Fine weather for practice; a bit of wind, not too hot, not too cool. Gosoke ran us through various kata, trying to pound into our heads the importance of timing -- getting the lead foot and the sword to impact at the same time. Usually the foot goes first, leaving you with your sword poised overhead and your opponent thanking you for the opportunity right before he jams his sword into your unprotected chest.
After practice we went to get some sushi and other fine eats, and I tried to convince Gosoke that trading options is much safer than futures on margin.
world heritage in panorama
Extremely cool: photographing all the UNESCO designated World Heritage sites and posting panoramic 360 photos.
rain rain go away
The typhoon veered east, missing the Japanese mainland, but still there was plenty of rain.
On my way to practice, I basically gave up, parked The Mightier Steed at Shinbashi Station, and took the train four stops up to Akihabara. Packed with commuters going out after work, the train was stuffy and damp and basically nasty, reminding me why I pay so much money to live just down the street from work and why I attempt to drive my scooter everywhere, even in the rain.
Now that the tournament is over, practice was mellow. Some folks are testing for promotion next month, but I'm not testing any time soon, so I'm just taking my time and enjoying things. Working on getting the foot/sword timing right: putting the monouchi into my attacker's head just as the front foot steps out. Tougher than it looks as I always tend to swing with my arms instead of letting my hips and back move the sword out.
Also have to work on drawing with the left foot forward (sa, sha, mawari-gakari), and anything that involves a thrust (munazukushi, tsuigetsu, hibikigaeshi, hazumi).
After practice Tanaka-sensei ran us through the five old ZenIaiRen kata that we do, and there was some confusion as to the exact movements because we hardly ever practice them! Nakagawa-gosoke's old book shows that Kiriage starts with the right foot, but Tanaka-bashocho said Naganuma-sensei said that it starts with the left foot...will have to verify with Niina-gosoke later.
On my way to practice, I basically gave up, parked The Mightier Steed at Shinbashi Station, and took the train four stops up to Akihabara. Packed with commuters going out after work, the train was stuffy and damp and basically nasty, reminding me why I pay so much money to live just down the street from work and why I attempt to drive my scooter everywhere, even in the rain.
Now that the tournament is over, practice was mellow. Some folks are testing for promotion next month, but I'm not testing any time soon, so I'm just taking my time and enjoying things. Working on getting the foot/sword timing right: putting the monouchi into my attacker's head just as the front foot steps out. Tougher than it looks as I always tend to swing with my arms instead of letting my hips and back move the sword out.
Also have to work on drawing with the left foot forward (sa, sha, mawari-gakari), and anything that involves a thrust (munazukushi, tsuigetsu, hibikigaeshi, hazumi).
After practice Tanaka-sensei ran us through the five old ZenIaiRen kata that we do, and there was some confusion as to the exact movements because we hardly ever practice them! Nakagawa-gosoke's old book shows that Kiriage starts with the right foot, but Tanaka-bashocho said Naganuma-sensei said that it starts with the left foot...will have to verify with Niina-gosoke later.
antique
Took delivery of my antique tansu.
It's a meiji-era (late 1800s) two-piece chest: the top has two large drawers, the bottom has a small door with two small drawers, and behind the lowest drawer is a secret compartment. Made of thick but light paulowina wood, it smells great and is perfect for storing our kimono and yukata and my sword stuff.
More photos
It's a meiji-era (late 1800s) two-piece chest: the top has two large drawers, the bottom has a small door with two small drawers, and behind the lowest drawer is a secret compartment. Made of thick but light paulowina wood, it smells great and is perfect for storing our kimono and yukata and my sword stuff.
