Shinsa preparation

We have a dojo member who will be taking shinsa soon.

So today, we held shinsa practice at our dojo.

Just like the real thing, we conducted two one-minute tachiai and for our study, we videotaped our mock shinsa.

Is it just me who thinks the long, three-legged iPhone that Sensei set up looks a little annoying?

After warm-up exercises, suburi, and a short foundation practice, it’s finally time for the mock shinsa.

But first, before starting tachiai, we all checked our chakuso.

Are the men-himo of men not twisted?

Are the edge of each men-himo at the same length?

Are the men-himo about 40 cm long?

Are the tenugui not hanging out from the men?

Are the do-himo not about to come undone?

Are the do-himo tied appropriately? (No vertical knot)

Are you wearing your do and tare appropriately?

Is the length of hakama appropriate?

Is the front edge of hakama lower than the back edge?

And so on…

Sensei always says this to us,

“Any mess in your chakuso can immediately tell you how seriously you’ve taken your shinsa.

Also, proper chakuso helps ensure that you and practice partners can practice safely.

So, rather than rushing to get the right chakuso just before the shinsa, you should always make sure that the correct way becomes your everyday chakuso”.

Ok, now the shinsa practice began.

Each person, including Sensei, did two one-minute tachiai.

We finished up to this point today, and the practice came to an end.

Sensei said that he would provide feedback at the next practice and gave us homework to do until the next time.

The assignment was to first, before watching the video taken today,

while your memory is still fresh, recall each of your tachiai and think about when, why, what, and how you did it. Also try to remember what state you were in during that one minute.

So, after going home I started my homework.

First, I’ll try to remember as much as possible about my tachiai before I watch the terrifying video!

I’ll start by sharing my thoughts after watching it in just a one word, which is…

And then… maybe because I’m a masochist, to further admonish myself,

I’ll watch the video again with slow motion mode.

Oh nooooo

I knew it would be awful.

And then I found myself watching something I didn’t want to see.

For example, if you watch the video at normal speed,

it looks as if Ki-Ken-Tai icchi strikes being well-enough performed,

but if you watch it in slow motion,

you’ll see that there’s a “thud!” and the right foot clearly lands first before my striking.

Even if it’s just for a split-second,

the feeling of the strike is completely different than Ki-Ken-Tai icchi and not…sigh.

“Tch! I have to start all over again…” I muttered to myself again.

Also,

Don’t you think that one minute of shinsa is a strange one minute?

It’s only one minute, and sometimes you feel like, “Oh, it’s already over?” but the other times, depending on your opponent, I feel “Huh? It hasn’t even been a minute yet.? Isn’t this too long?” Though sometimes the timekeeper made mistakes…hahaha.

And when I look back at the video,

Even though it was only one minute, there are many moments, such as,

“Oh dear, I still have that bad habit! I’m still doing it a lot!”

“Oh, I thought I looked really cool here, but it was no good at all!”

“Wow, why did I do that in that situation. That was complete nonsense!”

It feels like it contains all sorts of short stories.

The ‘one minute’ during shinsa is somehow so mysterious…

One Minute kun… sometimes I feel you are very long, and other times you disappear in a flash.

Anyway, I’m counting on you during my shinsa, One Minute kun!

So anyway, I’ll have to continue practicing based on the information I got from the video.

I will go to practice again tomorrow ♪