Your Japanese word of the week is...

"isogashii", otherwise known as "busy" to the English world. And that's sort of what this past week has been.

The busy part of the week didn't really start til Thursday, if I'm honest. It was then that the Shiramizu dojo tournament was held at a nearby community centre. Shiramizu (and all its branch locations) has upwards of 450 students and nearly everyone competed in this dojo-only tournament. The morning was all competition while the afternoon was used for demos, of which every person was involved in one way or another. There were acrobatic skits, board breaking demos, individual and group kata demos, and other things.

The adults, however, weren't competing because we were asked to help ref the matches, which was a good chance for me to try it out. I also took part in a hilarious demo with Richard Sensei, which had me get more and more frustrated at my failed oppotunities in attacking him.

I suppose it's easier to explain it with pictures so this is how it goes.

It starts like this...

... and ends like this...

... more than once =P. It was particularly good fun because we were able to mix a serious take on karate movements and a good laugh for the kids.

At night, there was a celebratory dinner both for the adults who passed their dan tests last month as well as everyone helping out with the successful Shiramizu tournament. If you want to see more pictures, feel free to check out the Shiramizu Internship Blog (which is kept by Richard Sensei and myself, so yes, some of the pictures or writing might be the same heh....).

After that, Sunday was the Kanto area Wadokai tournament, which is rather more serious seeing as the Kanto area encompasses quite a few different prefectures, meaning there's quite a bit of glory to be had.

I competed in both kata and kumite and though I'm still far from winning, I did at least feel the difference in abilities is narrowing between me and my competitors. I do feel sort of bad because I gave my kumite opponent a bloody nose but........ I suppose it comes with the territory. At least it wasn't my nose I guess haha........

The business (busy-ness??) doesn't stop there though....... this week will be a bit of a rest but next Sunday is the Kita-Katsushika-Gun tournament. Much smaller in scale, the Kita-Katsushika-Gun is an area that includes some of the smaller towns in Saitama. It's like having a Tri-Cities tournament and I live in Coquitlam.

Lastly, I just wanted to bring up something completely irrelevant...........

In Japanese, there isn't really an "L" sound and, if I'm honest, there isn't really an "R" sound either. The closest they can get is something in between, hence the difficulty with various English words.

One particular word I discovered tonight to be a serious problem is "clap". My student was describing how her and the other school teachers were clapping for all the graduating elementary students at the ceremony and........ well....... let's just say I arched an eyebrow for a second when I heard it........ I might switch to using "applaud" from now on heh =P.........

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"tomadoi". It means confusion or bewilderment. I chose this word because although not much has happened in the past week, there has been quite a few things that's been confounding me. And I thought I'd share them with you........ It's sort of like the Weekly Word + What The Deuce put together this week.......

Ahh.... so that's why....
I start with a short one. I'd just like to say I finally figured out why it seems like everyone looks at me funny on the train.

Riding the train all the time is a great way to practice your Japanese reading ability what with all the ads on the trains. Whether it's building your hiragana and katakana reading speed or using context to figure out the meaning of different kanji, it's not a bad way of passing the time.

I caught a glimpse of myself one night and lo and behold, what's this quizzical look on my face??

It turns out I look like an illiterate Japanese guy staring at a mascara ad for 15 minutes............. no wonder people think I'm odd =P........

Speaking of ads....
While we're on the topic, you guys might know of various prominent English teaching companies that offer classes to the Japanese. Names like Gaba, Aeon, Nova, or even Berlitz might ring a bell. Well, perhaps not Nova, since they went bankrupt last year.

Anyway, they all run ads on trains and on the newer trains with LCD screens, Berlitz and Gaba have short TV-style ads.

Berlitz has rather good ones where they show various flashcards or explain the meaning of an idiom ("to hold one's horses" was on a few weeks ago) with Japanese translations.

Gaba ads, however, aren't so good. They often show a Japanese student and a Gaba instructor working on something in class. The problem is that they use speech balloons and flash the "spoken" words for a second before moving on. Now, I can read it, but I can imagine some people learning English might have a bit of trouble reading it all that quickly. And if they didn't, then perhaps they don't need what English schools offer......

Just a thought.........

That's crazy!! Oh wait, we're in Japan...
The best part about being somewhere new is really living the new culture.

