Daily report 10 / 16 January 2011

Today we had training in dojo. I was dressed in my kimono and everybody thought I looked 'cool'.

Interesting moments for during the training:

The weight has to be equally divided on both feet. It made it difficult to start the movement and maintain a good balance.

Every movement has to be done maintaining the same height of the body. There must not be a change during the exercise. The centre moves and changes in direction. The body stays in the same height.

In one exercise the movement of the sword and the movement of the feet start and end in the same moment. The movement of both hands and feet has a different tempo. This exercise is done very slowly. Very interesting comment of Fumio on my remark of slow motion sharpened my understanding: "Time is going slow, not the motion". It is a different way of perception and clarified my insight.

Later walking is trained. First the outside part of the foot has to touch the floor. When the foot is fully placed on the ground, the foot has to be turned a little bit outside in order to be prepared to draw the sword.

The training is ended with an exercise in which all members participate. One member has a leading role; the others have to join in the same rhythm. All have to connect and unite in the movement and the rhythm. During this exercise Fumio changes the rhythm from low to a higher level. The exercise has a beautiful name: Thousand Birds. From the outside it seems a very simple exercise but I notice the complexity to fulfill the movements in the right way.

I had a very interesting conversation with Mihoko about the economical and social position of Japanese women. In modern Japan women have an equivalent position to men. Almost all women have jobs and are socially active. For example more and more women come to the dojo to train martial arts. Men seem to lose interest and become a minority. Working men suffer a lot of stress in their work and many become ill and have to stay at home. These trends make the position of women economically and socially more and more independent.

This evening I visited for the first time a Japanese bar called Ikazaya. Masishi also came and I could finally give him the little present I brought from Holland. We ate many different small dishes. I even tasted yakitori made of soft bone and of parts of a tail. Even this 'strange' food tasted well. There was a huge list of different drinks. I chose plum wine. A sweet drink with sake, a plum and ice. Mostly women drink this liquor. So I made a good choice.