Japanese and Jodo

I'm still here. It's been a quiet couple of weeks here at home. Lots of alone time.

Not to say that exciting things haven't been going on. There was the Kumamoto 'Songs of Fire Country' concert I took part in with the orchestra, part of a prefecture-wide celebration last Saturday(I took a video of the celebrations in the street, we'll see if I can't get that up here). That was fun. The music was written by a local man who also conducted.

I started Japanese lessons finally, at the Kumamoto YMCA. I'll be taking the 4th level Japanese Proficiency exam in December, and the classes are super. The 4th level is the basic level test, so I think I'll be able to pass. I considered taking the 3rd level, but I think whether or not I could pass is borderline at this point. With only two months to study, I thought I'd play it safe and go for the 4th. I have to say though, for what might be the first time in my life, I'm so exciting and interested in studying.

I also started Jodo lessons a couple of weeks ago. Jodo(properly written 'Joudou') is "The Way of the Staff." I'd been thinking about trying it for a long time, and when I saw the time of the Japanese lesson and the Jodo training coincided, I took the opportunity to start both. A lot of the same people who train in Aikido train in Jodo here, and lucky me, Awesome Guy is one of the teachers. If he teaches me for a majority of the practice time, I think I can up my skill level really fast.

Awesome Guy is such a gentle and strict teacher at the same time, and he's a little goofy too, his English is so funny. He knows all these technical terms for movements, but his grammar can be totally off, so I sometimes have to translate it again in my head, or else I laugh, for example: 'You holding jo straight ahead posture very bad. Turning can't see side gooooood.'

The class takes a lot of concentration and 'focus power.' There are 12 kata/forms to be learned, paired with bokken/wooden sword. Honda Sensei, the head Aikido teacher, also happens to be the head of this school of Jodo on Kyushu Island. It's a great opportunity, and although I waited a long time to start, I'm glad I've finally begun.