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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Tanto Info



You all might remember a week or so back I posted on a new tanto I received from my Sensei. Well, here's a little info on it. It's a Paul Chen original line tanto, the item number was GT-1057, and that line of blades has since been discontinued. What I haven't been able to find is the value of the blade. If anyone has any idea I'd love to know.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Is Jo similar to using a hoe?

Last night Don sensei had us working on Jo kata. We practiced katas one, two and three for most of the class. During kata number three, I was reminded or visualized the dropping block as something similar to the movements you'd perform while using a hoe! Rather than attacking my partners jo, I instead dropped my jo while pulling back in a sweeping motion. It kept me on the line with my partner and put me in the correct position for the next movement.

Pretty wild in my opinion.

Healthy Treats

As I strive to keep to my aikidoka lifestyle I find quite a few temptations to stray from that course while I'm off the mat. Now, I'm not talking about anything serious, no drugs or deviant behavior, but I do have a tendency to indulge in the occasional cocktail or my sweet tooth. Since I just found out yesterday that I'm ill and I'm now on antibiotics, I've decided to look again at my off the mat practices in order to live more healthily off the mat.

This is where I start finding substitutes for candy bars and fried foods. I'm talking about gourmet nuts. I know it might not seem like a big deal, but I often find it easier to grab a Snickers and forget about something a bit healthier. Luckily for me though, every time my sensei invites me in to his place after class he almost always serves cashews and cheese.

Tonight I started thinking about returning the favor and getting my sensei some fancy cashews or something along those lines for Christmas. I found a site called Zenobia NutsOnTheNet.com that sells quite a few varieties of nuts: peanuts, cashews, almonds, and pistachios are all available in time for the gift giving season. Your health conscious friends will love it.

Friday, November 14, 2008

My Newest Tanto

So, last week my sensei gave me a tanto to inspect, and I must say I was impressed. The fit and detail of the fittings was great, everything was snug without being too tight, the tsuka ito is some of the tightest I have ever seen. This Tanto is probably the best blade I have in my collection, which to be honest, isn't really saying much. The overall length is 15.5" with a blade length of 11".

Here are a few images you all might enjoy:











Thursday, November 13, 2008

I've been trying to cut back, but...

Lately I've been trying to cut back on my coffee consumption, I think it has something to do with the caffeine and my recent reactions to it. Every time I do try to cut back I always end up starting back up again, and now that I've switched over to decaf I might actually be able to cut down on my coffee intake.

Over the past two years or so I've really been into best gourmet coffee, I've selected whole beans only and stayed away from all those chain coffee houses. I must say I thought it was great, I supported local coffee roasters (who produce the best tasting coffee btw) and was able to really feel like I was able to contribute to others, especially when I bought fair trade coffee.

Here's where the cut back thing comes in, I always felt a little jittery when I drank regular coffee, like I took in a little too much ki, and artificial ki at that. Now, I drink one cup of decaf a day brewed from the best coffee beans I can get so I still make a meaningful contribution to the coffee industry.

Shodan Test Randori



I just found a very interesting, Aikido Channel on Youtube and I thought I'd share this example of a shodan test randori. All in all I thought the movement looked good, especially in such a tight space. Do you have any thoughts? I'd like to know.

 
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