I haven’t blogged about Aikido in a while, which is lame. I’ve been training quite a bit – not as frequently as I’d like, mind you, but quite a bit. About 3 times a week, I think. After next week, I’m going to up that to 4 or 5 times a week if all goes well.
I’m gearing up for my nikyu test, which is freaking me out. Fortunately, I have landed a good training partner – he’s already a nikyu and is training for his ikkyu (the highest belt before black) test. He’s shorter than I am (one of my weaknesses!), WAY stronger than I am (he bodybuilds as a hobby), and doesn’t let me get away with ANYTHING. Better yet, he’s a good teacher, so I’m learning quickly. Not as quickly as I’d like, mind you, but I always expect myself to do everything perfectly. I’m working on that. He’s nice without coddling me, which is cool. I think he can tell that I push myself hard enough that he doesn’t have to push me too.
I am determined to test by early November at the latest. I brought my jo (short wooden staff) to work with me so I can practice the paired weapons forms (they are new to me and there are six on the test – three jo and three bokken (wooden sword)), and that’s going really well. I think it’s a sign of how good my sempai is that I already have the basic outlines of the defending part of the 3 jo forms down.
As soon as I have a testing date I’ll let you all know so you can think good thoughts for me. I haven’t tested in something like seven years, so I am really nervous. On the bright side, if I can do these techniques with my sempai, I bet I can do them with just about anybody because he gives me a harder time than anybody in the dojo.
