Kyoto Walkabout

Sunday I was finally able to be a tourist in Japan. I hopped on the Shinkanzen and headed to Kyoto, what some would call the cultural capital of Japan. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for some 800 years until it was moved to Edo (later renamed Tokyo) in 1868. The City has seen a fair bit of destruction in it's history. Samurai wars took their toll and many of these temples have burned down and been rebuilt.

I got off the train around noon on Sunday. I had not yet found accomodation so I just started walking. I went to the corner and from the train station I could see this place. So I just carried on down the road to the Higashi-Hongangi temple.

Autumn is the high tourist season in Kyoto. The Japanese love this time of year here because of the Koiyou. The time when the leaves turn to red. My trip was a tad early for the full effect of the Koiyou but it was still pretty nice. From the first temple I would move across the river.

All and all I visited about 10 temples in Kyoto during my 2 day trip. I took more than 200 pictures. You guys get to the see the best 40.

I made my way to the Sanjusangen-do temple. Sanjusangen is Japanese for 33 bays or doors. The temple looks like a great big long house that is 33 doors long. Inside there are 10oo Budha statues in rows as well as dozens of other statues that represent heroes and dieties from Japanese history. No pictures allowed inside, but here are a few from the outside grounds.

As you can see the temple is pretty long. A lot of people were asking me if I was Budhist. I dunno why.

After the Sanjusangen-do I made my way to one of the nicest temples on my tour. The Kiyomizudera temple. It sits up on a hit near the edge of town and provides one of the nicest views of Kyoto. I was there near sunset. The mood was spectacular.

During my visit to the Kiyomizu temple I met 4 Australians. It was getting late and I was starting to wonder if I would be spending the night on a park bench. I asked them if they new an cheap places to stay in Japan. As it turned out they had found accomodation at a Hostil like place near the Sanjusangen.

This is where I spend my 2 nights in Kyoto. I had a futon and slept on the floor. Not bad for the price.

I went walking down the main drag just for something to do. I only took one picture of the city itself.

I found my way back to Ohto, the place I was staying. I found the Australians I had met at the KiyoMizu. They invited me in for a few drinks. Please meet Brett(a former Nova English teacher), on the left, Mick, Mary (Bretts Mom and Mick GF) and Jeanette(Mary's sister). I had run out quickly to grab a few beers of my own then returned to their room for a nice evening. We chatted about our experiences, got to know each other a bit. I visited with them for about 2 hours. Mick and Mary are from Brisbane, Jeanette lives in Twead Head. They were some of the nicest people I had met. They kept me company and made my evening very enjoyable. It occurs to me that travellers often have this experience. They meet people and in the course of a few hours become friends. You get to know and like one another, then you part ways knowing that you will probably never see them again. This group said they were off to Nara. I had started my day alone with no place to stay. It's nice to be reminded that there are other forces at work in the world besides the will of evil.
The next day I would take a bus to the Nanzenjo temple. This place would become my favorite along with the KiyoMizu. There was a very natural, unperformed feel to the place. You could just walk in and wander around. Behind the temple we some great places to hike. I found myself thinking, "I can ride that".

This must have been what parking garages looked like back in the 13th century. Acutally this is nice looking Roman stile aquaduct that still transports water.

At the Nazenji I hooked up with these 2. Alex from spain and Martin from Germany. They both spoke perfect englsih. Martin would eventually go off to meet a friend. Alex would be my travel partner for the rest of the day. These guys like me, were travelling alone until they found each other at their Hostel.

We made our way to the Eikan-Do temple which was a lot more like a museum.



The Eikan-do really picked up once you got to the outside.

Alex and I travelled along the Path of Philosophy to get to the Ginkakuji, or Silver Pavillion. This place was also quite scenic.

After 2 days of travelling in Kyoto I was starting to find myself a bit templed out. But there was one last must see place on my list before I could call it a day. We took the bus across town to the Kinkakuji or golden temple.

After this though, my legs were mush. I did no more travelling, I found a nice dinner and a few pints, returned to the Ohto and concluded my evening. The next morning I headed for the train station and came home.

Tomorrow I will celebrate 4 months in Japan.

The Monster Mish Mash

Usually my blog posts are topical. 1 thing or another. Today you get mish mash of things, starting with Karate.

