3.25.2009

Stained glass update

I did more cutting over the weekend. All I have left to cut are 54 grapes. That'll probably take me an hour or so and then it's off to the grinder.

We're trying to figure out a way to keep all of the grapes organized once the pattern pieces have been removed from them. This is the time when I'm foiling them. I do label all of the pieces with a Sharpie, but sometimes the ink gets rubbed off. We'll probably go with small bins for each set of 5 grapes or something similar.

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 3/21/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Jeff, Gail, Steve, Russell, Trey, and Brad. Jeff and Gail came down from Killeen with some of their crew.

Ukemi: Not today

The Walk: Not today

Releases: No today

Techniques:

We did some work with Jeff on some of his Sandan stuff. I took one throw from him and he managed to, accidentally, impact my eye. He seems to think that each time we work together he manages to damage me. I don't remember previous incidents, but he now plans on pinching me at the start of each session to get the damage done in a hurry.

Ju Nana Hon Kata

I spent most of the next hour working on drills for Brad on Shomen-ate. I probably took about 150 falls of various sorts during our session. He was doing really well with me by the end of the session. He then did some work with Trey and with Brad. I'm pretty sure we blew out his brain circuits by the end of the day.

I then uke'd for Trey's Nikyu demonstration. It went really well.

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

Trey and I did some work on this while Steve and Russell were doing the same. We also did some work on the standing portions as well. I got to work with Steve on some of it. It's great to work with someone of a vastly different height.

Aftermath: Plenty of ibuprofen. My legs were sore from standing back up from all of the Shomen-ates.

3.21.2009

Stained glass project

I've just started working on a stained glass project as a house warming gift for a friend. I kind of promised it would be ready by next weekend. Given that I just started it this past week, that's not going to happen. I've got just two of the seven steps done necessary to complete the piece.

Design the pattern
Cut out the pattern pieces
Cut out the glass pieces
Grind the glass pieces smooth
Foil the glass pieces
Solder the pieces
Patina the entire thing

This work has 5 types of glass being used. One each for sky, vine, grapes, earth and leaves. I've cut out the glass for the sky. The earth is ready to cut out. Vine and leaves will be next. I'm saving the grapes for last because they will be unpleasant. There are about 65 of them.

During the design process, K. recommended that the grapes be bigger and fill up more of the design. I agreed. Without the change, the grapes would have been much smaller and more tedious to cut out.

I hope this design works. It may be the first one I've done entirely from scratch. I think it is. Past ones may have merged existing designs, but this is the first one I've done from sketch to final product.

I'll probably post the design at some point.

Aikido Friday Night - 3/20/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Kim, and Tom. We had two visitors watching us

Ukemi: Just watched over Tom.

The Walk: As usual.

Releases: Worked with Tom. His "attack" is still a little raw. That really highlights my issues. Also worked with Trey. Seems everyone was a little off tonight.

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

Did some work with Tom on Shomen-ate. We worked on putting the whole thing together and it's coming along amazingly well.

I served as uke for Trey on a demonstration practice. He did really well. He almost got a promotion on the spot.

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

Worked on the first four for a bit with Trey as uke.

1) Oshi Taoshi - Trey came up with a suggestion to use the wrist as a tension point when I move forward

2) Gyakugamae Ate - No comments here.

3) Kote Gaeshi - Need a wider pivot as the attack comes in.

4) Ryote Mochi Sukui Nage - The initial off-balance needs to be not just back, but over the fourth toe.

Aftermath: None of note.

3.18.2009

Volleyball, 0-3

At least it's a fun activity. I got a couple of spikes in, a couple of blocks and some decent serves. Serve were our Achilles' heel last night. We were having trouble getting them over the net.

We'll get 'em in two weeks! We have next week as our bye week.

Weekend update

Friday:

aikido

Saturday:

Worked on a stained glass piece that I've promised a friend. I came up with the design, ran it by K. and some folks at the library. Modified the design based on their input and did a final prep of the design. Picked out the glass. I hope I don't mess up too many pieces during the cutting stage, some of the glass is limited in quantity in my supplies.

Wandered in our "orchard" to check out the plants. If half of the blooms on the one blood orange that's blooming produce, we're going to be overwhelmed next February.

aikido

Dinner with K. at Durango's.

Sunday

Woke up at 7am with some muscle issues. I had to take some ibuprofen to get back to sleep. That's the first time thats ever happened to me. It was very weird.

Tried to get some ideas for some sump issues at BAA, but the main guy was not there.

Made the copies of the stained glass design needed for the project.

