Adventure on the (Over) Seas

Its been too long to write about the conclusion of the visit from my visitors... Long story short, they left and I was/am sad that they did. I would have liked a little more time with my mama, but that will happen when she comes for another visit next year. I figure it should become a seasonal thing.
Last weekend I had another Karate level test. It was a little easier this time around but I still can't manage to do the splits and get my forehead to touch the floor... I am not sure us Gaijin are made to do that sort of thing. This time around I was really well prepared to complete any of the required Kata but sadly the opportunity to dazzle did not arise. We did a few routines but they were ones that I knew already so it was nothing that I had recently learned. No kicking, just punching routines. I was a little disappointed about that but life goes on. I am sure what everyone wants to read about is the fight!
Usually at the tests you fight someone with a similar or same belt colour. So I was hoping that the sparring was going to involve the dorky looking guy who was the only other orange belt at the test. I was getting pretty pumped up before the sparring part of my test but that excitement died off pretty quick when I saw my opponent. I am a lowly orange "bar" belt and this guy was a green "bar" belted kung foo master! Shockingly he was also about a head taller and pretty strong looking. How strong I was about to find out...
The fight started and I was getting pushed around like a like a child in the way of a fat man and a candy bar! The guy was strong but it was also the first time I fought someone who had a serious reach advantage as I am one of the taller guys in my Karate class. It was a quick bout but it certainly felt a lot longer than it was. I did land a few good shots but I had to use my legs to hit him while he was using his fists to hit me. It was a really good experience though because after the fight the fellas gave me some pointers that I realized would have worked effectively. The problem is when you are in the middle of a match its really hard to think about stragegy effectively while at the same time protect your head from being knocked off your neck. Its one or the other for me at this point in my Karate career... I have grown fond of the attachment I have with my head, we have been through a lot together so I felt protecting it was in my best interests. My opponent was also pretty quick so you really have to rely on instincts as best as you can when you are in the ring.
All in all I thought that it was a good experience for me and I learned a lot more about Karate fighting. Each opportunity I have to fight for "real" instead of at practice has been really beneficial for me. I learn much more quicker when I know that if I don't pick up on todays lesson the next fight is gonna be much more painful. In class if I make a mistake and drop my guard for a second with a kick on the way the boys pulls up and don't hit me... In a fight, thats what my opponent is hoping I am gonna do and they put everything that have into it. The learning curve is much steeper and the margin for error is much smaller. Karate... Gotta Love It!

In other news I have booked my hostel for Nagano. This Christmas I am going to be spending time getting aquainted with my new love... The wonderful birthday present I bought for myself that I call Cold Smoke. Actually Atomic calls it Cold Smoke I call it Baby. I am getting really excited about snowboarding at the same mountain that the Olympics were held. Afterwards I am going to be heading to the airport and where I end up is anybodys guess... Time will tell what options are available for me.

School is starting to wear me out. I do not have nearly enough patience this close to Christmas to keep my cool some days. This leads to a lot of activity time for the kids. However if I make one more snowflake I might have to jump off the roof of the school onto a car! Its hard to really feel the holidays when each day we rehearse a Christmas performance that none of the kids really seem to want to do... Slowly but surely it is coming together but not nearly fast enough for the Japanese teachers. I feel bad for the kids sometimes, there is so much work for them to do to prepare for the big day. Plus the pressure of their families being in attendance. I am sure it will be great but daily full day practices would be a drag for anyone...

I got myself a haircut. I was really uncertain if I would actually go through with it but sure enough the lucious locks went under the knife on Saturday and by the looks of it the surgery was a success. At least in the eyes of many... One comment was, "Well, at least its better than a shaved head!". Not the best comment I recieved. I think its a pretty traditional Japanese cut. It is starting to grow on me, quite literally! One of the adults I used to teach, Noriko, took me along for the cut. The stylist is the sister of a friend of hers. At first she simply took off about an inch but it literally looked exactly the same as it did when I walked into the shop. I felt that if I am going to pay money for a hair cut it should at least look a little different. I told her that my head was her canvas and she was an artist. How well Noriko was able to translate that to Japanese is unknown. After some humming and hawing she got to it and left a Piccaso on my head! As I said, its growing on me... and if she should happen to go crazy, cut her ear off, and then die, perhaps my head will be worth something.

Alright time to hit the sack. If you are reading this right now, it means you made it to the end of the post and have some time on your hands... mail me and tell me how you are doing! Take care and chat with you soon...