hot, humid, honbu

I'll just go ahead and stop mentioning how unbelievably hot and humid it is in the dojo. And I also won't mention the complete lack of wind.
More kenjutsu in the morning. Specifically, a set of kata from Shintoryu called Shitsuhatsu. This is the sword that Shindomusoryu Jo (staff) was designed to beat. We did the first four: aisun, gyaku-aisun, jyu, and chibarai. I can barely remember the footwork, let alone keep up Kiyokawa-kun, who's done this before and has them wired. For my benefit he goes nice and slow, but when he cranks up the pace I get bonked.
We then did some iai and then practiced kusarigama before lunch. Kiyokawa worked the first four kusarigama kata with me, which is good practice for him as the distance and timing of sword vs. kama is different than sword vs. sword. It was good for me to see what it's like when the enemy really is trying to cut me down, and to practice distance with throwing (launching the weight on the end of the 10 foot chain attached to the bottom of the kama.) A couple of times I got lucky and he had to really duck out of the way to avoid getting a face full, which is just the reaction necessary to give the chance to get in and cut his wrist. Sometimes (rarely, but every now and then) it works well and we both move pretty smoothly. Most of the time I get cracked in the head or wrist or tangle myself up.