The musings of a weary mind. Conversations on aikido, gardening, cooking, travel and, maybe, woodworking.
Friday:
Lunch at Which Wich
No aikido
Refresh sourdough starter
Gnome-mobile movie start
Saturday:
Blueberry muffins
Stamps at the Post Office
Aikido
Walk with the boys
Work on sourdough
Work on "sourdough" doughnuts
Dinner with K at El Centinela
Work on sourdough
Gnome-mobile movie finish
Sunday:
Reorganize bookshelves
Sourdough
"Sourdough" doughnuts failed to rise promptly
Walk with K. and the boys
Work on ArmadilloCon
Aikido players: Tim, Marvin, Gale, and Zachery
Ukemi:
None today
The Walk:
Twice
Releases:
I worked with Zachery on his. Starting with 6-8 and finishing up with 1-4
Techniques:
Worked with Zachery on Gyaku Gamae-ate.
Started off with him getting 10 good off balances on the right side and then 10 on the left. We moved on to him getting 10 good off-balances and eye-flashes on the right side and the 10 on the left. Finally, we did 10 off-balances, eye-flashes and completions on the right side and then 10 on the left.
Did some work with Marvin and Gale on the arb-bars for Oshi Taoshi.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Last night we played "Way out", another long time resident of the competitive league. We did horribly, as I expected. 7-21, 14-21, 4-15, or something along those lines.
They only had 4 players to our 6.
Well, it was a fun night, if not rewarding.
Friday:
Lunch at Cafe Sol Mejicano
Aikido
Refresh sourdough starter
Satuday:
Refresh sourdough starter
Blueberry muffins
Bank errands
Haircut
ArmadilloCon copies
Aikido
Dinner at Mom's with other family
Upgraded Carissa's laptop
Refresh sourdough starter
Sunday:
Refresh sourdough starter
Preliminary tax work
Dog walk
Football
Refresh sourdough starter
Aikido players: Tim, Trey, Marvin, Gail, Mario, and Zachary
Ukemi:
None for me.
The Walk:
Three times. One extra today.
Releases:
Watched Mario and Gail work together
Techniques:
Trey
and I worked on the Tanto Dori from Koryu Dai San.
Ushiro Ate
Uke stabs downward (blade down). Tore steps to left, deflecting the incoming strike with the back of the right hand. Tore then places his left hand on Uke's right shoulder and steps through
turning uke, pushing away.
Gyakugamae Ate
Uke stabs (blade down) at tore's left temple. Tore steps forward with palm facing Uke's eye's, while pivoting away from the attack
Tentai Oshi Taoshi
Uke slices (blade down) at tore's gut, then stabs at tore's right side (This is a reverse attack. Uke is attacking with the right hand, but has reached across to the left side of his body before starting the attack). Tore steps forward, blocking swing, then step back and around and to the ground into arm bar.
Ushiro Ate
Uke stabs upward. Tore steps to left, turning uke, pushing away.
Ude Gatame
Uke stabs at tore's left kidney. Tore enters with right arm above uke's, left arm below, stepping around, dropping uke to the mat, and then executing an arm-bar. (On the entry, Tore's right hand must be above Uke's elbow [closer to the wrist]. His left arm must be between the elbow and the shoulder to get a nice leverage point for the upcoming pivot)
Kote Gaeshi
Uke slices across tore's body, then stabs at tore's right side. Tore avoids the slash by stepping back with his right foot, interrupts the return swing, by stepping in with his right foot, steps around into kote gaeshi.
Tentai Kote Hineri
"Aggie Knife Attack" Uke has the knife hidden in his gi. Uke extends his left hand into Tore's face, creating space, while drawing the knife. Tore' takes the extended had and goes into Tenkai Kote Hineri
Shomen Giri Gedan Ate
This is a failed Shomen-ate. Tore takes the attacking knife hand and drops it to Uke's thigh. Tore then applies pressure to Uke's knee, causing a fall. Tore then takes Uke's right foot and twists with his center to cause Uke to roll over. Tore then pins Uke's legs together. Uke then attempts to rise up with his right hand. Tore reaches inside Uke's arm, extends it, and creates and arm-bar.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Mario, and John
Ukemi:
Got in most of a full set. Watched over John
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with John on his
Techniques:
Worked with John on Shomen-ate, Aigamae-ate and Gyakue Gamae-ate
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Dan, and Mario
Ukemi:
Nope, not tonight
The Walk:
Not on Thursdays
Releases:
Not on Thursdays
Techniques:
Dan
and Mario worked on Ude Gaeshi. Split the time
evening for both roles. Had Dan tori for 2/3 of the class, Mario got the rest.
