Day three.

Physical status: My aches have aches.

Mental status: Not bad actually.

The last few days have been draining as one would expect. Thinking ‘I might do the intensive, it’ll be fun’ and then having it creep up so quickly was the real killer. It’s real. It’s happening. My body will be pushed past its limits and best not forget that I volunteered.

In the past year I’ve struggled with karate. It was always an effort and I always felt like hyperventilating or passing out. The problem, I found, was my diet. I wasn’t eating or drinking enough, mainly not drinking enough. Once my diet was fixed up it was less of a challenge getting through just under two hours of karate. It’s always been tiring, as with any physical activity, but with the proper preparation of eating and drinking, it’s less so.

For the intensive I’ve put a lot of focus on eating the right foods and drinking enough water throughout the day so that there’s no headaches, no lightheadedness or dizzy spells and definitely no hyperventilating. When undergoing something as tough as this intensive, you have to be on your A-game and take care of your body. Bodies are like cars; they need fuel to function.

And repair time. Sleep is just as important as food. I aim for seven hours minimum each night, but so far haven’t managed a nap during the day. Napping is one of the best things to do during an intensive like this, as your body has time to rest and repair before afternoon training. It’s just unfortunate that not everyone doing the intensive has an opportunity to nap in between the morning and afternoon sessions because it’s beautiful.

In the coming week-and-a-half everything will be tested physically and mentally even more than it already has. The aches of my aches will have aches and my greatest desire will be to sleep. But I can take solace in the fact that I’m not alone: everyone doing the intensive is in the same boat. And the boat is sinking. While on fire. It’s just a matter of swimming instead of sinking.

Had a free day today so we got up early and did a bit of washing and cleaning around the dojo before heading in to town to buy bus tickets. We will get the bus to the airport at about 6.30 in the morning. Naoyuki Sensei is picking us up from the dojo and dropping us off at a bus stop on the highway which cuts about half an hour off the over all trip. After we had our tickets Sandra and I went our separate ways. I went off to have a last look around town, first stop though was starbucks for a coffee while I waited for some shops to open then I had a look around for a couple of last minute presents and just explored some side streets etc. For lunch I dropped in to CoCo Ichiban which is a Japanese chain restaurant that I had found that do a gluten free curry. I was nice enough but I definitely preferred all the fresh food I have been eating since I got here. Like many chain restaurants in Australia, it had that kind of processed flavor to it. On the up side, I had the large serve and a drink and it cost me $5.30!
On the way back to the dojo I decided to take a wander down a couple of side streets after Soke Sensei yesterday gave us a little bit of history of the area. The Dojo is only a 25-30 minute walk from the castle and the area’s inbetween are a maze of tiny narrow streets and old buildings, there are several Shrines and temples nestled in amongst the houses and businesses. Soke Sensei was telling us that this area was once the home to the lower Samurai warriors and thier families. The streets are narrow and winding with very few straight lines and they form a honeycomb or brickwork kind of pattern. This is so that there are no long straight area’s where invaders could get a clear shot or a clear run at the castle. There are winding little canals and streams in amongst the streets a well, and then you turn around and there is the Highway! Some of the rock walls around the houses in these area’s are over 400 yrs old

A temple on the highway nestled between a service station and an office block

Some of the narrow winding streets near the dojo

Back at the dojo I packed the last few things- I have just managed to squeeze everything in to my bag.. It is filled to overflowing… bad news is… I don’t think that pillow is coming home with me! I still have a gi to fit in there in the morning but there will be room for that… just!
I had a relaxing afternoon before Minowa Sensei’s class this evening. As always it was a great class. Marc Sensei joined us which was nice. A big thank you to Marc Sensei for taking the time out to be a part of our last training session this trip, and a big thanks to his lovely wife and children for sharing.
We started the class with the usual Kihons and then played a little teamwork game from Minowa Sensei’s stretching class and then broke into groups. I was in a group working on Tenshin again. Gradually working through the changes I’ve made and each class refining a few more details. So many things to remember! We finished off with Some more basic punching and then a quick photo and it was time to say goodbye.

