My day yesterday was about comforting Helen and showing her how to use public transport so that she could feel confident to explore.
And below is a picture of Helen with Minowa Sensei and Naoyuki Sensei before we set off on our adventures.
My personal focus for myself was all about:
1. Fuelling myself well. Since arriving I’ve been distracted by a head that doesn’t want to stop spinning and this was evident on my first morning class yesterday. So it is back to basics for me. Breathing, sleeping, water intake, food intake etc….
2. Practice using Japanese as much as possible on my adventures.
Some happy snaps from our day out.
Soon enough it was 5:00pm and it was time to start the kids class. To be honest, I still hadn’t been able to shift the head spins but I knew within myself that being in the dojo would help with the clearing process so onwards and upwards and off to class we go.
Naoyuki Sensei was teaching today and I was really excited to see how he teaches as I haven’t had a lot of time with him on the floor. I was also eager to jump in line and listen to how he speaks to the kids. Another opportunity to expand my Japanese vocab in the dojo.
I had the opportunity to teach the kids for a short while and had a great time. It was especially great having Naoyuki Sensei there as I was aiming to use Japanese whilst I was teaching and he was able to confirm whether or not what I was saying was making sense. Class ended at approximately 6:30pm and we did souji for our second time today and then a quick rest before the adult class.
The adult class was taught by Naoyuki Sensei and Hirosei Sensei. Throughout this class, I still wasn’t finding my mojo however their was a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m a big believer of turning up and doing your best and just see what happens. I really enjoyed the class with Naoyuki Sensei and Hirosei Sensei. I really enjoyed the different teaching styles and approaches and will take some of the ideas back to our dojo.
In the last part of the class we got to work through all kata at our own pace. This is the time when I started to feel more comfortable and at ease with the floor. The Sohonbu floor is the best floor, however going from mats to the wooden floor seems to take me a bit of time to get comfortable.
The more comfortable I became with each kata I was able to not worry about slipping and falling etc, I was able to get back to ichi gan, ni soku, san tan, shi ryoku. If you are unsure what these elements are please take the time to do some research and of course ask your instructor what there thoughts are as well.
We weren’t working too hard physically so with every kata I could feel myself gaining greater clarity and my concentration and focus continued to sharpen. By the end of the session, I was feeling more refreshed. By the end of our third time doing souji I was feeling even more refreshed yet I know I needed to keep the water intake up and get a good night sleep.
Up early this morning for a morning stroll to the shops. Absolutely magnificent time of day to be out and about. Now I’ll continue with fuelling myself well, keep the body moving and do a little study today whilst Helen hits the town. I’m hanging around today as Naoyuki Sensei may be helping me get some wheels to explore the town.
Take care everyone and I hope that you are all well.
Quote for the day: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
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