もう七月が終わってしまう。宇品の花火大会の音が鳴り響くなか稽古から帰った。帰って家族に聞くと大学生の娘も花火大会にいってきたという。何やら昼頃から場所取りをしたメンバーがいたり、メンバーの半分で交代しながら屋台巡りをしたという。写真を見せてもらうと楽しそう極まりなかった。いわゆる陽キャだ。見た目がチャラチャラしているかではなく楽しみ方が陽キャだ。暑かったでしょ？と訊くと暑かったよーと答えた。でも訊かなかったら言わなかっただろう。暑さなんて関係ないんだろうな、楽しくて。最強だなぁと素直に思う。
遊び稽古
１体操
２杖に慣れる
３相半身片手取り二教裏（杖の手引き）
本稽古
１合気体操
２足さばき
３受け身
４相半身片手取り小手返し呼吸投げ
５相半身片手取り四方投げ裏
６相半身片手取り一教表
７相半身片手取り入身投げ
８相半身片手取り二教裏
９横面打ち四方投げ
１０多人数取り両手取り呼吸投げ
今日も少人数だった。それでも粘り強くきてくれるメンバーもいてくれるし、きてくれるメンバーは確実に上達している。時折西条にも数名顔を出して、師範にもみてもらい、褒められるとやはり嬉しい。師範がドイツに戻られるまであと少し。どこまでできるかわからないチャレンジを続けていくしかない。陰キャは陰キャなりに人生を楽しむしかない。
July is already coming to an end.
As I was returning home from practice, I could hear the sounds of the Ujina fireworks festival echoing across the night. When I got home, my family told me that my university-aged daughter had gone to the festival as well. Apparently, some of her friends had arrived around noon to reserve a good spot, and the group took turns exploring the food stalls throughout the day.
When she showed me the photos, everyone looked as though they were having an incredible time. They were what people would call youkya—not because of how they dressed, but because of the way they enjoyed life.
“Wasn’t it unbearably hot?” I asked.
“It was!” she replied.
But I suspect she would never have mentioned the heat if I hadn’t asked. When you’re genuinely enjoying yourself, perhaps things like heat simply fade into the background.
I could not help but admire that. There is something powerful about being able to throw yourself wholeheartedly into an experience and enjoy it despite the discomforts around you.
Play practice
- Warm-up exercises
- Becoming familiar with the jo
- Ai-hanmi katate-dori nikyo ura (guided with the jo)
Main practice
- Aiki warm-up exercises
- Footwork
- Ukemi (breakfalls)
- Ai-hanmi katate-dori kote-gaeshi kokyu-nage
- Ai-hanmi katate-dori shiho-nage ura
- Ai-hanmi katate-dori ikkyo omote
- Ai-hanmi katate-dori irimi-nage
- Ai-hanmi katate-dori nikyo ura
- Yokomen-uchi shiho-nage
- Multiple-attacker ryote-dori kokyu-nage
Attendance was small again today. Even so, there are members who continue to come week after week with quiet persistence, and those who keep showing up are steadily improving.
From time to time, some of them travel to Saijō to train and receive instruction directly from the shihan. It is always gratifying when their efforts are recognized and praised. Seeing their progress reminds me that consistent practice, even in small numbers, has value.
There is not much time left before the shihan returns to Germany. None of us knows exactly how far we can go before then, but all we can do is continue the challenge and make the most of the opportunity while it is here.
As for me, perhaps I will never be the outgoing type who spends all day at a fireworks festival. But life is not a competition between the extroverts and the introverts. The important thing is to find one’s own way of enjoying the journey.
The extroverts have their way, and the introverts have theirs. And perhaps, in the end, both are simply different paths toward the same thing: a life lived fully and sincerely.
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