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12-06-2007, 02:52 AM
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#1
My trip to Japan & Mt Mitsumine Training
A short journal of my trip to japan to share with everyone. Would like to hear everyone else's. Already saving for next trip now.
I'm a new shodan so pls excuse any mistakes. Osu! My Trip to Japan ================ Saturday 24/11 - flight @ 10:30pm Sunday 25/11 - arrived at Narita international airport @ 7:00am. Customs was horrible. 1 hour of queueing up. My first impression of Japan was hey, these people wear face masks. And then there was the weather, a pleasant cool compared to my native climate which was hot all year round. It's like having air conditioning outdoors. - took a train to Saitama Super Arena to meet up with fellow friend & honbu uchi deshi. We missed his fight. He lost in the 1st round. 1st experience using a Japanese toilet. Never stand up from the bidet when you're pressing the buttons! - watched the tournaments and wished badly there were ladies' category too. It was exciting. Tameshiwari was an eye opener. Those who couldnt break the 1st attempt had to stand up. - Saw Kancho for the 1st time. listened to Kancho's opening speech altho did not understd a word of it. Lucky there was an English & Russian interpreter. - Wanted to buy lots of KK (kyokushin) stuff on sale there, but Sensei said no, we'll buy them later. - chked into hotel, darn...it's so small. Marveled again @ the many buttons on the bidet and the warm toilet seat. Monday 26/11 - chked out and took a train to honbu. - saw uchi deshi living quarters for the 1st time; which was upstairs. It was a kitchen by day, dorm by night. had no windows but kinda liked it and now wished that KK took female uchideshis. waited til Branch Chief meeting was over. - i esp liked the 3 balls hanging @ different heights from the ceiling for tobi geris. made it a personal goal to kick them everytime i entered dojo (when there's no one) - also loved the makiwaras and sandbags at the back - some dojo mirrors were taped up and cracked (probably frm fighters banging into them?) - trained (kihon, led by Kancho) - new dogi (Isami) did not fit altho it's same same size as current one. had to buy another as my name already embossed on it Tuesday 27/11 - watched kids' training - a girl (maybe 10 yrs old?) got punched in the face. she sobbed softly to herself, applied ice pack and joined the next class - parents in japan care a lot abt their kids' welfare. they observe kk classes & plan their kids' activities from the womb - parents in japan do not mind that senpais smack or rapped their kids' head if they misbehave. - self trained with makiwara and bag - joined adult class training @ honbu Wednes 28/11 - self trained with makiwara and bag - joined 2 ikken training. ikken is really tough on knees. the inconvenience is the front clasp of my bra broke frm a punch due to training earlier. i had to make frequent visits to the washroom as the safety pin that i used kept coming off. - instead of the normal ramen shops with vending machines to buy tickets for yr meal, a Shihan brought us to this shop where we had to seiza to eat, complete with cigarette smoke, drunken & loud Japanese. I loved it! thurs 29/11 - went jogging & ikken training @ the park - saw a junior high sports day event - went to budo shop @ ikebukuro. sensei bought dvds. drooled over the samurai swords.cheapest was 85k yen. fri 30/11 - joined bo & kata training @ honbu - as front clasp bras were vulnerable to seiken chudan tsukis, i switched to back clasped ones. this time, the wire came out...bummer.. - found out my hotel had internet in the rooms when i had a notebook all along. bummer again. be sure to ask the concierge. they do provide the cables for you. sat 1/12 - took a 2 hour train, 2 hour (could be shorter, but it seeemed like forever & i felt like i was gonna puke as the route was really curvy) bus ride up mt mitsumine - visited sosai's shrine - meet my room mates (thank god there were girls at the camp, was getting worried there!) - did not like public bath, me shy naked - kihon training - traditional (i think!) japanese dinner (my past week had been spent eating lots of rice & noodles in boxes either standing or confined to really small spaces) sun 2/12 - jogging & kihon training early in the morning - temple (read somewhere that it's to ask for blessing for next year). the temple's unheated, it was really really cold esp if u remain static in seiza - hike down to waterfall, the trees & forest was beautiful with its many colorful leaves. my native country only had green leaves. there wasnt really a path to walk on, you had to follow the person in front else you would slip and fall on loose branches and stones. i cursed my lousy FILA shoes every step of the way. Could feel every bump and edge of the trail due to my lousy shoes. - lasted 10 secs in the waterfall. the water was chest high for me (ya, im short) and cold (not as cold as i expected). but legs went numb after that. sake for warmth & a toast to everyone - hiked down to bus station. took the bus up again for a dizzying ride. - curry rice lunch monday 3/12 - back to my country Kancho was a very nice & humble man who's greatly respected by everyone. he likes to crack jokes and is very approachable. had the opportunity to see him write calligraphy. I'm Asian myself but seeing the Japanese & their way of life (they're very polite & respectful - except in packed trains  was truly an eye opener for me. I spent most of my days training & buying drinks from vending machines (kohi kohi & puddings) while sensei ate a lot of ice creams (shhhh). saw a lot of bicycles, there's even parking lots for bicycles. I did not get to see a lot of sights (wanted to go disneyland) but the experience and training was well worth it. I love Japan & esp Kyokushin and hope to return there soon. some pic. vid of all-japan i will post on youtube as soon as i get the s-video cable frm sensei Last edited by hungheykwun; 12-07-2007 at 01:51 AM. 
