Adventure on the (Over) Seas

So much has happened in the past little while it will be hard to remember everything. I will do my best.

About three weeks ago I went off on my last snowboard trek of the season. It was a little bit too warm and the snow was disappearing faster than a box of chocolates at a weight watchers convention but I managed to have a great time. I went with my former student Noriko and her friend. I am really impressed with how far I have come this season. While I am not doing crazy jumps and such I am able to ride goofy quite well. I think for my first real season spent snowboarding I improved drastically. There is still a long way to go before the sponsorships start rolling in but for a hobby I am happy with my skill level. I really like Noriko a lot. She is divorced and her daughter Rin is one of my cutest students. I really respect her for going against the grain of Japanese culture and divorcing her husband. I am also really impressed with her drive. She works really hard to improve her situation so that she can help others and have many potential options. She reminds me of another great woman in my life.

I got an e-mail awhile back from my boy tranny. Not to be confused with transvestite but sometimes I wonder with the purple sweaters he cracks out. It seems it was his birthday and I figured that as good a reason as any to head into Tokyo and get a little loose. I should mention it was also James’, of Rick James Ish fame, birthday also. Two buddies, one party how could I refuse? So Friday night I rocked outta Iwaki with a couple cans and some left over Jack. What Dave neglected to inform me of was the party was No-me-ho-dai. All you can drink!!! We went to a great restaurant that served up Yakiniku, sort of Korean BBQ. More importantly though, they served up cold brew-ha! It didn’t take long for to feel the effects. I was having a great time just hanging out but the real fun was yet to come. After leaving we finished eating and drinking we went over to Karaoke. It’s much more fun in Japan because it usually involves a set price for both the singing and again, all-you-can-drink booze. So we paid about $30 for 5 hours of messiness! So cheap and yet so entertaining. Afterwards we were all sufficiently loose and we headed back home about 5 in the morning. I awoke to a killer hanger and dry heaves in the bathroom. An entertaining day Saturday was to say the least. Once I finally got moving I was too late to go to Karate but I had to go just to meet with the fellas to work out how I was going to get to Koriyama city the following day for my belt test. After getting that all sorted I headed home for some dinner with Kae and bed to rest up for my last karate test of the Japan tour.

On Sunday I woke up bright and early feeling almost fully refreshed. We made out way to meet up with the rest of the entourage and then headed off into Koriyama. I was sort of nervous because I had not practiced my kata very much in the past little while. Upon arriving we stretched out and prepared for the start of our test. First up as always was the big group where we did different routines. Essentially we just had to do some punching and kicking. Afterwards we had to do 50 pushups on our knuckles. This was followed up with the required “squats”. You must bend your knees to 45 degree angles before jumping as high as you can. This is repeated 50 times which sounds so much easier than it is. 50 is not so hard but the higher belts have to do 1 or 200 hundred. It gets much harder the more you do. After this portion of the test comes what I feel is the hardest part. I mean I can handle it personally but my fella isn’t too happy with me afterwards. You are required to split your legs as far apart as you can and touch your forehead on the floor. It is easily more difficult than it sounds. I still struggle with this which is why I am not particularly fond of this task.

The next part of the test is a repeat of the previous punching and kicking exercises but you are required to move forwards and backwards. Its difficult to explain and I forgot my video camera so perhaps everyone reading this will have no idea what I am talking about, unless of course they have studied Karate. We are testing away and suddenly THE boss stops everyone and says…

“Richar-do”

I freeze and clench my ass checks together cause I am scared enough let loose a deuce!

“Osu!”

“Mumbling”

“Sumi-masen, mo-ichdo, onigaishimasu” (please say it again)

“More mumbling” I can not understand.

I am even more scared because its possible he is asking me to do something and I can not hear or understand him!

“Sumi-masen, wakari-masu-sen, sumi-masen” (Excuse me, I do not understand, I am sorry)

“More mumbling” This time the mumbling is followed by laughter, a big smile and two thumbs up. The universal sign for good job!

I was really impressed with myself for being singled out for a job well done. This by no means I am a great karate fighter but it’s always nice to be complimented. I still have a long way to go, but now I know I am on the right track!

We follow this up with our Kata routines that I am most nervous about. This is mostly because the names of the different types of Kata can confuse me sometimes and also because I can never really hear the name of the Kata we are being asked to do. I perform admirably under the pressure though because during the break before the final phase of our testing, the sparring, THE boss tells my team mates that I did a great job on the Kata. I was in high spirits heading into the sparring match.

We warmed up and practiced a few moves while the others were fighting. I keep an eye on the other testers because I know that one of them is going to be my opponent. It’s just a matter of which one is closest to my weight category and in Japan that is usually some golly giant who can easily rip my head off. I was disappointed to see that everyone was getting padded up before their fights. Last time I was tested I had to fight one of the previously mentioned beasts without padding at all. He was going for his brown or green belt while I was going for my blue. Today however most of the beasts had been paired up so I was starting to beathe a little easier. Before a fight its hard to stay loose because you know there is always a chance that you might be seriously injured. I believe that in my case that isn’t going to happen but there is a slim chance. While I am waiting a Japanese dude slides up beside me and starts asking me about how much I weigh. He was thinking I was pushing 80 KG and he wasn’t far off at all. He was also convinced that I was on a strenuous weight training program. Sadly its not true simply because the gyms here don’t open until 10 am. By that time I have to be at work already. I tried to convince him that I was not strong but he was having none of it.

Now onto my spar, it took so long for me to get called I was starting to think that they had forgotten about me. They hadn’t! I was called up to spar with a younger guy going for his brown belt with a white bar. That belt is one step away from a black belt. In order to pass you must fight 7 rounds and win most of them. My opponent was about younger than me but older than 20. When the fight started I stepped in with butterflies in my stomach that quickly faded only to be replaced with frustration. The guy wouldn’t fight me… He kept running away! I could not understand that because after me he had to fight 6 guys with black belts that could do much more damage than I can. I mean given the choice I would fight me and run from one of the other guys. It was a frustrating match for me and I was disappointed because I was pretty geared up for my last spar.

Needless to say I am quite confident that I passed my final test and will be leaving Japan with a Yellow belt related only to Karate!

In other news Kae’s uncle just bought a brand new boat. Its more like a yacht. This past weekend we made our way down to the water to attend the launching party. What a party it was! We got down there late Friday night and just went to bed. Kae’s aunt had arranged for a room for us at the marina. We didn’t arrive until after 12 so we went right to bed so we would be fresh in the morning. The next morning we went down and saw the boat which is massive. We toured around inside and then watched while some Buddhist monks blessed the boat while chanting and clapping. Champagne was poured over the bow and the ribbons were cut and then the real party got started. There were plenty of speeches that were made but they were really not the highlights for me. What I enjoyed most was drinking Dom while dining on beef that easily compares to Kobe! It was a high-roller party and I was feeling just a little outta place. I forgot about my shoes when I left Friday so I was busting my skate shoes while others were strolling around in shoes that cost more than my monthly salary easily! In fact Kae’s uncle was wearing a coat that I am sure cost him more than I made this year.