2018

This is the first post in over a year!  I just did not feel much like posting last year, I suppose.  Classes at the dojo are small, these days.  We usually have 2-4 people, per class.  I hope that number will grow a little this year.

Mostly, we have been working on Shinzato Sensei's relaxed koshi principles.  These are pretty much 180 degrees reverse of what we practiced for years.  Someday, I may write about some of the transitions we have made throughout the years, but not today.

Here are a few ideas from our training at this time...

• Start relaxed, stay relaxed, end relaxed
• Open the koshi and let the joints relax.
• Don't use muscular strength. Align the bones and simply extend.
• Sink, then sink a little more, and extend. 
• To transfer power, extend more quickly.
• Let the top half of the body float on the bottom half.
• Keep your centerline vertical.
• "Test" the techniques with a partner to see if you can extend or retract them easily without tensing.
• Don't tuck, don't squeeze, don't use your shoulders, don't wiggle your hips, don't over-extend, don't rotate, don't breathe hard and don't push.
• Believe that it can work

We still do a lot of Naihanchi!

Happy 2018!