Lee shows off the finest in piscatorial fashion.
okuden naiden
I was the only one in class tonight, so Niina-gosoke ran me through the advanced kata, naiden and okuden. Them is some craziness. Fundamentals are the same, but they've got that some extra that makes them that much more difficult, and interesting.
After class we went to Ninjin (It of the Slippery Floors) and stuffed ourselves on cheap Chinese food. Chili prawns, sweet & sour pork, pot stickers. Miyasawa-kun's new student joined, and Niina-gosoke wanted to eat Tanmen (ramen) but couldn't eat a whole one, so he split it with her, despite her protests. Naturally, she ended up finishing it off, so I immediately gave her the unpleasant nickname "Tanmen-chan." I guarantee it will stick. I have that kinda magic.
After class we went to Ninjin (It of the Slippery Floors) and stuffed ourselves on cheap Chinese food. Chili prawns, sweet & sour pork, pot stickers. Miyasawa-kun's new student joined, and Niina-gosoke wanted to eat Tanmen (ramen) but couldn't eat a whole one, so he split it with her, despite her protests. Naturally, she ended up finishing it off, so I immediately gave her the unpleasant nickname "Tanmen-chan." I guarantee it will stick. I have that kinda magic.
not even close
Shock! Haven't really tried cutting in while, I mean on my own, for my own sake. I tried several half-rolls, slow and deliberate. Total disaster. Then again it is to be expected, for two reasons:
1) I have significantly changed the way I draw and cut. No windup, not overdone follow-through; just straight and clean to the target. Naturally, I'm no good, so it doesn't work.
2) My cutter is just too different than my iai sword. I'm used to draw a sword that's slightly longer, has far more curve, and different balance. Using my cutter is just totally throwing me off. Next month I should get my custom-forged, and I'll use it for both cutting and iai. Of course, it being a totally new sword with a different weight, balance, and size, it will probably take me another 3 months to get used to it.
So this year the theme is 'back to square one', every time I start.
1) I have significantly changed the way I draw and cut. No windup, not overdone follow-through; just straight and clean to the target. Naturally, I'm no good, so it doesn't work.
2) My cutter is just too different than my iai sword. I'm used to draw a sword that's slightly longer, has far more curve, and different balance. Using my cutter is just totally throwing me off. Next month I should get my custom-forged, and I'll use it for both cutting and iai. Of course, it being a totally new sword with a different weight, balance, and size, it will probably take me another 3 months to get used to it.
So this year the theme is 'back to square one', every time I start.
this isn't what i wanted!
There are a series of robot toys called "Kore jyanai Robo!" ("This isn't what I wanted Robot!")
You've got the female, the enemy, and the hero.
According to the explanation:
You've got the female, the enemy, and the hero.
According to the explanation:
How many times has the magic of Christmas morning been broken by a child tearing open a wrapped present only to explain "This isn't what I wanted!"Absolute genius. Collect the whole set!
But life ain't so simple that you can just get whatever you want without taking any risk. Isn't it worth teaching that in order to get what you want, you have to be willing to earn it, to sacrifice? This toy teaches the harshness of reality by inflicting such trauma with its blatant not-wantedness that any child will surely learn this lesson.
Consider it an educational toy.
more joys of japanese banking
I discovered a long-forgotten bank book and ATM card for my old Asahi Bank account. Last entry in the book said over ¥100,000, so I went down to the main Shibuya branch at lunch. Asahi is now Resona; yellow has been replaced by green, and the old bank uniforms seem to have been replaced by a casual dress policy as all the cashiers appeared to be wearing whatever the hell they wanted.
Standing at the counter in front of a big sign that said
And not once was I asked for any form of identification.
(Note: round-trip train fare = ¥380. Subtract ¥179 and I net lost ¥201.)
Standing at the counter in front of a big sign that said
"For Your Safety: In order to protect the important assets of our customers, we will require a valid photo identification for all withdrawal requests. Sorry for the inconveniece."I produced my ancient ATM card and bankbook, and in a few moments I was told that the remaining balance was, in fact...¥179! So I said I'd like to withdraw the money and close the account. I produced my hanko (seal) and in a few moments the account was emptied and closed, I had a pocketful of change.
And not once was I asked for any form of identification.
(Note: round-trip train fare = ¥380. Subtract ¥179 and I net lost ¥201.)
post rain sunset
Sometimes, usually after the rain, Tokyo is damn near beautiful. After a weekend of freezing rain, the winter air is crisp, cold, and clear. Everyone calls Japan the land of the rising sun, but the sunsets from my 20th floor office window ain't too shabby.
shinnen keikokai
We had our Official First Practice of the year. Miserably cold, rainy weather. But not cold enough to turn into snow. Nasty stuff, but practice was at Toritsudai; a wonderfully new and warm gym in the Meguro Citizen's Center.