For Mario, we worked on the entry and the response. Then I had him work on the final footwork without having Dan attached. The footwork can be problematic and I did not want them in a tangle if Mario mucked things up too much for a safe result.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Second match of the season last night, against perennial powerhouse Fandango. We lost, but did not get overwhelmed. 10-21, 12-21, 12-15. We played well. I don't think I had any spikes that went over the net. And I know I did one back row attack and one fault on a first serve on a sideout.
Not bad, considering. .500 for the season so far.
Friday:
Lunch at CafeExpress
Aikido
Saturday:
Blueberry muffins
Banking
Flu shot
Post Office
Aikido
Toner cartridge
Football
Dinner at El Centinela with K.
Football
Sunday:
DVD work
Football
Aikido players: Tim, Trey, Dan, Marvin, Mario, John, and Zachary
Ukemi:
Got in a full set.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Watched Dan work with Zachary, Trey work with Mario and Marvin work with John on their sets
Techniques:
Watched Dan and Mario work their way down from Ushiro-ate to Shomen-ate. Worked with Mario on Oshi-taoshi.
Trey and I worked on the standing Koryu Dai San : left collar grab, 7th release into rollout, right collar grab, Kote Kajiki, cross-hand collar choke, 5th release into mae-otoshi, bear hug, failed shomen-ate.
Aftermath:
Beat like a drum.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Mario, John, and Joe
Ukemi:
Got in a full set.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Watched Dan work with Joe on their sets.
Techniques:
Watched Dan and Joe work on Shomen-ate.
Aftermath:
None of note.
We started in a new session last night. The team decided to move up to the competitive league, so we're in a whole 'nother ballgame now. However, one of the teams that was in the Rec league for a while is up there with us, and we played them last night. "Recreational Buffet" was a team we'd had trouble with in the past. I think we'd beaten them from time to time, but always closely contested.
Last night, we did fairly well. The first two games we did fairly well and kept a lead for the most part. The third game, we were down 1-8, and managed to come back to win 15-12.
Friday:
Lunch at Treebeard's at the Cloisters
Aikido
Saturday:
Blueberry muffins
Bank errands
Aikido
Stopped by mom's to pick up some cables
Worked on family Christmas picture
Football
Cards with the in-laws
Sunday:
Failed attempt at Divinity
Worked on family Christmas picture
Worked on video of Mario and Julio's demonstration
Successful attempt at divinity
Football
Posted by Scott Zrubek at 7:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: baking, cooking, football, photography, weekend
Aikido players: Tim, Trey, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, and Zach
Ukemi:
Did not get any warm-up falls in. Watched over the others
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Trey and I worked with Gail. We made it through the fifth release.
Techniques:
Worked with Gail on Ushiro-ate
Trey and I worked on the standing portion of Koryu Dai San No Kata. We worked on Kote Mawashi, Uchi Tenkai Nage, Gyakugamae Ate, skipped Kote Kajiki, skipped Mae Otoshi and worked on Ushiro Waza Mae Otoshi
Aftermath:
My back was lightly sore partway through the class. I'm not certain of the cause.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Mario, Julio, and Joe
Ukemi:
Got in a full set.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Watched Dan work with Joe on their sets
Techniques:
Watched Dan and Joe work on Shomen-ate.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Dan and the newest green belt Mario
Ukemi:
Nope, not tonight
The Walk:
Not on Thursdays
Releases:
Not on Thursdays
Techniques:
Dan and Mario worked on Oshi taoshi for the evening. Dan getting most of the time as tori, but some as uke.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Assassin's Quest - Robin Hobb
Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb
Saltation - Miller & Lee
Dingo - Charles de Lint
All American Alien Boy - Allen Steele
The Star of Life - Edmond Hamilton
Idolon - Mark Brudz
The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity
Liquor - Poppy Z. Brite
Prime - Poppy Z. Brite
Soul Kitchen - Poppy Z. Brite
The Devil You Know - Poppy Z. Brite
Small Gods - Terry Pratchett
Medicine Road - Charles De Lint
Spiderman : Secret of the Sinister Six - Adam-Troy Castro
Scratch Monkey - Charles Stross
The Night Watch - Sean Stewart
Misspelled - Julie Czerneda
Mouse & Dragon - Miller & Lee
The Shattered Vine - Laura Anne Gilman
Ghost Ship - Miller & Lee
Fuzzy Nation - John Scalzi
Commedia Della Morte - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Borne In Blood - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Firebrand - Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Still - David Feintuch
Necessity's Child - Miller & Lee
The Lost Stars : Tarnished Knight - Jack Campbell
Limits of Power - Elizabeth Moon
The War God's Own - David Drake
Dragon Ship - Miller & Lee
The Trade of Queens - Charles Stross
Wow. 32 books. That's the most I've read in a year in a while. Lots of series (Brite, Miller & Lee, Hobb, Yarbro) and some one-offs. A couple of anthologies, a couple of collections.
