Pleasant news and...pleasant news

During cleaning time after sixth period, Da Sensei told me that there would be an assembly in the gym when we were finished.
So, after cleaning time, I headed through the courtyard into the gym where the students and teachers were beginning to settle down on the floor.
The meeting opened and we all sat in the formal seiza style (i.e., sitting on our heels) and bowed to the principal, who proceeded to make two announcements. The first announcement was that the softball team had successfully gained the title of All-Kyushu Champions this Sunday. The second was that the marching band became the All-Kyushu Champions last week. Therefore, they were both going on to the All-Japan Competitions later in the year.

As a side note, lately, I’ve been working again with my posture. When I am standing, I try to stand with my hips slightly more forward. It gives me a feeling of elongating my torso and quads, and that somehow seems to make my body feel lighter, especially when I’m doing Aikido.
I’ve also been working with ways to lessen the burden on my knees when I sit in seiza, formal sitting posture. From watching others, I’ve started to practice sitting a bit further back on my heels, which relaxes my legs, shortens my upper half just a little, and seems to release some of the pressure on my knees.

When I heard the announcements, I was somewhat subconsciously practicing this adjusted way of sitting. My thoughts, however, were preoccupied with the news that those students had put their best foot forward and come out ahead. I was taken by surprise, therefore, afterward, to receive compliments from two different teachers on my sitting posture.

Anyway, my silly sitting story aside, perhaps someday students at this school will be receiving the news that they have made it to the All-Japan English Recitation Competitions. Wouldn’t that be something?