Japan 2011
Friday 22nd July
Friday morning was spent having a leisurely breakfast and chilling before the training session at 12:00. The session was taken by Akito Sensei and focused on the technical details of Sanchin, Tenshi and Seiryu. In addition we learnt a new kata; Byakko. Tenshi, Seiryu and Byakko are the first three katas of the Meibukan syllabus so it was good to learn another new kata.
The afternoon was spent by the pool trying to remember and write down what we had been taught during training.
In the evening we headed to an Indian restaurant in town called Spicy Kitchen, which was amazing. 5 of us sat cross legged at a table on the floor to eat which made for an interesting experience.
We decided to walk the 30 minute journey back from the restaurant to the hotel which allowed s to digest our food.
Everyone was feeling tired by this stage so we all turned in for the night.
Thursday 21st July
The activity for Thursday was visiting the Former Navy Underground Headquarters. The site is a sombre reminder of the Battle of Okinawa in 1944, where thousands of lives were lost. The museum includes a great deal of information and allowed us to walk through the tunnels.
There was just time for a pool session before we headed to our training session. The session was the same as normal to start with, but then we started to focus on improving the katas Tenchi and Seiryu. Akihito Sensei analysed everything that we were doing in the katas and showed us how the techniques should be applied.
After an intense session we headed to George’s for dinner.
Wednesday 20th July - Grading Day!
The day of judgement had arrived and it was the day of the grading. Most people were down for breakfast at 07:30 when the restaurant opened, but the breakfasts were smaller than usual.
There were concerns that we would not be able to grade at the Kume-Shiseibyo Temple due to the heavy rain the night before, but when arrived we found that it had dried out enough. Everyone got changed and stretched out ready for the grading to start about 09:45. The temperature was 31 degrees and there was no shelter from the sun so large amounts of water were consumed and sun block was applied.
We started with some basic movements up and down in lines before performing the renrakus. Everyone did the 9 renrakus for 1st Dan and Sensei Debbie, Sensei Dan and Sempai Iain did their own combination.
Next was the application of the renrakus against an opponent. Sensei Debbie and Sensei Dan went first followed by Sensei Dan and Sempai Iain and finally Sempai Steve and Sempai Jeremy.
The final section was kata and the performances are detailed below:
| Sempai Jeremy | Sempai Steve | Sempai Iain | Sensei Dan | Sensei Debbie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gekisai Dai | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Tsuki No | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Bassai Dai | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Sanchin | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Tenchi | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Tensho | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Gekisai Sho | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Saifa | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Sienchin | Y | Y | |||
| Kanku Dai | Y | Y |
With all the sections finished there was nothing else that could be done other than try to cool down and take in a large quantities of water.
Congratulations are in order to Sensei Debbie (3rd Dan), Sensei Dan (3rd Dan), Sempai Iain (2nd Dan), Sempai Steve (1st Dan) and Sempai Jeremy (1st Dan) for passing their grading. In addition congratulations go to Sensei Alan for getting these students to the required level to grade. Well done everyone.
The special day required a special celebration in the evening and so we headed to Kentos for an all you can eat and drink meal and live band. A great night was had by all with large amounts of singing, dancing and alcohol present.
Tuesday 19th July
In order to relax and get some decent photos before the grading we headed to a World Heritage site called Shikinaen Garden. In addition to the training photos that we took, we also found a number of bugs and insects of great interest.
The Tuesday training session was a female-only training session; however Master Yagi said that we could all go along to train so that we had an extra session. We started with an extended warm up and basics and then moved onto learn the kata Seiryu. This is the second kata from the Meibukan syllabus and follows on from Tenchi.
As we left the dojo and headed for George’s it decided to tip it down with rain. Everyone got drenched and had to sit in wet clothes while we ate. It was supposed to be an early night before grading, but this did not pan out.
Monday 18th July
Monday 18th July 2011 was Sea day in Japan, which is a public holiday. As a result a number of places were shut. The day started at the usual time and we decided to head for the Kume-Shiseibyo Temple. This allowed us to take some pictures and also look at the site where the grading was to be held. We spent about 30 minutes at the shrine getting used to moving on grass and assessing the heat prior to the grading that was scheduled for Wednesday.
After the temple we headed for the Chinese Garden, which is a picturesque location in the middle of the city.
Following our tour of the gardens we walked to Kokusai Dori to look for souvenirs and visit the market. Of course Sempai Debbie had to try on the large glasses.
