Drained, but three more days of Seki

Today was the first out of four days of the annual seminar with Seki Sensei, with 6 hours intense aikido practice. It is the first time I see Seki and even though he does not teach exactly the style of aikido I prefer the most, I found him a remarkably (for being Japanese) humble and sweet teacher, and more than a few light bulbs shone up above my head during the day as new details fell into place. He does not talk much, but mostly teach by showing what he means, and his aikido is very clear with a basic form.

The pace is very high and you definitely get a good workout. The last hour me and Yoram had almost nothing left and mostly stumbled around and giggled or moaned back and forth. I feel every inch of my body and I am completely aware of how difficult it will be to get out of bed tomorrow morning, and not to mention getting ready for more aikido. Tomorrow will be hard, the next day even worse, while during the last day the body is getting used and cannot understand why it all has to end. That's how it is with aikido seminars. When they end, you are ready for more...

Goshen joined us, since the seminar was in a kibbutz suitable for bringing her, and the day was too long for leaving her alone. We first tied her on the side of the mat indoors, but she was rather excited and did not keep quiet, so we put her just outside. We heard occasional whines and barks, but the barks just made all of us happy and proud, since she hardly never barks for some reason. Our timing was excellent all the time, in which we came back to her as she was laying down and was quiet as opposed to going there when she was excited and barking. This will show her that barking is no good, and mummy and daddy comes when she is calm and quiet.

I need a full body massage with hot Tiger Balm...