Geki Sai Dai Ichi - Renzoku Bunkai

Today's instructing Senpai got creative and asked karateka who practiced other martial arts to demonstrate a kata from that other practice. I got to see a Tae Kwon Do kata and a Shorin-Ryu karate kata, both for the first time!

If I heard the Shorin Ryu karateka properly, I learned that Shorin Ryu kata are designed to be performed within a small amount of space.  Self-defense work in a small space appeals to me because any movement made without full extension of a joint is a better move for someone with EDS.  The footwork was slow and controlled, while the upper body movements were abrupt, and seemed to rely on what could be done with the feet firmly planted.

The main skill we worked on was Geki Sai Dai Ichi Renzoku Bunkai, which looks like this:

It was a lot of fun to watch myself get better and faster at Renzoku Bunkai, which is the application of a kata performed in a straight line.  It feels like a dance of sorts, I enjoy it.

Technically speaking, Renzoku Bunkai helps me with regular Bunkai in that it helps me think successively about how each movement fits into the overall kata, as well as into direct application.  It bridges the gap between the two, and I think it was a brilliant design to add to the practice.

The dojo is my safe space and I go there no matter what.  We are always redirected to karate if we become distracted or upset.  This happened twice today to me.  Once, during Sanchin drills, I became very upset because Sanchin involves very powerful breathing techniques, and I got flooded with feelings for friends of mine and people I care about who do not have functioning airways.  I felt a whole lot of grief at once.  The second distraction was just that I had become tired, and lost track of what I was doing.  Out of nowhere I started getting upset about my new friend who is on her way to immortality as I write this.  I had to step out and check in with my Sensei, who pinched me and reminded me that, although I was sad for her, I was alive, and I should be living.  My Senpai, with whom I was working on drills, helped me by very directly saying, "Okay! And now we're focused again, aaaand go!"  Shockingly, it worked.

I particularly enjoy working with this Senpai because he has clearly worked on becoming focused, on staying deliberate with his movements, and he is acutely sensitive to the people he is working with.  This makes it very easy for me to let go of everything else in my mind and engage strictly in what's in front of me.  It also helps that he has excellent pacing, so I get a little faster, stronger, and more fluid, by working through.

Suffice to say, I learned a lot this morning about myself: staying focused on what is in front of me was a good lesson, as was speeding things up when it was time to raise the bar.  When I got home it was time to slow down and take a break, but I was so pumped up from karate that my roommate had to remind me.  Then I slept for four hours!