The Continuing Adventures of Karate Monkey........

On second thought, I can't be bothered to think of a new name for a blog, so I'm going to keep this one open. The new direction will basically be no direction at all. Just me, friends, rides, movies, good times and the occasional diatribe.

So, lets get this party started.

I arrived back in town just in time to train with Sakurai Sensei again. Here are many of the lower mainlands Shotokan crew.
The following sunday I was able to ride Fromme with Dave and the Drew crew. Here is Dave running a sweet log ride.


Later on I would head to the island to hide out while I waited for work to start up again. Nephew Ian and I would walk up Mt Benson in Nanaimo.


Here is the view from the top. I think this mountain would be a sweet place to carve out some ride trails. Maybe even a chair lift.

At first I thought this was a crappy picture of Aaron riding the drop in clinic on Whistler. Now I think it's pretty cool.
This is my buddy Ian doing the same rock face. Don't try this at home kids.


And here are a few shots from todays ride on Cypress. Dark and fuzzy, but Im a rider, not a fucking ride photographer. Everyone seen here is doing the same gap jump.


IanAaron.

JeremyAnd new guys Matus....

And Chris.
Sweet riding today guys. But Cypress used it's super power on me and made me walk down a few times. That happens though, just when you think you are becoming a better riding, the mountain smacks you down and humbles you out some.

Packin'er In

Another blog post that has been a while in the making. Karate Monkey will be abandoned after this post. The last remnants of my time in Japan will be left here and on the other blog. I have decided to do it this way because I would like to move ahead with another blog having a different theme.

Here in this post, the last, I wanted to show some pics from my last night in Fujieda, which I spent in the hospitality of Kanewa, the ride boss.
These are my good friends who took care of me in Japan, made sure I saw all the best ride locations they could show me. To them I send my thanks.
The other blog has ended also. Those who know me can ask where the new stuff will go.

Thanks to everyone who read this. Take care and see ya around.

10 Friends

Hopefully this reaches a few more people than that. Just an important message about climate change.

Sumo

Check out the post on the other blog for pics from the big Sumo weekend here.

More Truth

More Al Gore for you. Please click on the video panel when you have about 25 minutes to watch it. He makes some very good points and very important points. He makes mention that the environment crisis is caused in part by the democracy crisis, which is very true. In the end, if we are looking for someone to blame for the problems, we need only look in the mirror. I also liked the comparison he made about people who are investing in the oil sands and other carbon based fuels, that junkies find veins in their toes when the ones in their arms collapse.

The title of the entry is about truth, what is a below is me opining.

I do however think that waiting for America to take a leadership role on the crisis is a mistake. It's going to take a monumental shift in that country to create the changes needed. Canada also to a lesser extent, but I think the chances are better in my country than theirs. Unfortunately, our current leadership seems content, too content actually, to just go with the flow.

I had an interesting discussion with some friends of mine at the gaigin bar I go to over in Shizuoka. They were telling me about some of their general impressions of Canadians, and the reviews weren't all good. Americans currently living and traveling abroad are often subjected to criticism for what their govt is doing in Iraq. Canadians on the other hand seem to be becoming more and more content to simply not be Americans. We sew our flags on our backpacks and merrily move about the world. We seem to all agree that it's great to be Canadian. My question is, is that good enough?

What good is democracy if we are too lazy to use it? Are we worthy of living in a great country if we do nothing great? For certain, to fight for change within our country is to invite conflict into our lives, not only internally but with our largest trading partner as well. We have it pretty good though, and I'd have to say, for my Country to finally have it's own identity and to take on a leadership role with the environment crisis would be worth it. I wouldn't mind paying a little more in taxes, or seeing a few trade sanctions and tariffs on our vast oil exports. To be honest, hearing Bill O'Rielly or Anne Coulter call us trouble makers would put a smile on my face. If George Bush was mad at you, doesn't that mean you're doing something right?

Hopefully that all changes in November, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Plutocracy has taken over or is taking over in many places around the world. It doesn't really matter anymore who is in charge. In the end, if there is to be change, it must come from the bottom. From us.

