ebt!
Got together with some of the old EBT/Morgan Stanley gang. The JustZed has finally transferred out from NY, and Norichan is moving TO NY and The Stedt, Spike, and Toddychan continue to brag about their daughters.
I didn't even show up until after 9pm as I now have to work for my money, but the old gang is still in full effect, and by the time we left folks was right and properly drunj.
shibuya back street river
Nice weather so I popped over to Shibuya to see Yamazaki-sensei and pick up some order-made tsuba. He lives in the back streets of Awashima, where time stopped 50 years ago.
Kids were fishing for crawdaddies in the river as parents hung out sipping beer and enjoying the blossoms. Bits of Tokyo like this make the city so cool. And then five minutes on the bus and I was in the throngs of Hachiko, packed with Sunday shoppers, high school kids, hawkers and gawkers and general typical Shibuya mayhem.
shizan again
Had cutting practice for the first time months.
Got up reasonably early, got to the dojo by 9:30.
AM session we had three, so we took our time and everyone got about six targets. All beginners, and they did well.
After they all cut, I took requests and demonstrated a few kata. Did sha and sa and managed to cut just fine. Amazing how a good sword makes me look like I know what I'm doing.
Folks started showing up for the afternoon session, Presley and his visiting-from-America Tall Dad came by as I was busy cutting down some bamboo for a mekugi. Five folks for the PM session, including the father-daughter unit of the K family. Dad was doing ok but his 14 year-old daughter was thumping! By the end of the session she was nailing the cuts and had gained some confidence. Greatest thing is, because she doesn't have alot of physical strength, she just lines up the blade and swings true; nice and clean, no mess no fuss. If only everyone could cut so effortlessly!
Got up reasonably early, got to the dojo by 9:30.
AM session we had three, so we took our time and everyone got about six targets. All beginners, and they did well.
After they all cut, I took requests and demonstrated a few kata. Did sha and sa and managed to cut just fine. Amazing how a good sword makes me look like I know what I'm doing.
Folks started showing up for the afternoon session, Presley and his visiting-from-America Tall Dad came by as I was busy cutting down some bamboo for a mekugi. Five folks for the PM session, including the father-daughter unit of the K family. Dad was doing ok but his 14 year-old daughter was thumping! By the end of the session she was nailing the cuts and had gained some confidence. Greatest thing is, because she doesn't have alot of physical strength, she just lines up the blade and swings true; nice and clean, no mess no fuss. If only everyone could cut so effortlessly!
sick hiroko
I have successfully done what all husbands are destined to do: I have completely recovered from my cold and transmitted it entirely to my lovely wife.
Hiroko has a sore throat and rumbling cough and has lost her voice. She took off work yesterday and still feels and sounds terrible today.
Such a loving husband am I, I even share my cold with her.
"In sickness and in health" indeed.
Hiroko has a sore throat and rumbling cough and has lost her voice. She took off work yesterday and still feels and sounds terrible today.
Such a loving husband am I, I even share my cold with her.
"In sickness and in health" indeed.
akiba in la machina
The Eng came by in his brand new 430 Spider, so P jumped in for some hi-quality photo ops.
Then we tested the limits of Sunday Tokyo driving by hauling seriously quicktime to Akiba for some much needed geek shopping.
The Eng was immediately in his element as we browsed from hi to low; otaku heaven full of anime figures, high-end home stereo equipment, giant-screen plasma TVs, DVDs, and a coffee break in "Fairie Garden", a maid cafe on the roof of a building housing a role playing bookstore and a PC repair shop.
Finished the day with a tour of the massive Yodobashi Camera and sped through the rain home, the 'rari's small trunk full of goodies.
hanami
Flowers and Nancy and booze in Shinjuku Gyoen on a perfect Saturday afternoon.
A couple more photos.
healed...mostly
Finally getting over this cold. Still have a wee bit of a cough, but in general I don't feel like ass, which is an improvement.
Went to class for the first time in forever. Gosoke was in fine spirits and I took things slow. Worked through the basics, and then ran through all the kata a couple of times. Using my cutter for iai, and damn that's a beefy, heavy blade. Then again I'm totally out of practice, and besides that I suck, so it all balances out.
Went to class for the first time in forever. Gosoke was in fine spirits and I took things slow. Worked through the basics, and then ran through all the kata a couple of times. Using my cutter for iai, and damn that's a beefy, heavy blade. Then again I'm totally out of practice, and besides that I suck, so it all balances out.
nancy
Being sick all weekend, I missed Nancy's farewell party, but Hiroko managed to get some quality shots.
cell phone geek
I really, REALLY wanted the new Sony Ericsson phone. Since it was a holiday (first day of spring) I went down to the cell phone shop less than an hour after they opened. Sold out. So I walked across the street to the big Bic Camera electronics store on the corner. Sold out. So I went to the other Bic Camera on the other side of Shibuya Station. They had a line outside and were handing out claim tickets. No more tickets, no more phones. I got in line, got my ticket, and waited. Me and all the other uberdorks who simply HAD to have the new phone on day one.
Took about an hour to get the new phone, but then since it's just a resell shop I had to give up my current phone and they said it would take about two hours to transfer over my number to the new handset (doing this at the DoCoMo shop is instant.)
So I went back home, grabbed some lunch with Hiroko, and then we took a wee walk about since the weather was so nice. Hit the GAP and Hiroko got a belt and some pants, I picked up my phone, Hiroko got a sweet antique obi for cheap, and then we wandered the back streets of Aoyama for a bit before cruising back down to Nishi Azabu and bussing home.
Watched a couple episodes of 24 and I was happy to see Kimmy was, though not dead, no longer on the show. Chloe is still a spirited beotch, too. Love that girl! And Jack got to shoot a terrorist in the leg for no reason other than there was only five minutes left in the episode and Jack hadn't shot anybody yet. Quality television.
Took about an hour to get the new phone, but then since it's just a resell shop I had to give up my current phone and they said it would take about two hours to transfer over my number to the new handset (doing this at the DoCoMo shop is instant.)
So I went back home, grabbed some lunch with Hiroko, and then we took a wee walk about since the weather was so nice. Hit the GAP and Hiroko got a belt and some pants, I picked up my phone, Hiroko got a sweet antique obi for cheap, and then we wandered the back streets of Aoyama for a bit before cruising back down to Nishi Azabu and bussing home.
