Yesterday we had class at 10 with Meitatsu Sensei.  It was another great one.  We practiced Bo and Kata and also did kata one by one  and had corrections done.  Then after class we headed back to the apartment with great plans to go to the Chinese Garden but instead we crashed and burned. 

We headed to class again at 7:30 and trained hard.  The heat still makes training hard.  After class we headed to George’s Restaurant again.  We had a great time.   Like Jay said…you can’t buy times like these.

Today we went snorkling and had a great time.  At first it was difficult to breath with the snorkle but after you got the hang of it, it was great.  The water here is so warm and you can float without actually trying.  The fish here are crazy colours.  We saw bright blue ones, yellow ones, striped ones…just about every colour you can imagine. 

Yesterday was another day of shopping.  I finished my Harry Potter book so I decided that it was time to pick up another.  I found a store that sells english books and picked up a book with a theme similar to “The Silence of the Lambs”.  We spent some time doing a little bit of shopping again and then headed back to take a short break before Shodo classes.

Jay has a real knack for Shodo.  Hopefully we’ll be able to keep it up back home.  After Shodo we headed to class.  It was another killer.  I don’t think my legs could get any more tired.  We worked on Seiunchin and some self defense techniques.

We headed to George’s Restaurant where I had fully intended to do some blogging but we met up with some friends and shared photo’s of Okinawa and Prince Edward Island instead. 

This morning was a lazy morning.  I thought I’d go do laundry before heading out to the Kobudo demo but hit the snooze button instead.  We got ready and and headed out to meet Simada-san and enjoyed a short walk to the park.

We felt a bit like outsiders at first but were quickly made feel welcome.  We enjoyed watching the Kobudo Demo and the Dancers. 

After the demo we left and went out for dinner.  Jay had Spagetti and I had Pizza with corn on it. The pizza here is always a surprise.  We went back to the apartment and did some laundry before class.  The Gi’s were really starting to stink.

Tonight’s class was another tough one.  We’re tired now and it’s a struggle to get through.  Just when I thought it must be time for class to end, I had the chance to get some one-on-one instruction on Seipai.  Boy, I need to practice that more.  Then it was break time…we did Ten-Chi through Genbu and then it was some more one-on-one instruction on Seipai again. 

So now it’s time to go and recover some before another busy day tomorrow.

Well we’ve lost track of the days, but we’re having a great time.   We’ve been practicing our shodo back at the apartment.  Jay seems to be getting the hang of it, but I’m struggling something awful.   It’s frustrating.  I blame it on the fact that I have to use my left hand…yeah…that’s it 

We went to karaoke last night and had a blast.  Someone ordered Sushi for us as a thanks for Jay’s great singing.  Glad I had the Awamore to wash to drink with it.  We staggered home and headed to straight to bed.  We slept in this morning and bought some groceries and practiced our shodo for tomorrow’s class. 

Class tonight was small.  We trained hard.  I don’t think we’ve sweated so much.  It was actually dripping from my hair…ewww…

Catch you all later 

Today was a really hot day so we decided to take it easy and just rest.  We spent the morning doing laundry and the afternoon just kicking around.   I read some of my Harry Potter book while Jay played Chuzzle.

We went to class tonight and trained hard.  Tomorrow it’s off to lunch at the Pacific Hotel and then another Shodo class before class in the evening…

Today we headed out on the bus tour.  It was pouring rain this morning as we walked down to the Ryu-Bo.  In typical Liz and Jay fashion we got lost again.  Eventually we found the bus station and bought our tickets. 

First Stop Elephant Rock…I had to make a potty break, but decided against it as the bathroom stall was covered in ants.  The area is beautiful and we stopped to take a few pics.

Next Stop the aquarium.  This place was incredible, there were fish of every size, shape and colour.  I wish we had more time to spend there.  Next time maybe we’ll try to cab it.  You could spend hours just relaxing and watching the fish, as long as the people don’t drive you crazy.  After seeing the size of some of the fish you relize how small and insignificant we really are…

Next stop was some castle ruins.  I can’t remember how to spell the name but the area was beautiful.  There was some sort of insect that was making a horrible racket.  I’ve never heard anything like it before. 

The final stop of the day was Pineapple Park.  They had an amazing selection of pineapple flavoured everything…We tasted Pineapple Wine, Bread, Chocolate, Cookies, Juice and even Vinegar.  Jay fell in love with the Chocolate Covered Pineapple my favorite was the wine…guess what flavour of wine you’ll be making next Stirling

That ended the tour.  We headed back to Naha…We fell asleep on the ride back, but I’m sure the scenery was beautiful.  After a quick stop at the apartment and a supper of peanut butter sandwiches we headed to class. 

Tonights class was frustrating. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t seem to get things right.  It started out with an hour of free sparring.  Simada Sensei showed us some new sparring techniques and shared some advice on how to fight.  Towards the end of class Meitetsu Sensei had Jay and I work together on Ippon Kumite.  It was another exhausting night, but we learned a lot…

Today we went in search of an internet cafe this morning.  That was an experience.  The ladies at the store around the corner don’t speak English so I asked them in Japanese where I could use the Internet.  After a discussion with about 5 people we finally figured out that the internet was this way —>  I’m not sure which way that is…The lady kindly wrote out instructions for me on how to get there, only there were in Kanji so I have no idea what they’re saying.