One thing I have learned from my time in Japan is that old saying, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It's true. Strife is good for the soul and mind, makes you stronger and smarter. Makes you appreciate what you have, and more importantly, worthy of what you have been given.

Blister Season

Tournament season is coming up. Means lots of Jiyu kumite practice. I haven't had a blister since last October. But thats the end of that.

Playing Tricks

Last night I went out for dinner with my friend Taka, and his girlfriend Akiko. It was the only the second time I had seen Akiko, she's a bit shy and hard to get out of the house sometimes. I first time I met her was when her and Taka met back in October.

It's cherry blossom time here in Japan. They bloom and fall off all in the course of a few weeks. So I'd better get out there and take some pictures. Last night I asked my friends Taka and Akiko about the signifigance of the Cheery Blossoms (Sakura). As I am a foriegner with a short time left in the country I had better not try to figure it out for myself I had decided.

At first Taka said that it was like a new beginning. The school season starts now, work starts now and other functions of Japanese life are having their starts around now. Ok I thought, that's interesting. But it didn't really serve to deapen my understanding of this place.

Later Akiko would mention that the Cherry Blossoms remind us not to hesitate in life. The blossoms are only on the trees for a week or 2 and that the lesson to be learned was that life is short. If you want something, just go for it. 'Oh yeah', I thought, I guess that is an important lesson. hmm.

Later we went to the Gaigin bar in Shizuoka. There I ran into a friend of mine from England, Kate. She invited us out to a Hanomi party in the park. Hanomi is like a polite way of saying getting drunk. At the park we would be drinking under the cherry blossoms. At first it sounded to me like something you might do back when you were in high school. Go get drunk at a park. But Taka and Akiko wanted to go see the Cherry blossoms. So I handed off the rest of my nachos to some guy from Cincinatti and we made our way to the park.

We arrived there and I saw something a little different than what I was expecting. There were maybe 200 or so Japanese people all doing the same thing. They were spread out in small groups of friends sitting on matts. They were just getting hammered under the Sakura. And then I understood the signifigance of the Cherry Blossoms. In fact I'd say it hit my like a frieght train. "Of Course!!. You drink under them! They're like Christmas trees for getting drunk!"

Half of understanding a culture is being able to relate to it and take part in it.

Taka and Akiko would wander off on their own for a stroll under the blossoms. Those 2 are really into each other, it's really quite disgusting.

I would stay and talk with Kate and her friend Duffy(California) for a while. We talked about our experiences in Japan. Kate has been here for 4 years, Duffy for 7. I am the rookie as I still seem to marvel and be baffled by this place.

I could only stay for a short while tho as I had to make my way back to the train station so I could head back to ultra conservative and kinda boring Fujieda. There are gaigin here, but the gaigin bar here is a bit of a Sh** hole and I almost never see other gaigin there. I hear it said that the Skin Flute used to be a fairly decent place to hang out, but now it's a ghost town. Kinda sad really.

It's ok though. I like Shizouka a lot better. The gaigin all seem to look out for each other there. It's kinda nice. If I were ever to return to Japan, I would live in a bigger city like Shizuoka or Tokyo.

My life here is really starting to take on a full form. Biking friends, gaigin friends, Dojo friends and friends who loan me snowboarding gear so I can go with them to Nagano. Last night under the Sakura I started to wonder if I would stay in Canada when I got back. Maybe just my mind playing tricks. 8 months of relative strife and anxiety and now this.

Here is a little footage of me on the board from Nagano last week. Not bad for my first time if I may say.

My Sadistic Japanese Friends

You can see some pictures from snowboarding trip on the other blog where the safe for public conumption type posts are made. This post however is not so safe. Every great story has a night before. The night before I went snowboarding, I was hanging with my friends in a hotel.

Satomi seen here in Pink, arranged the trip and cooked us dinner. That's Kaz in the green, I think he is Satomi's BF, but I don't think either of them want me to tell you that. Not really sure what is going on there.

Anyways, right ...... the story.

Big dinner, a few beers and little Kampai! All is well, right?

