All in all it was a very difficult week physically, but it did start to become more fun because we began doing some actual techniques in addition to the kihon dosa that we rehearse every class. One amusing thing was the addition of a special English class just for Bryn and me, which Kancho asked Yanagihara Shidoin to teach on Thursday. For some reason, Bryn and I got it in our minds that this class was going to be a breeze, and that it would be more of a laid-back discussion group in which we would iron out some of the things that we didn't understand over the preceding days. However, to our astonishment, it turned out to be an exhausting and non-stop series of ukemi (falling down) drills. So much for the easy class idea.
On Saturday evening there was a party to welcome all the Senshusei which was attended by all of our teachers and other friends of the dojo, as well as what I gather were some of the top brass from the police academy. At first it was extremely formal and I had to be very cautious about what I did as I ate, and I had to go around from time to time and pour beer for my superiors. (Remember, always use both hands whenever you give or receive anything!) There was a lot of beer, however, and gradually people started loosening up, and then the tradition of the Senshusei offering silly performances for the teachers was begun.
In the first skit we presented, Masa did his impression of his grandfather, Gozo, demonstrating aikido techniques. We each played the younger versions of the old teachers in the room, and one by one "Gozo" called us up, only to smash us effortlessly into the mat. In the grand finale, he had all twelve of us grab onto different parts of his body and then overcame us all by launching an invisible beam of "hip power" though us, causing us to writhe together on the mat like a heap of fish.
Next, the cops gave their numerous performances, none of which I understood, but all of which I enjoyed thoroughly. After this, the ingenious Akimoto solved the problem of what to do for a performance (this is a young man who almost never speaks a word) by offering a Japanese-style show of suffering entertainment in which he drank a large quantity of soy sauce. Later he told me that the "soy sauce" was actually coffee, which I thought was absolutely brilliant because the audience totally bought it. Next up was Bryn who played a terrific rendition of "Lullaby of Birdland" on his trumpet, and then it was time for my rather odd choice of playing Shylock from the Merchant of Venice shrieking at the audience about how I was going to cut off a pound of flesh from their body. I had offered a pre-written explanation of this scene to them in Japanese before I began, but still I'm sure it was somewhat bewildering for them to witness. I later decided that Romeo Shihan had been the one who really enjoyed what I did. As a foreigner and a speaker of English himself, I think he thought it was great that I threw them a curve ball.
Last up was Masa who brought down the house with his dance routine, and then there was a surprise encore performance by the office staff, including Yanagihara Shidoin who was dressed in drag and did an amazingly well choreographed Japanese-pop musical number. As the alcohol continued to flow things got silly, and one of the cops demonstrated an innovative approach to practicing Hiriki no Yosei II, which is one of the basic movements. What he hadn't counted on was the that the relentless Chino would not be able to resist the rowdy calls for him to provide an impromptu demonstration of his "take no prisoners" approach to correcting poor posture:
(click here) http://www.youtube.com/embed/NLTJSqBIcp8
Once the party started winding down and many of the people had already left, I shared a brief but very nice conversation with Kancho, in which I told him that I had seen many of his Japanese TV appearances online, and how I had enjoyed watching him proving Aikido's effectiveness against a westerner who once visited his dojo. He mentioned to me the importance of learning traditional Japanese ways and payed me the compliment of saying that he thought I showed a good understanding of Japanese thinking.
After the party was over, Bryn and I managed to crawl to a couple of bars, but then I had to announce an early conclusion to the night because I thought I might literally pass out on the street!
By the way, Warz Katsumata scored a first round TKO against his opponent on Friday night. The Filipinos went bananas.
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