Watched a couple episodes of 24 and I was happy to see Kimmy was, though not dead, no longer on the show. Chloe is still a spirited beotch, too. Love that girl! And Jack got to shoot a terrorist in the leg for no reason other than there was only five minutes left in the episode and Jack hadn't shot anybody yet. Quality television.
shijuku (49)
The seventh period of seven days after death is when the spirit finally achieves total enlightenment and ascends permanently to heaven. Thus, the celebration of shijuku (literally "49") is supposed to be a happy time; the time to truly say good-bye to the dead and a reminder of the joy that is with the living.
grandpa's watch
Just this morning I was whining to Hiroko that I needed decent, normal watch, capable of both telling the time and not making me look like a moron when dressed up for work.
After we went to the local temple, grandma gave me a bunch of granpa's stuff, including a couple of awesome haori and grandpa's antique silver King Seiko 45-7001 Hi-Beat watch. Extreme coolness.
baachan & ebi fry
We rallied the troops and went to a local family restaurant, were we proceeded to pigout on all kind of scrumptous foods including fried eel backbone crunchy chips, spicy raw squid parts, crab pasta, ramen and grandma's breaded, deep-fried giant shrimp.
elbow
Wednesday evenings at fighting Inoue-sensei runs us through glove and target combos. I am happy to say that not only do I lack coordination, I am totally incapable of throwing a decent punch. Lots of power, zero accuracy, and 30 seconds into a 3-minute round I am gasping for breath. I am now seriously awed by boxers who can go round after round, throwing and receiving brain-brusing and rib-cracking punches.
My left hand is strongest, and because of this I tend to throw punches with arm strength, instead of pushing through with the hips (hips, eh? Amazing how all arts; karate, iai, etc. are based on the same principles.) Problem is I also have terrible form, so after an hour of combos my elbow and wrist and in pain. Also, because I can't square up my fist correctly and pull my hooks and uppercuts in instead of pushing them out, I end up landing on the pinky knuckle instead of the index and middle finger knuckles. So I've got sore elbow and wrists, and red-bruised pinky knuckles. Oh yeah, and since the punches come from the hips, with my abdomen and stomach muscles are killing me, too.
My left hand is strongest, and because of this I tend to throw punches with arm strength, instead of pushing through with the hips (hips, eh? Amazing how all arts; karate, iai, etc. are based on the same principles.) Problem is I also have terrible form, so after an hour of combos my elbow and wrist and in pain. Also, because I can't square up my fist correctly and pull my hooks and uppercuts in instead of pushing them out, I end up landing on the pinky knuckle instead of the index and middle finger knuckles. So I've got sore elbow and wrists, and red-bruised pinky knuckles. Oh yeah, and since the punches come from the hips, with my abdomen and stomach muscles are killing me, too.
masa eating roll cake
After teaching the kumitachi seminar, I followed my orders and purchased: 1 battery-powered cellphone charger, 3 whipped cream cheese roll cakes (strawberry, plain, and choco), and a large cafe latte and went to see Masa in the hospital.
Her fever isn't completely gone but her appetite is unfailing. She inhaled her dinner and finished off half of the strawberry roll cake. She'll probably be in the hospital another couple of days and then she'll stay with us until next weekend.
tonsilitus masa
Went with mom and P to visit Mako in the hospital. She had a really bad fever and swollen, infected tonsils so she's spending a few days getting an IV drip and relaxing. Her fever is almost gone and she feels much better, but her throat is still soar and she's pretty weak. We brought her a bunch of food and magazines and stuff, and I think she's enjoying a relaxing break in a clean, nice hospital. This is also the perfect chance to get her to stop smoking, so I confiscated her smokes and told her if she stayed clean for a month I'd feed her and buy her all kinds of stuff. I don't mind using bribes when it's for her own good!
drunj
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't drink. Actually, that's not entirely true. I save up a year's worth of drinking and then spend it all in one bingeful night. This is a tradition that started many years ago when the thrill-of-victory-agony-of-defeat of Bonus Day warranted a non-typical stress relief activity. And thus, my night of boozin' was born.
The good things about being a once-a-year lightweight are twofold:
1) I have no tolerance and am therefore a cheap date. After beer one, I was feeling fine.
2) It is literally a once-a-year occassion, and so everyone makes an effort to join so as not to miss it.
(before)
We started the evening at Dubliner's in the basement. Fish & chips and a Kirin draft. I remembered why I don't do this regularly: beer tastes like crap! After I finished a pint I didn't mind the taste so much, I just tried not to trip on my own feet walking out.
Next we headed to the Absolute Icebar. By now everyon's heard about this place. It's a giant -20°C freezer and everything, including the glasses, are made out of ice shipped in from Sweden. Did I mention it was cold? Even with the bar-provided jacket and gloves, it was cold. No, I mean COLD. After drinking two Absolut Vodka blends and biting a chunk out of my ice glass, we moved down the street.
(during)
Figure Complex is a randomly cool bar/club that looks like Ghost In The Shell, or a really clean, Japanese Blade Runner. The staff are all very into it as well, and after a few more beverages, Miho, Maki, Yoshimi and the rest were having a fine time...or at least I was.
(after)
By now I was well into Gettin' My Drink On, and it was time to move to Mogambo's. It was a celebration of 40Below vodka, so that meant I simply had to ring the bell (the first time I was there when Lee rang the bell, I have no recollection of that entire evening), buying everyone in the bar a shot. It sounded like a good idea at the time...
I then managed to avoid getting assaulted by Russian hostesses (see previous adventures) though I was certain that a Ukrainian lass was fondling my shaved head, only to find out it was in fact Richard. At some point I managed to outlast Simon (who had snuck back to work to get his housekeys, a better alternative to sleeping in the entrance lobby of his apartment) and did at least as much damage to Richard (who is English, and therefore a professional) as I did to myself, though I "took wee naps" (don't call it passing out) at the table, responding to the occasional "Be Strong!" with my fists at my temples, index fingers pointed horn'dly skywards, croaking a feeble "strong. like. bull."
The good things about being a once-a-year lightweight are twofold:
1) I have no tolerance and am therefore a cheap date. After beer one, I was feeling fine.
2) It is literally a once-a-year occassion, and so everyone makes an effort to join so as not to miss it.