Of those above, the toughest one for me to get through was, I think, "Scratch Monkey". It required the most concentration to stay on thread.
The most surprising were the Brite books. But, as I'm on a cooking trend these days, they were a nice fit.
I was pleased with Scalzi's treatment of the Fuzzy universe.
The first book of 2014 will be a collection from the WorldCon in 1997: "Entertainment" by Algis Budrys.
I'll have more time to read on my commute, but won't have as much reading time during vacation as in 2013. About 7 of last year's books were read in one week of vacation. We'll see what the total for 2014 brings and how close I get to clearing off my massive To Be Read pile.
Wow. Did I see only two movies in the theatre this year? I think so, and both of them were "The Hobbit".
I guess that's what prepping for a major convention will do to you.
So, to summarize, I liked the first Hobbit just a bit better than the "Desolation of Smaug"
Maybe I'll get to more movies this year. It'd take some work to go to fewer.
Aikido players: Tim, Trey, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, and John (Devin showed up for the meal)
Ukemi:
Got in a full set. Took some high falls from Tim.
The Walk:
Not today.
Releases:
Not today
Techniques:
Did some work on Shomen-ate, Gyaku-gamae-ate with John, Dan and Gail.
Did some reps of Hiki-otoshi with Dan and Trey.
Did some reps of Kube guruma with Trey.
Aftermath:
We had out traditional New Year's Day potluck after the light workout.
Friday:
Aikido
Saturday:
Up and driving to Austin for a family Christmas
Family Christmas
Drove back from Austin
Sunday:
Did some work on the Christmas letter
Did some work on the video for Friday night's aikido demonstration
Football
Aikido players: Tim, Trey(!), Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, and Joe
Ukemi:
Did not get any warm-up falls in. Watched over Gail, Dan, and Mario
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Did a little work with Joe
Techniques:
Watched over Mario and Julio as they worked on their demonstration stuff.
Then Tim had me run Mario and Julio's demonstrations. We did the usual stuff for Yonkyu and they did well. Both earned their promotions.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Posted by Scott Zrubek at 7:50 AM 0 comments
Labels: aikido, clear creek aikido, demonstration, tomiki
Aikido players: Dan
Ukemi:
Nope, not tonight
The Walk:
Not on Thursdays
Releases:
Not on Thursdays
Techniques:
Worked
with Dan on the entry for Waki-gatame, right and left side.
Noted a few things while working with him:
If tori drops the arm he intercepts to armbar height too soon, uke can get out of it.
If tori does not keep the arm he intercepts parallel (roughly) to the ground, the armbar will be tougher to achieve, as tori will have to match the angle of his shoulder to the angle of the arm.
If tori finds he has not ended up perpendicular to uke, he needs to relax any armbar placed on uke before moving to be perpendicular. This is mainly for dojo use in order to save uke's arm. On the street it might work out ok.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Friday:
Lunch at MR Grill in the tunnels
Aikido - awarded Yondan
Saturday
Blueberry muffins
Aikido
Went and made a donation at Bay Area Pet Adoptions (did not bring home another pet)
Lunch at Tookies
Mixed up a number of cookie recipes (Russian Teacakes, Sugar Cookies, Gingerbread Men, Shortbread)
Football
Went Xmas shopping at Home Depot, Academy
Saw The Hobbit at the theatre
Sunday:
Baked cookies
Baked pumpkin and pecan pies
Football
Aikido players: Tim, Trey(!), Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, John, and Devin
Ukemi:
Watched over Gail, Dan, and Mario
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Not .tonight
Techniques:
Watched over Mario and Julio as they worked on their demonstration stuff for this upcoming Friday.
Aftermath:
Trey was awarded his Nidan tonight.