More photos
kumitachi
We've printed up paired forms manuals in English and Japanese, so Ando-sensei ran a few of us through the 10 kata. Distance is the toughest; hard to judge how far/close to get to make the techniques work, but it was fun to really drill into them for a couple of hours. I need to know them for 5dan testing, but that won't be for a few more years so no hurry.
cutting fun
Had a great cutting practice in Akabane. Was feeling pretty good and even nailed several cuts through a beefy almost-double roll. Had some success with horizontal cuts, too, but still can't quite nail the feeling. Then again even Tanaka-sensei can't nail them every time, so I don't feel to bad. It's just a matter of time and practice.
apartment fun
So after months of getting the run-around from Ken Corporation, the rep Mr. Ryu finally came over to see us. Conversation went something like this:
me: So, yes or no, does Ken Corp have anything to do with the maintenance of my apartment?
ryu: Well, you see, after the maintenance contr-
me: YES or NO, do you have anything to do with the maintenance of my apartment?
ryu: umm...not exactly.
me: Fine, thank you. Here's a pen and some paper. Write down the phone number of the owner, I'll deal directly with her myself since you are both unable and incapable of representing my needs.
ryu: Can I just explain-
me: No. You're excused. Goodbye.
He leaves, I take the number and call Mrs. Hirata:
me: This is ren kuroda from Sky Corp.
her: ??? I've never been called by a tenant before!
me: Well, just wondering what's been going on with the repairs to my apartment. Have they been scheduled yet?
her: Uh...I'm still waiting for the estimate-
me: The SECOND estimate already came, two weeks ago.
her: Well you were on summer vacation all August-
me: I was out for two weeks in JULY, but that was over a month ago anyway. But let's not dwell on the past, let's look to the future. WHEN will these repairs be done?
her: That's up to you and Ken Corp and the repair company?
me: Really? Fascinating. Ken Corp said they were waiting on YOU.
her: Well I don't know that, Ken Corp handles all the mainten-
me: But Ken Corp just told me that the mainteance contract has been cancelled and they don't do the maintenance any more.
her: Well I'll call the agent first thing tomorr-
me: But Ken Corp doesn't have a maintenance contract anymore. But go ahead and call them, and while you're at it why don't you go ahead and schedule the maintenance? It's been several months, we've already have TWO estimates, what are we waiting for?
her: I'll call Ken Corp tomorrow.
And she hangs up on me. SO, Mr. Ryu is going to get a nasty call from Mrs. Hirata I'm sure, so I expect a call from Mr. Ryu tomorrow. And if I don't get one, I'll just go ahead and call Mrs. Hirata again and see how her call with Ken Corp went.
To be honest, I don't actually expect the repairs to ever get done, so now I'm just in it to see how many lies I can catch people in.
me: So, yes or no, does Ken Corp have anything to do with the maintenance of my apartment?
ryu: Well, you see, after the maintenance contr-
me: YES or NO, do you have anything to do with the maintenance of my apartment?
ryu: umm...not exactly.
me: Fine, thank you. Here's a pen and some paper. Write down the phone number of the owner, I'll deal directly with her myself since you are both unable and incapable of representing my needs.
ryu: Can I just explain-
me: No. You're excused. Goodbye.
He leaves, I take the number and call Mrs. Hirata:
me: This is ren kuroda from Sky Corp.
her: ??? I've never been called by a tenant before!
me: Well, just wondering what's been going on with the repairs to my apartment. Have they been scheduled yet?
her: Uh...I'm still waiting for the estimate-
me: The SECOND estimate already came, two weeks ago.
her: Well you were on summer vacation all August-
me: I was out for two weeks in JULY, but that was over a month ago anyway. But let's not dwell on the past, let's look to the future. WHEN will these repairs be done?
her: That's up to you and Ken Corp and the repair company?
me: Really? Fascinating. Ken Corp said they were waiting on YOU.
her: Well I don't know that, Ken Corp handles all the mainten-
me: But Ken Corp just told me that the mainteance contract has been cancelled and they don't do the maintenance any more.
her: Well I'll call the agent first thing tomorr-
me: But Ken Corp doesn't have a maintenance contract anymore. But go ahead and call them, and while you're at it why don't you go ahead and schedule the maintenance? It's been several months, we've already have TWO estimates, what are we waiting for?
her: I'll call Ken Corp tomorrow.
