Old Faces...

Today's practice was quiet a tough one. On top of the usual hot weather, I was also suffering from lack of sleep and some stomach ache. Needless to say, I had to excuse myself a couple of times for a bathroom break every now and then.
Mr. S injured his shoulder today, thus he was unable to practice with us. Instead he spent his time teaching young children and beginners.
I had my first keiko with Teacher K today. He's a fast one, but a fun one as well. I enjoyed our time immensely today. We had a back and forth battle for a while there. I was able to keep my concentration as well as an open mind, perhaps I don't really have a blue print for his kendo, but I know that he has very good hand speed, making it extra difficult to hit kote on him and his height makes it a challenge for a men attack as well.
Another notable keiko was with Ms. KK, she is perhaps the opposite of Teacher K. She is short and very quick, I felt like I was fighting Yoda in Star Wars. Neither of us wanted to risk our size and distance advantage thus the keiko was sort of a stalemate for a while. Mr. S, reminded me halfway to not wait, but to initiate offense instead. Ms. KK also reminded me of my stutter steps before attacking instead of taking advantage of my distance. Aside from avoiding getting hurt, I was also being careful with my direct attacks since it would be very easy opponents to detect and counter. To this day, I am still not sure if my stutter step is correct or incorrect... Perhaps I should ask another sensei about this.

Today, I received word that Speed Demon wanted to rejoin practice. Speed Demon was our Ace during the KL tournament 4 years ago. His presence is indeed missed... Aside from work and family, his reason for absence was because he felt so much pressure during keiko and in practices. I tried to assure him that such pressure is also part of his journey in Kendo that he must conquer and achieve, to make his Kendo and essentially his life better.
I introduced Speed Demon to Mr. S and Mr. K, whom preceeded to gave him some useful Kendo advise to improve his kendo. I could see that the speed force is still with him, perhaps it'll take him a couple of months to readjust himself to the basics and move forward... I hope he can take this personal challenge, I know with the guidance of Mr. S and Mr. K, he is in good hands.