So in our search for the Internet we ended up back by Naminoe Shrine were we stopped to take some pictures and just relax and watch the fish.

We gave up on the finding the Net and headed back to the apartment for lunch and a quick rest before Shodo training this afternoon.  We dined on Ham Sandwiches and Juice…Lunch fit for kings…

Shodo training this afternoon was the hardest yet.  It was full of “Challenges” that I don’t think we did very well on.  It’s frustrating to see his work so perfect and look at ours which resembles finger painting by times.  We need lots of practice.  It’s been a humbling experience.  I think one of the hardest things to do is use my right hand to draw.  I finally figured out why I can’t use my left…it’s the difference between pulling the brush and pushing the brush.  He also showed us how to do some paintings as well…we drew fish…they looked a little cross-eyed and crazy but it was pretty cool.  I forgot to take some pics of them, and I’m just too tired after training tonight to run up the stairs to do it…so the pics will have to wait.

Class tonight was good.  We did a little bit of everything.  Jay ended up with a blister the size of the pad of his foot.  It doesn’t look comfy at all.  We’re going to stop and pick up some stuff for it later tonight.

Tomorrow it’s off to the Aquarium and Pineapple Parkso we better go and get some rest…it’s an early day tomorrow. 

Today we headed down the the Ryu-Bo  in search of Shodo supplies.  We took a look and decided we better wait and ask a few question about what we should get.  There we so many brushes and types a paper to choose from we just confused ourselves…

On the way back we decided to stop and watch the traffic for a bit.  The side streets are very narrow and sidewalks are pretty non-existant.  The cars here are very small and trucks are  rare.

We had another shodo class today.  We learned some basic strokes.  It’s very very difficult.  We need lots and lots of practice.  Simada Sensei showed us how each stroke can relate to a karate technique, and demonstrated each one.  It was pretty awesome.

Tonights class was tough.  It was very hot in the dojo and it was go, go, go all night.  We did some kumite and then practiced some kata.  We recieved one-on-on training from Kowakami Sensei and Taira Sensei.  We pushed hard and made it through another class.  We headed to Georges Restaurant for some Taco Rice and some cold water.

And now, it’s time to sign off and head to bed…I’m beat…

Today was an easy day.  We decided to head for Shureido, but since it was such a far walk we thought we would brave the monorail…To our surprise it was very easy to navigate and we made it to our station with no problem.

We arrived at Shureido and ordered Dylan’s obi and a couple of new Gi’s for ourselves. My Gi got into a fight with the dryer over here and lost…there is a lovely burn mark on the front.  This time ’round we didn’t get the sleeves shortened quite so much.

We did a little more shopping and then headed back to the apartment.  We sat around and watched Avatar.  We headed to class later that night.  It was another great night of training.  After class met a gentleman from Slovakia who is here to train for the week.  He shared some funny stories with us.  He is a photographer/journalist for the formula 1 races…Kenneth you’d love to chat with him…

And that was our day…

Today was another awesome day…First we headed toward Naminoe Beach.  After yesterday’s events we were looking for just a day to relax and do nothing.  I thought the beach was a great idea…which is was, I just forgot how far it was from where our apartment is.  After a short 30 min walk and a couple dozen photos, we arrived at the beach.  The water was clear and so nice and warm.  Our apartment doesn’t have a bathtub, only a shower, so it was nice to just soak our tired bodies.  We stayed for about a half hour and decided to take off…the sun was already hot and it was only 10:00 am. 

After we changed from our swim suits, we decided to take off and grab some lunch. Before we could make it any farther than the exit, we noticed a some beautiful butterflies and stopped to take some pictures.  As were were taking some photos a wonderful gentleman by the name of Taki showed us a butterlfy garden that was just around the corner.  He took the time to tell us the names of each butterfly and the names of some of the local foliage.  He spent about an hour showing us around an old cemetry and telling us the history of the area.  He took us to a cemetary where there was a monument in honour of the victims of the Tsushima Maru.  He also lead us to the top of the cemetary where we could look out to the East China Sea and pointed us in the direction of the Pacific ocean.  Taki was just a fountain of knowledge, he showed us how to roll the leaves of one of the trees into a whistle of sort, showed us different birds and just shared some general info.  He was great.  He lead us down the steps and showed us the Museum in honour of the Tshuhima Maru.  He left us there as his friends were waiting for him.  Jay and I went in and explored the place.  The had english pamphlets that explained the story, and I would suggest that anyone who might be interested, look it up…it’s very sad, and very interesting. 

