GASHUKU SHIAI - Hesitation

Hesitation.
We hesitate to take a course, change jobs, start a business or go deeper into some relationship. Join Niten.
Even the signs showing us that this is the way, we falter.
The opportunity is then lost.
Years go by and, obviously, countless Golden Moments and important lessons to be happy remain in the past without the possibility of retrieving them.
Do not hesitate: Start.




"Shitsurei shimasu,

This weekend of June 16th, I was able to participate for the first time in a Gashuku. A little while ago I said in a text about being able to see how big the sea is after training in RJ (Rio de Janeiro) ... And after Gashuku, I could contemplate a little more this immensity and feel that there is still much to see.

One of the first points of the trip ... Know the environment where you are going. Make sure you are carrying everything you needed, especially to handle the cold. Accustomed to a predominantly warm climate, you can not underestimate the cold.

I had the honor to meet Sensei for the first time. He greeted me with a warm smile. I felt welcome to Niten. There was an energy there that made the urge to train even more.

Summarizing the training, I had the opportunity to train the iaijutsu, the Sekiguchi style, and train lots of kenjutsu. Each time I train with a different senpai, I gain a tip, a new perception, that contributes a lot to the improvement. The same goes for kenjutsu. Combat also brings a lot of experience. Facing colleagues of varying levels in each match allows for an incredible gain in experience and insights.

One feeling I had was that I lacked speed in some attacks, but over time I also realized that part of the speed factor was connected to my energy and hesitation. Or think too much. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to attack, what opened a gap. Or do not believe too much in my blow, that made my move slower and less precise.

After a sequence of many keiko it became increasingly clear that the strikes I took came in times of hesitation or for thinking too much. I thank for every hit I took to make me realize that. This gives me more energy to take that first hit, an attack, which when I do not hit, I need to act fast against attacking the blow that will surely come from the opponent. Another point is also that certain tactics that I thought during the combat, after many fights and training end up becoming something that does not have to be much thought about, but they end up being consolidated more naturally during the combat*. It is difficult to describe the countless sensations and perceptions that happen in short moments of combat because they are very rich experiences. Another point that also took my attention, is that in a cold climate like this, the hot breath blurs the men´s visor very much. If you control the way you breathe, you can direct the air better to avoid blurring the viewfinder. And the breathing that blurs the men is the one that comes unconsciously when I give myself to tiredness to catch my breath.

But if I have to sum up in a small phrase, what I concluded from all this is: do not hesitate, always be ready to attack, do not lower your guard. And a lots of training.

Shiai was also a training where I was able to put into practice what I learned in combat. And when it was not my time to fight, I could watch how other classmates struggled, and also take lessons from it.

* Returning to what I said in the asterisk back there, this is also worth for learning from Niten in the Golden Moments. These are good behaviors that we started thinking about in order to be able to act in this way, but after a time of Niten, living all the practices with these practices, they end up being a natural part of our daily activities.

Another interesting point that I could also observe in training is that senior Senpais are also well trained to observe how the less graduates struggle, not only because of arbitration but also as a way of perceiving where they are wrong and how to correct. They even train how to pull the least graded into combat, how to help bring forth their energy.

During the times of fraternization, I had the opportunity to talk with colleagues from different units, to know what took each one to Niten. It´s nice to discover that while we have a lot in common, the way we travel is different for each one. But we all agree that the Niten greatly modifies our lives in a way no one imagined when it came ... "



Couto still tells more about the "birudo at the end of the long training day on Saturday",
about the shiai among the colleagues of 3rd kyu and above,
About the General´s speech that attended part of our training, his words about friendship,
about the invitation to come to train Iaijutsu in Sao Paulo valid for all Niten students
and about the closing ceremony of Gashuku.



"... I thank very much all the colleagues of our Vitória unit, as well as all the other senpais with whom I had the opportunity to train, all of them for the generous teachings and for the inspiration. And a special thanks to Sensei for accepting me and for this valuable opportunity. Arigatou Gozaimashita " Couto - Vitória Unit