JKF Wadokai Zenkoku Taikai: Chiba and Nippon Budokan, 21st-22nd August, 2010

Peter here;

After months of preparation (and dread), the event was finally here: the 46th Wadokai Zenkoku Taikai (Wadokai National Championships). Held over 2 days and in 2 locations, this tournament was filled with more competitors than the World Cup, and with a larger audience as well.

My events were Yukyusha (kyu grade) Kumite and Kata. Why Kyu grade? This is because my dan grade isn't JKF Wadokai verified, therefore for all JKF official tournaments I would be regarded as kyu grade until I pass my JKF wadokai shodan test in Japan. It was not lost on me however, that the last time I wore a brown belt was almost ten years ago to the day (when I earned my shodan), and although I'm not an overly superstitious fellow I was hoping that it would provide the same fortune.




After a very short welcoming speech, the events began. Carl was one of the first competitors up; having rested his knee he felt that he could compete. His knee lasted about 2 minutes into his first round before giving out, but fortunately it wasn't as bad this time; plus Carl was also commanding a very good lead. He held out, and won the bout practically on one leg! Unfortunately the next round wasn't so fortuitous and despite a good effort he was eliminated.

Ladies' Kata was up next, and it was a good turn for all the England Squad and Louise from New Zelaand, everyone getting through. Time for a much warranted pose, back by popular (i.e. Carl's) request:

Kamihamihaaaa! (spelling may differ from actual spelling)



Among the categories was the men's team event, which I had been really looking forward to: Arakawa Sensei was fighting in the team. It's frightening how someone who exudes positivity and a friendly approach can suddenly 'switch' to an aggressive fighting mentality, and this is exactly what I saw. Impressive, but very scary. The Shiramizu team won their rounds to go through to the last 8 in the Nippon Budokan the next day.

As I was with the Kyu grades, I was hoping that my Kumite event would get me to at least the last 8. However, despite a positive first round my second round fell apart. I was in the lead and let it go, which I was very annoyed at myself for (However, as a late concession the fellow who beat me was a finalist the next day, so it wasn't too bad). Kata I was lucky enough to be straight into the last 8, and performing at the Nippon Budokan the next day.



Although I had visited the Nippon Budokan with Arakawa Sensei and Fabien Sensei before, there is very little to compare with actually competing there. The atmosphere is electrifying.


Electrifying quickly turned to petrifying as I learned at 9:30 that my even started at 10am and not 11- I practiced as much as I could, but as Kata is definitely not my strongest point I was semi resigned to failure.

Imagine my surprise then, when I received all 5 flags for my Pinan Godan! I was through to the final, the second tournament in a row!

Unfortunately as I was spending all my time rehearsing Pinan Godan and not a secondary Kata, my Seishan was a mix of nerves and excitement- definitely not my best performance for the final. That said, I was surprised and happy to get one flag in my favour against a very good Kushanku.

So, two tournaments, two silver medals. I feel very lucky.


Louise's category was much more competitive in Women's Individual Black Belt Kata, and she burst through several impressive Kata before narrowly losing out in the semi final.

Katrina Wilson (England's Wadokai Junior Women's Kata World Champion from the weekend before), also ranked in the Bronzes, as did Lee Minion Sensei. Shiramizu's Uchida-san added to the Bronzes with his veteran Kumite category.



The other finals took place throughout the day, but most of them happened after the interval.

The break in a tournament is a new thing for me, being from England each event just tends to happen subsequently- were there a interval the tournaments would get longer than they are already, which on some particularly disorganized ones can be as late as 8pm. However, in Japan the interval is a requisite for entertainment and demonstrations. For the National Wadokai tournament, Arakawa Sensei leads the hundreds of younger participants of the tournament in some basic drills, while the massive o-daiko drum thumps out the rhythm of the movements.



Back to the events, the Shiramizu Men's Kumite team sadly lost out to the eventual winners Shinobu Kazukai, an unfortunate disqualification making it very difficult to regain the points needed to win. But the Shiramizu team did place 3!

