Well, we made it. Bryn and I were partnered for and passed the first test, establishing for us the rank of 4th Kyu. In Aikido the ranks proceed first from 9th Kyu - 4th Kyu, during which time the student wears a white belt, and then I think if you reach 3rd Kyu - 1st Kyu they give you a brown belt, and after that you test for Shodan, or first degree black belt. Then, the black belts proceed upward (i.e. 2nd degree, 3rd degree, etc.) as the rank gets higher. My objective is to reach Shodan by the time I complete the course. Then I can roll into the dojo back in LA sporting a black belt!
A videotape was made of the test. It belongs to the dojo, but if I can post it on this blog, I will...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Hard Training
The training is getting more difficult. Over the last two weeks the intensity has been stepped up on us both physically and psychologically. We have been yelled at and berated, and there has been vomiting and screaming in the dojo as our instructors valiantly continue to drive us toward our first test, which will be held on this coming Wednesday. At this test, we will each have to perform all the kihon dosa and will be asked to demonstrate any five of the 16 basic techniques that we have learned. The testing procedure is very specifically choreographed, and the most important thing is that we must do everything with maximum intensity and spirit!
Enoshima and Kamakura
Last weekend two of the women who work in the office at the dojo took me on a sight seeing tour of Enoshima and Kamakura. These are located about 30 miles SSW of Tokyo. Enoshima is a small island that contains a shrine to Benzaiten, the goddess of music and entertainment. The island is dedicated to the goddess, who is said to have made it rise from the bottom of the sea in sixth century. Here are some pictures of us walking up to and visiting the shrine.
My companions, Yumiko and Kaori, had little books that the monks wrote calligraphy in and stamped to commemorate their visit:
After exploring Enoshima, we went on to visit some sights in nearby Kamakura, which was the largest city in Japan and the fouth largest city in the world ca. 1250. My favorite by far was the enormous bronze statue of Amida Buddha. It is said that a 15th century tsunami destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since.
My companions, Yumiko and Kaori, had little books that the monks wrote calligraphy in and stamped to commemorate their visit:
After exploring Enoshima, we went on to visit some sights in nearby Kamakura, which was the largest city in Japan and the fouth largest city in the world ca. 1250. My favorite by far was the enormous bronze statue of Amida Buddha. It is said that a 15th century tsunami destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Pictures
Here's a picture of "Bryn Senshusei" taken when we went out one night:
The training is going well. It's very difficult but we are definitely improving. Yanagihara Shidoin has us doing 400 sit ups to begin each of his classes, and we were also introduced to the famous usagi tobi, or "bunny hops", last week. My bunny hop performance was very poor but I am determined to improve as the course goes on. We were very fortunate last week because James Senshusei provided a whispered translation for a number of classes. This was extremely helpful but got shut down when I formally asked one of the teachers if this was OK. After consideration, Sonada Shihan concluded, "you should be able to understand Japanese." Alas, this was a mistake. As my Dad used to say, it's always easier to apologize than to get permission.
I've been thinking about my Dad a lot over the past week. During his life, he armed me with three especial tools that help me every day in my pursuit of this course:
-The first was a genuine appreciation and affection for other cultures. My Dad's whole family was this way. When he was growing up they travelled all over the world and he lived variously in Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, and Johannesburg, and the languages of these and other countries were often heard in the repartee that would go on at family gatherings.
-The second is patience. Training in Aikido is a painstaking process that goes on for a lifetime and does not provide quick results. You have to have a lot of faith that what you are doing has meaning and that the work will pay off in the end. Because of the particular trials and experiences of his own life, my Dad developed an incredible amount of patience, and I feel that some of this was bestowed upon me.
-And finally, and perhaps most importantly, he gave me my sense of humor, without which I should have gone mad long ago...
Incidentally, I was mistaken in my previous prediction about suwari waza beginning last week. We still haven't gotten into the hard-core kneeling stuff yet.
And here are some pictures that I took near the guest house where we are staying:
The training is going well. It's very difficult but we are definitely improving. Yanagihara Shidoin has us doing 400 sit ups to begin each of his classes, and we were also introduced to the famous usagi tobi, or "bunny hops", last week. My bunny hop performance was very poor but I am determined to improve as the course goes on. We were very fortunate last week because James Senshusei provided a whispered translation for a number of classes. This was extremely helpful but got shut down when I formally asked one of the teachers if this was OK. After consideration, Sonada Shihan concluded, "you should be able to understand Japanese." Alas, this was a mistake. As my Dad used to say, it's always easier to apologize than to get permission.
I've been thinking about my Dad a lot over the past week. During his life, he armed me with three especial tools that help me every day in my pursuit of this course:
-The first was a genuine appreciation and affection for other cultures. My Dad's whole family was this way. When he was growing up they travelled all over the world and he lived variously in Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, and Johannesburg, and the languages of these and other countries were often heard in the repartee that would go on at family gatherings.
-The second is patience. Training in Aikido is a painstaking process that goes on for a lifetime and does not provide quick results. You have to have a lot of faith that what you are doing has meaning and that the work will pay off in the end. Because of the particular trials and experiences of his own life, my Dad developed an incredible amount of patience, and I feel that some of this was bestowed upon me.
-And finally, and perhaps most importantly, he gave me my sense of humor, without which I should have gone mad long ago...
Incidentally, I was mistaken in my previous prediction about suwari waza beginning last week. We still haven't gotten into the hard-core kneeling stuff yet.
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