Downright

After being overwhelmed on Monday, a little dedicated time in the evening to work on the kata appeared to let things settle in my mind.  Although I still have to stop and think, I can keep things separate now.  I mean I have to really think the whole kata through before I do it.  Thankfully they are really short.


We went over the 6 major blocks; which I find very different from my own.  Anytime we do a block we initiate with elbows stacked.  It's somewhat exaggerated, and when we do them at speed a lot of that is lost, but we practice all at three speeds.  The lesson is that you want to get it correct, but at speed you're not going to be perfect.  And that you have to practice at high speed. 


After that we worked a bit more on Pinan Shodan before Mark and I worked on his kata, bunkai, application work. 


At the end of class we gathered at the front for a lesson.  Reed Sensei likes to spend a few minutes for an instruction or moral tale.  I wasn't sure what to make of these, but I enjoy them because I can't think of anytime in my life that anyone actually said this stuff (maybe Sunday school?).  Last night's lesson referred to eye gazes.  To recall we tend to look up and to the right and if stretching the truth we tend look down and to the right.  Thus the term "a downright liar".  Obviously it depends on lots of factors, but it was pretty cool.


He finalized the time with a poem:
I'm born with a set of tools,
A shapeless mass,
And a book of rules.
I need to build
before I die
a stumbling block
or stepping stone. 


I don't think I have that totally right, but you can see that where he was going with it.  Nice sentiment and places the work in creating the people we want to be in our own hands.  Or that's how I interpreted it.