And then its time to play a card game. Kaz opens up the deck and starts dealing. Satomi lays out some packaged tea bags in the middle. We all pick up our hand and start moving cards around, one card at a time is given to the player on the right. When you get all the same numbers in your hand, you gotta grab a tea bag. 7 players, 6 tea bags. You grab first then there is a frenzy to get one of the remaining. Because if you are left without a tea bag, well then you gotta eat the puke biscuit. Just cracker with some nasty hot mustard on top. I had to eat 4 of the f***ing things. I was a slow learner and got my ass kicked at the beginning. I didn't want to get sick so I had to take a break after the 4th. I felt myself starting to get a bit queezy.
This is Take as he tries to eat one. His facial expression about says it all.

After my break we made it a drinking game. Suddenly my reflexes got better. Thankfully. But in the last round, there was on cracker left. I got 4 aces and grabbed. I did not have to eat the last one.

Watch Horre eat the last barf cracker here.

8 months in Japan and I am finally starting to feel like I have built a life for myself here, friends and all. Time to go home soon. Typical.

Go Karate Toad, GO!!

Look at him GO!

Karate Toad

The weather is getting really nice here now. It's warm and the flowers are starting to bloom on the trees. Last week I needed 3 layers when I went riding, today 2 was more than enough.
This is a picture of one of the roads I climb to get to the trail I usually ride.

I came across this guy today too. We don't get frogs this size in Canada so I stopped to take his picture. I swear I saw him in Pans Labyrinth. Not sure what his name is, but from this day hence he will be known as Karate Toad.

Mental Health

It's Saturday afternoon again. This week was the same as the last. Another finish line crossed. Another week in Japan, completed successfully. But this Saturday is a bit different than the last one. Today I do not feel the need to lock my door and hide from everyone. I wonder why?

Before I came here, everyone told me that not all my days here would be rosy. They were right of course and I expected it to be so. There is stress and isolation, frustration and confusion mixed in with all the friendships and generosity, achievements and zen in Japan. There is no doubt, in the end, this will have been a life changing experience. Do I rue coming here? Not a chance. But I did have great expectations of myself. One was to be a good Ambassador. "Keep my shit wired down tight." as it was once put to me. I think I've done a good job......mostly. But just as honest men have a short life in politics, my 'vocal' self makes repressenting here a bit tough. Truth be told though, I don't mind. I'd rather be happy than popular. True of me I think for my whole life. And the truth does set you free.

It was however not last weeks post alone that has provided me with this sense of inner calm. My mom called me in Japan to tell me that maybe some of the things I said last week were not the best things to say. Of course she is right, I would never admit it though. I defend what I said. I make no apologies. It's my right to be a jackass if I want to. But being able to vent over the phone to someone who knows me well has reminded me of what makes me happy in life. It's being honest. To thine ownself to true, I think Shakespeare once wrote. Well, this is me.

My apologies to readers who don't like it when I use foul language, but if you read blogs regularily like I do, you know it's just part of the blogging culture.

Thanks for calling this week, Mom.

The Bright End of Nowhere

I haven't seen these guys in months. The cold weather I guess plus Kaoru snowboarding on the side has kept me away. But it was a nice day to be out on the bike on the hills in Kawane.

Kanewa got us started as usual. He said he had a new trail that he wanted to show us. We followed him along some pretty treacherous ground. But all we got was lost. Twice! We had to turn back and push up the mountain. And here I thought it was going to be a nice relaxing sunday ride with the boys. But no, I had to work. Thats me. The view is nice if you pretend I'm not in the picture.

Just a couple of shots from the ride today. Blogger is being bitchy and not letting me upload all my photos at once, so I am forced to make my readers suffer for it.
I have a whole 12 second clip from the ride today too which I'll post as soon as Utube approves it.

No Taste in Movies for Old Men

A friend of mine emailed me today complaining that there have been no blog posts in a few weeks. Truth be told, tight money and a fairly routine life haven't been sparking the desire to write about Japan. However, being a self proclaimed expert on movies (Movie Snob) I thought I would write a short diatribe about this years oscars.

