Ven septiembre…vuelta al cole

Entre las cosas buenas que tiene el levantarse pronto para volver al trabajo esta el ver salir el sol por el Mediterráneo 

El cementerio de Sinera

El cementerio de Arenys de Mar, también conocido como cementerio de Sinera, es el cementerio municipal de Arenys de Mar. Se encuentra frente al mar, en lo alto del Cerro de la Piedad, a poniente de la población. Es un ejemplo característico de los cementerios marinos mediterráneos. Fue glosado por el poeta Salvador Espriu (que lo bautizó como Cementerio de Sinera, invirtiendo las letras del nombre de la villa). En 1995 fue declarado bien de interés cultural

Constituye un conjunto de arte funerario de gran interés artístico, con sepulcros y panteones de época modernista proyectados y esculpidos durante las dos primeras décadas del siglo XX. Se encuentran panteones de estilos diversos y modernistas, como el panteón de Iu Bosch, del arquitecto Enric Sagnier y obras escultóricas de notable belleza, de artistas modernistas de renombre como Josep Llimona y Venanci Vallmitjana.

En el cementerio se encuentran enterrados Salvador Espriu, y los escritores arenyecs Fèlix Cucurull y Lluís Ferran de Pol.

Se alcanza el cementerio tras una empinada cuesta en la que se encuentran algunos grafittis  con frases de Espriu y mosaicos como el de Sant Elm. 

En la puerta principal el poema último o final al cementerio de Sinera.

 Subiendo por el pasillo principal al final del segundo patio al lado de la balaustrada en un tercer nivel se halla el sepulcro del poeta.

Por todo el cementerio se hallan detalles escultóricos cargados de simbolismo

 y piezas arquitectónicas de cierto relieve como la capilla de la Pietat obra de Enric Sagnier

Destacando obras de Vilamitjana y Llimona

 Junto a lo ya clásico del modernismo, obras de artistas contemporáneos algunas de dudoso gusto pero los comisarios sarcásticos digo artísticos seguro que tienen mejor criterio  que el simple observador :(

 La visita también nos deja alguna imagen para la reflexión

Y desde la puerta misma del cementerio se divisa el Mediterráneo y el puerto de Arenys.

Left foot

We concentrated on men-uchi last week. We started by hitting men from a static position then progressed through taking just one sliding step, to stepping into distance and striking, through to hitting with fumikomi ashi and then moving into zanshin.  We finished with debana men practice during which a dojo member asked for my advice on why he was having difficulty pushing off to make the strike. Instead of being able to launch an attack at will, all of his weight was moving to the left foot and he needed to readjust his foot position before he could move.

Watching his practice it was obvious that the heel of his left foot was too far off the ground, to the extent that he had no traction to push himself forward.  Instead he had to move his left foot forward each time that he needed to attack. To my mind a lot of energy was being wasted on unnecessary action.

Matsumoto Toshio sensei talked about the sole of the left foot being at a 15% angle from the floor, with the left leg being almost straight and keeping a feeling of tension behind the left knee. If you follow this advice then it is possible to move instantly from any spot. You of course need to keep the distance between your feet constant throughout your keiko, moving the left foot into position whenever your right foot moves, but you should be able to stop at any given time and instantly launch from the back foot.

How far apart your feet should be is open to debate. Conventional kendo wisdom suggests that the big toe of the left foot should be in line with the heel of your right foot and that there should be a fist’s distance separating the width of your stance.  In reality some All Japan class players have a much bigger gap between the forward and rear foot and they have the leg strength to make much longer steps than us amateurs.  I also believe that the fists distance in width is only a guide. In most sports, feet and knees should be in line with your hips. So your feet should be far enough apart for you to be stable and balanced.

The final piece of the jigsaw is to ensure that as you push with the left the right foot moves forward and not up. By keeping a slight bend in your right knee you should be able to make fumikomi with a big slapping sound and not damaging you knee or heel in the process.

Kenjutsu y Battojutsu

Un paseo por los montes de Teià

Bajando del tren en la estación de Ocata se toma la calle del Dr Agell nada más cruzar la carretera nacional. Siempre subiendo se alcanza la antigua carretera de Teià  y por ella se llega a esta villa motivo de un post anterior donde mostrábamos la iglesia y las casas modernistas (Un paseo por Teià, 22/09/2014). En esta ocasión llegamos al final del pueblo, donde acaban las calles y empieza el monte.  Para andarines andariegos pero no muy exigentes. El camino es una cuesta permanente pero fácil de realizar. No requiere entrenamiento (a no ser que la quieras hacer corriendo!) Las vistas son bellas y la sensación de naturaleza a pesar de estar a un paso de la población se palpa en cada rincón. Sin ir más lejos, entre las piedras abundan las pieles de culebras y se cuentan bayas de múltiples colores.

Al final de una de las cuestas se da uno de bruces con un Cristo Redentor. No es el de Rio de Janeiro pero ya es moral subir una escultura de ese tamaño y peso al medio del monte!

