"Can you show me Nikkyo?"

The dojo locker room

Sunday finally came and with it, my first aikido class (this time around) and Noriko's first class, ever. Aoki Sensei was absent so somebody from another dojo was filling in. We had a class of four students. The substitute sensei brought his son to help out with any beginners. The style is very similar with my dojo from Tulsa (meaning I sucked at the same stuff as I sucked at in Tulsa).

Inside the dojo

We spent most of the class doing suwari waza) That translates, loosely, to "My knees are killing me know, because instead of doing techniques from a standing position, we did them from a kneeling position." Halfway through class, the sensei asked me if my knees were ok. I said, "Oh yes. They're fine."

Outside the dojo

While the sensei didn't speak much to me during the techniques, he did his best to demonstrate what I should be doing. That way works, I just need to do it about 1000 times (and then 1000 more and 1000 more...). He taught Noriko to do ikkyo, from a standing position, that was also a new way for me. Nage drives straight into uke and uke has to turn to take a roll (usually). He told her that if she learns this way first, then the other way is easier. For me, this way was really awkward, at first. Sometimes you have to kind of sweep uke's leg. We ended the last 20 minutes with a session of free techniques. You attack the sensei twenty times and then he attacks you twenty times. By the end of the session it's very hard to breathe. I've heard of other classes where they expect you to throw up when it's over.

After class

There are about 26 dojos in this area. The farthest one is about an hour away. Now that I'm a member of this dojo, I can visit any of the others and pay a small fee (~500-700 yen). Throughout the year, other dojos have seminars and taikai and other events that we're welcome to attend. Finally, Noriko asked me, "Can you show me nikkyo?" How sweet it that?

As an end to my evening, I had a nice long soak in the tub. Paradise.