No Country for Old Men?
Did anyone seriously like this bag of dog shit? The movie was semi entertaining for 2 hours, but seemed to end without an actually ending. It was like driving to Manitoba. Javier Bardem can be commended on his performance (though not better than Tom Wilkinsons), but I think best picture and especially best director is going a bit too far. The Cohen bros did nothing to get me interested in this story, or make me care about any of the characters. As far as Im concerned they got owned by rookie Sarah Polley who wasn't even nominated. She got as much out of Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsett ( I mean seriously, Gordon Pinsett for god sakes) as I have seen any Director get out of his/her actors.

Best Actor
There will be Blood was not Daniel Day Lewis's best performance ever. This catagory could have gone just about any which way, the most notable oversight being Tommy Lee Jones for Valley of Elah. (I'll get more into that later). It seems to me the oscars take a lot of weird shit into consideration when deciding who gets the oscars. It's almost as though they want to project the appearance of being unbaissed instead of actually awarding people for individual work. Javier Bardem and Marion Collitard being a good example. They want the oscars to seem american but not too American. Daniel Day Lewis should have won for Gangs of New York a few years back. That year it went to Denzel Washington for Training Day. Denzel should have got it the year before for the Hurricane. My point is that this show would be a lot more interesting, and respectable if they would just hand out the awards based on individual performances, not previous bodies of work or Politics.

Tilda Swinton
This is about the only oscar that went right. Swinton has had a solid career. She did a good job in Michael Clayton playing a Company Exec, trying so hard to do a good job that finds herself ordering certain people murdered. Her role was layered and intense. The extra pudge she put on worked well and show what a good actor can do when dedicated to her craft.

The Big F***ing glaring oversight
I think the best, if not most important movie of the year got 1 nomination and no wins. Paul Haggis's In the Valley of Elah. How this movie could be so ignored is not really a mystery to me. It tells the story by way of murder mystery of the mental condition American Troops are returning home from Iraq in. It is truthful, brilliantly written, complex and human. It occurs to me that Americans may not be ready to examine the Iraq war yet, as it still going on. Which is unfortunate because the time to think about these things is now. But I supposed Oliver Stone had to wait 12 years before he could make Platoon.

Wow, that felt good. Maybe tomorrow I'll write something about Barrack and Hilary.

Hasagawa-san's plan

On Saturday, there will be no class at the Ohtomi community center. Instead, the class and I will be attending the funeral services for one of it's members, Yuzo Hasagawa. (Seen here in the pink sweater and blue bow tie. The pic is from Halloween and it's only one I have of him unfortunately). He was a smart man with a rich knowledge of history. His English level was quite high, enough to have been an English professor at the University level at one time.

Hasagawa-san had mentioned a few times that his health was not good. It was only a few weeks ago that I learned how serious his situation was. By then he was not well enough to go to class. I would not have the chance to speak with him again. However, the thing about Hawagawa-san is this. He began attending the ohtomi group about the time I started teaching it. And with almost no exceptions, he attended every class until he could not attend class any longer.

I'm pretty sure that if I ever was to learn that the end of me was nigh, my plan for my final weeks on earth would involve a lot of .... well something.

Hasagawa-san's plan was to work on his English. It may be the greatest compliment I could pay to him, or anyone, that he wanted to keep bettering himself, keep learning until the very end. Maybe he just understood the difference between what you can take with you and what you can't. To me, this is an example of the finest human character.

Avalanche

Thats me and Chinatsu. I am wearing the toque they bought me for my bday. I happened to mention that they should wish Ikkie a happy bday for me. His is a few days after mine. This week I was presented with a gift from the family, Ikkie, Chinatsu and Riintaro as well as their Mom, Kumiko. It's like every single tiny nice thing I do around here is repaid to me 1o times over. I got the toque, mittens and a neck warmer as well as a bunch of tea and snacks. It's always been easy for me to remember Bdays that are close to mine. Everyone does it right. Orlando Bloom, Patrick Dempsey, Robert Stack, Micheal Pena. All the same day. Ikkie is on the 17th. I even remember the Bdays of people I haven't seen since junior high if theirs are a few days within mine. Its just how my head is wired.

They were even planning a party for me until I asked them not to. Sometimes it's like being buried under an avalanche of kindness. I don't know if I'll ever be able to say thanks to all the people who have been good to me here, not the way they deserve anyways.

