tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20748962177474977782024-03-05T02:37:37.083-08:00Lawrence's Tales Of Adventure...Who says consistently random is an oxymoron?...Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-39823746047721011382011-03-24T21:14:00.003-07:002011-03-24T21:21:37.580-07:00Your Japanese word of the... month... is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"keiken" 経験 which means "experience". Firstly, yes it's been basically two months since I wrote something that tags itself as weekly. Secondly, after searching my blog, I'm quite surprised I haven't used this word yet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, the big news was that this past weekend (Mar 18 - 20) was the Karate Canada Nationals. As I mentioned before, I went with Team BC and I got a first hand look at what kind of things I need to do to change my karate.</div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1q2zTy2e3UOslNxtdLxPOYDKrbKhFKS15Hep1cDPs4XcqNnK0FQMHvJXNP0wkvAYI30moOtRPJZFDOHuwtfCWnjiP5yyQU39I7Xa9_QTQoUBPz5EW6EDFkYPi_uTn_6pa9z96Q63wI8/s1600/2011BCTeam.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="260" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1q2zTy2e3UOslNxtdLxPOYDKrbKhFKS15Hep1cDPs4XcqNnK0FQMHvJXNP0wkvAYI30moOtRPJZFDOHuwtfCWnjiP5yyQU39I7Xa9_QTQoUBPz5EW6EDFkYPi_uTn_6pa9z96Q63wI8/s400/2011BCTeam.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As an experience, going to Nationals was amazing. It was a bit rough in the beginning since I didn't know anyone so even the social aspect of meeting new people was great. The other great part was that I got to be immersed in a community of common interest where everyone speaks the language. We can talk karate and everyone gets it. It's nice to be able to do that sometimes.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTlRoiupYp8B5_yWCRshkvxiUPu1LidJsaz8ImJhDjacN0xEADjE9gpnvoou6l_eTSVGbxKuaCLS9JAndoxwdJoe8wKLAwecM0KidA3n5G6Ez9-R_pNdz7ti0DmIrA46hK_-jH53iVD0/s1600/DSC00307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTlRoiupYp8B5_yWCRshkvxiUPu1LidJsaz8ImJhDjacN0xEADjE9gpnvoou6l_eTSVGbxKuaCLS9JAndoxwdJoe8wKLAwecM0KidA3n5G6Ez9-R_pNdz7ti0DmIrA46hK_-jH53iVD0/s400/DSC00307.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">First off, the tournament was held in St. Hyancinthe which is about an hour east of Montreal. We all stayed at the hotel which also provided the venue for the tournament. So really, for a week, we basically stayed inside the hotel. However, with two friends, we did manage to rent a car and drive into Montreal for a few hours but it really wasn't worth the hassle. Certainly not for two hours. But we did see... some church...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUwWdAhVDT1Z5-6QnyMIhUHw6SLBMKZZeVprtXWRoPGiCXhBdqNYwUM2B5Msz4mpzVw_T8eNI69cD1uIjYQCo2L2zQLtbLHmrtNvPfSWu_5zKEghLyYhBA3nPW1oknAtC6WDeDzdKiTs/s1600/DSC00300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUwWdAhVDT1Z5-6QnyMIhUHw6SLBMKZZeVprtXWRoPGiCXhBdqNYwUM2B5Msz4mpzVw_T8eNI69cD1uIjYQCo2L2zQLtbLHmrtNvPfSWu_5zKEghLyYhBA3nPW1oknAtC6WDeDzdKiTs/s400/DSC00300.JPG" width="260" /></a></div><br />
... and the Olympic Stadium hehe...<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbB2Ag47jdbYTz4WTAk_I3FGMCMQXdfvSETtN5ln7YtEacv_Am19rXC7246yuCQq98iEeTjZ35w3CFHqr6Cc0EesNufs05ONhWz9W9UrN0OAlXOShCZw23e7ZLV3FQEx-Vggpq_jgvxHY/s1600/DSC00695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbB2Ag47jdbYTz4WTAk_I3FGMCMQXdfvSETtN5ln7YtEacv_Am19rXC7246yuCQq98iEeTjZ35w3CFHqr6Cc0EesNufs05ONhWz9W9UrN0OAlXOShCZw23e7ZLV3FQEx-Vggpq_jgvxHY/s400/DSC00695.jpg" width="216" /></a>Anyways, on to the tournament... Taking place over three days, there were kata and kumite events for a bunch of age groups (starting from 14 yrs) and weight classes. It actually makes for really long days watching lots of events, but being in the hotel meant that we could go outside for some fresh air or a quick bite and then head back to watch more events and cheer for the team. At the end of the day, all the final rounds were held and then medal ceremonies.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Of course, with age and weight classes, the kumite division were by far the largest so that means there are fights all day long. That also means there were a lot of intense moments as people tied or took the lead with seconds remaining.</div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQTw9kawBumctaS6icF7KpEGZ1yNRKyo0JWC2DZoyjxif4tIMAvbxZDNhVKUTCLNX3Q95_3VgwhBa24OhlBA__Sa4FgV0046GXpchUYLuOemY-0jaN8ghExDs5LfjrT3T0XdafCWG_5s/s1600/DSC00541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQTw9kawBumctaS6icF7KpEGZ1yNRKyo0JWC2DZoyjxif4tIMAvbxZDNhVKUTCLNX3Q95_3VgwhBa24OhlBA__Sa4FgV0046GXpchUYLuOemY-0jaN8ghExDs5LfjrT3T0XdafCWG_5s/s400/DSC00541.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were also Team Kata events, which are always fun to watch =P</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the teams themselves, Quebec and Ontario brought the biggest teams and are understandably strong. Team BC consisted of 55 athletes and we did rather well, if I do say so myself.</div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrBZk6SiA0YiKgK0LBCTYvZydU4Yd-MpjfRJPpb1yUTR_3H3GmsUue7HxbN4YvCG9WiwzRsnrf_wFo40SHfqKOoaTbUBTj0LHuDm9ArYnMDwkF8ELHlqFIzfCod4JhV-MRI1PFHPTOak/s1600/DSC00731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="353" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrBZk6SiA0YiKgK0LBCTYvZydU4Yd-MpjfRJPpb1yUTR_3H3GmsUue7HxbN4YvCG9WiwzRsnrf_wFo40SHfqKOoaTbUBTj0LHuDm9ArYnMDwkF8ELHlqFIzfCod4JhV-MRI1PFHPTOak/s400/DSC00731.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A member of Team BC (blue) enroute to his gold medal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">For me personally, the experience was eye opening in that it showed me how much I still have yet to learn about competing. I came out of the tournament with lots of good feedback from coaches and officials and I really do think that, with some reflection and hard work, I can keep improving to the point where I could win a medal. The first step, however, is getting onto the team again so I'd have a chance to try haha... so that's what I'll be doing from now til the next selection- training.</div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUev_QZ6LosW_UxBjQpV-DmEEyAzwPeSs_1BNJ6R8dM1TCPhmjfI02O-9J-zIGX21Dan3b-egRLzFiEdO7f5iZQhSTV_kewPXDl8HrVBVPjCJTQ2gO5wjSuHu_wRsHaWHP3EvB7Y5F_o/s1600/DSC00488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUev_QZ6LosW_UxBjQpV-DmEEyAzwPeSs_1BNJ6R8dM1TCPhmjfI02O-9J-zIGX21Dan3b-egRLzFiEdO7f5iZQhSTV_kewPXDl8HrVBVPjCJTQ2gO5wjSuHu_wRsHaWHP3EvB7Y5F_o/s400/DSC00488.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Team BC - Boys 16 - 17 Kata</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Admittedly I still have a lot of catching up to do if I want to be competitive in the next few years, but it's not impossible. Someone mentioned to me before that "individual" sports like tennis or golf can be difficult because it gets lonely and the burden really falls on the one athlete. And karate can be like that sometimes in that winning or losing a match depends entirely on the one competitor. But now there's also more support both from within Wado and from the team itself which really helps.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXavv6CsmswueM5bP7Aunwel0K_MYxVN_Pb2PfZdGP9Htbxdfw45In5SJH10BJmEKkkHczrYNtYm-TmwxEMVrXdetOXzymUM7MvTOYgagwyxw_v6DPIrAa1En-ONx8h3oFcqQ8NMvoVo/s1600/DSC00576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXavv6CsmswueM5bP7Aunwel0K_MYxVN_Pb2PfZdGP9Htbxdfw45In5SJH10BJmEKkkHczrYNtYm-TmwxEMVrXdetOXzymUM7MvTOYgagwyxw_v6DPIrAa1En-ONx8h3oFcqQ8NMvoVo/s400/DSC00576.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">For the rest of the year, there's quite a few karate things happening as well. For starters, I got a call from another Wado dojo that wants to put together an instructional video and they wanted me to do some kata for them, which will be very helpful since a lot of our students have been asking for some kind of reference as well. In June there's going to be a big Wado training camp and we're trying to set up not one but two karate summer camps for July. So lots of cool stuff happening this year and in the fall, hopefully I can report on some other Pacific Spirit members competing... not just myself haha...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYTQqrr_BUwdq2xXyrk_LUtYqzvu1AfCxRmbSVy9eMBhgQ_byUWsnqIp1kaaNyKoeFmAc3K7p4WAFYCec1_EKsHnAUemoEstgdggMUxDeXK0X2vGQwD2EXNU1B_PkvYtHdo2TfhyVfVg/s1600/DSC00401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYTQqrr_BUwdq2xXyrk_LUtYqzvu1AfCxRmbSVy9eMBhgQ_byUWsnqIp1kaaNyKoeFmAc3K7p4WAFYCec1_EKsHnAUemoEstgdggMUxDeXK0X2vGQwD2EXNU1B_PkvYtHdo2TfhyVfVg/s400/DSC00401.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite shot of the tournament, and Team BC (red) as well! Men's 18 - 20 Kumite -60kg</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, about the tournament photos. Unfortunately, f4 on my Beercan wasn't enough in the venue's lighting. I basically had to salvage what I could from the RAWs and tweaked them to be presentable. Not all of them turned out but a fair number did so enjoy! =)</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-54201083300542053332011-01-25T13:16:00.000-08:002011-01-25T13:16:02.481-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"kawaru" 変わる which means "to change". As some of you know, I worked at a Lexus dealership for a few years, mostly while I was in undergrad, and a lot changed while I was there. I had changes in supervisors, changes in materials and equipment, and even changes in how work was prioritized. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the changes came how I dealt with them. Much like anything in life, the beginning saw me trying to do everything I was shown mostly because, without any experience, that's really the only thing I could do. Some time later, with a better understanding of what and how things needs to be done, I began to adapt the work to fit my work style and standards. The latter end of my work, however, fraught with mild frustration as new people, standards, or procedures were introduced that didn't always jive with me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some (including me) would say that wasn't really worth putting up a fight about. But more than that, insteading of wasting my time arguing, I tried to find a way stick to my methods while still accomodating and adapting to the new environment. Sounds pretty reasonable but the sheer number of conflicts I've seen at all my places of work and elsewhere suggests that it doesn't happen that often.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And such is the crossroads I'm at now in terms of karate. This past weekend was the Karate BC Provincials and, long story short, I ended up third. But I wasn't particularly happy with how I did, having lost early on and was pulled up because I lost to the eventual second place winner. My big issue is, as one of the coaches explained to me, that while there is nothing wrong with my karate, there is lots lacking from my competition karate.</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://inouehashitoryu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2007_12_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="http://inouehashitoryu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2007_12_9.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rika Usami - gold medal individual women's kata - 2010 Asian Games</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Competition kata is judged a bit like figure skating, with a panel of judges looking for technical details as much as presentation. The time I spent in Japan was focussed on learning karate in the martial arts sense- the function beneath the form, the uses of specific stances/positions, the more abstract as well as the concrete ideas that underlie the movements. I still have much to learn (as a recent black belt seminar showed) but that approach has led me to be somewhat critical of competition kata at times. <div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This, of course, now ties in to the same adapting ideas I mentioned before. I think I had issue with competition kata because I thought that's what some people did all the time. But I realise now that the best martial artists can have a "competition mode" that doesn't sacrifice their "traditional understanding" (technically, the best word for this is budo 武道). In fact, the best ones would most likely be able to blend the two together, streamlining their karate to be competitive while still keeping the core aspects and ideas of their martial arts.</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BPDfxsJl9BOaKuSqUExLSI7B0zSUAF5o2rMb7LhON5NswW5qLHbJ_edVhRCBbfsoNISjkBVQq8BbtwKG8zz8hfYrYA458MtnD_BCYgRVOsKDSKgJaLIR1UvxqC8MNRdMGcGaSY4__yQ/s1600/DSC00266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BPDfxsJl9BOaKuSqUExLSI7B0zSUAF5o2rMb7LhON5NswW5qLHbJ_edVhRCBbfsoNISjkBVQq8BbtwKG8zz8hfYrYA458MtnD_BCYgRVOsKDSKgJaLIR1UvxqC8MNRdMGcGaSY4__yQ/s400/DSC00266.JPG" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Key to the next stage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Thus is the next step for me, at least in terms of competition. There will be things that I can learn and do that will make my kata more "presentable" and hopefully more competitive. One of the first steps is that having medalled, I can now start training with the BC Team. This medal, then, more represents what I can do now than what I've already done. I'm already further along than I planned for in 2010 and as 2011 progresses, I'll keep refining my goals for this and the following year. <div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most interesting (or perhaps stubborn) is that it took something like to make the wholesale change in my thinking. Guess I still have much to learn haha.....