Stopped by HD and picked up some epoxy to fill some spots on a box project and a seed starter.

Cut out the pattern pieces for the stained glass project.

Dinner and cards with the in-laws.

3.16.2009

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 3/14/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Brad, and Tom.

Ukemi: Watched over Tom and Brad.

The Walk: As usual.

Releases: Worked with Brad

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

Did some work with Brad on Shomen-ate

We ran through Trey's next demonstration set. A little rough around the edges as it was the first time we'd run through all of them. But, all things considered, a great dry run.

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

No work on this today

Aftermath: Back was amazingly sore overnight. I had to take some ibubrofen at around 7 am Sunday. I don't have any idea as to the cause.

Aikido Friday Night - 3/13/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Kim, and Tom.

Ukemi: Did a little, as demonstration, while watching over Tom.

The Walk: As usual.

Releases: Worked with Tom. His "attack" is still a little raw. That really highlights my issues.

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

Did some work with Tom on Shomen-ate. We did work on the gake portion of the technique and moved on, eventually, to working on the initial off-balance. We worked on the gake portion to reduce the odds of "shot-putting" when he put's it all together.

I served as uke for Trey and Kim to work on Kote-gaeshi. They tried a version that's a little more static, left-side only (my right hand is still a little overworked from a previous session).

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

No work on this today

Aftermath: None of note.

3.09.2009

A gorgeous quilt





My mom gifted us with a gorgeous quilt (and two pillow cases) yesterday!

First day on the job

It went well. Looks like I might spend the rest of the week on the other side of town learning. I'll probably be flying out to Denver for a couple of weeks to learn from other folks.

I hope this travel still lets me go to Aggiecon. I have been to that convention every year since 1984.

Weekend update

Friday:

aikido

Saturday:

Gardening. I planted a loquat and a fig tree. I also half dug out a Sago palm and mowed down some clover on the side of the property.

aikido

Dinner with K. and K. at Durango's. Then we went to Half-Price. Then the girls decided we needed Tiramisu from Franca's.

Sunday

Some cleaning up of limbs

Did some work on the sump, but my temporary water storage developed a leak, so I have to go buy a new one before testing of the set up can continue.

Dinner with the in-laws and my mom.

Dark Knight on DVD

Got a job!

For the past 3 years I've been working at IBM through a firm called GHG. My new job is at GHG corporate headquarters working on an in-house development project.

This looks like a good opportunity.

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 3/7/09

Aikidokas: Tim, and Brad.

Ukemi: Did a little, as demonstration, while watching over Brad. We spent a lot of time working on not collapsing the arm.

The Walk: Not today

Releases: Not today

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

We spent the afternoon on Shomen-ate. We broke it down into easily digestible bits, 3 distinct phases, and worked very slowly. I hope Brad has a better understanding.

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

No work on this today

Aftermath: A nice workout after a morning in the garden. I was very sore.

Aikido Friday Night - 3/06/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Tom.

Ukemi: Did a little, as demonstration, while watching over Tom.

The Walk: As usual.

Releases: Spent some time working with Trey and Tom. We were trying to adjust Tom's attack to flow more with the purpose of the releases: to feel the off-balances.

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

Did some work with Trey on Shomen-ate and Aigamae-ate. We played quite a bit with the timing and off-balances for Aigamae-ate.

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

No work on this today

Aftermath: None of note.

3.04.2009

Volleyball 0-3

A new season starts. With the same old results.

I could not jump and ended up out of breath.

Weirdness is

being interviewed by people you've know for years.

3.02.2009

Durn critters

Our Blood Orange tree had 5 oranges on it this year. One of them fell off a couple of weeks ago. I spotted it, brought it in and shared it with K. It was fabulous.

That left 4 fruit on the tree.

K. was out yesterday and reported that she saw one on the ground, crushed, but no others anywhere.

All I can assume is the local opossums/squirrels/raccoons are scurvy-free.

Grrrrr.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday:

Breakfast with the in-laws

Gave in to my body and took a nap

aikido

Dinner with aikidoka after training

Sunday

Apparently my body's still fighting off an infection as I had to crash.

Did a little weeding of the bluebonnet area.

Managed to get out into the shop and do some work on the platform for the sump for my aquarium. All of the parts are in, so I just need to get some more pvc and come up with a plumbing design.

Dinner with the in-laws.

Return of the King on TNT.

One flush email

I got a flush email from a company I applied to sometime last week. I'm amazed that a company spent the electrons to reply to an applicant they are not interested in.

