amy and slinky
Amy came over with Todd and Narumi to play. It was too hot to bother going outside, so we stayed under the air-conditioner and munched potato chips. Amy was grumpy unless mom was holding her, so Todd and I stole her away to the basement, where she cried and cried...until we pulled out the slinky. Ah, the magical toy that is coil of metal; glittering, slithering slinky! Amy was immediately entranced and spent a good 30 minutes bouncing around the basement with the slinky all over the place. It stretches! It rolls! It walks down stairs! Amy would take the slinky, walk up to steps, sit down, put the slinky next to her, and then point and the slinky and look at me until I made it walk down the stairs. Then she'd squeal and go down and grab it and repeat.
After playing in the basement for a while we came back upstairs, had some more munchies, and then went out for a walk. I needed string to tie up cutting targets, so we walked over to the D2 home center and back. Getting to be about time for dinner, so we ordered some pizza and chicken from Pizza Salvatore Cuomo. After dinner Amy was starting to fade, and was soon asleep in mom's lap, so it was time to go.
After playing in the basement for a while we came back upstairs, had some more munchies, and then went out for a walk. I needed string to tie up cutting targets, so we walked over to the D2 home center and back. Getting to be about time for dinner, so we ordered some pizza and chicken from Pizza Salvatore Cuomo. After dinner Amy was starting to fade, and was soon asleep in mom's lap, so it was time to go.
more cutting
Met Presley at Akabane Station just before 9am. Big turn out for cutting, and damn it was hot. Hoshina-san hadn't cut in a while and needed serious help with basic form, but was having fun. Orita-san cut her finger, again. She's just dangerous. Presley had never cut before, but did just fine since his basic form is pretty good. I cut alright; wasn't really into it but nail a couple of good cuts just to make sure yesterday wasn't a fluke. Spent most of the time helping everyone else cut, though, as Tanaka-sensei was busy teaching the beginners who weren't cutting.
Got home about 1 and had lunch with Hiroko before going to Fras to pick up the pictures we framed. Hiroko went out with her junior high friends and I wasted the evening watching bad Japanese tv and eating leftovers.
Got home about 1 and had lunch with Hiroko before going to Fras to pick up the pictures we framed. Hiroko went out with her junior high friends and I wasted the evening watching bad Japanese tv and eating leftovers.
air-conditioning
Met Kiyokawa at about 11 in front of Wendy's and got some ramen before hitting Naniwa-ya for shaved ice. All the good coolness of dessert was gone by the time we got home, so we cranked the air-conditioner and carried in the stinky cutting targets.
We had a bunch of 3/4 rolls and a couple of full rolls. We both cut pretty well; thank the lord for modern technology like air-conditioning and refrigerators to cool the Orangina.
After cutting we took the subway up to Nihonbashi and Niina-gosoke showed us the Konishi-ha Mugairyu kata. Totally different, and if I may say so completely lame. First off, they don't cut, so the moves are exaggerated and totally impractical and just plain silly. But it's good to know, so I took notes and practiced some of the subtler differences.
After practice Gosoke, Kiyokawa, Ohtsuka, and I got some dinner at Kandazushi. It's cheap, but the Chinese waitresses don't share a language with the customers so they always screw up orders, and the wasabi is Russian Roulette; sometimes there's none, and sometimes there's so much it's like taking a bullet in the head.
We had a bunch of 3/4 rolls and a couple of full rolls. We both cut pretty well; thank the lord for modern technology like air-conditioning and refrigerators to cool the Orangina.
After cutting we took the subway up to Nihonbashi and Niina-gosoke showed us the Konishi-ha Mugairyu kata. Totally different, and if I may say so completely lame. First off, they don't cut, so the moves are exaggerated and totally impractical and just plain silly. But it's good to know, so I took notes and practiced some of the subtler differences.
After practice Gosoke, Kiyokawa, Ohtsuka, and I got some dinner at Kandazushi. It's cheap, but the Chinese waitresses don't share a language with the customers so they always screw up orders, and the wasabi is Russian Roulette; sometimes there's none, and sometimes there's so much it's like taking a bullet in the head.
tanjo
Ran through the kenjutsu kata with Kiyokawa -- we "know" all the kata in Shitsuhatsu -- and then we started in on all the tanjo kata; both Uchidaryu and Toseiryu. Too much to remember!
Came home before going to Iidabashi in the evening and was surprised to have 5 people in class. It's still a crummy place though; too many bugs and the floor is always way too dirty.
Came home before going to Iidabashi in the evening and was surprised to have 5 people in class. It's still a crummy place though; too many bugs and the floor is always way too dirty.
red baron
What I learned this moring: scooter repair shops don't open until 10am. I limped the Mightier Steed up to the Nasty Old Man Repair Shop in Azabujyuban, but it was closed. So I drove down to Gotanda to go to Red Baron, but it was also closed. So I came home, had some more coffee, tried to wake up Masa (who crashed in the loft), and went back to Red Baron.
The mechanic was very cool; they only work on bikes bought at Red Baron, but I managed to keep the spring that fell of the kickstand, and he took pity on me so he went ahead and fixed it for 15 bucks. Seems the axle bolt that holds the kickstand onto the frame was gone, so he replaced that and stuck the spring back on. It's a hack job, but it works. Sometimes in Japan you find a Very Cool Person. The Mightier Steed thanks you!
Made it to the dojo by noon and cranked with Kiyokawa for an hour before he went to school, then worked out by myself. Yamada-sensei went home and Niina-gosoke was beat from training so hard for 2 days, so he was napping in the office to avoid the heat.
In the evening we had a meeting about the September tournament, and then kusarigama practice. Fear not; anyone attacking me with a sword simply has to wait for me to knock my own head off with my 3 meter chain. There is very little chance I could effectively launch the iron weight on the end of the chain in a threatening manner at anyone but myself.
The mechanic was very cool; they only work on bikes bought at Red Baron, but I managed to keep the spring that fell of the kickstand, and he took pity on me so he went ahead and fixed it for 15 bucks. Seems the axle bolt that holds the kickstand onto the frame was gone, so he replaced that and stuck the spring back on. It's a hack job, but it works. Sometimes in Japan you find a Very Cool Person. The Mightier Steed thanks you!
Made it to the dojo by noon and cranked with Kiyokawa for an hour before he went to school, then worked out by myself. Yamada-sensei went home and Niina-gosoke was beat from training so hard for 2 days, so he was napping in the office to avoid the heat.
In the evening we had a meeting about the September tournament, and then kusarigama practice. Fear not; anyone attacking me with a sword simply has to wait for me to knock my own head off with my 3 meter chain. There is very little chance I could effectively launch the iron weight on the end of the chain in a threatening manner at anyone but myself.
mightier steed down!
Practiced kumitachi with Kiyokawa in the morning as Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei continued to practice. Kiyokawa had to go to school in the afternoon, so I practiced on my own for a while and tried to survive the heat. John showed up about 5 so we hung out with Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei for a bit and then started training. We ran through kata for the tournament in September, and then Shiozaki-san came in so the three of us practiced various kata and tournament techniques, like how to psyche out the other dude, how start and end in exactly the same spot, etc.
John finally got his shodan in aikido after how many years, and no he'll hopefully spend more time focusing on iai as well. And if his various money-making schemes go well he might actually have the time and money to practice more. Hopefully he can stay in Japan for several more years and at least get an instructor's license so that when he goes back to Japan he can teach.
But for now, he just dumped his girlfriend of four years, and a buddy of his who runs an bilinugal 'escort' service asked him to go to a club with him to help 'recruit' -- tough life!
And just as I was leaving the dojo, the kick stand on the Mightier Steed broke! Unlike a race horse, even with a broken leg we can rebuild it! So I strapped up the kickstand with the luggage strap I had and limped the Mightier Steed home.
John finally got his shodan in aikido after how many years, and no he'll hopefully spend more time focusing on iai as well. And if his various money-making schemes go well he might actually have the time and money to practice more. Hopefully he can stay in Japan for several more years and at least get an instructor's license so that when he goes back to Japan he can teach.
But for now, he just dumped his girlfriend of four years, and a buddy of his who runs an bilinugal 'escort' service asked him to go to a club with him to help 'recruit' -- tough life!
And just as I was leaving the dojo, the kick stand on the Mightier Steed broke! Unlike a race horse, even with a broken leg we can rebuild it! So I strapped up the kickstand with the luggage strap I had and limped the Mightier Steed home.
yamada-sensei
Yamada-sensei came up for a couple of days to practice with Niina-gosoke. Kiyokawa and I were on one side while they were on the other. Yamada-sensei has some...interesting theories about sword use, that don't always jibe with the way I've been taught. But I'm young and stupid and he's old and wisened, so I gave his way a try. On the kumitachi kata uchikaeshi, instead of flowing the first parry and counter, he said it's a full on block stop. I tried it once and the shock went straight into my right thumb. Figuring I must have done something wrong, I tried it again, and Yamada-sensei nodded in approval as I took the full force of Kiyokawa's cut and channelled all the energy along my blade and straight into the base of my right thumb. Transformed into a purple stub of pain, I decided I had done enough practice for a day. Kiyokawa and I went to Starbucks for some beverage and smack talk before going to teach at Shibuya.
15 students at Shibuya and growing! If we don't get a new place soon we'll be out of room.
And goddamn my thumb hurts.
15 students at Shibuya and growing! If we don't get a new place soon we'll be out of room.
And goddamn my thumb hurts.
24 season 2
Had a quick meeting at Honbu and practiced for a little bit, then come how amid rain smatterings and Hiroko and I met Ben at Starbucks to talk about swords, WiFi, and hotspots. Then Hiroko and I bought some fish and dinner supplies and went home to cook.
A traditional grill fish dinner accompanied several episodes of 24 season 2. I am now a strong member of the Kimi Is a Complete Moron Fanclub. She is, without a doubt, the most deserving of death of any of the main characters. EVERYTHING she does is patently, unerringly assinine. Every choice she makes is wrong. Every street she turns down is an alley. Every friend she trusts turns on her. Every secret she tells gets blown. Mom was cool and got shot, so Kimi deserves some serious torturing before dying horribly. But, at least she gets to run around alot and show off her bouncing...hair.
A traditional grill fish dinner accompanied several episodes of 24 season 2. I am now a strong member of the Kimi Is a Complete Moron Fanclub. She is, without a doubt, the most deserving of death of any of the main characters. EVERYTHING she does is patently, unerringly assinine. Every choice she makes is wrong. Every street she turns down is an alley. Every friend she trusts turns on her. Every secret she tells gets blown. Mom was cool and got shot, so Kimi deserves some serious torturing before dying horribly. But, at least she gets to run around alot and show off her bouncing...hair.
anything but the weather...
Figured I wouldn' talk about how hot and humid it is, or how three people have already died from the heat...but then there's not much else to talk about.
Went to the Starbucks in Tsutaya at the corner of Roppongi Hills, naively thinking I would be able to use the wireless LAN. Turns out you need a WEP password to get on the LAN, and of course there's nothing nowhere that says how to get a password. Some tables had a sticker that said "iSpot" but I don't care enough anymore to bother figuring out what that means or how it could possibly relate to getting a WEP password. So anyway I drank my ice tazo chai soy latte and translated half of the Japanese book Tony asked me to translate. Met Kiyokawa at Azabujyuban station about 1, looked for the cool 3-piece jimbei set but didn't find them, ate some lunch, ate some shaved ice, and came home to cut in the basement. Cut for a couple hours, then....yup, came to Honbu to practice. And boy, but it was hot and humid. Before class we started doing the kumitachi, but halfway through I totally spaced out from the heat and just took it easy the rest of the night. I was still drenched in sweat even though I was only working at 50%. I am just not built for this kind of weather. 9pm at night inside the dojo it's 60% humidity and 34° C!