</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-7246247583024553752010-12-23T19:54:00.002-08:002010-12-23T19:58:39.590-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"tetsudai" 手伝い which means to help/assist. It's the holiday season and while it's very important to be at home spending time with family and friends, thinking about gifts, and enjoying (some of) the time off, there's also some other things that we could do with our extra free time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.salvationarmy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/homeless-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.salvationarmy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/homeless-2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Two weeks ago, my friend organized a "Sandwich Day" which saw 8 of us spend one Sunday morning making about 130 PB&J and tuna-mayo sandwiches and then walking around the Downtown Eastside handing them out to those in need. We didn't choose who got a sandwich, we simply walked around and offered them to anyone we saw.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the people were extremely grateful but some, interestingly, were rather picky ("No rye bread??", "No chicken salad??") or tried to get more than one. This is particularly interesting because, just as how it was easy for me to take many things for granted and overlook just how fortunate I am, they were doing conceptually the same thing, just on a different level. I wasn't as aware of the time I myself would ask for options when, really, I should've just been more appreciative that I even had an option in the first place. It was a simple yet eye opening thing to have done. And it only took about 3 hours out of my day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another thing about "helping" is that I've noticed recently the newly graded belts have been stepping up, both voluntarily and when I ask them, to help out with the younger/lower ranking belts, be it helping them line up, fixing their belts, or teaching them a few moves here and there. It's great seeing the kids grow into their responsibilities slowly and, with some guidance here and there, generally doing a good job.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One curious thing I've seen is how some kids will say or do things that I never noticed I did. I guess because many of the students learned some of what they know from how and what I teach, when it's their turn to do so, they sometimes start with what they've seen me do or hear me say. Unfortunately, that sometimes leads to moments of "Do I do that/look like that?!?" haha...... oh well, it's a bit of a reality check and gives me a chance to be critical of my own teaching since I can essentially take a step back and watch myself... and it's helped me change things here and there as I try to improve as a teacher.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, it's two more days til Christmas and I wish all of you a very safe and happy holiday season!! Coming up in January 22-23rd is the KarateBC Provincial Championship but I'll check in before then... See you all in 2011!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media02.hongkiat.com/christmas_wallpapers_01/vladstudio_christmas_train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://media02.hongkiat.com/christmas_wallpapers_01/vladstudio_christmas_train.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas train!! Choo-choo-choo-choo...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-85876608784605148762010-11-30T21:51:00.001-08:002010-12-01T01:27:24.817-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"hisabisa" 久々which means a "long time". Technically, it's got a very similar meaning to "hisashiburi" <a href="http://web-lawg.blogspot.com/2009/04/your-japanese-word-of-week-is.html">which I've written about before</a> but, as I said in that post, "hisashiburi" seems to be used mainly more as a statement whereas "hisabisa", from what I've concluded through hearing it used, seems to be used as part of a phrase where you'd describe something you haven't done in a while (or "It's been a while since..."). Of course, you can use "hisashiburi" in a similar way as well so the details I'm not that sure of....</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFVsJ91kUB02WT_4KUF-sVMjTV8afCLHwxDFB-XFybUKpAJr3sy-jawMX-zdaVVMI3ETRuUigoTQKOempSyXpEdyhfqXeF2AJ3wBVzK_VvhFcObyoYZIbmHu3XkTpZQ8eBLPGGlzlANs/s1600/DSC00262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFVsJ91kUB02WT_4KUF-sVMjTV8afCLHwxDFB-XFybUKpAJr3sy-jawMX-zdaVVMI3ETRuUigoTQKOempSyXpEdyhfqXeF2AJ3wBVzK_VvhFcObyoYZIbmHu3XkTpZQ8eBLPGGlzlANs/s400/DSC00262.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, one of the big shockers this past week was the snowfall in Vancouver. It hasn't actually hit December yet but we've had below-0 temperatures and rather large snowfall which is something I haven't seen in a while. Yes, many people in Calgary will scoff at the idea of -5 degrees being cold, but for Vancouver in November, I'd say that's a bit rare.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the most part, I love snow. I love walking in it, I love driving in it, I love the way it makes everything look, I love the calmness it seems to spread... I don't, however, love what happens to the city when it snows. Vancouverites seem to freak out and a lot of them forget that snow is slippery meaning that it's rather dangerous to travel around the city both due to hooligans and ignorants alike...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But enough griping =P... As I said a few weeks ago, the end of November held a lot of karate and I'm glad to say all of it was rather successful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first big deal was the grading we had for most of the coloured belts. I was very happy with how everyone did, especially some of the people that didn't pass previously in April. One of the big principles I try to explain to the kids is that more important than the result is what you do with it. Some of them certainly weren't happy with not passing before but they've worked hard these past months and they deserved their new belts, which I think they're starting to understand the value of.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beyond that, and I mentioned this to all the students, was how impressive their progress has been. Sometimes it's hard to see their improvements because I see them so regularly, but when I took a step back and really analyzed their work, I definitely noticed a difference from 6 months ago. I take it as a sign that the ball is starting to roll now and if we keep it up, there'll be good things in the future =)...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second big event was the black belt grading this past Saturday. I wasn't being tested (read: no pressure for me haha) but I did attend to help some people practice as well as be their partners for kihon and jiyu kumite, from which I escaped unscathed fortunately because...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunday was the Zone 5 Qualification Tournament. Karate BC, if you don't know, is divided into zones and each zone holds a qualifier and the top 4 from certain divisions get to compete in the Karate BC Provincial Championships early next year. The top 3 in the provincials are also allowed onto the BC Team which will then train for the Nationals coming in the spring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I signed up for kata but I didn't really know what to expect. It's been a long time since I've competed (see how I tied that back in?? haha) and I don't really know much about the other dojos or competitors around the lower mainland so I went in simply to do my best. With 6 competitors in my division and me NOT being one with a by, I had to get past the first round to consider myself "qualified" for the provincials. And that indeed I did, edging out my opponent in the first round but in the second round, I lost to the eventual first place winner. Ultimately, I came in third, so now I'm headed for the provincials in a few months =)...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb75q947Ecua4qnEcFRuzXDcncbQed9VmCwBHLHYipsTgxwVgGBP4H8rW__RCMjUKjVczxtoxM3F3ZbCUDaPTbKETrU8sMlVgpYGMtWXOZZRjcmqsw8R7XfzqBh5meQcfLMEttVLe8AwI/s1600/DSC00265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb75q947Ecua4qnEcFRuzXDcncbQed9VmCwBHLHYipsTgxwVgGBP4H8rW__RCMjUKjVczxtoxM3F3ZbCUDaPTbKETrU8sMlVgpYGMtWXOZZRjcmqsw8R7XfzqBh5meQcfLMEttVLe8AwI/s320/DSC00265.JPG" width="291" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A few things I noticed though. First off, and this may sound really obvious, but training and teaching are two entirely different things. I'm going to have to get back on it if I'm going to be competitive in 2011 and onward, plain and simple...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second thing is that it's rather interesting to be the new boy in the relatively small community that is a Karate BC zone tournament. Everyone else in my division knew each other and have probably competed against each other many times. Then I step up and I just sensed everyone watching quietly and intently to see what the new guy would do. It was strangely quieter when I was up for my two times than anyone else... or it could've just been the nerves... hmm... =P...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The third and final point ties into the second- that Wado is unfortunately under-represented in BC in terms of adult competitors, if not in general. That's changing slightly with the growth of some clubs (mine included), but one of the problems that's reared it's head is that for the zone tournament, I was told I could only perform kata from my own style. Higher level Wado kata simply isn't as competitive as higher level kata from other styles, both due to the comparatively few kata Wado has as well as the philosophical approach Wado has to karate in general. That makes Wado kata, depending on your perspective, look less complex or less flashy/showy. Either way, that puts us at a competitive disadvantage right off the bat...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going to find out if I'm allowed to perform kata from other styles for the provincials because I do have a few non-Wado kata that I can prep. If not, then I'll just be training what Wado kata I have because being less competitive and being NOT competitive are two different things...</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.macwallpapers.eu/bulkupload/Sport/Ski//Ski/Sport%20Desktop%20Skiing%20Crystal%20Mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="http://www.macwallpapers.eu/bulkupload/Sport/Ski//Ski/Sport%20Desktop%20Skiing%20Crystal%20Mountain.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not me =P...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The last thing I haven't done in a long time....... gone skiing!! I just picked up some new boots since my old ones didn't fit right last year and after my skis get a good tune-up next week, I'll be ready for the slopes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope you're all ready for December and I'll check in with you all soon =)</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-8283919358496205052010-11-07T18:56:00.002-08:002010-11-07T19:03:01.908-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"sanka suru" 参加する which means "to participate". This past month, if I'm honest, I haven't really participated in much. I've been tutoring a bit more and karate's been going strong but there's lots there that's happening this month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First off, the Pacific Spirit grading week is this month, so we're busying preparing all the students for that. The weeks that lead up to grading are always interesting because although it comes across as a "test" of sorts, it doesn't really work that way. For instance, while there are minimum performance levels each student has to meet for their next belt, it ultimately is partly subjective whether they pass or not. Some may argue that they should pass because they know a certain kata or can perform a certain move, but I value effort just as much, if not more, than the product. And while I do strive for all my students to do better than the bare acceptable minimum (and I push them with that in mind), it's also sobering to keep in mind that not everyone is capable of everything and, as an instructor, I think it's important to keep that in mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next big event this month is a black belt grading. That's not happening at Pacific Spirit but rather at a larger grading where higher ranking black belts will run the test. I'm not, however, going to be grading for another dan but I will be helping a friend with hers. It'll be nice to be at a grading without the pressure of being graded for once haha.....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last big event is the Karate BC Provincial Championship Qualification round. The actual championship is early 2011 but you basically have to qualify to be in the round. Karate BC is separated into zones and each zone runs their own try-outs and in the provincial championships, all the qualifiers vie for the top spot. I've never competed in any Karate BC tournament and the last time I competed was in 2009 at the Kanto area Wadokai Championships. I'm sneaking in training time before and after classes but it'll be interesting to see how I, and the other students from Pacific Spirit that are competing, will turn out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of note is that, as the way these things happen, all three events are happening the same week..... exciting =P</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And in keeping with the karate theme, Richard sent me a video of the quarter final match of the WKF World Championships 75kg men's kumite.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In red is Rafael Aghayev, a multi-title winning -75kg fighter from Azerbaijan. I was lucky enough to have watched him fight in the 2008 WKF Worlds where he won the -75kg and the Open classes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In blue is Ko Matsuhisa, also a decorated kumite fighter that's also in the Wadokai. The year before I went to Japan, he taught at a kumite seminar that my dojo participated in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, enjoy the rather epic fight. Of note is that the scoreboard is flipped but this video is kind enough to show you a running tab of the scores. Anyway, enough blabbing, enjoy the fight!</div><br />
