Thinking of training in japan, need major advice!

[SGTBlitz]

Yo people, hows everyone?

for those who dont know of me, im Daniel, im 17 and i live in the UK. To cut a long story short, im in last year college (or high school should i say) so next year is the normal year for going to university. But lately i have seriously been considering taking a year out before I go to University for many reasons...one of them being to go to Japan for 3 months to train (Kyokushin and Judo) and to experience the culture and area of japan.

Now obviously its a big thing going somewhere for 3 months alone especially when your mummas been holding your hand for 17 yearss haha, but i really really want to go and train my butt off.

My japanese is extremely little to none, but i hope to work on it in the months before I go on my journey

I need help in terms of many things with this whole situation ill just list them:

Costs of: Journey
Travelling in and around Japan
Accomodation
Dojo fees

Where I should train: I would love to train with people such as Shokei matsui, Yamaki, Kenji midori, hajime kazumi and the rest of the pioneers in Kyokushin, I would just like to know where they train, how much their fees are etc.

Where the best and cost efficient places to stay would be.

What are the best attractions/cultural things I could visit while there.

What to do about language barriers

Those are my main areas of confusion/uncertainty, If you guys would aid me by just providing information where possible and any extra things you would feel relevant I would appreciate it soo much.

Thanks a lot

Daniel AKA SGT Blitz

Osu-EN1

[nzproud]

I'm not sure which organization you want to train in.

There is an uchideshi program under IKO1(Matsui-ha).
http://www.kyokushin4life.com/forums/kyokushin-karate/4904-wakajishi-recruitment.html

Where I should train??
Perhaps as uchideshi at honbu.

What are the best attractions/cultural things I could visit while there.
Have a look in some threads in http://www.kyokushin4life.com/forums/japanese-language-culture/

What to do about language barriers
Do not worry about this. You are only 17, you tend to learn another language pretty quickly. Nicholas Pettas now speaks very good Japanese! Plus there are some foreigners training in Honbu, and they are learning Japanese as they train.

[kakatootoshi]

He cannot possibly attend the Wakajishi program as it takes three years to finish (he says he has three months in Japan only).

OSU!

[Kurisu]

I suggest going to the Ichigeki Academy in Ebisu. Ryu Narushima is the head Kyokushin instructor and he's an excellecent one at that. You can also take up kickboxing while you're there if you so desire.

[smoothsake]

I would actually consider training in the Japanese countryside. Although it will definitely be harder to get around due to the language challenge, your $ will go a lot farther and at 17, I'm guessing you don't have much. The inaka, or countryside, is beautiful and will give you a glimpse of old Japan. You may still be able to find famous instructors outside of Tokyo but it will take research. As far as cultural sights, Kyoto is the place to be/visit.

What is HKK? Are you going to leave it and join IKO1 or WKO? Hajime is independent in Tokyo and Yamaki is also independent and living in L.A., i.e. not Japan.

Looks like you got a lot of homework to do... OSU!

[Lanky Sempai]

Cpming from the UK you have an advantage of excellent exchange rates,for 3 months, all up I wouldnt come with less than about 500,000yen or more, depending on how much touristing and shopping you're gonna do.
Money bleeds from you here, much much faster than you could ever imagine.


Costs of: Journey
Travelling in and around Japan
Accomodation
Dojo fees

Where I should train:

As I think Smoothsake said, Hajime and Yamaki run their own dojo, you would not be able to train there unless you were part of their organisation.
The same thing goes for IKO1, you can generally train in any dojo if you are an international member of IKO1, though you should try and get an introduction letter or someone to vouche for you, maybe your Sensei is freindly with a dojo operator here?
It will cost you about 10000-12000 yen per month, and you may have to pay a registration fee, normally 10000



Where the best and cost efficient places to stay would be.