Sensei has been teaching the Sente Kata's. New to me at least, I'm enjoying Bossai dai and Gion. Empi is a complete mystery to me. How anyone can get good at that without training as a figure skater is beyond me. Kunku Dai is the lastest we have been working on. Simple, but long, requires stamina but its really just flexibility I'm lacking....still.

Here is a pic from the Dojo last week.
Also I posted video of a few of the kids doing Tekki Sandan. Click to check it out.

No Monster Mish Mash is complete without pics from Halloween Parties. I had 2 on Saturday. Here is a few pics from the Ohtomi group in Yaizu.

Halloween costumes are a bit different here. I was loaned a hat so I wouldn't feel out of place. We played a game while we ate food. I taped a picture of a scary person on their backs. They could ask 20 questions of yes or no answerw only to figure out who they were. It was pretty fun.

The Narita's hosted a party at thier dojo in the evening. Lots of families from the Dojo, plus a couple of esl teaches from Shimada. Kate from Pensilvania and Glen from England.

Narita Sensei wearing his Elmo costume.

Takeo Narita as Samurai with a buddy of his.

Riintaro with the peace sign.

Takeo's GF, Rema wearing the famous blue penguin outfit owned by Naoko Narita.

After I was done filming the Tekki Sandan I asked Sensei if he would do one for us. He said I'd have to pay. Well, I'm not making enough money right now to do that, so instead I have this offer to make. This picture comes down when I get footage of him doing Gitte..... Heian Shodan would be fine too.

Perhaps blackmail isn't the wisest course of action, but lets see what happens shall we? If there are no more posts on this blog it's safe to assume I'm off the coast of Yaizu somewhere wearing cement loafers trying to see how long I can hold my breath. hehe.

Sensei and I snuck out of the party early and went for beers. It was good thing, we talked about stuff that had been on my mind. Afterwards I felt better about my chances of growing the school.

We parted ways a bit later, Sensei went home, I found my way to Yakko where Taka and Ozawa Sensei were having beers. I joined them for a pint as well.

I went riding in Shimada the next day with my friend Kaoru. He showed new parts of the trail I hadn't noticed before. And I fell off my bike. It ws kinda funny. I went to put my foot down on the ground but there was nothing there. So over I went, rolling down the hill a ways in some Ocha (green tea) bushes. I got some scratches on my face I had to try to explain to everyone later. (Try doing that in Japanese, ha!) . Anyways, Kaoru was the big hero rescuing my bike for me while I was on my back like a turtle yelling "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!"

A really good weekend all and all. Saw lots of my friends, drank beer, fell off my bike. Good times, good times.

October Taikai

The last tournament of the year was held in Shizuoka City on Sunday. I woke up in time to get picked up by my friend Taka at 7 am. We also grabbed Sakurai and Ozawa Sensei's who were officiating at the tournament as well as Shoya, Ozawa's teenaged grandson who would be competing. I of course only went along as an observer. Here are a number of pics from the day, starting why my buddy Taka as he's driving us to get Sensei Sakurai.

We arrived at the Rec Centre. They had not opened the doors yet and a crowd of parents and participants were gathered out front.

Once inside, Adachi Sensei let our Dojo through a few warm up drills including a few Kata's. I think this one was Teki Shodan? Sorry for the blur.

The kids all got lined up to start the tournament. They would be addressed by some of the tournament officials including Sakurai Sensei.

Just to give an idea of the scope of the tournaments here. This Shinpan (tournament official) looks like a Colonel addressing the troops.

Sakurai Sensei(left) is actually the chief of officiating for the whole Shizuoka Prefecture. The job keeps him pretty busy, but we'll see if he gets some time off now that the tournament season is over. Also of considerable note, Sensei won his 'Triple A' examiner status at the masters clinic earlier this month. I wasn't aloud to say anything until he got the letter. He now has 'Triple A' instructor, referee and examiner status, putting him in with a very elite crowd. Maybe only 30 people in the world have those kind of credentials. Congrats boss!

Here are a few random pics from the day. Mizuki and Minami show the peace sign.

Riintaro's Mom seemed angry at him about something and was giving him a good lecture. I have no idea what it was about. But as you can see, Riintaro seems to be taking his Mom really seriously.

These are my Sempai's, Yoshimura, Naruko-san and Uchiyama. These 3 gents I think will play a big role in the future of the Fujieda Shidokan dojo. But don't quote me on that.

Kenta waits for his turn to show his stuff.