Time for some camaraderie shots:

Lee Minion Sensei and Amy.

Carl and Louise, pulling 'genki' faces.

The interns, Lee Minion Sensei and Arakawa Sensei.


Group Victory! That's Dr. Hideo Takagi in the center.


So, a good result for Shiramizu, and a very good experience for me; not just with the tournament but also meeting new people and building new friendships both here and in England. After the tournament, I headed out with the England squad and Louise one last time, where we saw Louise depart for the next part of her adventures and also saw off a couple of beers, drinking a toast to the last couple of weeks (and of course, our success and endeavors!).

Kibishi, surely: Training with England Squad after Fuji, and up to Wadokai Nationals, 16th-19th August

Peter Here;

Well how do you relax after climbing the tallest mountain in Japan and only having 2 hours sleep to show for it? More Karate training of course!

Seriously, the England Karate Squad, including Carl and Amy, was at Shiramizu for some training after the Wado World Cup (Aug 14-15), and I wanted to participate as much as possible while they were there.

It was hard training, with fast-paced kick exercises and intense sparring. The kata was pressed heavily too; you could feel that everyone was starting to really feel the pressure of the Wadokai Nationals upon them that was the weekend after in Tokyo. If this wasn't Shiramizu training at full tilt, then I would be very scared to find out what would be.

Over the four days leading up to the Nationals I only rested on the Wednesday, having finally succumbed to the exhaustion of Fuji-san. However Thursday saw much the same paced sparring and Kata practice as the Tuesday; it seems that 'taking it easy' on a tournament week may not exist here.



On the Thursday The 'I-Team' (I just made that up) and Lee Minion Sensei with his son, Ryan, headed into town to do a bit of sightseeing. Visiting the Meji-jingu shrine and seeing the sights around Shibuya and Yoyogi park was a good break to take the mind off of training for just a little bit.





We even got to see the lighter, cuter side of Louise as we piled into the disney store!

Orrrr Maybe not.

Thursday evening saw even more England Squad members join training, along with Intern Alumni Louise and Amy. Carl was still on the sidelines resting his knee in the hope that it would recover for the weekend.



It was great to see everyone in the dojo train towards the same goal, feeding each other with the competitive atmosphere.



Friday came, and we had several guests: The Fujimoto Sensei brothers from Fujimoto Guseikai Dojo in Tokyo attended and gave tactical advice, Carl, Amy and Louise were present and training as hard as they could, members of the Romanian Wadokai team including Nobuyuki Nukina Sensei, and a Sumo Wrestler friend of Arakawa Sensei. I can honestly say this was the most multi-cultural dojo I've ever had the joy of training in.





After the final session, the Shiramizu Sensei and guests each gave a speech for the upcoming tournament, after which we toasted to our success and endeavors. Kampai!!

Wado World Cup: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, 14-15th August

Peter Here;

On 14th and 15th August the World's Wadokai elite filled the Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya in the hope of winning glory for both themselves and their country. I had traveled to Nagoya the day before, enduring a crippling 8-hour train ride in the process, and met up with the England Wadokai squad to travel to the arena with them on the opening morning.


Nagoya Castle - Image Courtesy of Wikimedia

The Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium is established among the grounds of the Nagoya Castle, which in the humid-heavy Autumnal haze gave an impressive and intimidating setting.




It was very hard not to be swept into the competitive nature of the event, even before the opening ceremony. Even the mere observation of squads doing warm-ups made me want to reach for a dogi and join in (a good thing, surely?). I sat down with the England Squad supporters (I was going to root with Japan, but their area was filled to capacity with kimono-clad supporters) and watched as the day's events unfolded.



England got to a decent start, with several people going through to the next rounds, but an unlucky few facing an early elimination. For Shiramizu's old guard though, Carl was first up. Unfortunately, just after about half a minute in, his knee gave way again and he was forced to withdraw. Worse still, despite doing his best to continue, Carl also had to withdraw from his Kata event. Everyone's heart went out to him. Fortunately, Amy got through to the last 8 in her kumite event, for her to participate the next day.


