I went to the Budokan this evening, tis a propper Budokan mind! Kendo Dojo is on the first floor and is quite big! Enough room for around 10 pairs for jigeiko, and a separate area for I think Junior highschool? kids!



I went along for 7, which was the kids practice and I got to be Motodachi at the end. It was great! Loads of little kenshi running to practice with me! I just did Uchikomi with the small ones and a little light keiko with the bigger ones! Some of them would put me to shame!



After that there was a small break and then jigeiko from 8-8:45!
It was ok, but after the first Sensei I was really tired! I did 5 or maybe 6 and I did ok in spirit!
My hands kept comming up after men no matter how hard I tried and I was doing crab steps to go past people! Once I get used to the floor and the heat I think Ill be ok!
I would perfere to have more kihon practice, but I think I will have to go practice in a junior high school for that!

All in all, a great practice, really enjoyed it and I think I did enough to make myself welcome next time!

YOSH!

OK! WOW, what a week!

I left Dublin on the 26th of June at 5am, what followed was one of the worst travelling experiences of my life! it was a long trip full of slight annoyances and long ques! I wont go into it, but it has left me very jetlagged!!

My first week in Tokyo was really nice, we had 4 days of very intensive training, from 9am - 7pm. We did class room practice aswell as company policy. And on the last day had to give a demo lesson in front of our new buddies and some company reps. I found the training to be really enjoyable, the big plus was that the group of around 12 people were all really nice, and we got on great from the start!

I did all my training for Junion High and High School, but now I will be teaching in two Elementary schools instead!!

So, my new home? Whats it like?

Ill be living in Kamisu city in Ibaraki prefecture. from what I have seen, its quite an industrial town, lots of factories and also a very large port. (one part of the city smells very sea-eeeyy). It looks quite nice, ill go out today and have a look around!

Near the city there is a really nice beach, which apparently has nice surfing conditions! The no1 team in Japanese football also play here! and there is a Shrine for the god of martial arts here too!

Its only 1.5 hours to Tokyo station by bus, and id say I could do it faster once I get my car!

For this week I am staying at the Anton Palace Hotel, its really really posh! and very very fancy! ill take photos!

I will be traveling to Japan on the 28th of June untill March 2012. I will be working as an ALT, though I dont know where I will be going just yet.

Our National Championships will take place in just over a week. Preparation for shiai in our club usually begins about 4-6 weeks before. We continue to train in our usual way, which is a good mix of kihon and waza practice, with alot of jigeiko and ippon shobu. Coming up to a competition we add one class of shiai practice per week, and usually in the final week, we practice only our favorite waza, jigeiko and shiai practice.

For shiai practice, we focus first on the reigi. For both teams and individuals, I think that alot is said about your kendo by the way you enter the shiai-jo, bow to your opponent and take sonkyo. So we first practice this.

From there we ensure that all the beginners or members with little shiai experience get to practice Fighting and get used to the commands of the shinpan. This gives the Dan grades the opportunity to practice their shinpan skills, and commands.

In the last week we select teams. This is always a challenge, because someone will always feel left out. We try to balance it, but my belief is that you should enter at least two strong teams into a competition. You are there to compete after all! Normally it is the people that have made the most efforts in the past year that get the chance to be on the "best" teams. Be it a perfect attendance record, or a big improvement in their kendo, we try to give people a chance. This also ensures that the people dont get complacent!

For me Shiai is important, as I think it gives the club something to be proud of! Bragging rights for a year are also very important. This year my aim is to help my team more. For the last 3 large shiai I have been in, I have lost matches in the semi finals and finals, leaving the taisho a hard job in his matches. This has come about through both lack of experience, and I think using too much energy early in the fight. I will try my best to keep my composure while putting pressure on my opponent, keeping the tempo high but without running out of steam.

Last year, we lost out to our rivals, so this year we have to make sure we do our best, show our club spirit, have a good time, and win with good kendo!!

IKUZO!