Exercise discretion in matters of importance

It was one of those nights where after the keiko is over, I sat down and tell myself for maybe the hundredth time: you can really tell a person's character when you train with him/her.

Granted, we all have limitations as human beings. Therefore we aspire to continually improve ourselves in whatever we do. There are some who try, improve and grow. Some try, but don't seem to be getting anywhere. Yet some try, but are not really opening their eyes and minds to what is being taught in front of them. In some cases some are contented with where they are and what they are doing, ready to spend the rest of their lives at status quo. 

Given the short time that I am going to be in Japan, I try to attend the classes of as many shihans and shidoins as I can. I want to see how they express themselves through aikido and also to get to know abit more about them through their practice. 

One night I was fortunate to have dinner with some of the teachers and invariably the conversation turned to aikido as one sensei was concerned with how I was doing in my aikido practice so far. One of the things I told him was that it is very different compared to home as back there there were some restrictions with body contact and also the number of partners you can train with. However, after coming to Japan I have so many partners to choose from and there were no problems with body contact. Sensei responded with one sentence; " You have to choose you partner carefully." That statement came back to bite me one day.

One of those nights, I partnered with someone I thought would have somewhat changed after training daily at Hombu Dojo for so many months. My first experience with X was a rather unpleasant one. X was stiff and did X's own aikido contrary to what was taught by the shihan. After 5-6 months, I partnered with X again and it was the same. I am not saying that I am a fabulous aikido practitioner, but at the very least I try my best to do what is being taught by the sensei that is taking the class, not whatever I am comfortable with. I felt that it was  waste of my time because I intended to practice what as taught, not what X thinks how it should be done. In fact sensei came over a few times to train with X but X could not follow because X did not ensure that connection was kept for as long as possible. In the end, sensei stopped, smile and walked away without completing the technique.

It was a less than fun session but I made the choice to train with X and now I know one thing for sure; I will not choose X to train with in future, due to the reasons above.

A little consideration for close proximity

I met a "L" at the dojo tonight. That person does not wash his keiko gi but just suns it outside his house after every training session. There is a strong smell of ammonia which paralyses your sense of smell no matter which corner of the dojo you are at. I had the fortune of training with that person. For some time. Imagine having to practice judo with someone like that! 

There may be a variety of reasons for allowing your keiko gi to descend into that condition, whether justifiable or not. But I think that as a martial arts practitioner and particularly one of close proximity, utmost concern should be given hygiene and cleanliness.

One of the things that our master places utmost emphasis on, is cleanliness. Come in a clean keiko gi. Keep your nails short. Brush your teeth. Take a shower before training. He never used the same keiko gi for more than one session. You might think that some of these things are not achievable due to certain constraints, but some diligence and investment can make it possible.

On diligence; here in Japan, it is the norm to find the ladies taking a shower and brushing their teeth before class. As I have the luxury of living very close to Hombu Dojo, I brush my teeth and take a shower before leaving for Hombu Dojo. I dispense with shower of course during cooler days.  The point is, it makes a big difference when you prepare yourself that way before training. First of all, I view it as a symbolic ablution before entering the realm of the dojo to train. When you enter the dojo you train, you leave your worldly and everyday thoughts behind and concentrate on the training, physically, mentally and spiritually. Secondly, for not rambling on, it is etiquette!

On investment, purchase more than one or 2 sets of keiko gi if you are serious about training regularly. They don't have to be very expensive, state of the art, sweat-sucking-quick-drying keiko gi. Just practical ones will do. They do go a long way, just like how you intend your training life to be. 

I hope that as people get immersed whilst pursuing an activity and in this case aikido, don't only just think  about coming to the dojo and doing the moves. There is more to it then just that.

Hari Raya Greetings

Wishing all my Muslim friends and family Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri and happy holidays!

In the mood for baking!

I miss baking.

So I went and bought myself an electrical hand mixer.

I baked some chocolate cupcakes and made my first attempt at piping.

I wasn't very pleased with it as it did not look too good.  I was told that the pipe size was too small. Ok. I will get another one and do better.

My housemates tried it and told me they tasted very good. I was very pleased. I enjoy feeding people with things that I make myself. I always put all my heart into the things I cook and bake.

Lastly, I decorated the cupcakes and gave them to some very important people in my life.

I wasn't sure whether they will like it because it did not turn out as well as I wanted. But I did put all my heart into making them.

Fortunately, they told me that the cupcakes were delicious. I have yet to hear from one more but I guess I will find out soon enough.

Iriminage = talk time?

I am sure you have had times when you are feeling down, there are some pick-me-up memories that you would recall to make yourself feel better. They are usually the little things, aren't they? 

The first few months in Japan has had its hard times; I couldn't speak the language, oblivious to the culture and faced strong barriers in inter-personal communication. But there were certain things that happened in the dojo that really made a difference for me. As I stepped into Honbu Dojo for the first time this year, I was intimidated by the atmosphere, the aura of its teachers and the many good and talented aikidoists that train in our midst. 

It was obvious that I am a foreigner. Am I here for on vacation? Schooling? Employed? You get looks from the regulars and after looking at your face the next thing they look at is your name that is embroidered on your left sleeve. I only have my Chinese name written on my keikogi and it is not easy to read the kanji. The senseis know me by my Christian name so I am starting to wonder whether I should embroider my Christian name on my next keikogi purchase. 

Anyhow, I spent one month in the beginners' class to learn the basics before plucking up the courage to move up to the second floor. I felt very inadequate at my level and still feel the same way. In one of my first few beginners' classes, the sensei taking the class went around training with the students. He knew me from our rendezvous back home. I thought it was going to be just taking ukemi before sensei moved on. I remember the technique clearly, it was shomenuchi iriminage. As the friendly teacher that he is, he took the opportunity to welcome me to Japan whilst executing the throw at me. I was shocked but managed to utter a response as I break my fall.

To this day, I still wear a big smile when I remember that scene. The place, the technique, the person and the timing made it all so amusing. Of course, that was not the only incident where things were said or conversation took place over the execution of techniques. Most of them happens during iriminage. But I just feel that sensei has immaculate timing when it comes to talking to me at the dojo. There was another incident which were alot more funny but that will remain unsaid.

I am very thankful for his words, at any time and anywhere. Because of the little things that he did, it gave me that much more to carry on with.