(before)
We started the evening at Dubliner's in the basement. Fish & chips and a Kirin draft. I remembered why I don't do this regularly: beer tastes like crap! After I finished a pint I didn't mind the taste so much, I just tried not to trip on my own feet walking out.Next we headed to the Absolute Icebar. By now everyon's heard about this place. It's a giant -20°C freezer and everything, including the glasses, are made out of ice shipped in from Sweden. Did I mention it was cold? Even with the bar-provided jacket and gloves, it was cold. No, I mean COLD. After drinking two Absolut Vodka blends and biting a chunk out of my ice glass, we moved down the street.(during)
Figure Complex is a randomly cool bar/club that looks like Ghost In The Shell, or a really clean, Japanese Blade Runner. The staff are all very into it as well, and after a few more beverages, Miho, Maki, Yoshimi and the rest were having a fine time...or at least I was.(after)
By now I was well into Gettin' My Drink On, and it was time to move to Mogambo's. It was a celebration of 40Below vodka, so that meant I simply had to ring the bell (the first time I was there when Lee rang the bell, I have no recollection of that entire evening), buying everyone in the bar a shot. It sounded like a good idea at the time...I then managed to avoid getting assaulted by Russian hostesses (see previous adventures) though I was certain that a Ukrainian lass was fondling my shaved head, only to find out it was in fact Richard. At some point I managed to outlast Simon (who had snuck back to work to get his housekeys, a better alternative to sleeping in the entrance lobby of his apartment) and did at least as much damage to Richard (who is English, and therefore a professional) as I did to myself, though I "took wee naps" (don't call it passing out) at the table, responding to the occasional "Be Strong!" with my fists at my temples, index fingers pointed horn'dly skywards, croaking a feeble "strong. like. bull."
Today we got a bit esoteric. Tried working on the subtle difference between changing maai (distance) and getting the hips into the cut.
Usually we practice some basic patterns: step left start drawing, step right and cut, step left and ready the sword, step right and cut again. Problem is there is no distinction between the movement -- closing in on a retreating opponent -- and the final enter-and-cut, which both closes and powers the cut.
So we mixed it up and tried stepping only once, stepping three times, stepping back and cutting, etc. Trying to get people to think about distance and about powering the cut with the hips. Should not matter which direction you move, what matters is the distance to where you're cutting, or more specifically the distance between where you are, where he is, and where you will be and where he will be when you connect the cut.
This tied nicely into the kata gyokko, my absolute least favorite kata simply because I really, really cannot do it worth any beans whatsoever. It's the perfect way to concentrate on moving (back, out of the way) without losing the hips which must immediately return and drive the cut forward.
And btw it looks like Elvis rocked his 2dan in aikido. Nice job; back to work!
Usually we practice some basic patterns: step left start drawing, step right and cut, step left and ready the sword, step right and cut again. Problem is there is no distinction between the movement -- closing in on a retreating opponent -- and the final enter-and-cut, which both closes and powers the cut.
So we mixed it up and tried stepping only once, stepping three times, stepping back and cutting, etc. Trying to get people to think about distance and about powering the cut with the hips. Should not matter which direction you move, what matters is the distance to where you're cutting, or more specifically the distance between where you are, where he is, and where you will be and where he will be when you connect the cut.
This tied nicely into the kata gyokko, my absolute least favorite kata simply because I really, really cannot do it worth any beans whatsoever. It's the perfect way to concentrate on moving (back, out of the way) without losing the hips which must immediately return and drive the cut forward.
And btw it looks like Elvis rocked his 2dan in aikido. Nice job; back to work!
yakiniku
We headed out to the Fighting Fitness Gym for a seminar on Nanba Movement; concentrating on the bones, joints, hips, and inner muscles when moving, as opposed to just the outer muscles. Lots of fun doing cool stretching and movement exercises.
After that we were pretty hungry so we headed out to Sankoen for a yakiniku meating cooking feast.
fuji
Woke up early but couldn't motivate out of the futon for a pre-brekkie bath, so I just slobbed around until breakfast. Huge "viking" all-you-can-eat buffet at which much stuffing-of-self was done, and then a lovely bathing. Headed back to the gym and finished with a couple of hours teaching the advanced group. We did all kinds of questionably useful exercises trying to understand how all the muscles and parts work to move as efficiently and powerfully as possible, and tried to to it into the basics and a few kata. Don't know how useful it all is, but the general idea is to think about how you move; what parts do what.
At noon I headed back to the station, jumped on a local, upgraded to a reserved seat on the shinkansen, and made it back to Tokyo by 3:30. Hiroko came back from shopping at Shinjuku wearing the kimono she bought yesterday and with some cool pottery by a potter whose stuff we've bought before.
seminar day 1
Got on the shinkansen at 9:06 am and rode down to Shizuoka with Gosoke and a few others. Switched to the local at Mishima and rode another 30 minutes to Shuzenji, then grabbed some lunch and hopped on the bus up the winding mountain roads to LaForet. This place is HUGE. Golf course, multiple buildings, pool, hot springs, tennis courts...it spreads out across the mountains with commanding views of wilderness, fresh water, and clean air.
We got settled in our rooms and headed down to the gym to train for a few hours. I got the beginners, so we drilled on the basics, with lots of time for thought. I think I worked everyone pretty hard, but afterwards they said they had a good time, so I think it was ok.
Before dinner we hit the bath and then feasted! Huge boats of sashimi and giant boiling pots of meat and veggies and all kinds of other fixings. After dinner we retired to the room next door for the typical late-night-seems-important-at-the-time babble (after another quick bath of course) and being totally fried, time to retire early.
ireru, mawaru
Ireru means "to enter", whereas mawaru means "to turn/spin around".
We say koshi-o ireru: "to put your hips in" or "cut from the hips." What most people tend to do is just turn their hips instead of put them "in". I usually describe it as snapping the whip: cock your arms above your head, step out with the rigth foot, then spring the upper body forward and finally, like the crack of a whip, swing your arms and the sword. The blade itself is probably moving nice and fast, but the timing is all off. Once you've stepped your foot forward you are in the kill-zone: you can reach your enemy, and so he can reach you. If you stand there with your arms above your head as you crack that whip, by the time you bring your sword anywhere near him, you've already got his sword buried in your throat.
When you step into the kill zone, the sword must move in as well so that just as you step in your sword is just about into his head. To do this, the hips drive the shoulders, the upper and lower body moves as one. No whip-cracking, no twisting and unwinding; everything has to move as one, centered from the hips. It might initially feel as powerful as a nice big spin and unwind, what with all the centrifugal force, but your sword will go where it needs to go and get there in time. And more importantly, once the hips stop moving, so does the sword, so that you can finish the cut with the sword pointing at the enemy, not off someplace else. Very important in the obvious case that your first cut doesn't finish things.
I've mentioned before that in Japanese hayai means both fast as in speed, and fast as in time. Most people focus on the speed of their own movement in a vacuum, but speed is useless without proper distance and timing to the other guy who is also trying to kill you with his sword.
The fastest, strongest cut in the world is no good if it's a tenth of second after you've taken 20 centimeters of sharp steel into your skull.