Also in Men's Kata was Fabian Sensei, Who had an extremely unlucky draw against Japan for the first round. His Seishan was incredibly well drilled and precise, but it didn't stop his opponent from going through.



Next up was Women's Kata, with both Amy and Louise taking part. As you can see, their rivalry was incredibly fierce.

Both of their Kata looked sharp, Louise's in particular drawing coos of admiration from the England group. It was funny, but as you train next to someone, you spend so much time concentrating on yourself to notice the other person's form. With this opportunity I saw really how astonishingly good Louise's Kata was. Amy was knocked out just on the verge of last 8 placing, but Louise went clear through, with some convincing 5-flag results from both of them on the way.

While I was here I had the opportunity to become acquainted with not only some of the world's best Karateka, but also some highly experienced people from each country. From England Carl introduced me to Sensei Sakagami, who is the Head of Aiwakai in England (Aiwakai was my home Instructor's association, and Sakagami Sensei was my Sensei's instructor, so this was something of an accomplishment).


Also, I met a friendly face in Mike Spain, who had returned to Japan to take his nidan grade after the competition. Mike, who trained with Shiramizu while Lawrence was the intern, also brought along one of his students, with the intention on showing him the wider picture. It was great getting his experiences of Shiramizu training as well, and hearing how it still affects his teaching (which may be for another blog, perhaps).


The later afternoon was Team Kumite. England's Ladies' team were through to the last 8 and didn't need to fight before the finals on Sunday, but the Men's team lost out to the Iranian team despite a spirited performance.

After the close of the day, shattered after watching and participating, the Intern, the ex-interns and a few new-found friends went and got dinner at a local Ramen bar, before retiring early to look forward to the next day's events.


Amy's kumite draw had lead her to eventually fight a familiar face for a place in the final: Rie Hirai, who is also a former Shiramizu member,Utsunomiya Bunsekai Girl's High School graduate (famous for producing very strong female athletes) and current All-Japan National Kumite team member. Although no longer at Shiramizu, these two get on really well outside the mats- although with the pace of the fight you wouldn't guess it! Hirai-san eventually won the round, and went through to win the event, Congratulations! Amy is also due congratulations too for winning bronze, an excellent achievement that was made double by the England Ladies' squad earning a bronze medal place as well.

For Kata, Louise managed to get to the semi-finals before being eliminated, but that meant she was a bronze medal winner as well! Furthermore, Katrina Wilson from the England Squad won her Cadet Kata event, making her a Wadokai world champion, so congratulations there too!

Unfortunately, despite being on holiday I was on a very tight schedule. Between this world cup and the following weekend's Wadokai national championships, I had arranged with Setsuko-san (one of my Eikaiwa students) to climb Mount Fuji with her, so I had to rush off to catch the train back to Tokyo!

The Following Pictures are courtesy of former Intern Carl.


England Ladies' team Kumite place 3rd, while Japan takes gold, with Hirai-san part of the winning team.


Rie Hirai wins the Individual ladies' Kumite event too, with Amy placing Bronze.


Louise takes the bronze for her Kata, though personally I thought she deserved higher!


England's Katrina Wilson wins gold at her event, Cadet Female Kata World Champion!

Return of the Interns: the run up to the Wado World Cup

Peter Here!

With the Wado World Cup and Wadokai National Championships happening last August, that month saw the return of Intern Alumni Carl Jorgeson (2008-09), Amy Coulson (2008-09), and Louise Fisk (2009-10). They were representing their respective countries of England and New Zealand at the World Cup on August 14-15, and then taking part in the national championships a week later. So, to make sure that they were on peak form where else would they get both excellent training and a warm 'welcome home' feeling than Shiramizu?!

I would only be watching them for the World Cup, but I was also training hard in the run up to the National Championships. As it was during the holiday season the usually quite sedate Wednesday morning session had been turned, like all other sessions, into a heat entrance drill with the High performance kids, occupied with constantly repeating Kata and Kumite.

