To Calais with a sword – a travel diary part 3

Day 2 and 3

This is the first part of my travel diary to the Ken Jutsu and budo seminar in Calais. Today: Aishin and Jissen Kumi Tachi. ou can find the other parts here: part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.

Aishin and Jissen

My original plan of writing every day seems a little too ambitious now. Time is short and I also like to spend some time with the other practitioners off the mat – most of them I meet only rarely and it would be a pitty not to have some time for an exchange.

The seminar is now in full swing and the daily rhythm is established. So far I skipped the free morning  practice in favor of the additional hour of sleep. After breakfast we head to the morning practice. Araya Kancho talks for about an hour about a particular topic and then we practice all together. Yesterday and today we did Suburi (transl. empty cuts) – e.g. Kesa Giri (diagonale cut) and Kiri Age (diagonale cut upwards). tuesday morning we practice combinations and repetitions of movements  and sequences of cuts (funi shin).

Aishin and Jissen Kumi Tachi

In the afternoon the three groups contnue their respective kata training. On Monday we did the third series (Aishin Kumi Tachi (相心組太刀).  The kanji for Ai Shin means harmony/energy and heart/spirit. Ai Shin mean equal spirit or equal intention/intensity. The video in the beginning of the posts shows  Axel Buksnowitz from the Kikentai Dojo in Berlin and me doing Ai Shin. On Tuesday we practiced the fourth series (Jissen Kumi Tachi (実戦組太刀)). It basically combines elements from the frist three series but is faster and much more intense. The kanji in Jissen means real/earnest and to fight – real fighting! So it’s getting serious now. Uke attacks for real and really tries to win.

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In the evening we went to the beach and enjoyed the spectacular sunset.