We say koshi-o ireru: "to put your hips in" or "cut from the hips." What most people tend to do is just turn their hips instead of put them "in". I usually describe it as snapping the whip: cock your arms above your head, step out with the rigth foot, then spring the upper body forward and finally, like the crack of a whip, swing your arms and the sword. The blade itself is probably moving nice and fast, but the timing is all off. Once you've stepped your foot forward you are in the kill-zone: you can reach your enemy, and so he can reach you. If you stand there with your arms above your head as you crack that whip, by the time you bring your sword anywhere near him, you've already got his sword buried in your throat.
When you step into the kill zone, the sword must move in as well so that just as you step in your sword is just about into his head. To do this, the hips drive the shoulders, the upper and lower body moves as one. No whip-cracking, no twisting and unwinding; everything has to move as one, centered from the hips. It might initially feel as powerful as a nice big spin and unwind, what with all the centrifugal force, but your sword will go where it needs to go and get there in time. And more importantly, once the hips stop moving, so does the sword, so that you can finish the cut with the sword pointing at the enemy, not off someplace else. Very important in the obvious case that your first cut doesn't finish things.
I've mentioned before that in Japanese hayai means both fast as in speed, and fast as in time. Most people focus on the speed of their own movement in a vacuum, but speed is useless without proper distance and timing to the other guy who is also trying to kill you with his sword.
The fastest, strongest cut in the world is no good if it's a tenth of second after you've taken 20 centimeters of sharp steel into your skull.
omotesando hills
Original intention was to check out a kimono store that I saw in a magazine, but since I forgot the map at home, we ended up wandering up the street past the madly crowded, newly opened Omtesando Hills, checking out the cool antiques at Oriental Bazaar, and then heading up into Aoyama to find the Sybilla store so that Hiroko could buy a new wallet.
desert @ kyushu festival
Hiroko and I got all kimono'd up and had a Saturday of food and fun. First we went to Isetan Department Store in Shinjuku to check out the Kyushu Food Festival. We started with the traditional Sasebo Burger and then finished up with various munchings and tastings of all the local delicacies. Ended up buying bags full of stuff for later consumption before heading off to Harajuku.
west coast taikai day two
The main event! I ended up interpreting for most of the time, and judging for the rest. Everyone looked good and there were over 70 competitors so it was a solid day. I thought I could jump into the iai cutting division, but turns out I had to judge! (Bummer too because I am quite sure I would have beat all of my students.)
The overall winner was Robin Ramirez, who was solid in placing across the board in both kata and cutting. He won a Howard Clark blade which I am sure he will have no trouble setting up himself.
We even ended on time, besides a minor crisis at the end running out of ink and Japanese people to write up all the winners' certificates.
When all was said and done there were a couple thousand cut targets and many smiling people.
After the taikai we went out to dinner and ended up eating greasy Chinese food. Just when dinner was finishing, the airline called to say they had Hataya-sensei's luggage! He lost his stuff the week before in Florida, and now the day before leaving it had arrived! He didn't care though; he was so happy to get back his stuff and specifically all the swords he bought that when we made it back to the hotel he wanted to buy everyone a round but the bar had just closed.
I ended up taking a few swords back for him since it was easier than shipping.
The overall winner was Robin Ramirez, who was solid in placing across the board in both kata and cutting. He won a Howard Clark blade which I am sure he will have no trouble setting up himself.
We even ended on time, besides a minor crisis at the end running out of ink and Japanese people to write up all the winners' certificates.
When all was said and done there were a couple thousand cut targets and many smiling people.
After the taikai we went out to dinner and ended up eating greasy Chinese food. Just when dinner was finishing, the airline called to say they had Hataya-sensei's luggage! He lost his stuff the week before in Florida, and now the day before leaving it had arrived! He didn't care though; he was so happy to get back his stuff and specifically all the swords he bought that when we made it back to the hotel he wanted to buy everyone a round but the bar had just closed.
I ended up taking a few swords back for him since it was easier than shipping.
west coast taikai day 1
First official day of the taikai started at 8am with seminars. We did the first Mugairyu seminar with a big group who worked hard for almost two hours. We spent most of the time on small details like noto and chiburi, as it was these bits that Gosoke really wanted folks to work on.
After the seminar I helped Tony with the iai cutting seminar; luckily I didn't blow any of my cuts when I cut first, and then took a few folks off to the side to help them work on technique. Cutting from the draw is harder than it looks, and I think a few people were honestly surprised that they couldn't cut. But then again, not everyone practices cutting iai like Mugairyu, so I think there was much learning going on.
After that I jumped into the wakizashi cutting seminar. Tony rolled over in his wheelchair and nailed a few cuts, and I borrowed folks' swords and worked on my basics.
Did one more Mugai seminar in the afternoon with a smaller group before the demonstration in the evening. Gosoke used his new Howard Clark sword and did a stunning demo that blew everyone away. After the demo we had some dinner in the hotel and hung out chatting with Ted, Keith, and the rest of the motley crew. Keith had one of Howard's blades on sale that I broke down and had to buy. It was simply stunning though I won't see it for a year or so as it still needs a polish and mounting.
After the seminar I helped Tony with the iai cutting seminar; luckily I didn't blow any of my cuts when I cut first, and then took a few folks off to the side to help them work on technique. Cutting from the draw is harder than it looks, and I think a few people were honestly surprised that they couldn't cut. But then again, not everyone practices cutting iai like Mugairyu, so I think there was much learning going on.
After that I jumped into the wakizashi cutting seminar. Tony rolled over in his wheelchair and nailed a few cuts, and I borrowed folks' swords and worked on my basics.
Did one more Mugai seminar in the afternoon with a smaller group before the demonstration in the evening. Gosoke used his new Howard Clark sword and did a stunning demo that blew everyone away. After the demo we had some dinner in the hotel and hung out chatting with Ted, Keith, and the rest of the motley crew. Keith had one of Howard's blades on sale that I broke down and had to buy. It was simply stunning though I won't see it for a year or so as it still needs a polish and mounting.
la day two
Slept in until 9ish, had some breakfast with Gosoke and checked email until Tony came by and took us to the hotel. We checked in and got settled, then went to Senpokan again this time for promotion testing. Everyone looked really solid, though it's the finer details that they need work on; the non-cutting bits like bowing and other formalities were quite sloppy. However, seven people tested for 3dan and they all cut from the draw. They looked really, really tight and Gosoke was intensely proud because it was obvious everyone worked really hard practicing on their own since Gosoke had seen them last.
After the test we did the kumitachi again and then Ted presented Gosoke with his Howard Clark swords. Finally we headed out for Mexican food. Everyone was there including Hataya-sensei, and Hata-chan even flew in from LA. Good food was had by all before retiring to the hotel.
