Adventures in Karate [Part Deux]!

 On Monday, I went to Yotsukaido City Hall to register myself and update my Gaijin Card. After about 1/2 an hour of pretending to understand the man explaining my health benefits, I made my way to the information desk to ask about Karate. It `just so happens` that the son of the woman working the desk is a JKA member and trains with the local chapter. She explained that she would be at tomorrow`s class and I should arrive at 7PM to watch and talk to Sensei.

 

So, the next day I rushed home, ate a quick dinner, packed my uniform (just in case) and went off in search of the class. Lucky for me the classes are given at Yotsukaido High-School which isn`t too far from my apartment. However, I still managed to get lost and 7PM was quickly approaching. I came across a tennis school and asked the instructor behind the desk if he could point me in the right direction. He told me to `Wait one moment` and ran inside the clubhouse. Less than 10 seconds later he ran out, locked the door, and motioned for me to get in his car. UNBELIEVABLE!

 

After I was dropped off (I owe that guy big-time), I walked up to the entrance and met a nice Japanese man who immediately began to speak English to me. He said, `Are you 8th Kyu? Woman told me about you. Would you like to join our party?` Now, normally I would laugh at something like that but I humbly said `Yes, thank you.` and entered the gym. Good thing I didn`t laugh at him. Turns out he`s a 5th degree black belt. Whatever party he wants me to join is fine with me! lol.

 

Anyways, good thing I brought my uniform because I ended up out there training with them. After class, Sensei handed me an application form and class schedule (all in Japanese of course) and explained the fees. Here is the breakdown...

 

Monthly Fee = 4,000 Yen ($40 US)

Tournaments = 4,000 Yen

Seminars = 5,500 Yen

*The first month is FREE!

 

As if the one month free wasn`t enough, Sensei gave me a ticket to attend the JKA National Tournament in Tokyo next month. AND, there is a seminar this weekend and he would like me to come (SWEET). Who would have thought training Karate in the motherland would be so cheap!?!?!?

-Sammy J.

Well, I'm Officially A Teacher!

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for taking so long to update this blog. I had a pretty boring few weeks stuck out in the tomatoe fields of Funabashi-Hoten. The only thing to do was sit in the one and only park and watch people walk their dogs. FUN!

 

(PS: Big thanks Cliff-desu for the one night of mischief in Shinjuku. Nothing beats posing as exchange students and getting kicked out of a college party for kicking too much game, all at a club named Ninja in New York. There`s no way I could make that one up! lol)

 

Anyways, now it`s time for the good stuff. Finally, after much waiting, I got placed. I am now officially living in the Yotsukaido section of Chiba, a 5 minute walk to the train station and 3 stops from Chiba City. To be honest, I got it made! I have plenty of shops, restaurants, and a 100 Yen shop all at my disposal. That doesn`t include Ito Yokado, the Japanese equivalent of Wallmart and Ali Baba, the best second-hand shop in the world. I managed to buy a 30 year old Japanese/nylon string guitar for $40 US. WHAT!?!?!?

 

Now, for the teaching (I did come here to work right?). I had my first 2 classes yesterday and they were AWESOME! During class, I introduced myself and the children hung on to every word making `ooh` and `ahh` sounds. Then, the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) and I taught as a team. However, I did more acting and dancing than anything else. Gotta` love genki!

 

The rest of the day went very well. The JTE kept feeding me traditional Japanese treats and the school provided free lunch as a present for my first day. For lunch, they served a bowl of rice, some bean sprout looking stuff with corn, a small veggie omelet, a bowl of tofu/meat mixture, and a carton of milk. However, the greatest part of lunch is that you eat with the children and THE CHILDREN SERVE YOU! I have never seen anything like this before in my life. They wear aprons, gloves, masks, and hairnets and serve everyone the exact same amount of food. Then, after lunch, they clean up and bring all the dishes to the kitchen for washing. As if that isn`t enough, the children CLEAN THE SCHOOL AFTERWARDS! The only downside to this is I too have to clean the school, and my job is to weed the track/soccer field with a miniature sickel. That wasn`t so fun but I was happy to do it and spend some extra time with the kids.