I was awarded my Yondan. Holy crap. I have mixed emotions. I would really like to have done the demonstration for it (that will come in the future), but I understand that the lack of qualified ukes (Trey and Troy have all sorts of issues keeping them from attending regularly recently) has put a crimp in my demonstration schedule.
I do feel kind of undeserving without doing the demonstration, but I will soldier on.
I was stunned when Sensei altered our usual evening schedule and my wife (!) showed up to see me get the promotion. There was lots of subterfuge going on to make the evening what it was.
My student, according to a phone call this morning, got caught up in events at home. So, no class.
So, playoffs were this week. As the first place team, we were matched up against the fourth place team. We won the first game about 25-19. We then lost the second game 24-26. The third game was another close one, 13-15.
Oh well, we should have won. Maybe next season. If we stay in the rec. league that's a possibility. Up in the comp. league? No way. We may move up if there's an opening.
Friday:
Dumplings in the tunnels
Aikido
Saturday:
Blueberry muffins
Aikido
Cleared out some of the back hedge
Sunday:
Worked on Cinnamon/Raisin bread
Was pretty much worthless the rest of the day
Football
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, and Devin
Ukemi:
Got in a few falls before watching over the less experienced
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Devin on all of the releases.
Techniques:
Worked with Devin on Shomen-ate and Aigama-ate. He picked up on the new stuff fairly quickly.
I then watched over Julio and Mario as they worked on their techniques for their upcoming demonstration. I then worked Devin into the mix as well.
Marvin, Gail, and Dan worked together on their collection of techniques.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Mario, Julio, John, and Devin
Ukemi:
Not tonight, for me. Watched over the other folks
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Devin on all of the releases.
Techniques:
Worked some with John on Shomen-ate.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Dan
Ukemi:
Nope, not tonight
The Walk:
Not on Thursdays
Releases:
Not on Thursdays
Techniques:
Worked
with Dan on the entries of techniques 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of Ju Nana Hon Kata.
We worked on
Ushiro-ate until my wrists were likely to be bruised. The others went fairly well.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Close-ish games, but we won all three. Combined with results from other matches, this put us in first place for the regular season. Now, time for the playoffs, with us as #1 seed.
Friday:
Aikido
Saturday:
Truck in for an oil change and inspection
Aikido
Did some work on getting the ASH website to have the latest and greatest code
Sunday:
Worked on: cinnamon rolls, and cardamom cinnamon rolls
Football
Aikido players: Tim, Troy, Marvin, Mario, and Joe
Ukemi:
Got in most of a set while watching over Joe and other folks
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
None today for me
Techniques:
Tim had Troy and I work on Koryu Dai San, the kneeling portion thereof. We got through: 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, Roderick, John, and Devin
Ukemi:
Got in full set before watching over the less experienced
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Devin on all of the releases
Techniques:
We did some work with all folks on the entry to Shomen-ate
Aftermath:
None of note.
Aikido players: Dan
Ukemi:
Nope, not tonight
The Walk:
Not on Thursdays
Releases:
Not on Thursdays
Techniques:
Worked with Dan on the entries of the first 5 techniques of Ju Nana Hon Kata. We did them until he got 5 good ones for each side. We were working on Ushiro-ate when time ran out.
Aftermath:
None of note.
We played "Shankenstein" this week. The first game had a wide margin, the second was 23-12, or so. The third game we lost 17-15. The games should not have been that close. I know my game was off, but I did get us off to a 7-0 lead in the third game.
We play them next week, for the last non-playoff match of the season. I hope we do better.
Wednesday:
Made 4 pies
Thursday:
Worked on rolls
Went over to V's for Turkey day
Football
Friday:
Leftovers
Went geocaching in Challenger Park with K and the dogs. Saw a small herd of deer on the way to one cache.
Saturday:
Aikido
Football
Sunday:
Slept in
Football
Went shopping for a light fixture for the kitchen
Tried to mow a bit of the yard, ran out of gas, got a small burn while pushing the mower back in
Aikido players: Tim, Dan, Marvin, Gail, Mario, Julio, and Roderick
Ukemi:
Got in one or two falls demonstrating for various folks.
The Walk:
Twice, per the usual routine
Releases:
Worked with Gail on the releases
Techniques:
Worked with Mario, Gail, and Julio on Ushiro-ate, and Gyaku-gamae-ate.
Aftermath:
None of note.
Check out directly from here. Fast. Secure. Simple.