After that, we headed back to the apartment.  We were starving. We were up and had breakfast by 7 am and it was now just past noon…I don’t think I’ve ever been that long without any food.  We dined like kings and queens on Peanut butter sandwiches and Ritz crackers.  After doing some dishes we sat down for a bit…we intended on watching a movie, but fell asleep right away. Around 3:00 we got up and I decided it was time to get some more groceries.  We headed down the street to find the grocery store.   For once, we didn’t get lost…we found the store very easily thanks to a map drawn by Takeshi and some directions from Mary.  We found everything we were looking for.  I spotted the chip aisle and took a guess that the blue bag of chips was plain…I am soo awesome…I was correct.  Finding Chicken though, was another story.  Eventually we found a sales person who spoke some english and we were so excited to find precooked spagetti and chicken.  We hurried home and ate probably the best meal ever.

At 7:00 we met Simada-san at the Dojo and he took us to his apartment were he taught us Shodo.  His place is amazing.  Every square inch of wall space is covered in Shodo.  It’s beautiful.  Jay and I tried out best, but couldn’t really duplicate his steps.  He taught us River and Mountain and then moved onto more advanced things like Michi and Go-jyu Ryu Karate Do.  We spent a couple of hours just trying to copy his steps, he was very encouraging even though we were so terrible.  After a while we spent some time just chatting about everything.  Simada-san is a fountain of knowlege.  He explained to us how Shodo is soft and Karate is hard, and with meditation it is a complete entity.  He showed us that there are fast strokes that a very fluid and slow strokes that are very controlled, just like Go-jyu.  He explained to us that his grandfather was a shodo master and taught him.  It was a great night.  We’re heading back Wednesday afternoon for some more lessons.

Today was the tug-of-war…We both woke up with mixed feelings about the day.  We were nervous and excited.  We were to meet across from the dojo at 9:00am.  We were told not to take any valuables so we left our cameras (that was heartbreaking) behind so I don’t have any pictures to show you, but there were lots of other cameras around and people promised to send some photos so eventually I’ll get some up online.

We arrived at the meeting place and had no idea exactly where to go.  We spent about 10 minutes standing across the street looking for a familiar face.  The President of Naha (that would be like the Mayor of Charlottetown) noticed us in our Gi’s and told us to come upstairs.  He didn’t speak english and we don’t speak Japanese so it was fun trying to make ourselves understood.  Eventually he phoned Meitetsu Sensei who found us some borrowed black uniforms to wear.  They were black traditional Kung-fu uniforms with Naha Kanji embroidered on the sleeve.  Luckily there were people around to show us how to tie the Obi and head-dress.  Everyone’s uniform looked complete.  They had special boots that went with the uniforms.  Jay and I were told to wear our street shoes.  I know people must have had a chuckle as we walked down the street, Jay in his black uniform and white sneakers and me with my very sexy pink crocs. 

After a morning of just getting changed and prepped we walked to a park where we met the others who were participating as well.  There were people from various styles of martial arts.  Everyone came up and introduced themselves and even though there was a language barrier we all had lots of fun.  We watched them practice carrying the giant poles…Please forgive my descriptions, I have to ask a few questions so I can get the names of things.  This pole is at least 15 to 20 feet high.  The top is at around 4-5 feet wide.  They would cup it with one hand at the bottom and use the other to balance it as they squatted  down and up so that the top peace moved around.  As they did this everyone else said…Saaaa (on the downward motion) and Sa on the upward. 

It was time to head to Kokusai Street and get ready.  They put the pole on the back of a truck and we all climbed aboard and we were off. As we were driving to Kokusai dori we were chanting and waving to passerbys. We arrived at another meeting place where everyone else was and had lunch.  Then the four of us practiced a bit.  By now were were already very hot, and very tired and we hadn’t even started the parade yet.  Finally it was time to go.

The excitement that everyone had was catchy.  It was essentially a giant party.  They carried the pole, the four of us did Kata at various intervels.  There were firecrackers and lots and lots of people.  After we did Tenchi the first time, the nerves disappeared and we all just had fun.  After a while we met Akihiro Sensei and we did some kata with him.  At the end of the parade route, Akihiro Sensei had us each do our favorite kata and we did kakomi as well. Finally it was over.  It was so much fun, but it was so hot that my shoes started to melt.

We then went and had a break.  This was another party.  People were doing kata and traditional dances, the dragons were out and it was just another great time.  This is where I really wish I had my camera, but I’ll have the memories which will last a lifetime. 

Now was the time for the tug of war.  We marched the poles down to Route 58 and the East and West sides took their places.  We had front row seats.  There was kata demonstrations, the poles duked it out, the warlords were marched down on platforms to the center, speaches were made and finally they pulled both ends of the rope to the center and began the process of connecting the two pieces.

Once it was connected it was time to start the tug of war.  Jay and I helped guard the pole.  Everyone was to act as guardians. we surrounded the pole so that people wouldn’t bump into it and cheered as they started to pull on the rope.  Sadly we didn’t win this year, but it was still so much fun to watch.  We stopped to grab a piece of the rope to take home. 

Later that night was a party.  We sat down and shared some stories and listened to some more speaches.  Everyone had to get up and say a few words.  We gave out lots of Canada pins and met more interesting people.  It was a day I’ll never forget.