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12-06-2007, 03:09 AM
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#2
 Comletlly Awesome. That is my biggest dream to be in Japan and do kyokushin. I'm glad you had a great time. OSU!
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12-06-2007, 03:13 AM
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#3
osu koji,
training in japan was my dream too and i realized it. and I wanna go back for more.... upon coming back few days ago, I'm already searching for nihongo classes and looking to jobs in Japan (if possible) so I can train more OSU
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12-06-2007, 03:17 AM
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#4
Great post hungheykwun, thanks for sharing! +Rep :P
__________________
Dont just train hard, everyone does that. Train smart! - Ninomiya Joko
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12-06-2007, 03:18 AM
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12-06-2007, 04:48 AM
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#6
great write-up!
(don't be jealous if I tell you that I am getting on an airplane in less than 10 days to go to Japan...but not to train....to work!---and spend the year end holiday there!!) vapor
__________________
Overlook Nothing, Regardless of its Insignificance
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12-06-2007, 05:24 AM
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12-06-2007, 07:05 AM
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#8
Thanks, hungheykwun.
Excellent post (have some reps). Like I mentioned in another post, I had the opportunity to goto Mitsumine couple weeks ago but I backed out. I'll go next time for sure. Very funny stories about your "wardrobe malfunctions." I'm a dude so I can't say I understand, but sounds like a pain. I must say I am a little confused though by your dates... wasn't the IKO1 WT Finals on 11/18 and the Mitsumine Camp around 11/20-11/22? Or am I getting confused because you are not IKO Matsui? Also can I ask what country are you from? BTW, if you are interested in working in Japan, may I suggest not working at the now bankrupt Nova school for English... Last edited by smoothsake; 12-06-2007 at 07:21 AM.
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12-06-2007, 07:15 AM
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#9
thanks for the reps everyone. osu!
wardrobe malfunction...hahahhaa nope, im not frm iko1. thanks for the working tip...bad experience frm u?
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12-06-2007, 07:26 AM
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#10
Right... wardrobe malfunction... that's the correct term.
I never taught English in Japan but I did do a crappy job there once and it was a bad experience. I have tons of friends that have taught English there and most if not all had a blast doing it (Aeon, JET, private, etc.). If you haven't heard of Nova, it is quite interesting and sad what happened there. Check this one article out: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/421688
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12-06-2007, 07:54 AM
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#11
 hungheykwan - wonderful post. It was great that you included the content of what you did, but some little human touches like how you felt, and your gi not fittting, your bra breaking (I stick to crop tops for exactly that reason - no clips, no pins). It was a really beautiful post to read. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us all. I can see that you have inspired some others to undertake this adventure!
__________________
Wisdom prevents mistakes. But you have to make mistakes to get the wisdom.
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12-06-2007, 08:47 AM
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12-06-2007, 09:30 AM
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#13
thank you for sharing your experience, i really enjoyed reading it and look forward to your future posts
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12-06-2007, 11:25 AM
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#14
It was the Kyokushin-kan 5th All Japan Open karate tournament for sure .
__________________
Be a strong as a lion when it comes to self dicipline and as gentle as a flower when it comes to other Osu Kiaiiii
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12-06-2007, 02:39 PM
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12-06-2007, 03:27 PM
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#16
Quote:
vapor
__________________
Overlook Nothing, Regardless of its Insignificance
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12-07-2007, 01:58 AM
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#17
Quote:
Thanks for the support everyone. I dont get out much for karate so this type of post will probably just be an annual thing. i do plan to document all the ikken moves i learnt though. does anyone do ikken (yiquan) here? Quote:
pics link updated in 1st post Quote:
bring her along! Last edited by kyokushin4life; 12-07-2007 at 03:48 AM.
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12-07-2007, 10:50 AM
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#18
Crop top is a karate girl's best friend
 No wires, no clips, good support, and no modesty worries. You don't need to pin the front of your gi closed, and you can forget about needing to wear a tee-shirt underneath. (and, for those occasions when you abs are looking fab and ripped, you can show off as much as the boys do  )If you are a larger cup size, you migh need to get a specifically designed crop, but because karate doesn't require huge amounts of vigorous bouncing, I have never bothered.
__________________
Wisdom prevents mistakes. But you have to make mistakes to get the wisdom.
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12-07-2007, 03:05 PM
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#19
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I enjoyed reading about your trip.
You didn't mention much about Sosai's shrine. I'd be interested in what it looks like. Do you have a picture of it? As for your wardrobe malfunction, I have to agree with Seienchin. I wear something similar to a crop top, but mine has protective inserts in it. Since mine is a bra, I wear a T shirt over which is o.k. with me. 
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05-04-2008, 11:58 PM
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#20
Great Post. Makes me wanna jump on a plane and go train in japan right now. What IKO are you from. I was in IKO 1 but now I am in IKO 3. Anyways, thank you for sharing and keep training hard and smart.
Osu! FBV.
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