<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pswM1I8n6Y0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pswM1I8n6Y0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-46987512697674760542010-10-08T01:36:00.000-07:002010-10-08T01:36:47.260-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"wake" 訳 which means reasoning/meaning. As part of one of the last phrases in Japanese I ever learned, it's quite useful when you're talking about just how futile or unlikely something could be. For example, "aruku wake wa nai" basically means "no point in walking" or, depending on your tone of voice, "No way I'm walking". Another example is "kaeru wake wa nai" which would be "no reason to return" which, again depending on your tone, is synonymous with "Why would I go back?". Anyway, like any language, there are instricacies to it but that is essentially how "wake" is commonly used.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, well, it's more like I have no reason/excuse for not updating my blog recently. If I'm honest, the time has sort of slid by unnoticed because the days blend into weeks then blend into months. But I'm back and all is well =)...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the things I've been doing recently is going out for walks/hikes. There's a local hiking trail here called The Chief which consists of 3 different peaks. I've done two of the three so far and will soon doing the final one. Pics of that coming soon.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vTrIxuxNw-nFYK487LQYMYpzydmGbDWjfrYEWqAVcaDGCScAgA9e_ah4Qm2Wi04PRjpeamSBqM7dPRJNdMg9-r96-GYlLc889r608qVXMnBhUnjiwHi4afJG-nxPBTGe0plocGf3RtY/s1600/DSC00205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vTrIxuxNw-nFYK487LQYMYpzydmGbDWjfrYEWqAVcaDGCScAgA9e_ah4Qm2Wi04PRjpeamSBqM7dPRJNdMg9-r96-GYlLc889r608qVXMnBhUnjiwHi4afJG-nxPBTGe0plocGf3RtY/s400/DSC00205.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Another place I went to is Lynn Canyon in North Van. It's a great area with a huge variety of trails ranging from gentle "nature walks" (aboev) to the steep climb to its peak. I went a few days ago with a friend and, seeing as it's October now, decided to try and capture some autumn colours.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdjewwGHBH7oP_I9vUFeOoYomjEyrhEaIU_gNfh8MKXsWb0Ax04ilvZFgc6UbicDtmVeS0R3k4tT_W42aWB2nb8qI_ehXvV0NtbrV_bOhkNU32VS5I-qOkdw5cZ58va2-vv_UvxGsdAI/s1600/DSC00202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdjewwGHBH7oP_I9vUFeOoYomjEyrhEaIU_gNfh8MKXsWb0Ax04ilvZFgc6UbicDtmVeS0R3k4tT_W42aWB2nb8qI_ehXvV0NtbrV_bOhkNU32VS5I-qOkdw5cZ58va2-vv_UvxGsdAI/s400/DSC00202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Some of the leaves had started to turn and fall but for really great autumn pictures, I think a few more weeks is needed. Of course, that's a hard balancing act in Vancouver since fall usually means rain and if I wait too long, there won't be any more leaves to take pictures of. In the meantime, here are some other ones I got...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGauPnGA71rqlB-fjxRjyC8V-eiZPpyoTwvrMC0M02OVMvnDuoo2ATGq8ydeaJZPy56BwEGfXbzPKxVA235NvTU-qUIPikJ4uLKT4azYU0KmVkz6HolaqUyPUytiK7iY2vVUYABIA3RU/s1600/DSC00207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGauPnGA71rqlB-fjxRjyC8V-eiZPpyoTwvrMC0M02OVMvnDuoo2ATGq8ydeaJZPy56BwEGfXbzPKxVA235NvTU-qUIPikJ4uLKT4azYU0KmVkz6HolaqUyPUytiK7iY2vVUYABIA3RU/s400/DSC00207.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaIJ-Y55l0jJFP86CItspsMwnGlcvzeyma601Ls_o4kq5Yb69wyFU8cDLGpJlyG-MihCT3tiLypMfe4vC8sMGLkRWxzkVD5woiIOb7aRr_ZKGZwtnXOSnsnAeWOXSsYJ-wH_OdPUdoXE/s1600/DSC00217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaIJ-Y55l0jJFP86CItspsMwnGlcvzeyma601Ls_o4kq5Yb69wyFU8cDLGpJlyG-MihCT3tiLypMfe4vC8sMGLkRWxzkVD5woiIOb7aRr_ZKGZwtnXOSnsnAeWOXSsYJ-wH_OdPUdoXE/s400/DSC00217.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the best parts of the Lynn Canyon park was that even in the bright sunlight at midday, the canopy casted amazing shadows all across the forest floor. The lighting was never too bright nor too dim and certain patches would always be illuminated in the places lesat expected. This, along with the serenely quiet forest atmosphere and the atypically abundant ferns and mosses made it feel very special indeed.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Do6ZjaXciDH4IqA7n1I75muphVY-2hM1c_UEcNcw7c16EKtQPa1LRbwq70BK72pGS-uSdDWfjK_lX9RvmhVreMzeq1gy3gDjDkDQ0ccCvwST3O1hYMFqulLqd9oIW6lt0ka5Bj22yhI/s1600/DSC00213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Do6ZjaXciDH4IqA7n1I75muphVY-2hM1c_UEcNcw7c16EKtQPa1LRbwq70BK72pGS-uSdDWfjK_lX9RvmhVreMzeq1gy3gDjDkDQ0ccCvwST3O1hYMFqulLqd9oIW6lt0ka5Bj22yhI/s400/DSC00213.JPG" width="258" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyii1S6WgvD140h-5XNxrSZXgpTmMou6EeSkb_ZYKTMB1hNBIdMEsBgzVxp9TVM4ZYgz3P3tNo-eLwD0cz4FN5ZA2KqpBlFDdj8FdIPUn9hg9l2Lc0yWnpV1tMGk_ihmiZcQeh696DWFU/s1600/DSC00209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyii1S6WgvD140h-5XNxrSZXgpTmMou6EeSkb_ZYKTMB1hNBIdMEsBgzVxp9TVM4ZYgz3P3tNo-eLwD0cz4FN5ZA2KqpBlFDdj8FdIPUn9hg9l2Lc0yWnpV1tMGk_ihmiZcQeh696DWFU/s400/DSC00209.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And then, of course, are my personal favourites from the day, including:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyS6U29l1j5j42YGR__5SuvBSWfGIAtUDM0sd22VIFuywnIsCrW6mOP-t05xORbygje2vSI-WP1JJnXJ9kq2fnUSeBvZ-Xm2T0LtjZIyLWm9lwDv-UHmN-DmCfTP1mxgrq_p5K7xpzlg/s1600/DSC00244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyS6U29l1j5j42YGR__5SuvBSWfGIAtUDM0sd22VIFuywnIsCrW6mOP-t05xORbygje2vSI-WP1JJnXJ9kq2fnUSeBvZ-Xm2T0LtjZIyLWm9lwDv-UHmN-DmCfTP1mxgrq_p5K7xpzlg/s400/DSC00244.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVErO3D5-d8rWIx7qOVTGuxmuswCHOr6AyBDG-Zx09RfJTZJ5ixWQRGCTAxsRLZfIVFZw6rnxE3tOJyKdbTYgTs9MF8anE73j-82K1qDoilme9MEIKGt7XBIvc03RFdF4z_0-K8xco_Ss/s1600/DSC00219-hdr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVErO3D5-d8rWIx7qOVTGuxmuswCHOr6AyBDG-Zx09RfJTZJ5ixWQRGCTAxsRLZfIVFZw6rnxE3tOJyKdbTYgTs9MF8anE73j-82K1qDoilme9MEIKGt7XBIvc03RFdF4z_0-K8xco_Ss/s400/DSC00219-hdr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A tone mapped picture of a maple leaf.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7_uS1ZuOeuEY8UWk9MGwxiS6PYEIk760XvMyfdkt3_-bv2KkTxqBqRABRpao0nDC1jH2bg3b17cI-IEvtlSk3oX5N-WkFuXgmeCEJYHC6ZX7YF0ZB5o9RAlLNnlGl5oEu3QqrUy2CWk/s1600/DSC00226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7_uS1ZuOeuEY8UWk9MGwxiS6PYEIk760XvMyfdkt3_-bv2KkTxqBqRABRpao0nDC1jH2bg3b17cI-IEvtlSk3oX5N-WkFuXgmeCEJYHC6ZX7YF0ZB5o9RAlLNnlGl5oEu3QqrUy2CWk/s400/DSC00226.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This one that I call, "Fall"</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvb7P07PTvA4rzAxmQkzqxlctiN1-0G-hjxykN7mZvNhNYawU_ZqCpgU2y5HZY_sAoXg_wp7QqYViKY7CNPoJ_oyxVSFomCSU8vQTFZ2dfqNhZaBJVsWtsvJgc0DHOTqsgHB02YwnDrA/s1600/DSC00242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvb7P07PTvA4rzAxmQkzqxlctiN1-0G-hjxykN7mZvNhNYawU_ZqCpgU2y5HZY_sAoXg_wp7QqYViKY7CNPoJ_oyxVSFomCSU8vQTFZ2dfqNhZaBJVsWtsvJgc0DHOTqsgHB02YwnDrA/s400/DSC00242.JPG" width="237" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">And my personal favourite from the day because I think the lighting really makes the picture.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Anyway, I promise to be more consistent with these posts. We've also started a Sunday evening karate class at Pacific Spirit Wado Kai so I'll let you know more about how that class develops as we grow it.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Stay tuned!</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-48158906167659840292010-09-17T12:54:00.000-07:002010-09-17T12:54:39.831-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"ame" 雨 which means rain. Even the pictograph kanji looks sort of like water falling from clouds. That's the interesting thing about kanji... they seem to bear more resemblance to what they're representing the simpler the kanji. Although, on second thought, maybe that's not overly surprising... Anyway haha...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzgfzheow6XBl-Fz-ChYwFCC8E6noltrK8FsRXPF4YxpGr_AgvTjIO8zJq8ZNQun33PqwaRNdeY6NVi6zeZgPc1OSJIF_810APklPL0sokpemmU33RYAbHuRgB8mI7PSvNwslixqpQvE/s1600/DSC09869+(2)-hdr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzgfzheow6XBl-Fz-ChYwFCC8E6noltrK8FsRXPF4YxpGr_AgvTjIO8zJq8ZNQun33PqwaRNdeY6NVi6zeZgPc1OSJIF_810APklPL0sokpemmU33RYAbHuRgB8mI7PSvNwslixqpQvE/s400/DSC09869+(2)-hdr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">What I meant to talk about was my recent trip up to Lund on the Sunshine Coast. It's not particularly far but you are at the mercy of the ferries, which means early starts and, if you want to make sure you get home, earlier returns. But we actually stayed the night in Lund so that made it much more relaxing.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEPEgqf7OHjJ3xmjsS6aw25mCYFQkJwaSVvFC4wRY1ke8gKDczUN2xdbnfubB8CsVt5tacDIZY5geNdp7SrK3np_vhMP2o3THALcDDPdQymUwCMeUt8ad7siv4jmaHdzCsw2V-STThTs/s1600/route.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEPEgqf7OHjJ3xmjsS6aw25mCYFQkJwaSVvFC4wRY1ke8gKDczUN2xdbnfubB8CsVt5tacDIZY5geNdp7SrK3np_vhMP2o3THALcDDPdQymUwCMeUt8ad7siv4jmaHdzCsw2V-STThTs/s400/route.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, quite a lot of twisties which makes the drive rather fun. The roads on the last leg up to Lund get a bit more broken but for the most part, it's nice and smooth which is always comforting.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJC-2xeqIVlsvzuYLcxOzlOqApgrXaeMoNVHyvfQKj-7DiqCc8DvgPG5TSMYEYpUcn6eUsDTig1vEDcqZLmwUWBNYxatN2DzTMGM9P0-1dnfCl_CaphYCDTsg7jlP6VTPDaLHVjr4ZZo/s1600/DSC09978+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJC-2xeqIVlsvzuYLcxOzlOqApgrXaeMoNVHyvfQKj-7DiqCc8DvgPG5TSMYEYpUcn6eUsDTig1vEDcqZLmwUWBNYxatN2DzTMGM9P0-1dnfCl_CaphYCDTsg7jlP6VTPDaLHVjr4ZZo/s400/DSC09978+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After arriving, we had a bit of time to relax and around 6pm, we (me, my parents, and 7 others) all boarded a boat that one of them chartered. It's basically a privately owned charter company and the owner/operator will plan out a tour based on what you want to see. You can do multi-day trips, you can do a short half-day or full-day trip to anywhere to see or do anything. If you want to go fishing, he'll take you to some great fishing spots. If you want to see waterfalls, he can take you there as well. For us, we went on a tour around Desolation Sound which included a dinner prepared by his wife (they run the business together).</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qZWOvZKk8dNn8SafSLdLJgs-e1jucotuzwyuH5zt_RO0Jv4_bDL5ddouEJmtHG1ooE0S7MQax8xzHuEdjlnlwvU3AtMDOjDsC8an1usCtFA5CtaBOBx2MGe6oiwuhRVLo1f-GDmu2vU/s1600/DSC09913+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qZWOvZKk8dNn8SafSLdLJgs-e1jucotuzwyuH5zt_RO0Jv4_bDL5ddouEJmtHG1ooE0S7MQax8xzHuEdjlnlwvU3AtMDOjDsC8an1usCtFA5CtaBOBx2MGe6oiwuhRVLo1f-GDmu2vU/s400/DSC09913+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the surprises of the boat trip were the prawn traps that our guide laid out the day before. The haul wasn't particularly large (though more than enough for the 10 of us) but the more adventurous of us ate a few fresh from the traps. I must say, they're particularly delicious like that haha..... very tender with just a tiny bit of the sea salt flavour.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeX3dRp2RupUOwcTGyOU6di6whngSOmS_xyK6b63v2MB_qXwo0IpNcqeQOAioMt32ylD81J9KDZB1p_Wxt4Qm9wMLt116SQaVydRxHtr95tLHHkITz4hDKMWm0nf__Vnhi0vQAskuZW8/s1600/DSC10007+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeX3dRp2RupUOwcTGyOU6di6whngSOmS_xyK6b63v2MB_qXwo0IpNcqeQOAioMt32ylD81J9KDZB1p_Wxt4Qm9wMLt116SQaVydRxHtr95tLHHkITz4hDKMWm0nf__Vnhi0vQAskuZW8/s400/DSC10007+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqaIYVsulK-4KcXGMDfx8MERrV8iCMw4ea4vHDeD9VH5xjeUvbj9I1nluIPodEm67haNwlqzUpRfaKmP3aDV7ErRR5Ag-F6lltxMUQFreu27T3juRasD_IglXNtHh8iVdEYIF5hFwLiw/s1600/DSC10002+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqaIYVsulK-4KcXGMDfx8MERrV8iCMw4ea4vHDeD9VH5xjeUvbj9I1nluIPodEm67haNwlqzUpRfaKmP3aDV7ErRR5Ag-F6lltxMUQFreu27T3juRasD_IglXNtHh8iVdEYIF5hFwLiw/s400/DSC10002+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, no trip through a provincial park would be complete without a lot of wildlife being spotted. Highlights include seals and dolphins (the latter which I wasn't fast enough to grab a shot of) and bald eagles.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZOfh_iWZ4MsEYAKhAdnxdWtaQ3VbUfZ1F9FEzue5zCj2cKnD3GLzcuBjvzcS-ndIwwTaIUQfiS2cpP6JrPZ0UOziurJK4M_mBmoZ2D5M8ryaL903uGmR-HEpe3QLQNPtPT1lHd_ORKI/s1600/DSC10046+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZOfh_iWZ4MsEYAKhAdnxdWtaQ3VbUfZ1F9FEzue5zCj2cKnD3GLzcuBjvzcS-ndIwwTaIUQfiS2cpP6JrPZ0UOziurJK4M_mBmoZ2D5M8ryaL903uGmR-HEpe3QLQNPtPT1lHd_ORKI/s400/DSC10046+(2).jpg" width="205" /></a></div><br />
