Summary of Recent Events

I am remiss in not having posted to this blog in over a month.  A lot of things have been happening, so I thought I would simply write a brief description of recent events.  The biggest news is that last week I tested for and received the rank of 1st kyu, which is the last rank that you can have before black belt.  In normal classes, we would start wearing a brown belt to signify this rank, but in senshusei everyone wears a white belt until the end, even those who already had black belts before the course began.  We are also currently in intense preparation for our next demonstration, the All-Japan Aikido Embutaikai, which will be taking place at the end of this month.  Our demonstration will include a very intense drill with the wooden tantos (or daggers), on which we have been working very hard. 

Apart from the training, one of the most interesting experiences I've had in the last month was having the honor to help carry a mini-shrine in a parade which was commemorating the Equinox Festival that they have.  The shrine is very heavy and is supported by massive wooden beams.  Everyone has to be in lock-step with one another in order to move it successfully, so it's kind of a lesson in how Japanese society works.  It's rather painful if you try to deviate from the rhythm established by your comrades.  Here's a video I took during the time when I wasn't helping to carry the shrine:

Another great experience that I had was journeying out to a sacred waterfall with my Aikido companions to practice misogi, which is a meditation/purification ritual.  You stand under the icy-cold waterfall and you say a verse along with the people who are watching and supporting you while you do it.  Apparently OSensei, the founder of Aikido, used to do this quite a bit.  It certainly wakes you up and puts you in the present moment.  Yanagihara Shidoin, our immediate superior, advised us to "let it all out" emotionally when we got under the waterfall, so I did some serious screaming while I was in there.  You have to be very quiet and polite here all the time, and plus the language barrier can limit one's ability to express oneself, so I guess I had some feelings to get off my chest!

Last weekend we went on a field trip with the dojo community as a whole, and spent a night at a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn together.  This was a really great experience because we got to practice Aikido with the regular students, and I realized that I really have learned a lot since I began the course.  The regular students do not practice with the same intensity as we do, and generally don't put in anywhere near the same number of hours, so it was fun to feel like I was pretty good relative to everyone else.  There was a river nearby and I posted this picture of some guys playing around in the water because it looks like they are walking on the river!

 This little fellow didn't know quite what to make of me.  My ability to communicate in Japanese is still pretty wretched...

 Here Bryn and I are singing karaoke with Yanagihara Shidoin and Kancho.  Kancho likes the Beatles, so I think this was "Hard Day's Night".  In the foreground to the left is Kobayashi, the fearless leader of the cops.

 There have been all sorts of bizarre adventures that have taken place over the last month, but perhaps the most random was my participation as a judge in the "Ms. Gay Goddess 2011" competition.  The whole thing came about when I was en route to watch Warz Parrenas (Katsumata) box for a second time at Camp Zama, an American army base.  While on the train, I overheard my friend Mari being asked to judge the contest, but she said she wouldn't be able to, so I volunteered.  Due to the magic of Facebook, this one offhand exchange with someone I barely knew resulted in me being payed 20,000 yen to judge this astounding event.  I have never seen such convincing female impersonators.  I would say that more often than not when I was filling out my scoring cards (which graded them on such factors as "hair/makeup", "movement", and "elegance") I simply forgot that I was looking at men.  Here I am pictured with the winner:

Incidentally, Warz' opponent in the boxing match at Camp Zama was unable to answer the bell starting the second round.  Is he going to be the next Pacquiao?