Announcement

I regret to inform everyone that I will be unable to continue this blog due to circumstances beyond my control. I really apologize to all of you who have followed my exploits thus far.

Hopefully in the future I will have a chance to continue posting. If so, I will announce it on sites like AikiWeb, etc.

Thank you for visiting!

Quick Note

I just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know I'm still alive. I haven't been able to train much lately, but I am leaving next week to visit my hometown in the U.S. and I'll have a chance to train at the aikikai branch there. Since I've never trained outside of Hombu, it should be interesting!

On the 2nd Floor

This morning someone in the locker room told me that our class would be in the 2nd floor dojo. I was glad because it's about twice as big as the dojo we normally use on the 4th floor. It also meant our lesson would be much more intense due to the extra room; the more space we have, the faster and harder our practice is.

It was good to practice katate-dori nikyo (pin #2 with uke grabbing tori's wrist). This is a combination that I have never done. I helped my partner with the move because she wasn't very familiar with nikyo in general. I helped several of my partners today; I guess that's a sign that I'm progressing.

It's always awesome to watch Irie-sensei demonstrate moves in front of the class. He is so hard on his uke! It's a relief that he isn't that hard on us white belts. But in time...

My partner for shomen-uchi shiho-nage today was a bit hard on my wrists when he downed me. He was very polite and asked me if it was too hard. I told him it was a little bit hard. After several injuries due to my macho silence when tori is too hard, I now let my partners know when they are going past the breaking point -- and I always seem to feel when they are reaching that point! (My joints are bent just a little too unnaturally.) I don't feel that I'm being too soft; I just think it's important to communicate with one's partner to avoid any unnecessary injuries.

After class, I asked three people (two of them were black belts) if they would accompany me to the regular class next week, and all of them turned me down. One black belt said the beginner's class is tiring enough! I was surprised.

I did, however, learn about a midsummer drinking party for members of Hombu dojo next Sunday. I haven't gone to them because the price is a bit high -- around 4,000 yen ($40). There are two "official" drinking parties every year at Hombu: one is at the end of the year, and the other is during the summer. At the end of class (after we formally bow) when everyone is still in seiza, a senior student sits in front and announces the party to everyone. It's usually held at a nearby izakaya (Japanese-style restaurant and bar). I just might attend if I can scrape together the extra money. I was told that there would be quite a few native English speakers at the party. I guess that was an incentive for me to come!

It's Official

Well, I guess it's official: I am a lightweight when it comes to summer aikido training. On the news last night, the temperature at 9:00pm was 30 degrees celcius, and the humidity was 60%. During the day it was of course higher. That makes for some tough training.

In the dojo today, everyone was exclaiming, "Atsui, ne?" (It's hot, isn't it?) I didn't feel like such a wimp since everyone was complaining (and they were Japanese people, I might add!). I couldn't bring myself to go to the regular class; it was hard enough just to finish a beginner's class.

I might mention that there is no air conditioning or fan in the dojos at Hombu; there are some small ventilation fans near the ceiling, but those don't count. I read once that Doshu wants students to adapt with the seasons, so air conditioning is considered unnatural. Well, at least the showers feel good after a sweltering time of training! (There is no hot water in the locker room, so summer is the only time when guys take showers after class.)

Today during yonkyo (pin #4), my partner was fairly new to aikido, so he didn't know how to apply the pressure on the wrist during the pin. I tried to tell him (in my broken Japanese) and demonstrate, but he still didn't get it. I finally asked Kobayashi-san, a yudansha who was training next to me, for his help in explaining yonkyo to my partner. While he was showing my partner, Irie-sensei had us stop, so my poor partner will have to wait until next time to figure it out.

While I was taking ukemi for Irie-sensei during katate-dori nikyo (one-hand grab, pin #2), he told me in English that he thinks I'm ready to test for 4th kyu. I told him that I already have 4th kyu rank. I often hear that the exam for 3rd kyu is really difficult and that people usually fail the first time they take it, so I took that chance to ask Irie-sensei. He said it was indeed true! Apparently there is a gap between 4th and 3rd kyu as far as requirements on the exam (all the requirements for each exam can be found on the Hombu website -- click the link on the right).

After class, there were only two things on my mind: find the nearest drinking fountain and then jump in the cold shower!

Asian Summer

I always seem to forget how humid the summers are in Japan. Every season I try and tolerate the extremely humid days, but I still seem surprised when summer comes around again. I guess once it's over, I quickly try and forget it all.

Today when I entered the dojo in my keiko-gi (uniform), I immediately felt the stifling heat all over my body. After we warmed up and I started to sweat a lot, I actually felt cooler since my uniform was becoming drenched.

