By Loic Delalande
Whispers, barely audible words, can still be heard coming from the nearby locker room
by the newcomers.
In the half-light of the training room, shadows are moving, starting here and there some movements, greeting an acquaintance with a shy but effective nod of the head. a shy but courteous nod.
The armors gradually line up in the silence of a room still fresh from the still stuttering spring still in its infancy. Sune ate, Do and Tare set up in a ritual full of concentration or simply in a concentration or simply in a torpor still too present in this early morning.
Dominique and Loïc, the supervisors of this national workshop, welcome each member one by one, most of them coming from Paris, Limoges, Bordeaux but also from farther away since a young Spanish delegation came from Barcelona.
Once the presentations are over, the work can begin. The room, perfectly luminous, offers a parquet floor, ideal for the work of the feet and the placement of the supports. We feel at ease, limited however by the narrowness of the place while about twenty practitioners are practicing naginata in hand.
The interest of such a confinement is the apprehension of the length of the weapon, the management of its choice of the trajectories in order not to hurt his neighbor in uncontrolled turns.
Kihon, fundamental fighting techniques and shikake Oogi have enamelled these two days in a beautiful dynamic of work and a friendly atmosphere.
Setting up of gorei in a rhythmic set of suburi and uchi followed by corrections. The questions were flying, the answers were echoing.
It was recalled the necessity to work on one’s center, to keep in mind the posture of the body in all circumstances and to practice with lightness the handling of the naginata.
The precision of the gesture, the speed of execution, the physical and mental commitment… being only the result of a repeated work the result of a repeated, long and daily work, all the participants did their best to reach the objectives they had set for themselves. They did it with enthusiasm and with a lot of pleasure.
A kyu test at the end of the seminar allowed us to evaluate the progress of our Spanish friends who do not have the development that we know in the other European countries. They were all received but we encouraged them to continue their efforts.
They will be, like many others, present at the next events that will take place in
in Italy.
A big thank you to all those who have shown interest in this course and who have not hesitated to travel and who did not hesitate to travel, sometimes far from home, to learn but also to share in contact with the others, their joy of practicing naginata.
