We were very fortunate last night to have mats on the floor. The local Aikido was having a weekend seminar and had asked it they could leave the mats out. Of course we were more than glad to accommodate the request. (^^)
It was a good opportunity for my Pokemons to experience ukemi or the art of breaking a fall. I have always wanted to have a carpet or mat to lay on the floor, but there is no storage room for additional flooring. so we have to practice on the concrete floor. Naturally no ukemi can be practiced. I recall doing a demo on a gym floor (^^). The sound of my body hitting the wooden floor sure had an impact on the audience but I cannot recommend doing it frequently. Gahahahaha
Although proper ukemi protects you from major harm, any contact with a hard surface has its price!
My body had no problem remembering all the Judo warm up exercises and ukemi, but.......when you haven't done them in a decade or so, the body has a major adjustment to do! Gahahahaha. Like anything in life you have to "do it" constantly or the body forgets the toll it takes.
Many people do not equate karate with mat work. But that is far from the truth. Karate includes throws and ground work to include chokes and joint manipulation. Karate would not be complete without it. It was very interesting to see my students challenge themselves to something new.
What may seem simple to any judoka or wrestler is something difficult for someone who has never done it before.
I wanted to make sure my students had an idea of how to protect their heads when pushed or tripped down. We concentrated on Ushiro ukemi. Perhaps when we have another chance with the mats I will teach them Mae ukemi and Yoko Ukemi. Ukemi is an art itself.
Fufufufu. My Mini Pokemons sure have a unique way of "paying attention" (^^) Here I am showing the basic of basics of ukemi. The art of "slapping the mat" Not recommended for concrete floors or pavements. Gahahahahaha! Gravel is also not a good surface to do ukemi. However, ukemi will protect you from any major injuries, especially to your head!
(^^) Judo warm ups (only a partial) is lot more harder than you think! Mommies and Daddies had a big challenge last night. Perhaps they all have the same aches and pains that I have this morning!
Towards the end of practice gave a brief demonstration on the application of Mawashiuke. There are times when the Pokemons copy the movements of a particular waza but have no idea WHY they do it a certain way. It is probably unrealistic to expect them to understand the progression and connection of learning Kihon waza. As I mentioned earlier we normally do not have mats. Therefore we do not practice take downs. It would be too dangerous on a concrete floor, especially for the Mini Pokemons. for that matter the adults. One of the challenges of teaching children is to convey to them the concept of control.
Talking about having to practice continuously....need to improve my video editing and uploading skills.
It is taking too much time. Gahahahahaha
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