Stop. Collaborate and listen ...

Okay, so much to write. Not a lot of time. Yesterday we had a ton of training.
We kicked it off with Noguchi sensei with 9am training at Hombu. Noguchi sensei is great. He's personable, friendly, easy-going, and incredibly good. He breezed through pages of techniques from Takagi Yoshin Ryu, putting his own spin on the movements. As usual the lessons came fast and furious.

He emphasized 'karamaru,' to mix up and become one; like a growing plant that entangles itself with another, and demonstrated what he meant over and over, by blending with his partners in various ways - now he's sliding off your back, now he's rolling between your legs, now he's twisting you 180 degrees with just his head and neck around your arm. At one point, he wiped his face with a towel, flipping it into a partner's face - there was a bottle of ink hidden inside. Class only became more and more abstract, as he broadened and stretched each movement to a point where few had any understanding of where exactly to begin.

But that's one of the best reasons to train with the man - the challenge of seeing through to the principles at work, like fellow magicians trying to decipher his latest illusion. Terrific training.

Soke picked it up at 11am. He looked great and moved even better. Class started with his concern about training injuries, saying he was concerned, and we should be aware of the danger inherent in training. He was surprised more people had not been injured, given its nature.

Striking became the classes' theme, as Soke continually hit, punched, shuto-ed, and smacked all manner of uke around the floor. Most times his partners were unaware of where, how, and when they'd be hit and Soke incorporated weapons into this same feeling. Hanbo, sword, tachi, jutte, and shikomi
all shared moments with the man as he tried to impress upon us the particular and universal, and the point of their intersection. One uke said his fear of the tachi in Soke's hands opened up the space just enough for him to place it for lethal advantage.

He used a tea cup to cover and twist the fingers of one uke, unbalancing him only to drop him to the floor. He talked about Takamatsu sensei's thick fingernails, that could strip bark off of trees, and how he told him not to bother hardening his nails, as a weapon would be just as effective, and he demonstrated on a young Hatsumi using his pipe.

We finished out the day with Duncan Stewart. Dunc is a great guy, fun to talk to, and very good. He's fun to train with because he's excited to train - he's all over the floor, very creative, and yet is very cognizant of his Kihon roots, showing various incarnations of fundamental kamae and movements. He spoke about 'ikken hasso,' one strike, many changes as part of Soke's earlier teachings. 'Chuto hanpa,' half movements that leave uke with little or no ukemi, and 'yoyu,' 'catch and release,' like fishing with the opponent. All great fun.       

This morning we had breakfast at Mister Donuts - Donuts-san. I'm having my coffee, Mike's got some crazy pasta-pastry thing, Tomo's rockin' some Green Tea thingamabob and we're listening to Vanilla Ice sing "Ice Ice Baby."

It's official. I'm back in Japan.

Training with Nagato sensei today.