And this rock which resembles a seal...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Gj2BIDvSFbZ77dzYeDI_ODyqSuSh9AySLhadwssQ_SQ-3LajAh6tuzR4uMiLFJhZ64jG_EauqfB1ZfxFeRyK2W5hjQh2hxE_GaM4j490zeJveKoLLVKufMhptAQrJ_19bIRWUDeOWlE/s1600/DSC10089+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Gj2BIDvSFbZ77dzYeDI_ODyqSuSh9AySLhadwssQ_SQ-3LajAh6tuzR4uMiLFJhZ64jG_EauqfB1ZfxFeRyK2W5hjQh2hxE_GaM4j490zeJveKoLLVKufMhptAQrJ_19bIRWUDeOWlE/s400/DSC10089+(2).jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">With all that done, we headed back to the quaint shore-side hotel which had one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in. Although that could also be due to the long day that we had... who knows heh.... oh, also, if you manage to be in Lund on a clear day, the sunset is amazing I'm told since the pier faces west and looks out towards Vancouver Island. Unfortunately for us, we were hampered by clouds...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_snPOFy7BR6K7GdA-K7cDaY6UtRyHCJlOGVYq9zr1NyIp4dUQqA-SKPD3_0cD0uTtWV6l56pW55NQVBFjhCXWeoBytcMpBvphNI5R2oZZuXIH1RuIWm1-8308PnDn3aKw9FDfAk1rPM/s1600/DSC10073+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_snPOFy7BR6K7GdA-K7cDaY6UtRyHCJlOGVYq9zr1NyIp4dUQqA-SKPD3_0cD0uTtWV6l56pW55NQVBFjhCXWeoBytcMpBvphNI5R2oZZuXIH1RuIWm1-8308PnDn3aKw9FDfAk1rPM/s400/DSC10073+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The next day we headed back with a stop at the Ruby Lake resort. And, despite the occasional downpour, what started as a brief rest turned into an all afternoon photography session by everybody because of the sheer amount of flowers and interesting bird-related items hidden around the acreage. In fact, the resort's a bird sanctuary so going on a clearer day would probably net you quite a few bird sightings if that's your thing. Here are a few of the flower pics I took.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4Nyem_2dfm1ub3y-_QemT82HpMrvPqpWFuMLhBAk4APMjtzjzm4N8hnb4qwW_fsgFwEPANmdWIt98sZqETtLB0WAvTXpISfYtL-7KjpPE5REhxY422qJdYVq40seiM-0JVyazLMlDZo/s1600/DSC10136+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4Nyem_2dfm1ub3y-_QemT82HpMrvPqpWFuMLhBAk4APMjtzjzm4N8hnb4qwW_fsgFwEPANmdWIt98sZqETtLB0WAvTXpISfYtL-7KjpPE5REhxY422qJdYVq40seiM-0JVyazLMlDZo/s400/DSC10136+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3wv7SdzD1ORyx8WzJzJkrRIqqnXhsnkuVHn9Y9PfaQ8pnm1MkOFXa6cXQtp7rfwgVQg5dbLpdPR3kta80RBJfKTtCqG5ew40YmaEqO4TptMsi9yBJc7YmahHyloaDmQoIX3RVKd8CKs/s1600/DSC10175+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3wv7SdzD1ORyx8WzJzJkrRIqqnXhsnkuVHn9Y9PfaQ8pnm1MkOFXa6cXQtp7rfwgVQg5dbLpdPR3kta80RBJfKTtCqG5ew40YmaEqO4TptMsi9yBJc7YmahHyloaDmQoIX3RVKd8CKs/s400/DSC10175+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCP33i0D6XOei_FaidAK_iiN3QNelmaNXGZPAlvH3AW8MgYaTEVBNjqfo-kttRgkGX-VXTkkxWut_gmhLrtj2mqqcUVuDs1G0v4fTXRaKqChVDv2QdyzaV4n3q6ixCxT1jW50drht_IA/s1600/DSC10156+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCP33i0D6XOei_FaidAK_iiN3QNelmaNXGZPAlvH3AW8MgYaTEVBNjqfo-kttRgkGX-VXTkkxWut_gmhLrtj2mqqcUVuDs1G0v4fTXRaKqChVDv2QdyzaV4n3q6ixCxT1jW50drht_IA/s400/DSC10156+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Capping it all off was lunch at the Italian restaurant at the resort where the chef served us an absolutely delicious meal of pasta with a seafood platter of mussels, scallops, prawns, and clams in a tomato sauce. As always, there's something to be said for simple, hearty, skillfully prepared meals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that was it- a pleasant two day trip right in our own backyard. It's actually easy enough to get to that I'm considering going again. It's even possible to head out to the restaurant for lunch and easy make the ferries back for home... and it's worth it too!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, now that September's hit, it's back to the normal life which includes yet another season of Pacific Spirit Karate. We've got some changes coming along and one of them includes a blog which will be online in a few weeks. So check back for that!</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-21195036551554916492010-09-01T18:32:00.000-07:002010-09-01T18:32:40.472-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"fuukei" 風景 which means "scenery" or "landscape" which, of course, is a major focal point of the 1-week road trip I took to Yellowstone with my parents.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3YedovaqLESL5PqYrD4YMdA5L3Nl39NxHgFiR-7SNmvUBW7GF1MaxYwGBi0gtO3p6frt5vfr4rqrQ77pwATCVu91z_WedRd-OHicvHDCMzVRqmva4IHQEpqsa7bGlGZj5VWNVBA7kKI/s1600/route.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3YedovaqLESL5PqYrD4YMdA5L3Nl39NxHgFiR-7SNmvUBW7GF1MaxYwGBi0gtO3p6frt5vfr4rqrQ77pwATCVu91z_WedRd-OHicvHDCMzVRqmva4IHQEpqsa7bGlGZj5VWNVBA7kKI/s400/route.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The 8-day trip took us from Vancouver through to Coeur d'Alene, West Yellowstone, inside Yellowstone, Livingston, Hungry Horse, Pincher Creek, Grand Forks, and then back home for a grand total of 3500km. The driving, overall, wasn't too bad. Past Seattle the traffic really thins out and you spend a lot of the four-lane highway by yourself with a fair bit of space around you. There are some really fun windy roads on the way back through the Rockies but overall, just a nice, calm, quiet cruise through the north western US.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDKqkuV4gBFL22bib5YZJ5-9vBr79rT9u3tvzV3h3e0XV1U-s3CQjQN-PddM-cFi_ZTCioB4V89gE5wpt6QO7LemuhayFXbsQKJreg39gDEoVPqcx-2rbGwOyI25vFHeN0j-daHSGGMY/s1600/DSC09676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDKqkuV4gBFL22bib5YZJ5-9vBr79rT9u3tvzV3h3e0XV1U-s3CQjQN-PddM-cFi_ZTCioB4V89gE5wpt6QO7LemuhayFXbsQKJreg39gDEoVPqcx-2rbGwOyI25vFHeN0j-daHSGGMY/s400/DSC09676.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Nice, calm, and quiet thanks in no small part to the car. Here it is at the north entrance of Yellowstone.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88fybgEGLHkg8LcFC83bNSuvS8DOO3hB1fU38cxlOp3cNmHi1uIl-PTrGCzN-2CwFcR5rnnfWYKiyPyBaseHo8xvlI2Paseu0sEVhnAfy24O9IB5HA5CJYps5A1xGRqfle06VZoge3Yw/s1600/DSC09504+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88fybgEGLHkg8LcFC83bNSuvS8DOO3hB1fU38cxlOp3cNmHi1uIl-PTrGCzN-2CwFcR5rnnfWYKiyPyBaseHo8xvlI2Paseu0sEVhnAfy24O9IB5HA5CJYps5A1xGRqfle06VZoge3Yw/s400/DSC09504+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Travelling was Days 1 and 2. For Days 3 and 4 we were actually inside the parking and that's where the real landscape viewing begins. The park is almost unfathomably large and different areas actually look different. As in, you could be driving through a forest and come out onto a huge plains area... it really is that big. And that pretty too...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIEvpji3f0903IhvvhmGy86XCEzveZgHlUAlBYkIe86LsUs4Y5ZjRJ_o9LXaq5AvkpK3R4jVPARJGwt9PmsJ_fEoE7ulrL_kSrx72XLEeQ-_uDA7jGAQX-V567OJ16B_bauPRHFs_rgk/s1600/DSC09305+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIEvpji3f0903IhvvhmGy86XCEzveZgHlUAlBYkIe86LsUs4Y5ZjRJ_o9LXaq5AvkpK3R4jVPARJGwt9PmsJ_fEoE7ulrL_kSrx72XLEeQ-_uDA7jGAQX-V567OJ16B_bauPRHFs_rgk/s400/DSC09305+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">One of the first stops if you enter from the west entrance are these basins of hot water, this one being the "Sapphire Pool". There are actually quite a few basins in the area and they all look somewhat similar with different colours for each.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoanWo1fS684tRBNXAo3-1sgofchXJB5nGLLPqMBfX07kARE7o8p3qdfJSQ0o2VBfHQ1dnOr9x00KZlyAlCtEZFvcFoXE-4_sf8_QwPjX8Gk4l5nR7GSREGdhPmYju10ezLOa1Mhn0eE/s1600/DSC09252+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoanWo1fS684tRBNXAo3-1sgofchXJB5nGLLPqMBfX07kARE7o8p3qdfJSQ0o2VBfHQ1dnOr9x00KZlyAlCtEZFvcFoXE-4_sf8_QwPjX8Gk4l5nR7GSREGdhPmYju10ezLOa1Mhn0eE/s400/DSC09252+(2).jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">A bit further down, of course, is Old Faithful. We actually skipped a few sights just to be sure we could see Old Faithful blow and then went back to see the ones we missed. If I'm honest, all that "hurry up and wait" hyped it up to the point that when the water did flow, I was a bit cynical about it all. That's not to say Old Faithful isn't great to watch because it is. It's just that we skipped over some equally nice stops to see it. And we were lucky we had time to go back but some people might not...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJr_Qp4wQhK_ARj-pfZFTS2wD9Cvkp5JQiF-kU_YkMF4WfDlN-CJ9vbe9041avQzy2LifEprPcBQ4sDOWZQRxyY_YkdeUN-52RzcoKGyrW6u89hpb_ml0KO_w6tRERGSMFs2Sbhyphenhyphen5Dozc/s1600/DSC09277+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJr_Qp4wQhK_ARj-pfZFTS2wD9Cvkp5JQiF-kU_YkMF4WfDlN-CJ9vbe9041avQzy2LifEprPcBQ4sDOWZQRxyY_YkdeUN-52RzcoKGyrW6u89hpb_ml0KO_w6tRERGSMFs2Sbhyphenhyphen5Dozc/s400/DSC09277+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Sights like these thermal pools. Looks of bacteria that thrive on the high temperatures live here and they give the pools and runoffs these colours. Again, very pretty and entirely possible that, because of how close they are to Old Faithful, some people would skip it. If you go, make sure to stop by these basins because they're worth your while.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT93bWuOzKGDsAiGun0d15Vs8tBFsEUbYPkHqTnCTtaQPB8PiMCYDg1CQgO7fjDt-OTkK4Hl3yJ3cgZePyrG4D2bD22JWYwVdjsRXEmP7a2rOgyPcGQf76-83AmIA5vHyBFao8bqRBemI/s1600/DSC09429+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT93bWuOzKGDsAiGun0d15Vs8tBFsEUbYPkHqTnCTtaQPB8PiMCYDg1CQgO7fjDt-OTkK4Hl3yJ3cgZePyrG4D2bD22JWYwVdjsRXEmP7a2rOgyPcGQf76-83AmIA5vHyBFao8bqRBemI/s400/DSC09429+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">And no trip to Yellowstone is complete without buffalo. These are easy to spot- just watch for the crowds of people pulled over on the side of the road. This one was a particularly huge traffic jam and so we jumped out and caught a herd swimming across the stream. And for what people say about them being scary up close, they actually are. I'm not sure if it's the cold, beady eyes or the fear of them charging, but as soon as they climbed up the banks, people started running haha...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLIJe-caXSPIh5Wtfpn-iyiv4YkCGKAN-LayGY5SEpctXi7Rcu65QtS4_vTQKwyU8f8VsMY6pf2yzO7uhISjvA5x46tJLUXVsseOxW3CMcfSO9ytjV38sqXMPfSm5lgKDkhY8O_a-A0g/s1600/DSC09603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLIJe-caXSPIh5Wtfpn-iyiv4YkCGKAN-LayGY5SEpctXi7Rcu65QtS4_vTQKwyU8f8VsMY6pf2yzO7uhISjvA5x46tJLUXVsseOxW3CMcfSO9ytjV38sqXMPfSm5lgKDkhY8O_a-A0g/s400/DSC09603.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">There's also the Mammoth Terraces where years of calcium carbonate deposits have left the landscape mostly devoid of colour. Even these dead trees stand in stark contrast to the paleness around them.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp89b2i2g0sgvPFIte7pwO1MBTIygukw2CmjvYkN1eby3X8PfDUvWEA4t3TA5oGxTI_cWLjJBhNGYODRxcvX_wXaN1fhXfgKv7dToKO2Q0YdGAykIzVp7OcTo9jEgpusJbZggEAWH9lg/s1600/DSC09730+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp89b2i2g0sgvPFIte7pwO1MBTIygukw2CmjvYkN1eby3X8PfDUvWEA4t3TA5oGxTI_cWLjJBhNGYODRxcvX_wXaN1fhXfgKv7dToKO2Q0YdGAykIzVp7OcTo9jEgpusJbZggEAWH9lg/s400/DSC09730+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">On leaving Yellowstone, we drove north towards Alberta and crossed Glacier National Park along the way. Compared to Yellowstone it's not nearly as large or spectacular, but certain places (like the pine forest) are amazing at the right time. And for all that Yellowstone is large and rather obvious about its sights, Glacier is a bit more subtle and takes a moment to be appreciate. Such as this view of a lake just after a rainstorm.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqChri9fLFvWpaVsV8b95DYrp0Ezw3glkRvQ52ViHlqYIGQnwrNkkA0xB0VYMwUkkyTXrLDPhlf1rL-5psOuERg0ssQQj7f_7_VkqwO9Y5C6rf6DHU7clcVhyC18N4x6LNk8QHJGCXGEw/s1600/DSC09715+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqChri9fLFvWpaVsV8b95DYrp0Ezw3glkRvQ52ViHlqYIGQnwrNkkA0xB0VYMwUkkyTXrLDPhlf1rL-5psOuERg0ssQQj7f_7_VkqwO9Y5C6rf6DHU7clcVhyC18N4x6LNk8QHJGCXGEw/s400/DSC09715+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And Glacier's not short on wildlife either...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtLQk-PBcz5AM7lP-eKoQV4RkIN4BRESeBXWt3xUMRWuyN4n_RuKUSbK6YUt4yjWkQfTDjkzNVdOKdajrfjSS4DdSDEQAHNDng5VJQLRqinjmtPFgauzWtxaNnRuD3-imRP3St8f4AHo/s1600/DSC09760+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHtLQk-PBcz5AM7lP-eKoQV4RkIN4BRESeBXWt3xUMRWuyN4n_RuKUSbK6YUt4yjWkQfTDjkzNVdOKdajrfjSS4DdSDEQAHNDng5VJQLRqinjmtPFgauzWtxaNnRuD3-imRP3St8f4AHo/s400/DSC09760+(2).jpg" width="351" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Near Cranbrook is an old heritage town called Fort Steele. If you like that kind of stuff, it's worth stopping by. All the people are dress up and there are horse carriage rides and performances throughout the day.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_54G76jWDZW13rVc3rduKtdgzEB-gw2ipitRoJ1SHsyTCQu1vU76FWQ_SqgsWmhlJ7iOxUukn9GXflFL_ExFgswdWpa0W2zNK1x9nk9kyJR1L66drdZKYsmZx8VanUGrlVF8pX73FNZw/s1600/DSC09787+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_54G76jWDZW13rVc3rduKtdgzEB-gw2ipitRoJ1SHsyTCQu1vU76FWQ_SqgsWmhlJ7iOxUukn9GXflFL_ExFgswdWpa0W2zNK1x9nk9kyJR1L66drdZKYsmZx8VanUGrlVF8pX73FNZw/s400/DSC09787+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">We also stopped in Osoyoos on the way back, although this picture is still from Fort Steele.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, the trip was a nice way to cap of the one year I spent at UBC. I'm all finished now so the next challenge is to find some work and put these new skills to use.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And Pacific Spirit Wado Kai, which starts again on Sept 14th. We've got loads planned including new classes, new events, and a new Pacific Spirit blog. Stay tuned for that!</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-36965292171026613852010-08-15T16:56:00.000-07:002010-08-15T16:56:11.892-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"orora" オーロラ which is just the phonetic translation of "aurora", the famous Northern Lights. The aurora lights, being an interaction of solar wind particles with the Earth's magnetic field, is a rather rare occurance since it can only be seen further north and in dark areas than, let's say, Vancouver. So when the news said that a rather large solar wind was going to light up skies near the 49th parallel, I grabbed my camera and headed out of the city to try and snag a picture of it.