working hard

Got to practice with the replacement bo yesterday. Dang, I miss my bo. This one is not bad, but really the balance isn't the same, the rolling over the hand is not the same either. I will log in another couple of hours (one Friday and one Saturday) and I can only hope it'll go well on Sunday. Not much more I can do right now but work hard...

I also worked on my Cat 3 kata and while I still have tiny hesitations here or there, I'm feeling better and better with it.

Andrew was absolutely psyched. Even though it was a traditional class to start the night for him, he was allowed to work on his bo kata, since he will present it at the show this Sunday. Even better, I had booked him a half hour private class right after his hour of traditional class. I left the room during that half hour so his instructor got to work with him really one on one. I've talked about a girl named Emilie Paquet in the past. Andrew's instructor is also Emilie's instructor and while she has worked hard to achieve her world championship, I'm sure he had something to do with it. I didn't see the private class, but gradually through the half hour, I could hear Andrew'S kiais coming on stronger and stronger. They decided together that he would present Circle of the Tiger as his traditional kata for the December 10 competition, but they also put it back together, adding intent and strength to it.

I had a good discussion with his instructor right after the half hour. He told me that the first time Andrew did his bo kata during the private class, he had no kiai in it, looked almost scared to strike cleanly. He went on to add that it's not always the level of difficulty of a kata that counts but also the intent you put behind every move and strike. He said he felt good with how Andrew had worked in that half hour. Judging by the kiai I could hear from just next door, I'd say he did work hard, and learned quite a bit...

FM