Tonight's class minus the gorgeous orange belt lady who took the picture for us

After class Sensei Sandra went with Minowa Sensei to an onsen but I chose to stay back and finish packing and do some washing, empty bins and all that stuff that needs to be done before tomorrow morning.
All in all it has been an amazing time here in Japan. I am looking forward to returning home to share some of the things I have learned while I was here. I highly recommend any seniors who have never been here before get your applications in for next years scholarship trip. This is a fantastic opportunity our club provides and I believe it is very likely the only place in the world offering this experience to it’s members at this time.
Right now I had better get going and get these last few things packed. It’s been great, see you all soon!

I love Kumamoto!

I can’t believe our time here is almost done, we  only have a few more days to go! This morning was a quiet one which I was glad of as i was feeling very tired today after several late nights of visiting and writing blogs etc. When I woke up Sandra was already down in the dojo training. I reviewed my notes from the night before in our room and went over some of the things that Toyodome Sensei was helping me with last night. Unfortunately doing lots of the opening and closing moves of Sochin has really aggravated my tennis elbow so I didn’t do too much this morning but I think I may have found something that will make a big difference. It’s funny how you can hear something over and over and then one day someone just says it a different way and it’s like Óoooh… so that’s what you’ve all been trying to say!’
I did some washing and helped Sensei Sandra finish of with some cleaning and then had a bit of a rest before Minowa Sensei took us out again to her stretching class. These women are so inspiring, I feel so privileged to have been able to share that time with them. The class is for older women, I believe Minowa Sensei said the youngest is 58, and yet they are so lively and energetic and fun, and thier bodies so young. The class is really well designed, beginning with stretches and body mobilisation exercises, then some games to exercise the brain and co-ordination as well as teamwork (and a great laugh). After that they have a quick break and are into the dancing. This week Sensei Sandra and I just watched the dancing part as they are getting ready for a performance soon at a festival so they were working on spacing and placement of everyone. It was great to watch. One the way home we stopped for ice cream.. this has become something of a ritual when we are with Minowa Sensei and Tomika San! After we got home we had a bit more rest time before the evening family class.
I went in to the dojo a little bit early on my own and spent another 5 minutes on what I was working on this morning, I figure little bits at a time all add’s up.
Class tonight was lots of fun, we started by warming up with some running races and skipping etc. After the warm up we got the mats out and did some rolling. First off we just did somersaults, then backwards rolling, and then normal ukemi. After a few goes through Naoyuki Sensei got out a bar for us to jump over before we rolled and gradually started to increase the height.

Warm up exercises!

Rolling practice

How high can you go!

practicing ushiro ukemi

When we had finished the rolling and packed the mats away we lined up for some Kihon Dosa Ni and Kihon Dosa San and then some basic blocking. From there we broke up into groups and did some bunkai. The Black belts were doing Kihon Dosa Yon Bunkai together in a rotation.

Practicing Kihon Dosa Yon Bunkai

Lastly we did some Mawashi Geri with the kick pads before finishing up the class
When class finished it was time for Souji again.. the Tuesday night class is the biggest and Souji could easily be done in one pass each but there is so much fun to be had in racing each other that the floor ends up spotless by the end!

Souji

Rady Set Go!

