2 posts tagged “aikido”
Well, I finally got my lazy ass down to aikido this morning. Early. Well, for me, early. 8.00am is early enough, and starting tomorrow, I'll be up earlier to get to the first class of the day at 7am. At least that's the plan. Not going to psych myself out since it's extremely exciting to be practising at the Honbu Dojo for Yoshinkan Aikido.
I even ran into one of my fellow Torontonians there! Same dojo back at gerrard and yonge, but we don't really remember each other. My lack of consistency with attending being quite likely the reason.
Anyway, I'm excited to be back at it and a bit tired and sore from the first day back. Today was, well, really not much more than remembering how to do the very, very, very basic stuff. Not even full "techniques", just remembering how to move feet and all that. I just wish the dojo was a wee bit closer, since it takes 30m each way ... ah-well ...
My days are quickly being filled with a lot of things to do. So, now not only am I taking Japanese language classes, but also aikido. And my day is also being filled with half-assed communication in japanglish with friends. half-japanese, half-english in some horrifying mash-up of nonsense. Must be quite strange to follow for bystanders.
So, now it's time to get to work and not fall asleep while teaching. Also, no pictures today to accompany the update. None to share, maybe next time!
Sunday. Day to relax, unwind, whatever. Or, if you're me, do what you always do during the day, go explore a semi-random area of the city.
I've been a student of aikido yoshinkan on and off for a few years. Mostly off due to what I say is a lack of time, but probably is something else entirely. Ah, who knows. Here I am in Japan, home of aikido, and I wanted to find the Hombo Dojo, home dojo, and eventually start practicing again. This would be a nice thing. So, with my trusty maps and directions, off I went to a remote corner of Shinjuku-ku. I'll have to point out that my maps and directions are entirely in Japanese and I can't read them worth a damn, but I manage with the character matching, somehow.
I knew before I left that the dojo would be closed. Classes on Sunday end at 11:00. It was closer to 2:00pm when I set out. I actually wanted to just find the place first before going in early in the morning sometime in the next week or two to the English-taught classes. Or at least I hope they're in English. I'll find out pretty quickly, I guess.
I arrived at the building. I think. In my haste to find this place, I forgot, off all things, to write down the building name. So I might have found the place, but since everything was closed up, no way to really know until I go back.
I spent a good 30 minutes wandering around the neighborhood, discovering the closer subway stop than I walked from and a large number of feral cats who seem to have taken up residence in the surrounding residential area. There's cats like these everywhere, but this was the most I'd seen in one place.
Mission accomplished, I think. Once my work schedule is totally settled, I'll know if getting up at 7am will be a good idea to get to this random part of town for 8:30am for class. I'm not a terribly good or reliable morning person, after all. But, I always wished that my dojo in Toronto had classes in the morning. Now that I get my wish, do I really want it?
I'm still proud of myself for being able to have (maybe) found the place without English maps or directions. Feels like a good step for urban navigation.