 

So, as I write this blog, I am sitting in the teacher`s lounge drinking green tea and waiting for my next class. I was worried about having so much down-time during the day (since I only teach 2-3 classes) until the JTE asked me a very important question. `Would you like to take Gym class and Music class with the students?` ARE YOU SERIOUS? YES!!!!!

 

Needless to say, I am going to buy a track suit and sneakers after work!

 

-Sammy J.

Adventures In Karate!

The past two days will easily go down in history as two of the best days of my life!

 

On Monday, I went off in search of the Japan Karate Federation to inquire about buying a new uniform, taking classes, and attending up-coming tournaments in Tokyo.  They were incredibly helpful and contacted the Tokaido gi shop and JKA (Japan Karate Association) to let them know I was coming.

 

The next day, I went to the Tokaido gi shop and bought the most beautiful uniform I have ever seen. It is made of 100% Japanese cotton, has the official patch of the JKA, and is built to last a minimum of 10 years (gives me chills just thinking about it J). Afterwards, I made my way to Iidabashi to find the JKA headquarters.

 

Upon arriving at the JKA, I could immediately feel the energy in the air. There were trophies everywhere, pictures of legendary Sensei’s, and people bowing and saying “Oss” as they walked past (the customary term of respect in Shotokan Karate). I managed to get a very cute (but very deadly) young woman to assist me.

 

Unfortunately, she didn’t speak much English but was the only person capable of helping me. Although she didn’t understand my hand gestures and drawings I had made in a last ditch effort to communicate, she did understand when I told her I was an orange belt. She didn’t hesitate to share this information with the entire office causing the LOUDEST BURST OF LAUGHTER I EVER HEARD! I stayed humble of course (not that I had a choice with a building full of people trained in the art of combat), and after an hour of making a fool of myself, I managed to sign up successfully.

 

A few hours later I came back for class, got changed, and went upstairs to warm up. That’s when I realized that I was the only non-brown or black belt there! Well, I didn’t let that intimidate me. I kept up with the class and learned two advanced katas. That was only the first class of the evening though. I stayed for two more for a total of three hours of training. I’m not going to lie, I trained hard back in Brooklyn, but this was by far the hardest training I had ever experienced.

 

The next day was more of the same. However, I had the treat of a lifetime for my first class. Before the class began, a Sensei came over and asked me to follow him. He took me and another low-level belt to a separate training hall for a more personalized lesson. We went over stances, combinations, katas, and had a great workout. Afterwards, I went upstairs to get ready for the next class when one of the students asked me, “How was it training with Imamura Sensei?” I said, “It was fine, why do you ask?” He said, “You don’t know who he is do you? IMAMURA SENSEI IS A LEGEND!” So, as it turns out, I had just trained with one of the best karateka the world has ever known. SWEET! lol

 

After two more lessons, I was whooped! Many of the people acknowledged my skill and dedication and told me how much of a pleasure it was training with me. I made many friends at the dojo that evening and will surely take them up on their offers to train with them in their home countries. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better start on my journey of Karate in Japan!

 

-Sammy J

Baseball... Japanese Style!

If you think you’ve seen baseball, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

 

On Sunday the crew and I went to the Tokyo Dome to see the Yomiuri Giants vs. the Hanshin Tigers. Honestly, it was the best baseball game I’ve ever been to! First of all, standing room tickets are only $10 US. Second of all, you can bring whatever you want into the stadium (food, beer, etc.). They even provide cups for your drinking convenience, lol. Third and most important of all, THE FANS ARE ABSOLUTELY NUTS!

 

Each team’s fans sit in sections and do not stray from their designated areas. Then, for every at bat and every pitch, they chant the team songs and clap in unison. I officially became a Hanshin Tigers fan because they had the best songs and their fans wouldn’t stop giving me hi-fives (kind of difficult when you’re trying to eat a bowl of curry and rice with chopsticks but hey, I managed).

 

The game was full of action with home runs, risky plays, stolen bases, hit batters, extra innings and cheerleaders. That’s right, Japanese baseball has CHEERLEADERS! 

I officially love this country J

 

-Sammy J

Sha-BOO-Yah!

What an amazing night!