After the test we did the kumitachi again and then Ted presented Gosoke with his Howard Clark swords. Finally we headed out for Mexican food. Everyone was there including Hataya-sensei, and Hata-chan even flew in from LA. Good food was had by all before retiring to the hotel.
la day one
Singapore Airlines is amazing. Seriously, truly wonderful. All the stewardesses are beautiful young women in attractive uniforms with impeccable service and manners. Each and every economy seat comes with a footrest, an entertainment system with tens of movies, hundreds of songs, and video games on demand. The entire plane has free, highspeed wireless internet. The food is stupendously good. And they gave me free socks and a toothbrush. Damn, that's good flying!
Landed at LAX and hung around waiting for Rogue 1 Brown Leader who was supposed to land earlier but ended up getting delayed and landed later. His swords were put in a locked aluminum gun case by ANA, who didn't bother telling anyone in LA the combo to the lock, so short work with a knife and a screw driver and we popped the aluminum lock hasp off the case. Hint: steel lock does no good on weak aluminum case.
Got to the Senpokan Dojo in time for afternoon class. Gosoke was already there and we had class for a few hours; did some iai and then the kumitachi that no one had done before, then went to a local Italian place for dinner. Hint #2: if someone calls your restaurant making a reservation for 25 people and you only have one cook working, do not say yes. Naturally, Gosoke got his pizza last, after an hour and a half wait. Went back to Tony's and promptly collapsed on the air mattress.
Landed at LAX and hung around waiting for Rogue 1 Brown Leader who was supposed to land earlier but ended up getting delayed and landed later. His swords were put in a locked aluminum gun case by ANA, who didn't bother telling anyone in LA the combo to the lock, so short work with a knife and a screw driver and we popped the aluminum lock hasp off the case. Hint: steel lock does no good on weak aluminum case.
Got to the Senpokan Dojo in time for afternoon class. Gosoke was already there and we had class for a few hours; did some iai and then the kumitachi that no one had done before, then went to a local Italian place for dinner. Hint #2: if someone calls your restaurant making a reservation for 25 people and you only have one cook working, do not say yes. Naturally, Gosoke got his pizza last, after an hour and a half wait. Went back to Tony's and promptly collapsed on the air mattress.
ginza sushi & shopping
Hiroko and I checked out the sushi faire in Mitsukoshi and then walked down Chuo Dori for some shopping.
Hiroko got a new cellphone (finally) and they used this machine to punch holes in her old phone to guarantee her old data doesn't get stolen.
(Please note: there is a machine whose sole purpose is to punch holes in used cell phones.)
Then we went to Uniqlo and I took Elvis' advice and got me some toe socks.
frustation indeed
Elvis is hitting a rough patch, so I figured I'd throw in my two yen about The Big Questions: why do I train? what's the point? who are all these idiots? when does it get better? where am I going?
Don't want to belittle his struggles, as they are totally valid and, I believe, a good part of training. I been through them myself. Hit three major valleys of doom and gloom at 3rd, 4th, and 5th dan. (Probably in my fourth now at 6th dan, but I'm in denial.)
I don't like giving advice. Everyone has to figure out what's best for him. For good or bad, no one has the luxury of being a samurai anymore and therefore having the right (the duty) to dedicate one's life to the pursuit of the martial arts. We gotta pay the rent. We have jobs, families, lives. So the first issue comes down to time management. I came to Japan because I always wanted to come here and train. And once I got here, I decided I didn't want to do nothing BUT train. I met a brilliant woman and married her. I have a well-paying but massively time-consuming, challenging, and fascinating career in the finance industry. I like to do a couple of decidedly non-budo things. And therefore obviously I don't train as much as I could, and maybe I don't progress as much as I could, and I don't study as many different arts as maybe I could.
And I like it that way. I dropped kendo for aikido, started Mugairyu, dropped aikido and added various other weapons the Mugairyu, and when all is netted out, the sword is the thing for me.
We have several hundred members in our organization, and I would honestly say a mere handful of them are actually interested in training as seriously (or more) than I. If there are four of them out of 400, that's a pretty good percentage I think. Out of the hundreds of thousands of people who train in aikido all over the world, only a handful are dedicated and serious enough to go to Honbu in Shinjuku and train for reals. Elvis is one of them. More power to him. If he has to make a choice to spend less time in Mugai and more on aikido, it's not a bad choice, or a good choice. It's HIS choice, and by definition it is therefore the right choice.
Like Buddha said (okay rough paraphrase): doubt is good. And the only resolution for doubt is action.
Don't want to belittle his struggles, as they are totally valid and, I believe, a good part of training. I been through them myself. Hit three major valleys of doom and gloom at 3rd, 4th, and 5th dan. (Probably in my fourth now at 6th dan, but I'm in denial.)
I don't like giving advice. Everyone has to figure out what's best for him. For good or bad, no one has the luxury of being a samurai anymore and therefore having the right (the duty) to dedicate one's life to the pursuit of the martial arts. We gotta pay the rent. We have jobs, families, lives. So the first issue comes down to time management. I came to Japan because I always wanted to come here and train. And once I got here, I decided I didn't want to do nothing BUT train. I met a brilliant woman and married her. I have a well-paying but massively time-consuming, challenging, and fascinating career in the finance industry. I like to do a couple of decidedly non-budo things. And therefore obviously I don't train as much as I could, and maybe I don't progress as much as I could, and I don't study as many different arts as maybe I could.
And I like it that way. I dropped kendo for aikido, started Mugairyu, dropped aikido and added various other weapons the Mugairyu, and when all is netted out, the sword is the thing for me.
We have several hundred members in our organization, and I would honestly say a mere handful of them are actually interested in training as seriously (or more) than I. If there are four of them out of 400, that's a pretty good percentage I think. Out of the hundreds of thousands of people who train in aikido all over the world, only a handful are dedicated and serious enough to go to Honbu in Shinjuku and train for reals. Elvis is one of them. More power to him. If he has to make a choice to spend less time in Mugai and more on aikido, it's not a bad choice, or a good choice. It's HIS choice, and by definition it is therefore the right choice.
Like Buddha said (okay rough paraphrase): doubt is good. And the only resolution for doubt is action.
you put your right elbow in...
Elbows. Gosoke always talks about sanken-no metsuke, the three points to watch: hand, elbow shoulder. Mainly, you watch the right hand if you want to know where the other dude's sword is going. And of course, if you want your sword to go where you need it to go, you have to pay attention to how you use (which generally means extend) your rist, elbow, and shoulder.
