Story Time

One thing that I very much like at this school is the "story time" component.  Apparently, the original gringo got his stories from the Japanese master and would periodically tell them.  In time each school leader would repeat them so after awhile everyone would get the details; a verbal history as it were.

These stories are where the kata came from and how they have changed and why.  Yesterday's story was about the elbow techniques that we have to know.  The basic ten moves we have to know for the first black are performed with another person (Uke) who pretty much just throws a straight punch.  But because there are ten of them my poor memory struggles to get past four or five.  Everybody seems to be making a mnemonic to remember, but so far that hasn't happened for me yet. 

The story of the elbows is that Ichigawa was in Europe (Switzerland?) with Morris Mack Sensei.  He had a dream that included a kata of elbow techniques.  When he woke he approached Morris and said I think this is for you.  Morris said thanks and learned it, but didn't think much of it.  Over time that kata became the ten techniques we know now.  While we learn them Reed Sensei also shows the things that have changed even through his sojourn;  an open hand here versus and fist there.  It gives the feeling of acting out living history. 

During the warm ups I was telling Reed that I really liked how I wasn't constantly fighting injury in this school.  This is germane because I woke up this morning with a mangled neck again and shoulder again.  I can't figure what I'm doing that flairs that but it was completely gone for the last couple weeks.  Sigh.  I've also started running again which makes my legs completely fried.  Stretching feels I'm pulling scabs.  I definitely have to work that in more regularly. 

One of the teenage students, Kyle, is going to be off for the summer.  I told him that I hoped I'd be farther ahead by the time he got back.  He said, "If youre better that would be great for me to learn from and if you're not it'll give me an opportunity to resume where I left off".  Either way he wins.