Update

[enismirdal]

I've had over 11 hours' sleep now, and suddenly I feel like I have a working brain! It's amazing and an unfamilar feeling. Wow!

Thursday's Aikido was pretty good. I got to train with the higher grades, doing some weapons work. That was funsome! Also got to throw around my Crush, who I thought I was getting over, but apparently not. He might be at our party tonight, we'll see...

However, I did hear the words that should be taboo in an Aiki-dojo. "He's probably too tall for you for this technique." As far as I'm concerned, if the technique cannot be adapted for a small person to use on a tall person, it has no business being taught on the mat at all. But then, if you said those words to Sensei Sue Baird, you'd receive a dressing down like you'd never believe, and I always saw Sue as something of a role model when it came to small people doing Aikido.

In any case, I got back bouncy, grinning and full of energy, and joined flatmates for Craft Night the Second. We made the kitchen Halloweeny. Now, I've never been to a Halloween party before and generally have little or no interest in the festival. But making evil bananas is so much fun! I made an evil Zippy too. It went a bit wrong, but never mind. :D Lúthien, the plushie bat that ford_of_bruinen gave me as a pressie, is pinned to the ceiling being awesome. So yay!

Friday was semi-lazy for a work day. We took a one hour break for cake as the labtech was celebrating his birthday. And we took a 2 hour break in the afternoon for the lab meeting, which was spent debating things like bee dominance hierarchies and workers breeding.

Bumblebee of the week is Bombus canariensis - one of the students in the lab is using a colony of them at the moment for her experiments as she's heard they're really good. I like them. They're big, and I love big bees, and they're all black except for a white or yellow tail.

Today I got up at 2:30pm and I needed it so very, very badly. Huzzah.

If I am feeling really crazy I might try to make a cheese soufflé tonight, in spite of having no whisk...

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

"He's probably too tall for you for this technique."

That's... kinda... defeating the purpose of the whole thing, isn't it? *boggles* I mean, sure there are some techniques that are more useful for smaller people against taller ones, and some that wouldn't be your first choice. But altogether impossible (or improbable, anyway)? Tsk!

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

I was boggling a bit, but smiled sweetly. I'm with you on some techniques being more/less ideal for tall/short people, but they can all be adapted to make it possible for someone of non-optimal height to execute them effectively.

I should make a point of choosing the tallest person on the mat for every technique where height is an advantage... *snigger*

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Well, that would be excellent practice for the case of emergency *grins*

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

For beginners, Shihonage is best if you are shorter that the uke, and tenchinage is best if you are taller. At higher grades they are equally easy at any height, but actually *stronger* as the uke hits the mat a damn' sight harder if you are the 'wrong' height.

[enismirdal.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll agree for beginners height can definitely affect how easy it is to do a technique (learning to bend the knees seems to be the main hurdle!!). If my uke is half-decent their height makes little or no difference; I used to regularly practice with a guy who was 6 foot 3 and never had a problem. At the stage I'm at, I like to know I've taken balance, which can be equally hard whether they're taller or shorter, but once the balance is gone then I'm away!

This one was a sort of omote version of irimi-nage.