New Year's Resolutions!

Peter Here!

Happy New year to everyone! I hope 2011 is a marvellous and successful year.

A tradition that seems to span the globe is that of New Year resolutions (shinnen no houfu, 新年の抱負) ; goals you want to achieve, bad habits you want to kick, life decisions to be made, mindsets to change, etc. I thought I would write down my own, so that people can kick me up the backside if I'm not keeping to them!

1. I will practice Karate every day: This is no different to what I am doing now, but it is good to set it in virtual stone. I will stretch Every Day for at least 30 minutes too, and make sure I keep up with my cardio exercises once my toe is completely fit!
2. I will practice Japanese for at least an hour every day: I want to be able to read and write too, so I will probably go to a language class this year- something that I didn't get round to doing last year!
3. I will listen to advice more, for Karate and teaching.
   
4. I will make more of an effort to remember names!
   
5. I will open a bank account: I usually have a lot of money in my wallet which, when I think about it, can be quite dangerous. A bank account would probably make my life here much easier.
6. I will prepare for lessons at least two days before the class: Sometimes Monday's lessons are planned on the day because I was busy over the weekend, which means there's less margin for error if I check them. Ideally I would like to make the next lesson plan immediately after the last lesson, so I'll try and do that.
7. I will complete private projects: I have a couple of websites that are karate-related on the go, but they have been very slow to get started. I want to have them finished by March! Then, any other projects can be tackled without these hanging over my head.
8. I will get a gold in at least one tournament this year, and at least two more silver: After the amazing training at Shiramizu, I want to get back into winning ways! At least one gold is an absolute minimum!
9. I will compete and spar with more confidence this year: I started doing this just before injuring my toe, so I look forward to getting back to competition fitness as soon as possible.
   
10. I will pass my JKF Wadokai Shodan test this year! This is the big 'Must Do' resolution; if I don't do this then I will be very very disappointed.
    
11. I will grade in Aikido: I was starting to really like aikido last year, and the bokken and jo practise was very interesting. I would like to grade or advance a little in it before my time in Japan is over, so I could do something similar back in the UK as well as karate.
12. Finally, I will find more people to teach English to, and improve the Internship.

I hope everyone who has made resolutions this year will succeed in sticking to them. Good luck!!

Doing it for the Kids: Sugito Taikai, 17th October 2010

Peter Here:

After the massive events that were the Wado World Cup and the Wadokai National Championships, it was refreshing to return to more local tournaments. The Sugito Machi Taikai showed how 'grassroots' competition is as important to karate as the major events, not just in gaining useful experience for the developing athletes, but also in building relationships and friendships in the local area. The tournament was an open style, which meant we had Wado and Shotokan karate competing together. This would be my first time in seeing Shotokan in Japan, let alone competing with them, so I was excited by this.




Everyone worked together from the first second to make the day go smoothly, setting up chairs and arenas right through to the packing up. It really gives a good indication of what can be achieved in little time when you work hard for each other!

Although the tournament was mainly for the Kids, there was also an adult Male category for both Kumite and Kata. As I had successes with both of these in Japan I perhaps went in more confident than I ought. I knew my Kata was still not up to much in comparison with others, but maybe I thought it had improved more than it actually had; so I was very disappointed to go out in the first round. Kumite wasn't much better, as I was drawn against a Shotokan competitor who beat me soundly 3-1. A let down for myself.

The rest of the Shiramizu entrants did very well, with many of the golds going our way.



Easily the best part of the tournament was making new friends and playing with the kids. There were only 5 male competitors in the tournament and we trained and warmed up together, learning new things from each other, having a few good Japanese conversations along the way. Even in local tournaments in the UK there seems to be a 'privacy' mentality among the co-competitors which restricts conversation a little so this was a wonderful experience. Of course, many of the kids there knew me from the dojo and kindergartens so they were having fun with me too.

Despite the results for me it was a great day.

Imperfect Japanese and Japenglish

Louise here,

Living in a non-English speaking country is certainly an eye-opener. I never before fully appreciated complete communication with other people. I studied Japanese at high school for some years before coming to Japan, and that certainly gave me a base to work from, but it is entirely different from the relatively sterile classroom to being surrounded by a language every day.

At the moment, I'd say I understand maybe 10-20% of what people say, depending on the subject and the speed that they talk, and then I guess the rest. I've got into the bad habit of nodding and agreeing with people, even if I have no idea what they're saying. But then, who wants to seem ignorant?

In some ways it's good not understanding, because I'm insulated from any social gaffes I commit, but then, being a nosy sort of person, I find it incredibly frustrating at times. When Fred Jarbro sensei came to Shiramizu from Sweden (see Erica's earlier blog), he taught some classes in English. I'd forgotten how nice it is being able to understand everything the teacher is saying, down to small nuances. Most of the time in class with Arakawa sensei or one of the other Shiramizu teachers, I'm getting most instruction from their body language and demonstrations, which leaves room for error.

Then trying to frame questions when I've forgotten key pieces of vocabulary can be both hilarious and embarrassing. When I went travelling in the New Year break, there were a few times when I was reduced to pointing and making inarticulate sounds. Luckily Japanese are generally polite and patient, so refrain (most of the time) from laughing openly at struggling foreigners. Erica, I think, has it harder, having less Japanese and looking like a Japanese person, so people expect her to understand when they talk to her. At least I look foreign so any Japanese ability I display is a pleasant surprise.

On the other hand is the joy of Japanese-style English. For some reason, the Japanese seem to think English is cool, so there are examples of English everywhere, from shop and road signs, to food packaging and clothes. For a native English speaker, some Japenglish is truly inspired. To finish this rather contemplative blog, I'd like to share with you some of the Japenglish I've come across.

Maybe they mean 'Burger Queen'?

I find this one especially amusing because in New Zealand some years back there was a big hooha about a Toyota television advertisement (see it on YouTube here), which used the word 'bugger': some people thought it was inappropriate to show an ad on prime-time TV that uses a swearword, while most people didn't actually care.

Well, it's certainly an exciting colour.

The Hiroshima Grand Intelligent Hotel. Can only clever people stay here, or does the hotel itself have a high IQ?

An information desk at Shinjuku station. They question you if you don't have the answer.