Last week, I was going over animal flashcards with the kids, asking them to find an animal that's tall, or heavy, or fast, etc. I got to "tasty" and one of the kids held up the whale. I was just about to say no when I realised that, wait, they do hunt and eat whale here still.

It's quite rare and I honestly think few people have actually had some, but just like the Native Americans or Inuit, whale hunting is a part of certain Japanese local cultures, particularly those up north.

It may be hard for some to wrap their head around, especially with how I'm sure many Vancouverites view cetaceans, but this is what's part of trying to understand a new culture.

I can think of a few other such cultural views in the same vein as this, too. I wouldn't, for example, consider wandering around New Delhi asking where I can have one of these...


By the way, I went to TGIF's with Peter cuz we had a hankering for "western" food. That's where Peter took that picture. That's deep fried mozzarella cheese above the patty........ it was good ahha..... but I digress......

Perhaps in my next English class, I'll pick the shark as a "tasty" animal, and see if any of the kids are surprised. It'll be a good chance to open their eyes to the world of shark fin soup heh...... or do they have that here too?? I don't know actually heh....... we'll see I guess =P.......



Anyways, all that aside, the next two weeks will be busy busy. Thursday is Shiramizu's dojo tournament, this sunday is the Kanto area tournament, and the sunday after is the Kita-Katsushika-Gun tournament.

After that, I start my new job on April 4th soooo.............. I guess a slow week is a good way to build up to it heh......

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"neru", which is the infinitive form of the verb "sleep". Of course, the dictionary also says there's "nemuru" which also means sleep. The two have different kanji though, so I really have no idea what the difference is. Looking it up backwards shows that "nemuru" means sleep while "neru" can also mean to "go to bed". But really, I guess it's the same deal more or less.........

So, how does that tie in this week?? Quite a few times......

For starters, there were TWO earthquakes over the past weekend. The first of which was early Saturday morning at around 2am or so. The 4.5 Richter quake apparently occurred 50-some km off the WSW coast of Japan. And I was sleeping at the time so when I opened my eyes and heard everything creaking and swaying my first reaction was........ "Wow, what a dream this is!".

Then, of course, I realised it wasn't a dream. Luckily, most of the swaying was lateral (which is no cause for concern according to people here) so no harm done. The day after too, there was a slight tremble in the morning.

The most worrisome thing about all this isn't the earthquakes themselves, but how I'm going to deal with it if a larger one comes. My room, in case you haven't see it, has tatami mats which makes it a sort of traditional style room. Traditional Japanese style rooms have no chairs as everyone sits on the ground. That everyone sits on the ground means the tables are about half-height. That makes it nearly impossible for me to execute what I've learned all through elementary and high school, which is to hide under a table if an earthquake comes, cuz I don't fit. So I'm sort of left with the doorway as the only option.

Either that, or jumping through one of my many glass windows haha....... but let's not try that......

But the wildest "sleep" adventure this past week was this............

Allow me to set up the scenario........

Again this past weekend, Peter came down to Tokyo. This time he wanted to check out the nightlife but it wasn't going to be easy being a Sunday night. Regardless, we headed out to the more happenin' districts of Tokyo to find some life in the night. After a few rather dead clubs and bars, we moved from Roppongi to Shibuya hoping that there'd be more to do. It was more of the same with just a handful of bars open with a handful of people. So we just ended up wandering the night away, meeting the occassional people (including a guy from North Van).

At about 3, we went into a 24hr McDonald's for some food and when we went downstairs for a seat, that was the scene we saw- People passed out at nearly all the tables. I think it's safe to assume it's a mix of homeless people, people who missed the train home, or people who worked so late that it makes no sense to go home. But it was pretty crazy when we saw it......

It gets better though............ a worker came down to tell us he was going to clean this bottom floor but he's just finished the second floor and it's open now (how nice). And so everyone drowsily made their way to the second floor and passed out again. I had Peter snap the picture because I figured no one would believe me haha........

Other things that were still open at night?? A clothing store and a hair salon. We actually saw a guy getting his hair cut at 2am. I was told it was someone who was training, in case, I presume, the hair cut is awful, then there's still 3 hours to fix it before anyone sees it. But who trains at 2am?? Why not at 9 or something, right after it closes?? And if it's not training, who wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks, Yeah, what I really want right now is a hair cut..........

So if you're visiting Tokyo for a day and are looking for a cheap way to pass the night............. there's always McDonald's heh.....

