Angaur, Palau Environmental Portraits
13 years ago
Showing posts with label karate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label karate. Show all posts
31 March 2010
30 March 2010
Last Night in Sapporo
It's 1:34 am at the start of this post. I justify staying up this late by thinking of the several hours I'm going to have to sit on two planes tomorrow as I make my way back to Okinawa. While it's true that I could make use of the flight time by studying or reading, I prefer to sleep most of the way, converting normal travel time into a sort of "teleportation."
I've had a good time here in Sapporo. The short trip has reminded me that my time in Okinawa is both valuable and impermanent. I look forward to renewed determination in certain aspects of my life when I return - notably the pursuit of karate, fitness, and Japanese. And in fact, I've started to think of these three things as more than just a hobby, a healthy way of life, and a nice skill to have (especially in Japan), respectively.
Thoughts like, "When I'm done with the JET Programme, are their opportunities out there for me that involve karate?", "Are fitness and health only nice things to have, and not actually very important to my quality of life?, and "Why am I not devoting myself to being better at Japanese, considering all the options it could open up for me?"
So as I stood at the window of my hotel room, looking over a part of Sapporo's lit streets and dark buildings, I could only help but to think that despite whatever small piece of land I find myself on, I should do everything I can to make the most of my time on it.
I've had a good time here in Sapporo. The short trip has reminded me that my time in Okinawa is both valuable and impermanent. I look forward to renewed determination in certain aspects of my life when I return - notably the pursuit of karate, fitness, and Japanese. And in fact, I've started to think of these three things as more than just a hobby, a healthy way of life, and a nice skill to have (especially in Japan), respectively.
Thoughts like, "When I'm done with the JET Programme, are their opportunities out there for me that involve karate?", "Are fitness and health only nice things to have, and not actually very important to my quality of life?, and "Why am I not devoting myself to being better at Japanese, considering all the options it could open up for me?"
So as I stood at the window of my hotel room, looking over a part of Sapporo's lit streets and dark buildings, I could only help but to think that despite whatever small piece of land I find myself on, I should do everything I can to make the most of my time on it.
28 March 2010
You Read It Here. First.
The results are in.
Our dojo's girl placed 1st in this year's 4th Annual Hamanasu All Japan Junior High School Karate Elimination Tournament.
Amazing! She truly did an amazing job. Her performance was solid and steady, winning several rounds by a margin of 5-0, others much closer at 3-2. In the end, she came out on top, this year's national champion. It's an understatement to say that everyone is pretty psyched about it.
Our dojo's girl placed 1st in this year's 4th Annual Hamanasu All Japan Junior High School Karate Elimination Tournament.
Amazing! She truly did an amazing job. Her performance was solid and steady, winning several rounds by a margin of 5-0, others much closer at 3-2. In the end, she came out on top, this year's national champion. It's an understatement to say that everyone is pretty psyched about it.
25 March 2010
Karate in Hokkaido
Tomorrow (Friday), I'll leave for Hokkaido to support one of the girls from my karate dojo. She placed 1st in a tournament held in Okinawa some months ago. That placement qualified her for this upcoming national tournament - The Hamanasu 4th Annual All Japan Junior High School Elimination Tournament.
Below is a portion of the 1st grade junior high school girls bracket (and a link to the full bracket).
That's 122 competitors in total. To win, she'll need to win seven rounds of kata (performing various sets of moves). Considering it's a national tournament, I think the fact that she's participating is pretty incredible. A placement - let alone a win - would be amazing.
Below is a portion of the 1st grade junior high school girls bracket (and a link to the full bracket).
That's 122 competitors in total. To win, she'll need to win seven rounds of kata (performing various sets of moves). Considering it's a national tournament, I think the fact that she's participating is pretty incredible. A placement - let alone a win - would be amazing.
05 December 2009
Tops
I spent today supporting a girl (let's call her K-chan [*note: the videos below are not her - they are only examples of the kata that she performed]) from my karate dojo (空手道場) as she competed in the 12th Okinawan Junior High School Karate Tournament. Cliff and I had gone to a previous (and unrelated) tournament a few months ago, but we arrived after she had already participated (she also didn't advance as far as she did today). I made sure not to be as late today.
I arrived at the tournament and made my way to the gymnasium seating just as K-chan was beginning her second kata (形, a series of moves done in succession).
Tournaments work like this: two (competing) participants perform a kata of their choice (starting from the second round) on an 8m² mat. One wears a red belt, the other blue. Surrounding the mat are five judges (審判), seated at each of the corners, with the head judge seated in front of the participants starting position. Each judge holds a red flag and a blue flag. When both participants have completed their kata, the head judge blows a whistle and all five judges raise their flags. The participant receiving the most flags out of the five moves on to the next round.
K-chan is very solid in her kata. Our sensei, Taira, works with her closely at each of our practices. She's serious, dedicated, fast and strong (she's also only 12). So the result of her second round was a unanimous 5-0 victory. For her third round, she scored the same, which meant she advanced to the semi-finals (準決勝), or the "Best 4" as it is called here.
K-chan performed the kata Suparinpei, スーパーリンペイ (below), for her fourth round.
The result was another 5-0 victory. Her victory here meant that she advanced to the final (決勝).
The final varies in two ways. First, the participants - instead of performing their kata at the same time - perform them separately (I believe this is to allow the judges to closer scrutinize). Second, there are seven judges, not five. The two additional judges sit to the side of the participants starting position.
Today, K-chan went first. She performed solidly in the kata, Anan, アーナン.
As a result, K-chan will be heading to Hokkaido (北海道) in March to participate in an All Japan (全国) tournament. Of course, her family, along with Taira-sensei will be going. Surprisingly, Taira-sensei asked me...actually, politely told me...to come to Hokkaido to support her there. So that's my spring break plan - head to northern Japan to support our dojo's number one.
I arrived at the tournament and made my way to the gymnasium seating just as K-chan was beginning her second kata (形, a series of moves done in succession).
Tournaments work like this: two (competing) participants perform a kata of their choice (starting from the second round) on an 8m² mat. One wears a red belt, the other blue. Surrounding the mat are five judges (審判), seated at each of the corners, with the head judge seated in front of the participants starting position. Each judge holds a red flag and a blue flag. When both participants have completed their kata, the head judge blows a whistle and all five judges raise their flags. The participant receiving the most flags out of the five moves on to the next round.
K-chan is very solid in her kata. Our sensei, Taira, works with her closely at each of our practices. She's serious, dedicated, fast and strong (she's also only 12). So the result of her second round was a unanimous 5-0 victory. For her third round, she scored the same, which meant she advanced to the semi-finals (準決勝), or the "Best 4" as it is called here.
K-chan performed the kata Suparinpei, スーパーリンペイ (below), for her fourth round.
The final varies in two ways. First, the participants - instead of performing their kata at the same time - perform them separately (I believe this is to allow the judges to closer scrutinize). Second, there are seven judges, not five. The two additional judges sit to the side of the participants starting position.
Today, K-chan went first. She performed solidly in the kata, Anan, アーナン.
(The woman performing the kata in the video is Azusa Tomishiro. K-chan and her have some striking similarities - hairstyle, a few facial features, and speed come to mind. Not to mention, they're both Okinawan.)
So solid was her performance today that she scored a 7-0 victory, placing 1st for the tournament.As a result, K-chan will be heading to Hokkaido (北海道) in March to participate in an All Japan (全国) tournament. Of course, her family, along with Taira-sensei will be going. Surprisingly, Taira-sensei asked me...actually, politely told me...to come to Hokkaido to support her there. So that's my spring break plan - head to northern Japan to support our dojo's number one.
29 October 2009
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