Saying Thank You and goodbye at the end of the class

Today was a public holiday here in Japan, a day set aside to honour the elderly, so there was no morning training. I woke up and spent some time going over my training notes from the past week and going over some stuff in our room, I was feeling very demoralised and frustrated this morning, there are so many things I want to be able to do and I just don’t know where to start, concepts that I am starting to understand on an intelectual level but my body is still years behind.  I came to the conclusion in my notes this morning that there are some fundamental things missing and until I get them sorted nothing much else will fall into place but I didn’t even know where to start when it comes to training. After Sandra came back up from doing her own training she convinced me to go for a bike ride to the shops with her. Now it should be said that I can’t really ride a bike very well and the thought of it kinda scares the bejeezus out of me. I grew up the youngest of four kids in a house that didn’t have 4 bikes and somehow I just never really learned to ride until i was an adult trying to teach my kids to ride, but It’s not something I am comfortable with, especially in a strange city with very narrow streets, non existant footpaths and lots of people! But today I thought what the hell.. It could be good for a laugh- I needed cheering up, and I needed to clear my head. We didn’t go on the streets, there is a supermarket not far from the dojo and to get there there is a nice wide, not too populated path so it was a really good opportunity to get used to the bike.

I'm still not enirely convinced this is a good idea.. put that camera away!

Well I made it all the way there, now just to get back to the dojo!

After we got back and had breakfast and a chat it was time to get ready for the demonstration we were going to today with Tanaka Sensei. Tanaka Sensei’s first student, Shingo, works at an old peoples home, and, because today is a day for honoring the elderly, they had invited him to do a demonstration of Karate. We had arranged earlier what we would be doing for the demonstration so Tanaka Sensei came over to the Sohonbu a bit early to discuss the details with us of timing etc, and to practice some bunkai with Sensei Sandra

Tanaka Sensei and Sandra Sensei practicing their Bunkai for the demonstration

After a quick practice we headed of to the centre. When we got there they took us up to a room where we could change and bought us tea etc. It was all very organised, we had a room set aside for us to change with a sign on the door . I was surprised at their hospitality, although I shouldn’t be, everyone is always exceedingly hospitable and polite in Japan, but still, it was nice that they bought us chairs and a tray with tea and coffee just while we got changed. While we waited in the room, Toyodome Sensei joined us. I have never met Toyodome Sensei before although we have been facebook friends since Sensei Sandra and Jodie came last year. It was great to finally meet him, he is a very funny friendly gentleman. While we were waiting we also met Shingo, Tanaka Sensei’s student who worked at the centre. He was also really lovely and took us down to where the demonstration was to take place. There were some other demonstrations planned and we were lucky enough to see some traditional Japanese dancing before it was our turn.

Traditional Japanese dancers

Tanaka Sensei had gone through the plan with us at the dojo, he was going to give a short talk introducing us and karate and then he was going to take the residents through a lesson in correct fist, basic punch, and kiai, then we would do our Kata and bunkai and last Shingo would break through some roof tiles. I was so impressed with Tanaka sensei’s presentation and the way he got the residents involved, the looks on some faces when he told them they were going to kiai!

Tanaka Sensei introducing us, Shingo is in the black t shirt on the right. Unfortunately this is where my phone died so there are no more photo's of today

After we did our demonstrations we were running late so Shingo decided he wouldn’t do his part, luckily the other staff member hosting the demonstrations convinced him to do it and also had a go punching through a tile! After we finished we were treated to some lovely singing from another staff member. A very talented staff I must say!
After the demonstrations the hospitality continued as they served us Matcha (traditional Japanese green tea) and Mochi to say thank you.