Either way, Peter said he'd come back on a Saturday next time so we can party the night away, instead of taking pictures of people sleeping in a fast food joint............. =D

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"omedetou". It means "congratulations". "Omedetougozaimasu" also works, with that last part adding an extra bit of politeness and emphasis. And who am I congratulating?? Mr. Mike Spain.

You might remember I mentioned him last December. He's an American who lives in Thailand and, wanting to join the Wadokai, he visisted Japan early last December to do just that as well as practice. In the Wadokai, being a member is not really a problem. But in Thailand, where Wado karate is rather under-represented, Mike wanted to have his own dojo join as a branch dojo. However doing so requires at least one member of the dojo to be a certified Wadokai shodan (black belt). So he came back this week and, on March 2nd, challenged and passed this black belt test in Tokyo (mine being a different exam because it was a different "region"). That's Mike in the dogi at the right of the picture. That's Arakawa Sensei beside me on the left of the picture.

I hope I don't have to point out which one is "me" haha............ although I just realised that having said that, I've just set myself up for a bunch of comments asking "Which one are you Lawrence??".......

Or...... "What country are you in??"....... "Who are you?!?"....... the list goes on haha...... Annnyyywaayyy....

So really, all I did all last week was help Mike prepare. This was actually a really good chance for me to try my hand at teaching though. As I said last week, while basic form is important, there are a lot of elements of karate (and indeed any sport) that I call "intangible" and being able to demonstrate/model as well as explain these elements in words isn't easy to do. And since I've spent nearly all my time since July learning these things, it was great to have a chance to switch my thinking and take a stab at teaching.

But Mike worked hard all week so a big "omedetou" to him for passing! =)

I'm sort of taking this week off because the dojo has kyu tests (kyu's are all the ranks prior to black belt) so there's no classes. I'm using the time to get errands done.

More exciting than that, though, is Peter, who wants to come back to Tokyo again this weekend. But I will eventually visit Peter's town of Aizu Wakamatsu and see for myself if it's really as boring as he makes it sound haha..........

Later though, since it's still cold up there haha..... til then......

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"kincho". It means nervous and what you might expect me to talk about is my dan (or black belt level) grading this past weekend.

But interestingly, that wasn't the most recent nerve wracking experience I've had this weekend. As a matter of fact, last night something else crazy happened. I got pulled over........... on my bike.....

See, I was feeling a bit peckish at night and was heading to the convenience store (or "convenie") for some food. By bike it takes about 5 minutes and so I didn't think much of it as I hopped on my bike to go.

Halfway there, this black and white Toyota Echo (or Platz, as it's called here) pulled up and three (3!!!!) men stepped out. I'm not sure if they're really police or just patrol or something, but they asked me to get off the bike and asked for some information. I can just imagine how odd it must've looked to have 3 guys in a car stopping one kid on a bike........

Anyway, one gentleman pointed out to me (after I pointed out to him I don't speak Japanese) that riding at night without the headlight on is dangerous.

"Oh sorry! Yes, you're right. There you go, it's on now."

While all this was happening, another one was radio-ing (is that a word??) in the serial number on the bike while the third man was checking to see if my lock had a key and if my tire was properly inflated and such. I started to wonder if I was going to get arrested for a wobbly rear tire or something........

Anyways, long story short, I didn't get a fine and the men left, with one man's last three words being, "No. Light. Dangerous." Yes, thank you.........

The weirdest part was that not one of them mentioned that not wearing a helmet is dangerous, too. Honestly, they checked the bike rather thoroughly and only left when they were convinced that it was in good working condition and, rightly I might add, were concerned for my night time safety lest I be run over by a truck. But then again, it's totally fine to bike around with no helmet?? Weird............

Regardless, back to the main point of my weekend heh.......... I did indeed go to my karate grading. In case you don't know, the grading was for my second degree black belt, otherwise known as a nidan. It took place in Urayasu city in Chiba which was about an hour and a half drive from where I am, and near Tokyo Disneyland. There were 12 of us going for the test from Shiramizu, 3 testing for their nidan (including me) while the rest went for their shodan.

