The dojo was empty we had the space to study 距跋渉毛 Kyoketsu Shōge. Nagase Sensei began with 投げ縄 nage nawa. He shared some details that I had never heard before.
exploring the kata 月肝 Gekkan. We began class with a review of 神傳不動流 Shinden Fudō Ryū kamae and the fundamentals of striking. Hatsumi Sensei shared a wordplay changing 構え Kamae to 化 前 Ka mae. He said this to suggest kamae was “the moment before change.” I think that is a great way to understand the idea of kamae.
my Bujinkan video exploring the Bujinkan kata 当投 Ate Nage. Ate Nage is 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū, so we began with strategies from that school. I used that style cover to initiate the 竹折り take ori lock that starts the throw. I learned a specific point of leverage for this from Hatsumi Sensei, so I showed that.
We began class with 伏虎（一）Hu ko (ichi). The name of this kata can be traced back to Chinese martial arts and suggests the crouching tiger form. When you compare kamae, you will definitely see this.
Tuesday 2/12/13 Our warm up was a bit different tonight. One student had a question about 片巻 katamaki, so we reviewed basic and advanced variations of the kata. This led to a further question about 放擲 hoteki, so we did the same with this kata. I made sure to include some sutemi to help both...
Tuesday 2/05/13 Warmed up with tai sabaki from shikko. First against a punch and then a kick. It turned out that the attackers were having trouble delivering an effective kick from shikko, so we did happo geri from shikko. I’m guessing not many students in the Bujinkan have ever tried this, much less are effective...
Tuesday 1/29/13 Warmed with ukemi from shikko. Hatsumi Sensei has said that good taijutsu comes from walking, and this type of walking is especially useful for kamae and ukemi. Next we reviewed 足躍拳 Sokuyaku Ken. First delivering this kick with taijutsu rather than only the leg. Then we varied the distance. I shared a tip...
Sunday 4/01/12 Started out with 順流 jun nagare against a punch, then 横流 yoko nagare and 立流 tachi nagare against a kick. Now we took a look at 月肝 Gekkan. One of the big mistakes to be made in this kata is to try to pull your uke down by the shoulder. There should be...
5/15/12 Warmed up from shikko. To really know how to move effectively, one should practice shikko in all directions. We worked on forward, backward, and sideways. Then we did some ukemi from shikko with shikko transitions. Did shoshin gokei. The topic for tonight was suwari with 抑込 Osae Komi. The word osae can mean a few different...