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSotZDNcFXvTMa5L1vzJatILN_62X-O_dNU7XCIDd7NW1EfhGW3Jh2MaupODe7hWppmL5E8HUIV0irCTZEc1K7LBvcHPSHOr_sI3F17H5-FGew3Cp7VAvO_Tu0Lfq3y-Z8Qh8t9Jndatg/s1600/DSC08988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSotZDNcFXvTMa5L1vzJatILN_62X-O_dNU7XCIDd7NW1EfhGW3Jh2MaupODe7hWppmL5E8HUIV0irCTZEc1K7LBvcHPSHOr_sI3F17H5-FGew3Cp7VAvO_Tu0Lfq3y-Z8Qh8t9Jndatg/s320/DSC08988.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, despite what has been a rather awesome Vancouver summer, one of the few cloudy nights we've had was the same night I went up so there really wasn't much to see... so in the end, I just took a few night shots with some friends and headed home. I suppose if I was really desperate I could always venture further into the interior or take those "aurora watching" tours to Yellowknife but... well, we'll see haha....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdHkwerCQhODiNevYYwKfJXnQqVUdTJBZQYkOr8VBn27gLeZY0G7ZhzjkhBaRTAH8-_mjMd2pMxP7syGRVtfWGd65XKirekwLHiB0BXOPJN72THA05veKtszd4qZpb3AtAfLhY8rWaaE/s1600/DSC08992-sized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdHkwerCQhODiNevYYwKfJXnQqVUdTJBZQYkOr8VBn27gLeZY0G7ZhzjkhBaRTAH8-_mjMd2pMxP7syGRVtfWGd65XKirekwLHiB0BXOPJN72THA05veKtszd4qZpb3AtAfLhY8rWaaE/s320/DSC08992-sized.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">The other big piece of news is that I'm officially done my Bachelor of Education program! It was an interesting 1 year and I certainly learned a lot... the challenge now is to find work that will let me test out my skills haha... </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">So come September, Pacific Spirit Karate will be kicking off again with the bar set slightly higher, I'll be able to update this blog more frequently (check back next week for pics from my upcoming trip to Yellowstone Park), and hopefully I'll be working and teaching so I can share my experiences about that.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Til then...Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-32962075920630745532010-07-30T23:24:00.000-07:002010-07-30T23:24:20.343-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">"seiko" 成功 which means "success". And the big success this past while was the PSWK Summer Karate Camp 2010 which ran from July 5-23rd, every Monday - Friday 3-5pm. We had hoped for about 6 kids to register which was the minimum we needed to make the rent and we got almost double that. The picture below was the class on the second last day, minus one family of 3 and Sensei Erica.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBVV3-y14_vXwCPLCSLfHWdOJIw4-Ue2xvCAtx2X-9YZ1tLM4T4-vhnYHcjcBEnMyRhVj_vQYYLw4WSx1V11zJcooQY4HmraHt9G7IX309IQ55fvs_NE4Wqr6DS3_9_RkXZnxwez1684/s1600/karate+July+2010+003+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBVV3-y14_vXwCPLCSLfHWdOJIw4-Ue2xvCAtx2X-9YZ1tLM4T4-vhnYHcjcBEnMyRhVj_vQYYLw4WSx1V11zJcooQY4HmraHt9G7IX309IQ55fvs_NE4Wqr6DS3_9_RkXZnxwez1684/s320/karate+July+2010+003+(3).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">One of the best parts of the camp was that every student had at most one year's worth of lessons. This meant we could have the whole class working together on lots of stuff and that just makes it more fun. And for the slightly higher ranking belts, I had a team kata project to work on for the three weeks which turned out GREAT!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4ZB6whFy8LwA2dSSaM0xgbqHoN3u_lKkjcnd_fwBHHXgS4A59jiSp29DKm9sq3dpUwn2xczWcKeSHMv-jLUyFS6-f4hyFwHroCYd3LV74IRYf38hnuTLGex1aB7GOeyukfN9zfyYHUI/s1600/karate+July+2010+007+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4ZB6whFy8LwA2dSSaM0xgbqHoN3u_lKkjcnd_fwBHHXgS4A59jiSp29DKm9sq3dpUwn2xczWcKeSHMv-jLUyFS6-f4hyFwHroCYd3LV74IRYf38hnuTLGex1aB7GOeyukfN9zfyYHUI/s320/karate+July+2010+007+(3).jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of course, summer = fun as well...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">It was also a great chance to introduce lots of new students to karate and to PSWK so here's to hoping that they all show up again in September! And make sure to scroll down for more pics.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33VNVf5B5CkfI_qSFVos6a7Z2MruaAW6musI04ZkSGdi0A714B_KMIQ91eu0Ct1O6wPPrHhMmqVVZQJjYaQaVKIfsMaglOuW0yM94wNJjSAlL3kOerkwuPpUJ51OKK89uCvSGA18gvqw/s1600/karate+July+2010+013+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33VNVf5B5CkfI_qSFVos6a7Z2MruaAW6musI04ZkSGdi0A714B_KMIQ91eu0Ct1O6wPPrHhMmqVVZQJjYaQaVKIfsMaglOuW0yM94wNJjSAlL3kOerkwuPpUJ51OKK89uCvSGA18gvqw/s320/karate+July+2010+013+(3).jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-aqbWgmqv63b0uR9hLDSb_Wpbx9jn2iFwTi7dXxMl3cIkpwCcb-vcfyoDrQA-uZs-d1H1hUcTPLh81wj_v-pbsAc-5H9yiIKi6Ra2hqC_XUZ4o-Q6JpCMVl8_oCQs_pVGIA3ssKUc2g/s1600/karate+July+2010+018+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-aqbWgmqv63b0uR9hLDSb_Wpbx9jn2iFwTi7dXxMl3cIkpwCcb-vcfyoDrQA-uZs-d1H1hUcTPLh81wj_v-pbsAc-5H9yiIKi6Ra2hqC_XUZ4o-Q6JpCMVl8_oCQs_pVGIA3ssKUc2g/s320/karate+July+2010+018+(3).jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">In the meantime, school is winding down and I've got a few more neat little outings with pictures I'll be posting in a little bit. Til then... =)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewW2TCP-gMbVG60guu2x-NGXMpNCaRX77W9dllvyn6r5UnQLCTG3aQ3feJmmj3rYyuHJJI2WULQBvrzobs0qgfcGHsPxO46VHoBZwf1EZQaQyYBh-RnwuZ4kVFAz92pbRUOjcCdjHRR8/s1600/karate+July+2010+039+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewW2TCP-gMbVG60guu2x-NGXMpNCaRX77W9dllvyn6r5UnQLCTG3aQ3feJmmj3rYyuHJJI2WULQBvrzobs0qgfcGHsPxO46VHoBZwf1EZQaQyYBh-RnwuZ4kVFAz92pbRUOjcCdjHRR8/s320/karate+July+2010+039+(3).jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVp_Y8JblBoJZ0A-yYZ5AEVeZJeQBP4pR3QnDNNDIXY94H3LnbNubsSg1XEt_rQ4DwDw5BFElWNi8P3t-vcRQ6SyLZ9Ptwani_PR2D5xSSdtEG4LFYzH75zCfnQDsDADYjJVsQIAtWj0/s1600/karate+July+2010+056+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVp_Y8JblBoJZ0A-yYZ5AEVeZJeQBP4pR3QnDNNDIXY94H3LnbNubsSg1XEt_rQ4DwDw5BFElWNi8P3t-vcRQ6SyLZ9Ptwani_PR2D5xSSdtEG4LFYzH75zCfnQDsDADYjJVsQIAtWj0/s320/karate+July+2010+056+(3).jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXRZxVK_GUBIa07LjwK_H4d0U_EaE3uexwhhorr-h9Y6WyBUQKYbeFnsnRG_WCeNeKRno9eAEYJmev5VN4DMqMomSn-_ikvxrqklHay27PgRrPb169GLPkmHFneNfXUGMIlV1xtvC3nI/s1600/karate+July+2010+046+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXRZxVK_GUBIa07LjwK_H4d0U_EaE3uexwhhorr-h9Y6WyBUQKYbeFnsnRG_WCeNeKRno9eAEYJmev5VN4DMqMomSn-_ikvxrqklHay27PgRrPb169GLPkmHFneNfXUGMIlV1xtvC3nI/s320/karate+July+2010+046+(3).jpg" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggptRAy04ouS9KSl2lktnF5EMN0tCEr7glKlGdY510NElYX-Ikx7ddSJucI64c9Nu-y800aNxEjjbdqurAVZCQjuq_TngpY3uYDykYvVeH5q6WUyD84BPVMvuzl10VBgQh6EDs8HKJy1I/s1600/karate+July+2010+030+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggptRAy04ouS9KSl2lktnF5EMN0tCEr7glKlGdY510NElYX-Ikx7ddSJucI64c9Nu-y800aNxEjjbdqurAVZCQjuq_TngpY3uYDykYvVeH5q6WUyD84BPVMvuzl10VBgQh6EDs8HKJy1I/s320/karate+July+2010+030+(3).jpg" /></a></div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-693795606320899022010-07-16T13:50:00.000-07:002010-07-16T13:50:45.930-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"kimoii" which is slang for "gross!". It's actually "kimochi warui" 気持ち悪い which literally means "feeling bad/gross", but then people (teens usually) just take the first two syllables and the last and shorten the phrase to make it easier to yell.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">To be honest, I don't really use it that much because, for some reason, it really seems (and sounds) to me like a word only high school girls use. Maybe that's because I spent a year in a high school and those were the people that used it. It also lends it self to high pitched, dragged out versions of "kimoi~~~~"...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpZ2bpa4zrNVrUiUlGkAxe8KBil0iD8tVocqooAIwkeL0o1dvxyUkhAjCz4dyf0uDxw2d6CYqP-3mlxO12QnrkEmlNRNoRqnHo0J5afk34sDHUkHjaMQIlsJXhyphenhypheneI9Ubw6FbAoyOXJrc/s1600/IMG_2495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpZ2bpa4zrNVrUiUlGkAxe8KBil0iD8tVocqooAIwkeL0o1dvxyUkhAjCz4dyf0uDxw2d6CYqP-3mlxO12QnrkEmlNRNoRqnHo0J5afk34sDHUkHjaMQIlsJXhyphenhypheneI9Ubw6FbAoyOXJrc/s320/IMG_2495.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, this (sort of) connects to this week's topic in that at Science World, one of the workshops I taught was called "Grossology". As you can see, I finally secured some pictures of me leading the workshops and while it may seem a bit "lecture"-esque, the workshops really do use a lot of very simple, very cheap props to help the students along the way. Here we're talking about the digestive system and in a few moments, the TV beside me will show clips of a real, live endoscopy. It's great fun listening to the kids' reactions as they watch the camera slide down a person's throat and into the stomach.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXsc3fuHGLOOeJqQI2VB4pkpM4xiifnBQd92VSSR51ViZGIOZ9q3KZNbOKfN8hECl1JWOMClnWvAQhj3du4eTEis_yBCGrLPSP_K3019lKF1vNd6dBOPate6bKcqijcsDkztbGtKJPpI/s1600/IMG_2501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXsc3fuHGLOOeJqQI2VB4pkpM4xiifnBQd92VSSR51ViZGIOZ9q3KZNbOKfN8hECl1JWOMClnWvAQhj3du4eTEis_yBCGrLPSP_K3019lKF1vNd6dBOPate6bKcqijcsDkztbGtKJPpI/s320/IMG_2501.jpg" /></a></div>Another part of the workshop includes the making of fake blood, again with really simple, cheap materials. And because it's made with corn syrup and cocoa powder, it's edible! <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The best part of all this is that by using real items as examples, the learning becomes that bit more experiential and that make it all the more useful. They may not remember all the names of all the body parts, but if they even remember that I had put water into the "corn syrup blood" to make it thinner and easier to pump, then that's learning in itself.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I'm actually in the middle of a PSWK Summer Karate Camp and I try to make sure that I don't overload the students with "explaining" and instead have them "doing". And it seems to work because they're all having a great time, they feel like they're getting "more" out of it, and I still have chances to tweak them as they're going along.</div><br />
Nothing gross about that... =PLawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-44027206262065730632010-07-01T21:02:00.000-07:002010-07-01T21:02:12.878-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"tesou" 手相 which is "palm reading". Yes, like astrology or tarot cards, the type of palm reading that is supposed to decipher the mysteries of your life.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I certainly don't think that palm reading is something exclusive to the Japanese (and it's not) but I do distinctly remember one time when I was intrigued by it...</div><br />
<div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZFKVPkGtyxlqa0h_z7R-yT7R3PeuBDQNkF833IFiCqwGbiXETvfAkpd-x6tRPedR88YeBajzUA3SnvFCaX25gLBEiBfNJNOQtXjZZkhX5gtfJuvkNx_bQxo3FMl1cvNC4joALKrEDwg/s1600/handmap1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZFKVPkGtyxlqa0h_z7R-yT7R3PeuBDQNkF833IFiCqwGbiXETvfAkpd-x6tRPedR88YeBajzUA3SnvFCaX25gLBEiBfNJNOQtXjZZkhX5gtfJuvkNx_bQxo3FMl1cvNC4joALKrEDwg/s320/handmap1.gif" /></a>I was riding the train home from a karate training when, out of boredom, I was reading the many ads on the train. One on the window beside me was about a palm reading service and included a handy (no pun intended) chart describing some basic palm lines and what they mean. Of course, that's what I can only presume since, at that point, I couldn't read any Japanese.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm reminded of this because yesterday, again out of boredom, I was flipping through the channels and stumbled upon a Chinese show which had invited a palm reader (or "palmist") to explain some of the finer details of palm reading.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I should point out I don't believe in any of this stuff. I even find Wikipedia is overly kind in calling it a "psuedoscience". But I do find it interesting what they read into.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">For example, on your dominant hand, the one line that goes from the edge of your palm (between your thumb and index finger) and arcs down towards your wrist tells tales about your life. One thing I remember hearing about was how the "choppier" the line was, the worse your health would be. And that the closer the "choppiness" was to your wrist, the later the onset of said disease.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This, to me, is pretty hard to believe. How would a palm crease tell of illness as a child or as a senior? I suppose MAYBE if you were sick as a child and you spent a long time clinching your fist, perhaps the line would be less smooth. But to be able to say that you'd be sick LATER in life? Right.......</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, just a funny story I thought I'd share. In other news, Happy Canada Day!!</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps someone can read Canada's lines and creases and figure out what kind of future it has...</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Oh wait, that's geology isn't it?... and that IS real... =P</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-63982572975486820922010-06-24T18:51:00.000-07:002010-06-24T18:51:09.990-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">"sankaku" 三角 which means triangle. This week I thought I'd share some of the drills that we do at karate (since nothing of interest is happening at school hah). In karate class, I try to keep the sheer amount of talking/explaining to a minimum, especially with the young kids. A lot of them might be interested in the inner workings of karate but often times they have more fun if they're moving around. And if taught properly, their foundations will be good enough that when I explain the details later, they'll still get it.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">In terms of keeping them moving, kumite drills are a great, fun way of doing that while still using some karate skills. So what we did last week is we set up the "Triangle of Death" (I called it the "Triangle of Cardio" but I was soon overruled on the name... hah). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3SQrL_xXAXREaweqCYNBxZ961tQ-nWXBEQFvfcOIlpkc6UcJuf2y-qmoZ7YNitMAIMrjjWqhK9InqXLBAyMT2SSai7Q8TNnn7KQLyZyZPoqBahOTJM0Nq_b81n5zh_6Te6M_8nh-MZY/s1600/le-projet-triangle-by-herzog.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3SQrL_xXAXREaweqCYNBxZ961tQ-nWXBEQFvfcOIlpkc6UcJuf2y-qmoZ7YNitMAIMrjjWqhK9InqXLBAyMT2SSai7Q8TNnn7KQLyZyZPoqBahOTJM0Nq_b81n5zh_6Te6M_8nh-MZY/s320/le-projet-triangle-by-herzog.1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>Not the Triandle of Death...</em></div><br />
