Hiatus

One of he amusing things about Australia is the fact it takes a bloody long time to actually leave the Country.  Tomorrow (Saturday) we take off at about 4pm.  At 8pm we are still....over Australia.  This is enough time to travel from the UK to Cyprus.  Australia is a BIG Country.  Quite often, I've seen in-bound long haul passengers look at their video screens and get all excited about crossing the Australian coastline near Darwin and begin getting their stuff together.  Four hours later, we still haven't landed yet.

Well, for the next 5 weeks, this is probably goodbye.  Japan is going to be (and I hate the phrase but I'll be hep and use it anyway) awsome!  I'll let you know if I stuff up my Nidan grading in the UK - not that anyone particularly cares apart from me.

But that's the beauty of life.  We are defined by what we find value in - what make's life worthwhile.

Gradings

Just three more days until our holiday.  Not to place to fine a point on it but I was seriously considering installing a countdown timer for that as well.…

Speaking of countdown timers, the shonky one written into the code of this blog is decrementing far too quickly for my liking.  It means I have a grading to concern myself with.  OK, ok, it’s been a blip on my radar for months but now the whole screen is covered with a great unknown blob.  I’m lucky though as Nidan (or 2^nd Dan) is relatively only a minor grading in the scheme of things and, providing a certain level of skill is demonstrated (and you don’t stuff up), expectations aren’t too excessive.  The real test is the transition from 3^rd to 4^th.  Think of 1^st to 2^nd as climbing a steady slope.  2^nd to 3^rd as a hill requiring the use of hands and 3^rd to 4^th as a sheer rockface.  It’s where the percentage of grading failures in any aspiring 4^th Dan group rocket above 30%.

Idly mulling on that last point.  While the idea of a 4^th Dan grading doesn’t scare me – because I’m willing to put the time into working for it – it’s just occurred to me I’ll be 59 at that point.  And that’s assuming I don’t stuff up one of the gradings before it.  But that one of the beauties of Iaido:  your skill level with a Japanese sword is only marginally affected by the effects of age.  In much the same way as a 90 year-old can still pull the trigger of a gun, a 70 year old can still display extraordinary prowess with a sword.  The interesting thing is the hidden, ‘internal workings’ of Japanese martial arts appear to add a good many years to what you can force your body to endure.

Trouble is, can I acquire the ‘internal workings’ before I’m 70? 

The Emporer's New Clothes

Don’t ask me my opinions on the Hunter-Gatherer intellectual-luddism philosophy deeply buried within the Greens Manifesto.  Their philosophy is as poisonous to modern tolerant society as fanatical religious fundamentalism.  Perhaps worse, as it’s based on the myth of the tribal society being some sort of idyllic egalitarian paradise.

The Emperors of Fascism and Communism appear to be alive and well but have donned new Ecological Clothing.

Hell I’m irritated!!  If supporters of the Greens naïve policies applied any reductio ad absurdum rational thought to the matter then they should all voluntarily self-euthanise immediately.

Giri = Obligation in Japanese

Paul Maloney is quite a bit older than I and was around as a junior student under Shimizu Takaji.  Shimizu Shihan passed away back in 1978 and anyone who’s anyone in the Jodo game will be in utter awe of him.  Anyway, Paul was aware Klara and I were heading off on holiday for two weeks so handed me two Letters of Introduction to some Sensei in Japan.  My knowledge of the Japanese language is quite small but I am aware there are strict social customs which prevent me just turning up unannounced.   Things have to be performed properly and protocols observed.

Initially I was quite pleased with him going to the trouble, with this warm fuzzy feeling lasting until I got to the car. It then quickly evaporated as it dawned on me the introductions were also a burden of responsibility.  We're expected to attend.  Not only that but we're also expected to not disgrace Australian Jodo by being technically incompetent or, worse still, ignorant, stupid and bad mannered.  OK, this is do-able.  We can pull this off with a bit of concentration. 

Since then I’ve carried out a bit more research and discovered some disturbing facts about these Sensei.  Notice I used a capital ‘S’ just then - Times New Roman 12 Font Size.  It should really be at least a 32.   One of them is so influential he’s on the small panel of people who run martial arts in Japan. 

And here he is.   Kaminoda Tsunemori Sensei (and who also trained under Shimizu Takaji Shihan in his youth).  He’s head of the 4^th Division of the Japanese Riot Police: the people who have responsibility for guarding the Japanese Imperial Family.  Not a pushover.

Control your breathing.  Be introduced to Sensei.  Bring biscuits (apparently the done thing when turning up anywhere).  Perform out of your skin.  Don’t disgrace yourselves.  Be allowed to live. Go
home.  No pressure!

On top of that Klara and I will train with Igarashi San (our swordmaker) in Seki City, Nagayama Sensei (our Seitei Jodo Sensei) in ravaged Sendai and also Shimizu Yuji Sensei in Tokyo.  The dance-card is filling up for what was supposed to be a holiday.

And then there is the little matter of climbing Mount Fuji overnight on August 29th.     

Two for One

Part 1.

It’s now rocketing through July so yesterday I picked up my trusty spreadsheet and twiddled with the planning of our holiday.  Not the UK one.  That’s relatively structured and we know where we have to be and who we’re seeing.  I’m talking about the Japan portion.

I had absolutely no idea just how complicated matters can be!  My dearest darling Daughter, HR Manager and denizen at the enlightened end of the gene pool, seems to think it’s all easy.  Turn up, sleep rough, eat dried rice and ask a passer-by for directions to Mount Fuji in broadest cockney.  It’s her opinion holidays are not subject to the normal financial laws of nature and that we’ll sleep cocooned in cherry blossom petals, eating fragrant fugu fish and all the while being serenaded by Geisha.  (And, I know, I’ll be receiving the rough edge of her tongue for that one!)

Rude wake up alarm for everyone.  Travel in Japan is astronomically expensive if you buy over the counter.  Staying, even in Ryokan (Japanese traditional inns), is as equivalent to a 5 star hotel in Sydney.  Only ready-to-eat food bought in a supermarket can be cheap.  I think we’ll come to a compromise.  In Tokyo we’ll splurge.  In Kyoto and Yamagata/Sendai/Matsushima we’ll be literally sleeping at Monasteries, eating Buddhist monk food.  Might even do a bit of rent-boy stuff.  Joking here (I hope).

You know what?  When the possibility of a trip to Japan raised its head earlier this year I had a cherished dream of buying a new katana.  A shinken from Igarashi San from Seki City.  His creations are functional works of art that are a joy to hold and a dream to use.  Tatami matting just falls in neat piles just at the mere mention of a blade made by him.  Well, it’s not going to happen this time round.  I’ll have to make do with my old chinese chunker of a blade and bludgeon the straw into submission.

Part 2 -  A short pictorial story.

We were Home last weekend.  Running repairs to 3 kms of dirt road, some slashing (grass cutting) and general ‘tying down’ of things before we leave for the UK.



Early morning mist in the Far Paddock





Yes, the 'mice' can gnaw through metal lids



What happens when you run out of gas

 



I can't capture the feeling but this one represents three days of bliss