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I want to eat my cake!

I'm glad I was able to rearrange some things in life to make more room for Iaido. At class they went through techniques to strengthen my wrists, which will help me wield my sword better. There's the side-to-side movement, the up-and-down movement (regular), the up-and-down movement (back), and the one-handed cut. There may have been more, but my brain only allows so much in during the 8-9pm window after a long day of work.

This was to help me improve my Ippon-me Mae technique as I have been focusing too much on the cut and not on the draw when the cut is really supposed to be a small wrist movement instead of a giant swing of the arm. I should get the sword unsheathed, then flick the wrist in warning rather than attempt to harm the attacker right off, and then come down on the centerline and cut them severely.

My sword made noise several times! The problem I am having seems to be that when I can do a cut that makes noise, I can't stop at the right target and vice versa. Sometime it will all come together I'm sure, but for now it's a little frustrating. I want to eat my cake!

We did mostly Oku Iai standing kata. I couldn't remember exactly where we got to previously, but I remembered Gohon-me Shinobu, so we started there and went to the end of the set. I enjoy the Oku kata, but they're more free and I can tell I don't understand enough theory to execute them properly. Yet.

My etiquette is improving! I'm still pretty slow, but I'm not as fumbly. The sageo isn't a total mess anymore, just a slight one...

Darn, I forgot to go through noto options. Next class for sure! My hip is a little bruised still from my visit to Kenshokan, but I think it's because I don't have a lot of padding there. I expect I'll just get used to it.

I'm enjoying class more all of the time, though I can't convey my enjoyment in words as of yet. Yes, this writer gets stymied from time to time.

-Roy Iaidoka
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