The uncertain teacher

The last few weeks have been very enjoyable from an iaido point of view. Twice a week I am trekking up the hill to the University to join in with their early morning sessions. This has given me the chance to experience teaching for the first time, and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. I feel a little awkward because I do not feel in the slightest bit qualified to be telling anyone else how to do iaido, yet it is gratifying to be able to convey my modest knowledge of the basics to beginners. Even though I'm sure my technique looks appalling, my hope is that at least I might put them on the right path.

From my perspective, having to explain techniques is forcing me to examine my own understanding in greater detail, and this in turn has proven extremely beneficial in exposing weaknesses to be corrected.

In my own training, I have to be extremely careful not to become complacent. I read the memorable phrase "fur lined rut" somewhere, used to describe this phenomenon. I have been concentrating on omori ryu a lot recently. Sometimes it's looking ok, but other times I feel totally inadequate - particularly on ushiro. I just can't get the timing or balance right to make the technique work convincingly. Ah well がんばる！