And she hangs up on me. SO, Mr. Ryu is going to get a nasty call from Mrs. Hirata I'm sure, so I expect a call from Mr. Ryu tomorrow. And if I don't get one, I'll just go ahead and call Mrs. Hirata again and see how her call with Ken Corp went.
To be honest, I don't actually expect the repairs to ever get done, so now I'm just in it to see how many lies I can catch people in.
packy photos
Put up some photos of Packy and the gang at master's. Ofoto, so requires simple sign-up and login blahblahblah.
tournament
Photos
Quick dip in the onsen again, then breakfast. Everyone piled onto the bus and we headed over to the sports center. Opening ceremony, speeches, then I and Tanaka-sensei and Naganuma-sensei did some cutting demos.
The tournament started and I was judged the lower division with Naganuma-sensei on C court. Ended fairly quickly, and tore through the rest of the divisions until my division started, on D court. I was third up. Second up Nishihara-san, palm sweaty, droppped his sword. Into his right foot. Blood spread in crimson blobs. I threw in my two tenugui (towels) and grabbed the bandage out of my case. His foot was wrapped, leg tourniquated, and we put him on a tatami mat and carried him out to the front door. Awaiting the ambulance, I ran back to tell everyone what was going on and was told "tournament's still going on, waiting on you!" so I grabbed my sword and stepped onto the floor. Right were he had cut his foot. Most of the blood was already cleaned up, but in my mind I could still see that big crimson blob, like to circles joined, thick and dark. Needless to say my concentration was not exactly on, and I lost 2 to 1.
Interesting, as we were in Yamaguchi and the Yamaguchi folks were doing well. The judged was...interesting. Can't really say it was bad, but obviously there are some ways of doing things that need to be more standardized. For example all the non-Tokyo folks start shiho facing straight forward, which means the second cut is done with the back to the judges. We're taught this is a no-no, which is why we do shiho starting on a 45-degree angle to forward left. Also other little things; arm placement, height of the sword tip after cutting...small details which I'm sure all the sensei will be discussing and normalizing. It was a good learning experience, and I'm glad the Yamaguchi folks did well, as they worked hard to put the tournament together for all of us.
Niina-gosoke was judging the final for 5/6dan (highest division), and he actually raised his flag for Tanaka-sensei's opponent, giving Tanaka-sensei 2nd place. Niina-gosoke's comment was that we all have to refocus on basics, as he's been saying all along: when the foot steps down, the blade must be in cutting position, not still back above your head. This is why he didn't give Tanaka-sensei the flag, and why many of us lost. So it's back to practice!
At least my cutting went ok, and in the team division I tied with Sanno-sensei, so that's my major accomplishment for the day.
After the tournament we said good-bye to the bus and got a ride to the Tanaka Hotel. Checked in and hit the onsen before dinner. Nice hot soak and then a glorious dinner in the room. Hiroko and I were both beat so it was time for sleep.
Quick dip in the onsen again, then breakfast. Everyone piled onto the bus and we headed over to the sports center. Opening ceremony, speeches, then I and Tanaka-sensei and Naganuma-sensei did some cutting demos.
The tournament started and I was judged the lower division with Naganuma-sensei on C court. Ended fairly quickly, and tore through the rest of the divisions until my division started, on D court. I was third up. Second up Nishihara-san, palm sweaty, droppped his sword. Into his right foot. Blood spread in crimson blobs. I threw in my two tenugui (towels) and grabbed the bandage out of my case. His foot was wrapped, leg tourniquated, and we put him on a tatami mat and carried him out to the front door. Awaiting the ambulance, I ran back to tell everyone what was going on and was told "tournament's still going on, waiting on you!" so I grabbed my sword and stepped onto the floor. Right were he had cut his foot. Most of the blood was already cleaned up, but in my mind I could still see that big crimson blob, like to circles joined, thick and dark. Needless to say my concentration was not exactly on, and I lost 2 to 1.