Went to the Starbucks in Tsutaya at the corner of Roppongi Hills, naively thinking I would be able to use the wireless LAN. Turns out you need a WEP password to get on the LAN, and of course there's nothing nowhere that says how to get a password. Some tables had a sticker that said "iSpot" but I don't care enough anymore to bother figuring out what that means or how it could possibly relate to getting a WEP password. So anyway I drank my ice tazo chai soy latte and translated half of the Japanese book Tony asked me to translate. Met Kiyokawa at Azabujyuban station about 1, looked for the cool 3-piece jimbei set but didn't find them, ate some lunch, ate some shaved ice, and came home to cut in the basement. Cut for a couple hours, then....yup, came to Honbu to practice. And boy, but it was hot and humid. Before class we started doing the kumitachi, but halfway through I totally spaced out from the heat and just took it easy the rest of the night. I was still drenched in sweat even though I was only working at 50%. I am just not built for this kind of weather. 9pm at night inside the dojo it's 60% humidity and 34° C!
more hot, humid honbu
Still hot and humid in Honbu Dojo. More kenjutsu, more iai, more kusarigama. I think got heat stroke or something; I was dead tired and no matter how much water I drank I was still thirsty. Cracked my thumb nicely doing some stiff-grip techniques that should have been way more fluid, so my right thumb is all blue and purple and swollen now. But no time to complain as I had to go to Iidabashi to teach. Only two showed up (that's why we're shutting down Iidabashi this month) so I got to practice, too, but I was too tired to be useful.
hot, humid, honbu
I'll just go ahead and stop mentioning how unbelievably hot and humid it is in the dojo. And I also won't mention the complete lack of wind.
More kenjutsu in the morning. Specifically, a set of kata from Shintoryu called Shitsuhatsu. This is the sword that Shindomusoryu Jo (staff) was designed to beat. We did the first four: aisun, gyaku-aisun, jyu, and chibarai. I can barely remember the footwork, let alone keep up Kiyokawa-kun, who's done this before and has them wired. For my benefit he goes nice and slow, but when he cranks up the pace I get bonked.
We then did some iai and then practiced kusarigama before lunch. Kiyokawa worked the first four kusarigama kata with me, which is good practice for him as the distance and timing of sword vs. kama is different than sword vs. sword. It was good for me to see what it's like when the enemy really is trying to cut me down, and to practice distance with throwing (launching the weight on the end of the 10 foot chain attached to the bottom of the kama.) A couple of times I got lucky and he had to really duck out of the way to avoid getting a face full, which is just the reaction necessary to give the chance to get in and cut his wrist. Sometimes (rarely, but every now and then) it works well and we both move pretty smoothly. Most of the time I get cracked in the head or wrist or tangle myself up.
More kenjutsu in the morning. Specifically, a set of kata from Shintoryu called Shitsuhatsu. This is the sword that Shindomusoryu Jo (staff) was designed to beat. We did the first four: aisun, gyaku-aisun, jyu, and chibarai. I can barely remember the footwork, let alone keep up Kiyokawa-kun, who's done this before and has them wired. For my benefit he goes nice and slow, but when he cranks up the pace I get bonked.
We then did some iai and then practiced kusarigama before lunch. Kiyokawa worked the first four kusarigama kata with me, which is good practice for him as the distance and timing of sword vs. kama is different than sword vs. sword. It was good for me to see what it's like when the enemy really is trying to cut me down, and to practice distance with throwing (launching the weight on the end of the 10 foot chain attached to the bottom of the kama.) A couple of times I got lucky and he had to really duck out of the way to avoid getting a face full, which is just the reaction necessary to give the chance to get in and cut his wrist. Sometimes (rarely, but every now and then) it works well and we both move pretty smoothly. Most of the time I get cracked in the head or wrist or tangle myself up.
honbu day 2
It is still incredibly hot and humid. Started the morning with kenjutsu kumitachi with Kiyokawa-kun, then did some iai before grabbing bento again for lunch. Lazed around in the afternoon, did some kusarigama and Niina-gosoke showed me the moves to the first four kata.
In the evening Hata-chan showed up for class, so I taught her while Kiyokawa and Iwata-chan trained on the other side of the dojo.
Got home and ate the last of the chicken and spinach Hiroko made before watching some tv and hitting the shower.
In the evening Hata-chan showed up for class, so I taught her while Kiyokawa and Iwata-chan trained on the other side of the dojo.
Got home and ate the last of the chicken and spinach Hiroko made before watching some tv and hitting the shower.
unemployed and loving it
This not-working concept is nice, and it's only day one!
Woke up about...8ish, just as Hiroko was going to work. Had brekkie and took my time, made it to Honbu Dojo about 9:30, and trained with Kiyokawa-kun and Niina-gosoke for a couple hours. Hot. Humid. Hot. Humid.
Kiyokawa-kun is, of course, totally on the ball. Niina-gosoke showed up some of that magical kenjutsu stuff that Kiyokawa already knew, like how you can always get the centerline, whether you move before or after your opponent moves. Something to do with getting 'on top of' the opponent's blade, and coming in a slightly steeper angle, but other than that I'm basically clueless and will require way more practice.
Starting working on the kata I'll need for the National Tournament in September, though I have little chance of beating Tanaka-sensei. Several folks got promoted this weekend so there will be at least 3 or 4 matches to make it to the finals. Hopefully I won't get knocked out in the first round like last year (hopefully no one will drop his sword into his foot, forcing me to compete in the remnants of a puddle of blood like last year.)
Woke up about...8ish, just as Hiroko was going to work. Had brekkie and took my time, made it to Honbu Dojo about 9:30, and trained with Kiyokawa-kun and Niina-gosoke for a couple hours. Hot. Humid. Hot. Humid.
Kiyokawa-kun is, of course, totally on the ball. Niina-gosoke showed up some of that magical kenjutsu stuff that Kiyokawa already knew, like how you can always get the centerline, whether you move before or after your opponent moves. Something to do with getting 'on top of' the opponent's blade, and coming in a slightly steeper angle, but other than that I'm basically clueless and will require way more practice.
Starting working on the kata I'll need for the National Tournament in September, though I have little chance of beating Tanaka-sensei. Several folks got promoted this weekend so there will be at least 3 or 4 matches to make it to the finals. Hopefully I won't get knocked out in the first round like last year (hopefully no one will drop his sword into his foot, forcing me to compete in the remnants of a puddle of blood like last year.)
lazy sunday
Woke up far too early because the delivery guy showed up with a package for the owner of our house. Who of course doesn't live here. Should've taken it, though, as it was ochugen, the traditional summer-greeting gift; a way of saying "My but isn't it hot...so here's a nicely wrapped box of beer (or cooking oil, or ham, or coffee beans, or towels, etc.) and I do hope you'll continue to consider us the next time you order a set of widgets."
About 11ish Saito-san from Suruga-Isho came by and checked out the bedroom and living room to get an idea of what kind of furniture-action we need. Table in the bedroom won't be a big deal, but the custom cabinet for the living room won't be cheap. Ah, but it will be oh-so-cool, and good furniture is generally worth the money, methinks.
Needing some supplies we walked over to National Azabu, which was (strangely?) really quiet and empty, and got mesmerized by the dude selling Welsh chicken pâté. We bought a couple, plus some crackers and other necessities, and hurried home for a minor feast. Damn but if Tequila and Cranberry ain't just the best tasting chicken pâté I ever done had me.
Needing to cool off, we walked up to Azabu-jyuban and got the first of what is to be many ujikintoki kakegori at Naniwaya, then bought a set of jimbei (my preferred summer unemployed loungewear.)
Back at home, Hiroko once again assumed the position:
About 11ish Saito-san from Suruga-Isho came by and checked out the bedroom and living room to get an idea of what kind of furniture-action we need. Table in the bedroom won't be a big deal, but the custom cabinet for the living room won't be cheap. Ah, but it will be oh-so-cool, and good furniture is generally worth the money, methinks.
Needing some supplies we walked over to National Azabu, which was (strangely?) really quiet and empty, and got mesmerized by the dude selling Welsh chicken pâté. We bought a couple, plus some crackers and other necessities, and hurried home for a minor feast. Damn but if Tequila and Cranberry ain't just the best tasting chicken pâté I ever done had me.
Needing to cool off, we walked up to Azabu-jyuban and got the first of what is to be many ujikintoki kakegori at Naniwaya, then bought a set of jimbei (my preferred summer unemployed loungewear.)
Back at home, Hiroko once again assumed the position:
omotesando part ii
After Miki-san came and checked out the balcony railing to assess necessary repairs, Hiroko and I took the bus to Nishi-Azabu and, following basically the same course as yesterday, ended up at Suruga-Isho to arrange for them to come out tomorrow and check out the house. We need a table for the bedroom, some kind of coat-rack thingy for the entrance, and a shelving-unit-type-thing for the living room. They did such a cool job on the sofa end-table last time, I figure why mess with greatness.
We continued wandering around and checked out a cool kanji store that does custom calligraphy for non-cheap prices. But it looks so cool.
Finally ended up in Harajuku and got some gyoza for lunch before walking back to Shibuya and grabbing the bus back home.
Hiroko is currently on the couch, in deep thought:
We continued wandering around and checked out a cool kanji store that does custom calligraphy for non-cheap prices. But it looks so cool.
Finally ended up in Harajuku and got some gyoza for lunch before walking back to Shibuya and grabbing the bus back home.
Hiroko is currently on the couch, in deep thought:
men of leisure
Ed came by about noon to check out the house, and then we required meat, so we walked through Azabu to Nishi-Azabu crossing and got some burgers at 7025 Franklin Ave.
We then walked up through Omotesando, checked out some cool furniture, hit the Starbucks for cool and refreshing bevvies, and parked on the Aoyama corner in front of Mizuho Bank. The breeze was light, the humidity mild, and the afternoon unhurried.
We swivel-headed for a while, taking in the local fashion and talking about not much in general, before walking back through Harakujuku to Shibuya and finally back home.
Got home in time to gather my stuff and head to practice. Still wasn't too humid so practice wasn't too bad, but the bugs have come out and I got a mosquito bite on the top of my balding head. That does, indeed, suck.
We then walked up through Omotesando, checked out some cool furniture, hit the Starbucks for cool and refreshing bevvies, and parked on the Aoyama corner in front of Mizuho Bank. The breeze was light, the humidity mild, and the afternoon unhurried.
We swivel-headed for a while, taking in the local fashion and talking about not much in general, before walking back through Harakujuku to Shibuya and finally back home.
Got home in time to gather my stuff and head to practice. Still wasn't too humid so practice wasn't too bad, but the bugs have come out and I got a mosquito bite on the top of my balding head. That does, indeed, suck.
time
The cool thing about being unemployed ("on vacation") is the time. Lots of it. On daboo's recommendation I read "Jennfier Government" today. The whole book. Very groovy. Not sure what I liked more; reading a good book, or reading a whole book in one day.
In the morning ("the time before noon") I dragged a pile of old PC parts to Softmap in Akihabara and got 25,000 points in credit. Akihabara is dead before noon. I'll probably use the points to acquire an iBook, or maybe some new PlayStation2 games...
In the morning ("the time before noon") I dragged a pile of old PC parts to Softmap in Akihabara and got 25,000 points in credit. Akihabara is dead before noon. I'll probably use the points to acquire an iBook, or maybe some new PlayStation2 games...
so long and thanks for all the code
Last day at Morgan Stanley, uneventfully spent cleaning out my desk. Distributed many of my toys to various former co-workers, then took the rest of my crap home.
