Sheltering in Place

[Drunk Monk]

Did I miss yesterday? Perhaps that’s a sign that I’m not really sheltering in place anymore.

Meh, who am I kidding? I’m always sheltering in place now. It’s the new norm.

965.147 - Skipping yoga today for a Tameshigeri session. 

So here’s the backstory to my recent return to iaido. I met Merek Sensei at the dog park maybe a year or more ago. Yuki and his dog Ravi hit it off right away and we spotted each other as martial artists right away (martial artists have a radar for each other just like druggies, spies, lgbtqs, and deadheads). Merek studied with Dr Yang & Lee Holden (local qigong expert and part of the YMAA stable). He knows Ted, where I train on Saturdays. We talked about doing a cutting session but his class is on Thursdays when I’m at Ted’s. 

Fast forward to 147 days ago when my left shoulder goes out in a catastrophic way. It’s manageable now thanks to the nightly neural Med I take but my range of motion is limited, restricting my Shaolin. If I reach with my left the wrong way, it’s punishingly painful. I decided to return to iai, dropping my Thursday night Kung Fu, because iai doesn’t demand so much from my left arm. 

Whilst at the helm of KFTC, I felt obligated to devote my practice time to Chinese arts. Now that Kfm is just part time, and since I restarted yoga, iai was calling to me. When my friend sent me that exquisite wakazashi, it felt like a sign.

It’s a fun class. I love the precision of iai. It’s small - the biggest class has been has been 5 including Merek. And one of his senior students is moving away soon, so we decided to go the session today, partly as a going away party. Also I suspect Merek is trying to rally his old students because he’s barely able to make enough to cover the practice space (the community center). 

I’m excited. We’ll be cutting tatami which is expensive and I haven’t cut since Man at Arms. Hopefully I don’t cut myself.