Interesting, as we were in Yamaguchi and the Yamaguchi folks were doing well. The judged was...interesting. Can't really say it was bad, but obviously there are some ways of doing things that need to be more standardized. For example all the non-Tokyo folks start shiho facing straight forward, which means the second cut is done with the back to the judges. We're taught this is a no-no, which is why we do shiho starting on a 45-degree angle to forward left. Also other little things; arm placement, height of the sword tip after cutting...small details which I'm sure all the sensei will be discussing and normalizing. It was a good learning experience, and I'm glad the Yamaguchi folks did well, as they worked hard to put the tournament together for all of us.
Niina-gosoke was judging the final for 5/6dan (highest division), and he actually raised his flag for Tanaka-sensei's opponent, giving Tanaka-sensei 2nd place. Niina-gosoke's comment was that we all have to refocus on basics, as he's been saying all along: when the foot steps down, the blade must be in cutting position, not still back above your head. This is why he didn't give Tanaka-sensei the flag, and why many of us lost. So it's back to practice!
At least my cutting went ok, and in the team division I tied with Sanno-sensei, so that's my major accomplishment for the day.
After the tournament we said good-bye to the bus and got a ride to the Tanaka Hotel. Checked in and hit the onsen before dinner. Nice hot soak and then a glorious dinner in the room. Hiroko and I were both beat so it was time for sleep.
to Yamaguchi
Got the bus to Daimon, walked to Hamamatsucho Station, got the monorail to Haneda airport. JAL flight to Ube Airport in south central Yamaguchi, bus to Kogori Station, local train to Yuda Onsen Station, and then walked up to the Nishimura Ryokan. We got there before the bus arrived, so we headed straight for the onsen. Soaked nicely for an hour, and as we came out the gang was arriving.
Dinner was at 6 and we feasted and toasted and did the standard goofing off, then headed to bed fairly early to prep for the tournament the next day.
Dinner was at 6 and we feasted and toasted and did the standard goofing off, then headed to bed fairly early to prep for the tournament the next day.
dinner date
No practice so I went to dinner with Hiroko, Ericka, Haruka, and Aki. Those crazy women of LincMedia were in fine form as we stuffed ourselves on Turkish food at Ankara in Shibuya.
feelin' good
Went to Iidabashi practice tonight for the first time. Naganuma-sensei is the instructor, but it seems like he rarely shows up. It was me and Nakayama-san and a couple of other guys, just practicing on our own, with Nakayama-san and I helping the other guys now and then.
Unlike the miserable practice I had last night, tonight felt pretty good. Still nowhere near what I should be doing, but I've got a reasonable amount of control and speed. As long as I don't get to tense I might be okay. But still, I need to work on keeping the sword tip steady, nailing the cuts, extending, and relaxing my shoulders. Anyway no practice tomorrow and then off we go on Saturday for the tournament on Sunday, so at least I finished practice on a good vibe.
Unlike the miserable practice I had last night, tonight felt pretty good. Still nowhere near what I should be doing, but I've got a reasonable amount of control and speed. As long as I don't get to tense I might be okay. But still, I need to work on keeping the sword tip steady, nailing the cuts, extending, and relaxing my shoulders. Anyway no practice tomorrow and then off we go on Saturday for the tournament on Sunday, so at least I finished practice on a good vibe.
lack of judgement
So I'm cruising down Meiji Dori, the main road to work. As is typical, the idiot in the big black Lexus in front of me decides, for no apparent reason, to put on his hazards and stop, right there in the middle of the road. I mutter a profanity and flip him off as I swerve around him, then pull up to the light waiting to turn left. The driver was not happy to be flipped off, and sticks his head out the window shouting and growling like only a pissed off Japanese guy can. Then he pulls up along side me, really blocking traffic, and lays into me again. The back door opens and out steps another guy; buzzed hair, wide double-breasted suit, stream of profanity.
