Lightning, Thunder, Wanshu

Last night, inspired by my work on Washite, I set about the task of working on Wanshu. This was kind of a big deal for me because there are some significant differences between the Kishaba Juku way of doing Wanshu and the way I originally learned it. It felt like one of those neglected closets  that you keep promising yourself you'll get around to straightening out someday. Someday had arrived.


Armed with the video above, I walked up to the dojo and went to work. Ah, that opening move! As most often happens with me, I understood and appreciated what that perfect storm of not-so-hidden moves was meant to accomplish. Elbow, palm heel, grab, reverse direction, turn and downblock. I finally got into a rhythm of executing that series, on the right side and the left side, over and over. As I worked on developing it into some kind of flow, another flow began: a deluge of rain, complete with thunder and lightning. So, now, I was practicing and mopping up, practicing and mopping up.


And in walks Abi, more than a little damp, to join me for a workout. 


I showed her what I was working on. The strange dramatic yoi that seems to leave the ribs vulnerable to attack. Elbow, palm heel, grab, reverse direction, turn and downblock--- all while standing on one foot. I showed her the rest of the kata and explained the points of difference between what I had originally learned and what I was trying to do. Then ,we got into a kind of free- association. In what other katas do we meet similar situations: standing on one foot with dramatic arm movements that might provide more off-balance opportunities for elbows, backfists, palm heels, grabs. 


We got into the opening moves of Pinan Shodan, the work with the backfist that I had been doing in my previous workout and whether the elbow might also be useful in application. 


Then we started working on Rohai with all its dramatic one-footed stances and what the "hidden" arm and hand work might be there. That led us to a new discovery--- that Abi had never learned how to move through the center in Rohai in order to generate power for all those fancy moves. We started with that and then went back to the section of Pinan Shodan that leads to the kicking and punching series and worked on generating power for the kicks by angling the kosa-dachi so the back knee catches the ligament on the inside of the front knee.


The rain ended before our session did. I noted the places where drops had leaked in and started thinking about how to seal the vulnerable areas. I already know what it will take to seal what I learned into my body and mind. Practice, practice... did I mention "practice"?


And thus I closed the closet door on Wanshu for the night.