Anyways, the triangle works like this: <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One sensei stands at each point at the triangle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the first point, the kids do a kizami-tsuki (lunging front punch) and basically try to score a standard kumite point.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then they run to the next "vertex" where they work on their counter; the sensei will throw a punch and they have to block it and counter with their own attack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then they run to the last corner where the sensei is holding a kick back and they do 3 mawashi-geri (roundhouse kicks) in a row.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then they complete the triangle by running back to the first sensei to start again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, this is all expandable in terms of having the sensei making it easier or harder for the students to hit them (especially at that first corner), adding more vertices (a Square of Death perhaps?), and/or spreading the corners out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from working a number of different skills, it also gets them moving and keeps the cardio up. And it's also a fair bit of work for the people at each point since they're dealing with a stream of people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And it's fun! Which is a crucial aspect to training with kids =P....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, we're gearing up for a summer karate camp this July, M-F 3-5pm so if you're interested, make sure to get in touch.</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-22396510062437488092010-06-14T00:57:00.000-07:002010-06-14T00:57:11.242-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"joba" 乗馬 which literally means "ride a horse". I bring this up because last week, walking through North Van, I saw a "Joba" in a store window.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirx-6dr-QyEC5vg-LkjPKc7IN7_vgfeGTtcdjU1SDU8iLQxm8S3HkK17-zYQhj0idfrAHCZVmUEBrtsj6aNof46_IqmVsBLnDGwPzNeRE_NolBS-7Vns8XzGcg05AaV_Ir6yRjiweiZ_g/s1600/IMGP2254+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirx-6dr-QyEC5vg-LkjPKc7IN7_vgfeGTtcdjU1SDU8iLQxm8S3HkK17-zYQhj0idfrAHCZVmUEBrtsj6aNof46_IqmVsBLnDGwPzNeRE_NolBS-7Vns8XzGcg05AaV_Ir6yRjiweiZ_g/s400/IMGP2254+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Joba is actually a peculiar little fitness machine which, as you can see from the picture, mimics the motions of riding a horse. And you sit on it, pretending to ride a horse, gyrating your hips in an effort to lose weight and get fit.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Some of you might remember me mentioning this way back in 2007 when I first saw it. It really is a bit of a weird sight to see and I never expected it to break into the American market, yet there it was, sitting in a display at the front of a store. And if you do come across a Joba, I suggest you take it for a ride. It's fun for about 5 seconds though the novelty then wears off. But for more entertainment, you could always convince your friend to give it a try and then crank the speed setting to max and then watch them hang on... that'd be worth a few laughs... =P</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anyways, not much happened this past week but next week is grading at PSWK! A big portion of the club is testing for their next belt and I'll be sure to have a few pics for you.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Til then!</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-26477244543897311582010-06-01T11:25:00.001-07:002010-06-01T11:26:47.600-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"machigai" 間違い which means "mistake" or "error" which is a funny thing to think about. I mean, there are mistakes like these:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JFrElYQfLnSH8091WTW-BB2e41G4hr8VI_kCwHtkQauOd9rkXB3ZRN3ZXGYtbsdyHy4nCZ96ZDLgEXZ6kz8iDDj9Co511t2rILJS_iB3E4mE0IZ0otRCRBDz-Evu6BcmuPkbeP1Y7C8/s1600/05092010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JFrElYQfLnSH8091WTW-BB2e41G4hr8VI_kCwHtkQauOd9rkXB3ZRN3ZXGYtbsdyHy4nCZ96ZDLgEXZ6kz8iDDj9Co511t2rILJS_iB3E4mE0IZ0otRCRBDz-Evu6BcmuPkbeP1Y7C8/s400/05092010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div div="" style="text-align: justify;">which is clearly just a case of not having checked with someone knowledgeable about what the answer it. My dad went to explain that the Chinese actually said "Yogurt Bar" but they just translated it word for word and ended up with "Lactic Acid Bar".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">But it brings up an interesting point- Is making errors always so bad? Obviously in terms of marketing, selling something called a "Lactic Acid Bar" is probably a bad thing since the number of people interested in giving themselves flavoured-muscle-cramps-on-a-stick are relatively few. But what about other cases?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">For example, in karate there is a lot of focus on "doing the move right". But that interpretation changes depending on who you talk to. Before I left, a lot of "correctness" came from exact positioning. My knowledge of the inner workings was pretty limited so I was left with basically imitating what I saw. This meant that "bring right" was simply that I was able to reproduce a specific stance or arm positioning.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">As I trained in Japan however, I began to see that while there is still a ballpark range for a move to be right (a high block is different from a low block), it's more important to be understanding the principles behind the movement and the positioning. In fact, often times focusing too much on positioning inhibits people's ability to do the move properly because they become overwhelmed with details. Sometimes it's just step back, point out one or two critical things they should work on, and simply let them get on with it. It's quite difficult to do because it's many people's first reaction to simply fix everything right away but the reason we practice is to give us many opportunities to fix things over a long period of time.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Then again, making mistakes is sometimes crucial to development. I lost tournaments for nearly a year straight before finally placed somewhere I could be proud of. And for many, the failure is quite a deterrent and while it can be a bit rough at times, I made mistakes in the ring that I probably never could've predicted.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">This also ties into education since there's always talk about steering students away from testing and performance based assessment towards experiential learning opportunities. Again analogous to "doing it right" vs "trying it out", it's something I've had a few chances to try out, particularly at Science World. Now I'm not here to say that all testing is bad, I really do think that it's necessary. But I would never judge a student purely on achievement either. Take the following picture:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0qIG11swRLfqRdxTKVkcuR8XD1UC14PBwXa8JjkaQPjojUXQAsQ2Wd18tRitzLubH7K-FC5cp1gyJUL7QfKUcAfVLoX5FH0-kfA5ljfYtEEHziDUk_jGl_vPzadO12P6wXOGuakFKUY/s1600/05282010002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0qIG11swRLfqRdxTKVkcuR8XD1UC14PBwXa8JjkaQPjojUXQAsQ2Wd18tRitzLubH7K-FC5cp1gyJUL7QfKUcAfVLoX5FH0-kfA5ljfYtEEHziDUk_jGl_vPzadO12P6wXOGuakFKUY/s400/05282010002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">We were given materials (a few sheets of paper, some tape, scissors, and a paper clip) and told to make a house. Our group built a motorhome. By all intents and purposes we didn't exactly build a typical "house" but by no means are we wrong.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">The difficult part then is separating mistakes that occuring along the path of progress and mistakes veer off in a different direction. And then it's deciding of those "different direction" mistakes have merit of their own, which many argue they do.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">With PSWK's grading coming up in a few weeks, this is something I'll be thinking quite a bit about...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">In the meantime, one final mistake which is quite clearly a mistake. But at least they learned something... maybe...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kXMO0b-JQQ0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kXMO0b-JQQ0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-14736990640845195592010-05-25T23:12:00.000-07:002010-05-25T23:12:27.288-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is..."tadashii" 正しい which means "correct" or "right". Now before I start, I should point out that I will by no means claim to have all the "right" answers or that anything is 100% "correct". But perhaps I should set up some context...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdd-LUOaLFR_59UGeU7AAtz4hZumYF1b49bdNerXhHW6TwgxH6rmbyyDr36gCMWxiMPMAK524U32IjQjnqlLaBF_YMNpdge44_NcJ5GxN6J5pihAICPAiZBK6jr1GomcGI_CZRFOTpMAI/s1600/CIMG0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdd-LUOaLFR_59UGeU7AAtz4hZumYF1b49bdNerXhHW6TwgxH6rmbyyDr36gCMWxiMPMAK524U32IjQjnqlLaBF_YMNpdge44_NcJ5GxN6J5pihAICPAiZBK6jr1GomcGI_CZRFOTpMAI/s400/CIMG0371.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
A few weeks ago, Takagi Sensei (front row, centre, with the Japanese flag on his karate dogi) came to visit. Some of you may remember Takagi Sensei as one of the <a href="http://web-lawg.blogspot.com/2009/07/your-japanese-word-of-week-is_09.html">sensei I trained with while I was in Tokyo</a> and is one of the few remaining people to have trained with Otsuka Sensei, the founder of Wado karate.<br />
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But since the founding of karate, Wado or otherwise, it's been governed by people and, unfortunately, people are governed by any number of motivating factors. As such, factions and splits arise in karate just as they would anywhere and, in some ways, it can be worse in something like karate which essentially involves the passage of knowledge rather than simple ownership of an entity. <br />
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And the end of one of the sessions, someone asked Takagi Sensei how do they know if they are doing the "right" moves. His answer, typically, was that it depends; it depends on what you're doing and your beliefs. But more importantly than that, he stressed that whatever path you choose, you still need to take ownership of it and learn as much as you can. The onus is on each person to do the find exemplars to follow and work hard. <br />
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While it seems rather broad and blanket-y, I will say that it is true to a certain degree. I really feel that having had the chance to train with a variety of instructors, I can decide for myself who's example I'd like to follow, be it the kind of person the instructor is as well as their technical knowledge. People like Marta Sensei (R) and Takagi Sensei (Centre).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPPgUldOYTwXztkLIWYd_Za865SnTSDZV9pAadC82gshCX8UVvyYjtF05O6Or2yYlgnSmq4rTlkBy5E0ssnIgXrFXWoMBtBnLKWpYQCutXTD7dBnwRJEvsWkVABH5sM8DOhCMAgi0ZHo/s1600/Takagi+2010+(10).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPPgUldOYTwXztkLIWYd_Za865SnTSDZV9pAadC82gshCX8UVvyYjtF05O6Or2yYlgnSmq4rTlkBy5E0ssnIgXrFXWoMBtBnLKWpYQCutXTD7dBnwRJEvsWkVABH5sM8DOhCMAgi0ZHo/s400/Takagi+2010+(10).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Speaking of techincal knowledge, the seminars really focussed on the basics and other foundational aspects of movement. We did a lot of ido kihon (moving basics) and only on the last day did we do any kata. Then again, it's often the simple stuff that's hardest to do well and it probably helped a lot of people to be able to see Takagi Sensei demonstrate the principles behind the moves.<br />