I'm not happy that they're not interested, but they did manage to get brownie points by replying.

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 2/28/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Jeff, Gail, Trey, and Keith.

Ukemi: Did some as demonstration while watching over Keith.

The Walk: As usual.

Releases: Watched over Trey and Keith working on releases.

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

Worked with Trey on Kote-hineri, Kote-gaeshi, Tenkai-kote-hineri, and Shiho-nage

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

I worked with Jeff on this today and it was a great help.

1) Tore attempts shomen ate. When uke blocks, tore circles into oshi taoshi.
Skipped this one.

2) Uke strikes with right hand to tore's temple. Tore rises with shomen ate to uke's opposite eye.

This went fairly well as I've practiced in the past.

3) Kote Gaeshi Uke punches at tore's abdomen. Tore evades, threatens eye, throws kote gaeshi.

A key to the end of this one is, after uke takes the fall, to sweep the right arm in to uke's right should. This gets the arm bar quickly, no muss, no fuss.

4) Ryote Mochi Sukui Nage Uke grabs both tore's wrists and stands. Tore lifts arms, off-balancing uke, then turns uke into roll-out.

"Happy Buddha" as uke lifts tore's arms pretend there is a big beach ball that tore must get his arms around. This generates a nice off-balance.

5) Tentai Kote Hineri Uke chokes from behind. Tore frees himself, takes uke downin tentai kote hineri.

Tore must place his hands about 6 inches apart, with the left hand on uke's right wrist. Then, as the break of the choke occurs, both thumbs move toward each other ending in the tenkai (tentai?) grip. Push the wrist out in front, causing uke to take a step. Then turn into uke while dropping the wrist. Leave the wrist at uke's hip when he's on the ground and tweak the grip to get the tapout.

6) Shiho Nage Uke approaches from tore's left, grabbing the wrist. Tore secures the grip, performs shiho nage.

As uke grabs, turn the left wrist in making uke alter his approach. After the wrist is grabbed, turn it back to the left while grabbing uke's wrist with the fingers of the right hand. Push to the right and pivot on the right knee to get the off-balance. End in the usual shiho control.

7) Gedan Ate Uke approaches from tore's right, grabbing the sleeve. Tore rises, placing hand on uke's shin.

Actually, the placement is right at uke's knee. Place the hand at uke's knee when he grabs. When he lifts, go to live toes and turn into uke, causing the fall.

8) Hiji Kime Uke approaches from the front, grabbing at tore's collar. Tore takes uke's hand, turning into mae otoshi.

As uke approaches, right hand is on top, left on bottom. Right hand ends on uke's wrist, left hand on uke's elbow. Pivot to the right causing mae otoshi. Tore holds on to uke's wrist and allows uke's momentum to pull tore to his feet.

9) Kote Mawashi Uke grabs tore's left collar. Tore steps back, threatens eye, steps back again collapsing uke's wrist. Steps forward knocking uke down.

Clasp uke's wrist to the gi with left hand to heart. Step back with right foot while threatening uke with right hand. After eye flash, sweep right arm down uke's right arm andhold uke's hand against the gi. Move the left hand to uke's elbow and then turn into uke for the fall.

10) Uchi Tenkai Nage Uke grabs tore's right hand. Tore does 4th release. Uke turns back, tore does 5th release into arm bar, sending uke into roll-out.

Follow the thumb all the way around.

11) Gyakugamae Ate Uke grabs tore's right sleeve. Tore steps back, collapsing uke's arm, then steps forward knocking uke back.

Argh. No memories of clues on this at the moment

12) Hiji Kime Uke grabs tore's left hand. Tore does 4th release, tore switches hands into "thread the needle."

This one is also known as Kote-kajiki (kuchiki?) (sp?) The key I came up with was to push both hands to the same spot. At least think that. It's not really possible. The other key is for tore to get his arm under uke's elbow.

Aftermath: We all went to dinner afterwards. Good times.

Aikido Friday Night - 2/27/09

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Brad, Keith, and Tom.

Ukemi: Did a little, as demonstration, while watching over Brad, Tom and Keith.

The Walk: As usual. I found a change I needed to make to my hand position on the 10th stone (Ude Goshi Gaeshi)

Releases: Spent most of the evening working with Keith on releases. We got through all of them. Lots of rough edges to clean up, but that's not unexpected.

Techniques:

Ju Nana Hon Kata

No work on this today

Owaza Ju Pon

No work on this today

Koryu Dai San No Kata

No work on this today

Aftermath: It was nice getting back on the mat again. It'd been almost 3 weeks.