Yamanashi

This weekend, Bryn, Masa, Aki, and me were honored to join Yanagihara Shidoin at an Aikido demonstration held by Takeno Shihan (a living legend) in Yamanashi, a city located about two hours west of Tokyo.  For our part of the demonstration, we performed a continuous version of the kihon dosa we have been learning, along with 4 basic techniques.  I wish I could say that I didn't make any mistakes, but unfortuntely my performance was not as good as when we did it in practice.  However, I believe we communicated the proper spirit and we will have a chance to give a better performance at the much larger All-Japan Aikido demonstration in a couple of months. 

Here is a picture of us standing beneath a statue of Takeda Shingen, a preeminent 16th century daimyo, or territorial lord.

Monkey Island

Last weekend I went on a bus journey with Bryn and some of our friends from the Filipino community to visit Sarushima "Monkey" Island, the only natural island remaining in Tokyo Bay. It was a very overcast day, but I went swimming anyway, and the water was very warm.  The island, which is just off the coast at Yokusuka (home of the US 7th Fleet), is very interesting because it was once a fortress and contains old walls and cannons and things like that.  Unfortunately, I didn't see any monkeys there.

Here are the other three "Kokusai Senshusei" - Aikimoto san, Bryn, and Masa.  We are the only non-police Senshusei this year. 

Actually, we've also been joined by Kudo san, (the guy I'm pretending to strangle in the end of the last blog entry) so he's the 5th Kokusai Senshusei, although I don't know if he's going to be around for the whole program.  He is extremely good at Karate and is VERY fast.

Unexpected Visit to South Korea

For the last week we have been on vacation from the dojo due to the Japanese holiday of Obon, which has to do with honoring the spirits of dead ancestors.  On Wednesday I decided I'd better go to the immigration office to extend my Tourist Visa which was scheduled to expire the following day.  I didn't anticipate any difficulty with this, as I was armed with an official-looking document that the dojo produced on my behalf, and Bryn had extended his Visa with no problem about a month earlier.  To my shock and horror, they refused to extend my Visa, and suddenly I found myself only one day away from being on the wrong side of the law!  Completely unprepared for this and with very little cash readily available, the only course Bryn and I could devise was for me to borrow all the money he had so that I could take a 14 hour bus ride down to the southern tip of Japan, where I would catch a hydrofoil over to Korea and back again.  Luckily, my mom was able to wire me enough money so that I could afford a plane ticket, and the next thing I knew, I was wandering the grim lanes of suburban Incheon, looking for a place to eat:

I was repeatedly reminded of my friend Christian's telling rap video chronicling the recreational options available near the English language theme park where he worked for two years when he was in country:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjBfy_HVoSM

  Believe me, kickin' it in Incheon was a considerably more limited prospect.

At any rate, I have safely made my way back to Japan and have some new employment prospects that will hopefully ease the financial blow.  I have to say that fellow Senshusei James came through in a big way for me, arranging a meeting with a woman who runs an independent business with clients interested in practicing English conversation.  We have already reached an agreement where I will be teaching 2 90-minute sessions per week, with 5 students per class, and the possibility of adding more classes if the arrangement flourishes.

Here's a picture of me with the sister of one of my private clients.  As you can see, the tone of my lessons is rather casual in some cases:

Well, tomorrow it's back to the dojo and back to the real work!

Another Good Week

This weekend I had a really great time participating in a meeting of Teatro Kanto, a theater organization run by members of the Filipino community in Tokyo.  This community has been so welcoming of Bryn and me!  I had a wonderful time doing acting exercises with them because I haven't really had an opportunity to do any acting since I've been in Japan.  If I can, I'd really like to audition for a community theater production while I'm here.  I really start to miss acting if I don't find an outlet one way or another.


Last night I also had a great time with James and Matsuzaki.  We went out for a night on the town in Shibuya that included eating, drinking, darts, dancing, and more drinking.  It was great because James was able to translate between Matsuzaki and me so we got to talk more in depth about things than is usually possible.  Those guys are terrific, and I'm sure we will be hanging out a lot in the future.


Getting back to Aikido, immediately following the test that was held on July 27th we began learning new techniques including:


-Hanmi Handachi (One sitting one standing) Katate Mochi (One hand grasp) Shihonage (4-directional throw) I, II  (In version 1 uke is pulling.  In version 2 he is pushing)
-Hanmi Handachi Katate Ryote Mochi Shihonage I
-Suwari Waza Yokomenuchi Ikkajo Osae I, II  (Kneeling technique/ side strike to the head attack/ First control I and II)
-Suwari Waza Shomenuchi Nikajo Osae I, II
-Suwari Waza Shomenuchi Sankajo Osael I, II
-Katate Mochi Ikkajo Osae I, II
-Ushiro Waza Katate Ryote Mochi Ikkajo Osae I, II


Click on the following link to see an amazing demonstration by an Australian Aikido teacher.  (The first thing he does in the demo is a bunch of kneeling techniques like we are practicing now):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmpmHBMgsA


And here is an excerpt from one of Gozo Shioda's books that I came across.  Spend a little time with this thought!


