Taikei Weekend! Let the Debauchery Begin

The Bucho and I often comment on the International Division of Meishiha Mugai and how our American bros train harder, are more curious about the art, and make much more of an all around effort than the majority of the Japanese members. This weekend, they proved it. Fly Bri nailed the final round of the nidan division, and I managed to wipe out the fourth dan divsion only two months after my promotion. The third dan division was won by the son of one of Fujimura sensei's top students in Italy, so even though he wasn't one of our guys, at least he was a foreigner and oozed more cool than anyone else in the place! One of the sensei from one the of countryside dojos even went so far as to announce that he would be completely revamping his training curriculum at his dojo so that his people wouldn't lose again next year. I just love putting unnecessary pressure on people who think that winning in a tournament means something; anything at all.

The tournament has little meaning for me aside from getting the chance to spend the weekend with the International Division guys. We have so much fun just being loud obnoxious Americans that the Taikai ends up taking a back seat to the craziness. I've voiced my opinions on competition in budo many times, but basically, I approach my training like a religion. It's sacred to me in a very personal way. The fundamentals of any art should be common throughout the group of individuals practicing said art, but at some point individuality sets in, which allows the individual to make the art his own. This should not be mistaken for "Shu, Ha, Ri," which is indicative of the individual's contribution to the art, but should be understood to be a deeper, much more personal study that differs greatly from person to person. If we all train in this way, which I would hope everyone comes to realize at some point, then the introduction of competetion in budo would prove to be groundless. Winning or losing is decided by that age-old method: luck.

Anyway, the day started with the usual opening remarks from local officials and iai people, and then, without warning, the demos began. I thought I would have at least a few minutes to put on my knee pads, but no, I was called out pronto. I did the crudest, most God-awful demo in my entire life.... without knee pads. I then spent most of the morning judging for the unranked, kyu ranked, sho dan, and ni dan divisions. My back was killing me and my stomach was running on fumes by the time the fourth dan division was set to go. I had a few rice balls, which didn't help much, then blazed my way through the first three rounds of the fourth dan divsion. The finals lasted forever since all divisions were set to go on one court (as usual), and by the time it was my turn to go, I was so light headed that on my last kata I wavered and almost fell over!

Thanks to the Virginia Crew (who live close enough to my hometown to make me homesick whenever I see'em) and the Chicago boys for providing me with much needed American sarcasm and debauchery for the weekend. Without you guys, I would probably go ape-shit crazy on Taikai weekend. I love you guys!

Pics to come! (But check out the Bucho's blog ----> in the links section for Taikai party pics)