Showdown in Little America

The Bucho and I were invited to do a demo at the US Embassy compound this afternoon... but we had to show up before 9. How all this was planned so poorly, I have no idea. When I saw the lines to get in (the compound was open for the day to the general public for an early Fourth of July festival), I kind of realized why. We were subjected to security screenings when we came in at 8:45, of course, but nothing major. The Japanese nationals who elected to come and see a little piece of Americana after the gates were opened at 11 were put through the wringer. For a brief moment, I thought I was in the airport. Get the picture?

The US Embassy workers' compound is technically US soil, so everything is American. The road signs ("SLOW! Children playing") the lawns, and especially today, the BBQ, threw us both for a loop. I thought it was kind of cool, albeit weird as hell without going through jet lag first, to see this little USofA in the middle of Tokyo, but the bucho was seriously appalled. He was so turned off by the whole thing that getting the demo over with and going home was priority one... but not until after hitting every BBQ stand on the strip! Chicken, pork, gyros, the list goes on. I'm glad we waited until after the demo to eat, otherwise we would have had a hard time swinging.

The only down side to having a Fourth of July block party in the middle of Tokyo is the heat. Fluffy doesn't tan, he burns. I got home this afternoon in time to made Sugawara sensei's aikido class, but had trouble when my gi started to seriously grind off layers of much needed skin. If we get invited next year, screw the sword, I'm bringing sunscreen. Hopefully pics to come.

Additional Media Coverage

About three weeks ago, a journalist from Israel came to Hombu to interview Doshu... without an interpreter. I happened to walk in the dojo at the right (wrong?) time, just as Amir was about to crack. He had been looking around for someone, anyone who could speak Japanese and English to help out his reporter-friend. He ran up to me panting and asking for help with the interview, to which I reluctantly agreed.

I was escorted into the oval office of Hombu where the journalist was patiently waiting, and after about a five minutes, Doshu came striding in. Of course the first question had to be about aikido philosophy... Asking the question is easy, translating Doshu's answers into English.... that's a whole new ball game for me. The Ueshiba family is notorious for speaking in riddles (most Japanese people had no idea what the heck O'sensei used to lecture about), so needlesstosay, I was sweating bullets. Everything went fine though, despite a brief ten seconds of tension when Doshu cut off the reporter to ask very sternly just where this interview would be rearing its ugly head. He eventually granted permission for pictures to be taken during his seven o'clock practice; a few of which I managed to get a hold of. To take advantage of the photo-op, Amir and I practiced together at the back of the dojo.I like this one (above) even though my main man Namba sensei is staring at my butt.

Doshu is in this picture. Can you find him? Think of it like "Where's Waldo?" Hint: If you can't read Japanese, it might be difficult.

Ukemi as a Learning Tool ... Zazen Helps Too...

I've been reminded the hard way recently in Miyamoto sensei's classes that ukemi serves several purposes, not the least of which is a conduit for learning techniques directly through the body. It dawned on me tonight in the Bucho's iai keiko that one of the drawbacks to iai training is the lack of ukemi practice. The feeling doesn't get pounded into you (literally), and second guessing the techniques is common practice in sword. But I think I've found the first link between my aikido and iai training (aside from the obvious stuff like moving from the hips, extending out big, relaxing the upper body, etc). Cutting recently has been very similar to ukemi practice in terms of feeling, and to a certain extent I could feel it in my iai kata-geiko tonight too. Cutting yokoichi on Sunday felt almost entirely from my center. There was hardly any extraneous tension.

After the Bucho's class tonight, a friend of mine and I had a discussion about why ukemi is so important. The only way I could describe it to someone who had never done aikido was to say that ukemi teaches relaxation and acceptance. Acceptance is a critical part of budo training. The budoka accepts what his opponent is doing, then avoids it rather than trying to counter his opponent's movements with brute force. This is why the smaller, physically weaker person has a good chance to prevail in such encounters: they let the big guy make mistakes before finding just the right place and time to counter attack. The only way to learn this principle is to relax and develop a heightened sense of awareness. Ukemi practice provides both by injecting them into the body through direct contact with a practice partner. As time goes by, the same awareness extends beyond the physical bod - the actual physical connection between two people - and can be applied to armed combat. Effective bujutsu works because there's no resistance, no conflict. This can be an internal conflict just as it can be between two or more people. I found that in places I stopped struggling in my kata but still retained power in my sword training, which might mean my mind and body have signed a temporary cease-fire. My mind is accepting the fact that my body can do some of the techniques without a chaperon. At certain points in my practice tonight, I just moved without second guessing myself.

I think it's the recent shift in my posture when I sit zazen that changed the feeling in my body when I do sword. Extending my ukemi practice into my iai practice is the last thing I thought would happen, but after talking to my friend about ukemi practice tonight, I realized that the feeling is the same internally. My mind could let go and trust my body just like I try to let go and trust my partner. Zazen is more than likely the mysterious catalyst at work here. This development is still rather hit and miss, but at least I'm on the right track(?).