Niina-gosoke ran everyone through basic practice in the morning, and then in the afternoon we broke into groups and I had the upper ranks. We drilled for a couple of hours on various details of the kata. Spent a bit of time pairing folks up to figure out where they're really aiming, what distance is reasonable, and other things that are tough to figure out on one's own.
By the end of the day I was pretty fried and tired, considering I got up at 7 and had to go to Honbu first thing in the morning to get my stuff and then trek all the way across Tokyo.
Yoshida-sensei trained in the morning; since she had her kid in March she's been out, but now that the little grommet's gotten to the point where it can roll about, she's going to start practicing again.
After practice I came home and had some udon with hiroko for dinner. Sunday night basic Japanese dinner is practically a religion in our house.
Niina-gosoke ran everyone through basic practice in the morning, and then in the afternoon we broke into groups and I had the upper ranks. We drilled for a couple of hours on various details of the kata. Spent a bit of time pairing folks up to figure out where they're really aiming, what distance is reasonable, and other things that are tough to figure out on one's own.
By the end of the day I was pretty fried and tired, considering I got up at 7 and had to go to Honbu first thing in the morning to get my stuff and then trek all the way across Tokyo.
Yoshida-sensei trained in the morning; since she had her kid in March she's been out, but now that the little grommet's gotten to the point where it can roll about, she's going to start practicing again.
After practice I came home and had some udon with hiroko for dinner. Sunday night basic Japanese dinner is practically a religion in our house.
motivated
Got up early so that I could get to practice in Saitama...but the weather was nasty cold and rainy, and then I called Todd to see what was up, and then I just couldn't bother. So I spent the day playing PS2 whilst Hiroko read and napped on the couch. Ah, rainy Saturday afternoon, how do I love thee.
choppie choppie
Cousin Dave cut together a wee little video clip of me cutting. Loverly. All it needs now is a Bassa-nova soundtrack and Angelina Jolie nekkid.
incredible
Hiroko and I went to see The Incredibles at the incredible roppongi hills theatre. About an hour before showtime on a 3-day weekend, so we got stuck in the middle of the second row. Luckily the seats recline and are fully padded, so there wasn't much neck crampage, but I kept spilling my caramel popcorn all over myself. Oh yeah, the movie is, in a word, incredible. If you haven't seen it yet you are either a moron, or my dad.*
We did some shopping in Roppongi Hills, having finally found the cool knife block that Hiroko wanted, and then bought a travel book on Bhutan before heading home. TV show about sushi motivated us to do so for dinner, and I felt like such a pawn of the marketing industry. But damn I do love sushi.
* My dad is famous for only going to the theatre to see horrible movies. My childhood traumas include being taken to see After Hours and The Tempest. Well okay he did also take me to see Raise the Titanic and Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, too, so it wasn't all bad. But still, I was ten years old when I was forced to sit through The Tempest. If that's not child abuse, I dunno what is.
But then again I distinctly remember the first time I ever saw him sit down to watch something in English (aka not a French art flick in black & white, and watching women's figure skating doesn't count either) on tv: It was when we lived in LA, and I was in junior high school, so let's call it 1987. He double-checked the cable schedule before sitting down to watch...Starwars. He waited ten years for it to come on cable before he watched it. Ten. Years.
We did some shopping in Roppongi Hills, having finally found the cool knife block that Hiroko wanted, and then bought a travel book on Bhutan before heading home. TV show about sushi motivated us to do so for dinner, and I felt like such a pawn of the marketing industry. But damn I do love sushi.
* My dad is famous for only going to the theatre to see horrible movies. My childhood traumas include being taken to see After Hours and The Tempest. Well okay he did also take me to see Raise the Titanic and Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, too, so it wasn't all bad. But still, I was ten years old when I was forced to sit through The Tempest. If that's not child abuse, I dunno what is.
But then again I distinctly remember the first time I ever saw him sit down to watch something in English (aka not a French art flick in black & white, and watching women's figure skating doesn't count either) on tv: It was when we lived in LA, and I was in junior high school, so let's call it 1987. He double-checked the cable schedule before sitting down to watch...Starwars. He waited ten years for it to come on cable before he watched it. Ten. Years.
china mieville's the scar
I forgive Kevin for getting me started on The Series That Gets Worse and Will Never End, because he also introduced me to My Man China!
The sort of sequal, but not really, to Perdido Street Station, The Scar is more of the same China brilliance. Wonderful world full of interesting humanoid lifeforms, the best blend of "science" and "magic", classically human politics, and a cool story, interesting characters, and vivid location.
The sort of sequal, but not really, to Perdido Street Station, The Scar is more of the same China brilliance. Wonderful world full of interesting humanoid lifeforms, the best blend of "science" and "magic", classically human politics, and a cool story, interesting characters, and vivid location.
