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.
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.
posted by Jesse at
10:56 AM
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