Came back to Ebisu for my Farewell Party, had some Hawaiian food, got some very cool flowers, and then sped away into the night on the Mightier Steed.
Closing the chapter in my memoirs called "Morgan Stanley" and starting the next chapter called "One Month Off".
Came back to Ebisu for my Farewell Party, had some Hawaiian food, got some very cool flowers, and then sped away into the night on the Mightier Steed.
Closing the chapter in my memoirs called "Morgan Stanley" and starting the next chapter called "One Month Off".
live365:aperture in wired news
Jeremy sends us this update about a Wired News article about web radio.
Aperture is, of course, Jeremy's station (where DJ Tranzlucent, udderwise known as Oliver Power, used to spin.)
Aperture is, of course, Jeremy's station (where DJ Tranzlucent, udderwise known as Oliver Power, used to spin.)
hot in honbu
John, Ojima-chan, and Komacchan came to practice tonight. It was, as expected, hot and humid and generally unmotivating. We spent the whole time working the basics; timing of the draw to get the sword out and into cutting position so that the hips could provide the follow through, minimizing arm swing, etc.
The Indian curry I had with Todd for lunch wasn't sitting well all night, and between the heat and the tightness of my uniform, I had a couple of pitstops to sooth the rumble. No more cheap curry lunches, especially during the summer, especially on nights I have to teach.
The Indian curry I had with Todd for lunch wasn't sitting well all night, and between the heat and the tightness of my uniform, I had a couple of pitstops to sooth the rumble. No more cheap curry lunches, especially during the summer, especially on nights I have to teach.
last shibuya
My final Shibuya practice as leader of said. From July I hand it over to Kiyokawa-kun to kick everyone's ass into shape. After practice he and I and Otsuka-san went down the street to grab some post-workout bevvies and brain dump. Trying to figure out what we need to do to make sure NPO Hougyoku-kai survives into the next decade, and scales well from a couple hundred to a couple thousand members. Ideas kicked about: we need a proper, professional accountant, for sanity as well as legal reasons. We need a professionally hosted website and member database, mainly for security reasons. We need to a proper instructor's curriculum to make sure that everyone gets fair and even treatment. We need a fair and simple method of reimbursing instructors; travel expenses paid straight out but capped, plus a small payment depending on the level of the instructor.
As a Non-Profit Organization, we're no different than any other business (for profit or not) and we need to be organized well and run efficiently. As a group dedicated to traditional martial arts, we need to separate the structure from the content; we need to ensure the arts persist into the next generations by providing a stable framework for this modern age.
And mostly, we need to make sure the structure is stronger than any few morons who want to screw it up; the whole must be greater than the sum of the parts.
As a Non-Profit Organization, we're no different than any other business (for profit or not) and we need to be organized well and run efficiently. As a group dedicated to traditional martial arts, we need to separate the structure from the content; we need to ensure the arts persist into the next generations by providing a stable framework for this modern age.
And mostly, we need to make sure the structure is stronger than any few morons who want to screw it up; the whole must be greater than the sum of the parts.
tokyo ain't cheap
Once again Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world. So no, I am NOT overpaid.
more is not enough
After the stunningly painful gyoza-overdose, I managed to get up about 9:30 and get down to honbu dojo about 11am. Practiced for an hour or so, then came home. Had some targets soaking so I prepped them and, in the interim, went with hiroko to D2 to get some flowers to put in the planter box next to the mailbox. Don't know anything about flowers, so I just picked interesting colors and we'll see how soon they die.
Did some cutting before dinner; went reasonably well on the yoko-icimonji (horizontal) cuts. Amazing how being relaxed helps. Still need to work on accelerating and following through with swinging the arm wildly, but it'll come with time.
Did some cutting before dinner; went reasonably well on the yoko-icimonji (horizontal) cuts. Amazing how being relaxed helps. Still need to work on accelerating and following through with swinging the arm wildly, but it'll come with time.
yet another gyoza party
Lots of gyoza. Lots and lots of gyoza:
Beef and tomato, chicken and corn, shrimp and komatsuna, tofu and bell peppers, fried tofu and bean sprouts, pork and cabbage, chicken and mushroom, pork and eggplant.
Beef and tomato, chicken and corn, shrimp and komatsuna, tofu and bell peppers, fried tofu and bean sprouts, pork and cabbage, chicken and mushroom, pork and eggplant.
bugs
Iidabashi is nasty: bugs. Mosquitoes, actually. Gnarly stuff. Practing while fighting off bugs is Not Fun.
more joys of the japanese banking system
So I have this penny jar that's been sitting on my desk for years. Actually, it's not a penny jar, for it holds not pennies, and it is not a jar. It's a big, clear plastic bear that, when purchased at Costo many moons ago, was filled with chocolate graham cracker snacks. A good 40 cm tall and near as much wide, the bear sat next to my, a whole ripped in its blue plastic lid, accepting the errant one yen or five yen coin.
By now, the bear was nearly a quarter full, and it was time to cash out. The last time I took a large quantity of small change to the Fuji Bank branch downstairs, the teller batted not an eyelash. She dumped the contents into the counting machine, sorted through the various paperclips, screws, and canadian money that clogged its inner workings, and handed me a considerably smaller pile of change and some crisp, fresh bills.
But in the 21st century, things are different. The Fuji Bank branch is now, thanks to mega-mergers and bank 'reform', and Mizuho Bank branch. I'm fairly sure the teller is the same woman, but her uniform is now blue and red not green, and her first question upon seeing the bear and its contents was "Do you have an account here?" It seems that they are unable to conver the money into bills. They are, however, able to count it and deposit into my account, and then I can immediately withdraw said amount. Alas, I have no Mizuho Bank account.
So off to Hiroo Station I went.
First to Shinsei Bank. I love Shinsei, because they have strained the chunky, unnecessary bits of banking in Japan and distilled it into a smooth, clear broth of automatic, low-cost transactions. Shinsei doesn't do difficult, rare services like funky foreign denominations or complex payment schemes. And, alas, they also don't turn plastic bears full of change into bills. They do take small change deposits, but only as much as can fit into the ATM at one time.
So across the walkway I go to the Evil That is Citibank. With the attitude I have come to expect from the better-than-thee Citibank tellers, I was told straight up that they do not accept deposits of unknown amounts. If I count the change and fill out a deposit slip, they will verify the amount and, if it matches, deposit it in my account. The conversation went something like this:
Teller: How much do you wish to deposit?
Me: I have no idea. Can you count it please?
T: We can only deposit a known amount, otherwise you can claim to have been ripped off by the bank.
M: How can I claim to have been ripped off if I admit I have no idea how much money this is?
T: ...
M: OK, how about I write '2000 yen', then you count it and it's actually 5000 yen, so then I'll rewrite the -
T: If you write 2000 yen, we will count 2000 yen, deposit 2000 yen, and return the rest.
M: How about I write 10,000 yen, then you count it and it's actually 5000 ye-
T: If it does not total the amount you wrote, we cannot accept the deposit.
M: How about you just count it for me?
T: We do not provide money counting as a service.
M: How about you charge me 1% for such a service?
T: We do not provide money counting as a service. Japanese banks may choose to provide such a service...but Citibank does not.
M: Citibank is not a Japanese bank?
T: ...
M: You have been, as expected, most unhelpful.
T: Thank you for choosing Citibank.
So I walked across the street to the big Tokyo-Mitsubishi. They, like Mizuho, will only count and deposit the money into my account, assuming I had one...I finally went back to the office and got Koseki-san to take the money down to the post office, where they would, at their leisure, count the money and deposit it into his postal savings account.
Several hours later, Koseki-san left the empty plastic bear and an envelope full of 7902 yen on my desk.
Mission accomplished.
By now, the bear was nearly a quarter full, and it was time to cash out. The last time I took a large quantity of small change to the Fuji Bank branch downstairs, the teller batted not an eyelash. She dumped the contents into the counting machine, sorted through the various paperclips, screws, and canadian money that clogged its inner workings, and handed me a considerably smaller pile of change and some crisp, fresh bills.
But in the 21st century, things are different. The Fuji Bank branch is now, thanks to mega-mergers and bank 'reform', and Mizuho Bank branch. I'm fairly sure the teller is the same woman, but her uniform is now blue and red not green, and her first question upon seeing the bear and its contents was "Do you have an account here?" It seems that they are unable to conver the money into bills. They are, however, able to count it and deposit into my account, and then I can immediately withdraw said amount. Alas, I have no Mizuho Bank account.
So off to Hiroo Station I went.
First to Shinsei Bank. I love Shinsei, because they have strained the chunky, unnecessary bits of banking in Japan and distilled it into a smooth, clear broth of automatic, low-cost transactions. Shinsei doesn't do difficult, rare services like funky foreign denominations or complex payment schemes. And, alas, they also don't turn plastic bears full of change into bills. They do take small change deposits, but only as much as can fit into the ATM at one time.
So across the walkway I go to the Evil That is Citibank. With the attitude I have come to expect from the better-than-thee Citibank tellers, I was told straight up that they do not accept deposits of unknown amounts. If I count the change and fill out a deposit slip, they will verify the amount and, if it matches, deposit it in my account. The conversation went something like this:
Teller: How much do you wish to deposit?
Me: I have no idea. Can you count it please?
T: We can only deposit a known amount, otherwise you can claim to have been ripped off by the bank.
M: How can I claim to have been ripped off if I admit I have no idea how much money this is?
T: ...
M: OK, how about I write '2000 yen', then you count it and it's actually 5000 yen, so then I'll rewrite the -
T: If you write 2000 yen, we will count 2000 yen, deposit 2000 yen, and return the rest.
M: How about I write 10,000 yen, then you count it and it's actually 5000 ye-
T: If it does not total the amount you wrote, we cannot accept the deposit.
M: How about you just count it for me?
T: We do not provide money counting as a service.
M: How about you charge me 1% for such a service?
T: We do not provide money counting as a service. Japanese banks may choose to provide such a service...but Citibank does not.
M: Citibank is not a Japanese bank?
T: ...
M: You have been, as expected, most unhelpful.
T: Thank you for choosing Citibank.
So I walked across the street to the big Tokyo-Mitsubishi. They, like Mizuho, will only count and deposit the money into my account, assuming I had one...I finally went back to the office and got Koseki-san to take the money down to the post office, where they would, at their leisure, count the money and deposit it into his postal savings account.
Several hours later, Koseki-san left the empty plastic bear and an envelope full of 7902 yen on my desk.
Mission accomplished.
mathematics of cow tipping
Jeremy sends us a critical, in-depth look at the science behind cow-tipping. Conclusion: tip with a friend.
formula one us grand prix and jazz in indianapolis
Lee had a double-whammy weekend checking out both F-1 and Indy Jazz Fest and was interviewed in the Indystar newspaper:
New York City resident Lee Guzofski, wearing a crisp Williams-BMW team shirt, shared an observation likely to be clipped and saved by the pianists group -- and possibly the mayor's office:
"Between this festival and F-1, it's been a pretty good week in Indianapolis," the 32-year-old said. "I've seen you guys throw a good show."
New York City resident Lee Guzofski, wearing a crisp Williams-BMW team shirt, shared an observation likely to be clipped and saved by the pianists group -- and possibly the mayor's office:
"Between this festival and F-1, it's been a pretty good week in Indianapolis," the 32-year-old said. "I've seen you guys throw a good show."
it's official
After six years at Morgan Stanley, I am resigning and will start working for Deutsche Bank on August 9. As such, my Morgan Stanley email will stop working as of August 8, so best to email me at renfield at gmail dot com.
Six years at Morgan I learned plenty, had lots of fun, and worked on some cool projects. Career-wise, I've been trying to move out of the IT department and get more onto the business side, but I just couldn't make it happen and the offer from Deutsche was too good to pass up.
