S'entraîner au Japon!
See our galerie 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.