Zoom today

 Ron started today's class with ki exercises for warm ups. Then he demonstrated kokyu nage from yokemen, where he retreated, then entered and led uke's arm up while turning and then down into a back fall. Except no one is falling or rolling because most people are practicing alone. The next yokemen uchi kokyu nage started the same way and as ukes arm was led up, nage entered and kept turning, leading uke down in a circle. Next, we did yokemen uke sumi otoshi reversed...same beginning and then nage glided in with a rounded arm under uke's arm pit, sending uke off into a big roll. His last technique was yokemen uchi kota gieshe, same beginning and then tenkan, keeping solid contact on uke's wrist with both of nage's hands while letting the wrist still slide through.

I introduced a build a kata exercise, emphasizing mindfulness. I started with a strike with my short stick. We practiced that for a minute or two and then I called next. The next person in alphabetical order added a strike to mine by calling it out. We all practiced that for a bit and then I called next again. We had five people in class so we ended with a short kata. Then we demonstrated how we each did our kata. It was interesting to see the interpretations. We did that exercise again and finished with a ki kata. 

We have been on Zoom for going on 2 years now and have missed very few classes. I am so grateful that people keep turning up to train and that Ron and I get to practice together,