The musings of a weary mind. Conversations on aikido, gardening, cooking, travel and, maybe, woodworking.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, and Devin
Ukemi:
Got in one or two falls demonstrating for various folks.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Oversaw Mario and Gail working together
Techniques:
Worked with Mario, Gail, and Julio on Shomen-ate nd Aigamae-ate.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Friday:
Aikido
Saturday:
Aikido
Aggie Football
Sunday:
Work on the two interior doors that needed painting
Football
Sleep
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Mario, Roderick, Julio, Devin, John, and Joe (the potential new student from Friday night)
Ukemi:
Got half of my warm-up set in. Oversaw John, Mario and Joe
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Oversaw Julio and John working together
Techniques:
Dan and Marvin did a run through of the first 5 techniques. A disappointment, not nearly as polished as it should be.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Mario, Devin, and John (had a potential new student watching)
Ukemi:
Got half of my warm-up set in. Oversaw John
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Oversaw Mario and John working together
Techniques:
Worked with John and Devin on punch the dummy and some work on Shomen-ate.
Aftermath:
We had an issue with Mario working with John on the 6th release. Strained John's shoulder a bit.
Dan and I both agreed to cancel class due to our sinus conditions. We figured rest was the better choice for the night.
We played "Volleyball for Dummies" this week. We won the first two games fairly easily, even though we were undermanned. The thirds game was 14-16, I believe.
We had only 4 players for a bit of the first game, and finished the evening with 5.
Friday:
Lunch at Barnaby's
Aikido
Caught a cold/allergy on the way home
Saturday:
Banking
Aikido
Football
Dinner at El Centinela
Slept for 33 of the next 36 hour
Sunday:
Sleeping
A brief appearance for soup and a bit of football
Aikido players: Tim, Trey, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Damon, and John (Roderick was there but had to go to work before he could get on the mat)
Ukemi:
Got half of my warm-up set in. Worked with Gail as she tried to move from the thick mat to the thinner one. A number of mental stumbling blocks in the process.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Gail.
Techniques:
Trey and I spent "Black Belt Hour" working on the first 14 of Yon Kata. Trey has had some more insights into these techniques as he's been uke-ing them for long enough now. The most important thing of all of these is the first off-balance.
Worked with Gail on Aigamae-ate
Aftermath:
Felt horrible. Caught an allergy or something Friday night. Went home and slept for 33 of the next 36 hours.
Aikido players: Tim, Trey, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Damon, and John
Ukemi:
Got half of my warm-up set in. Watched John and Gail.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Oversaw Mavin and Dan working together. Made a substantial correction to Marvin's 4th release, changing the footwork.
Techniques:
Oversaw Mavin and Dan working on Waki gatame
Oversaw Gail and John working on Shomen-ate
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Dan
Well, we would have had class, but the guy who owns the building went out for his birthday celebration. He locked the door, and I don't have a key.
We played one of the newer teams this week, and one all three games. The third game was 15-11 or something like that.
Friday:
Lunch at Hubcap Grill
Aikido
Work on sourdough
Saturday:
Sourdough pancakes - I prefer buttermilk, I think
Work on sourdough loaves
Aikido
Sourdough
Football
Sunday:
Work on one of the hallway doors
Football
Sourdough loaves
Peach cobbler
Aikido players: Tim, Troy, Dan, Marvin, Mario, Julio, and John
Ukemi:
Got a couple of full set in and worked with John
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Mario on the last four
Techniques:
Troy and I both worked through all 8 of the kneeling Koryu Dai San in the "Black Belt Hour"
Worked with John on "punching the dummy" and the beginnings of Shomen-ate. Did some general work on Gedan-ate for a number of folks.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, and Julio
Ukemi:
Got a couple of rolls in
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Oversaw Mario and Julio working together
Techniques:
Oversaw Mario and Julio work on Shomen-ater
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Dan
Ukemi:
Got a couple of rolls in
The Walk:
Not on Thursdays
Releases:
Not on Thursdays
Techniques:
Worked with Dan on the first 3 of Ju Nana Hon Kata
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Mario, Gail, and Julio
Ukemi:
Got a couple of rolls in
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Gail
Techniques:
Worked with Gail on Shomen-ate
Aftermath:
None of note.
We played Frank's team last night, and it was as close at it usually was. We won the first game fairly easily. The second game we lost 21-23. The third we won 17-16.
I did not back my volleyball properly and ended up with only one shoe in it. So, I had to play in my hiking boots.
Friday:
Aikido
Saturday:
Up early to drive to Austin, picking up some passengers along the way, for the annual board meeting of ALAMO
Had the meeting
Ate some barbecue
Drove back, stopping at the Omni Hotel in south Austin
Also stopped at Berdoll's pecan store - created a few new customers I think
Football
Sunday:
Football
Did some work on one of the doors in the house
ArmadilloCon this year was a Relaxacon. Just a gathering of friends at a laid back location to talk, play games, eat, and SMOF.
I managed to rule the world in croquet.
K. and I took the boys (Jack and Tank, our dogs) with us for our first trip with them in a long time. The trip to the Hill Country was about 4 or 5 hours, with the various stops we made. The boys travelled very well. They also enjoyed the weekend. We took them on walks, they got to smell different wildlife and plants.
We drove up on Friday, and drove back on Monday. A nice long weekend.
Took a weekend and flew to Alabama for an ATAA seminar.
K. dropped me off at the airport. I had some issues with the metal detectors, but the TSA foud a knife I thought I'd lost. I had enough time to go back and check a ppiece of luggage so I did not end up losing the knife I thought I'd lost.
Got to Birmingham with no real issues, picked up a rental, and drove to Bessemer and to the hotel. When I pulled into the parking lot, my first reaction was "What a dump". My second reaction was "What a dump". My third was "They've got no power". I ended up staying there, but wrote a lengthy note to the national office to let them know how horrible it was.
We had aikido sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I got to work with J. W. Bode and Mike Whitlock. These two have promotion certificates signed by Tomiki. I don't know if they got to lay hands on the man himself, but it's still cool. We worked on hand randori and they showed me issues I had and made suggestions.
I got to work with a couple of folks on O Waza Ju Pon, before they included those techniques in their demonstration for Shodan. I also got to help Kegan work on Koryu Dai San for a bit. Cool stuff.
The flight back was unnoticeable.
Check out directly from here. Fast. Secure. Simple.
