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| Sauvage_x |
Fingers bleeding.
In theory it would be technically accurate to say that I tied Osada Steve today. However, this would be missing out crucial detail: he was teaching us how to 'capture' struggling partners, how to stand in a way that protects our balls from getting kicked, how to shift them off-balance.
So after we practised the technique for a while, he singled me out and told me to try to capture him. Ah.
He's 6-foot something and trained to an advanced level in aikido. Ah.
Well, I started trying to wrap around his wrist with the first move, doing what he taught me, as he danced around the room making sure I couldn't approach him from the angle I wanted.
There was a moment where we were both just grinning at each other as we acknowledged that he wasn't going to make this easy for me. I finally managed something passable when he eased up a little, after a few simulated elbows to my face to highlight my lapses. Remind me not to try to tie large world-renowned senseis trained in martial arts in the near future though.
Today was on the whole much easier than yesterday, sleep and practice probably helped. I've worn the skin off my right index finger, which will make the remaining three days interesting. My existing knowledge is benefiting from the extra details that make it all more fluid and efficient, and today's material overlapped enough with what I was already familiar with to feel comfortable most of the time...
...Except when chasing Osada Steve around the dojo.
Tomorrow we'll start some suspension, although today already covered some vertical technique. Looking forward.
