anyway. Yes, I read too much Jump series, I know. But seriously, I really want the A team to get to the semifinals. Considering how little we've been training so far, I don't think that's exactly possible, but I think quarterfinals shouldn't be too unrealistic an expectation, right? I mean, the UC schools that cream everyone at the Shoryuhai don't come to Cornell, nor do the terrifying Canadian teams. I think by now that we should at least have a good chance of competing with most of the teams that come to Cornell.
Then there's the issue of team line-ups, which is going to be such a headache because usually the club captain (i.e. Daera or me) takes taisho but I'm starting to wonder if that's the best idea. -_- I mean, not that I'm not confident in my kendo, but I know I'm not that great in competitive kendo, and I don't think Daera would be too insulted if I say that she isn't quite at the right level either. (One normally puts the strongest player in the taisho position, so whoever is taisho will be going up against the best players on all the other teams, unless they do something obnoxious like put their strongest player in a weaker position to ensure more wins.) Both of us would work well as fukusho, I think, particularly if we crack down on some of our bad habits by practicing hard before the tournament, but...okay, clearly I'm worrying about this tournament too much. No need to stress out over it; it's not even the Shoryuhai after all.
Anyway, Alumni Weekend! Daera's been rather stressed out unfortunately, but to tell the truth, I've been enjoying practices a lot. I've been struggling with a cold all week, and funnily enough, the only times when I feel at all healthy is during or right after practice. Which is why I've really enjoyed practices. Plus, we've been doing jigeiko again, and although I still lack stamina, I've learned so much these past two practices. (I thought I should write down the advice that all the alumni gave me so I can hopefully remember it for later.)
Friday, I went up against Ken, who pretty much put me through a mild form of kakari-geiko, which tired me out. Then, I went up against Kofi, where my form was so sloppy that I'm kind of embarrassed to remember it. I was still kind of out of breath and kept leaving openings during tsuba-zeriai or not making distance quickly enough while going backwards. A recurring problem: not only do I suck at hiki-men, but it's also the point that everyone always scores off of me, because I'm never in center when I back away. Which is another point, I shouldn't be backing away. >_> Then, I went up against Jesse, who advised me to move more quickly and use smaller men. (I'd been so used to large strikes from practicing with the beginners, that I've forgotten how to do small men.) He also made a good point about pushing myself more forward in fumikomi, which I've been doing my best to focus on this weekend. Then I went up against Jang, who started explaining that I should try to incorporate a wider range of strikes, because going for men all the time is silly, particularly when I'm up against a larger, stronger opponent. Again, good advice...actually, I'd been focusing on using men in jigeiko because the only points I ever score are kote, and I don't want to end up relying on kote as my only good strike, but that doesn't mean I should stop practicing kote (otherwise I'll probably lose what little skill I have at it). Or dou for that matter, although I'm very bad with dou strikes.
Today, I went up against Kofi again and did better than yesterday. Kofi told me that I "hop around" too much before attacking. Something which I didn't quite realize before, but it's so true. I have this bad habit of putting my weight too much on my front foot, so I always shift back before getting ready to attack. So stupid. I've sort of known about it, but haven't done much to fix it until now. Next jigeiko was with Chit, where he went into jodan and had me hit tsuki, so I could strengthen my center. He told me basically the same thing, that I'm "jittery" before I attack. So I stopped shifting around and focused on getting center. Then he told me that I'm leaning forward when I strike, another bad habit that I've sort of noticed in the back of my mind but haven't really focused on trying to fix. So then I focused on moving my lower body forward, and whoa, I finally landed tsuki on target. It was such an epiphany. The trick that I hadn't quite realized before, despite having been told about it millions of times, was that the force of the strike itself has to come from the force of the left foot snapping back into place after the stomp. I mean, mentally I knew it, but I didn't quite get how it was supposed to feel until then. Chit also said that I should try to imagine my center of gravity pushing down, and that was also really helpful. I haven't gotten it down but now I sort of know how it's supposed to feel, so I'm definitely going to keep that in mind for future practice. Chit's probably the best at teaching out of all the alumni, not only because he, well, does it all the time, but also because he's really good at pinpointing a person's weaknesses and suggesting different ways on how to improve them. Most of the alumni keep repeating the same phrases, but Chit comes up with new ways to visualize something, which are often more effective at making the principle sink in even if you've heard its essence hundreds of times before.
