Toast

Junya taught class as usual last night. I really am getting into his classes more and more. The structure and flow are very logical.

After warm-ups consisting of front and back rolls, shikko and pushups and knee bends, we started off with tai no henko and kosadori (cross-hand grab) ikkyo. I think we did them forever, or at least 15 minutes each!

Then we moved on to kotagaeshi. We did this in groups. There was a guy I didn't recognize. He seemed very young, but his technique was not bad so I think he was older than he appeared. We also did this absolutely forever, and I got a bit tired at the end of it. I went to get a drink and Junya was with my partner when I returned. He was really laying irimi nage on her.

Then he seemed to finish, so I thought it was time for her and I to get back to it. Not so fast, however. Junya wanted to throw me around a bit, too. His Irimi nage is quite strong, and I was scrambling to keep up with it. After 4 throws, all the rest I soaked up from the water break was gone and I was more tired then when I left the mat. That'll teach me to get water!

It's funny, when I get tired, I kind of drift in and out of the zone. Sometimes my tired aikido is sloppy. Other times, it can actually get better if I struggle to regain my center and relax. When I was getting tired during the kotagaeshi I was able to pretty much keep it together. But in that last irimi nage, I was toast. Oh well, tomorrow's another day.