As my dad says: "In life, timing is everything." The corrolary is: "Timing is never good." So I hope to not be leaving too many folks/projects in the lurch, but when it's time, it's time.
At Deutsche I will be Head of Video Distribution in the equities/equity research department. Then again everyone is a 'head' of something at Deutsche, so don't put too much on that. I think I'll first be responsible for trying to cut costs and increase efficiency of research product distribution, mainly through video and other technologies. From there the role is pretty open-ended; going to be a fair amount of brain-storming, business development, 'I wonder if this will work?', new technologies research, and general playing around and goofing off.
The way Wall Street is going, the role of research as a critical service offering to clients is unsure, and because of regulations, the role of research in bringing in new banking and transaction business is also limited. The fact that everything's up for grabs is what's cool, methinks. This could be a foot into the front office (sales?), a buy-side job, maybe even back to IT...who knows?
Six years at Morgan I learned plenty, had lots of fun, and worked on some cool projects. Career-wise, I've been trying to move out of the IT department and get more onto the business side, but I just couldn't make it happen and the offer from Deutsche was too good to pass up.
As my dad says: "In life, timing is everything." The corrolary is: "Timing is never good." So I hope to not be leaving too many folks/projects in the lurch, but when it's time, it's time.
At Deutsche I will be Head of Video Distribution in the equities/equity research department. Then again everyone is a 'head' of something at Deutsche, so don't put too much on that. I think I'll first be responsible for trying to cut costs and increase efficiency of research product distribution, mainly through video and other technologies. From there the role is pretty open-ended; going to be a fair amount of brain-storming, business development, 'I wonder if this will work?', new technologies research, and general playing around and goofing off.
The way Wall Street is going, the role of research as a critical service offering to clients is unsure, and because of regulations, the role of research in bringing in new banking and transaction business is also limited. The fact that everything's up for grabs is what's cool, methinks. This could be a foot into the front office (sales?), a buy-side job, maybe even back to IT...who knows?
japanese accent
While it's perfectly acceptable to speak Japanese with a totally flat accent, in reality there are syllable accents in Japanese. The problem is, there are no hard and fast rules to tell you when or why the accents are different for "candy" and "rain", or "bridge", "edge", and "chopsticks". You just have to memorize them. All.
shibuya
Kiyokawa-kun will take over the Shibuya practice from me starting in July, so he came tonight to see how folks are doing and get an idea of who needs what. He and I split the class, me taking the beginners and him the upper ranks, and then we switched half-way through.
His technique is, of course, dead on. No strength or wasted effort, just pure body mechanics and uncanny timing. I, on the other hand, use every gram of muscle strength I can muster, and slop it on top of a healthy but erratic dose of hip movement. The results are lethal but unstable.
His technique is, of course, dead on. No strength or wasted effort, just pure body mechanics and uncanny timing. I, on the other hand, use every gram of muscle strength I can muster, and slop it on top of a healthy but erratic dose of hip movement. The results are lethal but unstable.
kenkakubanrai
Had the Spring Iai Festival Kenkakubanrai in Toritsudai today, and as always it was a blast. Tanaka-sensei and I had to demo cutting first, and by some miracle I managed to nail nukiuchi-mizugaeshi (rising diagonal cut from the draw, then horizontal cut through the target before it falls.) Tanaka-sensei did an impress horizontal cut through two targets with his new beefy cutter from Hataya.
After our demo Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei demo'd kusarigama, jutte and tessen, tanjo, and jo. Then the team competition started, and I was judging with Tanaka-san and Ando-sensei. Somehow my Shibuya team made it all the way to the finals (which I judged) but they got clobbered by the other team and came in second.
In the afternoon there were more demos; Tanaka-sensei and Miura-san did some cool ryukyu (old Okinawan) arts including bo, boat oar, and sai, and then the performance competition began.
The Toritsudai team pulled out all the stops with wacky costumes and music, not to be outdone by Yaesu's team madness, the crazy dancing antics of Ikebukuro, Suidobashi's short play, and of course Kiyokawa-kun and Otsuka-san doing there Giant Sword series, not to mention Kosei-kai's blindfolded cutting demo. In all it was total lunacy and I was laughing so hard it hurt.
After the festival we went down to street and took over a local bar for some much-needed food, drink, and trash talkin'.
After our demo Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei demo'd kusarigama, jutte and tessen, tanjo, and jo. Then the team competition started, and I was judging with Tanaka-san and Ando-sensei. Somehow my Shibuya team made it all the way to the finals (which I judged) but they got clobbered by the other team and came in second.
In the afternoon there were more demos; Tanaka-sensei and Miura-san did some cool ryukyu (old Okinawan) arts including bo, boat oar, and sai, and then the performance competition began.
The Toritsudai team pulled out all the stops with wacky costumes and music, not to be outdone by Yaesu's team madness, the crazy dancing antics of Ikebukuro, Suidobashi's short play, and of course Kiyokawa-kun and Otsuka-san doing there Giant Sword series, not to mention Kosei-kai's blindfolded cutting demo. In all it was total lunacy and I was laughing so hard it hurt.
After the festival we went down to street and took over a local bar for some much-needed food, drink, and trash talkin'.
practice makes perfect
Spent all day in honbu dojo today. Came in at about 10 am and helped a bit with Ando-sensei's class. At 11:40 the first group of visitors on the neighborhood tour came by, so about 30 people packed into the side of the dojo and Ando-sensei gave them a quick speech about what we do. Showed some grandmas my sword, watched as they put fingerprints all over the blade, and then we demo'd some kata before the took off.
Grabbed some riceballs for lunch and then watched Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei practice kusarigama. During downtime I practiced with my kusarigama, too, trying to hit the pillar from 10 feet away. I'm up to about a .300 average; not bad for baseball but no good when failing to incapacitate your opponent means a sword moving quickly towards your head.
In the afternoon the second tour group showed up, so again Ando-sensei did his speech and this time Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei did a quick demo. Finally I did some cutting to wrap up the day.
By now it was about five so I scootered home and did some more practice cutting in the basement, trying to get ready for the demo tomorrow.
Grabbed some riceballs for lunch and then watched Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei practice kusarigama. During downtime I practiced with my kusarigama, too, trying to hit the pillar from 10 feet away. I'm up to about a .300 average; not bad for baseball but no good when failing to incapacitate your opponent means a sword moving quickly towards your head.
In the afternoon the second tour group showed up, so again Ando-sensei did his speech and this time Niina-gosoke and Yamada-sensei did a quick demo. Finally I did some cutting to wrap up the day.
By now it was about five so I scootered home and did some more practice cutting in the basement, trying to get ready for the demo tomorrow.
lomography
From my brother:
The explicit aim of the Lomographic Society is to study and document the world's surface by taking millions of snapshots of it.
The explicit aim of the Lomographic Society is to study and document the world's surface by taking millions of snapshots of it.
kusarigama
Niina-gosoke started us on Kusarigama today. Total madness. You've got a wooden handle about as long as your forearm. Sticking out from that is a double-edged straight blade, with a metal handguard below the blade. On the other end of the handle is three and a half meters of rope with a weight on the end.
We started by trying to hit the pillar in the middle of the dojo. Niina-gosoke just stood there laughing as we wrapped ourselves up in our ropes, smacked the floor, the ceiling, the back of my head...everything but the pillar three meters in front of us. Every now and then by luck the weight would fly gracefully, with minimal arc, and thud satisfyingly into the pillar, but then the next time I'd start spinning the weight and clock myself in the knee.
After an hour of being mocked by an unmarred pillar, we did the formal bowing ceremonies and the first kata, ishiki: Enemy comes to cut you down, you step back and wrap the sword with the rope, then when the enemy thrusts forward, you yank the sword off the centerline, step in, go down on one knee, and drive the blade into his solar plexus.
I get the feeling it's going to take a long, long time to get the hang of this one.
We started by trying to hit the pillar in the middle of the dojo. Niina-gosoke just stood there laughing as we wrapped ourselves up in our ropes, smacked the floor, the ceiling, the back of my head...everything but the pillar three meters in front of us. Every now and then by luck the weight would fly gracefully, with minimal arc, and thud satisfyingly into the pillar, but then the next time I'd start spinning the weight and clock myself in the knee.
After an hour of being mocked by an unmarred pillar, we did the formal bowing ceremonies and the first kata, ishiki: Enemy comes to cut you down, you step back and wrap the sword with the rope, then when the enemy thrusts forward, you yank the sword off the centerline, step in, go down on one knee, and drive the blade into his solar plexus.
I get the feeling it's going to take a long, long time to get the hang of this one.
hot and alone
Sounds like a bad personals ad, but actually I took the day off and spent all afternoon in Honbu Dojo practicing. But of course because I skipped lunch and it was so hot, I had a pounding headache and couldn't practice too much. Which is a good thing because it was so hot in the dojo, and I had to teach at 7pm, I probably would have been useless.
Class went well; took our time going through all the basics, trying to figure out the right body mechanics of moving from the hips and not using the arms too much. Always interesting to teach beginners. They don't know anything, and so haven't developed and bad habits. Whatever you teach them, they have a hard time understanding but usually pick it up quickly, so to be a beginner and start training at Honbu early is a great chance to lock in a solid foundation. I'm jealous.
Class went well; took our time going through all the basics, trying to figure out the right body mechanics of moving from the hips and not using the arms too much. Always interesting to teach beginners. They don't know anything, and so haven't developed and bad habits. Whatever you teach them, they have a hard time understanding but usually pick it up quickly, so to be a beginner and start training at Honbu early is a great chance to lock in a solid foundation. I'm jealous.
ginza shopping
Hiroko and I went to Ginza to try to buy a knife block and a frying pan. No luck finding the knife block, did find the frying pan. Decided it's best to just find both on the web. Managed to find the frying pan on Amazon.co.jp but could only find the knife block in Amazon.com...sometimes the lack of globality of the web really bums me out!
I think Yu-ching still works on the kitchen section of Amazon.co.jp so I'll ask her if she can get the knife block added to the catalogue.
At Matsuya they were having an umbrella sale, it being the start of typhoon season.
I think Yu-ching still works on the kitchen section of Amazon.co.jp so I'll ask her if she can get the knife block added to the catalogue.
At Matsuya they were having an umbrella sale, it being the start of typhoon season.
it's all in the hips
Managed somehow to get up early and went to Kiyokawa-kun's class. It was me and all the college students; Iwata-chan, Misawa-kun, and Wakabayashi-kun.
Kiyokawa-kun is serious about iai; all he does all day every day is practice, and when he's not practicing, he's thinking about practice. It shows: he's damn good.
My biggest problem is I have too much arm strength, and end up using that instead of letting my hips do the work. Also, my stepping is too shallow; I'm trying to keep from over-reaching with my upper body, but the result is I don't step deep enough now.
It's fun to really get into tai-sabaki, the body mechanics of how to effectively use the hips to drive the sword. Too bad I suck at it.
Kiyokawa-kun is serious about iai; all he does all day every day is practice, and when he's not practicing, he's thinking about practice. It shows: he's damn good.
My biggest problem is I have too much arm strength, and end up using that instead of letting my hips do the work. Also, my stepping is too shallow; I'm trying to keep from over-reaching with my upper body, but the result is I don't step deep enough now.
It's fun to really get into tai-sabaki, the body mechanics of how to effectively use the hips to drive the sword. Too bad I suck at it.
cutting?
Got to Akabane right on time, and so did Tanaka-sensei and everyone else. We thought it was a bit strange that the school gym was already open, but anyway we unloaded the car and brought all the targets in, then started to change. All of a sudden a student comes in. And another. And another. And parents. And teachers.