100 year old color photos
Check them out. These are not black & white photos colored later. Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) took these photos in the first decade of the 20th century. He took 3 photos in red, green, blue individually and combined them. Amazing what color does; it looks so real, but you're so used to seeing old photos in black & white, it makes you think they must be fake. So often I've seen old photos and thought "what color was her hat? That building? His belt?" And now we know!
strange dream
Woke up this morning and Hiroko asked me "You dream last night? You were flopping all over the place and I hardly slept." She was not happy, still trying to get over her cold.
And as a matter of fact, I did have a wonderfully wacky dream.
Big lasergun tag fight. I needed a weapon. Was in our house in LA. Go into my brother's bedroom and ask him for a gun. He pulls open the low drawers underneath his closet and takes out a big case. From the case he removes all sorts of weapons; swords and knives, rifles and pistols. He tells me to take what I need. I go through the goods and select a smallish firearm with green lasertag assembly. The cop on the beach just outside the window (never mind the fact that the bedroom is on the 2nd floor) is trying to look into the window, suspicious of what's going on inside the room. He is on the enemy team. I hastily grab my weapon, throw everything else back in the case, and shove the case back into the drawer, closing it under the closet. The alarm signals the start of the game...and it's my alarm clock waking me up.
Rudimentary dream analysis: the swords imagery must come from the fact that I went to pratice for this first time in a year, and also saw lots of cool swords on new year's. The green lasers are from all the silly news stories about terrorists using lasers to try and crash planes by blinding pilots. And that's about as much psychoanalysis as I am cabable of.
And as a matter of fact, I did have a wonderfully wacky dream.
Big lasergun tag fight. I needed a weapon. Was in our house in LA. Go into my brother's bedroom and ask him for a gun. He pulls open the low drawers underneath his closet and takes out a big case. From the case he removes all sorts of weapons; swords and knives, rifles and pistols. He tells me to take what I need. I go through the goods and select a smallish firearm with green lasertag assembly. The cop on the beach just outside the window (never mind the fact that the bedroom is on the 2nd floor) is trying to look into the window, suspicious of what's going on inside the room. He is on the enemy team. I hastily grab my weapon, throw everything else back in the case, and shove the case back into the drawer, closing it under the closet. The alarm signals the start of the game...and it's my alarm clock waking me up.
Rudimentary dream analysis: the swords imagery must come from the fact that I went to pratice for this first time in a year, and also saw lots of cool swords on new year's. The green lasers are from all the silly news stories about terrorists using lasers to try and crash planes by blinding pilots. And that's about as much psychoanalysis as I am cabable of.
first practice
First class of 2005. I came early because Nakayama-san wanted to practice kumitaci. I haven't done them in a while, but after an hour I got back into the groove. Was interesting to try and explain to someone else the things I've already struggled through and sort of figured out. Always a great learning experience to teach.
At 7 class started, and we did the really basic basics, like how to sit in seiza and how to stand up. Thing I've been focusing on lately is centerlines. Try to keep my pitch and yaw level when moving. Much much harder than you think. Try this: stand in front of a mirror, relaxed, feet together. Now take a step with your left foot. Watch how far to the left your head and whole body move. You transfer all your weight to your right foot, pick up your left leg, lean your body over to the left, and swing your foot out. Centerline is a mess. Do that while drawing your sword and your right arm gets cut off.
It's a wonderful ego-boost to teach a class full of beginners who are no where near my level...they must feel how I feel when I go to class and get totally flummoxed by Kuroda-sensei or one of his older students.
At 7 class started, and we did the really basic basics, like how to sit in seiza and how to stand up. Thing I've been focusing on lately is centerlines. Try to keep my pitch and yaw level when moving. Much much harder than you think. Try this: stand in front of a mirror, relaxed, feet together. Now take a step with your left foot. Watch how far to the left your head and whole body move. You transfer all your weight to your right foot, pick up your left leg, lean your body over to the left, and swing your foot out. Centerline is a mess. Do that while drawing your sword and your right arm gets cut off.
It's a wonderful ego-boost to teach a class full of beginners who are no where near my level...they must feel how I feel when I go to class and get totally flummoxed by Kuroda-sensei or one of his older students.
kashima jingu
Drove over to Kashima to go to the big shrine for hatsu-mode (first prayer of the year). It was packed, of course. Walked into the back, to the OLD shrine, to pay our respects, and then checked out the sword and armor display before getting some noodles and finally getting on the bus back to Tokyo station.
Here are some photos of the swords and stuff on display.
happy new year!
The Kuroda house is, like always, drafty and cold but toasty warm in the main room, legs stuffed under the kotatsu (which is broken and always stuck on high), food piled high. Bad New Year's TV, lots of tea, unending munchies...
Interestingly, this time it was Hiroko who got sick, her throat sore and nose stuffed. I was ok the first day, but finally the dry, cold, and boonies-ness caught up with me and my nose was stuffed and head was heavy.
much cheese on her sandwich
We went down to Hamamatsucho Station to take the highway bus, but as we're waiting in line, the bus drivers are talking about what detours to take around roads closed due to snow. So we slink out of line and get on the train.
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