A photo taken after day 2 at Togoshi dojo

Its been almost a week since I arrived, and what a week it has been. Met some really great kids, had a great time in Tokyo, got myself lost upon arriving in Fukuoka, etc etc.

And now the news in detail.

Apologies to Shermaine, for making her wait as long as she did, and causing her to attract some unwanted attention. A great deal of thanks as well, from helping me to my hotel, helping me ask whether I could train at Togoshi and showing me around the place. Without her help, it would have had been alot less fun.

Training at Togoshi was quite the experience. The entire atmosphere is drastically different from anything I had even experienced at any dojo back home. Fun, relaxed but dedicated. Less emphasis on discipline, but you could see that the kids were enjoying themselves, despite the small size of the club. Might be hard to implement for our own club though, as we take in a rather different breed of people, among them samurai wannabes. If we were to adopt a similar training atmosphere as that of Togoshi, we would see alot of problems, I believe.
Trained with them for 2 days, sparred with alot of great folk, e.g. Yamamoto san, the first time I met an opponent who used jodan no kamae. Promptly got creamed, of course; including a one handed tsuki followed by a men. The kids themselves are also incredible, with an energy level that is enviable.
Went to watch a middle high school tournament on Sunday morning, and yes, there is indeed a marked difference between shiai kendo and normal kendo, but I couldn't help but be impressed by the speed and energy level of these kids.

Took the Shinkansen down to Fukuoka, and promptly got into trouble. Apparently, I was to meet some representatives from Kyushu University (Kyudai for short) at the platform, which I misinterpreted to mean at the station, which was downstairs. Long story short, I missed them, waited for an hour, decided to get to my apartment via taxi, taxi driver also didn't know the exact position, went around the correct bunch of buildings several rounds, luckily saw a van unloading a bunch of fellow students and got saved.
So far, lessons are rather dull. Japanese lessons have yet to begin, and the other class I'm attending, on agriculture is not very interesting, to put things nicely. I have a feeling that this course is going to be one where they justify their own agricultural policy. In any event, I have to do a report on genetically modified organisms. Any useful information is highly appreciated.

Updating prolems

It's going to be a pain to update this blog with pictures as I intended, simply because the computer at my current hotel doesn't have Hello, and I doubt the computers at Kyushu University will have them either.

My 2 tatami room. Hey, for 2500 yen a night in Tokyo, I'm not complaining. In the corner is my piracy centre.  

Dinner.  

View while departing for Tokyo. 

Chiang Kai Shiek (sp?) airport. The last time i was here was in 2001, on a flight chock full of army personnel.

breakfast on route to Taipei 

changi airport 

How to deal with problems in life: 

This is some good schitt

Courtesy of bash.org,

<Nori123 > You don't know jack shit
<VioletSky > That's not true, I know him well
<Nori123 > Haha
<VioletSky > I'm serious
<VioletSky > Jack is the son of Awe Schitt and O. Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt Inc. They had one son, Jack. In turn Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt, the deeply religious couple produced 6 children
<VioletSky > Holie Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Giva Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins: Deap Schitt and Dip Schitt. Against her parents' objections, Deap Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school drop out.
<VioletSky > However, after being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt later remarried Ted Sherlock and, because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name.
<VioletSky > She was then known as Noe Schitt-Sherlock. Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt and they produced a son of nervous disposition, Chicken Schitt.
<VioletSky > Two other of the 6 children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony.
<VioletSky > The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens wedding. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Hoarse.
<VioletSky > Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.
<VioletSky > So there.
<FiPo > LOL
<Nori123 > I have actually chortled coke through my nose

Kendo Vision

I recently got me some daily contact lenses for kendo. Been meaning to do so for a while, just never got around to doing so. Anyhoo, I think I frustrated the lady at the optical shop quite badly, as she was showing me how to put on and take off them lenses. Apparently 9 out of 10 people find putting on lenses more difficult than taking them off. I happen to be in the minority. Maybe its the lenses, or maybe its just my eyes, but I find it incredibly difficult to take off contacts.
Vision has improved, but not perfectly, as the lenses do not compensate for my astigmatism, only my myopia. Prior to this I could fight well enough, but I couldn't make out minor details like the eyes of my opponent. Now I can, but I have yet to see (no pun intended) how that will affect the way I fight. Well, the first major test will be the upcoming grading I guess.

take 2

Technically this isn't my first blog. The first one died simply because I couldn't be bothered to update it. The reason I'm restarting one now is twofold. First, I'm anticipating that I have to write a report for Toshiba, who kindly gave me a grant for my summer programme. This blog thus serves a role as a sort of record. Secondly, if I didn't, I'll get bugged to death by some people.

Don't expect daily updates though. Internet access while I'm in Kyushu is only available while on campus, and frankly speaking I'm too lazy to do so as well. I will try to upload as many photos as possible.