Turns out the school failed to mention to us that today was Parent's Day at school. So we got the hell outta there and loaded up the car again. Tanaka-sensei tried to find the principal to see if we could use the gym after the class was over, but he said they'd be using it all day.
So Tanaka-sensei drove and I and a couple of other guys took the train to Honbu Dojo. We carried all the targets and stands and stuff up five flights to the dojo and did our cutting there, after Ando-sensei's morning class.
Actually was nice to cut in Honbu; lots of light, not many people. Tanaka-sensei was breaking in his new cutter, and we were both trying to figure out what to do for the demo next week.
Turns out the school failed to mention to us that today was Parent's Day at school. So we got the hell outta there and loaded up the car again. Tanaka-sensei tried to find the principal to see if we could use the gym after the class was over, but he said they'd be using it all day.
So Tanaka-sensei drove and I and a couple of other guys took the train to Honbu Dojo. We carried all the targets and stands and stuff up five flights to the dojo and did our cutting there, after Ando-sensei's morning class.
Actually was nice to cut in Honbu; lots of light, not many people. Tanaka-sensei was breaking in his new cutter, and we were both trying to figure out what to do for the demo next week.
more basement cutting
Been getting into the habit of cutting in the basement dojo every few days. So every night I soak targets in the front yard. Trying to get into a good routine of cutting regularly so that I don't lose it and maybe even actually get better with time.
Cut tonight and it went well -- 90% of it depends on the targets of course. Tanaka-sensei said it's actually better to soak them unrolled and then roll and tie them just before cutting. Makes sense; the water can soak in faster and if they're soaked while rolled, they tend to swell up but because they're tied, they end up getting really tight and hard.
Official cutting practice on Saturday, during which Tanaka-sensei and I need to figure out what to do for the demo next week. I'm thinking jinrai, two-roll gyakukesa, and maybe enyo or migi-no-teki.
Cut tonight and it went well -- 90% of it depends on the targets of course. Tanaka-sensei said it's actually better to soak them unrolled and then roll and tie them just before cutting. Makes sense; the water can soak in faster and if they're soaked while rolled, they tend to swell up but because they're tied, they end up getting really tight and hard.
Official cutting practice on Saturday, during which Tanaka-sensei and I need to figure out what to do for the demo next week. I'm thinking jinrai, two-roll gyakukesa, and maybe enyo or migi-no-teki.
who wants gmail?
I've got three gmail intros left, so if you want a gmail account, convince me you're worth it.
arguing versus debating
There is a fundamental difference between arguing and debating.
In a debate, two sides present facts and theories; opposing viewpoints on a common topic. The goal is to convince the other side and/or third parties that one's viewpoint is correct and one's opponent's is not.
In a debate, you listen intently to what the other guy says, so that you can rebut and rebuke what he presents, with your own barrage of facts and theories and ideas and counters.
In an argument, you stick you fingers in your ears and shout as loudly as possible. You have to shout because, with your fingers in your ears, it's very hard to hear your own voice, and since the words coming out of your own mouth are the only thing you care to listen to, the volume goes way up.
Some people, even supposedly intelligent people who work at "think tanks", are in fact blathering idiots, as Andy Tanenbaum proves.
In a debate, two sides present facts and theories; opposing viewpoints on a common topic. The goal is to convince the other side and/or third parties that one's viewpoint is correct and one's opponent's is not.
In a debate, you listen intently to what the other guy says, so that you can rebut and rebuke what he presents, with your own barrage of facts and theories and ideas and counters.
In an argument, you stick you fingers in your ears and shout as loudly as possible. You have to shout because, with your fingers in your ears, it's very hard to hear your own voice, and since the words coming out of your own mouth are the only thing you care to listen to, the volume goes way up.
Some people, even supposedly intelligent people who work at "think tanks", are in fact blathering idiots, as Andy Tanenbaum proves.
chasing amy
Amy came over to play. First we had awesome pizza for lunch, and then since it was raining went back home to draw with colored pencils and bounce around the house and run up and down the stairs.
Amy took a quick nap up in the loft before we went shopping at National Azabu for dinner supplies. We had a lovely Japanese food meal, finished it off with some soy icecream, and called it a day.
Keeping up with Amy is tiring, but at least she doesn't scream and cry anymore every time I get near her. She has morphed from cute-baby-who-drools to small-mobile-human-with-teeth-who-drools.
Amy took a quick nap up in the loft before we went shopping at National Azabu for dinner supplies. We had a lovely Japanese food meal, finished it off with some soy icecream, and called it a day.
Keeping up with Amy is tiring, but at least she doesn't scream and cry anymore every time I get near her. She has morphed from cute-baby-who-drools to small-mobile-human-with-teeth-who-drools.
hot saturday in shibuya
Went shopping with Hiroko. The crowds were thin and the sun was shining. Felt kind of like LA; not too humid, and you could just feel the sun heating up your skin.
We went to Loft and ordered the cool blue-sky-with-clouds curtains for the living room, then went to Tokyu Hands and got some random supplies, including the ever-so-useful plastic curb-stepper, making it now a simple process to park my scooter up on the walk in front of the house.
Then we went up to Omotesando for a big kahuna burger before buying some baskets for the bathrooms.
Came home, put the curb-stepper to work, and then went in the basement to roll targets. Spend a good hour and rolled all the mats, then started soaking some of them so that I can cut tomorrow night (or maybe Monday...depends on motivation level.)
Hiroko and I watched Ghost In The Shell (finally) and then just sat around watching tv and enjoying the cool breeze from the ceiling fan.
We went to Loft and ordered the cool blue-sky-with-clouds curtains for the living room, then went to Tokyu Hands and got some random supplies, including the ever-so-useful plastic curb-stepper, making it now a simple process to park my scooter up on the walk in front of the house.
Then we went up to Omotesando for a big kahuna burger before buying some baskets for the bathrooms.
Came home, put the curb-stepper to work, and then went in the basement to roll targets. Spend a good hour and rolled all the mats, then started soaking some of them so that I can cut tomorrow night (or maybe Monday...depends on motivation level.)
Hiroko and I watched Ghost In The Shell (finally) and then just sat around watching tv and enjoying the cool breeze from the ceiling fan.
right nostril
Past couple of days my right, and only my right, nostril has been constantly dripping. A truly pleasant experience. Allergy and hay fever drugs aren't helping. Then on the radio this morning during the weather report they announced that yesterday was a record-breaking day for low humidity. So, I'm thinking the extremely unseasonal dryness is not helping my nasal situation. Or something. Who the hell really knows. It's bad enough to be allergic to something every month of the year such that I have year-round hay fever. On top of that this ice-cap-melting global warming means that one day it's 30°C and the next day it's down to 20 °C, so I got to bed hot and sweaty and wake up chilly.
At least I have the typhoon season to look forward to, which should be starting any day now.
At least I have the typhoon season to look forward to, which should be starting any day now.
cutting targets
Still trying to figure out the right recipe for soaking cutting targets. I tried soaking them for a day, draining the water, soaking for the night, draining the water in the morning, letting them sit for the day, and then cut at night. But I think that makes them too dry; the targets are damn hard. Maybe I need to not dry them out so much. Tricky part is having them ready to cut at night after work and regular practice, so maybe if I drain them just after work and then cut them later that night.
Either way hard targets is just an excuse for not being able to cut very well. Still can't figure out two rolls; can't get the angle flat enough to carry through both targets but with enough speed and power to cut cleanly through the final target.
Either way hard targets is just an excuse for not being able to cut very well. Still can't figure out two rolls; can't get the angle flat enough to carry through both targets but with enough speed and power to cut cleanly through the final target.
a penny saved is worthless
Abolish the penny!
My father said it, I agree with it, and now Safire extols upon it. The penny is, literally, more trouble than it's worth.
My father said it, I agree with it, and now Safire extols upon it. The penny is, literally, more trouble than it's worth.
the burnmeister
Todd has shown the proper way to utilize both a Computer Science and a Linguistics degree. Behold: The Burnmeister.
Parental discretion is strongly advised; not for the weak of heart.
Parental discretion is strongly advised; not for the weak of heart.
basement cutting
Today after class in Shibuya I did some cutting in the basement. The cutting stand is great. I, however, am lame. Gotta figure out what cuts I'll demo for the Kenkakubanrai festival June 20. If I can figure out shofu that might be a fun one. And if I can nail two full targets gyakukesa that'd be cool, too. Still got a couple of weeks so I best get cutting a couple times a week!
azabu 3rd gyoza party
The new home is coming together nicely. All the boxes are unpacked. Now if we can just sort out who's clothes go where.
The house itself is right next to the coin-parking lot, between Motorola and the Sokagakkai building:
So, to celebrate the joy that is a cathedral ceiling with loft, we are having Yet Another Gyoza Party:
Saturday,June 26. Afternoon until evening. Bring your own beverage.
The house itself is right next to the coin-parking lot, between Motorola and the Sokagakkai building:
So, to celebrate the joy that is a cathedral ceiling with loft, we are having Yet Another Gyoza Party:
Saturday,June 26. Afternoon until evening. Bring your own beverage.
tofu
After a day of mad shopping in Shibuya, hitting Loft, Muji, and Tokyu Hands for all kinds of house supplies, we headed to Bell Commons for dinner at Umenohana. Awesome tofu course. I love yuba (let liquid tofu sit for a bit and a skin forms on top, kinda like boiled milk. That's yuba.)
Hiroko's old college buddies assembled again for this first time in like 10 years. Scary.
Hiroko's old college buddies assembled again for this first time in like 10 years. Scary.
marriage
It's all about weddings these days. We got to Hara Museum of Contemporary Art about 5:30 and checked out the exhibitions before the wedding reception started. Cool building, head-scratching art. Two very cool photos in their own room on the second floor made up the whole of one series in Noguchi Rika's "I Dreamt of Flying".
We can now say we've done this museum. Alas, it hardly warrants another visit.
We can now say we've done this museum. Alas, it hardly warrants another visit.
integrity
A letter to Naganuma:
I remember when I first came to see a class of Mugairyu. You stood by my side and explained what was going on, and then you gave me a loaner sword and taught me the basics. As I signed up to be a member I remember you telling me "Don't quit!"
At first you continued to teach me, at weekend seminars, or whenever you happened to come to the classes I was attending. And I was quite grateful to have such a high-ranking instructor bother to teach a beginner like me.
After a while, about the time I started cutting and was promoted to Yoseibu, you spent most of your time teaching Yasuda and others.
At cutting class I'd ask for your advice, and you'd tell me "Figure it out on your own. You have to learn how to use your own body; I'm not you." And so I thought you were teaching me that everyone must walk his own path.
Then we did the Butokusai demo in Kyoto, and I got promoted to Denshobu. Then we got established Honbu Dojo and I came every Tuesday to attend your class.
You often couldn't make it to class: "I'm working out of town, sorry." and I respected you for working so hard, "I've injured my leg and can't walk", and I simply hoped you'd get well soon. The one time you did come to teach, you told me you can only teach me when Niina-gosoke is not around, and I thought it strange that what you teach would anger Niina-gosoke, but again I thought "Everyone has their own way." And when Sanno showed up and you ignored me to drill him for the rest of class I thought you were trying to show me "Even someone as advanced as Sanno still needs to practice."
And then the truth comes out:
As the Head of Promotions you told Kono what kata to do for the promotion exam, drilled him for two hours right before the test, and of course everyone else but Kono failed.
You lied about being injured, you lied about being on business trips, you lied about a supposedly unused practice place, and in fact you were secretly teaching a select groups of member and non-members.
Behind my back you tell others "I'm not going to teach that white-skinned punk kid."