Today we focused on the right elbow. Alot of times the right elbow will be almost totally extended by the time the sword is drawn. This usually results in a locked elbow (sometimes even hyper-extended or tennis elbow) and a full arm swing from the shoulder. Lots of muscle, lots of rotation, not alot of forward momentum and minimal hip power, kind of like whipping the arm out after cocking and unwinding the hips.
Then again muscles on do work when contracting, not expanding, so in order to extend your elbow, you basically contract your tricep; not an impressively powerful way to generate cutting force. The key is, obviously, to extend wrist, elbow, and shoulder all at just the correct time, all moving together to channel the energy from the hips moving in, and don't forget the left hand pulling away and the right hand drives forward. Whole body has to move as one complete unit, all the bits doing their part in tune to all the other bits.
Today we focused on the right elbow. Alot of times the right elbow will be almost totally extended by the time the sword is drawn. This usually results in a locked elbow (sometimes even hyper-extended or tennis elbow) and a full arm swing from the shoulder. Lots of muscle, lots of rotation, not alot of forward momentum and minimal hip power, kind of like whipping the arm out after cocking and unwinding the hips.
Then again muscles on do work when contracting, not expanding, so in order to extend your elbow, you basically contract your tricep; not an impressively powerful way to generate cutting force. The key is, obviously, to extend wrist, elbow, and shoulder all at just the correct time, all moving together to channel the energy from the hips moving in, and don't forget the left hand pulling away and the right hand drives forward. Whole body has to move as one complete unit, all the bits doing their part in tune to all the other bits.
grandpa kuroda
Hiroko's grandfather (dad's dad) passed away in his sleep last night.
We had just seen him and everyone a couple of weeks ago when we went home for the new year's holidays. We brought a box of taiyaki, the really good ones from Naniwaya, and he was happy to receive. I think he ate two. Even after his stroke, he would still putter about in the yard, trimming the immaculate garden leaf by leaf. I think he finally just got tired, when to bed, and didn't wake up.
Wake is on Thursday and cremation on Friday, so Hiroko and I will go home for a long weekend.
We had just seen him and everyone a couple of weeks ago when we went home for the new year's holidays. We brought a box of taiyaki, the really good ones from Naniwaya, and he was happy to receive. I think he ate two. Even after his stroke, he would still putter about in the yard, trimming the immaculate garden leaf by leaf. I think he finally just got tired, when to bed, and didn't wake up.
Wake is on Thursday and cremation on Friday, so Hiroko and I will go home for a long weekend.
machida
Big turnout for the dan-ranked training seminar -- over 60 people!
After that, went down to Machida again to have Hataya-sensei switch out the tsuba on my cutter. The tsuba I bought last time I was down there but that he forgot to switch out for me. Hataya-sensei is a great, kind, and talented man. But he has a memory like a sieve.
Met Florida at the shop and walked back to his newly built home. Had dinner and marvelled at the droopy-eared pair of sausages running rampantly back and forth across his floor. Cool house, too. Heated floors and central air-purification are sporty!
After that, went down to Machida again to have Hataya-sensei switch out the tsuba on my cutter. The tsuba I bought last time I was down there but that he forgot to switch out for me. Hataya-sensei is a great, kind, and talented man. But he has a memory like a sieve.
Met Florida at the shop and walked back to his newly built home. Had dinner and marvelled at the droopy-eared pair of sausages running rampantly back and forth across his floor. Cool house, too. Heated floors and central air-purification are sporty!
basement
Elvis and Co. came over for some basement cutting. We did serious damage to ten targets with a variety of blades; his cutter, my cutter, my old cutter, and the wakizashi we just had polished. Elvis is still working on his cuts-from-the-draw; getting closer and any moment he will have the vital epiphany. Me, I am as lame as ever, and really, really need to change out the tsuba on my cutter as it is just shredding my hand every time I draw.
After cutting we gave the dojo basement a thorough cleaning -- rolls and nicely stack the mats and vacuumed the floor. Allergies are no fun with those old dusty mats!
After cutting we gave the dojo basement a thorough cleaning -- rolls and nicely stack the mats and vacuumed the floor. Allergies are no fun with those old dusty mats!
pen surgery
Bought this very cool four color pen from Muji. It's cool because it has black, red, blue and the fourth color is not the standard green by a nice highlighty orange. However, this pen suffers from the all-c0lors-in-one-cartridge printer syndrome -- I use the black the most, and so of course it ran out first. Instead of tossing the whole pen and buying a new one, I attacked it with my fingers, a folding pocket knife, and Gucchan The Brilliant who sits next to me at work.
The pen cap (non-writing end) was a red herring; it came off, but didn't give access to the pen innards we needed to swap. After much prodding, twisting, prodding, and praying, we finally just unscrewed the writing end, grabbed the black ink, and yanked it out.
We didn't figure out how the pen was assembled in the first place, but I immediately sacrified a black-only pen, cut the ink stalk down to size, and jammed it back in.
Works like a charm!
taco derio
Actual genuine Mexican food, not five minutes from work, at Taco Derio. Handmade by a lovely old Japanese woman and her two sons, or something like that. Damn fine nachos, delicately shredded chicken, taco rice that fills ya up. Good eats.
walking on thin ice
Had another one of those "in the dojo, as in real life" moments whilst teaching. We were working on moving from the hips. It has lots of names: namba-aruki, musoku-ho, nijiku, etc. but the basic idea is to move from the center, and move the whole body as one unit. There are all kinds of comments about twisting, rotating, turning, pivoting, kicking-off, floating, and a million other magical/physiological explanations that make no sense to me. Basically, I try to move as effortlessly as possible, simple economics of motion. I try not to move my arms and legs first, nor independently from the rest of my body. Instead of extending the arm to reach forward, half the work can be done by moving the body forward. Given that the arm is connected to the body, moving the body moves the arm. Net result is that the arm gets to where it's going faster/easier than relying on just the arm itself.
So we were working on walking, moving forward, and keeping centered; keeping the shoulders are trunk over the hips. More accurately, generally what happens is when moving forward the upper body tends to lean in, and the legs kick alternately, but the hips are left behind, with the butt sticking out. So we try moving from the hips first, keeping the shoulders over the hips, and the legs, connected to the hips, have to come along as well.
I was trying to explain the feeling of keeping the knees bent, sinking the hips forward/down to sort of fall into the forward movement, not locking the legs stiff, which just ends up precariously thrusting the body up, unbalanced. And I remembered when I was walking across the icy sidewalks with Elvis. I was having trouble balancing, because no matter how carefully I picked up and placed my feet, I would invariably find some hidden spot, or some uneven surface, and I would lose my balance. So instead of trying to adjust so much with my feet and legs, I just pushed forward from the hips, flexed the knees, and in a right foot forward stance, slid across the ice. Flex knees, hips forward, slide. Repeat.