Carl had suffered some bad luck in the week before coming here- while participating in a tournament his knee had been heavily injured. He was trying his best to practice as much as he could while also resting up, which unfortunately meant that we couldn't spar together (when I get back to England, Carl!). Amy and Louise looked very ready for their Kata entry, and it was warming when Louise said that "I'd come on a bit".


As is mandatory with the Wednesday Class, we all went for lunch afterwards, giving the ex-interns some nostalgia and chatting about the challenges and rewards of the internship, and how much more I had to look forward to.

Amy, 4.1!

Richard here;

Before I make the announcement next week regarding the new intern who will come to Japan on June 15, 2009, Arakawa Sensei and I have decided to give Amy Coulson (the fiancee of the current intern Carl), internship status for the next 7 months while Carl is still here. Since Carl is Intern 4.0, then Amy can be Intern 4.1.

Amy came over from England with Carl last June and she herself is doing really well in the dojo and at work. Everyone is impressed with her work ethic, her desire to mix it up with everyone and her new abilities with the Japanese language.

Congratulations Amy! Keep up the great work!

Again, the announcement for the new intern from next year will be made soon, with a new twist to the internship added, stay tuned!

Northern Tokyo Taikai

Being the Intern, I was kindly invited by Richard Sensei to compete in the 42nd Northern Tokyo Taikai which was held at the Takinogawa Community Center on Monday 3rd November 3. I would be competing as the third fighter in the men's kumite team made up of graduates from Seiritsu High School, of which Richard Sensei is the head coach. The competition is reputed to be one of the oldest karate contest in Japan, so it’s great to be able to compete in it!

Early start
The plan was to meet Richard Sensei at Omiya station for 7:30am so that we could catch the train to the venue. This meant that I had to depart from Wado (my nearest station) at 6:42am – a challenge in itself as the last few times I’ve tried to get such an early train I've failed miserably!

I arrived at Kuki station with about 10 minutes to spare until me train to Omiya would arrive; I bought my ticket and went through the barrier. My iPod at first stopped me from noticing the huge crowd of people gathering around the station staff. Once I’d noticed the crowd, it didn’t take me long to realise that all the trains were delayed due to some sort of accident. The electronic notice board was showing that Kuki was still waiting for the 6.22am train to Omiya; this meant that my line was already delayed by about 30 minutes. No trains were running in or out of the station on any of the lines so I was effectively stuck at Kuki. I buried my head into my Harry Potter book and turned my iPod back on, the 6.22am train eventually turned up at 7.26am, needless to say that I was going to be late!.

I emailed Richard and got directions; I was to take the Keihin Tohoku line from Akabane station a few stops to Kaminakazato station, which is right next to the community center where the competition was being held. I arrived at about 8.20am. It had taken me nearly two hours to take a 40 minute train ride! Lawrence kindly walked back to the station to collect me and we made our way to the venue. We met Kikuchi Sensei from Shiramizu on route who was one of the many officials at today's tournament, we had a quick chat and then Lawrence and I sneaked in a side entrance to the competition before the masses were allowed in.

Set up
Had I been on time, I would have helped to set up the competition. However it was almost completed by the time I got there. I was introduced to some of the Seirtsu students and graduates by Richard Sensei and I got a feel for the hall. There were six areas marked out on the floor with tape and the front of the hall was lined with tables for the many officials.

Opening Ceremony
This was pretty standard, the usual bows, oaths and speeches were made. I was pleased to see that they didn't individually introduce all 60 officials because we'd have been there all day!

Kata
With kumite taking place in the afternoon and only one student from Seiritsu competing in kata, we had a chilled out morning trying to decide who's kata was the best on each area before the officials decided. Shun Tanaka from Seiritsu ended up in the final of men's kata and narrowly missed winning by 1 flag.

(Richard here: Shun Tanaka is a Seiritsu graduate who has won the All-Japan Handicap Karate Championships for kata 4x and for kumite 3x! Shun has a truncated right arm, but he is so dynamic one quickly doesn't notice, and he is more than capable of competing in regular competitions.)