From the senior centre Tanaka Sensei and Toyodome sensei decided to take us to Musashi park, where it is said Musashi’s tomb is located. Tanaka Sensei explained that there is debate about this and no one really knows where his body is buried but thee is a statue and a shrine built here to him. After a wander through the park we went to Musashi Udon, a noodle restaurant next to the park and had some dinner.
This is where we said our goodbye’s to tanaka Sensei, hopefully we will have another chance to catch up before we leave. From here Toyodome Sensei took us out to Ichimaru Sensei’s dojo for training. This was an interesting experience, when we arrived the kids were doing kumite practice, they are all so fast and very focused. While we were there Toyodome Sensei asked me to perform a couple of Kata for him and gave me some very valuable feedback, Things which tie in very closely to the things I gained from Kugisaki Sensei yesterday but which left me in a bit of a spin. I am now feeling a little bit better about the direction I need to go with my training.. surprise surprise.. it’s not at all what I was thinking!! Thank goodness there are people around who know more than me who can guide me along the way- Sometimes you just need to trust the process!
While we were at Ichimaru Sensei’s dojo Toyodome Sensei also pulled out his Sai. I think Sensei Sandra suggested he give me a demonstration of Sai Kata, but instead I was treated to a brief lesson in Sai, (well… I played around with them for a bit and managed to whack muyself in the head with one!) as well as a demonstration of how Sai can be used in Sochin.
After training Toyodome Sensei bought us back to the dojo and gave Sensei Sandra and I the most beautiful treasured gift’s. I really am overwhelemd every day by the beautiful people here.
I really wish I had some photo’s to show you of the afternoon but unfortunately my phone died and I can’t get photo’s off my camera until I get home. I’m sure Sensei Sandra will post some though so if you are interested head over to her facebook page or Sunshine Coast Karate facebook or webpage.

I had a fairly quiet morning at the dojo this morning. I woke up to some messages from Charlotte so I spent some time chatting to her.. I ended up a bit emotional after our chat, missing home, missing the kids and feeling very far away and helpless when things are not going to plan. I messaged James and Paul as well over breakfast because I was feeling homesick and by the end of our chat I was feeling a bit better. Sandra came out of the dojo after doing some morning training and decided to head off on a bike ride. I decided to stay at the dojo and do a bit of cleaning. I feel this is just something small I can do to try to give back and I have felt so overwhelmed with care the past few days I had to do something. Sandra came back as I was finishing up some washing and we did a tag team, she stayed in to chat to her family while I went out and about. I only intended to go to the supermarket and get a few supplies but I ended up walking all the way in to town again.. just for a wander around really.
I got back to the dojo in time for a quick shower and we headed off with Kugisaki Sensei to his dojo for some training. Kugisaki Sensei is an amazing and inspiring man, one of O Sensei’s last remaining students, he is a living treasure in Chito-Ryu. Kugisaki Sensei’s specialty is application of kata and bunkai. I Didn’t understand much of what was said due to the language barrier but i still feel I learned alot from todays session.. if my copious notes are anything to go by! There were times when I felt very much out of my depth amongst much more senior karateka, but as I said, I still feel I got alot from the session. It was encouraging to note that there were some things I remember him showing us last time I trained with him in 2011 and I feel I have a much better understanding now of what he meant than I did then, or a slightly better ability to do the things he showed us.
After training we went back to Kugisaki Sensei’s house for a cold drink before heading out to dinner, more Yakiniku.. I really appreciate the effort everyone is going to to accomodate my difficult dietry needs. Especially Sandra who has had to eat the same thing two days in a row!
My head is still spinning a bit from all the information I was trying to absorb in our 3odd hours of training this afternoon, but for now It’s time for bed, tomorrow is another day

Sandra heading off for a ride this morning

Kugisaki Sensei's Dojo

Dinner With Kugisaki Sensei and his beautiful wife and one of his students

It’s Saturday, the start of a long weekend here in Kumamoto, so I enjoyed a nice sleep in and a relaxed breakfast this morning and took a little bit of time to organise my suitcase and all the gifts I have bought etc…It might all fit! Minowa Sensei came to pick us up at 9.30 to go to a local shopping centre where we got a few more presents and looked around the shops for awhile. While we were there we were also lucky enough to run into one of Minowa Sensei’s daughters with her family.

Hmmm... what to buy.. a whole shop full of junk food!

