In the park

One feature of classes in Fudo Myou was new for me that we have regular classes in a park. Before, I only got outside for "special training" that black belt candidates did in Ernie Reyes' system.

Typically we take a break from the park over the winter. Not so much because of the cold, but because ground gets icy and that is conductive to injuries. Of course as ninja, we are equipped to use kamae properly and will not slip and tear up ligaments unless we make a mistake, but we do it according to the maxim of "training in most ideal circumstances for most un-ideal circumstances". This winter, however, was very mild in Albuequerque and we did not take the usual break. So, the image above is of Mr.R. (tori) working with Mr.G. (uke) on the bleak winter grass.

7th kyu!

Barely made it, honestly, but I'm 7th kyu now.

Also, I was helping out testing Chris-sempai for shodan (1st degree). In our school it includes things like 2 mile run and 2 minutes of push-ups. I need to step it up.

Albuquerque recruitment drive is coming

Sensei started talking about staging a more focused recruitment effort recently. Although Fudo Myou was a fixture of Albuquerque for years, it does not seem to be very well known.

Sensei's idea is to put up posters around town, but I'm starting to think that we really should be getting on various electronic lists for ninjutsu schools, such as winjutsu.com, ninjutsu.com (neither currently lists our dojo).

One practical question is how to have any kind of listing labeled. In general, we do not talk about "ninjutsu" much, since the term have become loaded in the popular culture. The dojo is a place where you study Bujinkan Taijutsu (武神館の忍術). But I suspect that most people looking for a school would start searching for "ninjutsu". I know I did.

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.