Noh Theatre

This is a busy week for university... and I ended up skipping the only kendo practice on the week!!! -- But I did go for Iaido. Again, first hour free practice then more free practice in the next hour, but with senpai's instructions. Sahla wasn't there, but another senpai, Al, took over the class, which is cool because his comment is quite technical (and not abstract).

The class was divided into Junior/Senior, with 4 of us at the Senior end. It was Seitei all the way (I am losing my Koryu!!). We started with Ipponme in greater detail, and then "free practice - Do whatever you want"...

A common beginner problem is that, people try to grab their sword and cut as fast as possible. The idea behind Iaido is NOT to draw the sword. There should be moments where you communicate between you and your opponent, and "I want to kill everyone in sight" is not the correct mentality for that. There is a term for this kind of timing: Jo-ha-kyu (??)... I find this article from EJMAS that would explain this idea better:-

http://www.ejmas.com/pt/ptart_gilham1_0800.htm

Other points:-

O-chiburi
On the last downward swing, the right hand should rise up a little bit... to avoid the sword hitting the head..!

Ukenagashi
Draw closer towards the body

Tsuka ate
Don't lean too forward. (Same as in #1, where the opponent is close enough. So don't over-reach)

Kesagiri
For shorter people (like me..), better turn the saya earlier before drawing the sword.
...This one I figure out myself... I have problem syncrinizing the chiburi with the left hand on the koiguchi. The solution is to drop the left hand 0.01 second before dropping the sword.

Ganmen Ate
After stabbing the opponent behind, the right hand should not be waving (because the sword is inside the body). Instead the right hand should be pulled slightly closer to the body, keeping the sowrd point more stable.

Next week there is another Iaido Taikai. I HAVE TO relax my face!