Lunch break
During the lunch break, I got changed and practised a few drills with Richard Sensei. I was informed that Lawrence was the back-up fighter for our team, in case I got injured and couldn't continue! I wasn’t really sure how to take this news, was I likely to get injured?

Kumite Opening Ceremony and Demo
Again, this was pretty standard. One thing that stood out was that the Japanese national anthem was sung by one of the officials, rather than just playing it from a CD player.

After the ceremony, we watched a demonstration from the famous Sadaharu Fujimoto Sensei, of the Kokusai KarateDo Shoubukai association (shotokan). Who after a performance of Seishan kata, was demonstrating various breaking techniques against wooden boards and bottles. Maybe the skill and conditioning behind the techniques was lost on me, but I wasn't particularly impressed by the demonstration.

(Richard here: Fujimoto Sensei became famous outside of Japan when he was included in the 1973 groundbreaking documentary Budo, the Art of Killing. And I, in comparison to Carl, was very impressed with the break skills of this 78 year old(!) because he based them on movements directly from different kata. For example, breaking off the top of a small bottle cap with a reverse downward and backward finger strike while not looking, aka testicle popper as per some kata, made me squishmishly (ooh, that's gotta hurt!) impressed.

Kumite
The men's team kumite would be starting straight after the opening ceremony and demonstration, and our team was first up. I was reminded by Richard Sensei that Seiritsu's grads were the defending champions so we had to win, so no pressure!

Team Kumite
Our team was Ryota, Shun and I. Ryota was up first for us and he won convincingly 6-0. I was the second fighter, I traded for a while throwing punches which landed but none scored, my opponent scored with two punches. I threw a mawashigeri jodan but my opponent leaned back out of range, so I immediately threw the same kick again, this time it landed perfectly and I felt as though I had broken my foot on his head guard! I won the bout 3-2. Shun, our third fighter didn’t have to fight as the other team only had two fighters.

Round 2, I was third fighter this time. The first two fighters from my team had already won their fights, both with 6-0 wins! So my fight was just a formality. Richard Sensei suggested I worked on getting my hands going and not to use kicks. My opponent didn’t put up much of a fight so I won the round 4-0.

Round 3, This round was for a place in the finals. Shun was up first, he fought hard and managed to secure a 3-3 draw. Next up was Ryota, unfortunately his opponent was faster and ended up winning the bout 0-6. This meant that I would have to win my fight 6-0 to draw the team match. My hands still weren’t doing what I would have liked them to do, I kept letting my opponent come too close, even though I had a reach advantage. This meant that he was able to get a few punches in to get 3 points. I managed two points in response, with another just on the buzzer that was disallowed. I lost 3-5. We would have to settle for the reparcharge.

Before this fight started, Kikuchi Sensei (who had finished on his area) came over and told me what I was doing wrong in my previous fights. I made sure to take the feedback onboard and not make the same mistakes in my last fight.

Repercharge
I was particularly annoyed at myself for not fighting the way I should in the last three rounds. With this in mind, I was going to make sure I redeemed myself in my last fight. My two teammates were up first and won their bouts. I scored three times with counter punches to my oponents head. With a few seconds to go my opponent scored a point. I retaliated with another scoring body punch and closed the fight on the buzzer with a well placed mawashigeri jodan (round house kick to the head). The final score was 7-1. We had got a respectable 3rd place.

After the team matches, I watched the remainder of the Individual kumite. Shun got to the finals of his division and the match went to sudden death, his opponent got a body kick just before Shun countered with a head punch so he ended up with 2nd place.

I also watched the Seiritsu high school girl's kumite with interest but I didn't see all the fights because I was hitching a ride home with Kikuchi Sensei, so I left the competition half way through the division.

Overall I thought the tournament was good, the standard of the competitors was mixed as a lot of dojo entered beginners. I wasn't happy with the way I fought but I've picked up on loads of bad habits that I was doing in my fighting that I didn't realise. This is mostly because of the on the spot feedback from Richard and Kikuchi Sensei and the sharp camera work of Lawrence.