It is said that aikido is the Way of Harmony. I think it is simple to explain this saying. If you face someone, and you can make that person’s animosity disappear, by your own true character, this is the Harmony of Becoming One. This is not a compromise. Harmony is a matter of having strength yourself, and then making the other your ally. He becomes your partner. This is “making harmony in opposition.” But, unless you accumulate virtue, it is impossible. To sum up, the foundation is your own inner strength.

Two Months Down, Nine to go...

On Saturday we didn't have class, but instead went on a 10k run through the streets of Tokyo.  Our destination was a park whose name I've forgotten.  I've run 10k before, so I wasn't particularly concerned about it, but as a matter of fact I found it very difficult and exhausting.  I caught a cold more than a week ago, but when I get sick, it always takes me about a month to recover fully.  I get over the cold symptoms quickly, but then I'm blowing my nose endlessly and my overall energy is down for a long time.  Anyway, long-legged Bryn had no problem at all and looked like a gazelle trotting along with all the skinny cops.  We ate lunch at the park, and then we were given about an hour to relax, during which time I accompanied Tsugada, Matsuzaki, Sakurai, and Tamai (four of the cops) while they went for a stroll and got themselves some beers.  For the most part I didn't say much, because my Japanese is still awful, but we did enjoy a few exchanges which were aided in large part by the decent English skills of Tamai and Sakurai.  I told them about the "Angry White Pyjamas" book, which they didn't know about.  I had to explain the meaning of the title, and they thought this was funny. 


When we returned to the dojo, James and his wife were waiting for us, and had cooked a delicious dinner.  (James was only a temporary Senshusei, and his training ended a few days ago because he is starting a new job soon.)  So we had a bit of a celebration of James' accomplishment and of our completion of the second month.  This party was similar to the welcome party that was held about 5 weeks ago, except it was smaller.  In terms of senior instructors, only Kancho, Sonada Shihan, and Umemura Shihan-Dai were there, and of course our two Sewanin, Yanagihara Shidoin and Uchikawa Shidoin were there, along with some of the office staff.  Just like last time, the affair started out somewhat formally, with all the beer-pouring, etc., and then began to loosen up as people became tipsy.  I enjoyed pleasant conversations with all of my instructors and then the cops began to give impromptu performances such as magic tricks and telling jokes, etc.  At one point someone brought out a monitor and we watched a documentary show that had been made about the dojo recently.  It was really fun to see the reaction of the two young fellows who came to investigate the dojo in the program.  They were duly impressed with a demonstration of Aikido's principles which was provided by Umemura Shihan-Dai, and then Kancho came out and really blew them away with his abilities.


After the TV show, the pink-cheeked Teramoto and Fujishima, the two delightful female cops, invited some of us to cook deep-fried squid puffs with them, which we did in a mock-serious way that was meant to lampoon all the ceremonial behavior that we are now accustomed to at the dojo.  (I discreetly turned my squid puffs over to Tsugada because I've had them before and they're awful!  It's all fried batter with a tiny piece of squid in the center, and then they drown it in mayonnaise and other distasteful condiments.)


Next, it was time for the watermelon pinata game, in which a participant is blindfolded, spun around 10 times, and then armed with a bokken, or wooden sword, and asked to find and smash a watermelon which is laid out upon a tarp on the mats.  The drunken crowd shouts out directions of varying degrees of usefulness in an attempt to guide the swordsman.  I had a turn and missed the damn thing just like everyone else.  The only person who hit it was Sonoda Shihan.  Sonoda Shihan is the oldest of the senior instructors, and the way he wielded the weapon was different from everyone else.  He really looked like a samurai the way he had the sword held next to his head as he gracefully advanced toward his target.  I don't know how he did it, given all the contradictory screaming, but sure enough he did damage the watermelon, although it was still intact after the blow.  Now it was Kancho's turn.  Again, he was blindfolded and spun around, but he was tipsy and was just going for laughs.  He headed away from the watermelon and refused to be guided anywhere near it, so his dutiful students brought it to where he was and kept moving it so that it was always in his line of fire.  Now, I have surmised that Kancho is something of a nationalist, so when he finally swung the sword, I couldn't resist dropping to the floor and playing dead so that when he removed the blindfold, it would appear that he had just brained me.  I didn't stir for at least 30 seconds so I couldn't see his reaction, but people told me later that he thought it was funny.  It is my hope that it warmed his heart momentarily to imagine slaying the clumsy American intruder with his trusty bokken.  Later on he beckoned me over to where he was sitting and we shared an amusing exchange.  After we were talking about all the travelling he did I asked him about his favorite country to visit, and he replied, "places in Asia".


I spent the rest of the weekend teaching a couple of English pupils and resting.


Here's a picture of me at the Takadanobaba Train Station with the "Big Box" shopping mall in the background.