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!

The second world exclusive interview!

That's right! As Mr. Mike Spain's visit in Japan draws to a close, I rather slyly snuck in some interview style questions to see what his experience was like. Actually, if I'm honest, I wasn't sly at all since he knew full well about the interview... oh well...

L: It's been quite a whirlwind week and a half! What don't you just summarize some of the things you've done aside from train.

MS: Well, I got to visit the Nippon Budokan to see the Japan Cup, I went to Nikko, and just today, Yamazaki Sensei and Yoshihara Sensei (ed- two Shiramizu staff members) took me to see the Sekiyado-Jo (ed- an old fort-cum-museum in Chiba, see its website here).

L: Nice! So how do you feel about the main point of your trip; the karate?

MS: It's definitely been a great experience. There's so many little things I've been frantically writing down after each class, it's hard to keep track of. But as of right now, I plan on coming back in March to keep working on it.

L: How about some more general observations? Maybe some parallels or differences in teaching methods between classes you've taken here and the classes you run in Thailand?

MS: One thing I was extremely impressed with while I was here was the professionalism of Arakawa Sensei. The dojo runs very smoothly and the students were generally hard working and I always felt that Arakawa Sensei tried very hard to make sure that the students clearly understand what he is demonstrating. Even for me, while I didn't understand the language, I still managed to follow the examples given. I've trained with different people and the ability to clearly convey ideas can sometimes be a bit rare.

L: Any opinion on things beyond that? How was the food?

MS: Amazing! All the food I've had from the restaurants to the breakfasts at the guest house have all been delicious. I'm so grateful for how everyone has gone out of their way to make my stay so enjoyable. I mean, Yamazaki Sensei and Yoshihara Sensei took me around to so many shops because I mentioned some things I had on my shopping list I hadn't found yet. Or how I wanted to meet Takagi Sensei and Arakawa Sensei found time to take me to train at Guseikai. (ed- Takagi Sensei is now interested in hosting the next Guseikai camp in Thailand.)

L: It certainly helps that your guest house is near dojo- near all the action, eh?

MS: Yeah. I also tend to be uncomfortable around lots of people and while it was never a problem at the dojo, I'm glad I was in a smaller town where things are a bit quieter. And the small town atmosphere with the open-arms welcome at the dojo makes it much easier to be drawn into the community feeling.

L: So what are your goals now for your karate in Thailand?

MS: Well, I've got the ball rolling with a personal membership to the Wadokai. I'll be studying the differences to learn them and then, eventually, I will take the shodan exam. Afterwards, I want to work on training my students so that they'll be ready to take a dan exam themselves. I also want to look into having the dojo join the Wadokai as that will open doors for my students.

L: Sounds like a plan! I dare say that everyone here was really happy that you came.

MS: I'm really happy I came, although it did go by very quickly. About the only way I can really sum it all up is to say that this experience has been so good, I'm already thinking about how to make sure I can come back in March!

L: Great. So I'll be seeing you then, eh?

MS: That's right! I can't wait...........

Mike re-wetting the hammer during a local mochitsuki ceremony, just like how he is readying himself to come back in March.

Neato Nikko

I do realise this post is dated within minutes of the Japan Cup post, but it's not all serious karate here all the time. The day after the Japan Cup, Dec 10th, Arakawa Sensei took myself and Mr. Mike Spain to one of the most famous sightseeing towns in Japan - Nikko.

About a 2 hour drive from Sugito, the mountain town of Nikko has multiple temples and shrines. Ensconced within a myriad of greenery, the different religious grounds all combined are a peaceful and beautiful site that justifies its place as an official UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Arakawa Sensei and Mike in front of the Toshogu Shrine entrance.

Although known for many things, the first major shrine to see is Toshogu, where the famous "Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil" monkeys who are carved on the side of one of the buildings. Heading up to the temple behind Arakawa Sensei and Mike in the above picture enters the garden of the main building.

On the right side of the garden is a very steep 200-step staircase that leads to a grave site of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founding Shogun of the Tokugawa feudal period. His site is in stark contrast to the rest of the decorated shrine as it is surprisingly simple.

To the left of the picture is a special building with a dragon painted on the ceiling. The acoustics are such that standing right beneath the dragon's mouth (which is just to the right of centre) is a spot that causes sound to echo throughout the symmetrical rectangular room. Anywhere else only gives a dull thud which, for a symmetrical room to be able to do this, was astonishing to me.

Our morning there ended off with a quick lunch before heading back home to get ready to train some more at night. But what a day it was.......

Lawrence

The American named Spain who lives in Thailand.

Wednesday morning's senior class at Shiramizu. Mike is in the first row, in the middle.

Yes indeed, this multi-national person in question is Mr. Mike Spain. He arrived in Japan on December 4th and has come to Sugito to train for 12 days under the generousity of Arakawa Sensei.

I had met him at Ueno Station to which he went to from Narita airport after he landed. We took the train back to Sugito together and the hour or so ride as well as spending some time with him for these past two days let me find out more about what makes Mike tick.

So, what we have here is a world exclusive interview with Mike Spain!

L: Why don't you tell us a little about yourself.

MS: Although I was born an American, I spent quite some time out of mainland America. I've lived in Thailand since 2000 and for about 25 years before that, I lived in Hawaii. I'm 57 now and retired although I teach karate to students out of my home as well as at a university three times a week.

L: That sounds quite nice. What did you do before you retired?

MS: I spent two years in the Marine Corps and actually served in Vietnam. So, needless to say, the American government helps me out now that I'm retired.

L: It's the least they can do, eh? How about the karate aspect of your life? How long ago did you start?

MS: I've been training since I was 40 years old. I got started in Hawaii under Kiyohisa Hirano Sensei. When I moved to Thailand, I started teaching a handful of students around 2002. A lot of them are still with me and while I don't have many students, I teach them for free partly to give anyone the opportunity to learn and partly because it gives more reason to keep training.

L: That's awfully nice of you! So what's led you to Japan?

MS: Well, in Thailand, the dominant JKF styles are Shotokan and Goju so finding people to teach me the technical aspects of Wado is difficult. I wanted to come to have some of my technical questions answered and, if possible, somehow start a relationship with the Wado-Kai. Some of my students want to compete and being a part of a larger group will open doors for them.

L: If there aren't many people to ask questions to, how do you deal with them now?

MS: Books. Books, videos, internet; any source I can get my hands on. I try to study those as much as I can but it doesn't fill in all the holes.

L: Well, I'm sure it'll be a karate packed 12 days for you here, that's for sure. How about the people you've met?

MS: They're so nice! I really didn't expect so much hospitality, especially the schedule Arakawa Sensei has made for me. And the guest house is huge!

L: Haha...... well, that's how they do things here. You've done a few classes as well now. Any first thoughts?

MS: This'll help me slim down, that's for sure. I've spent the past two months working on the 9 main Wado kata to prepare for this trip (ed- Pinan kata, Naihanshi, Seishan, Chinto, and Kushanku) but there's still lots of little details that I'm picking up. For instance, the arm positioning and movement during the last two kake uke in Pinan Yondan.

L: Well, everyone's happy to have you here and I think you have a great attitude to get the most out of this trip.

MS: I was so excited, I was packed a week in advance! So thank you to everyone.