You and Sanno have been kicked out of NPO Hougyoku-kai for conduct unbecoming of a member, let alone a high-ranking instructor. In my mind, you don't even qualify for respect as a fellow human, never mind as a fellow budo student. I can't even imagine why you felt it necessary to lie to me. You could have just denied or protested my promotions, you could have said "I will not teach you", you could have said "I am not teaching there tonight, I am teaching here." But you didn't. You lied, and you lied to cover up your lies.
You have surrounded yourself with others like you, you use people, and ultimately you will be used as well. I hope you all enjoy your practices. I hope you train hard and achieve whatever goals you have set for yourself.
Your way is about using the sword as a tool to kill. Your way is all technique, all jutsu, but no michi. Your character is twisted and blackened, and you either don't know or don't care.
All this time I wanted you to teach me, but now I realize you have already taught me the most important lesson: the best swordsman in the world is nothing without the integrity to match his skill.
I remember when I first came to see a class of Mugairyu. You stood by my side and explained what was going on, and then you gave me a loaner sword and taught me the basics. As I signed up to be a member I remember you telling me "Don't quit!"
At first you continued to teach me, at weekend seminars, or whenever you happened to come to the classes I was attending. And I was quite grateful to have such a high-ranking instructor bother to teach a beginner like me.
After a while, about the time I started cutting and was promoted to Yoseibu, you spent most of your time teaching Yasuda and others.
At cutting class I'd ask for your advice, and you'd tell me "Figure it out on your own. You have to learn how to use your own body; I'm not you." And so I thought you were teaching me that everyone must walk his own path.
Then we did the Butokusai demo in Kyoto, and I got promoted to Denshobu. Then we got established Honbu Dojo and I came every Tuesday to attend your class.
You often couldn't make it to class: "I'm working out of town, sorry." and I respected you for working so hard, "I've injured my leg and can't walk", and I simply hoped you'd get well soon. The one time you did come to teach, you told me you can only teach me when Niina-gosoke is not around, and I thought it strange that what you teach would anger Niina-gosoke, but again I thought "Everyone has their own way." And when Sanno showed up and you ignored me to drill him for the rest of class I thought you were trying to show me "Even someone as advanced as Sanno still needs to practice."
And then the truth comes out:
As the Head of Promotions you told Kono what kata to do for the promotion exam, drilled him for two hours right before the test, and of course everyone else but Kono failed.
You lied about being injured, you lied about being on business trips, you lied about a supposedly unused practice place, and in fact you were secretly teaching a select groups of member and non-members.
Behind my back you tell others "I'm not going to teach that white-skinned punk kid."
You and Sanno have been kicked out of NPO Hougyoku-kai for conduct unbecoming of a member, let alone a high-ranking instructor. In my mind, you don't even qualify for respect as a fellow human, never mind as a fellow budo student. I can't even imagine why you felt it necessary to lie to me. You could have just denied or protested my promotions, you could have said "I will not teach you", you could have said "I am not teaching there tonight, I am teaching here." But you didn't. You lied, and you lied to cover up your lies.
You have surrounded yourself with others like you, you use people, and ultimately you will be used as well. I hope you all enjoy your practices. I hope you train hard and achieve whatever goals you have set for yourself.
Your way is about using the sword as a tool to kill. Your way is all technique, all jutsu, but no michi. Your character is twisted and blackened, and you either don't know or don't care.
All this time I wanted you to teach me, but now I realize you have already taught me the most important lesson: the best swordsman in the world is nothing without the integrity to match his skill.
brother, where art thou?
Chris goes to the Garden of the Gods. GOG is extremely cool. I remember visiting there about 10 years ago when I was hanging out with Brooke at Colorado College (or whereever it was she went to school.)
Fishing, rock climbing...he's a regular outdoor kinda guy!
Fishing, rock climbing...he's a regular outdoor kinda guy!
gone fishin'
Chris, Sarah, and Keiran went fishing.
Chris fishing:
Sarah fishing:
Keiran fishing:
Ah, Americans and their love of grueling outdoor sports!
Chris fishing:
Sarah fishing:
Keiran fishing:
Ah, Americans and their love of grueling outdoor sports!
all in the hips
Tanaka-sensei drilled us on the five hashirigakari kata tonight. Needless to say, it's not just about timing, it's about actually using the hips to generate power, turn, draw, and cut. I am cursed with plentiful upper body strength, so learning how to not use it is my biggest issue.
I walk around now in a feeble attempt at imitating namba aruki; moving the hip forward first, the shoulder with it, and then the foot and arm afterwards. Badly done, it looks like a gorilla trying to pass for human. Properly done, it is smooth and natural, and easy to generate lots of power and speed with minimal effort.
After practice I set up the new eMac. Tired of using a beat-up old PC, we now have a sporty new white osX machine.
I walk around now in a feeble attempt at imitating namba aruki; moving the hip forward first, the shoulder with it, and then the foot and arm afterwards. Badly done, it looks like a gorilla trying to pass for human. Properly done, it is smooth and natural, and easy to generate lots of power and speed with minimal effort.
After practice I set up the new eMac. Tired of using a beat-up old PC, we now have a sporty new white osX machine.
suidobashi
In a concerted attempt to avoid unpacking, I went to Suidobashi practice tonight and then joined the Welcome New Members party afterwards. Nothing like eating and drinking the night away as a procrastination technique. No guilt whatsoever. None. Not a bit. Now then, what box are my socks in?
hip, shoulder, sword
More stating of the obvious: don't swing the sword with the muscles of the arms and shoulders. Let the natural movement of the body going forward, starting with the hips, carry the sword. Placement of the foot should be secondary to the hips moving forward.
Things I need to fix:
* Too much arm strength
* Too much weight on the front foot
* Too much adjusting the back foot to compensate for bad form
* Too tight a grip
* Too much shoulder tension
Things I need to fix:
* Too much arm strength
* Too much weight on the front foot
* Too much adjusting the back foot to compensate for bad form
* Too tight a grip
* Too much shoulder tension
obvious: cut with the monouchi
"Mono" means thing, and "uchi" means to hit. So monouchi is literally "thing hitter" or "the part you use to hit/cut with."
Sanno-sensei has an amazing ability to break things down and state the obvious, or at least explain what should be obvious but, until he mentions it, it didn't really occur to me. Obvious statement of the day: don't think about cutting with the very tip of the sword, think about cutting with the monouchi.
That makes you more aware of the right hand grip, how far out and down the sword body is moving, where the point of impact is and where the enemy is standing.
In just a couple of hours, I felt my cuts getting bigger and more relaxed, with less arm force and more natural extension.
Now if I could only learn to draw without twisting my body so much...
Sanno-sensei has an amazing ability to break things down and state the obvious, or at least explain what should be obvious but, until he mentions it, it didn't really occur to me. Obvious statement of the day: don't think about cutting with the very tip of the sword, think about cutting with the monouchi.
That makes you more aware of the right hand grip, how far out and down the sword body is moving, where the point of impact is and where the enemy is standing.
In just a couple of hours, I felt my cuts getting bigger and more relaxed, with less arm force and more natural extension.
Now if I could only learn to draw without twisting my body so much...
momo's new house
Hiroko went to Momo's new house. Kensuke came to play, too, but spent most of the time drooling.
to cut or not to cut
Thought I'd be all alone in Honbu tonight, as Naganuma-sensei is still out with his leg injury, but Ando-sensei showed up looking for Niina-gosoke and ended up watching me practice for an hour or so.
He corrected several of my false assumptions, including:
* The first cut of shin doesn't miss, but it also doesn't kill the enemy. From the force of the rising cut, he is knocked back and up. Attempting to get up and retreat, he is finished with a closing-in cut from above.
* The cut to the leg at the start of inchuyo also connects, though it doesn't completely sever the leg. If it did, the enemy, stepping in and cutting down, would continue to fall forward. But instead he retracts his wounded leg, injured but attempting to flee, and again he is finished with a closing-in cut from above.
* The first cut of ren has to move with the body. So first draw more up than out, tighten up the right pinky as soon as possible to bring the sword tip up, and do NOT move the right hand back. Leave it in space where it is, then once the body moves forward to come underneath it, move the hand with the body to thump the blade into his head.
* To cut immediately after the feint in ryoguruma, the sword most be basically drawn, so that the simple act of turning the hips to the right and drawing out brings the sword into the enemy's temple. Of course, the left foot must stay anchored where it is for that and the following cut as well. And don't lead with the right hand, letting the business end of the sword lag behind; move the whole sword with the right side of the body as it steps across to finish the left enemy in one stroke.
After a bit, Niina-gosoke showed up and clarified some details on the newly introduced Basic #3:
Start with the right foot and immediately draw out and stop the enemy's draw. The body turns to open up for the draw, but don't stay in hanmi, bring the left hip back in a bit. The the left foot comes up to even with the right as the left hand grips and the sword tips rises to solar plexus height. Stepping forward with the right foot drive the sword straight and flat into the enemy's solar plexus, blade turned 90 degrees so that the right hand is on top. Shuffle the left foot up a bit as the blade retracts, keeping the sword tip at solar plexus height. Slowly follow the falling opponent with the sword tip, them chiburi and noto.
The first cut is katsujin-ken; non-killing sword. You merely stop the enemy's attack, giving him a chance to rethink and live another day. But obviously he doesn't, and as he slides back to get clearance to draw, he is skewered like so much dead meat.
He corrected several of my false assumptions, including:
* The first cut of shin doesn't miss, but it also doesn't kill the enemy. From the force of the rising cut, he is knocked back and up. Attempting to get up and retreat, he is finished with a closing-in cut from above.
* The cut to the leg at the start of inchuyo also connects, though it doesn't completely sever the leg. If it did, the enemy, stepping in and cutting down, would continue to fall forward. But instead he retracts his wounded leg, injured but attempting to flee, and again he is finished with a closing-in cut from above.
* The first cut of ren has to move with the body. So first draw more up than out, tighten up the right pinky as soon as possible to bring the sword tip up, and do NOT move the right hand back. Leave it in space where it is, then once the body moves forward to come underneath it, move the hand with the body to thump the blade into his head.
* To cut immediately after the feint in ryoguruma, the sword most be basically drawn, so that the simple act of turning the hips to the right and drawing out brings the sword into the enemy's temple. Of course, the left foot must stay anchored where it is for that and the following cut as well. And don't lead with the right hand, letting the business end of the sword lag behind; move the whole sword with the right side of the body as it steps across to finish the left enemy in one stroke.
After a bit, Niina-gosoke showed up and clarified some details on the newly introduced Basic #3:
Start with the right foot and immediately draw out and stop the enemy's draw. The body turns to open up for the draw, but don't stay in hanmi, bring the left hip back in a bit. The the left foot comes up to even with the right as the left hand grips and the sword tips rises to solar plexus height. Stepping forward with the right foot drive the sword straight and flat into the enemy's solar plexus, blade turned 90 degrees so that the right hand is on top. Shuffle the left foot up a bit as the blade retracts, keeping the sword tip at solar plexus height. Slowly follow the falling opponent with the sword tip, them chiburi and noto.
The first cut is katsujin-ken; non-killing sword. You merely stop the enemy's attack, giving him a chance to rethink and live another day. But obviously he doesn't, and as he slides back to get clearance to draw, he is skewered like so much dead meat.
advertising
I am now an Internet Advertising Mogul.
Check out the cool Google AdSense banners. See how amazingly the banner ads match the content of the blog?
That's why Google Is My Hero.
Check out the cool Google AdSense banners. See how amazingly the banner ads match the content of the blog?
That's why Google Is My Hero.
yamagata day 2
Managed to get a couple of hours sleep, though I think the party last night raged until about 3 or 4 in the morning.
Didn't get up in time for the purification ceremony down the hall, but the thumping taiko drum woke me up.