I attended Irie-sensei's beginner's class because it has been several weeks since I last trained. I didn't feel like getting my butt kicked all over the place in the regular class. We started with tenkan (turning while partner grabs one wrist). My partner (uke) was 1st kyu rank, so he gave me some pointers concerning the placement of my hands after I turn and release ki energy. He showed me that I should lower my palms more and force his hand down more. I was pleased with the results.

By the way, the Japanese female students at Hombu never cease to surprise me. Most of them are small, slender, and in their 20s or 30s, but just under that exterior lurks a ferocious ambition. Today I was partners with two different women, and my main concern was going extra easy on them so I wouldn't cause any injuries. (Because of my size, I have to be careful, especially since a lot of the students are small.) Well, when it was their turn to execute the moves on me, I was amazed at how rough and strong they were.

For those of you who are reading this and don't know a lot about Japanese popular culture, the cuter something or someone is, the cooler it is. That goes for schoolgirls and young women as well. But in aikido, the "cute" culture doesn't exist, and only serious, determined students train here. I am glad for that!

As I was putting on my shoes in the lobby after class, I saw Irie-sensei in his street clothes taking some dishes to the kitchen. I commented on how hot it was, and he responded by saying, "It's Asian summer, isn't it?" It sure is!

Rainy Season

My four-month-old son, Andy, with ajisai (hydrangeas), a symbol of the rainy season in Japan

Testing

I emailed a friend of mine, Toshi, whom I haven't seen in quite some time. He teaches shamisen (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument) to private students in his home. I suppose that's why I haven't seen him at the dojo: Sunday seems to be a busy day for him.

He was happy to inform me that he recently passed his exam for 1st kyu (the rank just below black belt). He said it was easy and that he didn't study or practice for it.

According to Toshi, 3rd kyu is the hardest exam to pass because there is a big jump between 3rd and 4th kyu; the exams for 5th and 4th are based on the fundamental moves of ikkyo, nikyo, shiho-nage and irimi-nage. From 3rd kyu, however, the exams include sitting moves and other moves that are not learned in beginner's classes such as defending against straight punches, etc.

I've also noticed when I observe 1st and 2nd kyu exams, there is a segment where the examiner will call out a random move such as "yokomen-uchi shiho-nage ura." The student is expected to execute the move in about one second or he/she will be considered to have forgotten the move (or the name). That is sometimes counted against the examinee during the test.

Therefore, I've decided to start making flash cards for all the combination of moves including omote and ura (front and back variations of a move). Hopefully this will prepare me for the "lightning round" segment of the upper-kyu exams.

Mind Your Tongue

I was a little nervous while going to the dojo this morning. It would be my first time to attend the regular class without going with a friend. The locker room was full of yudansha (black belts) as I put on my uniform and tied my white belt.

There were probably around 60 students (maybe more) in the 9:00 am regular class this morning. I was surprised to see Sugawara-sensei enter the dojo to instruct; Kanazawa-sensei usually teaches this class.

I think everyone decided in advance who their partners would be. After our warmup, everyone quickly grabbed a partner. The only student without one in my part of the dojo was a woman who looked as if she was visiting from overseas: she had a big patch on the front of her uniform (patches are not worn on uniforms of Hombu students) and was wearing a brown belt with no hakama (generally only white and black belts are worn). So we did ukemi for each other during the entire class. Depending on the instructor, we either change partners before each move or we keep the same partner during the entire class.

Everything was so fast-paced this morning; I could tell it wasn't a typical Sunday morning for me. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I did fine. It was a great workout. I thought my partner was going to break my wrist during shomen-uchi sankyo, however. I was too embarrassed to tell her to go easier on me.

By the way, I want to give some advice to anyone reading this: when you do ukemi during irimi-nage, make sure your tongue is not between your teeth! When my partner was taking me down, she hit the underside of my jaw and I bit my tongue. Luckily it wasn't too bad. I'll never make that mistake again (at least I hope I won't)!

After class was over, I talked briefly to my partner. She said she was from Washington D.C. and was visiting Japan for just a few days. Today was her only chance to practice at Hombu. I felt bad that she came all the way to Japan for aikido and was stuck with me! I told her she should stick around for 30 minutes and attend Doshu's class. I could tell she didn't seem to keen on that idea! The regular classes are so intense; it would be hard to practice in two back-to-back classes.

In the regular class, we did a brief cool-down after practice that involved jumping in place and stretching. That is something we don't normally do in the beginner's classes. Afterwards, I saw my friend from Sri Lanka in the dojo. I asked him if he had fun, and we both laughed. Last week, Irie-sensei told us both that we should start attending the regular class instead of his beginner's class. My friend jokingly said that we had no choice! Anyway, I'm glad I took Irie-sensei's advice. I'm sure my friend was too.