When we had finished shopping we went to pick up Tomika San for lunch. Today for lunch we went to a Yakiniku restaurant. There is an all you can eat salad and drink bar and then you order your meat and grill it at the table yourself on a gas grill. It was very good and I ate way too much! I thought that was it, I had fruit and jelly from the salad bar for desert but then on the way home we stopped for ice cream! Good Old Baskin and Robbins are even in Japan! I have been very well fed by Minowa Sensei and Tomika san!

Sandra enjoying lunch

Minowas Sensei and Tomika at Yakiniku restaurant

Eating Jelly with chopsticks! Minowa Sensei admitted even Japanese people think it's too hard and just use fingers!

By the time we got back to the dojo Marc Waterfield Sensei was already here with his daughter Reina preparing for the afternoon kids class. Sensei Sandra had a bit of fun chasing reina about the dojo before she and Marc Sensei did some Kumi bo practice before class.

Sensei's training before the kids class

As people started to arrive we got the mats out and put them together for the class. It was a great fun class, It is interesting to me to note that I could follow most of what Marc Sensei was saying to the kids and what he wanted us to do just by watching. After the first section we had a drink break and Sandra Sensei took a stretching segment.

After that we did some Gyaku Zuki training where I partnered up with one of the older boys in the class, he was a great student and responded instantly to any feedback. All of the kids in the class were pretty awesome really! Heaps of fun and there were some real cuties! Sandra Sensei finished of the class with some more kihons and some Ukemi practice and we all packed up the mats together… packing up and cleaning up is always so much fun here, the kids are encouraged to do the job but they aren’t stopped from playing while they do it either which is great fun to watch. I think sometimes we ( or maybe I should say I) get too caught up in getting the job done right away now, and forget to enjoy the process.

Teamwork

Ok.. that's enough carrying... stacks on!

This evening Minowa Sensei and Tomika san picked us up again to go out to a local observatory. We saw saturn and Mars through a big telescope up in the observatory and the saw the Andromeda Galaxy through another telescope out on the deck. We also met up with Minowa Sensei’s daughters and grand children while we were there, what a beautiful family they were.

checking out Saturn through the telescope

Back at the dojo again now and I am once again marvelling at the welcome we have had and at how lovely everyone has been. I think tomorrow morning will be a quiet one around the dojo, do some cleaning and try to somehow give back a little of what we have been given.