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Special thanks for Norma Sensei for sending me these pics. And here's one I never expected..... Takagi Sensei hugging me haha.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLsCI0Dwqkx7cRodCG6PdehVTtXhysevQqF07xQkbmU-4acgGTo-MxV0dT7N_GkUEnl1Rg_amNS6RZ-FyDMAtVh0we_lOS10vJjGNv_OOQJEBQdDaJ4r3yRACN8eozN7ddznPeewBb6E/s1600/Takagi+2010+(9).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLsCI0Dwqkx7cRodCG6PdehVTtXhysevQqF07xQkbmU-4acgGTo-MxV0dT7N_GkUEnl1Rg_amNS6RZ-FyDMAtVh0we_lOS10vJjGNv_OOQJEBQdDaJ4r3yRACN8eozN7ddznPeewBb6E/s400/Takagi+2010+(9).jpg" width="288" /></a></div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-56227687789521305552010-05-12T20:35:00.001-07:002010-05-25T22:14:48.782-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"hokoku" 報告 which means "report". Although it generally refers to longer "accounts" of an event, I'm using it in reference to the feedback my students gave me about my 10 weeks teaching them. And also because I couldn't find a good translation for "feedback" heh....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, with practicum officially over (including my stint at Science World), I've been enjoying my time off and I'll be sure to update this weekly again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But for now, back to what the students wrote about me. I gave them a small form that had 5 statements which they could agree or disagree with and on the back they could write down comments on what I could do to improve as well as what I was doing well. I haven't compiled the comments but here is their "voting", as it were.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I'd say it's pretty good. Obviously you can't please everyone all the time and I certainly had no qualms about dishing out (appropriate) consequences for certain actions (or non-actions), but it's really not that bad. The last one about making the concepts understandable is the most important to me, and that most of them agree at least somewhat is good to see. The respectfulness is probably second in terms of importance and again, the overall feedback is pretty good though there are places I can work on there and there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, not bad for 10 weeks I think....... still room to improve but I have the rest of my life for that. Now the next step is finding a job where I can put these improvements to the test haha....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and one last thing, seeing that I finished my practicum just in time for a week full of sunshine, I managed get the camera out and take some pics. Although they are, predictably, of cars haha..... and a duck... Enjoy =)</div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Qt2dp9at3fufzVg56geNsc7fbWZH8LxzEbmAWM9X_rMr127oeVT0fBV56laB1nS1riH_1cIWKCv7qxboU8fzw0A8t-4YpKB0VFOtjjY3spB6e_HkHZ798kDHk3f9gdd-6LtHsNpkcg4/s1600/DSC08901+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Qt2dp9at3fufzVg56geNsc7fbWZH8LxzEbmAWM9X_rMr127oeVT0fBV56laB1nS1riH_1cIWKCv7qxboU8fzw0A8t-4YpKB0VFOtjjY3spB6e_HkHZ798kDHk3f9gdd-6LtHsNpkcg4/s400/DSC08901+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIW5YFoHJpGN7SCLg8KMIt_NLNB0wqwOoAZFbKMLmgbi-qZ5A699nySjLU2BtdtCaE-rCxqTl4Ab862N574N20SD0FZOjkuG5-S5xJj0bzGKk-45Fq2gQol5dMd-kNymhoFvEyN1ORtYY/s1600/DSC08878+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIW5YFoHJpGN7SCLg8KMIt_NLNB0wqwOoAZFbKMLmgbi-qZ5A699nySjLU2BtdtCaE-rCxqTl4Ab862N574N20SD0FZOjkuG5-S5xJj0bzGKk-45Fq2gQol5dMd-kNymhoFvEyN1ORtYY/s400/DSC08878+(2).jpg" width="370" /></a></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8gGh9NlUkhg5pgrNrZOO8bciKq5dLfciyZdJDz4oGdSMCV0Su4R-iExywIiUis2NB0BuGVvnHw6JdvKFt1NcgqI8t8CUcGxymYueEJHCvWYgLnLiqcHsmEzVIawauqDx59gHcNNViEo/s1600/DSC08849+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8gGh9NlUkhg5pgrNrZOO8bciKq5dLfciyZdJDz4oGdSMCV0Su4R-iExywIiUis2NB0BuGVvnHw6JdvKFt1NcgqI8t8CUcGxymYueEJHCvWYgLnLiqcHsmEzVIawauqDx59gHcNNViEo/s400/DSC08849+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-38991233412122257892010-04-27T00:04:00.000-07:002010-04-27T00:04:43.142-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"tsukuru" 作る which is "to make/create". I didn't mention last time that I was on my final practicum week. In reality, I've been off practicum since Apr 16th and from Apr 19th - May 7th I'm actually teaching at Science World, which is a great experience in itself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, back to the practicum. It was a lot of work (like, a lot) but I enjoyed it for the most part. Admittedly I had a lot of very helpful people around me, supporting my progress through the ten weeks and while the prep work never got any easier, I did enjoy my experience in the classroom for the most part. It wasn't always easy and I wasn't always kind, but most of the time I left the classroom feeling pretty good about what I did in the classroom and how I was relating to the students.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got some useful and positive feedback from them which I'll compile for you next week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But for now, I wanted to show you some of the great pieces of work that some of my students made and graciously allowed me to keep (or in one case, presented me with as a gift).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my grade 9 class' human reproductive system unit, the students put together a small project on the "Journey of the Gametes", where they traced the path in the development of a sperm or egg cell. A pair of students put together this big picture book called...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEzBM9CEpWWHk88YaHu2fvBf00kjtWmD1N6NILL_GjFhVuMbS_e7-UPMRa0b1hKKKoh_j0g8-IiftmiWx8WpgwUZt6wdKm8EP0E_rGhtyizsmMMVWIRJXp0Fabomcv8YHvkI94iRB9E0/s1600/DSC08836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEzBM9CEpWWHk88YaHu2fvBf00kjtWmD1N6NILL_GjFhVuMbS_e7-UPMRa0b1hKKKoh_j0g8-IiftmiWx8WpgwUZt6wdKm8EP0E_rGhtyizsmMMVWIRJXp0Fabomcv8YHvkI94iRB9E0/s400/DSC08836.JPG" tt="true" width="271" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">It's actually a neat little read and it was surprising when the two of them offered it to me as a present since I figured they would've wanted to keep it considering all the work they put into it. Here's a look at what they put on the inside.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXtzq2S9VJFitcZw7VMerpJd5aI9ElUlZIUNVCVIyvny05apTcYaU6LfPxoLmXmESci5Sh0BO-DWZ36-hyxGL7UbI9W2sRmWAbXviNwzBBaZ9dS8Mw3ck-tXX5SQMArXRg9EVUQ4sV-Y/s1600/DSC08838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXtzq2S9VJFitcZw7VMerpJd5aI9ElUlZIUNVCVIyvny05apTcYaU6LfPxoLmXmESci5Sh0BO-DWZ36-hyxGL7UbI9W2sRmWAbXviNwzBBaZ9dS8Mw3ck-tXX5SQMArXRg9EVUQ4sV-Y/s400/DSC08838.JPG" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">For my Biology 11 class' algae unit, I had the students work in groups to build 3D models of algae. One of the groups paper mache'd welding rod and painted them red to make a rather good red algae model.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTUwJkeVtupWkATKsZlOnZqf99kgkM1FsgVH0WLdF-Smq63hFJtIXqp6rC5AtHPV-IegxPQHUwn5aDgdCMvzWI5xtkhlggT9MOGBQ-vwUSy6qVKrjK8OiNntKK8xHqdzJw1riEGsLYnY/s1600/DSC08825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTUwJkeVtupWkATKsZlOnZqf99kgkM1FsgVH0WLdF-Smq63hFJtIXqp6rC5AtHPV-IegxPQHUwn5aDgdCMvzWI5xtkhlggT9MOGBQ-vwUSy6qVKrjK8OiNntKK8xHqdzJw1riEGsLYnY/s400/DSC08825.JPG" tt="true" width="263" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Along with their model they had to put together a small info booklet/poster and on an "Algae Fair" day when the students had to present their projects, they all voted for the best booklet and it came down to a tie followed by a vote. This booklet lost the tie but I still think it's very well put together and very well done.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM5WJrdVICMopp_D-8T7AyoChZR06i6N0AecoOij5DX2SbxS__yuNUZuuW776cpesTrxIuS183zuaRdfcGR4P8Icx_gJ2Uu1VYkJO2Jc5PrP1FlXCMZYMoFmWA58FlH2j8QPmbvMZqKw/s1600/DSC08841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM5WJrdVICMopp_D-8T7AyoChZR06i6N0AecoOij5DX2SbxS__yuNUZuuW776cpesTrxIuS183zuaRdfcGR4P8Icx_gJ2Uu1VYkJO2Jc5PrP1FlXCMZYMoFmWA58FlH2j8QPmbvMZqKw/s400/DSC08841.JPG" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Along with the best booklet, there was a vote for the best model and this one, of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinoflagellate">dinoflagellate</a>, won. Made from a paper mache'd balloon, it had walnut shells on the outside (because the outside of a dinoflagellate is rough) with cell structures strung on the inside. The "face" is because I said the model could be anthropomorphic if they wanted heh...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEbH2DkPFlinu-bxVc3g0lUdC5Bp96iRZkQSbtjhp7zUqyxKh4XPQr2Tc5Jezsx_4tUv4QNaRvE4pRG7BDJSAnLuEjRK5OGmTpvPxoKtKq6cmgGlXiubkd_aDbPWp-7JlSydh0t0NoXE/s1600/TRex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEbH2DkPFlinu-bxVc3g0lUdC5Bp96iRZkQSbtjhp7zUqyxKh4XPQr2Tc5Jezsx_4tUv4QNaRvE4pRG7BDJSAnLuEjRK5OGmTpvPxoKtKq6cmgGlXiubkd_aDbPWp-7JlSydh0t0NoXE/s400/TRex.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The amount of work that some of the students put in and the amount of creativity some of them show when given a chance really impresses me. The great thing about having these with me is that, as many have suggested, I can show them the next time I give the project to another class and that'll help raise the level of work that the next group does. So here's to hoping that this is only the beginning...</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-44837379059037481952010-04-16T23:47:00.002-07:002010-04-16T23:49:17.662-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is..."kaminari" 雷 which means both thunder AND lightning. And this is completely true; they aren't distinct terms like they are in English. I asked once while I was in Japan, what's the word for just the sound component- "kaminari"... So then I asked about the light component- "kaminari"... Then I asked how they would talk about each part separately- "Don't they always happen together?"... Which I suppose, in a profound way, is very true.<br />
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I even asked is "kami" was lightning and "nari" was thunder... I was just met with an incredulous look most likely reserved for people butchering another's mother tongue... It was worth a try at least =P...<br />
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Regardless, this week in my Science 9 class, we learned about static electricity and one of the classes included various demos with the Van de Graaff generator. It was a blast with lots of neat demos that involved this mystical, invisible force that could move things.<br />
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Even better was when we got the charges to jump between students, shocking them with what is basically lightning.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTmFgcmp4RnlyH9c_1NedZbCesjUbO7fXBbTAEyaR7PeODoghAU4STT4HbygumExenEYjoT8riF5FkucWslerHwEv6toqiB2_6nGMbGbZDKdZulii36gg-PHqXNCpmzXiR0DSrg8dAiE/s1600/vandegraaff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTmFgcmp4RnlyH9c_1NedZbCesjUbO7fXBbTAEyaR7PeODoghAU4STT4HbygumExenEYjoT8riF5FkucWslerHwEv6toqiB2_6nGMbGbZDKdZulii36gg-PHqXNCpmzXiR0DSrg8dAiE/s400/vandegraaff.jpg" width="377" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
The crowning acheivement, however, was when I managed to jump a spark between my finger and a bunsen burner to get the gas to ignite. I told the class I'd only try 3 times (it's not really that fun to have sparks coarsing through your body so often) and, lo and behold, it lit on the 3rd try.<br />
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And who says science isn't fun? =P...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuoPRAmDMjig9hgFYD3JR55LF1vWg0OToRZ2p6xLNSWskL-DoxTCeefJ2RpTFGydZFSWN1h2Cn9xlwFabjRXBQAumlM7mPLSrQyl0PIo5MOEpe6kR0q0rCcayIDyzKy3TJMiQmc8k6GA/s1600/bunsenburner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuoPRAmDMjig9hgFYD3JR55LF1vWg0OToRZ2p6xLNSWskL-DoxTCeefJ2RpTFGydZFSWN1h2Cn9xlwFabjRXBQAumlM7mPLSrQyl0PIo5MOEpe6kR0q0rCcayIDyzKy3TJMiQmc8k6GA/s320/bunsenburner.jpg" width="320" wt="true" /></a></div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-91454198188179728562010-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:002010-04-05T20:25:39.796-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"azakeru" 嘲る which is "to mock/ridicule". No, this isn't about me mocking my students or the other way around. This is more about the state of the car market currently.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tRuy9-KmKJ0NHyARO8BfcnPukl9Pi8SOVoQ43FRbockFqHXTBHniZvgZzqhd6vo4Tl6XYlQVIFIEOiQsdGA_09YtcNJX_udLMBHgufIQu0daNE62sBtWgHVHBBay4pzIu15B7-96XoQ/s1600/group.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tRuy9-KmKJ0NHyARO8BfcnPukl9Pi8SOVoQ43FRbockFqHXTBHniZvgZzqhd6vo4Tl6XYlQVIFIEOiQsdGA_09YtcNJX_udLMBHgufIQu0daNE62sBtWgHVHBBay4pzIu15B7-96XoQ/s400/group.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">As I mentioned last week, I went to the Vancouver International Auto Show with fellow car friends and, while lacking in truly exceptional cars, there was endless scope for us to make fun of bad ones. We got into lots of different ones and pushed buttons, turned dials, knocked on panels, and ran our fingers over surfaces. What did we look for? A generally high quality feel. A button should "press" with a dampened solid feel, not "click" in a plasticky sound. Dials should turn smoothly with consistent resistence, not stiff at the start and sticky like it was set in molasses. The same goes for materials- panels and surfaces should feel substantial and pleasant to touch, not feel and sound like plastic painted to look like wood.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">In fact, high end luxury car makers actually spend money into research and development on what kind of pressure it should take to turn a dial, what kind of sound each button should make, and what materials to use.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">So it's no surprise that the Europeans seem to do it best, with the Japanese in a close second. It's also not surprising that expensive cars tend to do it better.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJomAiRYDiuSQBtMc1aPi-ZZHh6M5ORXRVKJn5VBmaxHaj7AHNmpW69EBCRjNYZuiPtd3gsOrUEP1X3YSF5V-VG_Oq8Q8kOVNvEkLs4wXUiAv2sO1BKUV1J3OLwVFqLdAU6UJb_j5gmU/s1600/gallardo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJomAiRYDiuSQBtMc1aPi-ZZHh6M5ORXRVKJn5VBmaxHaj7AHNmpW69EBCRjNYZuiPtd3gsOrUEP1X3YSF5V-VG_Oq8Q8kOVNvEkLs4wXUiAv2sO1BKUV1J3OLwVFqLdAU6UJb_j5gmU/s400/gallardo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">What ~IS~ surprising is just how poor some cars are built, despite being expensive. Not to sound biased, but the majority of these were American cars. A Lincoln Navigator is, for example, atrociously put together. Door handles have visible seams where the plastic was moulded together; the gauges are incredibly small and hard to read; the covers for the storage compartments rattle and sound cheap.