seminar day 1

Stopped off for some donuts for breakfast, then hit the dojo.
Had a good group of 12 in the morning and we dove right in, starting the seminar by running through the basics then going right into the first 5 seated kata set, goyo. Everyone picked it up quick and after a carnitas burrito lunch we got into the first 5 standing kata set, go-o. Tony went to pick up Hoshina-san at the airport and got to the dojo in time to catch to last couple of hours of practice. We finished off the day by pairing up with wooden swords and running through the ten kata again, checking distance and strike positions. Everyone seemed to enjoy bonking each other in new and excitingly painful ways, and by 5 pm we were all tired and ready for food.
We changed and headed out for some Italian seafood, where the plates of pasta were as big as my chest. Tony opened the bottle of Suimoken sake and we finished it off in only a couple of rounds. James Williams sat next to Hoshina-san and freaked her out a bit when he was talking about Systema by whipping out his giant tactical folding knife and pressing it into his arm ("slice = cut, pressure alone won't cut").
After James and Hoshina-san each finished off a bowl of vanilla icecream, Hoshina-san and I were beat, so we headed back to the motel and the rest of them keep cranking at the bar until the wee hours.