______________________________________________________

About the competition
Like most Japanese tournaments that I've entered, there were more than enough officials, I counted 60 during the opening ceremony. On top of that there were approximately 50 volunteers too.

There were 6 areas in the hall and a separate warm-up area. I would only have two criticisms, all the areas should have mats laid down and the even shouldn’t have two ‘opening ceremonies’. I think the second point in particular would have shortened the day somewhat, especially since the tournament overran its schedule.

The 5th Annual Tobu Taikai

Lawrence back again and here to talk a bit about the Tobu Taikai that took place this past Monday, Sept 15th.

The Tobu tournament is essentially for the eastern region of the Saitama prefecture and is open to any style. Last year it was held in a huge gym in the nearby city of Kuki while this year, it was held at the Satte city Asukaru (aka ATHCUL, for Athletic Culture) Sports Centre. This is the same place that Shiramizu holds a branch class at every monday night and is often used for other events, like the Shiramizu year end training and July's All-Saitama Wadokai Championships.

Monday we were in Asukaru's main arena (gym) and it all went according to standard Japanese tournament plan. Doors opened at 8:30, bow in at 9, and the first matches kicked off just after 9:30. And, like my standard Japanese tournament plan, I entered in both kata and kumite.

Kata was really interesting in that there were only three people entered. And one of them didn't show up. So seeing as my only other competitor in the adult men's black belt kata division was Carl, it became a sort of "International Shiramizu Intern Showdown". I won, but if I'm honest, I won with a kata I wasn't completely happy with. So it's more training for me I guess!

I also felt the same kind of feeling I got from the team kata division in Canada. I mean, last year there were 6 or 7 people in the division and none this year. I wonder.....

The kumite division faired a bit better (relatively speaking) with 6 registered competitors, although the mysterious missing man from the kata division dropped that down to 5. It also meant I got a bye since he was my first opponent. My first match (a semi-final round) was against the very tall Mr. Ueno, also from Shiramizu. I lost 2-1 so it's even more training!

In addition to some very good kumite from some very strong high school teams, the day ended off with two great team kata demos, one of Unsu from a Shotokan club and the other being the World Championship-winning Japanese female kata team from Shiramizu, with Wanshu.

White Lily Kindergarten

CARL here, aka the ENGLISH Intern...








I started a new job on Monday 1st September as the ‘Happy Gaijin’ at a local kindergarten. The kindergarten is private and pretty exclusive, it looks like the owner has invested a lot of money simply into the building; at a rough count I would say that it has 200 students, from 3 years old.

Arakawa Sensei has a branch dojo here twice a week, which I think is very brave. In his own words, he says that he can teach the kids a new technique one week and they have forgotten it by the next. But I think the karate training they are getting is giving them a great start in life, and no doubt some of these kids will become international superstars of karate in 20 years or so. They definitely have a great teacher so there could even be a few future Olympians amongst them!

Monday was a pretty easy morning. I arrived a little early for work so I spent a little time reading a short story to a group of kids. For the rest of the morning I shadowed a Japanese teacher and rode one of the buses to pick up the kids; we went all over Sugito and Miyashiro (one of the towns next to Sugito). It was a pretty good set up, the kids and their parents are all waiting at a pre-designated spot for the bus. We pull up and the Japanese sensei and I jump out and greet the parents and the kids, I end up repeating ‘Hello’ and ‘Good Morning’ about 100 times on the morning. When we got back to the kindergarten, the Japanese sensei and I got out of the bus. Then the kids say ‘good morning’ to me and ‘ohayo gozaimasu’ to the Japanese sensei as they get off. They are then led in to the school yard and I board the bus again for round two.

I managed to scare 4 kids and 2 parents into crying during my bus tour. This is a new personal best for me, ok so the parents didn’t actually cry! But they did look terrified at the idea of their only child getting on a bus with a big scary gaijin!