Then I went up against Jess (who is a different person from Jesse, with whom I sparred yesterday), and he went pretty easy on me, another light kakari-geiko type thing. Again, the advice to take center before attacking. I must admit, I've never had a clear concept of center before (other than an abstract knowledge), and it's only slowly sinking in now. He had me hit a lot of large men, which was rather cathartic (small men gives you that nice, vicious feeling, but it doesn't quite feel as clean as large men...probably because I do it wrong). Final jigeiko with Ken, who told me that my main problem is ki-ken-tai-ichi. Yes, I'm afraid this aspect of kendo has been plaguing me ever since I began. First, I didn't know how to stomp properly (Emma used to correct me constantly freshman year, but never managed to get me to fix it). Then I sort of got a handle on the stomp (sort of, I still lift my feet too much in that whole "marionette syndrome" that Chit tells us about) but then my swing was too slow. Sometimes, it's really bad, and I can hear my stomp a full second before my strike. Jeff once suggested that I ought to increase my upper body strength so I can swing faster. I haven't done any weight-training exactly, but I have been trying to make my swings faster in suburi. But I think it's a problem with my footwork too, because I don't extend forward enough during fumikomi. Anyway, I asked Ken about it, and he said that it's just something that I'll have to figure out how to coordinate and that I should practice on my own getting it to synchronize. Hm. Anyway, I hit a lot of men focusing on that. I'll say that much for Ken: I still think he's a jerk but he's a pretty good teacher.
Wow, I think I've never said so many nice things about the alumni (and when I say alumni, I exclude Kofi and Izzy because we wholeheartedly love them, and they'll always be captains to us anyway) in an LJ post before. Isn't it sad? It's also ironic because Daera's pretty annoyed with them at the moment, and with good reason, considering all the careless snipes they've thrown her way. >_< Anyway, I think of the alumni as a group of really eccentric uncles, who often exasperate you with all their demands or embarrass you with their immaturity or paranoia, but nevertheless can be very generous and supportive when the fancy strikes them. In other words, I can't ever really dislike them (...well, most of them anyway). >_>
You know, every so often, I look at these posts and get the sinking feeling that I'm becoming obsessed with kendo. (Here, people interject and say, "Becoming? You mean, you aren't already?") No, but seriously, I really care about improving, and somehow the whole "doing kendo to get physically fit" has turned into "getting physically fit to do kendo". I mean, I used to take it for granted that no matter what, I'll never be as strong or quick as other people simply because I have less muscle, less stamina, less everything, but now, I'm no longer satisfied with that. I really want to get better. I started noticing that around sophomore year, but now it's pretty undeniable. This sort of ambition is rather bizarre since I normally reserve my energy for academics and have none left over for anything else.
And now to reading papers as a way to procrastinate on studying for my midterm on Job!
Yours &c.
Post-script: Oh, did I mention that Alumni Weekend involves an extra Sunday practice? This year it's scheduled at 9-11 AM. Let's see if I'll still be as enthusiastic after practice tomorrow...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-29 10:52 pm (UTC)Although I too enjoyed jigeiko. I only managed to 'play' against three alumni each practice so far... today because I was intent on getting in a round with Ken and thus waited in line for him. Ah... yesterday was Chit, Kofi, and Dave. Today was Hyunsup, Jess, and Ken. As you say, Chit's always an excellent instructor, but I think I learned the most from Dave (how to hiki-men better) and Ken (forward, forward, etc.) Ironic, huh? >_<
Anyway, I'm incapable of thoroughly hating someone for very long, not unless they've done something truly nasty. I also compartmentalize very efficiently when it comes to kendo, so who knows what's actually happening with that ball of hatred bouncing around somewhere down there...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-31 01:34 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-31 03:44 am (UTC)