Gray and drizzly, and the mountains were wrapped in mist as we drove up to Hagurosan.
Once again we entered the main shrine and did a short purification ceremony, and then Niina-gosoke did a small demo in the innner main hall as an offering to the shrine.
Once again we went next door and practiced for a couple of hours. It was pretty cool, actually, with the sound of the rain and all the doors open to forest and shrine grounds.
Exhausted, we got back on the bus about noon, drove into town for lunch, and then started back to Tokyo.
Traffic was light and we made it to Tokyo Station just at 9:30pm.
Didn't get up in time for the purification ceremony down the hall, but the thumping taiko drum woke me up.
Gray and drizzly, and the mountains were wrapped in mist as we drove up to Hagurosan.
Once again we entered the main shrine and did a short purification ceremony, and then Niina-gosoke did a small demo in the innner main hall as an offering to the shrine.
Once again we went next door and practiced for a couple of hours. It was pretty cool, actually, with the sound of the rain and all the doors open to forest and shrine grounds.
Exhausted, we got back on the bus about noon, drove into town for lunch, and then started back to Tokyo.
Traffic was light and we made it to Tokyo Station just at 9:30pm.
yamagata
Got on the bus at Tokyo Station and left right on time: 11pm. Stopping every 2 hours, we got to Yamagata Prefecture at 6 in the morning. Breakfast at a highway rest stop, then a visit to Iai Shrine; dedicated to the Father Of Iai, Hayashizaki Sensei.
Path leading back to the shrine
Niina-gosoke checking out the shrine
The photo is of Nakamura Kenzaburo performing Toyama-ryu
Various arts/sensei, including Mugairyu, Ishii Gogetsu, and others that we know and/or have trained with
Back on the bus we wound our way through the still-snowy mountains and got to Miyashita-bo by 11 am. Miyashita-san was born and raised here, and she's the only one in her family to leave Yamagata. We had a huge lunch and then rode the bus up to Hagurosan, a stunning temple at the top of the mountain built in 593 (yes, that's over 1400 years ago.)
The priests did a purification ceremony for us and then we practiced for a couple of hours in the hall next to the temple.
After practice, we walked down the 2466 hand-laid stone steps to the bottom of the mountain, walked back to Yamashita-bo, hit the bath, and had dinner.
The 300 year-old Japanese cedar are as dangerous as they are majestic. My nose hasn't stopped running, my whole head is stuffed up, I haven't slept in over a day, I walked down 2466 hand-laid stone steps through the mountains, and my allergies are not having fun.
Plus, our room happens to be right next door to the party room where everyone else will be drinking the night away.
Path leading back to the shrine
Niina-gosoke checking out the shrine
The photo is of Nakamura Kenzaburo performing Toyama-ryu
Various arts/sensei, including Mugairyu, Ishii Gogetsu, and others that we know and/or have trained with
Back on the bus we wound our way through the still-snowy mountains and got to Miyashita-bo by 11 am. Miyashita-san was born and raised here, and she's the only one in her family to leave Yamagata. We had a huge lunch and then rode the bus up to Hagurosan, a stunning temple at the top of the mountain built in 593 (yes, that's over 1400 years ago.)
The priests did a purification ceremony for us and then we practiced for a couple of hours in the hall next to the temple.
After practice, we walked down the 2466 hand-laid stone steps to the bottom of the mountain, walked back to Yamashita-bo, hit the bath, and had dinner.
The 300 year-old Japanese cedar are as dangerous as they are majestic. My nose hasn't stopped running, my whole head is stuffed up, I haven't slept in over a day, I walked down 2466 hand-laid stone steps through the mountains, and my allergies are not having fun.
Plus, our room happens to be right next door to the party room where everyone else will be drinking the night away.
toyoda
Niina-gosoke took us to Hashimoto-san's restaurant Toyoda, just down the street from Honbu Dojo.
The building a really cool and the food was awesome: traditional multi-course meal in a beautiful room w/a traditional balcony garden. Couldn't believe we were in the middle of 21st century Nihonbashi.
The building a really cool and the food was awesome: traditional multi-course meal in a beautiful room w/a traditional balcony garden. Couldn't believe we were in the middle of 21st century Nihonbashi.
tokyo journal
With Yuki's help I've pulled the original Tokyo Journal website out of archive and given it new life.
Still not sure how much of the original I should fix; part of the charm is how old-school it is. Remember: this was end of 1994/beginning of 1995. Pre-Internet bubble, pre-internet everything just about. And in Tokyo no less.
Also, the last two months, April and May, were done under particulary stressful circumstances.
Check it out in original 640x480
Still not sure how much of the original I should fix; part of the charm is how old-school it is. Remember: this was end of 1994/beginning of 1995. Pre-Internet bubble, pre-internet everything just about. And in Tokyo no less.
Also, the last two months, April and May, were done under particulary stressful circumstances.
Check it out in original 640x480
politics
So what is it with people getting so concerned over a piece of paper and a title? Even as they get older, all they seem to care about more and more is status, as determined by some rank or certification or pile of money.
Very strange to me, but then it seems like it's been that way for as long as people have come together and given each other fancy titles.
Well all the titles in the world won't stop your enemy's sword from taking your head off, so enjoy your certificates and scrolls and titles.
Very strange to me, but then it seems like it's been that way for as long as people have come together and given each other fancy titles.
Well all the titles in the world won't stop your enemy's sword from taking your head off, so enjoy your certificates and scrolls and titles.
work
For the first time in what seems like a very long time, I did not go to practice tonight. Naganuma-sensei has some kind of gnarly foot infection or something, and his whole leg is swollen up.
So instead of going to practice, I spent 12 hours in the office working. Used to be I would do that 4-6 days a week, 3 weeks a month. And then...I got over it.
Don't get me wrong: my job is cool (and my dept head reads my blog -- hi hammer!) and the people I work with are cool and the work I do now is cool. But work is work; it pays the bills. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I certainly wouldn't still work every day to keep busy. I'd build a really big dojo and invite everyone over for training, all day, every day. And probably play more video games, too.
So instead of going to practice, I spent 12 hours in the office working. Used to be I would do that 4-6 days a week, 3 weeks a month. And then...I got over it.
Don't get me wrong: my job is cool (and my dept head reads my blog -- hi hammer!) and the people I work with are cool and the work I do now is cool. But work is work; it pays the bills. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I certainly wouldn't still work every day to keep busy. I'd build a really big dojo and invite everyone over for training, all day, every day. And probably play more video games, too.
comments
You may now comment at your leisure. Readers are reminded, however, of two things:
1) This blog's sole purpose is to transmit to the masses the ramblings of the author. Your comments are at best a minor distraction. (You got something to say, make your own damn blog.)
2) The author's mother is a frequent reader of this blog. So keep it in yer pants, tough guy.
1) This blog's sole purpose is to transmit to the masses the ramblings of the author. Your comments are at best a minor distraction. (You got something to say, make your own damn blog.)
2) The author's mother is a frequent reader of this blog. So keep it in yer pants, tough guy.
innocence
Drab and rainy day, but regardless Hiroko and I spent the afternoon checking out the area around Shinagawa Station. They have a new New York theme just on the other (Bullet Train) side of the station; NY-style deli and whatnot. It's all fairly cheesey, not very NY at all, and for some reason the water fountains are named Columbus Circle, etc. Only in Japan.
We goofed off in the bowling alley arcade, had some lunch at TGIF's, and then hit the IMAX theatre to see Innocence. I didn't really get it, but the animation was stunning.
We goofed off in the bowling alley arcade, had some lunch at TGIF's, and then hit the IMAX theatre to see Innocence. I didn't really get it, but the animation was stunning.
all thumbs
Cutting practice at Akabane. Dragged Komatsu-chan down to practice and she did really well for her first time cutting. Orita-san cut her thumb when warming up, and I did pretty well considering I'm still jet-lagging. Can't wait to move so that I can cut in my own basement whenever I want.
more tokyo journal photos
Put up a few more photos from dinner with the old TJ crew. I still need to dig all the old TJ website archives off of ZipDisk and put them up on the web somehwere -- we were doing the coolest stuff back in 1995!
masamune sword shop
Drove up to Redlands to Mike Christianson's shop and met Ted Tenold and Keith Larman. Niina-gosoke worked with Ted to draw and spec out the long and short swords that he'll have Howard Clark forge for him. I bought that killer wakizashi that Ted will polish and mount for me, and Niina-gosoke bought a nice tsuba set for his HC blades. He also bought a set of tsukagashira and menuki that match his Soten-style tsuba on his sword now. So when we go back to Japan he'll switch out the current fittings and send them back to Ted to go on his HC, as they match perfectly to the tsuba he bought at Mike's shop. Tony also bought a book that has Shiokawa-gosoke and Iwameji-sensei on the cover. We've only ever seen the French version of the book; the English version is quite rare. And there was even a random antique box with Niina-gosoke's mon (family crest) on it; a rarely used version of the crossed hawk feathers.
Some may call it luck, but in Japanese we call it en: fate.
Some may call it luck, but in Japanese we call it en: fate.
seminar day four
Hot hot HOT in the dojo today. Must have been at least 100F but that didn't stop us. Niina-gosoke ran through the first seven tanjo kata that we did yesterday, and then we did the last five to finish up the set of twelve. Everyone really enjoyed smacking each other, so that took all morning. Had more In-n-Out for lunch and then we grabbed all the video cameras and gosoke ran through the 12 tanjo kata again really slowly explaining all the different details, footwork, and moves.
Then we started doing jo, with gosoke explaining the difference between the old-school Shindomusoryu and modern seitei kata. We ran through ukan for a few hours and then gosoke finished up the day by showing everyone the twleve basic patterns of jo as explaining and being filmed.
After the seminar we came back to the house, showered, changed, and went out for some Italian. Tony's daughter Madison came with us and was really cute holding Raven, Verdugo's adorable baby daughter.
Back at the house we talked smack and wound down as folks dropped out to drive and/or fly home.
A good seminar was had by all.
Then we started doing jo, with gosoke explaining the difference between the old-school Shindomusoryu and modern seitei kata. We ran through ukan for a few hours and then gosoke finished up the day by showing everyone the twleve basic patterns of jo as explaining and being filmed.
After the seminar we came back to the house, showered, changed, and went out for some Italian. Tony's daughter Madison came with us and was really cute holding Raven, Verdugo's adorable baby daughter.
Back at the house we talked smack and wound down as folks dropped out to drive and/or fly home.
A good seminar was had by all.
seminar day three: party!
Finished up the day doing wakizashi kodachi and then starting the tanjo kata. Back at the house we had a ripping party for Bill Arno's birthday among other things. William The Clean was tattooing Verdugo in the garage, adding his daughter Raven's name to his back. Big Tony was mixing Margeritas at the bar, and the back yard was jumping with veggies and dip, sandwiches, burgers, and dogs. Yours truly spent a luxorious hour in the living room with Diane cranking all the knots out of my back and legs, and Niina-gosoke enjoyed the spicy buffallo wings and beverages.
We watched the worst video ever, I bought a killer wakizashi from Ted, and then finally went to bed way too late.
We watched the worst video ever, I bought a killer wakizashi from Ted, and then finally went to bed way too late.
seminar day two
Finished up the basic twenty kata and then after lunch had a promotion exam. Everyone was really nervous, but Niina-gosoke had already seen everyone's kata, so he just had fun hearing everyone recite the Japanese Member's Duties and Principles in Japanese.
After practice we all went out to El Ranchitos for some killer Mexican food; Niina-gosoke had a giant steak and I had wonderful chicken fajitas. After dinner we can back to the house and watched the Nami-ryu DVD. Niina-gosoke was...amused. He figured all the kids who are into anime can do Nami-ryu and play samurai and have fun, and that's cool, as long as the don't think they're actually learning anything that real samurai were doing.
