Yesterday, as mentioned, the Budokan was used as a voting precinct so we all jumped the train to the next station east of Omagari where Shihan Fujiwara's senior instructor lives, and trained in a large gymnasium, which was surrounded by beautiful green rice fields. The train ride was only ten minutes, but the walk to the training hall was about 30 minutes. Japan is totally under cultivation as there are many people and not a large amount of land that isn't mountainous. Walking over to the hall, everywhere I looked, something was growing. The hedges were covered with interesting spiderwebs with nice, fat spiders sitting patiently for their next meal. Everything is so lush and abundant. Shihan Yabunaga, originally from Hokaido, told me the younger Japanese no longer want to be involved in agriculture, so in many areas of the rural Japan, people will allow you to live in the houses for free just so someone is caring for it. They have had to make agriculture highly mechanized to keep up production.
We were joined today by about 40 Japanese karate kids, who quite frankly, make us look a bit clumsy. They trained 6 hours just like we did and they tough it out and never complain or whine in the least. Much is expected of them and they live up to those expectations. The morning session was devoted entirely to kata. Sounds easy, huh? It is not. It is over and over and over. Correction, correction, correction. If Shihan doesn't think something is up to standard, he will show us the proper way once or twice, and then we will spend the next 20 minutes doing it up and back down the entire hall until he feels satisfied we are getting it. Then on to the next.
After lunch break, in which I was treated to an acupuncture treatment while lying on a playground bench, we moved on to kumite drills which were highly effective and spirited. You have to understand that Seiwakai has the deserved reputation of being strong fighters, from the teaching skills of Tasaki Shihan.
We have some really tough men and women who enjoy mixing it up, especially the Australians and the Slovaks. Their toughness is over the top and it would not be good to tango with them.
Unfortunately for me, I had to pull back after the first drill as my back and hips were seizing up. But being a senior instructor doesn't mean you DO everything. We are also expected to be very observant in order to bring it all back to our own countries and teach our students according to standards. Plus, I am grading for JKF Gojukai 6th dan in Wakayama, and somehow must figure how to both work hard and try to recover in the lower body. It is not an easy balance.
The last hour we were broken into groups according to dan rank to work our particular kata -- rokudan required kata is Seisan. So despite hardly being able to support my body weight, I must work a kata with multiple kensetsu geri (knee kicks) and 180 degree turns while on one leg. The first ten or twelve reps were pure hell, but then interestingly enough, you transcend the pain and become quite focused on just the doing. That is the breakthrough moment and it really is a transcendent thing.
I went to dinner with Sensei Moskie to a yakitori grill since we were both needing meat. MEAT! Grrrrrr.... you grill everything on a small charcoal grill so it is very leisurely and you have the opportunity to talk and enjoy bite by bite. Quite different from throwing a 16 oz. Sirloin on your plate and acting like a wolf. The food and service were typically awesome.
Well, my laundry is finished. The attached photo is the most artful wall in my wonderful little laundry. It is time to get back to the ryokan and grab a bite and a Motrin before heading to the Budokan. Wish me well. More later.
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