Okay.. So I haven't been to the dojo for FAR too long. The first week, I decided against going because my allergies were KILLING me.(This allergy season was worst than I have felt in 10 years or more.) I figured the other students would appreciate me not sneezing on them and dripping Dustin goo all over the place. The second week, I came down with a nasty cold that had me sneezing, coughing, wheezing, watery eyes, and again I figured everyone would appreciate me not spreading my germs around. After that well a combination of things happened. Partially I have only myself to blame, but I also was working a VERY intense schedule and it seemed every time I anted to get to the dojo I would get held up at work just late enough to be extremely late or miss class completely. VERY frustrating... I did email Enmei Sensei and apologized for my absense. She told me to just come in when I could and they would be excited to have me back in class.
I arrived at class just barely with enough time to make it onto the mat for warmups. One of the few things I can remember clearly about this class was that there were FAR more students in the room than I had previously seen. To the point i could not find a spot on the mat. One word from Sensei and suddenly a spot appeared. Warmups were REALLY rough for me this time around. At one point one of the other students turned and asked if I was okay. I assured her that I was, just a bit more out of shape than I wanted to be. We got to rolls and Enmei actually stopped me and asked before I rolled the first time. 'Are you okay with rolls?' Yes ma'am. No problems there. Enmei sensei was the sole teacher tonight. She reminded us that testing was coming this weekend so tonight we would review as much as possible and she asked the senior students to help the lower ranks out as much as possible.
When we broke off Enmei Sensei asked the lower ranks to move off to the left side of the room and work together. At this point I had the privlege of meeting a new black belt I had not seen before. His name was Jason. Now Jason is a fairly wide and short man of ebony skin, a bright smile, and exudes a peace and calmness that I have felt from very few people i have ever met in my life. One cannot help but release the trials of the day by shaking his hand. We worked a fairly simple technique and I noticed something about our shodan and above, for the most part they all have an unusally gentle touch. Jason being the prime example of this. If you had to plot the pressure and spped of his technique on a graph it would resemble a parabola. Start very soft and slow, speed up with some intensity and as we move into the part of the technique that would hurt he gently applies pressure until you can feel it. Also of note as you tap out and he released the technique as slowly as he applied it so there is NO real strain or shock at all. I actually thought to myself, getting tossed by this guy is actually quite pleasent.
The next section of class I spent working with Rich. We were trying a technique I had not yet seen before. I think I was pushing myself a littel harder than I was previously because I was gasping harder than I had previously in classes. At one point I had to take a knee because I found myself quite dizzy. This is one of those classes that I am not too sure I retained too much from. One thing is that we moved VERY quickly and secondly, we used movements I was completely unfamiliar with so I spent more time confused and trying to figure out which way to turn rather than actually learning. I know one lesson I think i will remember for the rest of my life was given to me by Rich. I was gasping for air he told me to sit seiza, and squeeze both of my thumbs inside my fist. While doing this to check in with my shoulders and make sure they weere relaxed. I am nothing short of amazed out how well this technique works. I think one of the biggest pitfalls I face is when I am short of breathe is that my muscles around my ribcage contract and then my shoulders tense up and exaserbate the problem. I think partially this is a function of my asthma as this happens during a bad allergy and asthma attack too.
For now the only reflection I can offer fro this clas are the Squeezing Thumbs technique of regaining breath.
Our Black Belts understand something about gentleness that I can only hope to over time.
And that I really need to not spend 4 weeks out of the dojo or not working out EVER again.
There is one particular side not to this traning day that i think i should mention. Besides the cursory sore muscles and stiff joints from a good workout, I woke up the next morning breathing easier and clearer than I have in years. No sniffles, no tight chest, no wheezing, no coughing... interesting. I suppose the training is having positive effects... there are a couple other factors at play I am sure considering my breaking of old habits, but for now I will contribute it to more training and learning to breath better. Next class I will get to will get to will be Wednesday. I am UBER excited.
'D'
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