So back in class I was trying to explain how to do the same thing from a sitting position. Great thing about seiza techniques is that they are designed to force you to move from the hips. You can't use your legs; you're sitting on them. So I was thinking about the ice, and friction, and Elvis and I tried something.
He held onto my hips and I simply sat UP: I pushed up and against his grip and, he being in a dominant position, my legs simply slid out from under me as the force rebounding from his iron grasp easily overcame the static friction of my cotton uniform on the smooth wood floor.
So then I tried sitting IN: instead of trying to push with my legs, I tried to extend my hips forward as if I was moving into the cut. This time he got pushed back and over, whereas my legs stayed firmly under me.
I don't know the mathemati-physical explanation of opposing forces and static friction, but I know that when I move from my hips, my legs aren't stressed and pushing, and I move IN considerably more than up (or down or any other direction.) Obviously my legs and feet are pushing against the floor, otherwise I'd never move relative to the floor, but it must be significantly less force than when I purposefully kick off with my feet and legs. I think this may be one of the big differences between "normal" walking and moving from the hips in a more budo way.
I know I am not particularly good at whatever it is I am supposed to do, and I'm not even sure when I think I do it right that I am even doing the right thing, but sometimes it feels effortless and looks as right as I can tell, and the cut is strong, clean, and true. And then I slip on the ice!
So we were working on walking, moving forward, and keeping centered; keeping the shoulders are trunk over the hips. More accurately, generally what happens is when moving forward the upper body tends to lean in, and the legs kick alternately, but the hips are left behind, with the butt sticking out. So we try moving from the hips first, keeping the shoulders over the hips, and the legs, connected to the hips, have to come along as well.
I was trying to explain the feeling of keeping the knees bent, sinking the hips forward/down to sort of fall into the forward movement, not locking the legs stiff, which just ends up precariously thrusting the body up, unbalanced. And I remembered when I was walking across the icy sidewalks with Elvis. I was having trouble balancing, because no matter how carefully I picked up and placed my feet, I would invariably find some hidden spot, or some uneven surface, and I would lose my balance. So instead of trying to adjust so much with my feet and legs, I just pushed forward from the hips, flexed the knees, and in a right foot forward stance, slid across the ice. Flex knees, hips forward, slide. Repeat.
So back in class I was trying to explain how to do the same thing from a sitting position. Great thing about seiza techniques is that they are designed to force you to move from the hips. You can't use your legs; you're sitting on them. So I was thinking about the ice, and friction, and Elvis and I tried something.
He held onto my hips and I simply sat UP: I pushed up and against his grip and, he being in a dominant position, my legs simply slid out from under me as the force rebounding from his iron grasp easily overcame the static friction of my cotton uniform on the smooth wood floor.
So then I tried sitting IN: instead of trying to push with my legs, I tried to extend my hips forward as if I was moving into the cut. This time he got pushed back and over, whereas my legs stayed firmly under me.
I don't know the mathemati-physical explanation of opposing forces and static friction, but I know that when I move from my hips, my legs aren't stressed and pushing, and I move IN considerably more than up (or down or any other direction.) Obviously my legs and feet are pushing against the floor, otherwise I'd never move relative to the floor, but it must be significantly less force than when I purposefully kick off with my feet and legs. I think this may be one of the big differences between "normal" walking and moving from the hips in a more budo way.
I know I am not particularly good at whatever it is I am supposed to do, and I'm not even sure when I think I do it right that I am even doing the right thing, but sometimes it feels effortless and looks as right as I can tell, and the cut is strong, clean, and true. And then I slip on the ice!
happy couple going to machida
Almost killed ourselves on the icy sidewalks, but we managed to get some good Chinese food for lunch before heading down to Machida. I got uraBaby's cutter sharpened up best as it can be done, but Hataya-sensei took one look at it and went "Hmm....this is a looker, not a cutter!" Oh well, it's better than dull. Also got the other wakizashi sharpened up so that'll be fun to cut with. My cutter's finally been re-registered and I picked a new tsuba for it as the one on it now looks really good but shreads up my hand like a rough file. Hataya-sensei will ship it back to me this week and Elvis and I will cut in the basement this weekend.
kumitachi ouchie
Been practicing the old Mugairyu habiki-no-kata -- the old kenjutsu kumitachi . Huge quantities of fun; straight and simple, with edge-on-shinoji blocks and deflections. Busted two bokken in a week, and will likely go through many more as most folks don't seem to understand the concept of control.
A couple of examples: in the second kata, shidachi attacks first, uchidachi counters with uke-kaishi; a deflection and quick counter which shidachi immediately parries and finishes. Shidachi sets the pace by attacking first -- he comes in fast and hard, I counter the same. And that's exactly what I did. Every time he'd come in faster than the last, hoping to get in quick enough to counter my counter, but every time I would just use his speed to deflect and counter, and ended up sticking my sword a centimeter from his forehead every time. I kept telling him that I would match his pace, so if he wanted to finish the kata he needs to slow down to a speed we can both handle. I don't think the message got through.
In the first kata, the simplest, uchidachi attacks, shidachi blocks and counters. I came in slow and steady with an easy full swing, but uchidachi panicked, jumped the gun on timing, came in way to tight and early and instead of blocking my sword he ended up blocking my right wrist, cracking it just on the corner bone and shooting needles of pain up my whole arm. Like the nice instructor guy that I am, instead of burying my sword in his forehead I smiled and said "no problem!" and took a little break to whimper in pain in the bathroom for a couple of minutes.
A couple of examples: in the second kata, shidachi attacks first, uchidachi counters with uke-kaishi; a deflection and quick counter which shidachi immediately parries and finishes. Shidachi sets the pace by attacking first -- he comes in fast and hard, I counter the same. And that's exactly what I did. Every time he'd come in faster than the last, hoping to get in quick enough to counter my counter, but every time I would just use his speed to deflect and counter, and ended up sticking my sword a centimeter from his forehead every time. I kept telling him that I would match his pace, so if he wanted to finish the kata he needs to slow down to a speed we can both handle. I don't think the message got through.
