Judo all the way, baby

Check it out--Judo is fun!!
The old sensei is a kind man, who speaks some sort of 'Arao Old-Man' dialect. He's twice as incomprehensible as anyone else, but twice as fun to listen to. He talked directly to me the whole class, with the other students lazing around like some Roman emperors on vacation. Somehow though, it's easier to understand someone who doesn't care if you understand them. People like that seem to want to fill the space with words. It's not a defense, the words aren't important. It's more the feeling of having someone listen and pay attention, just a way to connect with others.
Anyway, it really wasn't important if I understood because he had the kids demonstrate everything for me.
One of the eighth-graders, Ryo Kikukawa, ('Kikukawa-kun', quite a mouthful--'kun' is attached to the last name of most of the boy students to convey a sense of endearment) was ordered to take me under his wing. Kikukawa-kun is the skinny kid with big brown eyes and big lips, the one who everyone likes to throw because he's light as a feather, but he has reasonable skill, and so he was chosen to assist me. I kid you not, he showed me like twenty throws. Then he was like, 'uhh, now you do it.' I repeated the twenty techniques in order, flawlessly.
I like Judo because it makes me look good. It's graceful, and easy. I like Judo because I can do it just as well as the smiling, pudgy seventh grader, who gets pounded every time. I like Judo because I have no fear of learning new things.
(That whole last part was just to encourage me.)
stay tuned...