See our gallery for photos from our trip!
The main purpose of our trip to Japan was of course to train
with Okabayashi Shogen Sensei and Hakuho Ryu group in Japan. We
were very fortunate to pack in a lot of training during our short
stay, training thirteen out of the fifteen days that we were there.
Okabayashi Sensei teaches every day of the week at Hakuho Ryu
Dojo around the Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto areas. It was a great pleasure
for us to train with and meet every one at these locations.
We arrived in Japan very smoothly on Saturday, February 1,
a little tired but very excited. The next day we decided to take
it easy and let our bodies deal with the jet lag and adjust to
the time change. Our first day of training was on Monday,
needless to say our first training session in Japan was super,
it was great to stretch out and do some jujutsu.
Tuesday was a full day. We had a great outing to Osaka
Jo, the beautiful Osaka castle that is in the heart of city, and
towards the evening we met Sensei at great little Italian coffee
shop in Ashiya, a suburb of Osaka, close by to the hall where
the Ashiya group trains. Before training Sensei treated us by
taking us to the top of Ashiya Mountain from where we could see
a gorgeous view of Osaka bay and pretty much the whole city. Tuesday
night training was a blast and we were quiet tired by the end
of it all.
One trip to Osaka Jo just wasn't enough, so we went back for
a visit inside the castle museum Wednesday morning. In
the after noon we met up with our fantastic host Steve Richter
and headed to Mukonoso for training. This was a really nice location
and we could see why Steve liked training there, the room was
quiet large and had a nice feel to it.
Everyday of the week was a full plate, we always kept busy and
had something to do and see, and Thursday was no different.
Thursday night we had the privilege of training with Sensei's
advanced group. The skill of this group is just amazing and we
really felt out of our league among these guys, but they were
all extremely nice and helpful. The training was hard even though
they toned it down a couple of notches for us. We had a really
good class and enjoyed ourselves, despite the effectiveness, efficiency
and scariness of the level of waza (technique) in this group.
It was a pleasure to meet and learn from these guys.
Friday's busy day was also followed up by a good training
session. We spent the day sightseeing Japan with Steve, we found
out how Japanese people stay so healthy, it includes a lot of
walking, everywhere.
Saturdays, Rod and Mitsuko teach sword at a beautiful
dojo near their house in Mino. Class is at 10 in the morning,
it was great to train early in the day. At the beginning of class
Rod killed us with a demanding warm up that included countless
sword cuts. We weren't used to this kind of training so I think
all of our arms were about to fall off. After cutting practice
we stretched out and spent the rest of the class training kata.
Okabayashi Sensei came to oversee the class and teach us. It was
a really intense experience doing kenjutsu kata with Sensei, Rod
and Mitsuko, you always had the feeling that their eyes were cutting
right through you. We learned a lot about how to train in kenjutsu,
the attitude, approach and atmosphere of training is very important.
Saturday afternoon we came with Sensei to train with a group
he teaches in Kobe. We had a lot of fun helping out with the kids'
class that is taught before the adults get on the mats.
The kids were really good; they impressed us with the level
of their waza.
Then it was our turn, by the end of this class we were wiped.
Kenjutsu in the morning and Aikijujutsu in the afternoon made
our relaxing dinner especially enjoyable.
Sunday was a big day of testing where almost every one
who trains in Hakuho Ryu in the Kansai area got together. The
session lasted about 4 hours, it began by people being tested
warming up and running through their waza, then it was time for
testing. Every one did very well and it was a good display of
peoples' skills. After testing we spent the rest of the time training.
What a great feeling to train with so many people at the same
time. After wards a few of us went for dinner to celebrate and
replenish our fuel cells.
Monday was a day off, and thankfully so. We were more
tired than we thought so it was good to have a day just to relax,
hang around Steve house and replenish our strength. We certainly
needed it, the second week also included training every night
and a lot of sightseeing and moving around during the days. It
was an amazing experience to go and train in Japan, to see Sensei
and to meet all of his students. Everyone was so receptive and
hospitable, so much so that we never wanted to leave. We received
a lot of correction and new instruction to take back home with
us and work on. Over and above that we saw and felt how people
train in Japan, how they conduct themselves and interact with
each other and all those subtle things that just can't be put
into words. Our training was slightly different from what it usually
is in Japan. Because we were visitors, Sensei and his senior students
paid special attention to us and probably corrected us more and
showed us more in two weeks than they would had we lived there,
nonetheless we defiantly absorbed some of those (once again) subtle
little 'dojo' things, and hopefully we will be doing a good job
of bringing them back and passing them on to the people in our
branch dojo. This was undoubtedly the experience of a lifetime.