Participants: Darren, Chris.
This session was about 1.5 hours long. We started with reflection on the seminar, and shared tips, adaptations, and exercises that Otsuka-Sensei had shared with each of us. We then briefly discussed a way to setup a "semi-permanent" target stand for use outside. Techniques we trained focused mainly on shuriken-jutsu: shomenuchi from various distances, as well as gyaku-uchi from 1 ken.
We also did a trial run with the online collaboration system, to allow other participants to "virtually" attend our training sessions when they are not available for in-person training in La Ronge. Chris discussed this with Otsuka-Sensei beforehand as an opportunity for connecting our more distant Saskatchewan Keikokai members. The virtual system turns out to only have a delay of about 1/2 of a second, with crystal clear (almost) live video. An excellent way of training together over longer distances, especially when each of us are on the road so often. It does not replace in-person training though, and each member understands the requirement for frequent group training sessions.
Chris also created a training log for each member, consisting of a Moleskine Cahier. In this journal, participants reflect on their training sessions (group training and individual training), document which techniques were trained on, and keep track of their training hours. This was done to allow the minimum training period of 3 months per Kyu level become meaningful, since there is a difference between a participant training 3 times per week during a 3-month stretch, and a participant who trains once per 2 weeks in the same stretch. We believe the focus is on quality, quantity, and effort combined.
