Saturday nights at the honbu dojo have recently been made nights for individual training. Classes usually start at the regular time but we’re pretty much left to our own devices – an opportunity to work on corrections and play with things we learnt during the week, maybe even do a little partnered free sparring, bunkai, or kakie waza.

Sometimes on these nights when I’m striking away on the makawara or working on kata, the sounds seem to come together in an almost musical way. The rhythmic pounding of someone’s hand against a rock, the whirring of a skipping rope, the sharp exhalations of someone doing chiishi, or the thud of combinations against the heavy bag. I can’t help but smile to myself as we all huff, puff and sweat in the silence. It reminds me of a scene from Zatoichi. I’ve included the clip below.



I think it’s interesting that Sensei has decided to change things up in this way. One could say this kind of indepenent training more closely resembles the traditional Okinawan approach. But, whatever Sensei’s motives, I’ve come to really like our independent Saturday night sessions. They’ve been a good test of our ability to remember the junbi undo, kihon and hojo undo routines as well as a real lesson in focused training and self-motivation. But enough talking, it's time for some training.

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