Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Christmas train!!  Choo-choo-choo-choo...

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"hisabisa" 久々which means a "long time".  Technically, it's got a very similar meaning to "hisashiburi" which I've written about before 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....

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.

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...

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.

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.

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 =)...

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...

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.

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 =)...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Not me =P...

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.

Hope you're all ready for December and I'll check in with you all soon =)

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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.

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.....

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.

Of note is that, as the way these things happen, all three events are happening the same week.....  exciting =P

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.

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.

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.

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!

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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 =)...

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.

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.

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...

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.

And then, of course, are my personal favourites from the day, including:

A tone mapped picture of a maple leaf.

This one that I call, "Fall"

And my personal favourite from the day because I think the lighting really makes the picture.

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.

Stay tuned!

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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...

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

And this rock which resembles a seal...

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...

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.

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.

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!

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!

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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.

Nice, calm, and quiet thanks in no small part to the car.  Here it is at the north entrance of Yellowstone.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

And Glacier's not short on wildlife either...

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.

We also stopped in Osoyoos on the way back, although this picture is still from Fort Steele.

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.

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!

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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....

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... 

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.

Til then...

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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!

Of course, summer = fun as well...

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.

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... =)

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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~~~~"...

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.

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! 

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.

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.

Nothing gross about that... =P