My first BLOG

I thought the first post will start with a Aikido memo back in Feb 4th, it was just after a exciting trip from Denver, I could not help myself writing a long email about my take away, here it is.

Take away from Denver trip

kate	Feb 4
to Aikido

Hi guys, the trip was awesome,  met old and new friends,  most importantly learn Aikido. Many things have been shown and taught by our senseis, somehow this time I have so much better understanding than before, the perspectives that i start to see became much different.  I would like to share some of my thoughts as well as serve as a reminder to myself.

1. I have been doing all wrong in all of my techniques! it has never occured to me that how bad they are. I am lack of control in my techniques, it may appear I got some kuzhushi and throw the uke with movement,  but I was not completely controlling the uke from the head to toe. Many times, my excuse is i don't want to hurt uke, i didn't even attempt to do it to the full extend. The truth is i missed the whole point of practicing martial art,  simply wasted my time. Kuzhushi is more than weight shifting, it is a matter of control and make uke feel stuck all the way to the toes.

2. Small hand twist made big difference, many techniques shown by senseis begun with a hand turn or twist, I  unconsciously or consciously ignored them a lot of times, thinking it doesn't make difference, the truth is big difference. The hand turn provides so much leverage for the rest of the techniques, it is amazing how much it makes sense to me now.

3. Body drop tend to be abused, it is a way to finish the technique, but not the technique itself, I emphasized or used my dropping so that it feels like i can throw uke with bigger or quicker drop, but by doing that, again miss the point of the kata, forgetting in controll is the most important thing.

There are so many things to remember, Endu sensei is a great teacher, his demonstration is amazingly precise and easy to follow, it may have something to do with him being Nariyama's students,  I can tell in every move the uke is under controll and nailed to the toes. I can't wait to see them again in DVD.

sorry for the long email, I really need to share my excitement. See you all on Tuesday.