More shiaigeiko and the need to change things up in practice. I think I need to have an aggressive mode switch to turn on when appropriate… As it stands I tend to “wait” a lot in chudan before striking–sometimes, though once a few strikes are exchanged I go into more of a kakarigeiko mode, but more often than not it’s mudanuchi or otherwise not precise enough for ippon. The tension at least has improved overall, but I should continue to strive for naturalness.

Arriving late to practice meant that I had to squeeze in some kirikaeshi with a beginner before launching into a couple of quick jigeiko bouts. One with a sempai who counseled me to launch more with the left foot rather than hitting with my hands: I need to be more aggressive against sempai rather than waiting for them to attack. And then with a kohai who attacks too big in keiko but then strikes to small in kirikaeshi. I’m sure I do the same, and I gave in again, in the desire for a brief but strenuous practice, to waiting for his attack before striking straight and small, rather than using big but well-timed attacks. But it’s a nice pair of contrasts in terms of how my style and performance changes based upon my partner.