Ayumu, son of Naruoka-san and Mari, and brother to Tekumi who recently got his Nidan. Fujieda Shidokan is build on families. It seems just about everyone there is paired up with a relative or 2. I'll write more about that in another post.

Speaking of families, Keske (above) and Chihiro (below) are quite the brother and sister act. They got their purple belts at the same time and today they both placed first for Heian Godan in their respective category.

Naruoka Sempai with his Teki Shodan.

Yoshimura Sempai does also with Teki Shodan.

This is Riintaro and Chinatsu's older brother, Ikie. I really like this kid. At 14 he already presents himself as a true leader in the Dojo. At the tournament he could be seen moving around to his Kohai's and giving them support.

Chiriro doing here Ippon Kumite. The referee in the pic is Maruyama-san. One of my Englsih students.

Minami(left) with her Kumite.

The Gentleman here on the left is Doctor Atsugi Sakurai, the younger brother of Sakurai Sensei. Atsugi was actually sure to point out that he was the younger one. Doctor Sakarai was the tournament doctor.

Doctor Sakurai had a busy day. There were a few injuries, including this poor fellow who dropped to the ground after taking a round house kick to the head. He would be carried off on a stretcher.

The fellow who provided the round house kick would eventually be one of Taka's opponents and would go on to win the Kumite part of the tournament.

If you look closely you can see a lot of loot hanging around the necks of these kids. Kenta, Minami and Chihiro would each take home 2 medals. Shiina won 1st in her divisions Kumite.

Otscali Sama Deshta!

Sharp Like a Knife

Sensei Don Sharp was in town recently for a short to the point visit to the Masters Clinic in Tokyo and a 2 day stay with Sensei Sakurai here in Fujieda. I'm pretty sure most people in the Karate community in Canada have heard of Don Sharp. But if you're like me and have only been training karate for a short while you may not know his story. After interviewing him yesterday I'm still not sure I see the whole picture but here in this blog is the story (in brief) I put together after a 90 minute chat with him over his favorite Ramen noodles.

Don's first experience with Martial Arts was in Judo. It wasn't until Chilliwack got it's first Karate dojo a few years later did he decide to try it out. His first Sensei was a fellow by the name of Rob Gail, described to me as man with a great love of the art, a wonderful understanding of the philosophy of Karate and fantastic form even though his bad hips prevented him from doing Jodan kicks. Gail was a great first teacher to Sensei, as it was imparting of the Philosophy of Karate that peaked his interest. A good teacher can show you how to kick and punch and move your hips. A great teacher is one that can capture your imagination, feed your soul and make you understand the true purpose of what you are working for. Sensei Gail would eventually join the military and leave his Dojo to Sensei Sharp. Years later he would become Sharp Sensei's student and they remain good friends to this day.

When Don was 13 he began attending the sessions of a visiting Karate legend from Montreal. At first Don Sharps relationship with Sensei Sakurai would be much the same anyones, even mine. Respect and awe, only. It wasn't until a few years later when the winds of change blew Sakurai Sensei to the west coast and the course of history begin to change for both these 2. Everything, it seems, happens for a reason.

When Don reached the age of 20, he found himself sitting next to Sensei Sakruai at a pub night after Karate Training. Usually, the Kohi's don't sit next to the sensei's, but it was Don's birthday so he found himself up near the head of the table. Don and Sensei Sakurai got to talking about the english teaching job in Fujieda. In one of those conversations that seemed like fate, Don found divine inspiration in the idea of training in Japan. It was also at this time that Sakurai Sensei would be returning home to for a few years to deal with family matters. So, in 1991, at the age of 20, Don Sharp left home and went to Japan to teach english and train Karate.

Sensei Sharp described himself as having an A type personality. I guess this is key because during his stay in Japan, which lasted most of 2 years, he won the Shizuoka Kata Championship. An award won 2 or 3 times by Sensei Sakurai himself.

In 1992, Sensei Sakurai managed to convince team Canada to take Don Sharp to the Shotokan World Cup as a team member even though he had not been living in Canada for the past few years. Don did compete, he made it through the first round, but found a quick defeat at the hands of Hanzaki Sensei. This would turn out to be an important lesson, one that is better learned when you are young.