There was just time for a dip in the pool before heading to Steak 88 for dinner.
On our return we played cards in the hotel for a couple of hours before turning in for the night.
Sunday 17th July
On Sunday we had breakfast at the usual time and then travelled to Gyokushendo to see the Caves. When we arrived there were a group of dancers known as Eisa who performed a number of drum and dance routines.
Before heading into the caves we decided to go and see a live snake act. The show had a number of elements including showing that a Habu snake would attack a hot balloon, but not a cold one due to it detecting heat. The handlers also did a demonstration that a python has no vision behind its head and arranged a swimming race between a mongoose and a Habu. There was the opportunity of holding a python at the end of the show.
The cave contained a twisting path that lead us through a series of pools and rock formations. Some of the stalactites had been growing in excess of 300,000 years in order to be the size that they are today. There was also a shop that brewed and sold beer with a snake in the bottom of the bottle. The venom is extracted from the snake prior to it being killed but the teeth are left in. In addition to the caves the site is known for its Kingdom Village which we visited before trying to locate some taxis to take us to the hotel.
Training was at 19:00 and at Master Yagi’s Dojo. The beginning of the session was similar to Saturday’s session and we continued to work on the basic and kokomi, but towards the end we split off from the regular students and were taken through Tenchi by Akihiro Sensei. We have been trying to improve this kata while in the UK by watching a YouTube video, but the subtle techniques cannot be gained from watching the video alone. This session helped us tremendously and allowed us to find and attempt to fix the weaknesses in this kata.
Following the training session we were invited to dinner by Master Yagi, which was a great experience. The restaurant had a lot of traditional Japanese dishes and a number of people tried something new.
Saturday 16th July
Saturday saw us visit Shurijo Castle, which was used as the Japanese High Command during World War 2. As well as taking a tour round the castle itself we were treated to a performance of traditional Japanese dancing. We traveled by Monorail from Asahibashi station to Shuri station, which only left us with a short walk at either end.
After a lot of walking we decided to head to the pool and in order to chill out before the evening training session. The pool was extremely busy so we spent a short time there before all going our separate ways to get ready.
Training was held at Master Yagi’s Dojo which is situated above his house and is located about 15 minutes walk from the hotel. The session was from 19:30 – 21:00, but it was recommended that we arrived between 19:00 and 19:15 in order for us to get changed and stretch.
The session was taken by Akihiro Sensei and Akihito Sensei and was attended by their regular students. Our training included conditioning and strengthening exercises, sambons, kakomi and kata.
Towards the end of the session Akihiro Sensei took us all to one side to run through Tenchi in greater detail. Although we had been through it individually a few times, there were a lot of improvements that he made.
After training was over a number of students joined us at George’s for the evening meal and to relax after a hard training session.
Friday 15th July
We finally arrived in Tokyo and the last part of our journey included the 2 hour domestic flight from Haneda to Okinawa and a short coach journey to the Pacific Hotel.
Once at the hotel we decided to grab I bite to eat and then headed for the pool. Unfortunately it started to rain at this time; however this did not deter us and we enjoyed a refreshing swim.
For dinner we returned to a well known restaurant from the 2008 trip; George’s. There we met Mary who we had also met on the last trip and was kind enough to act as our translator for most of the holiday as well as training and socializing with us on a regular basis. The food was good as always and consisted of steaks, pizza, tacos and pork escallops. Jeremy was brave enough to try a drink made of goya which is mixed with lemon and apple to form a common drink in Japan.
Thursday 14th July
The day started with everyone rising around 04:00 in order to be at Sensei Alan's house for a 04:45 collection. After an uneventful journey to the airport we checked in and settled down for a large breakfast at Huxley's. Sempai Dan started the holiday as he meant to continue by ordering a cup of tea and a beer.
After purchasing the final items for the holiday it was time to board the Boeing 777 and head for Haneda Airport (Tokyo).
The 12 hour flight was spent in silence for the most part as it involved watching films or TV. The brief interruptions to this technology based entertainment were due to food being served or the inability to keep our eyes open any longer.
A breakfast was served almost immediately after take-off and consisted of a sausage, scrambled egg, mushrooms, tomatoes and bacon. This was followed later by a choice of either chicken and rice or roast beef. The food was good, but did not come in vast quantities and the second meal came 9 hours after the first course.
