Minnesoooota

After coming back from a long trip from the motherland, I boarded back on the plane the very next day and went to Minnesota to teach at the US Battodo Federation shinsa.

I was extremely jet lagged and tired. I woke up staring at the ceiling 3:30am Saturday and honestly I can say I wasn't looking forward to the day. I haven't swung a sword in about 2.5 weeks and I was very worn out.

In the morning we were escorted from the hotel to the seminar site by a Mr. Robert Hensley (I hope I spelled that right, if not then sorry). Thank you! The seminar site was an older basketball gym (with no basketball in sight argh!). It wasn't air conditioned but had one big fan in the corner. This was gonna be a long day....

As the seminars started, it was a small group. I got to work with some people for basic cutting, chuden kata 5-8, and kumitachi. It was nice to be able to swing the sword again although by the end of the day I was quite sore. Not having swung a sword and swinging it again made me realize how much of the movements have become a part of my muscle memory because long time ago, if I had that long of an absence from the sword, it took some time to adjust. However this time, it was like I never really stopped (other than loosening up some muscles). Everyone was very enthusiastic and open to receiving advice and pointers.

By the end of the day though it was testing time. Never my favorite thing to do, but I know it is necessary. I would like to say first of all that everyone who came up to test showed true heart and guts. Never easy to go up in front of 3 judges. I know this from experience as well. However everyone showed good composure and presence regardless of the result. Shodan was fairly easy to grade but nidan and sandan level was not. It was all very close and very hard decisions were made.

Overall I can say, as tired as I was, this trip was worth the effort. It's always interesting to see how a teachers style bleeds into his students own style. Made me think of what qualities of myself are shown through my guys. But the best part for me was seeing people that I saw maybe 1 or 2 years ago when I came to teach. Seeing everyones growth whether it was skill, maturity, outlook, etc is what makes even a very tiresome journey a worthwhile one.