Most of the morning was spent on the bus, but when I got back I helped to get all the kids sorted into lines by class. This was pretty easy because each class has its own coloured hat. The kindergarten boss gave a short speech over a microphone and introduced everyone (including me). Then I was called up to give a short speech, something which I certainly wasn’t expecting. I’ve been here for a few months now, so I’m pretty comfortable with my self-intro in Japanese BUT I’m here to help the kids learn English so I’m not allowed to use Japanese. I was stumped! I think I managed to mumble a few things like ‘Hello’ in a really happy gaijin voice, which all the kids happily shouted back, and then I think I told them my name and that I was happy to meet them. All the kids bowed and I walked away a little embarrassed. After that, we all marched (no really!) back to our respective classrooms where I got to put a sticker in all the kids attendance books and then helped get the kids changed for running practise. After a little bit of running it was my home time so I had to leave them all.

I arrived a little early on Tuesday morning and there was a group of kids sitting on the floor of the main office. I said hello to them all, and got the loud ‘hello’ back and then some of the kids started saying lots of things to me in Japanese. I countered this by getting some flashcards out of my bag and started playing some colour and animal games. I was doing this until it was time for me to board the bus. The bus ride was the same as Monday, though I only made 3 kids cry and no parents so I’m putting this one down as a ‘good day’. Afterwards I played some English flashcard games with a class of 20 cute little 4 year olds until my home time.

The job is really fun and really easy; it’s just about having a good time with the kids and helping out where necessary. I think the fact that I only speak English is secondary to the fact that I look different to everyone else there. I am a white guy, and for most of the kids I’m probably the first white guy they’ve ever met. This makes some of the kids (and parents) a little nervous but I think it’s great that the kindergarten is taking steps to overcome this before it develops into a strong prejudice against westerners.

Some of these 3 and 4 year old kids will become leaders in the business and political world when they get older. It’s therefore very important that they don’t have any prejudice towards westerners if Japan is going to secure its place in the 21st century. If the kids can have a good time with the ‘gaijin’, then they will get used to the idea of people being different. Perhaps more important, they will realise that us gaijin aren’t really scary at all, just ugly!

(Richard here, Arakawa Sensei calls this making sure the kids don't develop a 'gaijin allergy')

Carl

NOTE - Pictures taken from www.flickr.com (I didn't think it would be a great idea to walk around the kindergarten with a camera!)

The English-English Intern Interview

Lawrence again and yes indeed, it's time for another Shiramizu Internship Interview! This time (and probably the last time from me) we have Mr. Intern v4.0, Carl Jorgeson.

The first non-Canadian intern, Carl (and Amy) has been settling into the intern groove rather well so I thought it'd be a great time to see what's what...

L: Why don't you tell everyone a bit about yourself?
C: My name's Carl Jorgeson, I'm 25 and I'm from Hartlepool (ed- Hart-lee-pool), England. Back home, I'm a Line Manager for Tesco PLC, which is the largest supermarket chain in the country. I also run my own dojo, Hartlepool Wadokai (http://www.hartlepoolwadokai.com/), which has approximately 70 members and is a part of Sakagami Sensei's Aiwakai Karatedo Federation as well as England Wadokai.

In my spare time, I like to train for karate competition where my preference is kumite. I'm also on the England Wadokai National Team for kumite and at last year's European Wadokai Championships, I brought home an individual bronze and team bronze for kumite.

L: Wow, busy man! Such a huge part of your life, how did you get started in karate?
C: I got started when I was 5. My parents had already been training for a while and my older brother had been training for about a year. I wanted to start when my brother did but I was too young. So, on my 5th birthday, I was finally allowed to start training.

L: That's a nice birthday present! And then how did you hear about the internship?
C: I registered on the Yahoo! Wado Karate Forum and I saw a post by Richard Sensei about the internship, so I sent an email asking for more information and grew to love the idea of it.

