Grinding Through

Dragging myself to practice last night, I was a bit skeptical on my performance. I have been absent for the past 2 weeks, people have been asking about my attendance and I also had to practice kendo kata with Mr. TTKuma for the upcoming kata demonstrations.

Even though I am not really ‘sick’, however my energy level has been pretty low in the past few weeks, fluctuating at best. My trainer mentioned that I may be in need of a vacation or something. I haven’t been in the mood to go anywhere, plus I need to save some money for other needs as well.

I had keiko with Mr. MM, Mr. W, Sergeant H and Mr. TTKuma. As for points wise, I think my Kendo was border line. I didn’t perform as well as I would like to, however I did gave everything my body had that night. I found myself concentrating hard, because I know I didn’t have much to begin with. However, there were few instances that I found myself doubting my own semme, even during crucial moments, which made me open and vulnerable for attacks.

I was unable to find solid opening against Mr. MM, instead I was struck a few times on my men. Which is a rarity considering his usual attack style and height. My men must have been extremely open for him to try such bold attacks on me.

Against Sergeant H, I tried hard to keep my posture and stamina for his usual endurance oriented training. Surprisingly he took it rather easy on me, even though he never let up on distance thus not giving me any moment of rest by closing in the distance. Not only I had to resist his pushes, I also had to keep on my kamae for the whole duration.

Mr. W with his usual aggressive style. I found myself doubting my own semme a few time, which made me an easy target.

Mr. TTKuma, made a point that while my kote attacks are pretty good, I should not rely on it as much, for it made me too predictable. The thing is, Mr. TTKuma’s extreme height and fast hands makes it very difficult for me to hit his men.

All in all, last night’s practice was pretty satisfying, even though I found it difficult to get out of bed this morning due to exhaustion.