You need all the pieces to finish the puzzle.

Thanks to my spiffy new C-PAP machine i'm feeling much more the energetic aiki student.

Today's class was pretty good. We looked at how a fluctuation in movement can affect things one or two steps further along by using tegatana as a looking glass. The end of the first set of turns leaves an awkward pause before moving into the forward steps or the tenkan ashi before the shomen te gatane.

We moved into hanasu and after a rep each Pat had us go through some randori while naming the releases as we went. I have to admit this was a bit of a challenge for me. I know the releases well enough in the kata form but trying to name them as they appear naturally wasn't easy. It's something im definitely going to try to commit to memory in the future.

Nijusan. Something i thought i had a decent grasp on. Not quite as it turns out, but all for the best as i learned another piece of the puzzle that makes aikido a complete picture. The way i had been doing the techniques before i was slightly blurring through the different points to sorta force them to go smoothly, basically speeding up to make it work. As i found out today the pieces, each given their due time to fit into the next piece, create a whole that is much more like the aikido we all aim for as we practice. It goes back to something i posted about a while back, having faith that the technique will work frees up your mind and allows you to have a lighter touch to let uke go where he wants. At least that's how it seems to work for me at the moment.

I think i did alright today as far as motion is concerned. I have to admit that i may have been a little stiff to begin with today, in times past my frustration does have a habit of getting in the way even before i begin. Its something i have to work on, the way i absorb things isnt always the quickest and that's usually the source of it. But given enough time i'll get better at my own pace, i just have to be patient with my pace's speed. And that's the hardest part i think i face.