One on One-February 17, 2008

Last Sunday, went to practice. Only one student-me. Two people watched from the sidelines. The sensei sat in the opposite corner and the junior sensei and I spent two hours going over just about every single waza we could think of. Ikkyo, nikyo, kotogaeshi, etc.

I won't go into all the minute details here. Suffice to say, after making black belt, the teachers hone in on every tiny detail of my performance of a technique. A centimeter to the left here, focus on the opponent's shoulder not the wrist, etc.

My girlfriend does the same thing. Critiques every aspect of my life. From washing the dishes to folding the laundry. I have read and now truly understand (了解) this aspect of Japanese culture. It is a far cry from the "good enough" attitude that is associated with American culture. It does drive me bonkers, but I have seen and reaped the rewards of this meticulous (細かい) mentality.

Oh, my girlfriend and another sat in the corner and watched the two of us. I heard quite a bit of laughter as I grunted in pain. What was educational for me was entertaining for them. Two birds with one stone, ne?

The Painful Process of Learning-January 28th, 2008

So yeah, it`s been awhile. Sorry folks, life has been rocky. And painful. Speaking of pain, we have been practicing at the Myojo dojo the past few months while the Obata dojo is under construction.

Those names may not mean much to you, but it signifies a big difference for us. The Obata dojo had very soft mats, really great for aikido. The Myojo dojo has really hard mats. Cold, unforgiving. Every time someone does a jump-roll like tobiukemi, we can hear them wince and gasp in pain.

If the waza is done properly, it is not painful. The slightest error is brought to your attention quickly. After practice last Saturday, I realized that the hard mats forced me to focus on the minor errors I was making in my rolls. Not tucking in my legs correctly, wrong angle, etc. The brutal mats serve to point out our mistakes in a way that not even the sensei can catch. Like sensors, we can see every point in the process quite clearly. One fellow suggested we should practice on hardwood floors. His rationale being that one shattered ankle bone would teach us how to roll properly. Easier said than done ne?

So to wrap this up, I thought I'd throw in a couple of pics of a 10-year old kid throwing my girlfriend around the room. Hope you enjoy, I did.