L: So then what was it about this Intern that you grew to love?
C: Well, I just liked the sound of what I'd be doing. I had always wanted to visit Japan and I think I was at a point in my career and my life where if I didn't come to Japan now, I never would. Also, I picked up an injury just before last year's European Wadokai Championships and though I managed to limp through the competition, I've had a lot of problems getting back into shape since. I thought training intensively in Japan for a year would be a perfect remedy for this.
Also, I was allowed to bring my fiance Amy along, who also happens to love karate and is on the England Wadokai National Team. So, it just made perfect sense to come...

L: Well, now that you've actually arrived and had a chance both to see a tiny bit of Japan as well as sweat profusely at the dojo, what are your first impressions? Both of Japan and of Shiramizu?
C: For starters, Japan is hotter than I expected, but I'm coping for now. I think everyone has been so friendly and helpful, from all the Shiramizu instructors, students and their parents to the strangers I walk past on the way to the train station in the morning.

As for Shiramizu, the standard here is second to none. The first night we were here, we watched a kyu grading where some kids didn't make the grade. By our own standards, we would have probably passed everyone one of them, and our club is very strict with gradings! It just shows how high Arakawa Sensei's standards are. And it works. The work ethic, even from the youngest of kids, is great. They concentrate and try their best when they're training. Of course, after class, the kids are very lively, play fighting with each other etc........ it's great!

L: Ah yes, the play fighting with kids..... I tend to lose unfortunately haha..... anyway, how do you feel about Arakawa Sensei himself?
C: I find he's very laid back, but he has a great way of explaining things. Even though I don't speak the language yet, I can usually follow what he's saying.

L: I found that too and, as it turns out, I learned a lot of Japanese just from watching Arakawa Sensei and matching his words to his actions. Well then, now that you're here, what kind of goals have you set for yourself in this one year? Both karate and otherwise?
C: My karate goals; Get my nidan and work towards my sandan; Place in the Top 3 of most of the tournaments I'll enter in kumite (not including the Wadokai Nationals); Learn the Shiramizu way of doing Wadoryu.

Other goals? Learn the Japanese language well enough to get my thoughts across; Help Arakawa Sensei with his English!; Set up an English class just for the Shiramizu instructors; Climb Mt. Fuji; See and experience as much of the country as possible; and learn the practice methods of Shiramizu so that I can incorporate some of those ideas into Hartlepool Wadokai.

L: Quite a list there..... a perfect way of spending the year =)...... do you have any other hobbies?
C: Outside of karate, I like sea-kayaking, rock climbing, and scuba diving. I also like to climb/walk hills and mountains when I have the time.

L: And Mt. Fuji is certainly the "hill" to "walk" heh...... any other things you're liking about Japan?
C: Well, I like the people here; everyone is really friendly. I also like the work ethic in that people don't take sick days here! I also like the efficiency of the train and the architecture of the houses and the gardens, especially since I have a Japanese garden at home.

L: Oh nice........... anything you don't like?
C: It's hot. And humid (ed- Yes it is......). There's also a lack of vegetarian food/options. And there's quite a bit of smog, especially around Tokyo. The last thing is having to commute to work for two hours by train- each way! I'm used to being 15 minutes away from my workplace.
(Richard here - the Thu and Fri English conversation classes are in the city which requires some time on the train whereas the rest of the English classes are at the Shiramizu dojo, a 5-7min bike ride from the new intern apartment.)

L: Ah yes, that can get a bit wearing..... and now that you've trained here a few times, how is the karate different from that of England's?
C: The main and most important difference is the frequency of training. The Japanese train or can train everyday, especially at Shiramizu where the door is literally always open. In the UK, the standard is for people to train once or twice a week, possible with a training course on the weekend.

This obviously has an effect on the standards of Japanese dojos compared to UK dojos...

L: I see I see........ well, it certainly sounds like you have your goals set for the next year so.... have at it!
C: Thanks!

And have at it indeed. Carl (and Amy) have been doing very well these past two weeks with all the people really enjoying their company and the effort they put into the training. And the Japanese English students, while still getting used to a new teacher, have warmed up to Carl quite quickly so no problems there.

So keep checking the blog to see how the v4.0 Intern evolves into v4.1.... then v4.2..... v4.3....