 

The boys and I went down to Shibuya last night (or “Shah-BOO-Yah” as we like to call it, lol) to hit up the club scene. While searching for a spot to pre-game, we found Ghetto Happy, the premier Hip-Hop lounge in all of Tokyo. They played underground Hip-Hop while we sipped our drinks and tried to kick game to the waitress. Just like being back in Brooklyn.

 

Afterwards, we went off in search of Club Womb but it was nowhere to be found. Cliff ended up asking a random guy in front of AM-PM (ghetto version of 7-11) if he knew where the club was. Would you believe this dude brought us right to the front door and gave the doorman “daps?” I LOVE Japan! lol

 

So, we go in but there wasn’t much going on. That doesn’t stop Cliff and I from going into “ALT Mode.” For those of you who don’t know, ALT stands for Assistant Language Teacher. Therefore, ALT Mode is when you use the skills learned as an ALT to kick game to Japanese girls. We were using hand gestures to communicate and showing them American handshakes to break the ice. I know this sounds ridiculous bit it works. At this point, we were ready to step it up another notch so we left in search of another club.

 

While walking down the street we met two beautiful Australian girls who decided to join us on our adventure. We settled on Club Asia, a great place with two floors of dancing. The top floor was Hip-Hop so obviously I didn’t move from there all night, lol.

 

Upon entering the club, Cliff and I go to work. We probably talked to every girl in the club at least twice. Then, they started playing 90’s Jah Rule and Lil’ John (best you’re going to get in Japan) and we started the dance party. We formed circles and had girls following our every dance move. Then, guys came over and started battling us on the dance floor. To be honest, these dudes could dance, but my boy Evan and I showed them what was up. Now, I know I’m not the best dancer, but in Japan I’m like the Michael Jackson of this ‘ish! lol

 

Anyways, that’s how the rest of the night went. We stayed until about 2 am and took the most expensive cab ride of our lives. It was well worth it, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting my placement and settling into a much more cost-effective routine!

-Sammy J

Welcome to the Tokyo Dome!

It's official! I made it to Japan in one piece (sort of, lol). It was an adventure getting here but well worth it. It all started back in Richmond, VA 3 days ago.

Everything was going just as planned on the day of departure. I made it to the airport on time, my bags met size/weight regulations, and security didn't have to do a strip search, lol. I flew a 45-minute flight to Dulles/Washington DC International Airport and quickly located my connecting flight with plenty of time to spare. Then, as passengers started boarding, things got very "interesting."

There I was waiting to board when I realized that although I had a “confirmed” seat, they weren’t calling me.  So, I went up to the counter and asked “When am I going to board?” The guy didn’t even look up at me when he said, “Sorry sir but it looks like you’re not going to make this flight.  United Airlines made a mistake and overbooked. Don’t worry though, you’ll leave tomorrow morning and you’ll be compensated.” What the F$#@%! “I DON’T WANT TO BE COMPENSATED, I WANT TO GO TO JAPAN!”

Anyways, there was nothing I could do so no point in arguing. I kept my cool and made my way to the customer service counter to figure the whole thing out. After about 3 ½ hours, they booked me a flight for the next day, gave me a dinner voucher, hotel-room for the night, and $400 CASH! Ya’ll who know me know I didn’t argue with that one, lol. When they told me, I didn’t complain, took the money, and happily made my way to the hotel.

The next day, everything went as planned and I made the flight with no issues. Thirteen hours later, I was at Tokyo-Narita International Airport exchanging currency and making my way to the hotel. I hopped on the subway (cleanest in the world by far) and set out for Asakusa where the hotel is located. After about an hour, I arrived and it was AWESOME! We are staying right near the Sensoji Temple, which is the oldest in Tokyo (built circa 628 AD). There are great restaurants, cheap shopping, and cherry blossoms everywhere. It feels like I'm in a movie!

Now that I am finally here everything is great. I met a cool group of friends and we’ve been enjoying all that Tokyo has to offer. After 3 days, we already went to restaurants in Shibuya, bars in Roppongi, and ate at the BEST ramen restaurant near training yesterday in Iidabashi. All in all, training is going well and I’m having the time of my life!  

I wish you all could be here. Guess you’ll have to come visit sometime :-P 

~Sammy J