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Opening question: What is your nickname? What nicknames have you had in the past?

Lane wins for number of nicknames!

Kiai + Movement

Franco is back this week. After he led us through warm-ups, we did some kiai review and then split the group into two teams so we could hear ourselves better. We added movement to the kiai.

The word Kiai comes from two kanji characters - “ki” meaning “energy” and “ai” meaning “meeting.” For us in taiko, expressing through kiai is integral to the artform. As KI is one of the four principles in San Jose Taiko, where our energy flows and what we do with it is important. Kiai is one way that energy is expressed. Our body is part of the instrument and as such, energy can flow through movement and breath and voice. It connects us. It impacts those watching us. One of our vocal coaches once said, it is an amazing gift that we can create this vibration in our bodies that can move other people.

Here is a video of the kiai and movement warm-up activity.

Movement Game

We did a review of the 4 movements that were covered last week (see post and videos below). Yurika turned it into a game where flashcards indicated which movement was to be played next. It seemed that the windmills got easier when it was faster.

Number Game

Another game that Franco led us through was a number game. Basically you have to play the number of hits that are called out. It started out with just one number at a time, but moved up levels so that we were playing 3 numbers in a row. It’s interesting how when there were more numbers it became a bit more intuitive as it started to sound more like music. Music is stored and processed in a different part of the brain, which takes less processing.

It was nice to have a bit of time at the end for reflections. We’re grateful to have this time together!

We are working on a taiko “kit” that can be mailed out!

ANNOUNCEMENTS and REMINDERS:

Payment for classes should be made here: https://www.paypal.me/sanjosetaiko OR by check made out to San Jose Taiko, 565 N. 5th Street, San Jose CA 95112 (please mark the check PRC). The fee is $10 drop-in or $36/month.
Bachi can be purchased to be mailed for $10 a pair.
At any time, feel free to email yurika@taiko.org for questions!