Backseat Man comes up in my face and is going off. I respond in English, which REALLY pisses him off and he brings it up a notch. Then another Lexus pulls up behind me, completely cutting off both lanes. Another buzzcut double-breasted suit gets out from that back seat, as the first guy is trying to rip the helmet off my head.
The gears in my morning-groggy brain finally click: Lexus. Tinted windows. Shinagawa plates. Double-breasted suits. Buzzcuts. Streams of profanity...Yakuza. Four of them. And one of me. Not wanting this chapter in the book of my life to be the last chapter, titled "Bad Judgement Leads to End of Good Life", I gun the accelerator and rip around the corner. They follow, but I check my mirrors, swerve around traffic, run a red light, and leave them far behind.
First note to self: rich old figure-head company presidents get driven around in Mercedes. But yakuza, by some twisted right-wing nationalist logic, only drive domestic cars.
Second note to self: One yakuza punk is all mouth. Four yakuza punks is sure death. And yakuza never travel alone.
Backseat Man comes up in my face and is going off. I respond in English, which REALLY pisses him off and he brings it up a notch. Then another Lexus pulls up behind me, completely cutting off both lanes. Another buzzcut double-breasted suit gets out from that back seat, as the first guy is trying to rip the helmet off my head.
The gears in my morning-groggy brain finally click: Lexus. Tinted windows. Shinagawa plates. Double-breasted suits. Buzzcuts. Streams of profanity...Yakuza. Four of them. And one of me. Not wanting this chapter in the book of my life to be the last chapter, titled "Bad Judgement Leads to End of Good Life", I gun the accelerator and rip around the corner. They follow, but I check my mirrors, swerve around traffic, run a red light, and leave them far behind.
First note to self: rich old figure-head company presidents get driven around in Mercedes. But yakuza, by some twisted right-wing nationalist logic, only drive domestic cars.
Second note to self: One yakuza punk is all mouth. Four yakuza punks is sure death. And yakuza never travel alone.
it works!
Finally got the Thinkpad 240 working. Had to boot from a floppy with pcmcia drivers for the cdr drive, then install a ghost image of Windows 98SE, then switch to the LAN pcmcia card to get a bunch of Windows updates, get the latest driver for the wireless card, restore a bunch of messed up system files, and finally I got the wireless card to work and the system reasonably stable. It's a shame, but W98 is way faster than RedHat 9 on a similar machine. I guess Linux on the desktop still has a way to go. Anyway, at least Hiroko can now check her email from the comfort of her own desk in the bedroom. Plus it's got an all-day battery, so if she wants to wander about, the battery lasts about seven hours.
God bless technology.
God bless technology.
on-on-one
Kasahara-kun is the only one who showed up to practice, so I schooled him in front of the mirror the whole time. We worked on gyakugesa, first the fundamentals, then a few kata. He's better and more dedicated than most beginners, so working with him and pushing him is fun.
so not helpful
Attempts to get my Linksys WPC54G wireless card to work on Linux haWPC54G PCMCIA have failed, and google tells us that the Broadcom chipsets on the card do not yet have drivers released. So I mailed Linksys, and here was the so not helpful reply:
-----Original Message-----
From: Monica Ford [mailto:mford@broadcom.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 7:55 AM
To: Kuroda, Renfield (IT)
Subject: FW: WPC54G PCMCIA card linux driver?
Dear Renfield,
Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in Broadcom Corporation. We are big supporters of the Linux community, all our APs are written for Linux, but our clients are currently Windows only. We thank you again for your input and hope we can accommodate more clients in the future.
Sincerely,
Monica Ford
Customer Service
Broadcom Corporation
So, they are big supporters of Linux, but all their clients are Windows only...huh?