What the Hell...?

Perhaps it has something to do with my aikido practice taking up nearly half of my short life thus far, which, by comparison, is a lot longer than the time I've spent doing zazen or iai. Perhaps not. Perhaps it's just blind luck that one day I'm feeling really good about my training (be it aiki, iai, sitting on the toilet, whatever), but the next day I feel like I've been hit by a bus and want to never ever put on a keiko-gi again. Who knows. Maybe I should just stop trying so hard like the Bucho says, but nothing seems to click now in aikido, which is really ironic since it's usually nothing that clicks in my iai training.

The past week happened to be some kind of paradoxical coalescence of several major (in the grand scheme of things, minor) milestones in my budo training. First, my posture finally fell into place in zazen. That doesn't mean I can keep it, or that I don't adjust as my sitting sessions wear on, but it's become much easier for me to "just sit" and let my mind do all the struggling. It took a year, but I can finally really begin to sit for extended periods without thinking about the sharp stabbing sensations in my lower back.

In iai, I finally figured out how to cut yokoichi. It was effortless when I finally did it this morning. I joined Hataya sensei's dojo last weekend, and even though they only let me cut kesa when I train with them, when I have the opportunity to cut with mugai folks, I'm free to mess around and cut any-which-way I want. Just watching one Toyama-ryu class was enough to get me on the right track to cutting with clean hasuji. Thank the lord. Now I can actually TRAIN and worry about cutting on the draw, which is what mugai is all about.

Nothing new in aikido. In fact, if there was anything to report, it would be that my ukemi is getting worse. I'm losing confidence in my ability to be a hara-responsive uke. It's frustrating... really really frustrating. Again, like the Bucho says, maybe I'm trying too hard, but every time I go to the dojo, I hit a new wall. Is this what getting better is all about? Finding flaws that were there all along but were undetectable because yours truly is just an unaware moron? Maybe so. Where's Yoda when you need him?

A Productive Five Day Weekend

This weekend has been a five-day break that has proven to be an incredibly productive use of my time. I haven't accomplished this much in... well... EVER. I tend to procrastinate just like most people, but every now and then I just have to make the effort to be slightly more than a couch potato on my day(s) off.

The academic year ends in mid-March, so at the moment Tokyo city schools are in the middle of final exams. Since my job is often defined (rather jokingly) as "a tape recorder with a pulse," there's really no need for me to be at school this week. I have one class on Thursday, and two classes on Friday, but other than that I'm a free man.

This morning I went to my company headquarters in Shibuya to sign my contract for the 2007-2008 academic year. Since they think I'm the man, they had already met all of my conditions without negotiating and had the contract ready to go when I walked in the door. The meeting started at 11:00, and I was out the door by 11:15. That's how I like to do business.

I then headed up to Shinjuku to City Bank to register my US bank accounts with City Japan, making overseas wire transfers possible via the internet. Hooray for modern technology! Boo for zero interest in Sushiland banks! I swear, the sooner I get my clams off this stinking island, the better. I'd like to retire some day, sheesh!

After lunch I headed up to Hombu and trained with Kobayashi sensei for this first time in months. He was so happy to see me that he pounded on me for a while and then made up his mind to use me for the next technique. He had me in ikkyo, poked his head under my arm and politely asked, "Can I use you for the next technique, Elvis? 'Cause you never know when you're going to come to my class again!" After class I noticed that my hakama has the beginnings of some nasty holes around the knees. Gotta get that patched up.

Did some iai tonight with The Bucho too. Spent the better part of an hour doing zagi (suwari waza), so now I'm dead....

On Sunday I bought a white cotton hakama for pretty cheap at a Mom-and-Pop budo store in Suidobashi. The posters on the walls and the display cases were discolored from years of going untouched and exposure to the sun. At least their products are new! There's something cool about the old, hole-in-the-wall budo shops around Tokyo. You can find really neat stuff that you couldn't find anywhere else. The only down side is the service. When I asked the old man who runs the place what kind of white hakamas he had, he literally grabbed the shelf of white hakamas and dumped them all over the floor. "You look like a size 25 or 26. Let me know when you find one you like."

Perfect Timing

I managed to not be sick anymore just in time for... Hombu dojo to close for the year. Hooray.

The up side is that I've gotten my fair share of ass whipping from sensei these past few days that I've been well enough to actually show up to train. Tonight he made me stand absolutely still so that he could show the class how to properly cut shomen and yokomen. The catch is that he was holding a tanto. Most of the room went dead silent as he repeatedly clocked me in the head and neck, but when it was clear that I was perfectly fine (thank god he's a professional) after this ritual flogging/right-of-passage, the class erupted with laughter after he commented on the pleasant sound my head makes when whacked with a wooden stick. Nothin' says lovin' like a good bludgeoning.