In the first kata, the simplest, uchidachi attacks, shidachi blocks and counters. I came in slow and steady with an easy full swing, but uchidachi panicked, jumped the gun on timing, came in way to tight and early and instead of blocking my sword he ended up blocking my right wrist, cracking it just on the corner bone and shooting needles of pain up my whole arm. Like the nice instructor guy that I am, instead of burying my sword in his forehead I smiled and said "no problem!" and took a little break to whimper in pain in the bathroom for a couple of minutes.
kagami biraki
Did some cutting in the morning with Elvis so that he could break in his new sword, and then Hiroko and I got kimono'd up and went to Ginza. We checked out the Kaga Exhibition at Matsuya Department Store, bought some munchies and sake, and looked at the cool pottery. Then we headed over to the dojo and ate mochi and goofed off with Niina-gosoke and folks to celebrate kagami biraki. Literally, it means "mirror opening". Mirror refers to the roundness of the kagamimochi that you put out for new year, and since "cutting" has bad connotations, you say "open".
cutting, cutter, cut
A massive turnout for cutting, as from now on everyone who wants to test has to do at least one cut before they are allowed to test for promotion.
I took over the AM class before cutting and had the five students do their cutting then. Which was a smart move, because for the PM cutting session 20 people showed up.
After cutting Elvis and I went down to Hataya-sensei's shop in Machida. I dropped of my cutter so that it could get re-registered, and Elvis bought a really slick new cutter for his self. I also picked up a cool pair of Daruma menuki that had been calling to me. Not sure what I'll do with them though; maybe mount them on my cutter.
Brought Elvis home and fed him, since Hiroko hit the Bento Festival and bought a bunch of special bento boxes. So we feasted and then it was late so we threw Elvis in the loft instead of sending his sorry ass home.
I took over the AM class before cutting and had the five students do their cutting then. Which was a smart move, because for the PM cutting session 20 people showed up.
After cutting Elvis and I went down to Hataya-sensei's shop in Machida. I dropped of my cutter so that it could get re-registered, and Elvis bought a really slick new cutter for his self. I also picked up a cool pair of Daruma menuki that had been calling to me. Not sure what I'll do with them though; maybe mount them on my cutter.
Brought Elvis home and fed him, since Hiroko hit the Bento Festival and bought a bunch of special bento boxes. So we feasted and then it was late so we threw Elvis in the loft instead of sending his sorry ass home.
hiroko's nano case
Not quite in time for the holidays, I finally got Hiroko's iWood nano case. Looks great and smells good, too. Nothing like slick new technology and fine, crafted wood.
as one
One of the most interesting, and hardest, things about martial arts is using the whole body as one complete unit. It's very easy to use say just an arm. And by extension it's just as easy to use that arm to lift consecutively heavier weights in order to build up the muscles and make the arm stronger. It is as easy as well to practice some set repetition of complex moves with the arm, until such moves become second nature.
It is much harder to move the arm in conjunction with the rest of the body. All the pieces; arms, hips, legs and feet, head, have to move in coordination and in synch.
When the whole body can be used as one single, completely coordinated entity, there is some serious leverage to be had. The arm can only move so far, so fast. Sure, the muscles can be developed, for a time. But eventually the muscles deteriorate as the body ages. But to move the arm whilst advancing from the hips and driving the trunk of the body, that can generate more speed and power than even the strongest, fastest arm.
Critical too is a sense of timing, both intra- and inter-body. Intra-body means timing amongst all the parts of the body such that the arms extends just enough in an arc while the hips turn and the legs move forward, such that the peak of the arm's arc is reached just as the hips and legs have moved their greatest distance. Miss the timing and the arm flails limply waiting for the body to catch up, or gets snapped by the body like a whip. Inter-body timing is the movement of one's body in relation to someone else's, generally the bad guy. The fastest, strongest movement is useless if done so early it is telegraphed to an enemy who easily dodges away and counters. It is also useless if a devastating attack is unleashed too late; the body stepped within killing range but the arm trailing behind, building up force and speed like a whip ready to crack, but too late, as the enemy has already engaged the parts of the body that have stepped defenseless into range.
I am not the fastest, nor the strongest. I doubt I ever will be. But that also does not matter. More importantly is to move with economy. Move if and when necessary; no earlier, no later. And move everything together; move from the center, the legs holding the body up, the head guiding, the arms connecting the sword to the whole.
It is much harder to move the arm in conjunction with the rest of the body. All the pieces; arms, hips, legs and feet, head, have to move in coordination and in synch.
When the whole body can be used as one single, completely coordinated entity, there is some serious leverage to be had. The arm can only move so far, so fast. Sure, the muscles can be developed, for a time. But eventually the muscles deteriorate as the body ages. But to move the arm whilst advancing from the hips and driving the trunk of the body, that can generate more speed and power than even the strongest, fastest arm.
Critical too is a sense of timing, both intra- and inter-body. Intra-body means timing amongst all the parts of the body such that the arms extends just enough in an arc while the hips turn and the legs move forward, such that the peak of the arm's arc is reached just as the hips and legs have moved their greatest distance. Miss the timing and the arm flails limply waiting for the body to catch up, or gets snapped by the body like a whip. Inter-body timing is the movement of one's body in relation to someone else's, generally the bad guy. The fastest, strongest movement is useless if done so early it is telegraphed to an enemy who easily dodges away and counters. It is also useless if a devastating attack is unleashed too late; the body stepped within killing range but the arm trailing behind, building up force and speed like a whip ready to crack, but too late, as the enemy has already engaged the parts of the body that have stepped defenseless into range.
I am not the fastest, nor the strongest. I doubt I ever will be. But that also does not matter. More importantly is to move with economy. Move if and when necessary; no earlier, no later. And move everything together; move from the center, the legs holding the body up, the head guiding, the arms connecting the sword to the whole.
hiroko's blog
Hiroko updated her blog. Her wisdom is extraordinary. I am especially pleased to be considered her little happiness.
niseko, hokkaido
Ah, the joy that is Hokkaido. After a brief delay due to some random food allergy (too much shrimp? Crab? Lychee?) I hit the slopes with full force. Monday AM was best; snowing all night so tons of fresh powder, and the sun played hide-and-seek with the fast-moving clouds, so the first several runs were brightly lit and fluffy.
Splayed all over the mountain, hitting Higashiyama, Hirafu, and Annupuri, but the best was the neck-deep powder directly under the covered-triple lift of Hirafu. Hit that several times, each time pushing higher up the slope and deeper into the snow. To stop is to sink and be buried, so I kept my nose up, my body low, and my back leg burning as I literally plowed snow all the way down.
I think I need new boots, though. My Burton step-in bindings are okay, but the boots are too soft and so I really have to work hard to make the board go. If I can get harder boots I'm good, but since only Burton boots work with the bindings, I may just buy new bindings and boots. Flows + Salomon seems the way to go...birthday present...?
chocolate sundae
Traditional New Year's Denny's run with Hiroko's childhood buddies, shown here destroying a cholocate sundae as only a pack of rabid Japanese girls can.
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