katori shinto ryu naginata

this is a video of a traditional naginata demonstration i found on google video. its katori shinto ryu.

apparently theyre pre-scripted routines ... though they look as if theyre really fighting. extremely interesting.

I've picked my two tournament kata

I'm still tuning up Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Jion, and Empi. I think all but Kanku Dai are coming along just nicely (I dont like to practice Kanku Dai much because it's so friggin long and it's kind of boring.) I have to get each and every one of them perfect by the time I do the kohaku kata competition in Japan.

I've also decided on two kata i hope will get me through the semifinals and finals: Unsu and Gojushiho-sho.

I've been practicing Unsu for the last three or four weeks, just trying to bring out the spirit of the kata. Right now, i think the rhythm and timing are progressing nicely, but I'm stil way too rough. over the next three to four weeks, I hope to see me getting much more graceful with the kata, while still maintaining the power I've been working on.

As for Gojushiho ... One reason i never really liked this kata as a competition kata is because I found it wuie difficult to bring out the life of the kata. I don't think I've seen anyone so a really lively Gojushiho yet -- almost everyone either really emphasizes the power of the kata (like they do with Sochin) or they simply try to make it tehnically sound at the expense of making it dynamic. I had no one to emulate, so figuring out my own rhythm and timing was pretty time consuming. Thankfully, over the weekend, I think i started touching on the proper feeling of the kata. I'll try to further develop my feel for the kata over the next few months.

Also, as i work out at home, I'm getting more and more inspired to do kumite.

If i decide to do it, i sure hope my ankle doesn't get torn apart.

:(

more on training later.