For a 3 month stay you would be best getting into a gaijin hostel, you can get a single room that comes with a bed and a TV etc, access to laundry and bathroom for between 20 - 35 000 yen per month.
It is possible to get cheaper accomodations but they are shared rooms and space is pretty limited.
You can check out
Tokyo apartment, Guest house, guesthouse room in Japan - Sakura House (http://www.sakura-house.com)
Tokyo Guest House (Guesthouse)- Cozy House affordable apartments, flats, accommodation in Japan (http://www.cozyhouse.net)
or have a look at
japan-guide.com - Japan Travel and Living Guide (http://www.japan-guide.com)

Theres lots of information, BUT stay away from Bamboo house, they are shitty and roach infested.

What are the best attractions/cultural things I could visit while there.

Wayyyy too many to menttion, Lonely Planet is a surprisingly good guide.



What to do about language barriers

STUDY.
Good book- Japanese For Busy People- AJALT
ISBN978-4-7700-3008-5
Get the ROMANIZED version, unless you can already read hiragana/katakana.
This book will get you speaking reasonably quickly.
You wont get by very well with just enlgish, though you can survive

Gambarre!!!!!
This is all for your information, if you really want to come and dont you're doing yourself a great diservice!!!!! Make the jump!.

[SGTBlitz]

you guys are really helping me so far with all of this information,

now about my organisation, i put down HKK (Haringey Kyokushinkai Karate) which is the dojo I train at, and right now im not sure of the organisation, but I know our dojo is displayed on the IFK website:

UK Clubs (http://www.ifk-kyokushin.com/links3.htm)

So im not sure if that means anything (I would ask my sensei but im still injured, plus hes changed his phone number)

and no, im not going to leave HKK as thats my home dojo :D, but I am going to leave there just for 3 months so I can train in Japan, but after the 3 months it will be back to Haringey Kyokushin

[Bloke]

Haringey is an IFK Club affiliated to the BKK - a lot of top guys came out of Haringey over the years.

[ushideshinidan]

I would definatly try to train at IKO Hombu in Ikibukuro under the supervision of Arthur.
Tough training, good fighters; you will learn a lot in a short period of time.
You also could give a shot at the Ichigeki dojo (at the Plaza). Brand new facilities, a lot of K1 fighters train there when in Japan such as Ray Sefo and many others. Different type of training...If you want to experience old fashion Kyokushin training, you go at Hombu. Maybe a mix of both would be a good thing too...It's up to you...;)
Osu!

[ushideshinidan]

FYI,
At the last Kyokushin seminar at Mount Mitsumine after the 9th world tournament, Kencho Matsui mentionned that all Kyokushin members were like part of a big "fraternity" and that all dojo owners should think the way of "My Dojo is your Dojo" and welcome all of the Kyokushin members to train in their dojo.
That being said, I do tend to agree that contacting them before and having an introduction letter from you Sensei or better your Shihan would be a the right thing to do...
Osu!

[shinobijesus]

you really need to ask your sensei. he can speak on your behalf with the regional shihans to see if they can set something up for you.

[ksan]

If i may be so bold, why not go train with hanshi for a few months on a daily basis first. He is much more near you.

Osu

[kanku]

If i may be so bold, why not go train with hanshi for a few months on a daily basis first. He is much more near you.

Osu

i could not agree more,we have top class teachers in the uk,perhaps dare i say as good if not better than japan,hanshi,seek out jeff wybrow..perhaps a holiday in scotland,i believe bernard creton is teaching up there[if your brave enough!] my personal view is jeff wybrow is the man !!OSU-EN2

[SGTBlitz]

lol do you know what, i didnt even think of that haha,

but at the same time, i still want to go to japan for the culture as well, but i would definately love to go to train with hanshi while im in the UK, does anyone know much about the dojo he is most at?

[Bloke]

You can find out where Hanshi trains from here

bkk (http://www.bkk-uk.com/)

[Groucho]

while training with your Hanshi would undoubtedly be a rewarding experience all round, it's still training "at home"

and don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with training at home...but training in Japan is...well, training in Japan

my advice would be to head for the Kansai region (Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe)...rent can be really cheap in it's out lying areas, and you might just find that the different dojos are less politically correct about federation alignment than in Tokyo...

when I was living in Japan, I was in the Nagoya area, and this definitely was the case (BUT...that was in the mid to late 90's, and the splits were actually just occurring...), so long as you wanted to train and train hard, nobody really cared about your alignment.