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Similarly, the Lincoln Mk S is just as bad. The materials are woeful, the gaps in the panels are consistent only in their inconsistency, and the feel of all the controls the driver touches just reeks of budgetary constraints. The worst part is that, at $66,000 as displayed at the Auto Show, it's not cheap. In fact, you can get the ridiculously fast and aggressive Mercedes C63 AMG for ~LESS~ money which, despite being a bit smaller in the back, is a no-brainer in terms of choice. And if you opt out of the performance, you can buy a similarly equipped Audi or Lexus for less as well.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfNp5vZuq8O69CfSJ_vAMLOJzoHN3u5YIT9OQDkkVaobYaXWbj7Z7TvRw_664DuQ2SDEvq7kGrGa65JsN-NlTUTqZFxHUm9F29iwe6iM7_F3bFHQby0wKZ6PuHbB9JwXDxL8f8dvV5us/s1600/new-c63-amg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfNp5vZuq8O69CfSJ_vAMLOJzoHN3u5YIT9OQDkkVaobYaXWbj7Z7TvRw_664DuQ2SDEvq7kGrGa65JsN-NlTUTqZFxHUm9F29iwe6iM7_F3bFHQby0wKZ6PuHbB9JwXDxL8f8dvV5us/s400/new-c63-amg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Then again, it's not just the Americans. One of the most hideous cars of the show, the Porsche Panamera, is equally affected. All the controls feel fine up front, but some of the stuff in the back seats are just awful. The lid for the cupholder, for example, springs open with a tinny "clack" and the cover for the storage area only manages to open itself halfway before getting stuck. That kind of stuff is unacceptable for cars costing $50,000, let alone $100,000.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Perhaps some people don't care. Perhaps some people don't have a chance to compare. But even so, most people should have a sense of what feels expensive to them. But more critical than that, the upper management of these companies shouldn't settle for second rate standards.</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-1170536186918033162010-03-30T21:53:00.000-07:002010-03-30T21:53:53.820-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"raku" 楽 which means "comfortable" or "relaxed/relieved". And so I was, since last week was spring break. I managed to get a bit of work done but only the work for this week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, that's not really a problem since this weekend is Easter long weekend, so that's another 4 days off. Coupled with a short week next week, that makes these two weeks pretty simple. After that, I have one full week and then I'm finished the school portion of my practicum! Excited isn't really the word I'd use since, aside from the prep work, I rather enjoy my time in the classroom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm by no means a "good teacher" but at least I feel somewhat comfortable in front of a class. I'll be glad when I'm at Science World for the slightly reduced work load but it'll be weird not seeing my students daily. Of course, I'll still be working with students (this time of all ages) as well at Science World, so that brings with it new challenges which will be fun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in the mean time, I'm just enjoying my relaxing days off as I make the final push towards the end of practicum.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In other news, I'll be finally breaking the camera out again this Thursday as I head for the Vancouver International Auto Show. Cars, friends, and photography...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I could even enter for a chance to win a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet! Fingers crossed haha....</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsGA7XnOoSZZNvO30FGtovx0e7Oo_Q5OwWxtXDMrmHqkD21OzGxgImXWCH-Lsg5eU02aaZnucz4SzvwnQyONo1434gjZgrwjnyVzj-eBNVD1VUAQc98L21mHxvNCCSGBxVJM23iSsKUk/s1600/IMG_1262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsGA7XnOoSZZNvO30FGtovx0e7Oo_Q5OwWxtXDMrmHqkD21OzGxgImXWCH-Lsg5eU02aaZnucz4SzvwnQyONo1434gjZgrwjnyVzj-eBNVD1VUAQc98L21mHxvNCCSGBxVJM23iSsKUk/s400/IMG_1262.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-56930038243027196572010-03-20T19:10:00.000-07:002010-03-20T19:10:22.309-07:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"kitsui" きつい which means "laborious; difficult". I like to think of it as "tough". And not to worry, although I did miss a week, the blog's not stopping anytime soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But back to the word...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When practicum started, it wasn't too bad. The school schedule includes 4 classes a day and I only taught 2. And they were separated by spares even. More than that, it was the same lesson twice. I didn't even have to plan that much since it was done for me. So, for a month, everything was fine and dandy. I just focussed on honing my classroom skills.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since the beginning of March, I swapped one of those classes for a different class. So now it was still two classes, but back to back, and different lessons for both. A bit more work but at least most of the planning was done for me still.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">UBC mandates that all student teachers must spend 4 weeks teaching at a "full load" which they deem as 80% of the available classes or, in my case, 3 blocks a day. I started that last week and they're all different courses, 3 in a row, and I plan one of them entirely on my own.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, that's not to say I have it particularly hard, considering most others are doing 3 classes (or more if their school is linear) planning everything. But this whole teaching business is tough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To be honest, it's not the "teaching" part. I actually enjoy being on the floor and working with the students. The planning is the tought part. So I can see how established teachers manage to get through a year's worth because once the material is all set and you're used to the delivery, it's not too bad. Challenging, but not nearly as tough as it is now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, of course, you really do have to give it 100% and it is tiring. Because, like our frog friend below shows us, giving 100% and missing the mark means that at least you haven't left anything on the table...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jfpv4f_1rLA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jfpv4f_1rLA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-70472330473663891982010-03-08T22:38:00.000-08:002010-03-08T22:38:13.004-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;">"hokori" 誇り which means "pride". I should apologize for the last post but the past two weeks have been pretty hectic at school.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">But back to the word. There are many many reason why the past two weeks have been a source of pride for any Canadian.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5iCakm7sCLUsLWZvlJebnyZM0E7GjWtIl82AtEukpIPLaTnRb3Wia6to2VysTBiJSy_uIYf4i4xsekwnAy0XVaesmPxwuJER0J0Xe9j8gFNwS88doCxnrbgjRXasMWHPRhRMgpmwGZE/s1600-h/vancouverskyline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5iCakm7sCLUsLWZvlJebnyZM0E7GjWtIl82AtEukpIPLaTnRb3Wia6to2VysTBiJSy_uIYf4i4xsekwnAy0XVaesmPxwuJER0J0Xe9j8gFNwS88doCxnrbgjRXasMWHPRhRMgpmwGZE/s400/vancouverskyline.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vancouver, for instance, hosted what I felt was an amazing Olympic Games. Regardless of where your opinion lies on whether the Olympics are good or bad, it's hard to argue that Vancouver did an excellent job of turning it into an EVENT for people to take part in. The sheer amount of stuff available to do in the city meant that it got people out and about. And the buzz that created (along with the uncharacteristic stint of amazing weather) helps solidify just how fantastic of a city Vancouver is. It's not without its faults (as any British newspaper will tell you), but in terms of making the Olympics accessible to all, it was one of the best.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZZ-CuzDFDfehB-FAdtczItIF7kvXvgqmJncoBYTDoZVJSyH_PMwnMfCcn0DTKrjPUDAv7ynSdiDfvWLCvlmX0tmRkGe51B8ijZhQnaHiTpxMjFA3RTU-KJANG_OFI9kpOnsqL3_Ccg4/s1600-h/vancouver-2010-gold-medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZZ-CuzDFDfehB-FAdtczItIF7kvXvgqmJncoBYTDoZVJSyH_PMwnMfCcn0DTKrjPUDAv7ynSdiDfvWLCvlmX0tmRkGe51B8ijZhQnaHiTpxMjFA3RTU-KJANG_OFI9kpOnsqL3_Ccg4/s400/vancouver-2010-gold-medal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It was also a great time to be Canadian, considering we set a historical record for the number of gold medals earned by any nation in one Winter Olympic Games.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineEjK0wYJ2FZa0l37VxDq-7lo3NDFWz5KoU1jaVFKBV26MHY0wscIvFGlrUqCjmTd7rIm0kOaWrz32gQ5754KEuuwDXyI6keD0GKs8a-ImDdxzhZSHANLfqzHzmGIQSaG4VG5IB6Cv9U/s1600-h/Crosby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineEjK0wYJ2FZa0l37VxDq-7lo3NDFWz5KoU1jaVFKBV26MHY0wscIvFGlrUqCjmTd7rIm0kOaWrz32gQ5754KEuuwDXyI6keD0GKs8a-ImDdxzhZSHANLfqzHzmGIQSaG4VG5IB6Cv9U/s400/Crosby.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And, of course, more important than any other event- Men's Hockey. With the goal seen across the nation, Sidney Crosby helped Canada claim top spot we've long claimed as our own. But it wasn't just the winning, driving around the city afterwards and seeing the sheer amount of Canadiana out there further cements point #1 - Being Canadian and being in Vancouver is something I've very proud of.</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-6235283724875585342010-02-25T21:33:00.001-08:002010-02-25T21:33:58.197-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is...<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"au" 会う which means "to meet". And tonight I met (some) parents at the school's "Meet The Teacher" night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It wasn't anything particularly lengthy since the parents would visit each of their student's 4 teachers for 10 minutes at a time, and not many showed up (3 parents in one of my classes, and 5 in the other) but it was nice to see that some parents have an interest in their child's education. Even more interesting is that sometimes the similarities are apparent and you can almost guess who their child is as soon as they walk in the door.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhHcYQ75JCnrQ3Q6KtPYtHTjx4bYuHyN6Pvp5TDcFE-tvymGf85WCNS8W25Fis5oq5DjCQkEOrbZ2k4m36rG8oU9nct_SHhKbPXHCz7JeZLYCgfZ6HpzDb2V89NvZoCf_McnGqkIBb1I/s1600-h/olympics1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhHcYQ75JCnrQ3Q6KtPYtHTjx4bYuHyN6Pvp5TDcFE-tvymGf85WCNS8W25Fis5oq5DjCQkEOrbZ2k4m36rG8oU9nct_SHhKbPXHCz7JeZLYCgfZ6HpzDb2V89NvZoCf_McnGqkIBb1I/s320/olympics1.jpg" width="320" /></a>Otherwise, it's business as usual at the school. I'll be finishing up one of my Science 10 classes and switching to Science 9. Covering Biology... including the human reproductive system. That'll be good for a few laughs =P</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">In other news, Canada's Olympic medal haul continues to climb. And congrats to the Canadian Women's Hockey Team on their gold medal win over the US!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next up? The Canadian Men's Hockey team as they take on Slovakia in the semi-finals...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's the entire Team Canada roster.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfiYoj94VheXTCoX2YZqUhknwGVElBp7QXN84QJOSRJN7cfncdCUM2cIHlFcuSoTnN18VUejDnBeGOk_of_GQtIaQM_uI5WPdFELOIJlVDDtYmmaD35AuSgIdpHnBCv8BJox9uncAsII/s1600-h/team-canada-hockey-2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfiYoj94VheXTCoX2YZqUhknwGVElBp7QXN84QJOSRJN7cfncdCUM2cIHlFcuSoTnN18VUejDnBeGOk_of_GQtIaQM_uI5WPdFELOIJlVDDtYmmaD35AuSgIdpHnBCv8BJox9uncAsII/s400/team-canada-hockey-2010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074896217747497778.post-88261095176536210512010-02-16T16:37:00.000-08:002010-02-16T16:37:42.184-08:00Your Japanese word of the week is..."kibishii" 厳しい which means "strict". Obviously, when tied in with teaching, the context sort of explains itself.<br />
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But really, I don't think I'm that strict. Conversely, I don't think I'm strict enough in certain aspects... but there's the problem. Just because the class isn't running the way I like it to be doesn't necessarily mean it's "abnormally bad". <br />
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Teenagers are teenagers. They're physically growing, mentally adapting, hormonally influenced, complicated creatures that deal with a multitude of expectations not only when they go between school and home, but between classes. I suppose I should be sensitive to those things but the other part of me thinks my expectations are rather reasonable. Like not talking when I'm talking... that kinda stuff...<br />
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So do I keep it up based on my belief that these expectations are reasonable? Or do I let off because they need the space?<br />
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Personally, I don't want to nor will I let off. Why? Because if the rope goes out too far, it'll be impossible to pull it back. And I'd rather deal with keeping the strictness and wait til they fall into step, at which point we can all enjoy the extra freedom.<br />
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But, if you have a different philosophy on teaching, do let me know...... I'm all ears =PLawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14569237311439478974noreply@blogger.com0