First injury in Albuquerque

Not sure what was at fault, perhaps not warmed up enough or just overstrained it while trying throw Chris, but I pulled a muscle in the back. It happened while we did some nage. Perhaps cool weather was a factor.

Mr. Prather invites Bud

I'm just back from a seminar, to which Mr. Jeff Prather, head of Yamaneko, invited his colleague (also a Shihan), Mr. Bud Maelstrom. Bud, as he insists on being addressed by students, headed a dojo in Atlanta that he took over when Stephen K. Hayes moved on.

After the meeting, I heard Shinans reminiscing about training in Japan with Japanese Shinans under Soke. It included stuff like "being hit by Nagato is like being hit with a rebar". Bud is excellently controlled, however. Senior instructors of Tucson dojo were too, so I excaped with minor damage and a lot of practice time.

Not sure if I left a good impression about ABQ dojo. There was quite a bit to incorporate and improve before from the subject matter of the seminar. I should've expected it, but I am still too shallow, for instance. Thought I fixed it, but apparently not.

A small school

Fudo Myou Dojo (of Yamaneko Hall) is the smallest school I attended, ever. Current cohort is only 3 students, including myself. This offers me a certain advantage, as Lees-sensei does not have to delegate teaching.

Also, I never heard of after-class tea before. It would simply be impractical for a school of the size of Mr. Albright's, let alone the KJN Rick's massive operation (putting aside different discipline).

The New Hope

Almost exactly 4 years since the last entry, I went for a class in my new school, one mentioned previously: Fudo Myou Dojo. I am not entirely clear how Yamaneko comes into the picture: is this a parent school? Anyway, it is a Bujinkan school.

The class itself it was quite a disaster. For the warm-up, the heart rate goes up and blood vessels expand, but as we move on, the rate collapses, and so does the blood pressure. If I keep standing, it ends in blackout. So, I spent most of the class laying on the ground, where sensei placed me.

What to do? Training, I suppose. I know from experience that typicall conditioning helps very little, because it focuses on handling the exertion. But my problem is what happens thereafter. But perhaps something may be found.