The Sohonbu from the street. A beautiful place to be

Today has been all about shopping! There was no morning training so I got to sleep in which was needed after yesterday. Woke up feeling fresh and ready to go. We had the day entirely free and all I really needed to do was grab a few groceries so Sandra and I decided to walk into town together to do some shopping. I’m glad we did because by the end of the day we realised our time left here is filling up very fast. Once there we organised a time to be back at the dojo and went our separate ways. First things first, it was time for a coffee! After sitting down over a coffee, checking my budget, making a plan as to what I wanted to get etc, I got down to business! I had found a few gift shops and 100yen shops on my previous trip into town and knew of where to find a couple of others so first stop was a 100 yen shop in one of the big shopping centres where I bought a few gifts as well as a couple of practical items, then I went back down to the Shimatori which is like a mall, I found a sock shop and started messaging Charlotte about socks, we were sending messages back and forth and I was taking photo’s of socks to send to her until we decided on what she wanted.. I’m sure the shop assistants thought I was mad or rude or both but I ended up spending a fair bit there so hopefully they are ok with it! As I left the sock shop I saw a temporary stall across the mall which had some Samurai type outfits etc for sale so I thought this might be the place to get the gift I had in mind for James. It turned out they didn’t really have anything so I was walking away when the guy behind the counter gave me a flyer for their main store. In it I saw exactly what I had been looking for so I went back over to him and asked about it. It turned out he spoke very good english so he explained to me where the shop was and gave me a map, told me which tram to catch and which stop to hop off at, and then rang the store to tell them I was coming. He said it would be better if I could wait awhile and go after 1pm so I kept wandering down the Shimatori looking at other shops. Before I knew it I had gone all the way to the end and I figured looking at the map that I was halfway there so maybe I should just walk the rest of the way. I was trying to get my bearings to determine if I was where I thought I was so I asked a guy standing nearby for directions… turned out he didn’t speak Japanese (even though he looked Japanese) and he was actually a german tourist only in Kumamoto for a day! I decided to trust my instinct and the map the guy had given me and wandered off. I did find the shop although it was a bit further than I expected, bought the gift I was looking for, and decided this time I would catch the tram back to where I was. I was pretty sure I was on the right side of the tram track’s but just wanted to be sure so I decided to ask the lady sitting with her baby at the tram stop.. it turned out she was deaf and couldn’t help… I’m thinking the universe is telling me to have a bit more self belief because both times I didn’t really need help, I was just second guessing myself! Anyway, I caught the right tram, back in to the Shimatory, had some lunch and did a little bit more gift shopping before grabbing some groceries and heading back to the dojo.
I had only been back at the dojo for a few minutes when Sandra looked out the window and saw we had a visitor. Marc Waterfield Sensei is another Canadian who is now living in Kumamoto. It was great to catch up and have a chat with Marc Sensei and he invited us to join him for a little kids class on Saturday afternoon. It sounds like they will be like our little champions ages so I’m looking forward to some games and fun with them. The second half of the class is playing in the giant playground near the dojo! Who wouldn’t want to do that!!
This evenings class was a women’s class with Minowa Sensei. When Sensei arrived she invited us to go star gazing on Saturday night after the kids class. We also had a quick visit from Tanaka Sensei before class started. He has invited us to be part of a demonstration at a senior centre next Monday. Monday is a public holiday here celebrating the elderly.
The class started with Kihon’s as usual and then we broke up and Sensei Sandra worked on Kusanku with her partner and I worked on Tenshin with my partner for the second half.

With Marc Waterfield Sensei

Sandra and Marc Sensei

Me with the ladies from tonights class

Sandra and I with Minowa Sensei

Well what an eventful day it has been. We had the morning off training this morning so were able to have a more relaxed start to the day. I did some washing… we are still having trouble understanding the controls on the washing machine but everything comes out clean so we must be doing something right! and had breakfast before heading in to town again to look around for some gifts. I decided to walk in because it was a lovely morning and still not too hot. On the way I met a lovely Japanese man who saw me walking along with my pale skin and freckles and somehow knew I wasn’t local. He greeted me with a huge cheery “Good Morning!’. We spoke for a little while as he practiced his English about how long it takes to get to Japan from Australia on a plane and what the weather is like at home. He asked me if I spoke Japanese and I replied that I was here for a Karate training trip and I could speak ‘ Karate japanese’! Mae Geri, Yoko Geri, tski… he laughed at that! We said our goodbyes and I continued on my way. I had a few grocery items to pick up and I wanted to find a 100 Yen shop today, I did that and grabbed a few things but before I knew it it was time to head back to the dojo as we had arranged with Minowa Sensei to go to a ‘stretching’ class with her at 12.30. I decided to catch the tram and train back which went very smoothly and was essentially uneventful. The train was a cool green frog train- alot of the public transport here is painted with cute characters and they change depending of the festivals and things that might be happening at the time. I got back and had some lunch and then we headed off with Minowa Sensei. On the way we stopped to pick up a friend, Tomoko. Tomoko turned out to be a hilariously funny lady and we spent the rest of the afternoon laughing.
Stretching class started out pretty straight forward, lots of range of motion and stretching as you would expect, then we started to play some fun games that were all about co-ordinating the two sides of your body doing different things (like the old rub your tummy and pat your head thing). This soon had me lying on the floor in tears of laughter! Next we separated into two grups and randomly linked hands in the middle and then had to try to untangle our group.. great teamwork exercise! After a quick break it was time for dancing…. wait… what??? Yes we heard right… dancing! Talk about getting out of your comfort zone! But the ladies there were all so lovely and we were having such a great time so why not.. by the end of the session we were comletely on top of it… Isn’t that right Sandra??! By the end of the class we were eager to come back for more next week. Note to self… must buy toe socks for next week.
On the way home we stopped of for some ice-creams, we had earned them after all that dancing, and made plans to meet tomorrow for a trip to Mt Aso. I’m really looking forward to this as I have been twice but never got to see the actual crater for various reasons. Fingers crossed tomorrow it wont be too gassy for tourists. A little known fact about me is that before I had kids I was studying geology at Uni, largely because of my fascination with Volcanos and tectonic activity.
Training tonight was lots of fun Goshi Sensei and Naoyuki Sensei both came with all of their families, there were lot’s of kids and lots of black belts. We all did some training together and played a game together and then broke up into smaller groups. i was instructing a couple of young orange belt boys. Sensei asked me to teach them in english so we had a bit of fun with that!
After training we played around and chatted for awhile then said our goodbyes. It’s getting pretty late now and we have a big day and early start tomorrow so I had best be off to bed

