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