A parte de la tranquilidad del lugar, en estos días de calor a pocos les da por subir montes, de bueno tiene las vistas a la costa del Maresme

Cerca está la Font de la Perdiu (La fuente de la perdiz) de la que no brota agua alguna. Pero el lugar es bueno para el descanso con una mesa de piedra y varios bancos alrededor

No he podido dejar de tomar una instantánea a esta hermosa seta un Suilus collinitus también conocido por estos lares como Pinatell.

Como solo vi esta seta y estaba bien hermosa dejé que siguiera siendo mansión de gnomos en lugar de llevármela  pues poco da para cocinar una única seta.

Kendo, Kenjutsu & Iaido

To understand the difference in an easy way

How to make a Kendo Do for our wood kendo training dummy

En http://www.bestkendo.com/HowtoDummy.html  o en http://www.bestkendo.com/howtodo.html encontrareis los manuales para elaborar vuestro propio dummy de entrenamiento. Un diseño de David Agüero para Bestkendo

            

Warriors of Budo

Trailer for our new release Episode Six on Naginata, Jukendo, Tankendo and Jodo. From the Samurai weapon of 12th century Japan, the Naginata, to the weapon that evoked the coming of modern warfare, the bayonet or Jukendo and ending with almost a weaponless art… the short stick or Jodo. Episode six has everything for the follower of Japanese Bujutsu. See more episodes at http://emptymindfilms.com

Respect your Training Partner

Taken from: https://dontmakemeangrymrmcgee.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/respect-your-training-partner/

Whatever martial art you train, be it traditional such as Aikido or Karate, or a modern combat system such as Krav Maga or Systema, you will be called upon to practice with a partners or partners at training. Here are a few tips on how not to be the person there that no one wishes to train with.

1, Don’t hurt people, Sounds pretty simple, yet sadly this happens from time to time in training centres. There are times when it is a pure accident and there is little that can be done about it. Yet when it happens because someone is careless that reflects poorly on both the student and the instructor that allows it to continue. It is also generally the fastest way for a club to lose students. People rarely get injured if everyone at training focuses on genuinely respecting their training partner.

2, Remember you partner is allowing you to use their body for practice, – show respect accordingly. Bear in mind that it is a privilege, not a right for another student to offer to train with you. There is no onus on anyone to train with someone if they do not wish to. When I trained Krav Maga there was a student there that had caused three separate injuries to people and as a result when we were asked to pair up for techniques no one would pair up with him.

3, Let your Sensei / Instructor teach your training partner during practice, It is great that you may have a desire to offer help and to repoint your partners technique on the mat. Common sense needs to apply here, it is the job of your Sensei / Instructor to teach your training partner and to repoint their techniques. Whilst you may be quite genuinely wishing to help, often it can be taken in a different way. It is generally okay to offer mild critique, yet its a better idea to let your Sensei / Instructor take it any further. It can also happen that the technique that you are demonstrating may also not be done in the way that your Sensei wishes to teach it.

4, Try to keep talking on the mat to a minimum, It is quite okay to discuss technique on the mat and material associated with how you are going about your technique. Yet its another thing to engage people in unrelated conversations on the mat. All people are different and a number of people like to zone in to their training on the mat. If you wish to discuss Australian Rules Football, your recent trip to Bali or anything along those lines, it is best left off the mat. Your partner may not be as quite as interested or appreciative of it as you may think.

5, Try to pull back on displays of strength / aggression in your techniques. I know of a specific Aikido teacher who appears to have some issues with his small stature, as a result he liked to throw in every bit of extra effort to finish off his techniques to demonstrate just how great his arm locks and so forth work and how painful they can be applied.. I have not seen him in a while and know that several of his students have left with a senior student to start their own club after they got sick of it. (See pt 1). You do not need to prove your strength in every single technique that you do.

There will be people at your Dojo / Training Centre that come from all manner of backgrounds and levels of experience. If you focus on showing genuine respect and support for your training partners it will go a long way in your club. Whilst these tips are about showing respect on the mat, you can also show respect and have a great time together socially by doing as we do in Australia and heading over to the pub for a beer after training where you can discuss as much Aussie rules football as you please! Its quite okay to hang out with your mates after training in a relaxed atmosphere, but hit the zone for training on the mat. Again, try letting old fashioned common sense be your guide.

Kendo, samurai spirit

Footage of Judo founder Jigoro Kano

The UnderGround Judo Series Footage of Judo founder Jigoro Kano.

Kanō Jigorō was the founder of judo. Judo was the first Japanese martial art to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic sport. Pedagogical innovations attributed to Kanō include the use of black and white belts, and the introduction of dan ranking to show the relative ranking between members of a martial art style. Well-known mottoes attributed to Kanō include "Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort" and "Mutual Welfare and Benefit." 

Angam

This video depicts Angam - a native Sri-Lankan martial art. Not much is known of the history of this art. The videos shows clear influences from both Indian and Chinese origins, in empty-handed as well as weapons techniques, as well as material which appears to be completely original. You can find out more at the follow link: www.angampora.com/angam | If you like this video, please check out Jonathan Bluestein's book, Research of Martial Arts: