jorge's last dinner

Finally took jorge to dinner at Lucky his last night in Japan.

kouseikai

Cruised up to Minami-Hatogaya in Saitama to practice at Tanaka-sensei's Kousei-kai.
Oki-san showed up first, and then Tanaka-sensei came and we started practice in the loft area above the gym floor. Exposed I-beams on a low ceiling in a narrow room made distance a key factor in all techniques. Kanai-san and Yokoshima-san showed up later, and with five of us on the floor it was just right. Good two hours of practice; basic warmups and all 20 kata five times each. Wasn't too hot nor too cold, and by 9pm my arms were tired and I was feeling good. Also had a mirror on one wall, so I could see, first hand, just how lame I am.

rain and wind

Miserable weather, and no one showed up to practice. So I had the whole place to myself and spent it in front of the mirror, trying to figure out how use more hips and less arm. Needless to say, I continue to fail miserably, but sometimes it's nice to have a chance to practice with no one around.

After practice met Hiroko and folks for dinner at Lucky. Laurie, friend of pa, is in Japan this week, so we saw that she was well fed.

inner techniques

I got my Okuirisho and practiced the okuden and naiden (advanced "inner" and "secret" techniques) for the first time. Wow, those are some neat forms and they give a glimpse into the skill of truly gifted swordsmen. Someday I might be able to do one of two of them without cutting off my own foot...

Jorge is in town this week, so we had dinner at Bo in Nishi Azabu. Cool Japanese place, reasonably priced and very stylish architecture. Modern concrete and black stone mixed with traditional wood and good food on cool plates. Nice bathrooms, too.