Anyways, on to real disasters.

Heath Ledger died today. I must admit I was pretty shocked. I've been looking forward to the next Batman movie for a while now. The Joker is one of his last roles. They say is was sleeping pills probably mixed with something else. But they don't say suicide. Alive alive alive, your dead. Unreal. I guess it's true what they say, whatever time you have is luck. And so many people take their time for granted, even me.

Also for a certain cousin of mine who I understand is having a bad day of her own. Not gunna mention names or situations. You know who you are and should know I hope you get through this OK. Hugs from the Rooman Empire her in Japan.

Everyone in Vancouver will be happy to know the weather here has been a bag of shit past few days. Even if I wasn't sick I wouldn't be riding in this.

Mata.

Friday funday

Screw it, I'm taking the night off. Even tho I've only trained twice this week, I need a short break. I'm not sure if I've been fighting a cold or if its all the kerosene I've been breathing in, but I have a sore throat and have decided to chill out this evening. If it is a cold it's prolly best I hide in my apartment anyways. No sense in making it worse. I even treated myself to some 'unlucky fried kittens' for dinner. Say it ten times fast, you'll figure out where I ate. And now I'm in my jammies with a nice little pot of green tea and the electric heater going (cause I don't trust the big one) getting settled for a nice night at home.

Another reason to take the day off is that I start 2 new classes tomorrow morning. The good thing is that I game here to try and help build the school. This is the first break we have had in the area since I got here. The 2 classes were being taught by a guy from Aus, but he had to bolt home for some reason. So they called the guys at Ohtomi and some one told them about me. Guess that's it cause tomorrow I take over. I hope I'm not reporting this too early. They could always decide I'm a jerk or just generally useless and go find someone else. So if I suck I will have to admit it to everyone on this blog in a later post. sigh. The real scary part is that I have to be awake at 7:30 am on Saturdays from now on. And I have to miss Saturday morning training. This english teaching shit is starting to look a lot like work. Ha! listen to me whine. When I'm over whatever this is, I'm really gunna have to hustle with my training.

Here's a couple of pics from Japan for those of you who don't like reading. This is the Dojo.
And this is me and Maruyama san out a few weeks ago.


English classes are back in full swing. I had my first class with the Amaya kids in over a month. It went better than I thought it would . The kids actually buckled down and did some work. Robyn was right about them. They know more english than they let on. Sneaky buggers.

Nuthin much else to report. Back to being lazy for me. TTYL.

34

It's been hard to know what to write about lately. To be honest, the holidays here were a bit of a roller coaster for me. Lots of ups and downs. A friend of mine tells me that Japan has layers and layers and the longer you stay here the more layers you go through. Some are interesting and other can really throw you off your game. I don't think I am ready yet to talk about some of the more difficult experiences I have had here. I am still correlating data as they say. Trying to make sense out of and find the best way to deal with my surroundings.

The english school has had some good news and some bad. In the bad, one of my students from a small group I teach has decided to stop going. Sensei and I discussed that matter and decided to offer them a reduced rate until they could find a 3rd body to fill the seat. It was sad to see, but understandable. There are a lot of available english teachers in Japan right now as well as a recession in the economy here. Sensei asked if I wanted to continue with the class and I said of course, that we are in this together. But I can't shake the feeling that all this is hanging by a string. But the good news is we do have a new class for a few months. A pair of teenage boys who will be travelling to Vancouver for a week are taking 3 months of lessons until they go. So something positive.

I spent new years in Shizouka. I had a good time. After midnight we moved to a Latino dance club. I watched Japanese Salsa on new years morning. It was beautiful.

I had a birthday on Sunday. I ended up being treated to dinner at Yakko by Ozawa Sensei and a friend of his. Bruce from Ottawa was there also. A very nice guy who has been friends with other english teachers here in the past. It was a very nice time. We ate and drank and talked for about 4 hours.

All is well here now. Being back into Karate helps me keep my focus on why I am here. I'll be busy with classes the next few days. Otherwise there isnt much to write about. Hopefull I can hook up with Kaoru soon for another epic style ride in Japan.

Only about 4 more months left to go here. Time is running out.