I had been putting in quite a bit of self training at the dojo for the few weeks leading up to it and I'm happy to say I passed (as did everyone else from Shiramizu, regardless a few of them not smiling in the picture haha). Although, now that I think about it, having passed it only means the work gets harder since now not only are all the coloured belts looking up to me, so are all the shodan (first degree) students. The responsibility to be a role model both in karate and as a character grows so this is indeed not the end but rather, the beginning.

Still, I'm quite happy because I put in the effort and it's nice to see these things bear fruit.......

This is a picture I "borrowed" (heh) from Arakawa Sensei's blog of us after we got back to the dojo.

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"issho kenmei". According to the dictionary, it means "with all one's might" which, if you ask me, sounds bit too much of a Norwegian strong man girding his loins to throw an Olympic hammer clear across the Atlantic. But it is technically the right translation. It just means putting all your effort into a task.

Of course, there's also the (somewhat) well known phrase "gambatte" which means to do one's best. Well, if I'm REALLY technical, the verb is "gambaru" while "gambatte" is just a conjugated form of it........ yay nerdiness......

So what task am working so hard at?? My belt test on the 23rd. According to the Wadokai (the governing body of my karate style and itself part of the larger Japan Karatedo Federation), any belt tests below black belt may be given by the instructor of the dojo. But any level from black belt onwards must be tested by the Wadokai examiners and these tests only happen a few times a year. There'll be about 10 of us from the dojo going. It's a bit nerve wracking and the tension doesn't help muscle speed, but oh well......... I'm just gonna go at it "with all my might" and see what happens.......

Also, last week was Valentine's Day so........ Happy Valentine's. As you might expect with how Halloween and Christmas are viewed here, Valentine's is quite a commercialized day as well (as if it wasn't in Canada haha)...... But it works a bit differently here.....

On Valentine's, only girls give boys presents and it's usually chocolate.

Brilliant!, I thought. But hang on, what's this about a White Day??

Well, White Day is one month after Valentine's (March 14th) and it's when the boy gives presents back to the girl. And it's NOT chocolate....... necklaces, perhaps. Or earrings........

I thought I was quite lucky to get gifts from my students and coworkers and such. But now........ I'm not so sure ;) haha j/k......

But that's ok. For now, I'll be using the chocolate derived energy to help me along the days leading up til the 23rd. Everything else is sort of secondary =P heh.......

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"kankaku". There's two different kanji with the same pronounciation but the one I'm talking about today means "sense" or "feeling".

And that's what I spent most of today doing, getting a "feel" for my new job. In case you haven't heard, I got hired as a teacher for Seiritsu Gakuen (a private high school in Tokyo) to teach their foreign exchange students. I'll be teaching mainly science and math with an extra subject that is currently history. I'll also be doing all my internship work at the same time (until July that is). Once July's come and gone, I'll use my afternoons to help teach English at the school and other activities. Oh, it also means I'm here til April 2009............. =P

So today I shadowed the current teacher to get a feel for how the classes are run and got to meet the students (the department isn't that big right now, so there aren't many).

But over the weekend, Peter came to Tokyo!! I used to work with him back at Lexus and he's in Japan teaching English as well. If Tokyo is Vancouver, I sort of live in Coquitlam- accessible but sometimes inconvenient. Peter, unfortunately, lives in Aizu Wakamatsu in the Fukushima prefecture............ that's sort of like Kelowna.

No problem though, as he packed an overnight bag and hopped on the bus to spend a night in Tokyo.

I met him at the Shinjuku bus station and, after lunch, we saw bits of Shinjuku, Harajuku, the Tokyo Tower (there USED to be a picture of Peter in front of Tokyo Tower, but since he complained, it's now him in Harajuku =P.....), and Roppongi. After lots of walking, we took the train back to my city and stuffed ourselves silly at an all-you-can-eat restaurant.

The next day, we got up a bit early and checked out Akihabara and Ginza. We went into this awesome watch shop where the first floor has all these glass enclosures for different brands of watches and, when you walk in one, they're actually elevators that take you either to the second floor or the basement, where there's a small area that sells only that brand of watch.

So walking into the Swatch "cylinder" takes you down to the Swatch section. Go in the Omega part and it takes you up to the Omega area. It's pretty sweet. You can see in the picture below, one of the elevators has gone up.

So, all in all, a good weekend heh........... The next two weeks will be me frantically trying to prepare for my belt exam on the 23rd..............

PS- There's also an awesome spider sculpture thing in the Roppongi Hills shopping area. It's spider-iffic haha.......