-----Original Message-----
From: Monica Ford [mailto:mford@broadcom.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 7:55 AM
To: Kuroda, Renfield (IT)
Subject: FW: WPC54G PCMCIA card linux driver?
Dear Renfield,
Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in Broadcom Corporation. We are big supporters of the Linux community, all our APs are written for Linux, but our clients are currently Windows only. We thank you again for your input and hope we can accommodate more clients in the future.
Sincerely,
Monica Ford
Customer Service
Broadcom Corporation
So, they are big supporters of Linux, but all their clients are Windows only...huh?
i suck
Taught a couple of beginners for the first hour of class, then practiced on my own for the last 20 minutes. I'm screwed for the national tournament: I suck and there's no time to get good enough to win. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll make it through my first match...
tourist time
Met Kevin, Packy and the gang in Omotesando and we did the full tour: antique flea market at the temple, trendy shopping, crazy t-shirt store, rotator sushi, freaks at the park, Meiji shrine.
Kevin then lead us back to his cool neighborhood Shimokitazawa where Z joined us for some stunning French food at his local hangout.
And everywhere we went there were local festivals, so the tourists got plenty of photos of locals carrying omikoshi (portable shrines) and doing the local festival thing.
Inspired by Kevin's recent antique furniture purchases I got it in my head to get me something to keep all of our kimono, so at Oriental Bazaar I saw a sweet piece, Meiji era, including secret hidden drawers, but as I was looking at it the dude came and carted it off, saying they just sold it this morning! Totally bummed I went upstairs and kept looking around, checked out a few others but the didn't inspire. Dejected, I went over to look at other stuff and noticed a low chest. Turns out it was a two piece but they weren't stacked, just sitting low back-to-back. As soon as I pulled open the drawer I was hit with the sweet smeel of paulownia. Paulownia (kiri) is traditionally used for furniture meant to store kimono, something to do with natural bug repellence maybe? Anyway it's a very light, strong wood. The drawers were very thick-walled, dove-tailed joints and all wooden-pegged, not nailed. Simple but burly metalwork on the locks, all the keys included. The face and side had been retreated, but other than that it was all original, Meiji era so probably 100 years old or so. Opened the lower right cabinet, pulled out the lowermost small drawer, and there was the secret drawer! For only 150,000 yen, I checked with Hiroko, and grabbed it. Kevin said if I didn't buy it he would have bought it himself, being a pretty rare paulownia chest.
Kevin then lead us back to his cool neighborhood Shimokitazawa where Z joined us for some stunning French food at his local hangout.
And everywhere we went there were local festivals, so the tourists got plenty of photos of locals carrying omikoshi (portable shrines) and doing the local festival thing.
Inspired by Kevin's recent antique furniture purchases I got it in my head to get me something to keep all of our kimono, so at Oriental Bazaar I saw a sweet piece, Meiji era, including secret hidden drawers, but as I was looking at it the dude came and carted it off, saying they just sold it this morning! Totally bummed I went upstairs and kept looking around, checked out a few others but the didn't inspire. Dejected, I went over to look at other stuff and noticed a low chest. Turns out it was a two piece but they weren't stacked, just sitting low back-to-back. As soon as I pulled open the drawer I was hit with the sweet smeel of paulownia. Paulownia (kiri) is traditionally used for furniture meant to store kimono, something to do with natural bug repellence maybe? Anyway it's a very light, strong wood. The drawers were very thick-walled, dove-tailed joints and all wooden-pegged, not nailed. Simple but burly metalwork on the locks, all the keys included. The face and side had been retreated, but other than that it was all original, Meiji era so probably 100 years old or so. Opened the lower right cabinet, pulled out the lowermost small drawer, and there was the secret drawer! For only 150,000 yen, I checked with Hiroko, and grabbed it. Kevin said if I didn't buy it he would have bought it himself, being a pretty rare paulownia chest.
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