After practice we all went out to El Ranchitos for some killer Mexican food; Niina-gosoke had a giant steak and I had wonderful chicken fajitas. After dinner we can back to the house and watched the Nami-ryu DVD. Niina-gosoke was...amused. He figured all the kids who are into anime can do Nami-ryu and play samurai and have fun, and that's cool, as long as the don't think they're actually learning anything that real samurai were doing.
seminar day one
Full house for the first day of the seminar; over twenty people. Broke up into three groups and ran through the first 5 kata before lunch. Niina-gosoke was really impressed with how much everyone has been practicing and we breezed through the first five kata quickly. Got some sandwiches for lunch and then went through the next five kata. Everyone was doing really well and we ended up finishing a bit early, giving folks a chance to get home and change before dinner.
leaving on a jet plane
Got up early to meet Niina-gosoke at Ueno Station to take the Skyliner to Narita Airport. Figured it would be crowded because it's the day before Golden Week. Turned out it was empty. Nobody was in the airport, so we breezed through. Got stopped when we first got off the train because of the swords. Seems we had to get permission (read: lots of paperwork) just to carry the swords through the airport, besides the paperwork from the Ministry of Culture to take the swords out of Japan. So we were plenty early and waited at the gate for a couple of hours, watching the people arrive in fits and starts.
Took off on time, landed a bit early (9.5 hours in flight) and Tony picked us up and took us back to the house.
Had some In-n-out burgers for lunch at the Senpokan Dojo then came back home and took a nap before dinner.
Took off on time, landed a bit early (9.5 hours in flight) and Tony picked us up and took us back to the house.
Had some In-n-out burgers for lunch at the Senpokan Dojo then came back home and took a nap before dinner.
eggs?
By some miracle I managed to wake up early enough to go to Ando-sensei's practice at 10am (ok I got there late but whatever.) He had his video camera and taped me running through some kata. Really no fun to watch ones' self on tape, but it definitely helps to see what I'm doing wrong. Only one other student was there, so we practiced on our own for a couple of hours. Someone showed up to check out class (she ended up signing up) so Ando-sensei was explaining to her what's what. I remembered that we had a cutting target left over, so I cut it up to make it small enough to throw away.
After practice I came home and Hiroko and I had ramen at Doraichi. They gave us an extra hard-boiled egg, so I ate half of it. Then we went to National Azabu for some grocery shopping, picked up Hiroko's boots from the shoe repair place, and had some tea and dessert at the cool tea place.
By the time we got home, I had a small allergic reaction to something. Probably the half-egg; fairly mild, which is why it took so long to show up. Or maybe it was the dessert? It had mascarpone cheese in it, so maybe I'm not just lactose intolerant (I can take Lactaid for that) but also allergic to milk? Very complicated, this whole food allergy thing. I think I'll go get an allergy blood test again as the last one I had was 3 years ago.
When we got home we finished off season one of 24 -- It was Nina! Love it! But come one, how many friggin' times are Kimmy and mom gonna get kidnapped, tied up, and rescued? Anyway, the DVD had an alternative ending where mom doesn't die, but I don't buy it. Nina was ordered to leave no traces to Germany, so mom got popped, end of story. I sure hope they keep Nina around; she'll probably be a really cool character as a baddie. Not sure about Kimmy becoming a CTU agent though. She should go back to wearing low-cut baby t-shirts.
For dinner, Masa came over with her selection of Amway pots and pans and cooked a feast. I'm impressed. Who would have thought the whiny teen-ager who moved in with me just 7 years ago would actually grow up into someone who can cook decent food on her own? She's still got a ways to go to support herself selling Amway stuff alone, but she's really motivated and trying hard.
After practice I came home and Hiroko and I had ramen at Doraichi. They gave us an extra hard-boiled egg, so I ate half of it. Then we went to National Azabu for some grocery shopping, picked up Hiroko's boots from the shoe repair place, and had some tea and dessert at the cool tea place.
By the time we got home, I had a small allergic reaction to something. Probably the half-egg; fairly mild, which is why it took so long to show up. Or maybe it was the dessert? It had mascarpone cheese in it, so maybe I'm not just lactose intolerant (I can take Lactaid for that) but also allergic to milk? Very complicated, this whole food allergy thing. I think I'll go get an allergy blood test again as the last one I had was 3 years ago.
When we got home we finished off season one of 24 -- It was Nina! Love it! But come one, how many friggin' times are Kimmy and mom gonna get kidnapped, tied up, and rescued? Anyway, the DVD had an alternative ending where mom doesn't die, but I don't buy it. Nina was ordered to leave no traces to Germany, so mom got popped, end of story. I sure hope they keep Nina around; she'll probably be a really cool character as a baddie. Not sure about Kimmy becoming a CTU agent though. She should go back to wearing low-cut baby t-shirts.
For dinner, Masa came over with her selection of Amway pots and pans and cooked a feast. I'm impressed. Who would have thought the whiny teen-ager who moved in with me just 7 years ago would actually grow up into someone who can cook decent food on her own? She's still got a ways to go to support herself selling Amway stuff alone, but she's really motivated and trying hard.
tokyo journal
Had a kind of Tokyo Journal reunion. Tony and Sophia, Yuki, Jun the Photographer, and the old editor Gregg Star. We had some Thai food and talked smack for a few hours. Damn, those where the days. I still have all the old TJ websites we made; I gotta pull them off disk and put them up. We did stuff back in 1995 that nobody could even touch, especially in Japan.
And then that bastard Brad Barts (or something like that) came in, bought the magazine, Gregg and all the editorial staff quit, sued, won, and that was the end of it.
Tokyo Journal is still around, a shell of it's former self, but back in the mid '90s it was THE English rag in Tokyo; a great read, a great resource. All those who know it surely miss it.
And then that bastard Brad Barts (or something like that) came in, bought the magazine, Gregg and all the editorial staff quit, sued, won, and that was the end of it.
Tokyo Journal is still around, a shell of it's former self, but back in the mid '90s it was THE English rag in Tokyo; a great read, a great resource. All those who know it surely miss it.
nanba-aruki
Niina-gosoke is still sick and recovering from stressing out over the Honbu Dojo Opening, so Kiyokawa and I went to Honbu Dojo and worked out by ourselves. Ando-sensei came by after work and ended up hanging out giving me help on walking. Yup, I cannot walk. Specifically, I'm trying to use nanba-aruki, where the left and right sides of the body move together, with the left and right hips acting as two separate but joined pivot points. Ando-sensei always says "split your butt." To practice the motion, sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front on you. Put you hands on your thighs, and using only your left and right butt alternatively, move yourself forward.
Now do that standing up, while drawing and cutting with a sword. Seems kind of unnatural, but when it's mastered it's incredibly natural, smooth, and effortless. Needless to say I have much work to do!
Now do that standing up, while drawing and cutting with a sword. Seems kind of unnatural, but when it's mastered it's incredibly natural, smooth, and effortless. Needless to say I have much work to do!
gmail
A full class tonight for Sanno-sensei: five including me, three of whom are named Kosaka (father, daughter, and unrelated female.)
Came home and realized I still hadn't set up my Gmail account. So I did. Feel free to email me. Gmail is blocked from work, so I can only check it when I'm not at work (duh.)
Looks like it's all in UTF-8, but Japanese doesn't seem to work. Bummer.
Came home and realized I still hadn't set up my Gmail account. So I did. Feel free to email me. Gmail is blocked from work, so I can only check it when I'm not at work (duh.)
Looks like it's all in UTF-8, but Japanese doesn't seem to work. Bummer.
appleseed soundtrack
Gotta love Amazon.co.jp! Got the Appleseed Soundtrack and, as expected, it thumps mightily.
tanaka-sensei
Got to Honbu early in an attempt to set-up the PC, but wasn't having much luck without the appropriate drivers. Of course the drivers from the Compaq homepage are over 5 megs -- how the hell am I supposed to put those on a floppy? So I guess I'll have to download them at home, burn a CD, and install from that. Brilliant idea, putting the ethernet adapter drivers online for easy download. That's like "call us if you have problems with your phone."
So Tanaka-sensei showed up about 7:15 and it was just the two of us. We worked through a few kata, nitpicking details that have turned into bad habits I'm having a hard time fixing, especially keeping my upper body upright (not leading with the shoulders) and keeping my grip steady. Tanaka-sensei made a really good, albeit scary, point: he said that as you progress farther and farther, you get taught less and less, and therefore have to be able to see your own mistakes and correct yourself, or you'll stop progressing. I think that's definitely my biggest problem: I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not really sure exactly what it is I'm doing wrong, or even worse how to fix it even if I do know what's wrong. Sometimes just being told the simplest things, like use both hands in a more balanced way, is all I need to make improvement. But figuring that out on my own is a whole nother issue, and I'm just no good at it. I guess I should spend more time practicing in front of the mirror.
So Tanaka-sensei showed up about 7:15 and it was just the two of us. We worked through a few kata, nitpicking details that have turned into bad habits I'm having a hard time fixing, especially keeping my upper body upright (not leading with the shoulders) and keeping my grip steady. Tanaka-sensei made a really good, albeit scary, point: he said that as you progress farther and farther, you get taught less and less, and therefore have to be able to see your own mistakes and correct yourself, or you'll stop progressing. I think that's definitely my biggest problem: I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not really sure exactly what it is I'm doing wrong, or even worse how to fix it even if I do know what's wrong. Sometimes just being told the simplest things, like use both hands in a more balanced way, is all I need to make improvement. But figuring that out on my own is a whole nother issue, and I'm just no good at it. I guess I should spend more time practicing in front of the mirror.
taisabaki
Practice with Naganuma-sensei. Haven't had him teach me in forever. His big theme is taisabaki: body mechanics. Specifically; moving from the hips, keeping one central balance point and moving the body as one, not using arm strength, staying upright and balanced, minimizing swing and tilt.
Needless to say, he moves the way he does because up until he was 12 he wore geta not shoes, and he practiced old-school karate since he was 17.
We trained one-on-one for the first hour, and then Sano-sensei joined in so the three of us worked through various basics, Naganuma-sensei giving us pointers and corrections throughout.
His basic comment was: "You've gotten considerably worse since I last taught you a couple years ago."
To which I replied: "Cause and effect."
So hopefully he'll be able to teach on Tuesdays regularly, and I will be able to attend regularly.
Needless to say, he moves the way he does because up until he was 12 he wore geta not shoes, and he practiced old-school karate since he was 17.
We trained one-on-one for the first hour, and then Sano-sensei joined in so the three of us worked through various basics, Naganuma-sensei giving us pointers and corrections throughout.
His basic comment was: "You've gotten considerably worse since I last taught you a couple years ago."
To which I replied: "Cause and effect."
So hopefully he'll be able to teach on Tuesdays regularly, and I will be able to attend regularly.
colonel and brown girl
Z is back in North Carolina, doing that living-in-America thing with Kevin.
Here's some photos from her going away party.
Here's some photos from her going away party.
men without jobs
Cousin Dave's latest film Men Without Jobs is opening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Go see it!
appleseed
Hiroko and I went with Roland and Anthea to see Appleseed. We originally wanted to see Innocence but it stopped playing the night before. But it doesn't matter: Appleseed was excellent! I've never read the manga so I didn't know the story, but it was a pretty cool plot, excellent battle and fighting scenes, and really amazing animation. The backround scenery is so realistic and 3-D, but the characters are definitely anime, though not flat. Really cool camera work, too, adding lots of depth and it's just great to watch. Also need the soundtrack, as there's some ripping tracks from BoomBoomSatellites and Paul Oakenfold.
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