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

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.......

Anyway, just a funny story I thought I'd share.  In other news, Happy Canada Day!!

Perhaps someone can read Canada's lines and creases and figure out what kind of future it has...

Oh wait, that's geology isn't it?...  and that IS real... =P

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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).  

Not the Triandle of Death...

Anyways, the triangle works like this: 

One sensei stands at each point at the triangle.

At the first point, the kids do a kizami-tsuki (lunging front punch) and basically try to score a standard kumite point.

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.

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.

Then they complete the triangle by running back to the first sensei to start again.

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.

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.

And it's fun!  Which is a crucial aspect to training with kids =P....

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.

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"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.

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.

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

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.

Til then!

Your Japanese word of the week is...

"machigai" 間違い which means "mistake" or "error" which is a funny thing to think about.  I mean, there are mistakes like these:

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".

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?

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

With PSWK's grading coming up in a few weeks, this is something I'll be thinking quite a bit about...

In the meantime, one final mistake which is quite clearly a mistake.  But at least they learned something... maybe...

Your 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...

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 sensei I trained with while I was in Tokyo and is one of the few remaining people to have trained with Otsuka Sensei, the founder of Wado karate.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Special thanks for Norma Sensei for sending me these pics.  And here's one I never expected.....  Takagi Sensei hugging me haha.....