Is the happy little green train we catch into the city centre

The wonderful women in our stretching/dance class

My training buddies

Sandra and I with the evening class

I woke up feeling good and rested this morning ready for our first training session. It was the usual Sohonbu morning training, lots of basics and stepping in line followed by some kata and bo. I think Soke Sensei was being gentle with us as it wasn’t as fast paced as I remember from previous visits. Although I was still going as fast as I could this morning, I didn’t feel as left behind as usual!
It’s always interesting doing long seiza in the morning when I haven’t done it for awhile, observing how my mind wanders and how hard it is to find a quiet peaceful state of mind. The first 15 minutes or so were ok but the last 10 minutes I found it hard to draw my mind away from the discomfit of sitting in seiza on the wooden floor. I just tried to continually bring my focus back to my breathing and posture. Thankfully I was given the advice at a training camp early on to just not move. The more you move the more painful it is! I also remember hearing a senior talking to someone once saying ‘Don’t think those black belts in the front line aren’t feeling it, they are in pain too, they just have more self control.’ Mastery of the self, isn’t that the core of what Karate Do is about? So I will continue to work on émpty Mind’ during morning sessions. Hopefully this will improve over the next two weeks.
After morning training is always Souji (cleaning). Traditionally this is done with wet rags in each hand and running back and forth along the floor washing it all by hand. It’s a great workout!
After Souji we did some washing and had some breakfast before heading in to town on the train and tram. Sandra has been fantastic with her Japanese and helping play tourguide. It has made it much easier for me to settle in. We wandered around in town and visited the shopping village next to Kumamoto castle where we looked at some gift shops and food shops. We watched some Japanese men putting on a demonstration/show in samurai outfits. It was a shame we couldn’t follow what they were saying because it looked pretty funny! After that we found some food and headed back to the Sohonbu for an afternoon rest. While the heat here at the moment isn’t anything we don’t experience at home, it is a bit hotter than the Sunshine Coast at the moment so we are being careful not to get too fatigued and dehydrated.. this is a training trip after all so must keep some energy for the evening!
At 5 O’ Clock we headed down to the dojo for the kids class with Naoyuki Sensei, it was just a small one today, we started with basics and Kata practice then Sandra was asked by Naoyuki Sensei to show us what we do in our dojo in the kids classes so we did some more basics interspersed with races across the dojo and some core strength and conditioning exercises Sandra Sensei style! After the Kids class there was more Souji and a rest before the adult class. For this class we focused alot on kicking and staying the same height throughout the kick. we did some speed kicking and then we moved on to power and generating the power from our hips, we did an interesting exercise for Mawashi Geri to help generate power…. that’s one I will be sharing at home because I need to practice it… alot!

With Soke Sensei after morning training

Sensei Sandra doing some tanden training on the train

Selfies with Kummamon

Sandra and I with Naoyuki Sensei