In 1993, Sharp Sensei returned home to Canada with a heightened sense of what it would take to compete at this level. At home he would work ten times harder. He surrounded himself with some of the best Karate-ka in BC, including Dave Thompson and a few others who would help him train. Sensei would train with one partner, wear him down, switch partners while the others rested and keep a rotation going for several hours a day. Sensei Sakurai provided speedy Japanese competitors for Don to practice with as well. 2 years with this sort of training and support, Sensei would return to Japan in '96 to take a second crack at the world cup.

To make it to the top 8 at the Shotokan World Cup, Sensei Sharp had to win 17 or so rounds of competition. When he did this, the organizers stopped the tournament. They needed to take a few hours to figure out just who this guy, a no name unheard of, from Canada was. Up until that point, Canada had never made much of a show in the Karate world. The big competitors were all from Japan, South Africa, Autralia, Germany and Italy. For a Canadian to have made it this far was unheard of.

Don Sharp made it to the last round of the fight indeed. His opponent was a fellow by the name of Kokobun. Kokobun would later go on to win other world cups as well. The fight was close. Kokobun Sensei was leading 3-2 points in a match that would need 6 for a win. This is where Kokobun would make a mistake. He took an intentional shot at Don's mouth, driving 3 of Sharps teeth through his lower lip. Don would require stitches. The Canadian team along with Sensei Sakurai all hovered over him as Don leaked blood out onto the Tatami. In the shadows, away from Don's site, the Doctors and officials were having a conversation. One by one they would walk over to Don and ask him what he wanted to do. They told him he didn't look good but each official got the same answer from Don. "I can fight, just gimme a sec." Had he waivered, acquiesced in any way, Kokobun would have recieved a penalty but still been givent he fight. The mere fact the Don stood up again after that hit made him the winner. Kokobun was disqualified. A bitter sweet victory for Don, but victory none the less.

Team Canada and the Canadian spectators rightfully went bonkers. Canadian flags were seen running through the streets of Tokyo. Don was hoisted up onto shoulders and Paraded around the arena. I daresay that Tokyo was aflood with red and white pride and emotion that day.

The Canadian contingent would return to the hotel to begin the celebration. Don Sharp would need stitches before he could join. Alone in the change room with Sensei Sakurai, outside the streets were going nuts, the change room was completely silent. They would move outside the arena to wait for a cab to go to the hospital. Don sat on the curb, exhausted his emotions caught up with him. Tears and blood streaming down his face, he could hear no noises from the street. Sensei Sakurai just put his hand on his shoulder and marshalled him to the hospital.

11 years later Sensei Don Sharp has won 4 Canadian Championships, competed in the WKF Panam games taking the silver in Karate and made top 16 in world cup Kumite. In 2009 he hopes to compete again at the Shotokan World Cup. He feels he's the strongest Karate-ka he has ever been. I don't have handy any of the pictures from '96. Instead all you get are some pictures from Sensei Sharps Visit to our Dojo last night.

Sharp Sensei describes Sakurai Sensei as one of the largest and most influential role models of his life. I spent time with these 2 while Don was in town. I can say that I have seen the Rabbit whole, but I wouldn't speculate on how deep it goes. Sensei Sakurai doesn't express much emotion, and I am not so wise as to guess the words he would use. But he did use one word, once when describing Don to a world cup official.

"Brothers"

Shunji

One of my nicer students and one of the nice rooms I get to teach english in as well. This is Shunji, a dentist by day and Jazz bassist by night. This place has a pretty cool vibe to it with a Grand Piano, Bass and drum kit in it. The sorta room where you could have yourself a nice little cocktail party. It's too bad I only get to visit here once a month.
Before she left, Robyn passed on a book of Canadian Humour to Shunji. I big book full of interesting stories about life in the True North. He started reading it and last month asked me if we could use the book as a sort of reader on which to base our englsih lessons. I wish all my students did their own class planning. He gave me a photo copy of one of the short stories. Last night I returned prepared to discuss the chapter and practice grammar and pronounciation.

The story was about a hockey players experiences in Hong Kong. It was full of shower humour and the sort of stories a veteran hockey player could relate to. I never imagined having to explain to a student what a dangling protrubance was or what 'yer wanger' is either.

Shunji could read the chapter just fine. While home studying he stopped to look up more than 100 words in the englsih japanese dictionary. We read along together and I would stop to explain the underlying meaning, helping him to understand the sarcastic nature of the writer. I was glad at the end of the class that shunji could actually see some of the humour in the story.